May Countdown to Copenhagen: memories of Moscow 2009

OK peeps, prepare to have “I’m in looooooooooooove with a fairytaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaale” in your heads for the next hundred years, as that’s just a factual inevitability of talking about Alexander Rybak’s record-breaking win.  Who’d’ve thunk a violin riff would be so potent?  It probably helped that Europe's ovaries found Alex and his waistcoat somewhat dashing.

As for us, well it was time to bring out the big guns – Andrew Lloyd Webber himself mounted the charge, touring Europe, getting Putin himself on board, then sitting at a piano plinky plonking whilst Sugababe-to-be Jade Ewen wafted about a smoke filled floor, power-ballading her way through a song called It’s My Time – well most of the notes, anyway.  It was like the eighties had never gone away and Europe loved it – a solid fifth place. 

It was actually ballad overload this year – far, far, far too much big lung-warbling.  However, in amongst all the yodelling and emoting, was an absolute diamond of a ballad: Is It True by Iceland’s Yohanna.  I just unashamedly love it, in all its Disneyfied glory.  Whether I’d have given it my douze points is another matter though, as 2009 threw up what might be my favourite Eurocrazy performance to date.  Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, the Anti-Crisis Girl - Ukraine’s Svetlana Loboda with Be My Valentine.  I’ve already detailed here why I love it.  It’s the one I always turn to when I’m trying to convince someone who Eurovision can be simultaneously terrible and amazing.  By which I mostly mean AMAZING, obvs.

It would be shame to leave without a quick spin via Turkey’s Dum Tek Tek - belly dancing doesn’t play as prominent a role at Eurovision as one might expect – and a respectful mention of Greek ‘Adonis’ Sakis Rouvas, an experienced Eurovisioner who can wear white like nobody’s business and found the time to incorporate a giant stapler into his routine.  I mean, that is special, special stuff.

GOOD TIMES!