The 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, which resulted in the victory of the rock band Måneskin, was the scene of great excitement. Before the competition, Italy, which was said to be in the top 5, but the probability of winning is not very high, was a great success and became a giant on stage. Following last year’s victory, this year’s 2022 Eurovision Song Contest was held in Turin, Italy. Organized for the 66th time this year, the Eurovision Song Contest was an important year in terms of hosting the strongest songs of recent years. From ethnic pop to rap, from indie pop to rock, from retro disco sounds to alternative rock, we saw a very wide final night. 25 countries competed in the final in this important year, when the host Italy surprised everyone by organizing an even more boring organization than the Sanremo Music Festival. In the pre-contest bets, the favorite was, by far, Ukraine. However, it was rumored that the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Spain would also be in the top 5. The predictions were not in vain, with one exception, 4 of these countries found their place in the top 5.
Serbia surprised everyone
Let’s start with the first exception. The host Italy competed with the duo Mahmood and Blanco, who had previously placed them in second place with the song ‘Soldi’. After the first place in Sanremo, ‘Bribide’, which achieved high numbers of entertainment in countries such as Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Croatia and Malta, ended the night with a click below expectations, which I think was the degree they deserved. On the 5th of the night it was Serbia, who did not pay much attention before the competition, but is gaining more and more sympathy in the last week. ‘In corpore sano’, in which Konstrakta surprised the audience by washing their hands throughout the performance, was, in fact, one of the most artistic works of the night. Although Serbia lagged behind in the jury vote, it ended the night in the top 5 when it got the fourth highest score from the audience. Fourth place in the competition was Sweden. Cornelia Jakobs, who won the Melodifestivalen and participated in the contest, sang one of the most memorable ballads of the night. If “Hold Me Closer” had been one more year, I would have easily found a place in the top 3. But this year, which included loud songs, was the 4th. Third place on the night was the favorite of Chanel and Spain Eurovision fans. ‘SloMo’ was a typical Eurovision dance song. Fascinating the audience with her magnificent dance choreography, Chanel came third in both the jury and the public vote. The only problem with Chanel was that it had an aura close to Eleni Foureira’s ‘Fuego’ in the recent past. If ‘Fuego’ by Foureira had been released 10 years ago, ‘SloMo’ by Chanel could have received a higher rating.
The UK exceeded expectations
Let’s go to the second of the competition. The UK, which had a disappointing 0 last year, had studied its lesson this year. ‘Space Man’ sung by the TikTok phenomenon Sam Ryder took a well-deserved second place in the UK. The song that won first place on the jury came in fifth in the audience vote and finished the second night. I honestly hoped Sweden would win the jury points, but I think the UK, a little surprisingly, managed to win the jury. Thanks to the slow jury vote, we saw Sam Ryder very much on screen. ‘Space Man’ was a very solid song. It seemed certain that the song, which entered the rotation even on BBC radio, would enter the top 5, but the second place was indeed a higher score than expected. Therefore, we can say with certainty that the real winner of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest is Sam Ryder. What about the championship? As expected, he went to Ukraine. Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra, which finished second in their country’s Vidbir national final with their song “Stefania”, won a Eurovision ticket after Alina Pash withdrew from the competition. Later, Ukraine began to be occupied by Russia. But it was clear that Kalush and his team would represent Ukraine at Eurovision. ‘Stefania’ is a very solid song, let’s face it. A mix of ethnicity, rap and pop, ‘Stefania’ was a work that really summed up Ukraine in 2022 with its melody and energy, as it could fuse three different genres into one pot. Therefore, the place of Ukraine in the top 3 was guaranteed. The song, which finished fourth on the jury, broke the record with 439 points in the public vote, and thus, first place was inevitable.
Is the first place in Ukraine debatable?
Yes, Ukraine won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, but it deserved it to the end. In the popular vote, the votes of sympathy for Ukraine were combined with a good song. If Alina Pash had represented Ukraine, she would never have thought that Ukraine would have achieved such a great victory. ‘Stefania’ took first place by combining the advantage of being a good song with the support of Ukraine. It makes no sense to look for a political meaning in it. This assessment of ‘Stefania’, who was 4th on the jury, was also fair. If Ukraine were the first, second or even third of the jury, that is, if it were among the top 3, we would be talking about a political vote or an injustice. In short, Ukraine won the competition deserving of it. The UK was the surprise star. Among the top 10 songs, Greece, Portugal and Norway also had good performances. My only objection will be to Moldova. It was really surprising that Moldova was in seventh place overall, thanks to the second place in the popular vote. I would like the Netherlands, which is 11th overall, to stay in the top 10. As expected, things must change in Germany, which ended last night as expected. Germany, which we can call the most failed country in recent years, should play in front of the public or in front of the jury, but it should get rid of being penultimate or penultimate. The competition will be held in Ukraine next year. However, if there is an interruption due to the invasion of Russia, it is likely that the UK runner-up could be the host. Frankly, no matter what country I come from, I want Italy to organize a much nicer organization. Because, unfortunately, Italy could not deliver what was expected in terms of organization. I look forward to seeing you next year!
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