Eurovision 2019 spotlight: Russia's Sergey Lazarev with "Scream"
After withdrawing from the contest in the Ukraine in 2017 because their representative, Julia Samoylova, had performed in the disputed region of Crimea where Russia annexed illegally (depending on who you ask), Russia sent her with a new song the following year in Portugal. That ended up a complete disaster, with a lackluster performance and science-fair staging causing the country to fail to qualify for the finals in the first time in history with the flaccid "I Won't Break". It was really sad, especially seeing the wheelchair-bound singer getting the boot, but there was no way around that show. Anyhoo, in their internal selection, Russia decided to give the guy who was in Eurovision the year before Julia and came in third have a second chance as well. Will he capture the crown?
Russia - "Scream" from Sergey Lazarev
Lazarev, one of the biggest pop stars in the country, also was part of one of the most nail-bitiest finishes at the contest, when his song "You Are The Only One", Jamala's decidedly anti-Russia epic "1944", and Australia's Dami Im with "Sound Of Silence" were in the mix for the top spot. But while Sergey had won the public vote, the music juries voted it down so much that Dami was able to pass him. Now, while there was an uproar on both sides (with one of the Russian jurors ending up being disqualified), Sergey himself kept quite above the fray and was gracious to the end. And that's what makes him so popular worldwide despite his country's deeds and reputation. Born in Moscow and at one point a member of a boy-band type duo, Sergey has been demonstrably detached from Russia as an entity, being very vocal on his support of LGBT rights, and even being reasonable about the situation in Crimea. And you can tell he definitely loves Eurovision as a peaceful Olympic-style competition, and even though he doesn't do the concert round-up he has always been around for interviews. And his music is damn good, probably now the only Russian artist I actually have multiple records of (now that Emin is cancelled). This year he did take a smart turn and not tried to copy "You Are The Only One" for this year's entry. The result is the dramatic and decidedly Russian-sounding "Scream". Written by Dimitris Kontopoulos and the eccentric Philip Kirkorov (who both wrote ("You Are the Only One") with American Sharon Vaughn, "Scream" tackles misery and the need to fight in an uplifting and vaguely militaristic way that is quite a gamble at an event where many people are looking for a "bop"...
Like the band Styx gone to Russia?
In the hands of lesser artist this would be a overdramatic mess, but Sergey is honestly one of the best performers right now (seriously, check out YouTube for his recent concert tour - it rivals Madonna). And I have no doubt that he is surrounded by much more competent hands in the staging of this - I mean "You Are The Only One" is simply the gold standard - and his voice is always on point. There's no way this is not qualifying, it's a matter of how well this will do in the end. Since televoting can be biased, he's got to overcome Russia's current situation in Europe, which is almost but very close to the UK's right now. Will people not vote for Russia because they don't want next year's Eurovision in Russia? HELL YEAH. Is it right? Well, considering what the country has done in America, the UK, and especially the Ukraine (though ironically they won't be a first-hand factor here), there is a definite case to keep an especially LGBT-centric event from going to Moscow now, and that's a shame for Sergey. I do hope for a good result for him, he deserves it, but maybe even he knows this won't win and wants to put in a respectable shot for his homeland. And I respect that. (Rating: 7.5/10)
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Russia started to compete in Eurovision in 1994, and as I mentioned earlier until last year qualified for the finals almost every time. They've won the contest once, in 2008, with another male singer on his second try. Dima Bilan, who came in second two years prior with "Never Let You Go", triumphed with the help of a very close-quarters skater with "Believe"...
As for my favorite, I just can't deny "You Are The Only One", which is my second-favorite all-time Eurovision song after "Rise Like A Phoenix". It sucks that the idiots at Eurovision won't let the live performance be on YouTube (you can see a rehearsal by clicking here), but here at least is the music video...
As for the worst, nothing in the history of the contest can compare to the snotty brats pretending to be lesbians, refusing to rehearse and being shitty to everyone, and still ending up third when T.A.T.U. (the "All The Things She Said" act) went with "Ne Ver', Ne Boysia" ("Don't Believe, Don't Fear")...
But then again, the country sent a group of old ladies and an oven to Eurovision in 2012 under the name Buranovskiye Babushki (or "Buranov Grannies") with "Party For Everybody", and came in 2nd...
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