The Eurovision was a big deal once, but has it lost its appeal? Christine Cusack discusses this issue below.March is almost upon us which means Eurovision fever is about to hit Ireland. Similar to the niggling winter cough I’ve had since November, the Eurovision is more like a nuisance that blooms with spring time on our fair isles. It is time to scour the country searching for the ‘song’ that best represents us, the Irish people. Recently, we seem to have veered away from the more respectable song choices and plundered into the more bizarre. A hint of desperation seems to have crept in in an effort to reclaim our success. We allowed a smart-mouthed puppet turkey represent us, permitted a song with Lipstick as the title be sung by two high-haired twins in space suits, and let those same twins be soaked in a water feature on stage last year. Our other attempt is to thrust our Irishness at Europe by sending traditional bands such as Dervish or by flaunting a fiery haired, freckly, ballad singing cailín. I wonder if a gimmick is something we should steer clear of this year.The five songs in the running for 2013 are all typically Eurovision, taking their influence from recent winners. Three of the songs fall into the dance/club category and are quite inter-changeable. Their fast-tempo, auto-tuned sound is all over the charts at the moment and will appeal to the younger audiences. Of course we have the Irish traditional cliché in there too. The band Inchequin suddenly burst into a trad instrumental half way through their song The Last Time. They try to keep it fresh by attempting to blend the Irish sound with something more ethnic, but it feels out of place and forced. The song Crashing Down is perhaps the most universal and could appeal to all ages and nationalities. However it lacks the sensational aspect required to be remembered in and amongst the overly-produced songs and performances commonly found on the modern Eurovision stage. Honestly, I don’t think Ireland has hit the Eurovision nail on the head again this year.There may be little emphasise placed on the ‘song contest’ part of the Eurovision these days. It seems to have become more of a production and staging contest in current years. I know as a musician myself it seems to lack credibility and is simply not cool. However it’s the only large scale televised song-writing competition in the world. It celebrates different cultures within Europe. It gives the people of Ireland something else to talk about outside of the banal. Remember the Russian grannies? Don’t get me wrong - on the run up to the competition, I’ll be avoiding day time radio until May to protect my ears from repetitive song torture.It’s easy to scoff and sneer at the Eurovision. It’s easy to claim we have no interest. On the other hand I believe if given half the chance we would quite happily sit alongside our mothers and grandparents and watch it. We may claim our parents are hogging the telly that night, but no-one has us tied to the couch, holding our eyes open with toothpicks. It’s a torture we like to endure once a year. We love the cheesiness of it. It’s an Irish tradition, running through our bloodstreams alongside the Guinness and Tayto crisps. The Eurovision Song Contest may be outdated, uncool and borderline ridiculous at times, but I know I’ll still get butterflies when they’re calling the results, hoping someone will give Ireland douze points.
