In which the Germans try their hand at country music

The 51^st Eurovision Song Contest, hosted delightfully by Athens, has now declared its winner. The show was the typical fare, a mixture of some ethnic, some pop, some folk, and to my delight this year there was a taste of Nashville country. The most horrifying moment, however, was probably when the Dutch presenter came on air to give the Dutch voting results. He compared the two hosts, Maria and Sakis, to Will and Grace, and then proceeded to shamelessly flirt with Sakis. Poor Sakis, he had a bit of a hard time recovering.

I admit, Eurovision is cheesy, but it is good old fashioned fun. It is great to look back at some of the earlier years which had true representations of each country’s culture in music. Here are my thoughts on this year’s show:

Most interesting

Finland’s Lordi. This is what happens when Gwar and KISS have babies. They aren’t bad for metal, but my headbangin’ days are long over. At any rate, they were the winners by a landslide this year, so they must be doing something right.

Germany’s Texas Lightning. Yea, ok, I realize that country music has an appeal worldwide. But the last people I expected to see performing country music are the Germans. Honestly, they didn’t do a bad job, either. They apparently cover all the greats, including Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and Bill Monroe. Their tag line is the best: It’s not a joke, it’s country. Are you listening, Nashville? Better watch out for the Germans.

Guilty pleasure

Russia’s Dima Bilan. He came in second, not surprisingly. Ok, maybe the song was a bit cheesy, but I liked it. Plus he is a little cutie, despite the badly drawn mullet hair.

My favorite songs

Norway’s Christine Guldbrandsen with Alvedansen and Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Hari Mata Hari with Lejla.

Most annoying

Lithuania and their non-song rap/trying-to-be-cute-and-funny song We are the Winners. Sure, I appreciate their attempt at humor, but I don’t appreciate it enough.

The UK’s Daz Sampson with Teenage Life. He obviously stole this rap from the soundtrack for Annie – It’s a Hard Knock Life. Two problems - one, this white boy can’t rap; two, the UK is famous for good music, how come their last four entries to Eurovision were crap?

The Ukraine’s Tina Karol. Two words: Shakira wannabe.