The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest: Winners & Stand Outs

Having explored the main themes of the Song Contest what I would normally do now is look at the top three finishers. Along with some of the acts which didn't particularly fit in with the main themes but stood out anyway.

This year Third Place went to Austria. I have already covered their entry as part of the immigration theme here; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-2018-eurovision-song-contest-grand_28.html

Second Place went to Cyprus. I have already covered their entry as part of the Daniela Ruah theme here; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-2018-eurovision-song-contest-grand_11.html

First Place went to Israel. Due to Israel's decision to accompany their entry with large-scale bombing of Syria I did a quick overview of their entry before even the Second Semi-Final had taken place. However as winners and therefore 2019 Song Contest hosts I think that it is important that I cover them in full detail.

Israel: This year they were represented by Netta with the song; "TOY."

Israel are traditionally one of the most skilled nations in the political aspects of the Song Contest. They use the Song Contest to gauge how their often controversial policies are viewed by the nations of Europe.

So for example if Israel are doing something unpopular such as a war they make a very strong entry to the Song Contest. The strength of the entry is then used to off-set the unpopularity of Israel's actions. Likewise if Israel does something popular like entering into peace talks they make a very weak entry into the Song Contest.

In recent years anti-Semitism has been on the rise across Europe. This has taken all of the precision out of Israel's role within the Song Contest. Neither Israel's actions nor the strength of their entry matter. Israel never make it through to the Grand Final because, Jews.

By 2014 things had got so bad Israel threatened to withdraw from the competition unless if not the precision returned they were at least given something resembling a fair chance.

This year Israel has been extremely naughty. Or more accurately US President Trump has been extremely naughty on Israel's behalf.

In December 2017 President Trump announced that he was moving the US Embassy to Israel to Jerusalem.

This caused international outrage for the simple reason that Jerusalem is not in Israel.

Under UN Resolution 181 (1947)  Jerusalem has "Corpus Separatum/Separated Body" status. This meant that it was neither part of Israel nor part of Palestine. Instead it is supposed to be administered by the international community under the auspices of the UN.

President Trump's announcement was condemned by 14 of the 15 members of the UN Security Council (UNSC). However the condemnation was vetoed by the US. So the matter was taken to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) where the US' veto was overturned. This was only the 11th time the UNGA has overturned a UNSC veto.

President Trump though pressed ahead regardless. The US Embassy to nowhere officially opened on May 14th (14/5/18). Two days after the Song Contest Grand Final.

In order to off-set that level of naughtiness Israel needed to produce an extremely strong 2018 Song Contest entry. You'd be tempted to say that they needed to go big.

That is almost literally what they did with their singer Netta being something of a larger lady.

I would hesitate to describe Netta as fat. I think we could all do with losing a little weight. However I suspect that if you gave Netta a dietitian, personal chef and personal trainer she would still be roughly the same size and shape. That is just how she is made.

On the surface the song is about a casual relationship she has with a man who treats her as something of a consolation prize. He's always on the market, out looking for a slimmer, more attractive woman. However every time he ends up empty handed he goes to spend the night with the big girl.

The song is an intimately personal experience which is in no way overtly political. However it is easy to extrapolate it to talk about how men treat women more generally. This has been a significant topic of late. Particularly in America with the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the associated; "Times Up" and "Me Too" movements.

Once you're into a discussion about the way men treat women as toys its quite easy to compare it to the way that western politicians treat Israel.

It seems that every time a western leader takes up office for the first time they immediately pledge that they are going to be ones to finally solve the Israel/Palestine conflict. France's Emmanuel Macron being the most recent example.

I hate to break it to them all but the only people who are going to solve the Israel/Palestine conflict are the Israelis and the Palestinians.

By far the most serious offender in this area recently has been former US President Barack Obama.

Immediately upon taking up office Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. In Obama this seemed to trigger a sort of Grandiose Delusion similar to the famous; "Jerusalem Syndrome." The Nobel was apparently a divine symbol that Obama was to unite all the religions and peoples of the World in peace.

Unfortunately in his delusion Obama decided that he didn't need to do any of the work needed to understand the extremely complex Israel/Palestine conflict. Things like the issue of Iran's nuclear program and how it serves as a metaphor for conventional weapons shipment routes by Iran to Palestinian groups.

Rather than learning about this Obama decided to shut it all down by bullying the EU along with Russia and China to impose sanctions on Iran. Then realising his mistake introducing the so-called Iran Nuclear Deal to lift those sanctions.

The Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets during Eurovision week represented the most significant Israeli attacks on Syria since 1974. To give you an idea of how much more dangerous Obama made the World by shutting down that valuable diplomatic tool.

