As usual ESC COVERS google translated the Norwegian post to English.
This is a blog post and only represents the writer Morten Thomassen’s own views.
Before the year ends, I think it might be a good idea to look at some memorable songs from Austrian ESC history, and this time I’ll focus on 2003.
Although our Austrian friends have mostly sent music within what I would call regular pop, they have occasionally stretched the envelope a bit, or should we say a good deal further from time to time, and although such music rarely gets paid well in terms of points, their 2003 contribution is an honorable exception in this respect.
The artist’s name was Alf Poier and the song was called “Weil Der Mensch Zählt” which means “Because Man Counts” and although most people had probably written off his chances of even getting points, Mr. Poier shattered all expectations and landed 101 points which gave him 6th place and it was Austria’s best placement in the 2000s until they won in 2014.
We in Norway actually thought this was the third best song of the evening, so one might wonder if the alcohol level of those voting gives so-called nonsense songs an increased chance of getting points. There must be something, because charming is perhaps not quite what I would call this guy.
The song is said to have been a kind of protest against the competition and after he got his 6th place he is said to have complained that Europe totally lacked good taste in music and that he was possibly too embarrassed by his placement to return to his home country, fortunately he did and his career as a satirical musician is still going strong as far as I know.
The song itself is a confusing mix of many musical styles, it’s ordinary pop, a bit of German hits and a good dash of hard rock. I remember that in the rehearsals he got a little too close to the nobler parts of the crotch during this segment and in the final he had to place his hand a little further up, it was a way of showing what families around Europe would be surprised by.
Anyway, the song deserves a re-listen so you can judge for yourself what counts when someone votes for a song in ESC.
Featured image – Youtube