In most parts of Europe it's a bit of a giggle. In Moldova it's life and death, far more serious than the political machinations which are normally the subject of this blog. Why? Because Moldova has a lively music scene and can draw on its rich cultural tradition to punch above its weight. Moldova will typically make the top twenty and has been in the top ten on occasion, not a bad result given that only Romania can be counted upon to provide 'automatic' votes.
Because its so serious, the pre-selection is normally vigorously contested and the results disputed with allegations of vote-rigging common. This year is no exception; some of the acts making the most noise are
- a band called Akord with a tribute song to Lady Gaga,
- a security guard from Ungheni (Pavel Turcu) with his 'Eurovision hymn' that apparently only took five minutes to compose, and
- a Romanian called Mihai Traistariu, who is eligible to represent Moldova because he is singing a duet with Natalia Gordienko
May the best kitsch win!
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"In most parts of Europe it's a bit of a giggle. In Moldova it's life and death, far more serious than the political machinations which are normally the subject of this blog. Why? Because Moldova has a lively music scene and can draw on its rich cultural tradition to punch above its weight."
ReplyDeleteYou are right. In Moldova it's life and death, but it's because we have almost no music scene. We have artists but no market, no community, no popular music festivals. That's why Eurovision became the only big event in music.