Noticias

The spray-on kitsch is fairly hard to take, but even harder to take is that the organisers actually take it seriously

✒It's the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, the 57th. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was the last? At least for us. BBC1 could put on reruns of Flog It!, or pro-celebrity badminton. The song contest would disappear on to one of those cable channels with audiences so small they can't be measured – Eurosport 3, perhaps.

Because it is so utterly, horribly grim. Acts which would not get a gig on Ladies' Night at the Baku Freemasons appear in front of millions singing like a cement mixer tackling Celine Dion's greatest hits, or, because they are always decades behind, doing punk in Finnish, or there's some preening poltroon in sky-blue vinyl who resembles a rapper as much as I sound like Jose Feliciano.

It was bearable when Terry Wogan...

Graham Norton never drinks before the eighth performance on the 'Eurovision Song Contest'. The Irish presenter took over as the commentator on the annual singing show from Terry Wogan in 2009, and he reveals the only recommendation he made to him was to avoid getting drunk too early, and it is a suggestion he has kept to. He said: ''The only advice Terry Wogan gave me was don't have a drink before song eight. I've stuck to that. Song eight is always a highlight now.'' Despite being stuck in a small commentary booth for the duration of the show - which this...

Week 2: Eurovision usually prides itself on balls-out club bangers but things have changed in the wake of a world where every household owns a copy of Adele – 21. Esc 2012 features more balladeers than you can air-grab-during-a-key-change at but whether this is a good thing is highly debatable. Do we really want twelve identical piano-led torch songs about broken hearts? Can we survive a whole evening without a single firework display?

Here are five varying levels of balladry making up the highs and lows of what it means to send a slow song to Eurovision:

Rona Nishliu – Suus (Albania)

Now the occasional tendency with ballads is if you have a good voice and get a bit too into the emotion of the song you d0 a spot of wailing similar to demon-possessed cats scratching blackboards (not that i’ve ever heard that thank goodness). Now Albania’s entry by Rona Nishliu...

It’s exactly 35 days (I’m totally not keeping count or anything) until the final of the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan which also equates to 5 weeks because I can do maths me. So, to get in the Euro-mood each week i’ll introduce you to five of this year’s entries all linked together by a (extremely tenuous) link as a WhatCulture! Countdown to the big, shiny event.

First up, I know Eurovision has this stigma in the UK for being camp and indulgent where we can never win because of political block voting (i.e. everyone hates us but Ireland) and yes, most of that is correct, although us sending completely rubbish entries doesn’t really help either. The fact is sometimes, if you give it a chance, the songs in Eurovision are actually quite listenable without the rocket explosions and glitterball drag...

Dara O'Briain has been confirmed as host of the 2012 BAFTA Television Awards. The Mock The Week comedian will oversee this year's ceremony at London's Royal Festival Hall on May 27. He is replacing last year's host Graham Norton, who will be in Azerbaijan covering the Eurovision Song Contest that weekend. O'Briain said: "I'm delighted and honoured to be taking the reins at this year's British Academy Television Awards, in the prestigious role as the person who introduces the people who read out the winners of the awards." Referring to the controversy over ITV's decision to cut off Adele's speech at (more)...

The results of the semi-final allocation draw for this year's Eurovision Song Contest have been revealed. The draw, hosted by Leyla Alieva and Nazim Huseynov, involved officials drawing the 37 Eurovision countries' names from six pots and took place on the stage of the Buta Palace in Baku, Azerbaijan on Wednesday. According to the official Eurovision Song Contest website, the selections of countries in each pot were based on voting patterns from the past few years of the music competition. After the draw, there were performances from dancers and an orchestra, together with past Eurovision stars Ruslana, Aysel, Alexander Rybak, Safura, Lena and Ell/Nikki. The countries who have already qualified for the final include the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and hosting country Azerbaijan. There will be another draw in March (more)...

Blue have claimed that their loss on Saturday night’s Eurovision Song Contest was no reflection on them, or their song.

