Chirayliq Eurovision 2010

No chirayliq victory this time - for a change! - but some quite chirayliq contestants nevertheless!

Turkey once again picked up the Turco-Finnish tradition of sending a band that plays real music to the contest:



maNga (nothing to do with Japanese comics, I think) take their musical influences from nu-metal, hip-hop, electronic music and Anatolian tunes. Their song for the ESC, We Could Be the Same, has a slightly poppier sound than usual, and the lyrics are in English, when usually they sing in Turkish. But in any case they are cute.



Russia was represented by Peter Nalitch and his musical collective, with the humorous song Lost And Forgotten. Peter's grandfather Zahid Nalić was a Bosnian opera singer from Tuzla, hence his Balkanic surname. He became famous in 2007 with his Youtube video "Gitar" ...



Harel Skaat represented Israel with Milim ("Words"). He is one of the two cute Harels of Israeli pop music - the other one is Harel Moyal. (Here they perform together.)

Here is a really cute interview with Harel Skaat from before the contest ...

Hmm, how is it that the best songs and the cutest guys usually coincide ...? :o)

Eurovision: Chirayliq victory again!

So the cutest guy in the Eurovision really won. Not that we didn't see that coming ... ;o)
Let's celebrate with some nice pictures:








Apparently Alexander is making his debut as an actor in the biggest Norwegian childrens' movie production of all times, Yohan - Barnevandreren, as a Gypsy who, of course, plays the fiddle. (The film also includes a Japanese sailor who goes around challenging local strong men - partly based on actual historical research, oh my!) More photos with Alexander in this film over here.





Also check out the gallery at eurovision.tv, with lots of photos from when our fellow Tatar host Alsou and her colleague Ivan Urgant announced Rybak the winner and Dima Bilan, winner of the previous Eurovision, came along to give him the award (why are there no good photos of Dima and Alexander together?!) ...

As a matter of fact, Alexander Rybak won another award just before that. The Marcel Bezençon Awards, named after the Swiss guy who founded the Eurovision, are special awards from the press, the participating composers, and previous winners of the contest.
Alexander Rybak won the Press Award, and check out who won the Composers' Award!

Backstage at Eurovision'09

A Muscovite security officer and one of Ukraine's dancers pose backstage at the Eurovision song contest in Moscow. (Source: SVT.se)

Chirayliq Eurovision: Regina

Bosnia-Herzegovina's entry to the Eurovision is the band Regina with their song "Bistra Voda" (clear water). ... Someone commented: "I think that Alexander Rybak's party is going to be spoiled by the manly Regina and their beautiful anthemic ballad."



From what I've been able to find out, the song is about mother's love, and touches the subject of the Bosnian war that took more than 200.000 lives.

Here is what the band said at their press conference in Moscow:

At the press conference, they stated that the message of the song was that of a love revolution. They thereby link the song to Russia, but the red is used as the color of love. When asked if their theme was inspired by communism, the band said that there are nostalgic aesthetics in the song, but that these are not related to communism but to love. In the end of the press conference, they performed their song Bistra Voda in Russian.

mundu-sammut from Australia has provided a translation of the second stanza in the comments:

I asked some people
In the neighborhood, where my soul resides
A secret from me, they say, you are hiding, dear

I asked that they return to me
That time, the old hours, the spring
That love is in the air, they say

Give birth to me at dawn in May
Bathe me in the clear water
I guard one flower, when all others leave
I guard you as long as I'm alive

Steal a bit of Sun for us
There's no tomorrow, there's no today
It's easy when the song finds your heart

Regina formed as a garage band in 1990, and after some initial problems finding the right vocalist, they met with great success all over Yugoslavia. The civil war broke up the band when the Serb members had to flee from Sarajevo to Belgrade. For a few years Regina continued in Belgrade with new replacements members, while some original members pursued solo careers. But in 2006 all the original members were happily reunited.

Chirayliq Eurovision: Alexander Rybak

Mum reminded us that it's Eurovision Song Contest season again ... So, let's start with Norway!



Yes, the Norwegian performer this year is a cute guy called Alexander Rybak. He was born 1986 in Minsk, Belarussian SSR, and when he was four years old, his family moved to Norway. Rybak has been playing various instruments since he was five years old, and both his parents are violinists. The song "Fairytale" was composed and written by Rybak himself.

Karachay guys: a bit of Dima Bilan and Alibek Bashkaev

As we saw in the Eurovision, Karachay people can be quite hot. To the left is a photo of Dima Bilan (via Cisoto), with the following caption: "I've tried many different things. I've even worked on construction sites. Of course, there it's not supercomfortable, but the main thing is - the experience of total extreme." Okay. Though I think he looks cuter with black hair and that beard thingie.

But Karachay people can (of course) be even hotter.


Alibek Bashkaev - judo
Originally uploaded by Alaugan

Judo is the perfect sport for short and stout guys. Alibek Bashkaev is such a guy. He's in the weight category 81 kg, was born November 16th 1989 and represents Russia in general and the Karachaevo-Cherkessk republic in particular as a sports master on international level (МСМК is the Russian abbreviation).

