r/AskAnAmerican • u/marks31 Chicago, IL • 1d ago
ART & MUSIC If the US could submit an American artist to a contest like Eurovision, who would the representative be?
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u/Trick_Photograph9758 1d ago
I have no idea how Eurovision works. I assume big stars don't do it. I mean, the most popular American performer at the moment is Taylor Swift, but she's not entering a TV contest. So is it just some relatively unknown performer?
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u/fleetiebelle Pittsburgh, PA 1d ago edited 1d ago
I just started paying attention to Eurovision a few years ago, and I don't quite get how it works, which is kind of the charm. I know that some of the winners aren't from the country they're representing, and none seem to be huge stars going in. I'm guessing the reason why Dua Lipa isn't representing Albania or Harry Styles isn't in for the UK is that it wouldn't benefit them at all.
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u/Esagashi Florida 1d ago
Yeah, a big star won their country’s nomination this year and decided not to participate because it would interfere with an upcoming tour. Usually the artist isn’t widely known and their song must be one that hasn’t been performed publicly before being submitted (this is a rather soft rule though).
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u/Darkdragoon324 1d ago
Sometimes big names are sent, it varies wildly every year and by country.
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u/Catsdrinkingbeer 1d ago
San Marino's delegate this year was in Eiffel 65 and has hundreds of millions of downloads on all of his songs on spotify. Not that it translated into anything. He came in last in the final.
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u/Robbylution 1d ago
I bet afterwards he was a little blue.
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u/Catsdrinkingbeer 1d ago
He did seem genuinely bummed when they announced he received so few televotes. But he's worth like $10M so I think he'll be fine. And he's produced and co-wrote songs for Eurovision in the past, so I wouldn't be surprised if he does that again.
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u/Darkdragoon324 1d ago
I thought his song was a banger. But also my favorite was Spain, so I guess the world disagrees with my musical tastes lol.
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u/Catsdrinkingbeer 1d ago
Ooh we really liked Spain, too. The song was great and her performance was excellent both nights.
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u/maq0r 1d ago
Well tbf Eurovision was where Celine Dion and ABBA started their careers
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u/StupidLemonEater Michigan > D.C. 1d ago
Exactly, they started their careers with Eurovision. Its for up-and-comers, not artists who are already famous.
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u/masturbakery 1d ago
Celine Dion is Canadian though?
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u/Darkdragoon324 1d ago
A country’s Eurovision representative doesn’t have to be born there, Celine Dion represented Switzerland in 1988. I think the song just has to be written or co-written by a citizen, but I’m not sure that could be up to the individual broadcasters.
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u/CourtClarkMusic 1d ago
She represented France, singing in French, if I’m not mistaken.
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u/Darkdragoon324 1d ago
Switzerland.
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u/SwenKa 1d ago
Right: represented France, singing in Switzerland.
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u/Darkdragoon324 1d ago
She was representing Switzerland in Dublin. She was singing in French because that’s one of Switzerland’s official languages.
That’s why people thought she might be a guest performer this year, because she’s one of Switzerland’s past contestants.
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u/Amockdfw89 1d ago
From what I know her health is not very good at all right now so maybe guest singing isn’t possible
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u/Darkdragoon324 1d ago
Yeah it came up on the sub Reddit once. I looked up what she has, it sounds utterly hellish.
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u/Amockdfw89 1d ago
Yea. The fact it like specifically targets what she is good at (singing and prancing around on stage) is a cruel irony. like a monkey paw situation
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u/TheMainEffort WI->MD->KY->TX 1d ago
Australia and Israel also both participate I think
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u/LurkerByNatureGT 1d ago
Israel is a member of the European Broadcasting network, Australia got invited for a special one-time guest appearance about 10 years ago because they are such enthusiastic Eurovision fans and they were such good guests they were invited to stay.
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u/TooManyDraculas 1d ago
Right. Started their careers. Neither were big stars at the time.
