Eurovision 2019: All the action from the grand final in Tel Aviv
It wouldn’t be Eurovision without some drama: the ‘Queen of Pop’ Madonna is behind the latest stunt to taint the song contest.
Eurovision Song Contest organisers say they were taken aback by the display of a Palestinian flag during Madonna’s guest appearance, which defied contest rules.
While Madonna performed her new single at the contest, hosted in Tel Aviv, two of her dancers onstage flashed Israeli and Palestinian flags pinned on their backs.
The European Broadcast Union said Madonna had not cleared that part of the act with broadcasters and “was advised as to the non-political nature of the event.”
Madonna later defended the stunt on Twitter, sharing a clip of the dancers and writing, “I am grateful for the opportunity to spread the message of peace and unity with the world.”
Yet most reactions to Madonna’s performance had nothing to do with her political gesture. Many panned her for singing off key.
Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams paid over $US1 million ($A1.4 million) to bring Madonna in for the event.
EBU also said it is considering “consequences” for Iceland’s performers, who whipped out a Palestinian flag during the vote tally.
In other controversy, the jury vote from Belarus was not counted in the final score after officials broke the rules.
The shock move came after officials revealed who they had voted for during the first semi-final on Tuesday, The Sun reports.
Valeri Prigun, the chair of the Belarusian jury, spoke to publication tut.by on Tuesday to disclose how the jury had voted “almost unanimously.”
He also said that he liked Estonia, Czech Republic and Georgia, while other just members said they voted down Iceland and gave their highest marks to Australia.
This revelation did their own country’s result no favours, as teen sensation Zena came in second last place — just above the UK.
Jury votes count for 50 per cent of each country’s final score in the grand song contest final.
The Eurovision press team confirmed: “The Belarusian jury voting has been revealed in an interview contravening Eurovision Song Contest rules.
“In order to be compliant with the ESC voting regulations, the EBU has taken action and has dismissed the Belarusian jury from the Grand Final on Saturday.
“An aggregated result approved by the auditors will be used in order to determine to whom the Belarusian votes will be allocated.”
Overwhelming favourite The Netherlands won the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, with Australia’s Kate Miller-Heidke finishing ninth.
It was right down to the wire as the public vote was revealed, with Italy coming second and Russia in third.
After creating a huge buzz at the competition in Tel Aviv, Miller-Heidke’s top 10 result was a vast improvement on our Eurovision fortunes after last year.
The love for Miller-Heidke and her gravity-defying vocals and staging had been building steadily from the moment she unveiled both on the Expo Tel Aviv stage two weeks ago.
She went from being rated outside the top 10 in her first semi-final to second as the rehearsals continued as she grew in confidence on Strange Fruit’s innovative acrobatic bendy poles.
Her movements became bolder as she used her body weight to swing wider across the stage, flanked by dancers Emily Ryan and Emma Waite.
While her act may have looked like effortless elegance, the hard work and innovative staging behind it was awe-inspiring.
After her Australia Decides win in February, she decided the pole was the way to go and Miller-Heidke shimmied up the bendy apparatus for the first time in March.
She practised once a week before landing in Tel Aviv in early May.
Even more surprisingly, the scary challenge of singing five metres above the stage served to enhance her vocals with the classically trained artist commenting that it helped liberate her as she delivered those difficult high notes.
After the second semi final, Miller-Heidke leapt into second place in the polls behind The Netherlands representative Duncan Laurence who has led the field for weeks with Italy and Sweden also highly rated.
But an Australian win wasn’t to be.
Sweden lead after the jury vote, followed by the biggest shock of the night with North Macedonia scoring maximum 12 points from many countries.
Miller-Heidke was in sixth place after the jury votes were tallied.
The public voting gave us 131 points which put Miller-Heidke into ninth place.
Iceland stirred controversy as their votes were announced. When the cameras panned to the self-proclaimed anti-capitalists unravelled Palestine banners in support of the BDS movement which had campaigned for artists to boycott the competition.
Despite the voting, social media users were solidly on the side of Australia.
Madonna performed after all Eurovision contestants.
There were pre-show contract hiccups and a social media campaign by pro-Palestinian activists urging her not to perform at the 2019Eurovision Song Contest.
She finally arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night and has been out of sight rehearsing for her special guest performance since then.
When she finally showed her face in the Expo arena as voting continued, Madonna was the master of music diplomacy.
Before she got down to the business of singing two songs, Madonna took time out for one of those chats with the show’s co-host Assi Azar which didn’t say much beyond polite platitudes and congratulations to the artists.
And quoting the lyrics of her hit Music. And how it makes the people come together. That was as political as this year’s Eurovision got despite the contest shadowed by the boycott campaign by the pro-Palestinian activists and Israel’s efforts to showcase the country in a positive light only days after a ceasefire between fighters in Gaza and the Eurovision host country was declared.
“The first thing I would like to say that you are all winners no matter what happens,”
Madonna told the Eurovision artists before expounding on music’s unifying power.
