How do you solve a problem like Imperija?

The Macedonian Eurovision song selection is normally a much more sedate affair. Either they have a long drawn out national final and everyone cries fix but doesn't really care too much, or else they pick Kaliopi and everyone worships at her feet.

This year, Vlatko Lozanoski and Esma Redžepova were a popular choice, but no sooner had 'Imperija' been presented in a live show on Macedonian TV than complaints began to fly in the national media, and a few days later we learned that the song might be changed. Earlier this week, it was confirmed by MKRTV that this would be the case, and on Friday we will hear the new song for Macedonia.

So what happened? It's not at all clear, but let's try and explain.

Firstly it was said that the song would undergo 'changes in the arrangement and lyrics'. The reasons for this weren't particularly clear - the lyrics themselves aren't particularly political or controversial and the arrangement is fitting for the song, however the decision was made after "clearly stated views and contructive suggestions of experts and Macedonian audience".

MKRTV were apparently unhappy with the standards set in the video in particular; they'd let the artists and video producers have a completely free rein this year, and the resulting product was not 'dignified' enough to be presented to a European audience. It appears they were generally unhappy with the whole thing from the moment it was completed, but with a show to broadcast, had no choice but to run with the original song and video for the presentation.

The major bone of contention was the prominent appearance of buildings and monuments from the 'Skopje 2014' project, a government building program. Skopje 2014's aim is the construction of museums and other buildings, as well as monuments, in a neo-classic style, which has been strongly criticised for "constructing nationalistic historicist kitsch" as well as just generally being very expensive and a waste of money in what's not exactly a cash-rich economy. In effect, the whole video plays as a propaganda piece for the achievements of the current government, made up of a nationalist, right-wing party (VMRO-DPMNE).

It's perhaps somewhat unusual and unexpected that MKRTV would speak out so publicly against the government in this way, which leads me to suspect there's somewhat more to this than is being said. Certainly, even if the video were the root cause, there'd be no need to change the song itself.

However, that is what's happening. One of the reports wrote that Lozano had threatened to leave the project if the song wasn't changed, and indeed it seems he's got his way. The new song will be written by Darko Dimitrov and Lazar Cvetkovski (the latter is Lozano's own producer) with Simeon Atanasov, the composer of 'Imperija'. Esma herself will reportedly sing in the Romani language this time, rather than in Macedonian, and the song will have much stronger influences from the world of gypsy music after criticism of the 'ethno-motifs' in 'Imperija'.

So, who knows what really happened? One of the articles mentioned 'Eurovision representatives' being involved in the discussions, so perhaps there was an element of the EBU that disapproved of the blatant political posturing - though for once it seems it wasn't due to annoying the Greeks! There's certainly more to it than meets the eye, but to summarise what we know for sure, the main objection within Macedonia seems to be that there was an element of 'ethno-kitsch' to both the song and the video, which it seems will be eliminated in favour of something more genuine.

And what potential does the new song hold? I have to admit that, while I liked 'Imperija', I was a little disappointed in the overall product, but this new song doesn't sound like it will have the same accessibility as the previous. With strong gypsy influences and opportunities for both singers to show off their vocals, it could potentially wind up having little chance in a European context.

You can hear 'Imperija' below (the video has disappeared from the internet), before the new song is released on Friday.

Does the draw make a difference? Why we'll never know

The EBU's decision to allow SVT to decide the running order of the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö has caused the shit to hit the fan and rain down over the Eurovision message boards in a fashion barely seen since the days of Marlain.

But is it going to be a game-killer for the contest? Does a song's starting position make a big difference for its chances? Maybe. In the past few weeks and months, fans have come up with plenty of theories to prove that the draw does make a difference, and that SVT are out to screw the chances of the songs they don't like.

I intend to show you that those theories are generally a whole load of hookum.

"But in 2009, 14 of the 20 qualifiers came from the second half of the semis."

Two points. Firstly, 14/20 is hardly an overwhelming correlation. Secondly, using statistics like that out of context ignores one of the greatest variables in the contest - the quality of the songs. One of the main reasons it's impossible to compare statistics like this on a year-by-year basis is that the songs and performances are, by their very nature, completely different each year.

Without even looking at what songs were drawn where in 2009, that argument contains obvious fallacies, as it assumes that all songs are born equal. They aren't, and by just looking at the bald statistics you're completely failing to take this into account.

Taking 2009 as an example, the first halves of those semis include 'Aven Romale', 'Copycat', 'La teva decisió (Get a Life)', 'Let' tmou' and 'Firefly', songs that most fans would agree never had any hope of qualifying. This just shows that judging the numbers and the statistics without taking into account the songs themselves is pretty much a futile exercise

"But Haba Haba is a great song, and was drawn second and failed to qualify."

Sure, you think it's a great song. Maybe everybody at your party loved it too. The problem is, of course, that there is no hard and fast way to judge a song's quality, and on the night, not enough people liked it and voted for it. And in music, unlike science, there is no right/wrong, no measure of good or bad.

We simply cannot argue that if a song had been drawn in another position, it would have got another result. Ultimately, we cannot know. Perhaps Haba Haba did only fail to qualify because it was drawn second. Or perhaps it did badly because most people didn't think it was very good or very well performed.

Ultimately, it's impossible to directly compare songs - all songs are different and we only ever see them in one starting position - it's not like we ever get the opportunity to place the same song in different positions with all the other influencing criteria intact, just to see what would happen. In summary, it's the songs themselves that are the biggest variable, and have the biggest influence over their own final result.

(Incidentally, as a side note: in researching this article and looking for an example for this section, it struck me just how many songs drawn second have actually qualified since 2008 - either six or seven out of ten, depending how you view Sweden 2008.)

"But we do see them in two different positions - in the semi and the final!"

This is a fair point, and there are examples of songs which qualify and then get a very different draw in the final, and get a very different result. Two examples would be Latvia in 2005, which scrapes through the semi then performs last in the final where it finishes 5th, and Finland in 2011, which qualifies comfortably, then has to go on first in the final where it bombs.

But are they a direct comparison? I would argue that the semi-final and the final are completely different beasts, with greatly differing audiences. Firstly and most obviously, since 2008 the final has all competing countries voting, while the semis only have a selected half. This will naturally affect voting patterns, especially if you got stuck with (or separated from) your neighbours in the semi-final.

The final itself also tends to have vastly higher viewing figures than the two semis. We therefore have a different demographic voting in the final - the semi viewers are perhaps more dedicated fans of the contest or members of a diaspora, whereas the Saturday night show attracts a wider range of people. And on a Saturday, viewers are perhaps looking for something different. The whole family may be watching together, while others may be at a party with significant amounts of alcohol consumed. All of this leads to different voting patterns in the final than in the semi.

And aside from the voting patterns of people watching at home, the final itself is a totally different contest to the semis. The hopeless songs that made you look competent are gone, and perhaps have been replaced by two acts from the other semi-final, doing the same thing you're doing, only better. With completely different competition, and different people voting, the results between a semi and a final are always likely to vary.

All in all, we can never prove that the draw is the decisive factor in a song's result. There is evidence that points that way, and indeed the Latvia and Finland examples mentioned above present a pretty strong argument, but ultimately, with the strongest variable being the song, and a lack of any opportunity to do any kind of representative testing, we can never prove anything for sure.

So, in summary, most fans making up theories and 'proofs' on the internet are talking complete rubbish.

Melodi Grand Prix Semi 3 - the songs

While most attention is focused on the Melodifestivalen rehearsals, let's take a look at this week's Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix songs.

The first two semi-finals in Norway have met with far from universal approval, with the second week in particular featuring some rather less than stellar performances, so let's hope things will get better this Saturday, in the third and final semi-final.

Gothminister – Utopia
Far more of a name in their genre than Gromth were in the first semi-final, Gothminister play industrial metal, though 'Utopia' is far more accessible than may be expected. The metal songs nearly always surprise in the voting in Scandinavian national finals, often due to the genre's large, but quiet, fanbase, so expect Gothminister to put in a strong showing.
In summary: probable qualifier

Adelén – Bombo
The kind of pseudo-Latino pop that always used to crop up in Belgian finals throughout the last decade, and then be performed terribly. I expect nothing else here from 16 year old Adelén, even if she does have some hefty hitmakers behind the song in Ina Wroldsen and Quiz & Larossi. And this year's MGP hasn't exactly been kind to pop.
In summary: lots of fun, but not a qualifier

Lucky Lips – Sweet and Heavy
Country bluegrass from Lucky Lips. I personally think this is absolutely beautiful, and with Melodi Grand Prix traditionally being a lot kinder on country music than its Swedish counterpart, may do better than expected. Will need a strong performance to stand out though.
In summary: Lovely, needs a good performance, borderline qualifier

Gaute Ormåsen – Awake
Unfortunately, Gaute's song isn't available on Spotify or on YouTube internationally, so I haven't been able to listen to this in full, so will have to base this on the 30-second snippet broadcast last night. Which, in summary, a man who's slightly older than he wants to be singing a song that's far too young for him. With potential for some terrible falsetto notes.
In summary: your dad doing Bjorn Johan Muri (not like that!) at karaoke.