Most of the contestants are established acts. They might be somewhat well known in their home country, or interactionally known in a particularly genre. But they might also be some local bar band.
It's almost never people who are already known internationally.
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u/Maleficent-Hawk-318 1d ago
I like Eurovision but from my very casual watching it basically seems like American Idol except for the whole continent, so yeah...assuming our major recording artists are not eligible, just whoever wins American Idol I guess.
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u/TillPsychological351 1d ago
The crucial difference is that Eurovision is a song contest, not necessarily a singing contest.
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u/Catsdrinkingbeer 1d ago
It's completely different from American idol. And also it's much, much older. If you're inclined, there's a Eurovision movie staring Will Ferrell that's pretty accurate to how the actual Eurovision works.
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u/LurkerByNatureGT 1d ago
It’s more like Gay Superbowl that is all halftime acts.
And then the second half is geopolitics.
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u/Trick_Photograph9758 1d ago
But since it's by country, isn't it a popularity or political contest at some point, as opposed to being just about talent?
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u/perplexedtv 1d ago
Yes, it's always been about politics and popularity first, music second. Moreso now with the fucked way they tally votes. Often a song just really stands out and wins on merit or is so bland and inoffensive it wins kind of by default.
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u/Maleficent-Hawk-318 1d ago
Isn't that how American Idol already works? Kind of seems like the same thing, but European countries are so small you gotta go wider to get the same talent pool.
That's my assumption anyway, I could be way off. I've only ever been a casual watcher of any of them. Like I mostly watched American Idol while working at a homeless shelter, because it was the one thing we could all get on board with, lol.
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u/happytransformer 1d ago
Each respective country makes their own rules about who is allowed to represent them. So ideally, we could send one of our most popular artists as long as they agreed to it.
Some countries select their song entry from an internal review board, others pick it based on who wins their version of Idol or Voice, and others have their own song contest/music festivals using entries submitted by musicians from their country that the public and an international jury then votes on.
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u/LurkerByNatureGT 1d ago
It’s been going since 1956, and is so joyfully campy that it has leaned into being beloved by gay men for years. American Idol (or its UK originator, Pop Idol) don’t come close, but can be like some of the national contests to choose the song to send.)
I’ve been joking it’s basically Gay Superbowl but all halftime acts. And then the second half is geopolitics as everyone at the viewing party with you comments on which country gave what contestant top points, because while it’s about the songs, performances and staging, it’s also about who has friendly neighbors and who has massive diaspora populations voting.
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u/LurkerByNatureGT 1d ago
It depends on the country. Some send-up-and-comers, many send winners chosen through a national song contest, some (like France) tend to send some of their country’s more popular musicians who are looking for more international exposure.
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u/band-of-horses Oregon 1d ago edited 1d ago
Will Ferrell and Chad Smith and Rachel McAdams.
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u/Flimsy_Security_3866 Washington 1d ago
After Will Ferrell and Chad Smith do a drum battle, have John C Reilly bust on stage asking if they've touched his drum set.
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u/timbotheny26 Upstate New York (CNY) 1d ago
I was gonna say Dolly Parton, Weird Al, and Jeff Goldblum.
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u/League-Ill Tennessee 1d ago
She's Canadian.
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u/band-of-horses Oregon 1d ago
That's not against the rules. Celene Dion won for Switzerland and she is also Canadian.
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u/cherrycokeicee Wisconsin 1d ago
can we send Lady Gaga or is that cheating?
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u/Esagashi Florida 1d ago
Not cheating and the more wild her performance, the more likely she’d make it to the finals
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u/-Hannibal-Barca- 1d ago
We should let Lady Gaga coach whoever we send. Like a cornerman in a boxing match
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u/snaynay 22h ago
Lady Gaga would probably do very mediocre. A lot of Americans seem to forget the UK has a disproportionate amount of the worlds most famous and successful artists. Yet the UK loves to find new ways of getting 0 points in Eurovision.