Not only was Obama not interested in learning about the complexities of the Israel/Palestine conflict he would frequently get bored and go off to play with something else. Rather like a child with their toy box.

For example Obama seemed to see no conflict between his efforts to bring peace to Israel and Palestine and his efforts to overthrow the Syrian government by backing the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and associated groups. To this day I still don't think Obama realises that Syria is right next to Israel. In fact Israel slightly intrudes into Syria.

America is famously one of the most obese nations on Earth. It should come as little surprise then that the passions of fat women has emerged as something of a genre within US pop music.

One such example of the genre is the 2015 song; "Exes and Ohs" by Elle King. This is a song about a woman's frustration about all the men falling in love with her and being unable to cope when she uses them like toys, dumping them after she's had her fun.

Azerbaijan's entry this year was "X My Heart" by Aisel. In almost unprecedented scenes for the Song Contest this was Azerbaijan expressing support and even admiration for its long time enemy Armenia. The link with the Elle King song gave Israel automatic entry into any discussions about that unusual state of affairs.

The way that Exes and Ohs was marketed as Elle King's debut single is an interesting study in society's attitudes towards female beauty.

Normally when a record company launches a new artist they heavily promote them. They bribe radio and TV music stations for heavy airplay. They bribe newspapers and magazines to do photoshoots and interviews. Sometimes they even resort to conventional advertising with print and TV commercials.

In this Internet age social media also plays a huge role. Within its; "Moments" function Twitter has a music section. This is full of the accounts of people you've never heard but whose record company are working really hard to make famous. Then there are all the AstroTurf 'fan' campaigns to get song releases trending and videos certified on streaming services like YouTube and Vevo.

The marketing campaign for Exes and Ohs was very different. It was based entirely on radio airplay with no images of the singer released at all. This allowed people to imagine what Elle King looked like as they listened to what is a very catchy song.

I actually remember casually reading a magazine article about the song and Elle King. As with the rest of the marketing campaign this contained no photographs. However it appeared next to an article about the singer Tori Kelly which did include photographs.

Not having a clue who Tori Kelly was I mistook the photograph of her for a photograph of Elle King. Therefore listening to Exes and Ohs in future I had this mental image of it being sung by a twenty something, slim, American blond.

I think then it was a shock to everyone when Elle King finally appeared on our TV screens. Looking at this woman, who like Netta is on the larger side, the general reaction seemed to be; "Men wouldn't be fighting over her. She's a consolation prize."

So this year Lithuania ended their performance by apologising for their act. Britain pulled their act offstage midway through after accepting that it was rubbish.

Israel used their act to tell you exactly where they wanted to finish in the competition.

Probably the most famous song in this genre is; "All About That Bass." The 2014 debut by Meghan Trainor.

This song is a protest against society's attitudes towards female beauty. Despite all the airbrushed images of stick thin models Meghan Trainor is proud of her curves and wobbly bits and has no plans to change for any man.

Within the Syria conflict Israel's position has long been that it will not tolerate Iran establishing bases within Syria.

On May 7th (7/5/18) - the day before the First Semi-Final - Israel came out and said it would assassinate the Syrian President if he allowed Iran to establish those bases. The week of Israeli bombing that accompanied the Song Contest was intended to make clear that for Israel it is all about the bases.

The US' response to Israel's concerns has been painfully literal.

The US are maintaining a base designated; "Bobby Sands" near al-Tanf in order to block an Iranian road route from Iraq to Damascus. Shortly after the Song Contest the US blocked a Syrian offensive against the ISIL affiliate The Army of Khalid Ibn al-Walid/Jaish al-Khalid Ibn al-Walid close to the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. Again this is being done in the name of Israel's protection by preventing Iran establishing bases in Daraa Province.

By granting ISIL these de facto safe havens in Syria the US is prolonging the conflict. This provides Iran with a legitimate reason to maintain a military presence within Syria. As the recent Israeli airstrikes made a point of the US' actions are not inhibiting Iran's ability to operate in Syria whatsoever.

In fact the longer the US delays abandoning Obama era thinking and adopting a credible strategy the less likely anything except a permenant, frozen conflict becomes.

One of the main themes of this year's Song Contest has been condemnation of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) in the US. Based on the lie that Micheal Brown was murdered by racist police while having his hands up in surrender this was created by Obama in an effort to swing the 2014 mid-term elections in the Democrats favour.

Black Lives Matter have become a sort of shorthand for much wider attempts by political forces who - without a hint of irony - describe themselves as; "Progressive Liberals" to silence any form of dissent or even the holding of a different point of view.

