U.K. Eurovision entry! A lot of pearl clutching

If you seriously think the Ukraine entry didn't win because of the sympathy vote, while their country had just started being subjected to an appalling invasion, I've got a bridge to sell you.

I may have even voted for them myself.

Regards your chart comment. The previous year's UK entry reached #47 on the UK charts, so it's not a case of it's in English (or a UK act) so people just buy it. Sam's reaching #2 was the best from a UK act in decades. The Ukraine entry got #38 in the UK charts, the previous year's win in Italian reached #17.

As I said, it was a contest for who finished 2nd, and Sam won.

Well the singer was male so he wasn't wrong to say he was he?

I said on comments it's got nul points written all over it.

It was a travesty when the Australian jury gave it some points, followed by some others.

That public vote was more on the money, likewise the huge points for Israel.

It's not really a surprise that the British act singing in English charted much higher than the Ukrainian act not singing in English though 😆

And anyway, the charts show a snapshot of what is popular. Not what is good. Unless you think Mr Blobby was the best music the UK had to offer at one point...

Sam got #2 in the UK charts, highest in decades, the Ukraine one got #38.

There was definitely an understandable vote for Ukraine related to a war that began on them three months prior.

It was really a contest on who would finish 2nd, and Sam won.

There's a place where we break the line (make me-)
Make it a circle redefined, mm (di-)
Beautiful gardens, eternal flowers (make me di-)
You know the way, so take me there
Won't you make me dizzy from your kisses?
Will you take my hand and spin me
'Round and 'round until the moment never ends? Mm
Make me dizzy from your kisses
Will you take my hand and spin me?
Take me back to the beginning again (again, again)
Pulling me close (close, close), I feel stillness in the air (di-)
Time has frozen, all memories lost
So won't you make me dizzy from your kisses?
Will you take my hand and spin me
'Round and 'round until the moment never ends? Mm
Make me dizzy from your kisses
Will you take my hand and spin me?
Take me back to the beginning again (again, again)
So don't you make me dizzy from, oh, oh
(Oh, won't you make-)
There isn't an end, there isn't a start
I don't wanna stop, I can't go too far
There isn't an end, there isn't a start
I don't wanna stop, I can't go too far
There isn't an end, there isn't a start
I don't wanna stop, I can't go too far
There isn't an end, there isn't
So won't you make me dizzy from your kisses? (Oh)
Will you take my hand and spin me
'Round and 'round until the moment never ends?
(Until the moment never ends) uh
Make me dizzy from your kisses
Will you take my hand and spin me? (Take my hand)
Take me back to the beginning again (again, again)

It's not exactly a masterpiece is it?

So mediocre song , catchy(ish) tune, marmite concept/choreography, and all quite predictable... and people are surprised it didn't do well?

@yellous I love King and Shine, not my preferred genre of music but they remind me of a really special time when I was heavily
pregnant with my first child. I also love Starstruck which is a more recent one, just poppy fun really. I’m assuming you’re not in the UK so you might not know Olly also acts and was in an acclaimed drama called It’s a Sin which was about the aids epidemic. The acting in it was excellent but it was such a tough watch I couldn’t manage it.

It was better than Sam Ryder's song, and people seem to think that should have won... In our group watching, three out of five people had that as the song they enjoyed most, and the other two both had it top five. Sam Ryder came think fourth in one person's scorecard, and everyone else had him between 8 and 16.

I'm sure some people voted for Ukraine because of the circumstances, but the song was great in it's own right.

Not bothered by Olly's sexual preferences and certainly not shocked by his performance. However not impressed by bad mannered audience members who booed Israel and having voted for Israel was delighted they came 4th.

Of course it was a vote for Ukraine given their circumstances, that song would not have won otherwise.

Yep ,so well said! I couldn’t careless what people do in their bed,kitchen,bathroom but don’t want it shoved in front of me on TV unless I choose the porn channel 🤷‍♀️

Yes, and that explains Sam Ryder effectively winning 2 years ago.

