ESC in Düsseldorf

In the olden days of the Eurovision Song Contest, the songs in the competition had an aesthetic of their own, with melodies engineered to appeal to multiple generations and texts to sing along to across all language barriers.

The grand gesture was sought after, a pan-European pathos and hymns of love and peace. Songs that won the Eurovision had little to do with pop music trends. Many of the winning titles couldn't stand up in the charts. Yet a fanatic subculture proliferated around the competition celebrating embarrassing, pompous and kitschy entries along the lines of "poor but good."

But in recent years, the ESC has gradually moved out of its parallel universe to offer a purview of the variety of European pop music. Seeking more than just consensus, partipating countries began to take risks. Part of the excitement and musical interest in the competition is that it now serves up some surprises.

Balkan winds, bar jazz and Greek rap

Certainly there were a couple of heartbreakingly corny acts among the 43 participants in the 2011 season, but also some original entries like the Greek fusion of rap and folklore pop or the magnificently audacious blend of Balkan winds and hip hop à la Beasty Boys served up by the band Zdob si Zdub from Moldavia. And some could not believe their ears when jazz pianist Raphael Gualazzi from Italy took second place with his original swing number.

Gualazzi was outdone only by the duo Ell & Nikki from Azerbaijan and "Running Scared." That song confirms another trend of recent years. Pop songs of international stature are more popular than ever with the European public. That puts the Eurovision Song Contest at the musical forefront once and for all and makes it the world's greatest song competition.

Düsseldorf: 12 points

When Lena won in 2010, the organizers, most of all NDR in Hamburg, were given the opportunity to serve up the "show of the century" to 120 million viewers. That doesn't seem to have been too ambitious a claim. Apart from a minor technical glitch during the first semifinal, the ESC was impressive for its originality and perfection.

The sound in the stadium and on radio and TV was of optimum quality, the 1,000 square meter LED gigantic and the hosting by Judith Rakers, Anke Engelke and Stefan Raab without mistakes. The musical technique of the artists has grown considerably in recent years. There were few instances of bad singing or playing, and even the weaker compositions offered some good entertainment.

10th place after all

When producer Stefan Raab and North German Broadcasting announced last year that Lena would defend her crown in Düsseldorf, the media were not enthused. To perform again would be embarrassing, some said, tantamount to delusions of grandeur, and she can't sing anyway.

Whether anyone in Lena's surroundings or even Lena herself ever believed in their wildest dreams that she would win this year, is of course unknown. Only one thing is certain: at ESC 2011 Lena proved that she do an optimum rendition of her song "Taken by a Stranger." That was not necessarily to be expected, given her comparatively mediocre appearances in the pre-selection rounds. So let's let her chill out for a while, and it shouldn't have to take another twenty-seven years for Germany to win the Eurovision Song Contest again.

Autor: Matthias Klaus / rf
Editor: Suzanne Cords