Anina – The Young
Now this is a surprise. While the televoters haven't been kind to the girly pop this year, The Young stands out as far more substantial, with its Katy Perry-vibe and stand-up-and-sing-along chorus. We'll see on Saturday whether Anina can carry it off live, but if she does, this could be the big surprise of the competition.
In summary: with the right performance, a potential superfinalist

Winda – Not Afraid
A big dance number designed the get the audience on their feet but ultimately, if it didn't work for Mimi Blix with a much better song, there's no reason it should work here. Not Afraid comes from the team behind 'Haba Haba', but really has none of the catchy elements behind that huge hit – Norway's dance music can do much better.
In summary: not a chance

Sirkus Eliassen – I Love You Te Quiero
Sirkus Eliassen had one of the biggest hits of 2012 with the frankly quite brilliant 'Æ vil bare dans'. Their MGP entry isn't a patch on that, but follows much the same pattern, and is bound to have a strong performance, so should have a good chance.
In summary: qualifying, another likely superfinalist

To sum up, a much stronger semi-final than the past two weeks, though again a lot is going to depend on performances on the night. Last week it was the three best vocal performances that qualified, almost by default, and if the same is true again on Saturday we could see some surprises.

In theory, it's pretty open, though I suspect Sirkus Eliassen are nailed on to qualify. Gothminister should follow them if the metal fans are voting (and they usually do), with the third place between Lucky Lips and Anina.

This piece originally published at Schlagerfiasko.

Eurocovers: Kurt Nilsen's Adieu and Hver gang vi møtes

I love the concept of the Norwegian show Hver gang vi møtes. Based on a Swedish format, a diverse group of popular musicians come together for a TV series broadcast across a number of weeks. Each episode is dedicated to one of the artists, and each week the other singers perform their own versions of that artist’s hits, often in their own, very different style.

Three weeks ago in Norway it was Anita Skorgan week. Considering the 54 year old singer has a somewhat limited back catalogue of actual hits, it was perhaps unsurprising that four out of the six other singers opted to take on one of her previous Eurovision entries.

Marion Ravn performed a somewhat underwhelming version of 'Casanova', which mainly built on the original’s disco influences and didn’t really add a huge amount to the song. Morten Abel took on 'Oliver' in his own dark style, the result being almost unrecognisable from the original. And Ole Paus sang a beautiful, stripped back version of Karoline Krüger's 'For vår jord' (co-written by Skorgan), which really gave me a new appreciation for the song.

The revelation of the week, however, was Kurt Nilsen, who took on the 1982 Norwegian entry 'Adieu'. It's not a song I'd ever really paid much attention to before, but Nilsen takes it in a completely different direction. He allows the sadness of the lyrics to truly shine through, and personally the raw emotion in the song cuts me like a knife.


Let me know which of the covers is your favourite.

Eurocovers: Carmen Rasmusen sings Crazy in Love

Fred Bronson is a curious man. He's an eminent American music journalist, having published a number of books and contributed regular columns to Billboard magazine. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of popular music, and a wide range of tastes. Which can be the only explanation for the fact that he is the only person in the known universe to profess a liking for 'Loca', the 2006 Moldovan Eurovision entry sung by one of O-Zone and a girl in a bikini hiding behind a sail.

He's also evidently a keen follower of Melodifestivalen, even being involved in the international jury that loved 'Alla' so much in 2009. So much so that, as a mentor on American Idol in 2003, he wanted one of the contestants to perform one of that year's MF finalists.

"I had a song that I thought would be perfect for Carmen Rasmusen -- a Swedish hit by Jill Johnson called 'Crazy in Love' (not the Beyoncé song). I knew she shouldn't sing an unknown song on the show, but I also knew I couldn't suggest a song while she was in competition."

And so he kept the idea to himself, but not for long. Once Rasmusen left the competition in sixth place, Bronson was back on the case, with 'Crazy In Love' in his pocket:

"A few months after season two was over, Carmen told me she was recording some demos. That's when I told her about 'Crazy in Love'. She heard the song, loved it and her manager called the publisher in Sweden to make a deal. Carmen recorded the song on an EP that was released on an independent label […] and did a fantastic job."

She did indeed. Rasmusen's performing style was derided by many when she was on American Idol, and indeed the young singer did have trouble taming her sometimes goaty-sounding vibrato and had an unfortunate habit of slapping her own backside while singing, but she did have an interesting tone. That quality comes out in her studio recordings, and 'Crazy In Love' is a surprisingly good fit for her voice, coming across higher and lighter than Jill Johnson’s more mature sound.

