As we place our final votes--with a mere 18 hour voting window, so we have a result before the anniversary show broadcasts live (CET 21h00 Saturday 22 october)--I thought a wee bit of back story for each entry was appropriate.
Waterloo: ABBA had tried to represent Sweden in 1973, and many thought their song was the best. In fact,
Ring Ring did end up a medium-sized hit in parts of Europe even before ABBA’s triumph with
Waterloo in 1974. But back then the Swedes required all songs in the national final to be in Swedish, though the artist could perform in another language at the Eurovision itself. For ABBA that meant writing in English, translating it back to Swedish; arguably the band was a bit...awkward singing a lyric they loathed. Same thing was true in 1974, but they were perhaps more ruthless in their pursuit of a spot in Brighton (UK, where the Eurovision was held that year).
Diva: in the original production number, Dana International had 3 male backup singers/dancers. Eventually her production team convinced it was all “too gay” and if Dana wanted people to view her as a woman rather than a drag kween, she’d better make the whole thing a wee bit less fabuleux. To date, no one has ever explained why they made the “big boned gal” stand all by herself throughout the performance.
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