The British boyband – made up of Duncan James, Lee Ryan, Antony Costa and Simon Webbe – came 11th as they represented the UK with their song ‘I Can’ at the event in Germany but believe they would have finished higher if countries had voted for the performance rather than their neighbours.

Simon said: “It is often not really about the song but who your neighbours are. But we are proud of what we did.”

The singers had stopped smoking and drinking in the lead up to the show and so, despite not winning, after the results were announced Duncan, Lee and Simon stayed up until 6am, drinking Jaegermeister, champagne and vodka Red Bulls while Antony was so gutted he went straight to bed.

Blue’s fellow contestants Jedward – made up...

Flamboyant pop star Mika has been approached to compose a song for the U.K. to be performed in 2011 Eurovision Song Contest. U.K. competitor Josh Dubovie was left red-faced after placing last in the annual contest in May this year with a song written by record producer Pete Waterman.

Now show producers want Mika, who was born in Lebanon but raised in London, to fly the flag for Britain by pitching a better track to compete in the European song competition.

A BBC source tells Britain's The Sun, "It's always a difficult call trying to get a decent song together for Eurovision, as this year proved. We had Pete Waterman overseeing it this year but we still came last. Mika has all the right ingredients to make a successful song. We hope he says yes."...

Oh Eurovision, why must you only be once a year? If you’re not that familiar with it, then in a nutshell it’s an excuse for gay men to have house parties and laugh at bad European music.

Approximately 120 million people tuned in to see Norway host the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, where this year Germany took the title.

Germany doesn’t usually do very well in the scoring, but this year they blatantly cheated by taking it seriously. They put a quirky singer named Lena up for the title and she half-spoke, half-sang a love song in a strange accent à la Bjork/Lily Allen.

Also weighing in Germany's favor, they’ve been supporting the European economy, whereas the UK closed their eyes and put their collective fingers in their ears – and came last as a result. It didn’t help that we were represented with a song by Pete Waterman,...

Josh Dubovie belts his way into last place at the Eurovision Song Contest

It didn't have the controversy, or adorable Hobbit winner of last year, but the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, Norway still brought lots of pomp, circumstance, and spectacle.

The winner was Germany's Lena, who inexplicably (Imho) won for the cute but forgettable "Satellite." She's charming, but there's really nothing at all special or memorable about the song. Frankly, she's no Nena. What do you think? Did she deserve the win?

In second place was Turkey's maNga (apparent victims of a Shift/Ca typing error), with "We Could Be The Same." It's a better song than "Satellite" and has a great message, but the video has a creepy fetish vibe.

In third place was Romania's Paula Seling & Ovi, who performed the duet "Playing With Fire." Now this is why I love Eurovision. This song was sexy, campy, and...

Cologne, Germany -- Germany has a new sweetheart.

Lena Meyer-Landrut, a 19-year-old amateur singer, has become an overnight pop sensation after winning the Eurovision Song Contest over the weekend.

More than 100 million viewers across Europe watched Lena's improbable triumph Saturday night as her catchy love song "Satellite" beat out the 24 other finalists in the singing competition, a sort of pan-European "American Idol."

A reported 14.7 million Germans tuned in, resulting in an astounding 49% market share for public broadcaster Ard, the kind of ratings usually only seen during major sports competitions.

The celebrations following Lena's win were also comparable to a World Cup victory.

Tens of thousands of fans celebrated at open-air viewing parties in Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Lena's hometown of Hanover. Berlin set off fireworks after the results of the Eurovison voting were announced. Political leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, congratulated the teen, praising her warmth and honesty.

"Europe does like us!

Germany outsang 25 other countries and took the title in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo.

19 year old Lena Meyer-Landrut, with her rendition of the pop ballad Satellite, is the second German to win the world renowned competition in 55 years.

Germany last won the contest in 1982 and will host the show next year.

Turkey's MaNga came in second place, Romania third and Denmark fourth.

Germany outsang 25 other countries and took the title in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo.

