Blog Post 2: The Nation Onstage

Blog Two:

The Nation on Stage

Part Two REVISED

Dana Webber

Eurovision 1400

Dr Professor Green

February 21st, 2021

The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the biggest events in Europe, dating back all the way to 1956. ESC is a singing competition, where countries choose a singer to represent them. Originally, the songs were sung in the country's national language. Today it is much different, many songs are sung in English, mainly due to the expansion of voters and countries. Because this contest is so highly regarded, it’s important for countries to choose someone to be the face for them. This includes national identity, as countries pride themselves over winning. Every country does it’s best to represent themselves in the competition. They do this by incorporating their national language, costumes, and traditions; or they go the reverse way and create novelty performances that don’t quite capture their identity. Nonetheless, it’s a big deal to compete, and an even bigger deal to win. Eurovision just breaches the surface of a nation's identity or creativity, but we are able to see different connections between the song and it’s place in the competition and in the country by analysing the deeper meanings within the performances. (How it works. (2021, February 03)

The songs and performances are an intricate spectacle, with special effects, flashing lights, props, and amazing costumes. Bulgaria is no stranger to the stage, but compared to other countries, they’re relatively new. They made their debut in 2005, participating until 2019 when they withdrew due to financial reasons, but will appear in the 2021 Eurovision. Although Bulgaria has never won Eurovision, they have come close with Kristian Kostov, a 2017 runner up in the final with his original song, “Beautiful Mess.” (Eurovision, 2017.) Kostov was the first person born in the 21st century to ever compete in Eurovision, as well as he holds the best score for Bulgaria in EVSC history. (How it works. (2021, February 03). Kristian Kostov represented Bulgaria with a

Western-style electro-pop love song, “Beautiful Mess.” The song itself has a misalignment with Bulgarian’s traditional nationality, as most of their identity is based on traditional Bulgarian basics, like language, literature and religion. While Kostov’s song doesn't represent this, it does show the competitiveness of Bulgaria, a common trait in their history.

By using a Western sounding song, they figured they had a better chance at winning; articles about the ESC, many said the same thing. As Anna Boulos quoted in her essay An Analysis of Political Voting Bias in the Eurovision Song Contest (2012),“Songs not sung in English have gratuitous English to give them universal appeal and many lyrics are simply syllables, e.g., “la-la-la.” This gives evidence that many of the countries competing in Eurovision attempt to reach a wider audience, such as the West, in hopes they can win. Another article by Nationalism Studies, ((Nickerson & Camiciottoli, 2013, p. 332 (Nina Altendorf, 2016. ) quote, “English is “the language of technology, progress, and the future.” It’s a common theme now in Eurovision to incorporate even just a little bit of English to gain appeal from Western countries. Love songs are also known to do well in Eurovision, which “Beautiful Mess” certainly is. In the same article by Anna Boulos she quotes, “Love songs are by far the most common in the competition, which is why this genre is included; these include songs about relationships, break-ups, having a crush, or the importance of love.” (Anna Boulos April 2012.)

The competitiveness also shows while looking at the writing process of “Beautiful Mess.” It was written by a lot of multinational, highly rated composers such as Joacim Bo Persson, a business partner of ABBA, who has worked with artists like Lady Gaga and Kelly Klarkson. Another composer was Borislav Milanov, a native Bulgarian, was another composer for the piece. He has co-authored 5 different Bulgarian songs that have gone to Eurovision, he is even married to a previous ESC participant, Tamara Gachechiladze. (Borislav MILANOV. (2021, February 06). Highly regarded composers are expensive, and a single performance can cost around 5 million dollars, which is the reason they dropped out in 2019 because of financial problems. Because of the expense, it shows their dedication and drive to win, even by choosing a song that didn’t portray national feelings in Bulgaria. (Eurovision World, 2018).

While the song does not actively represent Bulgarian national identity, it has many underlying themes and messages. The biggest theme of the song is love,and difficulties, and struggles that surround it. There are glimpses into the harsh reality of the world and riding above obstacles in the way. With the song being an Electro-Pop song, it already alluded to Western music and modernity, two things Bulgaria has not represented historically.

In his performance, Kostov is seen alone in the middle of the stage, silhouetted in the dark before a white light shines above him. The music begins to play, using an unconventional sound, electronic, almost like a siren. The first noticeable thing is his clothing, it’s asymmetrical, a black suit, with one side much longer than the other one, and white fabric wrapped around his hands. The asymmetry looks out of balance, like the stage behind him, which is grey and simple, with what appears to be a concrete room. The whole stage looks almost empty, uninhabited, and inhuman. It invokes emotions of being alone, as he stands on the big, grey stage.

