|
Pirates, Poultry and Pop Idols |
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Sunday, 11 May 2008 |
Latvian pirates, Irish turkeys and France's answer to Justin Timberlake... You could say that this year's crop of participants are an eclectic bunch.
Latvian pirates, Irish turkeys and France's answer to Justin Timberlake... You could say that this year's crop of participants are an eclectic bunch.
You've probably already heard about - or are trying to forget - Ireland's Dustin the Turkey. To give him his dues, Dustin's been a star on Irish kids' television for nearly 20 years. Think of him as Eire's answer to Gordon the Gopher, with a bit more of a mouth on him. Check out the video for the controversial Ireland Douze Pointe as well as videos for all 43 of this year's songs, in our Participants section.
It's a bit of a gamble for Ireland as Dustin is singing in the first semi-final on 20 May, the one which friendly neighbours the UK can't vote in, and risks a repeat of last year when Ireland failed to qualify for the finals for the first time. Which might be the point.
But Dustin's got a run for his money in the novelty stakes. Spain - who, as one of the 'Big Four', has no worries about getting a place in the final - has Rodolfo Chikilicuarte. The bequiffed comic creation of humourist David Fernández Ortiz, Rodolfo's song, the Macarena-like Baila El Chiki Chiki, contains immortal dance moves like the 'brikindans' (breakdance) and 'El Robocop', and is set to sweep the drunker parts of the Costa Brava this summer. You have been warned.
And then there are the pirates. Latvia's hoping to capitalise on the popularity of Pirates of the Carribean and, erm, Captain Pugwash with kiddie-friendly, singing buccaneers Pirates of the Sea, the brainchild of previous Eurovision entrant Roberto Meloni and their song, Wolves of the Sea. Arr!
Thankfully some other countries are taking the contest a bit more seriously. France is hoping to score high with Divine from the cooler than cool Sébastien Tellier, who's worked with Gallic knob-twiddlers Daft Punk, among others, while Russia's hopes are riding on the Timbaland-produced Baltic pin-up Dima Bilan with his power pop ballad Believe.
All which means, come final night, we'd love to be a fly on the wall of the green room of Serbia's Beogradska Arena...
Source |