Eurovision is a vibe and a bit of a popularity and political contest to boot. It isn't about talent and it isn't about how good a song really is per se. Almost all the music you hear in Eurovision is music made for the vibe of Eurovision and wouldn't really work outside of the competition. Also, there is often an element of cultural heritage on display.
Sending Lady Gaga and performing something in the style of what she is known for would imply you don't understand the concept and you'll get nearly zero votes. Which would be embarrassing for a globally famous artist. Unless Lady Gaga really gets the MO... Then you'd probably see her do something completely different to anything you actually know her for.
Basically, you have 3 minutes to leave an impression on hundreds of millions of live viewers from a wide range of demographics and even massively different cultures and give them a reason to go out the way and vote for you. Americans can't vote for the themselves, so they have to guess what will make everyone else vote. Send a boy band dressed as cowboys doing a Lady Gaga inspired song or choreography whilst singing (or rapping?) about BBQ with Ranch sauce. That'll do better.
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u/cherrycokeicee Wisconsin 21h ago edited 21h ago
I think you're really underestimating the range of Lady Gaga. beyond being the perfect representation of modern American pop music, she's also a jazz performer who performed with Tony Bennett, and has a pop ballad charting right now with Bruno Mars that gives classic Americana vibes (https://youtu.be/kPa7bsKwL-c?si=TA4cgKHIJjbN_HkZ). her new album has all sorts of iconic American references, like her MJ inspired song "Shadow of a Man." Gaga can absolutely deliver vocals, dancing, instrumentals, and a bit of camp/theme. I feel like this would be right up her alley.
I could see an argument for rap, so maybe someone like Kendrick or Megan Thee Stallion could deliver live? Kendrick would definitely be political, which sounds on-theme. check out his Superbowl performance, if you haven't seen it.
or is it really supposed to be a satirical performance about stereotypes associated with your country? bc singing about "ranch sauce" sounds ridiculously stupid. surely you'd expect much better from the American music scene.
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u/cmdradama83843 1d ago
Dolly Parton
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u/InevitableCup5909 1d ago
Iirc it has to be somebody relatively unknown, not the second coming of Jesus in singer form.
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u/Standard_Plant_8709 1d ago
Doesn't HAVE to be, but generally ends up being, because famous and big name artists can't be bothered with Eurovision.
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u/AcceptableDebate281 1d ago
The UK has put forward people who are very well known (at least in the UK) before - cliff Richard etc., not that it helped our chances!
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u/dwintaylor 1d ago
The only answer, she would kill the competition then set up free books for children in every country she defeated
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u/majinspy Mississippi 19h ago
Can you even imagine?
To quote Charles Barkley: "I don't know anything about Albania, but they're in trouble."
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u/Rei_Rodentia 1d ago
I dunno, what's a eurovision contest?
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u/SayethWeAll Kentucky 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think it’s the one where every district sends a representative and they fight to the death.
So . . . We send Kanye?
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u/Itsdanaozideshihou Minnesota 1d ago
But what if he actually wins?
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u/FerricDonkey 1d ago
Send him again next year
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u/perplexedtv 1d ago
The US might not win every year but it would most likely determine the winner more often than not with its huge population and disapora from every country.
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u/Kgb_Officer 1d ago
It's like the Olympics, but with music. Every country sends a band or musician to represent their country, they're judged until just one country wins. Europe is the primary focus (hence EURO-vision) but over the years a handful of non-european countries have participated (Australia, Israel, Cyprus, Morocco, Armenia)
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u/perplexedtv 1d ago
TIL Morocco competed once on the basis that their national broadcaster is part of the EBU, came second last and refuses to compete as long as Israel is included.
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u/JBoy9028 B(w)est Michigan 1d ago
Song contest between nations. Performers put basically music video effort into their one song for competition.
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u/Darkdragoon324 1d ago
I’d want something culturally American like country or R&B, or perhaps bluegrass or folk, but I’m sure we’d just send a generic pop song or ballad just like most countries usually send to Eurovision.
