Time Limit - Would you change it? Pros vs Cons

[Iker]

I think that this superimposed 3:00 is very ... limiting & obsolete. I feel like there are many songs that would have benefited measurably if they were only 20 seconds longer (Serbia, Italy). Very often there is no space for some proper intro / outro that many songs would otherwise have in their ESC-version. I remember Alma's song from France being badly cut (that + English mash-up).

I know it's a tradition, and something that people are accustomed to, but I advocate for making this change, for allowing longer entries (let's say 3:30).

In the past when the ESC was just in its early days (f.e in the 60s) - most of the songs in general (not just at the ESC) were below this time mark. Just take a look at some random songs of the Beatles, many of them are 2:12-2:20, some don't last even 2 minutes. So it made perfect sense then but now, not anymore.

My proposition would make the ESC Grand Final maximally about 13 minutes longer.

 

[Preuss]

Gosh Il Volo and Guy Sebastian 2015, hell yes
Amazing

 

[EscGeek]

Pro: songs i like would be 30 seconds longer
Con: songs i don't like would be 30 seconds longer

 

[MyHeartIsYours]

I think entries should be four minutes or less.

 

[Teaisloveable]

I think the limit has pros and cons. I agree, adding an extra 30 seconds (or even just 15) could free up the creative ability of many songs. It is a shame when songs have to cut down in order to comply with the rules.

But I definitely think there needs to be an upper limit, otherwise things get a little crazy.

I wonder if there would be a "pressure" for songs to hit the extended time allowance, in situations where the song really doesn't need it. It could result in songs having some wasted space.

 

[0scar]

The problem with adding 30 seconds to the time limit, that the grand final will be 13 minutes longer. I think that it is already hard tbh to get through all the 26 songs as it is now so I don't really fancy having to struggle through 13 more minutes honestly

 

[Citelis]

Some terrible entries would last longer so please keep it as it is!

 

[SwedishFailurez]

I have complained about the time limit before, this is still relevant because many good entries would have benefited from more varied verses and well-crafted key changes which could make the songs more completed as a whole. So many songs are so repetitive and flat because there is not much room for a 3-minute timeframe.
Non-English speaking countries like Sweden, Luxembourg, France, Italy and in some cases Germany were really successful in the past because they managed to make that timeframe work with them. Schlagers as formulaic they were, felt completed as a whole under 3 minutes. That's why schlagers were around for so long until stagings begin to affect the results big time.

 

[gingerale]

I think the 3 min limit doesn't matter when many of the songs are already produced with Eurovision in mind.
For me it's only irritating when songs get the Eurovision edit, cause sometimes the shorter version seems packed and kind of rushed. Like «Soldi» for example.

 

[popavapeur]

when you're a good composer you can put everything you want and need in 3min. Toy is a good example, even Amar Pelos Dois that have a proper intro and outro. I think it only threatens middle of the pack songs but I don't feel any of the past winners needed more cause the song was good.

BUT something I would love to see is more than 6people on stage. Some acts need backing vocals and those cannot be turned into dancers full time. Cyprus did it great last year but Eleni Would have benefited of a second / third back vocalist to let the dancers focus on the dance and moves rather than backing eleni's vocals. And as a korean pop fan used to groups with more than 6 members I couldn't imagine my favorites girlgroup/boygroups having some members missing. 6 is really a hard rule

 

[Sean]

The problem with adding 30 seconds to the time limit, that the grand final will be 13 minutes longer. I think that it is already hard tbh to get through all the 26 songs as it is now so I don't really fancy having to struggle through 13 more minutes honestly

Good job we could cut down on the pointless hours of interval acts to make the room...

 

[CPV4931]

I think, adding 30 seconds to the limit should be a good compromise between giving the composers/song writers a better opportunity and not making the show to last endless.

 

[Teaisloveable]

Come to think of it...

Adding an extra 20/30 minutes to an annual show that we all clearly love (enough to join a forum) might not be such as awful thing after all

 

[darkap]

I'm in for adding an extra-time, but this doesn't mean italian songs are safe from an edit. It's Sanremo (or any NF) that should have the same time limit (and general rules) of the Eurovision to avoid any issue

Occidentali's Karma was 3:37
No degree of separation 3:39
Grande amore 3:46 and so on...

 

[Brandt]

If I was asked a couple of years ago, I'd definitely be in favour of this opinion. The 20sec cut off part in Taken By a Stranger has always been a bummer for me. But I think differently today. To keep viewers interested in the show long enough, the songs really need to be not distractingly long. If that's an unbearable song out there, no one but real fans would keep it on. Even me as a hardcore fan, I wouldn't be happy with such long songs.

In finals, +30 secs for each song would make extra 13 minutes, and that's a bit too long for a TV show.

 

[midnightsun]

Big fat NO as far as I‘m concerned.

My dream has always been that they limit the final to 20 songs which I think are more than enough. It‘s hard, even for me as a huge Eurovision fan, to concentrate on 26 songs. That‘s why I don’t understand why people think starting at #18-25 is advantageous. I personally think it is rather a big disadvantage since all people who ever took part in my Eurovision parties at home didn’t focus on the songs but started chatting after #15 or so.

 

[tuorem]

That's a NO from me as well.

As some people said here, extending the maximal length of the entries is a eurofans' wish whose realisation wouldn't be that beneficial to the shows imo. One has to draw the line and 3 minutes is - as far as I'm concerned - a good compromise between the standard length of a pop song and the moment when casual viewers start losing interest within the framework of the marathon that is Eurovision. We shouldn't forget people's attention span is not endless. Also, I think it's fairer to review songs that have more or less the same length.

Of course, there will always be some songs we thought would have benefited from a bit more time to develop, but at the end of the day, I feel it's quite marginal. And honestly, some songs already are repetitive enough to deserve 30 additional seconds that would be "filled" any old how for the sake of having more time available.

 

[Mainshow]

We don't need to extend that time limit rule... Due to streaming devices such as Spotify and due to people's limited concentration span, pop songs have become shorter and shorter anyway. Most of Ariana Grande's recent stuff as well as hits by Selena Gomez or LAUV/Sivan last for less than 3 minutes.

 

[Sammy]

There have been entries in the past that had to be shortened to fit the 3 min where I thought it was a shame to loose parts of it (I‘m thinking of Patricia Kaas or Francesco Gabbani), but in general I would also keep the time limit.

 

[VikingTiger]

Big fat NO as far as I‘m concerned.

My dream has always been that they limit the final to 20 songs which I think are more than enough. It‘s hard, even for me as a huge Eurovision fan, to concentrate on 26 songs. That‘s why I don’t understand why people think starting at #18-25 is advantageous. I personally think it is rather a big disadvantage since all people who ever took part in my Eurovision parties at home didn’t focus on the songs but started chatting after #15 or so.

Having only 20 songs in the final would lead to 6 more countries NOT qualifying. And only 14 spots left for the countries that need to go through qualification. I dont think that is the way to go to raise the interest for the ESC in the general population. It's of great importance to each country that they get the chance to be in the final from time to time.