Alaugan has some more photos of him in his Flickr set "Karachay".

Here is his page on Judoinside.com.
And here is a list of Russian Judokas, some of them quite chirayliq. Alibek has a funny haircut in his photo there, though.

Finally, here is a video of Alibek during the 2007 Russian Judo National Championships Final. Kick ass!

Eurovision: Chirayliq Victory!

Okay, he's maybe not my type, and maybe he's a bit too sugar-sweet, but... He's still the winner. He's Dima Bilan! Hooray for Russia's first Eurovision Song Contest Victory!

Here's the video from the semi-finals:



Dima is accompanied by a very expensive violin and a very expensive ice skater. As a Finnish friend of mine put it: "Evgeni Plushenko. Olympic gold, olympic silver, three world championships, five European championships and one Eurovision victory..."

Dima (Дима Билан) was born Viktor Belan, 24 December 1981 in Karachay-Cherkessia. He is of Karachay descent. He has also lived in Tatarstan and Kabardino-Balkaria.

The Karachay people are neighbours and rivals of the more famous Cherkess. They are considered a Turkic people with a close relationship to the Balkars. They were victims of Stalin's large-scale relocations in the 1940's. There's a Karachay diaspora in large parts of the world since persecutions during the Russian Empire, as well.

Chirayliq Eurovision: Mor ve Ötesi in-depth

Mor ve Ötesi is one of the still quite few bands I've seen live. They came to Berlin last year, and it was one of the most fun concerts I've been to. They make nice music and jump around a lot, as do the fans. Jumping up and down is the thing to do at a Mor ve Ötesi concert. I was very close to the stage, and there was one moment when Harun caught my eye (kyaaa~) ... It was so cute how they became visibly embarrassed when a girl climbed up on a boy's shoulders right in front of the not so high stage and was waving and shouting and sending kisses to them. Harun has a girlfriend in Berlin, and he had learned some German expressions for their German tour (although the audience was mostly Turkish-speaking, so maybe it wasn't really necessary).

Anyways, the guys in Mor ve Ötesi are a bit older and maybe not so dashingly chirayliq (well, except guitarist Kerem Özyeğen to the left), but there is more to them than meets the eye ...

When I came to the venue I was shocked by how almost everyone standing in line was female, besides some boyfriends who had tagged along. I know plenty of guys who like the band, too, and they hadn't come across to me as a band that caters exclusively to the female audience. But when Mor ve Ötesi started playing their songs, I gradually came upon a possible explanation ...

When music is played very loudly, it - mainly the bass - resonates in the human body. High notes resonate high up in the body, for example in the head, and low notes in your legs and feet. I had been wondering when I'd finally experience a band that would actually put the resonance of their bass lines in the, hrm, genital area ...
However, at the concert of Mor ve Ötesi, I finally did.
:*/


As we know, Mor ve Ötesi - not completely unexpectedly - continued to the finals. In the previous entry Ainur posted a clip of the first Eurovision rehearsal with them performing their song Deli. As Harun points out in the beginning, they are only putting in a fraction of their rock band energy during the rehearsals compared to the actual live performance, so that's why they're not jumping around that much in this clip ...

The audio is not so good, but you can check out the Mor ve Ötesi MySpace page to hear their songs in higher quality.

Eurovision - Mor ve Ötesi goes to the finals!

Aaaand they're in! Mor ve Ötesi is a very nice and handsome Turkish rock band with attitude. What are they doing in the silly old song contest anyway? Their exclusive Eurovision website, Delirium.fm, is documenting the whole escapade.

Here's the first rehearsal:


Check out this site for more "video klipleri".

Eurovision goes Chirayliq

Anyone who has been following, however half-heartedly, the Eurovision Song Contest through the last three or two decades, has noticed certain changes. Self-declared West European media pundits are feeling conflicted about it. The French, the Swedes, the Brits bemoan the changes. Some people are being sensible about it, but most apostles of Western civilization are perturbed by the new face of the contest.
But we needn't worry, because the face is Chirayliq.

Today, the results of the first semifinals confirmed that Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia (and Israel, Chirayliq territory by special permission - see below) will represent their countries in the final. (We might as well include Finland for Teräsbetoni's inspired Genghis Khan tribute.) On Thursday, we'll find out how Turkey's loveable alternative rockers Mor ve Ötesi fare in hot competition with Georgia (I haven't checked out all the participants, so there might be some ladies in the mix - but maybe with fine male dancers?). Personally, I hope the Eurovision Drang nach Osten won't stop until we reach the Bering Strait.

Let's have a little Chirayliq song contest here. We'll post videos from the official Eurovision YouTube channel, and you'll give your points to the sweetest guys. For starters, here's my fresh discovery, Boaz Mauda (a.k.a "the Yemenite Nightingale"), rehearsing his song The Fire in Your Eyes and complimenting his hosts. Check out the boys' adorable dance at 02:22!



Bonus video: Azerbaijan's Elnur & Samir demonstrate traditional Mugham singing style. I did not know that musical traditions were protected by UNESCO, too. Mugham is one of them - it's considered a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage.