Coolest, funnest Eurovision song winner EVER

[Ron Edwards]

Finland won! I know, it took me a bit to get around to posting it here. I was busy.

But if you haven't seen the video yet, you just gotta: Hard Rock Halleluja!

Best, Ron

P.S. Should be obvious why this is an Adept Press forum topic. This Lordi guy obviously totally watches Bava movies.

[Darren Hill]

Let me share in your joy! I soooo wanted to post this here (well, everywhere actually), but thought it would be off-topic.
If you're not familiar with Eurovision, you'll have no idea how mindblowing (in a fantastic way) this is. I think they got the highest score ever, too. It's the first sign of the arockalypse, I tell ya.
Here's their performance on the night

If you liked that one, you might also like The Devil Is A Loser (and he's my bitch!).

And why not one more? Blood Red Sandman - the extremely observant may just detect the tiniest Evil Dead influence.

[Larry L.]

I thought they were pretty schlocky just hearing the song and seeing some photos, but that video is pretty fuckin' rad.

[Ron Edwards]

Oh, come on, schlocky? This is like Kiss except that they actually play rock-and-roll. What's not to love?

Also, for those who don't know, my wife is native Swedish and her family (like many emigre families) is uber-uber ultra Swedish, all the time. So the Eurovision song contest is a big deal 'round the household, and I hear/know all about it each year.

Best, Ron

[Mikael]

Yeah, we won! And the whole country went crazy, at least to the extent that Pepsi is now advertising "Hard Drink Hallelujah" on the sides of the trams in Helsinki.

This means that next year the contest will be hosted by Finland. I am really curious - and afraid - to see what kind of shows the assorted countries will come up with, now that Lordi's greatest-score-in-40-years-of-Eurovision clearly showed that you CAN compete with something else than the traditional pop love ballad performed by a beautiful blond woman.

[Nev the Deranged]

Dooooooood.

That there is the SHIT, bruthas.

[Arturo G.]

It was a pity I missed this show. I'm so ashamed about the performers that Spain sends to Eurovision, year after year, and about the Eurovision style and dynamics, that I never pay attention to it. But surely I would have enjoyed it this year.

I still remember that when I was still a kid, there was a group with a song called "Egovision". They were different. Indeed I think the song was somehow mockering about the Eurovision show. I remember they were hardly punished and got the last position. I thought we were not going to see anything risky anymore.

Arturo

[Nev the Deranged]

 I am now officially a Lordi fan. I went straight to my favorite download site and snagged as much as my crappy 56k connection could bear.

 If KISS and White Zombie had a love-in, Lordi would be their offspring. *eg*

 
 Rock and Roll angels, bring thine Hard Rock Hallelujah!

[Larry L.]

I find it worth mentioning that:

• The members of Lordi met at a KISS concert.
• Mr. Lordi has previously been a film student.

[Martin Higham]

There's an interesting analysis here on just how that largest vote ever was achieved.

[Larry L.]

They were awarded a plot to build a house in their home town (like Finnish custom has for Olympic winners and Formula One world champions).

Five costumed band members. One house. Sounds like fine reality TV waiting to happen.

[Darren Hill]

That's an interesting article, Martin. I can't comment on any failings within the SMS voting system, but I have a perspective on this bit:
"So when various European rockers heard that the Finnish entry would be the first-ever heavy metal song in the Song of Europe contest, they orchestrated a vote-getting campaign. All throughout Europe young head-bangers were energized to come out and vote."

I am a member of a few online metal communities, and I didn't see that. What I did see was a wave of tremendous excitement, starting with a "You've got to be kidding?" and rapidly building to a "omigod that's fantastic, I must tell all my friends!" A know a LOT more metal fans would have watched eurovision this year than usual (and Europe has a lot of metal fans), and I can remember people saying things like, "I'm actually going to vote this year!"
I'm not sure that really counts as an orchestrated campaign - it seems more like a very unorchestrated campaign, to me.

[Martin Higham]

I agree orchestrated is a poor choice of words.

I've seen it happen several times before in the UK where various Media organizations (newspapers and the BBC) have run "Most important Invention" polls only to see the bicycle win everytime. No organised campaign as such, but a bunch of keen cyclists telling other keen cyclists on the web that they can vote for the bicycle over in that poll. The mainstream media don't understand what's happened and their reponse is always that it must have been organized.