Eurovision Baku 2012 Preview

My picks from the up-coming Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan

Eurovision is rolling around again soon, so here is a guide to my choice of three 'interesting' acts lining up for a chance to win the coveted prize. The semi-finals begin on 22nd May and the Grand Final is set for 26th, all taking place in the Azeri capital city, Baku. The host nation traditionally uses their moment in the limelight to promote the living Bejesus out of their culture and tourism industry, and Azerbaijan will be no exception - you may have noticed their recent PR onslaught, although I would question the judgement of whoever told them to hire Prince Andrew as their chief promoter in the UK. The contest has also brought to light the atrocious human rights and press freedom record of the oft overlooked Caucasian state, and Armenia has regrettably pulled out of the contest because of a dispute with the host, their neighbour. On the other hand, could Azerbaijan's entry, which automatically qualifies for the Grand Final, secure an easy 12 points from Israel on the back of its apparent offer of an airbase for use in an attack on Iran? I for one can't wait to find out!

Rambo Amadeus - Euro Neuro

My first 'one to watch' for this year has to be Montenegrin artist Rambo Amadeus, with his unusual mix of rap, electronica and Balkan folk music. Rambo is a well-established international musician with a large following throughout former Yugoslavia, who styles himself modestly as the 'World Mega Czar'. His Wikipedia entry is absolutely fascinating, with highlights including his coining of the popular term "turbo folk" to describe his genre, representation of Yugoslavia in international sailing regattas, his hosting of what is described as an "erotic quiz show" on local TV and a musical performance at an alternative rock festival featuring a unique cement mixer solo. For examples of his work from his extensive discography, visit his personal website.

Rambo Amadeus' 2012 Eurovision entry, Euro Neuro

Buranovskiye Babushki - Party For Everybody

My next choice is Buranovskiye Babushki (the Buranovo Grannies) with their spirited entry Party For Everybody. The eldest touring member of the group, 76-year-old Natalya, narrowly beats the UK's Engelbert Humperdinck (75) into second place for the award of Most Ancient Performer, but they nevertheless rank near the top in terms of energy.


Buranovskiye Babushki are representing Russia with Party for Everybody

Hailing from the little-known village of Buranovo (see map below), Udmurtia's answer to the Spice Girls made a name for themselves with covers of hits by the Beatles, Queen and other world famous acts, translated into Udmurt dialect. They missed out on representing Russia once before in 2010 when they placed third in the national selection process, but weren't deterred and demolished the competition this year to make it to the semi-finals. If they win, they have said they will use the money to build a church in Buranovo.

 
Location of Buranovo in Russia - View Larger Map

Trackshittaz - Woki mit deim Popo

Finally, for sheer absurdity it is difficult to beat Austria's obscene 2012 entry. Surely pushing the boundaries of decency (how is Graham Norton going to pronounce their name?) is Trackshittaz, a two-man, track-suited "tractor rap" outfit with a song about bottoms in their local dialect. I'd like to point out immediately to avoid confusion that they are on my list for all the wrong reasons, as should swiftly become apparent.


Woki mit deim Popo translates roughly as "Shake your booty"

The pair found fame as a YouTube sensation and have amazingly and shamefully gone on to have number one singles and albums in Austria, as well as providing the official American Football World Cup anthem for their homeland in 2011. Woki mit deim Popo is a typical offering as far as I can tell, providing such insightful lyrics as "Und jetzt aussa mit de Depf, jetzt kummt de Nudlsuppn Gang" which, as far as I can work out, means "Now get your tits out, the noodle soup gang is coming."

I don't know whether the Eurovision organisers censor lyrics, but the combination of youth culture, slang and local dialect employed in tracks produced (or shat, presumably) by artists such as this would make it very difficult. It took me a good ten minutes to find out the meaning of the derogatory word 'Fruttn' used by Lukas and Manuel to insult women, and even now I'm not totally sure of it. If you are interested, the lyrics of Woki with a fairly accurate English translation can be found here.

Well, I hope that has got you excited about Eurovision 2012! I can do no better now than to leave you with Buranovskiye Babushki's haunting version of Hotel California: