ESC 2019 General Discussion Thread

[Reinventor]

I don't get why people don't like Madonna!

It's especially weird coming from gay people to be honest, she was always on our side, way before it was "cool" to do so.

 

[JonnyWest]

No one asked for this tbh. I'd rather have an israeli act on stage instead

 

[Gitte]

I don't really care. Never really listened to Madonna, she's way before my time. Curious though.

 

[Trece]

I am indifferent to Madonna, but i dont like they invited big artist to perform again and that it will look like esc is just prelude before madonna performance like it was in 2016 with Timberlake (in fact it was most boring performance of that final and it got hyped to death just because of fact its Timberlake)

 

[A-lister]

I've been a huge Madonna fan my whole life (although I admit her last two albums were career lows), so I'm obviously happy about this and I think it will bring extra attention to the show so it's a win-win for both her (promoting her upcoming material) and for Eurovision (attracting a global mega star and add extra interest by the general public).

Some people say Madonna has nothing to do with Israel nor Eurovision and thus it's out of place. Well, that's not really true. Her connections to Israel are obvious, sure she's not Israeli or even Jewish herself, but she has been long connected with Israel and Jewish people throughout her career, her long-time manager and business partner Guy Oseary is Israeli and she herself has been part of the Kaballah movement for a couple of decades now, obviously have a deeper interest in Judaism and connections to Israel than the average person or non-Israeli / non-Jewish celebrity out there.

Also, if one sees Eurovision as a show directly connected to the gay community and promoting gay rights and inclusiveness, Madonna is maybe one of the main advocates we had among major celebrities. She was pushing for awareness and inclusiveness even way before it was "cool" or "trendy" to do so. She was doing this already back in the western neo-conservative era and during the heights of the AIDS epidemic in the gay community in the 1980's, early on in her career when it could have even harmed her popularity. One can dislike her music, persona or other stances she made, but one cannot argue her status as a gay icon and unlike many others, she actually earned it.

For sure having Madonna in Eurovision makes much more sense than when Justin Timberlake performed back in 2016, sure the contest was held in Sweden and the new song he premiered then was written/produced by Swedes so one can argue that it was a way to showcase Sweden as a top Pop producer nation and that we produce all these songs for global stars so fair enough, but I'd still say that Madonna makes far more sense.

 

[Zonne147]

I don't really care. Never really listened to Madonna, she's way before my time. Curious though.

Same here, I don't know much about her (musically).

She was quite indifferent to me until last year, but she has been really controversial here in Portugal.

Maybe some of you don't know she is living in Portugal. I can't say I'm indifferent to her, here in Portugal she has been involved in some polemics. And she is extremely overrated by our media (which totally annoys me), but I understand due to her popularity.

Apart from that, I assume she has deserved recognition for her work but I prefer when countries show their uniqueness to the world.

 

[anto475]

This is atrocious. How many Israeli artists and Eurovision artists are there out there that would kill for the spotlight that the interval act at the final would bring and here's Madonna flying in. America has no place at Eurovision, neither does whoever has the largest chequebook. This is more pinkwashing by Israel.

 

[Lindon]

Madonna will be accompanied by around 65 crew members, including dozens (!) of dancers.

https://m.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Madonna-to-perform-at-Eurovision-in-Tel-Aviv-586120

 

[Leydan]

Undoubtedly she will march on to make it all about her, like in her Aretha Franklin tribute speech. I like a few of her songs, but I wouldn't call myself an avid fan of hers. I think this is just such a meh decision and it's clear that money spoke here. I'd much rather have something Israeli as the interval, not this forced commercialisation. No one even asked for this or wanted this, really. I can imagine them thinking it would be a great idea as the eurofans will love it, well this one doesn't.

 

[Citelis]

Well i don't think that Eurovision is a place for countries to show their culture anymore!

 

[Teaisloveable]

Madonna probably couldn't give a flying monkeys about Eurovision. What she probably does give a flying monkeys about though is promoting her new album to an audience of around 200 million

That's the problem with having massive names at Eurovision intervals. It almost feels like a fake celebration and it reminds me of the vibe of Super Bowl interval Acts. To me, it should be about celebrating the host country, and the contest itself.

Honestly, this comes from a fan of Madonna's music, especially the classic stuff. I just feel a bit meh about her and acts like her at the contest. Sure, Justin Timberlake's performance in 2016 was good, but it still feels a bit easy.
Madonna, if you do want to be at Eurovision, represent the USA! ... Oh wait

In the meantime let's enjoy the best interval act of all time:

Now that is a Eurovision interval act done right.

EDIT: ... Plus of course there is always the option of inviting MARUV over for a performance of Siren Song

 

[vavera4ka]

dozens of people?
She should try to perform as contestants do: recorded instrumentals, max 6 people on stage.
When in Rome Tel-Aviv at Eurovision...

 

[BorisBubbles]

I'm surprised they asked her now and not last year, when you know, the contest was held in Lisbon (where she fucking LIVES???)