She performed Like A Prayer which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and her new single Future with rapper Quavo as part of her launch campaign for new record Madame X which is released on June 14.
Flanked by a troupe of stationary dancers draped in monk robes, she stripped Like A Prayer into a beats and choir rendition before seguing into an interlude introducing her Madame X character’s philosophy. That was kinda weird.
And then it was only the business of performing Future live for the first time with a highly choreographed piece which lacked the kind of high energy and vocal power displayed by many of the Eurovision acts which preceded her.
26. SPAIN
Miki — La Venda
Miki is so much damn fun. But I’ll be honest … after Kate’s performance, the anxiety levels here rival her height above the stage so his effort was over before you could concentrate on it.
The staging is a bit busy but he closes the show on an energetic high.
25. AUSTRALIA
Kate Miller-Heidke — Zero Gravity
The entire press centre just lost it, erupting in huge cheers.
That’s after they sang along to every Zeeeeerooooo Graaaaavity and clapped their way through the chorus.
Kate delivered yet another impressive performance and clearly looked like she was having a ball flying through the air with the greatest of ease.
The supreme power of her three-octave range was on show and the staging never fails to impress.
While she manages to make that performance look effortless, the amount of sheer grit, determination and newly acquired acrobatic skills involved are truly awe-inspiring.
I have everything crossed.
24. SWITZERLAND
Luca Hänni — She Got Me
The best choreography on the stage — not above it like our Kate.
The Swiss hottie has figured in the top 10 all week with his pop banger and high energy performance.
The minimal red stage works too.
23. SERBIA
Nevena Božović — Kruna
The Serbian Delta. Striking an Angelina Jolie one-leg pose in a swirl of black couture, Nevena also sports icy Game of Thrones staging. There’s Olympic hair flicking, epic arm throws and the power notes.
22. ITALY
Mahmood — Soldi
Another top 5 contender. This trap beats meets traditional Arabic vibes and Italian balladry is the urban offering for 2019. And has demanded the kind of emphatic handclap participation which leaves your palms red.
Mahmood clearly modelled his signature dance step on Drake.
21. FRANCE
Bilal Hassani — Roi
This one could be the dark horse of the line-up. The anthem for inclusivity and tolerance makes bold statements with a diverse guest cast of dancers and performers.
There’s been a lot of love for Bilal and his empowerment message throughout the Eurovision campaign.
20. AZERBAIJAN
Chingiz — Truth
My pick for song of the year — besides Zero Gravity, of course.
Euro future pop with dancing robots and lasers; love the catchy “shut up about it” chorus and chanty bridge.
The vocals weren’t as good as they have been through the week.
19. BELARUS
ZENA — Like It
The Charli XCX of the field. But road case choreography? Hmmm.
The song is the sound of now and super radio-friendly and as the
youngest artist in the competition, it suits the 16-year-old perfectly.
But the vocals are a bit screechy and the staging is a bit of a concept-free mess.
18. ESTONIA
Victor Crone — Storm
Ladies and gentlemen, here is your Eurovision 2019 hottie.
Shame that voice is a little shouty pitchy and the song isn’t all that.
His performance was married by a massive camera blunder. Either a steady cam operator fell off stage or they switched to the wrong feed because instead of looking into Victor’s beautiful eyes, we saw a cameraman trying to dash offstage and a section of bench seating.
17. ICELAND
Hatari — Hatrið mun sigra
Not since Finnish metal legends Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision with their Hard Rock Hallelujah has the competition enjoyed such a bonkers performance of rock.
These industrial techno anti-capitalists have been non-stop entertainment since they landed in Tel Aviv and forged quite the showmance with our own Kate Miller-Heidke.
They presented her with an honorary mace yesterday.
Screamo vocals, BDSM outfits and the mace-wielding gimp atop their metal cage, this act could be the resident act at a Berlin nightclub.
16. UNITED KINGDOM
Michael Rice — Bigger Than Us
Mum always told me if you don’t have anything nice to say; so let’s leave it at that, shall we?
Seriously though, couldn’t someone hook him up with a spare Ed Sheeran song. He’s got heaps sitting in a computer folder somewhere.
15. NORWAY
KEiiNO — Spirit in the Sky
I LOVE this song. It’s that song where you make up your own chant because you don’t know the Sami language. And now I want to learn Sami.
Big handclap action, happy faces and a press centre favourite.
It should have been submitted for the Game of Thrones soundtrack.
14. ISRAEL
Kobi Marimi — Home
The hometown hero with the golden power pipes. And a song about, well, home but repeats “someone” a lot.
But let’s face it the mega emote face reminds you of the wedding singer you just don’t want to have eye contact with at the bar.
Love that he gets caught up in the emotion of it all at the end, that’s peak Eurovision.
13. GREECE
Katerine Duska — Better Love
This was such a standout in the first semi but has plunged down the field since then.