Being by a mostly unknown artist on an unknown label, the song didn't achieve any success in the US, but it's great to see how well it could transfer to an American artist.

The Evrop(j)esma contests of 2005 and 2006 and the secession of Montenegro

This article is an adapted extract from my university dissertation, which I wrote in summer 2007 on the political and social effects of contemporary music on society in Serbia and Montenegro. The writing is somewhat different to my usual style as it was written for academia, though I have tried to remove any references to other sections of the essay or to my overall examination. This article is also missing its original footnotes which cite a lot of the facts and opinions mentioned.

In this piece I take a look at the furore surrounding the victories in the Evrop(j)esma contest by Montenegrin boyband No Name. In both 2005 and 2006, in the Serbia-Montenegro selection for Eurovision, the Montenegrin jurors were accused of rigging the contest, giving no points at all to the Serbian favourites and effectively ensuring the win for their own songs, both by boyband No Name. The fact that it happened twice in a row compounded the problem, and in 2006 the Serbian audience became aware of what was happening, booing the Montenegrin jurors even before they gave their points. In the words of the one audience member: "we started cheering for Flamingosi, even though we didn't like it before, because we just didn't want No Name to win". When the group came on the stage to reprise their winning song, they faced chants of "lopovi" (thieves), and bottles were thrown at them, and the Flamingosi, the runners-up, reprised their entry instead, supported by all the Serbian singers from the contest. The result eventually was nullified and the country withdrew from that year's Eurovision.

However, why was the result of this contest so important to both republics? I don't intend to address the question here of whether either the Serb or Montenegrin jurors voted unfairly (though I do have my own opinions on that), but rather their possible reasons for doing so and the consequences.

One benefit that TV stations see in participating in Eurovision is the chance to promote their country, to market it to a worldwide audience. Ognjen Amiđić of the group Flamingosi, the Serb favourites who lost out to No Name in 2006, said that one reason both TV stations want to make it to Eurovision is that it is the only forum for Serbian or Montenegrin music on a global scale and is therefore a very valuable opportunity, both for acts themselves but also for giving an impression of the country to outsiders.

The opportunities for promotion can not only be found in the song itself, but also in the accompanying press materials. At the 2005 contest in Kyiv, No Name removed the flag of Serbia and Montenegro from their press conferences and replaced it with the Montenegrin one. In addition, the promotional materials featured Montenegro exclusively, and the video included many sweeping shots of Montenegrin landscape, as well as Montenegrin symbolism; The Head of the SCG delegation in Kyiv, who was herself Serbian, apparently despaired over this overt use of patriotism and nationalism to promote one half of the Union. We can clearly see therefore why it was important for both Montenegro and Serbia to win the Evrop(j)esma competition, as music in turn yields important opportunities.


The event itself had significant political and social impacts. It is obvious that the show effectively turned into a contest between the two republics and their TV stations, with clear political voting on both sides overshadowing the songs. There are also obvious national consequences to this, shown by the fact that the crowd did not mind which song won, as long as it was Serbian, and the fact that all the Serbian singers joined in the 'victory' reprise. One political commentator observed that "there is no deep-rooted animosity between inhabitants of Serbia and Montenegro", but, in contrast to this, more than one Serb was happy to admit to me that they "hated Montenegrins".

However, the most important consequences are linked to the subsequent referendum, which took place on 21st May 2006, the day after the Eurovision final. There were allegations from Sabrija Vulić, the PR of Montevizija (the Montenegrin heat for Evrop(j)esma), that, because of this, RTS did not want No Name to perform at Eurovision , though there were counter-claims from the Serbian side that No Name were planning to perform wearing pro-independence shirts, with Aleksandar Tijanić, Head of RTS claiming that it would have been a last-ditch effort to get people to vote in the referendum. Opposition politicians in Montenegro, including Nebojša Medojević, leader of Grupa za promenje (Group for Change), maintain that No Name were being used as pawns by the regime. It is perhaps not unlikely that there is some truth in this - the main backer of No Name was Aco Đukanović, brother of the pro-independence Montenegrin prime minister, Milo Đukanović. Either way, a Montenegrin song performing on the European stage a day before the independence referendum would have no doubt had some effect on the vote.

