Israel 2000, Russia 2003, Finland 2013 - Was Putin behind the 2003 incident?

It’s time for some “conspiracy” (probably not the right word here) theories. I'm not into politics. Like, at all but these thoughts came because I watched the first semi-final of 2013 again. More specifically because of the serbian entry. 

That thing with Russia (well Putin) going all anti-gay, really anti-gay, made me think about t.A.T.u. and 2003. Remember how EBU was threatening to stop the broadcast if the girls tried to kiss on stage? Why? We already had a gay kiss between two guys back in 2000. Israel’s entry (at 1:15). It was a very brief kiss and definitely not a close-up but it happened. 2013 and Krista Siegfrids kissed her female backing vocalist. EBU had no problem in both cases. But they did have a problem in 2003? With the russian entry? I mean couldn’t Putin be behind this do-not-kiss-on-stage-or-we-will-stop-the-broadcast thing? Unless of course we (well you) already knew about this. I never read anything about Putin giving such “orders” to EBU in order to prevent t.A.T.u. from kissing and to be honest I didn’t do any research on the subject. And all that info I know about the russian entry in 2003 is stuff that I read on various websites either in 2003 or a couple of years later. My memory is kinda blurry since it was my 2nd ESC and it also was 10 years ago.

I mean why on earth would EBU have a problem with it in the first place? The majority of the eurofans are gay! So couldn’t the actual problem coming from Russia and Putin themselves and not really from the EBU? Like “I don’t want my country to present anything gay-ish to a European contest”. Thoughts anyone?

PS Yeah I think it's time to start blogging again.

Pastora Soler: "I don't want to go to Eurovision" II

I couldn't find a better title. I told you about the interview she was going to give today, in my last post. I checked the website today and they uploaded the interview (read it here in spanish). My question is not there but another girl asked her about the ESC and this time Pastora said something more than a simple "no".

Isabel (Sevilla)  
Hola Pastora!! Si TVE te propusiera representar a España en el Festival de Eurovisión, ¿qué dirías? Muestra tu arte al resto de Europa!! Un beso.

Pastora Soler  
La verdad es que no estaría dentro de mis planes representar a España en Eurovisión. Es un arma de doble filo y no creo que lo necesite en mi carrera. Un beso, paisana!

Translation (with the help of google translator - I made it as clear as possible coz GT sucks)

Isabel (Sevilla)
Hello Pastora! If TVE proposed you to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest, what would you say? Show your art to the rest of Europe! A kiss.
 
Pastora Soler
The truth is that is not in my plans to represent Spain in Eurovision. It's a double edged sword and I do not need it in my career. A kiss, countryman!


I don't know what to say... She has a point! She's absolutely right about the double edged sword. Johnny Logan said exactly the same. But there's no way I compare "now" to "then". Things have changed. I am so against juries and I want them out but if Pastora would enter the ESC the juries could save her and give her a boost. And I admit that it would be too dangerous for Pastora to compete but not dangerous for her career. I don't believe that a bad placing in ESC could destroy someone's career (give me an example if you have one). And to go back to the double edged sword, the way I interpret it is you either win (or finish in top 10) or lose (below top 15). I guess Pastora's interpretation is: "I lose in ESC, then I will have successful albums, concerts etc and a dark spot with the name i.e. "20th place in ESC"". It's like people would think "oh she was so successful and she ruined everything with Eurovision". Is it really that bad? But anyway I don't believe Pastora would flop. I believe in what she can do but if she's "afraid" to enter the contest then there's nothing I can do... :/ Shame... :(

Pastora Soler: "I don't want to go to Eurovision"

She killed me! :( She was my only hope for Spain and she's not interested in Eurovision! And I thought her appearance in the spanish NF last February was a positive sign... 

I saw a link at her official page on Facebook with an interview. An interview made by her fans. You know that kind of online interviews where the fans ask questions and the artist answers... Anyway I took a quick look at the interview and question #24 caught my eye. I don't speak spanish (well I know around 100 words maybe) but you don't need to speak spanish in order to understand the question. Here it is:

24. ¿Te gustaría ir a Eurovisión, Pastora?

No.

I don't think I need to translate this. Right? She said "no"! "No"! :( Whoever asked this question should also add the phrase "and if not, why not?" to his/her question. Well he or she didn't ask why not but I did! A while ago I saw this at her facebook page. Apparently there will be another online interview but I think this one will be on the radio. I submitted my question and I really hope they post the interview somewhere because if it's on the radio I won't be able to hear it. I have a class at 13:00! Damn it! Let's hope I get an answer and most importantly an answer where she leaves an open window for a possible participation in the future...

If you guys want to read the entire interview click here. The interview is in spanish but you can use google translator or something like that.

Pastora Soler to ESC!

Don't get your hopes high. It's just my wish. A wish that I seriously doubt if it will ever come true. But I had to blog about this! It's insane! Ok not that insane but for my standards, it's quite crazy. So here it is.
I have never done this before! I recently added 3 of Pastora's albums in my mp3 player and I SWEAR to God I have them on repeat for several hours a day! When I go to the university in the morning (I need about an hour) and when I get home (sometimes 2 hours if I finish after 17:00). And when I'm sitting in front of my pc (right now!) I have the album that I've listened for the first time a few days ago, on repeat! I haven't done this with Alcazar! People who know me, know that no one else is above Alcazar! They're my absolute favourite group and yet another artist is on repeat for over a week now! "Toda Mi Verdad" (2007), "Bendita Locura" (2009) and the one I heard recently, "Deseo" (2002) are the 3 albums I have on repeat and I have 5 more to go! (I'm missing her first album and her new one is on its way! "Una Mujer Como Yo" will be released on October 18th)

I saw Pastora for the first time on February 11th at the semi-final of the spanish NF. She sang "La Mala Costumbre". And that's when I became a fan! From the moment she started singing I was trying to figure out whether or not she's singing live! Well she does sing live but honestly, it's like listening to the studio version! 

I will just give you some links to some of her songs and draw your own conclusions! "Herida" is my favourite song from her album "Deseo". "Bendita Locura" and here's the live version as well, "Por Si Volvieras", "Hoy Te Ries" and my favourite "Tontas Canciones De Amor". There's no studio version of the last one on youtube but honestly there's no big difference! 

So take your pick people! Live, studio, ballad, up-tempo? She can sing anything and she's an EXCELLENT live performer. I can easily see a victory with her!

A few months ago I had a conversation about ESC (what else? :P) with a friend from Spain and he told me that Spain doesn't want to win. Or put it this way, RTVE doesn't want to win. RTVE is afraid of the cost of the ESC. But don't they get that they will earn money from the sponsors? And don't forget the eurofans that will travel to Spain just for the contest! Plus, every country contributes to the contest. And I never got why they don't want to host ESC! Spain is one of the Big 5! They always give more money than the rest of the countries! And if they do want to win, why do they choose those average songs? (2009 was an exception but what happened that year is another story!) Weak up RTVE! Send Soler to ESC!

Well I don't know about you but from now on I'm living for the day that Pastora Soler will represent Spain to ESC! And the problem here is RTVE because Pastora performed in the semi and that means at least that she's not against ESC. Soler should be selected internally by RTVE and let her team write a few songs and then make a final where people will vote for their favourite song!

Bring the contest to Madrid!!!