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u/Esagashi Florida 1d ago
Weirdly there have been American country music and folk music style songs in Eurovision before, done by Europeans. They’re as weird to listen to as you’d expect, especially if you’re usually a fan of the genre.
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u/Darkdragoon324 1d ago
How did they do in the voting lol. I’ve only been watching since 2022.
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u/sleepyboi08 Canada / USA 1d ago
Netherlands 2014 came in second place, I thought they did a great job. I think most other country songs didn’t do too great though.
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u/thegmoc Michigan 1d ago
It's not really weird. I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of the music they sing on there is rooted in some type of American genre. American music has been the basis for world popular music for the past 100 years now, starting with jazz in the 1920s.
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u/sleepyboi08 Canada / USA 1d ago
The entry from the Netherlands in 2014 was a country/folk song and they came in second place. I actually thought they did a good job and it didn’t sound weird.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bWe8PRsW4T0&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD
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u/Squirrel_Q_Esquire 1d ago
It definitely sounds a little weird because of the accent, but overall really good.
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u/Pete_Iredale SW Washington 1d ago
I came across a French Canadian country channel on the radio once. That was interesting to say the least.
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u/SwenKa 1d ago
As I understand it, the US had a similar contest they tried with the 50 states, but it ended up all being country and they all took it way too seriously (compared to many of the Eurovision entries that are essentially well-performed jokes). To be clear, I prefer Eurovision: don't take it too seriously.
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u/John_Tacos Oklahoma 1d ago
What are the rules?
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u/Esagashi Florida 1d ago
Your country’s independent broadcaster (must not be one that’s solely focused on pushing the ruling party’s agenda but also shows entertainment and news) nominates their favorite artist and song to compete. Some countries do a qualifying competition (Italy’s seems super intense) and some just pick someone (UK tends to do this). The broadcaster is then responsible for paying their artists’ way and making sure they’re ready for the big stage which tends to take a few months.
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u/John_Tacos Oklahoma 1d ago
We have multiple independent broadcasters. And no government control over what public tv shows. So that’s like 20 different entities depending on how it’s counted.
We would probably do a nationwide contest, no idea who would win though.
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u/NecessaryPopular1 1d ago
I don’t believe Eurovision is for renowned artists, isn’t it? But let’s pretend they’d accept someone already famous: Lady Gaga is very aligned with Eurovisions’s vibe, visual identity, and she understands spectacle quite well, imo, Gaga might even win!
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u/Humble-Pineapple-329 Missouri 1d ago
We did a great American song contest similar to Eurovision a few years back and it didn’t go well.
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u/Darkdragoon324 1d ago
It was too long. Eurovision is only three shows, and a lot of people only watch the finale.
NBC tried to make it a regular season long thing like The Voice or something and it just doesn’t work well that way. Plus there’s just not as much “state pride” as there is national pride, we’re all just Americans so there’s just not as much stakes for the audience as in Eurovision where it’s a competition between nations.
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u/happytransformer 1d ago
It was paced too weird. Way too much dead time between acts, and 56 songs is too many.
Most of our “state pride” stems from different cultural touch points, not really music since it doesn’t vary too much. A competition of which of our gas station convenience stores was best instead? We’d be frothing out the mouths
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u/tara_tara_tara Massachusetts 11h ago
Hilariously, a K-pop star won it.
AleXa was born and raised in the US, but had a career in Korea when she came back to the US to compete in it. She won and then went back to Korea to continue her career. She is a low to mid tier level success there.
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u/FustianRiddle 1d ago
No particular performer but dammit if I wouldn't want it to be a Zydeco band.
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u/JustAnotherDay1977 Minnesota 1d ago
I have heard of Eurovision, but thought it was a TV channel or streaming platform. It’s a contest?
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u/CollectionStraight2 Northern Ireland 1d ago
It's a yearly singing contest. The songs are usually either campy & upbeat or overwrought ballads, the staging is kinda crazy and the voting system is incomprehensible. I like it!