Kostov appears out of the white light singing “When the world shakes us/ Trying to take us out of line/ Fear of tomorrow/ Feelings we borrow for a time.” It continues on the motif of a harsh world, and the sense of emptiness, but the “feelings'' that he, and presumably his lover, have for each other lets them forget about the reality. Clearly it’s a love trying to surpass all the bad things in the world. The theme is relatable for the audience, in the sense that minority groups such as the LGBTQ+ community could relate due to the lack of acceptance of their love. Or other minority groups who feel unwanted or having a sense of oppression, but love makes it a little more bearable. The lines ``And we don’t have a thing to lose/ No matter what they say or do/ I don't want nothing more.” The persistence of love shows they have nothing but each other, so the simplicity of love is enough for them, even though they are surrounded by grey and emptiness. With that theme, we can see how Kostov’s performance reflects on that, many Eurovision performances are bright, colorful with big props and costumes. Kostov’s set is anything but glamorous, but it makes the symbolism of love even stronger.

Kostov also uses visual elements to continue the message of love by being a safe haven, and an epicenter in a time of distraught. A white, soft light shines over him the whole time, even when the background turns back, he is still in the light. For contrast, he uses an aerial shot above him, and the ground below him turns to waves, or a hurricane, like it is about to spill over. “Water so deep/ how do we breathe/ how do we climb?” he sings. The water represents the chaos or the “mess” surrounding them, and the way they could be suffocated, and they must climb their way out. The language is determined, the vocals he uses seems to combat the dark motifs in his song. “Our

love is untouchable” is repeated numerous times, and it is always sung at the loudest part of the song, when the music grows to a big crescendo. “Our love is untouchable” acts as a shield against everything flying towards him, like the water and sparks because it’s so loud and overpowers everything. Every time the camera zooms in at eye level as Kostov looks into the camera, then pans to a wide shot. Sparks and lightning special effects fly out of the ceiling. It represents the fight against the things pushing the love down, the water and the hurricane, and the crossroads when the “sparks” that represent love bursting through the storm as the panels displaying the waves lift up.

The fight continues as he sings “When the colors turn grey/ and the lights fade out to black again,” the background goes dark. There are repeated moments where the camera goes blurry, one beat after another. It creates a dizzy and dark feeling, like another thing taking him down. The water comes back as he sings “Water so deep/how do we breathe” again the tempo of the song increases as the chorus starts again. As he sings “Our love is untouchable” again, the whole stage looks like it’s exploding, as the shot goes as wide as possible. Rain starts pouring down, and sparks fly. It looks like a chemical reaction, the mix of the destruction and chaos with the fiery love. The whole set lights up, illuminated, and even though Kostov is the only real visible thing, the stage looks full from the sparks and lights. The very end of the performance shows Kostov, as the rain stops, and for the first time, the background has a soft pink to it.

The song is a reminder that love can conquer all, and when the world seems hopeless there's always a pink sky after a storm. While there's no real apparent Bulgarian identity, there is a common identification for all the countries participating, and further emphasizing the “Celebrate Diversity” theme of Eurovision. It’s clear why Kostov

went so far in the competition, his song catered to the Western appeal that gained votes, and promotes Bulgaria’s attempts to become more Western. He uses his background, tone and lyrics to symbolize how hard reality can be, especially if something is always weighing you down. “Beautiful Mess” brought the beauty of love, and hope to Eurovision.

Word Count: 1641

REFERENCES

Altendorf, N. (2016, February 10). European Unity through the Eurovision Song Contest? A comparison of 'new' Europe and 'old' Europe. Retrieved March 09, 2021, fromhttps://nationalismstudies.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/european-unity-thr ough-the-eurovision-song-contest-a-comparison-of-new-europe-and-old -europe/

Borislav MILANOV. (2021, February 06). Retrieved March 09, 2021, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borislav_Milanov#Eurovision_Song_Contest

Boulos, A. (2012, April). Dukespace.lib.duke.edu. Retrieved March 9, 2021, from

https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/21507/S ong_duke_0066D_15866.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

How it works. (2021, February 03). Retrieved March 09, 2021, from

https://eurovision.tv/about/how-it-works