I think it's a step forward that the UK has come away the last two (or three!) years with its head held up, but we really need a better song selection process. Maybe it would be better at ITV.
Although it might ensure that more of the population has actually heard the artist or song ahead of tonight, I doubt the result would be much different.
We’ve sent everything from proper acts to jokey acts, proper serious singing and cheesy pop, and all end up within a few from bottom.
Shocked that in this day and age security wasn't tighter. They've banned ladders, chairs, and sticky tape from the audience but twice in two years, they've had someone get onstage and it's simply not good enough.
Don’t get the criticism of SuRie or the song. I hadn’t heard it before tonight, but enjoyed it and thought - even before the interruption - she performed it really well. Didn’t think it was quite strong enough to win but thought a top half was possible. Oh well!
We just haven’t sent anything that stands out or that is partically amazing though.
You couldn’t say we were ever robbed.
Let's face it we could send Adele or Gary Barlow and still come 4 from the bottom!
Back in the day though, some of our biggest artists used to perform, Lulu and Cliff Richard for example. Thing is the competition has gained such a reputation our big artists wouldn't dare perform these days.
However, the UK is one of, if not the biggest exporter of popular music in Europe so our big artists don't really have anything to prove.
Should we treat it as lightweight fluffy entertainment or a serious song contest? The UK have been accused of treating the contest with contempt in the past, as well as taking it too seriously. We cannot win whichever attitude is taken. But since that Jemini nil points in 2003 something has gone very odd for the UK who used to do remarkably well year after year until that point and after 15 full years of the UK coming mostly in the bottom 5 we have enough contests to wonder at the wider picture and ask just what is really going on.
It's just not acceptable that the nation that has given the world much of the best pop music (along with the USA) over the past 65 years should be humiliated year after year against countries with no past or likely future pedigree to crow about. We are one of the best song countries in the world, not just Europe.
It also seems that the UK does best and wins the thing with groups, so maybe a four piece, two males, two females set up next year with a barnstormingly catchy anthemic chorus.
You could send a reformed One Direction or even Little Mix - wouldn't change the result a jot.
Maybe we could get Nigel Farage to perform next year... can't do much worse or at least offer him commentary.
#AllAboard It's all over now. Israel won the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with 529 points. Congratulations to Israel. As much as I personally dislike "TOY" (it's not my taste in music anyway), Netta Barzilai did amazingly well to win for Israel in such a close-run vote this year. That means Israel has now won four times since its debut entry in 1973. Israel - Winners 1978, 1979 1998, 2018. 20 years gap between its two most recent wins (1998 - 2018).
Well done to all the 26 finalists that took part tonight. Commiserations to the United Kingdom, which finished 24th out of 26 with just 48 points; SuRie sang well for the United Kingdom, despite the uncalled-for stage invasion. I was shocked and disgusted when I spotted the stage invasion. I'm glad SuRie kept calm and carried on singing during the invasion. She was offered the chance to sing again, but didn't. I guess she would have been too stressed to sing again, and might have given an inferior performance second time around, in which case that may have been detrimental to viewers voting for her. Cyprus, who I would have preferred to win over Israel, finished second with 436 points.
Altogether an excellent night of entertainment, and what a nail-biting voting sequence. Just for the record I voted for Estonia, Australia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Spain, France, Denmark and Norway.
It also seems that the UK does best and wins the thing with groups,
so maybe a four piece, two males, two females set up next year with a barnstormingly catchy anthemic chorus.
2 Up 2 Down from Britain's Got The Pop Factor. Got to be worth a go.