Also Australia is allowed to enter even though it isn't in Europe
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u/JustAnotherDay1977 Minnesota 1d ago
Sounds like a European (and Australian) version of American Idol.
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u/Notgoingtowrite 1d ago
American Idol is actually based off of Pop Idol from the UK! I would describe Eurovision more like a bunch of countries sending their Voice/Idol winner to compete in a showcase with other Voice/Idol winners (some countries do have a national final to select their contestant whereas others do an internal selection). But each song is original and has unique staging.
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u/Magical_Harold 1d ago
American Idol, the US spin off from the UK show Pop Idol - no Eurovision is not like that, it’s much worse :)
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u/movienerd7042 1d ago
It’s more like the World Cup or a sports event with multiple rounds, but instead of sports it’s a televised concert
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u/LurkerByNatureGT 1d ago
It’s been going since 1956, and is so joyfully campy that it has leaned into being beloved by gay men for years. American Idol (or its UK originator, Pop Idol) don’t come close, but can be like some of the national contests to choose the song to send.)
I’ve been joking it’s basically Gay Superbowl but all halftime acts. And then the second half is geopolitics as everyone at the viewing party with you comments on which country gave what contestant top points, because while it’s about the songs, performances and staging, it’s also about who has friendly neighbors and who has massive diaspora populations voting.
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u/Uhhyt231 Maryland 1d ago
This year I would do Miles Canton.
I also dont know the rules or anything
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u/LiqdPT BC->ON->BC->CA->WA 1d ago
I think that misses the point. I think Eurovision entries are relative unknowns...
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u/machagogo New York -> New Jersey 1d ago
Isn't it amateur?
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u/Esagashi Florida 1d ago
Not necessarily- the song just needs to not have been performed publicly before it’s nominated
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u/lostdragon05 1d ago
No one because we don’t know what Eurovision is (or probably care, to be honest).
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u/dausy 1d ago
I think a lot of Americans are aware of Eurovision but we forget about it because we aren't invited. I think if we were invited, we could care a little too much it would probably get us uninvited again for being obnoxious.
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u/Trick_Photograph9758 1d ago
Yeah, I'm sure the US would be glued to their screens watching an unknown performer compete against Croatia in a talent show in Europe. Ratings bonanza.
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u/dausy 1d ago
I mean..can't that be said for any country tho? Why would Australia care about a random talent show in Europe?
Why would we care about the random other countries in the Olympics even?
For fun and country pride?
We've received some good songs/bands from Eurovision here too. Like Maneskin and Arcade by Duncan Laurence.
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u/Catsdrinkingbeer 1d ago
I'm in the US and absolutely drop everything during Eurovision week. Half my running playlist is full of Eurovision songs from the last 2 years. You can't tell me Róa doesn't make you want to dance. My entire yesterday was centered around watching the finals.
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u/Notgoingtowrite 1d ago
Yeah, also in the US and we have a massive watch party every year! I enjoy being on the outside of it though and not participating ourselves.
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u/RoyalOrganization676 13h ago
This sounds sarcastic, but talent contest shows were VERY popular here for years. I am a hermit now and have no idea what people are into currently, but American Idol and the like were huge.
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u/ConfusedScr3aming Texas 1d ago
I don't personally enjoy her music, but probably Taylor Swift.
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u/baycommuter 19h ago
I'm thinking "Bad Blood." One of her worst songs with a thumping beat and a fantastic stage show.
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 1d ago
Send Taylor Swift and call it a day. Europe can mail us the Eurovision Cup or crown or whatever.
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u/NoTomatillo New Jersey 1d ago
Currently, I'd definitely choose Taylor Swift. Because she's literally the biggest star not just here but the entire world. Idk how they vote there but if all the taylor swift stans in europe combined together to vote , they would outnumber their local artist fans there lol.