Anyway, I love 90s-and-earlier Madonna (especially 'Frozen') but I can't be half-arsed about her current repertoire. Cool that she's there, I guess.

 

[theditz83]

Madonna being announced as an interval act has resulted in my fiancé suddenly saying that he might finally watch Eurovision with me this year... But plot twist, I might be in New Zealand on a work trip over the contest week!!

Sake Madonna, you've upset the delicate balance of my Eurovision world!

 

[lavieenrose]

Vital pre-Esk viewing

 

[Daybreak]

I wouldn't say I'm a fan of Madonna, but I'd like to weigh in on this surprisingly common rhetoric surrounding her in recent years that "she should retire already/omg how old she is", which frankly comes across either as veiled sexism or at least subconsciously ties into the societal view that women get old/irrelevant earlier; consider how often do you see comments like these about male artists? Even aside from that, if she died right now people would be instantly fawning over her music and calling her a a legend, like what happened with Michael Jackson who was similarly ignored and treated as a has-been when still alive (and as far as I know, unlike him she doesn't have some creepy pedophilia stuff invalidating her accomplishments).

And in any case, it tends to be overlooked how massively influential to the music industry she has been. It's largely Madonna's doing that female artists started being seen as potentially huge superstars equal to the male ones, even to the likes of Elvis and the Beatles, which wasn't exactly a common view when she started out. Now we can't imagine it not being so, because perhaps even the majority of pop singers are female, but it's likely that say, Rihanna, Britney Spears or Lady Gaga wouldn't have had the same level of success and acclaim if not for Madonna. Of course, being a chart-topper and keeping up with the trends for at least three decades (since she's not as huge in the 2010's anymore) is in itself an accomplishment. As for me personally, I respect her for experimenting with electronic music when it wasn't exactly mainstream in America, and I do like several of her songs (mostly those William Orbit-produced singles off Ray of Light like the aforementioned "Frozen") and while it's a remix by another artist, the Above & Beyond Club Radio Edit of "What It Feels Like For A Girl" is one of my favorite songs.

 

[Ana Raquel]

some hd photos for whoever wants it x
https://eurovision.tv/gallery/press-photos-41-participants-eurovision-2019

 

[GRE]

For all of you who keep saying again & again that Eurovision has 200 million viewers,
do you know how EBU counts the viewers ?
Viewers of SM1 + Viewers of SM2 + Viewers of GF.
So, for EBU I am 3 persons.
The amount of people who watch at least 1 minute Eurovision each year, is approximately 60 millions.
This is not even the 1/5 of the population of the countries that broadcast Eurovision.
Nobody really cares, despite the fact that EBU is trying to show us the opposite.

 

[A-lister]

I wouldn't say I'm a fan of Madonna, but I'd like to weigh in on this surprisingly common rhetoric surrounding her in recent years that "she should retire already/omg how old she is", which frankly comes across either as veiled sexism or at least subconsciously ties into the societal view that women get old/irrelevant earlier; consider how often do you see comments like these about male artists? Even aside from that, if she died right now people would be instantly fawning over her music and calling her a a legend, like what happened with Michael Jackson who was similarly ignored and treated as a has-been when still alive (and as far as I know, unlike him she doesn't have some creepy pedophilia stuff invalidating her accomplishments).

And in any case, it tends to be overlooked how massively influential to the music industry she has been. It's largely Madonna's doing that female artists started being seen as potentially huge superstars equal to the male ones, even to the likes of Elvis and the Beatles, which wasn't exactly a common view when she started out. Now we can't imagine it not being so, because perhaps even the majority of pop singers are female, but it's likely that say, Rihanna, Britney Spears or Lady Gaga wouldn't have had the same level of success and acclaim if not for Madonna. Of course, being a chart-topper and keeping up with the trends for at least three decades (since she's not as huge in the 2010's anymore) is in itself an accomplishment. As for me personally, I respect her for experimenting with electronic music when it wasn't exactly mainstream in America, and I do like several of her songs (mostly those William Orbit-produced singles off Ray of Light like the aforementioned "Frozen") and while it's a remix by another artist, the Above & Beyond Club Radio Edit of "What It Feels Like For A Girl" is one of my favorite songs.

This, the pure ageism (mixed with sexism) is just vile, and the disrespect to her legacy and what she's done for females in music, for promoting gay rights, her input in her own music and that unlike some of her peers she's balanced her private life and stayed grounded.

I'm surprised at some of the comments in here. Sure, not everyone has to be fans and like the idea of artists being brought to Eurovision this way, but the hostility almost and the ignorant ageist comments. I expected more from Eurovision fans tbh.

 

[BarefootBoogaloo]

I'm surprised they asked her now and not last year, when you know, the contest was held in Lisbon (where she fucking LIVES???)

Allegedly (and I say that because I haven't been able to track down a valid news source) some Portuguese ESC fans have said that she was asked to perform at the Grand Final last year but turned it down because RTP's fee was too low.