19 year old Lena Meyer-Landrut, with her rendition of the pop ballad Satellite, is the second German to win the world renowned competition in 55 years.

Germany last won the contest in 1982 and will host the show next year.

Turkey's MaNga came in second place, Romania third and Denmark fourth.

Oslo - Germany won the annual Eurovision Song Contest late Saturday in Oslo by a comfortable margin over the nearest rival Turkey. 19-year-old Lena Meyer-Landrut said 'this is not real.' 'I am so happy and so thankful, I never thought we could do this,' Lena said before she stepped up to sing her winning entry Satellite once again, quipping 'do I have to sign now?' 'This is absolutely aweseome' she said from the stage. Norway hosted the event after winning the 2009 event in Russia, TV audiences all over Europe vote for the best pop song. Germany will host the 2011 finals performances. There were competitors from 25 countries in the final of this...

Lena Meyer-Landrut from Germany celebrates after winning the Grand Final of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest at the Fornebu Arena in Baerum, near Oslo, Norway, 29 May 2010. Lena Meyer-Landrut won the contest with the song 'Satellite'. Epa/Joerg Carstensen Lena Meyer-Landrut from Germany celebrates after winning the Grand Final of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest at the Fornebu Arena in Baerum, near Oslo, Norway, 29 May 2010. Lena Meyer-Landrut won the contest with the song 'Satellite'. Epa/Joerg Carstensen Lena Meyer-Landrut (L) from Germany reacts after winning the Grand Final of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest at the Fornebu Arena in Baerum, near Oslo, Norway, 29 May 2010. Lena Meyer-Landrut won the contest with the song 'Satellite'. Next to...

Oslo, Norway (AP) — Germany's Lena Meyer-Landrut won the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday with "Satellite," an upbeat, catchy pop song, edging out Turkey and Romania. Meyer-Landrut, who turned 19 during the competition in Norway, won 246 points in the voting by a panel of judges and telephone votes from fans in the 39 participating countries. It was Germany's second win in the songfest's 55-year history, and the victory means it will host next year's contest. Meyer-Landrut had been second favorite among leading bookmakers, but first in a Google predictor program. Her victory marks the second year in a row...

Last night's Eurovision Song Contest saw Lena reign victorious, topping the scoreboard with 246 points. Elsewhere, the UK's Josh Dubovie finished in last place, the nation's worst performance since 2003 when Jemini's 'Cry Baby' received "nul points". Below is a full list of how each nation performed this year: 01. Germany - 246

02. Turkey - 170

03. Romania - 162

04. Denmark - 149

05. Azerbaijan - 145

06. Belgium - 143

07. (more)...

The Eurovision Song Contest was tonight disrupted by a stage invader. Spanish entrant Daniel Diges was allowed to sing again at the end of the performance show, after a man wearing a black T-shirt and red hat got onto the stage during the rendition of 'Algo Pequeñito'. The man knelt before Diges and then appeared to try to join in with the song, waving his arms energetically before he was forced off (more)...

Eurovision Song Contest host Graham Norton has admitted that there has been a mixed reaction to the UK entry 'That Sounds Good To Me' by Josh Dubovie. The track reportedly has the longest-ever odds for a British song to win the title, with some bookmakers offering up to 175/1 for those backing the 19-year-old. Norton told Radio 1 Newsbeat: "Well look, I don't live in a bubble. I am aware there is a mixed reaction to our entry this year on the blogs and the websphere. "The only hope we have I think, is it's such a relentless power ballad after power ballad, that I think in the middle of (more)...

British bookmakers have placed record odds on the UK winning this weekend's Eurovision Song Contest. William Hill and Paddy Power are offering 150/1 on Josh Dubovie bringing home the prize for 'That Sounds Good To Me', while Ladbrokes have placed it at 175/1. Ladbrokes spokesman Nick Weinberg said: "If Josh does the business he deserves to be knighted. He hasn't got a prayer." William Hill's Rupert Adams added: "Sadly (more)...