The song got nul points because it was shite.

I disagree.

Sam's song was ok, sure, but I loved Ukraine's. It was my top pick as a sing coffee, nothing to do with the war.

That was more a vote for Ukraine given their circumstances though. It was a terrible song.

Sam really won.

I thought it was toilets as well.

It was abit seedy tbh. There was no need for his performance to "be as gay as possible" as the competition is basically a gay extravaganza.

The song got nul points though because it was dirge.

I think you misunderstood my post.
I was talking specifically about the inclusiveness for LGBTQ+ community, after decades of ignorant attitudes not allowing everyone. Please see my part about appealing to that community and the majority of fans of the competition being a part of it. It's a money maker at the end of the day. The organisers need to appeal to their biggest audience on a business level. I'm not saying it's perfect or should be neglecting heterosexuals or people of colour either. I am straight. I did not feel misrepresented. I don't care about that. It's whether a song is any good that matters. No need to micro critique an event that is meant to be fun.

The acts get voted in by their own public or judging panel. Don't think outcome is to do with gender or sexuality necessarily. But if people can't be bothered to vote, don't complain if they're not your cup of tea. I highly doubt anyone is excluded from applying to be an entry either.

We all know the BBC pay a hell of a lot to their presenting staff, so they have to use them EVERYWHERE to make them worth their pay packet. I'm sure if Claire Balding or Alex Jones were available, they'd have been there instead. Or they'll poach Alison Hammond from ITV for future Eurovision coverage too.

I am certainly not saying it was inclusive based on colour and gender. The above points could be an explanation again. There will always be faults and a need for change regarding those.

You cannot represent everyone all at once, all the time. That would be a ludicrous amount of staff and performers to have that on every single show, at every event, whatever.

Plain and simple, Dizzy is a lousy song for Eurovision 🤷🏼‍♀️ It's not epic enough! I didn't bother watching it but I have to listen to Radio 2 at work or ignore it, and Dizzy has been played repeatedly for the last month! 😠 Incidentally I love the first Years and Years album. It had some cracking songs on it and I don't care if Olly is gay or not either..

It was so cringey.

Not shocking, just boring and desperate.

Exactly. A bland song with lack-lustre singing and a rather lame, cynical attempt to win the gay vote. Except people are not stupid and saw it for exactly what it was.

Thought Nemo absolutely nailed it for Switzerland. Fantastic live performance. Deserved to win.

I’m older than her too and I completely agree with her!

@80schildhood Ha! 🙌🏼

Does inclusive nowadays just mean LGBT because the British commentary team were all gay men and 3 out of 4 were white and all of the finalist bar one were white. And all of the people giving scores were white I think. So not really that inclusive.

I agree with this. The staging crossed a line into distracting and off-putting. I said it straight away at the end of the performance, and I think the zero audience vote partly reflects that. Sure there might be some homophobes out there, but that doesn’t explain the zero vote as homophobes wouldn’t vote for loads of entries! At the end of the day dancers on their hands and knees with other dancers standing behind them is just tasteless, whether the dancers on the floor are men or women.

No. We came second in 2022 and then hosted for Ukraine in 2023. We came second because it was a good song performed by a talented singer. The last two years the performance was shite.

It was so cringey.

Not shocking, just boring and desperate.

My only complaint about Olly's performance last night was how much my eyes tripped with the lighting and the room movement effects.

The costumes were a little odd, but original (boxing pad codpiece anyone?), but it was just that- a costume. They weren't offensive. To be fair, I fancy myself walking round the supermarket in the Slovenian entry outfit!! But with my rolls, they might try and put me in the chiller with the joints of meat! 🤣

I think it has gotten more "camp" and inclusive over the years because (and no offence meant, forgive me if this sounds bad) the LGBTQ+ community are the majority of fans these days. I may have that wrong, but if it's true, why shouldn't countries try and appeal to the community by representing them with their entries?
There are bigger fish to fry in the world than arguing over something like a music competition.