These 'Progressive Liberals' would label any comment about a woman's weight or physical appearance as the hate crime of; "Fat Shaming."

When it comes to women like Netta or Elle King they have something of a point. Those women are just naturally larger than average and shouldn't be made to feel ashamed of or apologise for that fact.

However the cry of; "Fat Shaming!" more often than not comes from women who are fat because they eat far too much food and do far too little exercise. Their lazy and slovenly lifestyles are doing great damage to their health and pointing that out is legitimate criticism.

An interesting study in this area is the US popstar Kelly Clarkson.

When Kelly Clarkson first emerged after winning American Idol in 2002 she was slim, healthy and very much conformed to conventional standards of female beauty. As you can see in the video for her debut single; "A Moment Like This."

Since then Kelly Clarkson has had much publicised battles with her weight at one point becoming extremely fat. I understand that her weight issues have been tied up with mental health problems such as post-natal depression so I hesitate to be too critical.

However I do remember seeing footage of Kelly Clarkson performing live at the Capital FM Summertime Ball in 2015 when she was probably at her most heavy. The effort of singing while walking around the stage was leaving her noticeably short of breath.

Commenting at that point that Kelly Clarkson needed to lose weight would not be an attempt to dismiss her as unattractive and worthless. It is a legitimate medical concern over whether she would need to be provided with a chair and an oxygen cylinder. A concern you would have because you do value her.

The irony of course is that after becoming famous Meghan Trainor immediately hired the dietitian, personal chef and personal trainer to dramatically lose weight and get rid of those curves she claimed to be so proud of.

At around 17:30 on 13/6/18 (UK date) I will try to finish this after dinner.

Edited at around 19:10 on 13/6/18 (UK date) to add;

The greatest thought crime invented by the 'progressive liberals' is that of; "Cultural Appropriation."

Given how widespread these ideas have become it should hardly come as a surprise that Israel's entry was been accused of just that. In her live performances Netta wore a Japanese-style Kimono and performed alongside possibly hundreds of "Golden Chinese Lucky Cats."

The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest has followed shortly after the 2018 Winter Olympics and Para-Olympics held in the Republic of Korea (RoK). During all of the ceremonies of these events the South Korean hosts made frequent reference to the Eurovision Song Contest. A competition they clearly very much want to be involved in.

The hosts of the 2022 Winter Olympics and Para-Olympics will be China. This meant that they produced sequences in the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics and Para-Olympics. Something which no doubt piqued their already substantial interest in the Eurovision Song Contest.

One of the running jokes at the Olympics and Para-Olympics was the US' and particularly Vice President Mike Pence's seeming inability to realise that Japan and the RoK are not the same country. He probably thinks Kimonos are Korean.

Israel's use of these; "Chinese Lucky Cats" was an attempt to troll the 'progressive liberals' constantly on guard for Cultural Appropriate and other thought crimes. Properly known "Manek-neko (Beckoning Cat)" these Chinese Lucky Cats are actually Japanese in origin and have been culturally appropriated by the Chinese.

So the people outraged by Israel's cultural appropriation didn't actually know which culture was being appropriated from.

Mainly though Israel was referencing Japanese and Chinese culture to remind people that the Asian nations at the centre of the 2018 Winter Olympics were very interested in the Song Contest this year. It went on to suggest there might be certain financial advantages to expanding into those nations.

Through the hooded top she wore in particularly the video in support of the song Netta was referencing the British singer Jessie J.

Jessie J launched her career in 2005 with the song; "Do It Like A Dude." Since then she's rather faded in to obscurity releasing her last single in 2015. In 2012 and 2013 she was a coach on the UK version of The Voice. In 2015 and 2016 she was also a coach on the Australian version of The Voice.

It was a surprise then when at the start of 2018 Jessie J appeared on the similar Chinese singing competition; "Singer." Not as a coach but as a contestant. A show she went on to win.

The reason for this demotion was the absolutely huge amount of money she now stands to make from the hugely lucrative Chinese pop music market.  Rather like Netta in her live performance Jessie J is now surrounded by Chinese gold.

Through songs like Do It Like a Dude Jessie J is openly Bisexual. By which we mean; "Massive Lesbian who is worried about scaring off the US market."

On the topic of massive lesbians we have the US singer Beth Ditto famous for the band; "Gossip" and that one song they did that one time; "Standing in the Way of Control." Both being larger ladies Netta does somewhat resemble Beth Ditto inviting you to speculate on whether is also gay.

Israel is infinitely more tolerant of both women's rights and gay rights than its Muslim, Arab neighbours. This is simply a fact.

