Eurovision Song Contest....time to leave?

I think we (UK) should start our own singing contest and make it more about the singing and less about the overblown production.
Having said that, I do enjoy Eurovision though. It's fun. And made even more fun by our wonderful Graham Norton.
Our song just wasn't very good this year.

Many Europeans take the Eurovision very seriously. We haven't for years.

In my opinion, Sweden had the best song.

Unless the competition changes to no named countries we will never do well. So the acts just sing their song and the majority of people won't know who is singing. That way the song is voted for, not the country.

Our song wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't dreadful.

However I believe that if Adele hooked up with Stormzy, we'd still be languishing near the bottom.

Witzend

Haven’t watched this for years.

TBH the last time I did, I thought it something of a badge of honour to get nul points in what to me was a pretty dire cringe-fest.

It was OK when Sandie Shaw won it, though! ?

I echo Witzend’s thoughts on this. Definitely a badge of honour!

Our song wasn’t very good and the singer’s tuning was bad - maybe nerves but I have no idea how the Swiss entry got so close to winning. I love the cheesiness of it all, Graham Norton’s comments and the drinking game we play with fellow musicians on a joint forum every time there is a car crash of a key change. Last night did not disappoint! Quite interesting how many songs sounded like rip offs of more famous ones and how many ladies were dressed like Roxy in Chicago!

Gannygangan
How true. But we had a great Eurovision party. ?

MerylStreep

Gannygangan
How true. But we had a great Eurovision party. ?

Marvellous!

I thought those present were marvellous for their immediate reaction when it was revealed UK did not get any points from the public. We weren’t the only ones so I do not understand how people can think it was anything more than votes going elsewhere. How many UK passport holders live abroad and watch it? We’ve won in the past can’t win every one. I always think everyone deserves at least one point though.

We should be pleased that the costumes and music in the main was derived from English and American styles, although rather out dated. A few channeled Madonna in clothing and backing singers and I saw one ACDC look alike.

I do think politics is involved which is why our best singers and/or songwriters don't take part. Imagine the furore if Adele did enter and lose.

Gannygangan

Many Europeans take the Eurovision very seriously. We haven't for years.

In my opinion, Sweden had the best song.

Unless the competition changes to no named countries we will never do well. So the acts just sing their song and the majority of people won't know who is singing. That way the song is voted for, not the country.

Our song wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't dreadful.

However I believe that if Adele hooked up with Stormzy, we'd still be languishing near the bottom.

I’ve been humming the Swedish song all morning. I thought it was lovely.

Although slow going it has improved in its format and I for one quite enjoyed it again after an absence of years.
I’m still singing the French one Voila…

I wonder what the average age of the audience was?

I didn’t watch it so had to YouTube the British song. I saw the very end where the winner was announced. I thought the winning song was was absolutely awful. The British song wasn’t good but anything would have been better than the winning song. It was truly awful.
Yes, I think we should stop entering and keep the money. Very low votes for Britain have been the pattern now for a few years, but not a single vote this year. There’s a reason for that. Let’s just get out of it.

Agree with the comments that the song was terrible, the performance was equally unengaging and deserved nil points.

It is a big thing here in Europe, my DGS and I were online with about 20 friends and had a great night, I voted for the UK as a sympathy vote. Why did they still use the song from last year, most countries had another competition and did it from scratch. ?????

I was hoping for Malta and the cheery bonny girl with the lively song. Also Switzerland with the chap and his near falsetto voice.
I knew from the start we wouldn't move from the bottom of the list----nobody likes us A decent song-writer is in order as for years they haven't had a clue.

Azerbaijan also was on my list with all 3 initials spelling out SAM.

I thought our song was nondescript and I didn’t even recognise the singer! If we are to continue in the contest someone needs to come up with a worthy song. I hope this is not political. I didn’t like the winning song either.

It was interesting that my favourite, Lithuania ( I think it was Lithuania) scored the highest points with the U.K. home voting but didn’t do well overall. I wonder if we have a different taste in music to other countries? Not that that is anything to do with our dire entry. And, of course, these songs are played endlessly on the run up to the contest so it isn’t like the days when the first time you heard a song was pretty much on the night. Also, it isn’t just about the song as points are earned by performance, presentation etc. I’m questioning my memory though because I’d forgotten that the contest wasn’t held last year but I thought it was. Did they have a programme showing all of the songs even though there wasn’t a competition as such or is it just that I’d been listening to the songs so much I felt that there had been a contest?

I though Graham Norton said if they came back from last year was cancelled, they had to do a new song. I havnt watched it fir years but watched the first half dozen last night. Was not impressed with our Uk contribution and did find the skimpy outfits some of the girls wore off putting, while the men all had trousers on...but that’s another debate.
My dd in Europe has followed it for years and has a lot of fun travelling to all the venues. This time she was at home online with friends. All dressed up with nowhere to go. She gave us a sympathy vote.

James Newman is a good songwriter, but unfortunately he is not a very good singer.
I wasn't surprised that Embers got no votes from either the juries or the public.
Didn't the presenters look embarrassed when they announced zero points from the public vote?
The song I liked best was from Portugal because it was different.

We haven`t had a good song since Katrina and the Waves won with Love Shine a Light, in, I think, 1997.

MayBee70, Lithuania was my favourite too. I think of it is humour related as they were just the right level of bonkers to be entertaining iykwim

Our song was dreadful - why don't we have one of our good group or singers or is it that anyone who is halfway decent would not appear in Eurovision? Whatever you think of the winner - I thought it ok - they are an established band in Italy and fairly well known in Europe.

I think our entry was probably from the only person they could persuade to enter. You could have had Adele or Elton John performing and we’d still have been near the bottom. Our entry was c#@p but so were most of the others, at least of the ones I saw as I was bored silly and gave up half way. We only get through to the final every year due to our financial contribution. Time to end the masochism!

Never mind. Cardiff Singer of the World is coming up soon, and we can hear people who can really sing.