In contrast, there was the view in Montenegro that this incident was yet another example of the Serbs trying to control the Union, and that it was "another Serbian provocation" and proved why the republic needed independence. It can therefore be argued that that, by contesting the victory so ferociously, RTS and the Serbian media further alienated Montenegrins, raising the likelihood of a pro-independence vote; indeed, Milodrag-Milo Ćurić maintains that the actions of the Montenegrin jury were intended to incite such a reaction.

In regard to the political implications of the event itself, Evrop(j)esma was compared by commentators to the events of the football match between Dinamo Zagreb and Crvena Zvezda at the Maksimir stadium in Zagreb in 1990, which is seen by many to symbolise the start of the Balkan wars and what happened thereafter. The subsequent split of Serbia and Montenegro supports this opinion, and although obviously it happened in a far less bloody way, we can see here a link between music and politics, in the same way as one has been seen between sport and politics; indeed, cultural sociologist Ratko Božović says, "sport and recreation reflect the situation in a country".

Evrop(j)esma obviously had important implications politcally, and gives some indication of the political scene and social mood. Many commentators made the point that the event "has nothing to do with music", and Tijanić addressed his decision to withdraw from Eurovision by stating that it was better to have no representative than to "obey the will [...] of political mentors". We can see that the event was very much seen to have been overridden by politics, and indeed a protest was held on Trg republike, for the reasons that "music has to be stronger than politics". As well as showing how music gets involved in politics, this event also shows again the concept of music as a signifier – liking Flamingosi's song showed you to be Serbian. Indeed, when I admitted to a Serbian friend that I enjoyed the song of No Name, a considerable time afterwards, she was aghast.

Through all of this we can clearly see that music can be important on a political and social level. It created friction between the two constituent republics of the State Union, and, given the tight referendum results, could have affected the outcome. Regardless of whether it did or not, we can see serious allegations here of how politics can involve itself in music, and the subsequent consequences.

Reaction: Lozano and Esma for Macedonia

Macedonia has long been my favourite country at Eurovision, ever since entries like 'Samo ti', 'Ne zori zoro' and 'Od nas zavisi'. Even '100% te ljubam' is a great slice of cheesy 90s girl-pop. They've lost their way somewhat in recent years, failing to qualify to the final four times in a row (though I still liked the entries), before changing their approach in 2012, internally selecting one of the biggest stars in the country in Kaliopi, a decision that paid dividends.

Now for 2013 MRT is repeating that formula, announcing last week that Vlatko Lozanoski and Esma Redžepova will represent the country in Malmö. On the surface, this combination of young popstar and folk music legend is pretty unusual, but I have pretty high hopes that they can build on their success in 2012, and potentially go even higher with this choice.

Vlatko Lozanoski, or Lozano as he is known, is perhaps best remembered among Eurovision fans for his song 'Letam kon tebe', which probably should have won the 2010 Macedonian Final. The track, and particularly the album that was released in the same year, have strong echoes of the late Toše Proeski about them, both in Lozano's vocals and in the production. Indeed, I wouldn't be at all surprised if many of the tracks he has recorded had previously been written for Proeski. Lozano has been one of the most popular Macedonian pop singers over the past few years, both in terms of sales and radio play.


In contrast, Esma is known as one of the biggest names in Romani folk music, both in Macedonia and beyond. Much of her repertoire is in very traditional styles, with new songs building on Romani folk motifs, and she has released over 50 albums, in both the domestic market and the world music scene. She even took part in Jugovizija in 1971. Her work frequently appears on those terrible 'Music of Eastern Europe' compilations, which, if you didn't know any better, would give you the impression that all anyone in the former Eastern bloc listens to is gypsy wailing and cow-stomach instruments battling with overly cheery hippity-hoppity dancers.

Fortunately, that's far from the case, and Esma has also lent her distinct vocals to pop tracks over the past ten years, creating some pretty interesting fusions of pop and folk styles that show just how well these combinations can work. She duetted with Magazin on 'Dani su bez broja', and in 2003 joined Kaliopi on 'Bel den', one of the best tracks on the latter's critically acclaimed Ne mi go zemaj vremeto album.


'Ljubov e', a duet with Adrijan Gaxha, placed a close second in the 2006 Macedonian Final. The best of these collaborations, however, is a duet with the aforementioned Toše Proeski on his Ako me pogledneš vo oči. 'Magija' was a huge hit in 2003, and also came out in a Serbian version. With the comparisons I mentioned before, I have my fingers very firmly crossed, and if Macedonia's songwriters can come up with something like this again, I will be very happy.


It probably wouldn't be a winner - it's far too Eastern for that - but I do think they have the potential to pull off a great performance, and hopefully secure another strong result for Macedonia. We'll hear the song in February, and I personally can hardly wait!