However Zionist Jews - like those who wish to make Jerusalem Israel's capital - frequently try to use this as an example of their moral superiority to Muslims and Arabs. A superiority that allows Israeli Jews to seize territory from Muslims and Arabs.

Like all Israelis Netta has performed compulsory military service. She served in the Israeli Navy as a singer.

Due to the host Daniella Ruah this year's contest has had a distinctly nautical theme to it. Rihanna's fanbase are known as; "The Navy." Due to her 2013 Diamonds World Tour Rihanna has become something of a byword for Obama's stupidity in Eurovision circles.

The fact that Netta is actually a Navy Veteran allows Israel to slot itself neatly into both of those themes.

The fact the entry as a whole plays up Israel's record as a supporter of gay rights along with its general overwhelming power makes you wonder if Netta is still on active service in the Israeli Navy. This being yet another example of Zionist Jews hijacking gay rights as a way to justify their aggression. After all the Israeli Air Force seem to have been acting as Netta's backing performers.

That of course touches on the issue of how the Eurovision crowd's obsession with gay rights leads to it being manipulated and made to look foolish. For example by voting for the Republic of Ireland this year or supporting Shamali Province generally.

One of Jessie J's most famous songs is 2011's "Price Tag." Israeli Zionist Jews - particularly West Bank Settlers - engage in what is known as; "Price Tagging."

Price Tagging is a campaign of vandalism targeting Palestinian Arab and increasingly Israeli Bedouin homes and property in order to drive them off their lands. Essentially the Zionist Jews are asking what price those people are prepared to pay to keep living on what the Zionists consider to be Jewish property.

Featuring lyrics such as; "Well keep the price tag" the Jessie J song was Britain sending the message that it supports Zionist Jews and their Price Tagging. This is the type of political messaging that most nations reserve for the Song Contest. However Britain considers itself too superior for that.

So rather than Israel's Song Contest entry being hijacked by Zionist Jews it actually included a protest by another group of Israeli Jews against the Zionists and their international backers.

Israel's gay capital is actually the nation's capital - Tel Aviv. People there have a long history of protesting against Zionist Jews. Particularly on the issue of Jerusalem.

For example when US President Trump was first considering moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel in 2017 the Israeli government was running and international tourism campaign. The main part of the pitch was that if you visited Israel you could spend half your holiday in Tel Aviv and half your holiday in Jerusalem.

The video in support of Israel's 2017 entry; "I Feel Alive" by IMRI very much resembled that government tourism campaign. But with one crucial difference. At Eurovision Israel loved Tel Aviv. And only Tel Aviv.

That spirit of protest continued in this year's entry. It is written by Doron Medalie who is most famous for the song; "Tel Aviv Ya Habibi" which translates as; "Tel Aviv My Love" with the words; "My Love" being in Arabic. This song has long been associated with Tel Aviv's Gay Pride festival and I think is now actually considered its official anthem.

So for a second year in a row Israel's entry has been a very large demonstration of Tel Aviv Pride.

This is why Israel were desperate to finish second and claim only the consolation prize for what is clearly, by far, this year's strongest entry.

That would have made a perfect Israeli protest against Trump's Embassy to nowhere. It shows that people do give credit to Israeli Jews when they deserve it. They just have legitimate political objections to Zionist Jews who want to occupy Jerusalem and Palestine.

I would've thought the best way to achieve that would be for the expert panels to slightly mark Israel down. Leading to heart stopping moments while we waited to find out if the public vote would carry them over the line.

Although if you believe the World is controlled by a secret conspiracy, Jewish or otherwise. Well then clearly you've never tried to rig the outcome of a Eurovision Song Contest.

The people behind Israel's entry are all Israeli. So they know better than anyone what it is like to live in Israel. 

Therefore they wanted to finish second because they know the Zionists will hijack Israel's hosting of the 2019 Song Contest as a way to legitimise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. They also know that it is quite likely the Zionists will win that argument.

That is why in accepting her victory Netta declared that she looked forward to welcoming everyone to Jerusalem next year. It was sarcasm.

The Song Contest's Grand Final is immediately followed by the winners press conference. That ends with a small ceremony marking the start of preparations for the next year's Song Contest.

So the very bitter arguments that will stretch out over the next year over whether it will be Jerusalem or Tel Aviv are already very much underway. I have to say that I can see no way in which the 2019 Song Contest can be held in Jerusalem.

For starters it goes entirely against the reason that Israel won the 2018 Song Contest; Tel Aviv Pride.

Most importantly it can't be held in Jerusalem for the same reason the US can't open an Embassy in Jerusalem;

Jerusalem is not in Israel.

20:55 on 13/6/18 (UK date).