Les voyageurs
Oct. 22nd, 2006 02:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jawnbcMost people remember the 1999 Eurovision for the battle of the blondes. In one corner you've got Charlotte Neilson, your archetypal Swedish amazon sex goddess, singing yet another ABBA-esque track "Take me to your heaven". Opposite her is yet another Icelandic pixie, except Selma is more Broadway than cutting edge; her song, however, is a great little pop/dance track "All out of luck." These two songs left most of the competition behind, but in the year that marked 25 years since ABBA won the Eurovision--and changed artists' expectations from such a win--Charlotte stomped all over the competition.
The best moment, however, was after shed' won. As is custom, the previous year's winner presented the new winner with a trophy. Israel had the biggest honking trophy ever, and everyone's favourite transexual Dana International to present it. A beaming Dana grinned at the glaring Charlotte, picked up the trophy, and fell off her heels, arse over teakettle. Yes Charlotte, bitch upstaged you. Get over it. See Dana run. Run Dana run.
Sarajevo rocks
Also appearing at Eurovision, for only their 6th time, were Bosnia & Hercegovina. Back then, with a maximum of only 23 spots in the Contest, every year a few countries were relegated; in other words, they had to sit out a year because of their poor showing. The formula relegation varied, but generally you had to be placing in the top 2/3rds most of the time to keep your spot. Coming into 1999 Bosnia's results were marginal: 26th, 15th, 19th, 22nd, and 18th. To avoid relegation they would need a top 5 finish.
Sarajevo, however, was arguably the heart and soul of the rock music movement that emerged in the Balkans during the Yugoslavian era. Bosnia was the most ethnically diverse of the confederated republics, and the equally strong influence of Bosniak (Muslim), Croat (Catholic) and Serbian (Orthodox) gave birth to what is still today called the Sarajevo school of rock. Croatia tended to produce pop acts; Serbia folk. Bosnia rocked. And still does. What that meant in 1999 was a number of already well-regarded musicians for the Bosnian national selection. Bear in mind that while some in the Balkans were trying to kill one another, artists continued to sell music and perform (sometimes) across the region.
The most popular acts were both headed by Bosniaks. Hari Mata Hari was the most popular rock act in the region. Dino Merlin was probably the most highly regarded. Both were popular, and each had--has--a distinct sound. Hari came to the national selection with "Starac i more" a power ballad he had written while working in Scandanavia a few years earlier. Dino collaborated with Réunionaise chanteuse Béatrice for "Putnici", which combine pop, hip hop and a decidedly Eastern beat with lyrics in both Bosnian and French. In the end Hari pipped Dino & Beatrice, earning the ticket to Jerusalem...
Nous sommes, vous êtes
...except, it turns out that when Hari was working in Finland, someone took "Starac i More", wrote Finnish lyrics and recorded it. To be eligible for the Eurovision, your song cannot have been commercially released anywhere before 01 October of the year before the Contest. So Hari got disqualified and Dino and Beatrice got the ticket--and the pressure to score at least 10 places higher than Bosnia's best-ever showing.
In 1999 the "free language" rule also came into place for the Eurovision: between 1975 and 1998 countries could only submit songs in one of their official languages, save perhaps for a phrase or two. In that time of 24 winners were in English (10), French (3) and ,interestingly enough, Hebrew (3). Swedish (2) and Norwegian (2), which are somewhat mutually intelligible, also figured prominently: the other 3 winners were in German, Italian and Croatian. So regional languages hadn't done well in a very long time. In 1999 14 of 23 songs were at least part in English--including Belgium.
Many felt that Bosnia should have done the same. Dino wouldn't. Here's the end result:
Their performance garnered Bosnia 86 points, good enough for 7th place--6 points shy of what they needed for that top 5 finish. Despite being relegated, Dino returned to Bosnia the conquering hero. As for Hari, well he got his ticket to the Eurovision this year, collaborating with Serbian superstar Željko Joksimović on "Leila", which finished an impressive 3rd.
In fact, the best Bosnian result since...Putnici. or Travellers, as it translates to English.
Nous sommes, vous êtes
Ils sont elles sont
Nous sommes, vous êtes
Les voyageurs
The best moment, however, was after shed' won. As is custom, the previous year's winner presented the new winner with a trophy. Israel had the biggest honking trophy ever, and everyone's favourite transexual Dana International to present it. A beaming Dana grinned at the glaring Charlotte, picked up the trophy, and fell off her heels, arse over teakettle. Yes Charlotte, bitch upstaged you. Get over it. See Dana run. Run Dana run.
Sarajevo rocks
Also appearing at Eurovision, for only their 6th time, were Bosnia & Hercegovina. Back then, with a maximum of only 23 spots in the Contest, every year a few countries were relegated; in other words, they had to sit out a year because of their poor showing. The formula relegation varied, but generally you had to be placing in the top 2/3rds most of the time to keep your spot. Coming into 1999 Bosnia's results were marginal: 26th, 15th, 19th, 22nd, and 18th. To avoid relegation they would need a top 5 finish.
Sarajevo, however, was arguably the heart and soul of the rock music movement that emerged in the Balkans during the Yugoslavian era. Bosnia was the most ethnically diverse of the confederated republics, and the equally strong influence of Bosniak (Muslim), Croat (Catholic) and Serbian (Orthodox) gave birth to what is still today called the Sarajevo school of rock. Croatia tended to produce pop acts; Serbia folk. Bosnia rocked. And still does. What that meant in 1999 was a number of already well-regarded musicians for the Bosnian national selection. Bear in mind that while some in the Balkans were trying to kill one another, artists continued to sell music and perform (sometimes) across the region.
The most popular acts were both headed by Bosniaks. Hari Mata Hari was the most popular rock act in the region. Dino Merlin was probably the most highly regarded. Both were popular, and each had--has--a distinct sound. Hari came to the national selection with "Starac i more" a power ballad he had written while working in Scandanavia a few years earlier. Dino collaborated with Réunionaise chanteuse Béatrice for "Putnici", which combine pop, hip hop and a decidedly Eastern beat with lyrics in both Bosnian and French. In the end Hari pipped Dino & Beatrice, earning the ticket to Jerusalem...
Nous sommes, vous êtes
...except, it turns out that when Hari was working in Finland, someone took "Starac i More", wrote Finnish lyrics and recorded it. To be eligible for the Eurovision, your song cannot have been commercially released anywhere before 01 October of the year before the Contest. So Hari got disqualified and Dino and Beatrice got the ticket--and the pressure to score at least 10 places higher than Bosnia's best-ever showing.
In 1999 the "free language" rule also came into place for the Eurovision: between 1975 and 1998 countries could only submit songs in one of their official languages, save perhaps for a phrase or two. In that time of 24 winners were in English (10), French (3) and ,interestingly enough, Hebrew (3). Swedish (2) and Norwegian (2), which are somewhat mutually intelligible, also figured prominently: the other 3 winners were in German, Italian and Croatian. So regional languages hadn't done well in a very long time. In 1999 14 of 23 songs were at least part in English--including Belgium.
Many felt that Bosnia should have done the same. Dino wouldn't. Here's the end result:
Their performance garnered Bosnia 86 points, good enough for 7th place--6 points shy of what they needed for that top 5 finish. Despite being relegated, Dino returned to Bosnia the conquering hero. As for Hari, well he got his ticket to the Eurovision this year, collaborating with Serbian superstar Željko Joksimović on "Leila", which finished an impressive 3rd.
In fact, the best Bosnian result since...Putnici. or Travellers, as it translates to English.
Nous sommes, vous êtes
Ils sont elles sont
Nous sommes, vous êtes
Les voyageurs