The Florence and the Machine channelling song seems to have stalled in its power and the staging now looks like a teenager’s Pinterest vision board after craft class.
Katherine’s vocals also went a bit awry.
12. THE NETHERLANDS
Duncan Laurence — Arcade
If you follow polls and bookies, and after the federal election this might not be a wise course, this is the winner of 2019 Eurovision.
It’s a piano ballad. He sits at the piano and plays and sings. His voice his beautiful. There’s more handclaps and oh ohs and woo woos.
But I am struggling to figure out why this entry has led the field for weeks. Perhaps it has something to do with him nuding up in the official video for Arcade.
11. CYPRUS
Tamta — Replay
No, the middle pants section of her costume isn’t missing. It’s just not there.
This is almost a copycat song and production from Eleni’s Fire which came second last for Cyprus last year, except the dancers are male.
She is the sexiest pop princess of Eurovision 2019 but the vocals ain’t all that.
10. SLOVENIA
Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl — Sebi
One of the most contemporary songs of the field. And yep, more white.
These young lovers are a thoroughly modern pairing. They met on Instagram and have spent most of their time in Tel Aviv saying they’re not a couple and then confirming they are but hey, we don’t really want to talk about it.
Zala looks like a dear in the headlights unless she is looking at her BF but he kinda looks at her with a weird stalker stare. They are also standing uncomfortably close to each other. It is all a bit Flowers in the Attic.
The first time they kissed, on the cheek, on stage was just then! Talk about dainty up the big surprise finish.
9. SWEDEN
John Lundvik — Too Late for Love
This is one of the best songs of the 2019 field and Lundvik is a popular performer among the artists and in the arena.
The uplifting gospel pop sound is bang on Eurovision brand; everyone in the press centre is loving it.
The gold and black staging is too dark and looks more like an LED prison. And hello, those backing vocalist outfits look like they were designed to promote recycling.
Still a top 5 contender.
8. NORTH MACEDONIA
Tamara Todevska — Proud
After disco, the ballad. Everyone in the Eurovision family adores Tamara. She’s apparently awesome. But the song, the dress, the staging concept … no.
And the videos should be girl power inspirational but comes off like out takes from an award’s In Memoriam segment.
7. SAN MARINO
Serhat — Say Na Na Na
This is the entry to make the final where everyone in Tel Aviv went WTF but then cheered ecstatically that it did.
A disco Leonard Cohen whose vocals have been of questionable quality but the personality plus of this performance and Na Na Nas are ridiculously infectious.
More all-white outfit madness but this is the most joyous song of the night.
6. DENMARK
Leonora — Love Is Forever
And the first mobile torch moment of 2019 Eurovision.
A slice of a Lily Allen sweet pop but without the acerbic lyrics.
The sugar rush is real but hey, everyone in the press centre is swaying along like they are hanging in a university quad sipping cider between classes.
5. RUSSIA
Sergey Lazarev — Scream
Probably Russia’s biggest pop star, he came third behind Dami Im’s second in Sweden in 2016.
This is exactly what you expect in a Russian power pop ballad and also signals the prevailing all-white costume trend.
The first act to use the Lightning but that ill-fitting white pant ass action in the mirrors is a distraction.
4. GERMANY
S!sters — Sister
Is it cheating if they aren’t really sisters and then double down to sing a song called Sister?
Their voices don’t really match and they get a bit out of step with the verse verbiage. The song could make it onto a Disney musical … the fourth one in the credits.
3. CZECH REPUBLIC
Lake Malawi — Friend of a Friend
This boy band trio appear to be missing a Wiggle. Their pop earworm is ridiculously radio friendly and the Shawn Mendez lookalike singer has clearly studied at the dance studios of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
Colour blocking is a big theme for the 2019 contest. And handclaps.
There are many handclaps tonight so keep some palm slapping in reserve.
2. ALBANIA
Jonida Maliqi — Ktheju tokës
Jonida is a veteran of Albania’s selection song contest, having competed for the right to represent her country at Eurovision since she was 13.
Her big voice, strong emote face game and black and gold costume drama suits Eurovision but there’s no wow factor here to propel her beyond being one of the longest odds outsiders to take out the 2019 title.
The first pyro flashes and sleeve tattoos of the night.
1. MALTA
Michela — Chameleon
One of the youngest artists in this year’s contest, the 18-year-old has struggled with nerves and the disruption of dramatic staging tweaks throughout her Eurovision campaign.
Her final performance was cute and confident enough but that staging is a retina-burning flash of fluoro borrowed from Meghan Trainor.
Michela’s attempt at knee-dancing is all of us at our cousin’s wedding.
Originally published as Eurovision 2019: All the action from the grand final in Tel Aviv
Star’s voice heard for first time in years
John Farnham is ready to let the world hear his voice, more than two years after undergoing gruelling surgery to remove a tumour in his mouth.
US country music star’s nod to Australia
The country musician is on tour in Australia and cemented his love for the country with a permanent “souvenir”.