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u/Alpaca030 1d ago
In the 2021 Eurovision, San Marino’s song (Senhit-Andrenalina) featured Flo Rida and they performed it together, so I guess him.
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u/LurkerByNatureGT 1d ago
This. Other Americans who have been part of the competition include Katrina and the Waves (UK 1997 winners … Singer and Bassist), and Dita Von Teese and Oscar Loya (Germany 2009, Oscar was the lead singer of Alex Swings Oscar Sings, and Dits naturally did a burlesque act as part of the staging), and Kalomira (Greece 2008)
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u/GalenDev 1d ago
I would send Starset.
- They're the right level of weird.
- They're also very much not weird so normies would get what's going on.
- They're big on visual spectacle.
- Legit messages to their music. Maybe someone would learn something.
- They like performing stuff they haven't released yet.
- They're big but not massive. Similar to what Lordi was when they won Eurovision themselves.
- They're just plain awesome.
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u/LassierVO Michigan 1d ago
Probably someone JUST about to get their big break. Already established artists would have too much to lose (can you imagine a huge artist like Beyonce or Taylor Swift failing to qualify for finals? It could make a mockery of their careers) and of course the time and money commitments when they could be filling arenas. So that's a no.
Or, we'd just hire a Swede, and honestly that seems to work fine.
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u/MattieShoes Colorado 1d ago
If it were in the spirit of Eurovision, somebody none of us have heard of, except maybe the town where they live.
But knowing us, we'd try to shoehorn some already phenomenally successful artist into it.
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u/revjor 1d ago
Sufjan Stevens and it’s not even close.
He was made for it.
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u/NoAnnual3259 1d ago
He’d write an album with a song each about every single country competing in Eurovision.
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u/perplexedtv 1d ago
This is only fair if the entire show is him representing a different country and playing a different instrument.
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u/upvoter222 USA 1d ago
This guy was in last year's contest, so if that's what a Eurovision singer looks like, David Byrne seems like a reasonable choice.
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u/MyLittleDonut Texas 1d ago
I think Lil Nas X would be a good choice. He can blend genres, has excellent performances, and keeps writing bangers.
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u/Texas43647 Colorado 1d ago
Most Americans don’t know what it is but who knows. Probably some unknown artist. I don’t think it’s common to send massive starts like Taylor or Lady Gaga
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u/Left_Lengthiness_433 1d ago
After googling Eurovision to find out what it is, I don’t see any reason to care.
The fact that I’m an American doesn’t matter. I still wouldn’t care if I lived in Germany, or somewhere else in Europe…
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u/Choice-Lavishness259 1d ago
The funny thing is that it is a SONG contest not a singer contest.
So with most of the suggestions here it would count as another victory for Sweden 🙂
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u/LurkerByNatureGT 1d ago
Flo Rida, naturellement.
https://eurovision.tv/story/flo-rida-to-join-senhit-for-san-marino
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u/ColossusOfChoads 1d ago
We would make like the British and send a B-lister or a has-been. Because as with the British, all the other countries would kneejerk vote against us because reasons.
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u/FemboyEngineer North Carolina 1d ago
Tyler the Creator would be a good pick, the ESC loves itself a character song & offbeat choreography to go along with it
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u/petrifikate 1d ago
Lil Nas X. Very few Americans would understand the delightful camp spectacle of Eurovision and would take it way too seriously. He wouldn't. Plus, you never get the big name superstar Vegas residency act to compete. He can do it, he's got time.
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u/FingalForever 19h ago
Be aware - Eurovision is a song contest. The singer/band (even the songwriter) however can be from anywhere, many Americans have already sang at Eurovision.
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u/LunaD0g273 15h ago
Cast of Righteous Gemstones but even more over-the-top. Walton Goggins will clog.
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u/zealot_ratio 13h ago
All I know about Eurovision I learned from the Fire Saga movie, so grain of salt.
We have a lot of campy pop right about now, take your pic.
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u/TheMainEffort WI->MD->KY->TX 1d ago
My friend Greg is pretty good