Day: March 3, 2024

…

Jerusalem — Israel on Sunday said it had asked lyricists to revise its proposed Eurovision Song Contest entries, potentially heading off a dispute with organizers over political content.

Authorities last week said Israel would not be able to participate in this year’s edition of the popular competition if organizers rejected the song choice, which reportedly referenced victims of Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.

Eurovision rules ban political content.

In a statement on Sunday, Israeli public broadcaster Kan said President Isaac Herzog had called for “necessary adjustments” that would ensure Israel’s inclusion in the event, which it has won four times.

This year’s competition is set to be held in Sweden in May.

The Israeli broadcaster “contacted the lyricists of the two selected songs, ‘October Rain’ which was chosen in first place, and ‘Dance Forever’ which came in second place, and asked them to readapt the texts, while preserving their artistic freedom,” the statement said.

“Among the new texts that will be proposed, Kan will choose the song that will be sent to the Eurovision supervisory committee, so that it approves Israel’s participation in the competition.”

The selected song, to be performed by 20-year-old Russian-Israeli singer Eden Golan, will be revealed on March 10, the statement said.

One line from the original lyrics of “October Rain” read: “They were all good children, every one of them.”

“There is no air left to breathe, There is no place for me,” the song ends, according to Kan, which has published the lyrics in full on its website.

Israel in 1973 became the first non-European country to enter Eurovision, and its participation and hosting of the event have regularly run into controversy.

In 2019, Icelandic band Hatari, who previously challenged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a Nordic folk wrestling match, made pro-Palestinian statements during the vote count in Tel Aviv.

Organizers also gave US pop icon Madonna a ticking off after her dancers flouted political neutrality rules by wearing Israeli and Palestinian flags on their costumes.

This year’s competition comes against the backdrop of the war, sparked by the Hamas attack which resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants also took about 250 hostages, with 130 still held in Gaza although 31 are believed to be dead, Israeli officials said.

Israel’s military response has killed at least 30,410 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Kan late last month said it had “no intention to replace the song,” threatening to withdraw unless the European Broadcasting Union which oversees the song contest approves its entry.

But Herzog “emphasized that it is precisely at a time when those who hate us are seeking to repress and boycott the State of Israel” that the country “must raise its voice… loud and clear in every world forum,” Sunday’s Kan statement said.

 
…

LONDON — Singer-songwriter Raye was the big winner Saturday at the BRIT Awards, the biggest night in British music, setting a new record for most prizes in one night at the annual ceremony.

Raye won six awards, including for artist of the year, album of the year for My 21st Century Blues and song of the year for Escapism.

The 26-year-old also triumphed in the genre category for R&B act and was named best new artist. Her tally of seven nods had broken the record for the most nominations by a single artist in any one year, according to the annual ceremony’s organizers, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Raye, who parted ways with her record label in 2021 to work as an independent artist after she said the label had withheld her debut album, began early celebrations this week, when she was named BRITs Songwriter of the Year. She is the first woman to win the award since its launch in 2022.

“You just don’t understand what this means to me,” a tearful Raye said in her acceptance speech for album of the year, while standing next to her grandmother, whom she also thanked for “her prayers.”

“I’m so proud of this album. I’m in love with music. All I ever wanted to be was an artist and now I’m an artist with an album of the year.”

Jungle won group of the year, while rock band Bring Me the Horizon won the alternative/rock act category, beating the likes of Blur and The Rolling Stones.

Blur, who had three nominations, went home empty-handed.

Dua Lipa, who also had three nominations, won pop act.

More than half, 55%, of this year’s nominations featured women, either as a solo artist or as part of an all-woman group, the BPI said.

Artist of the year is a gender-neutral category now counting 10 nominees after organizers doubled its number following an outcry over an all-male list of contenders last year.

U.S. singer SZA won the gender-neutral international artist of the year category, which also now counts 10 nominees, beating the likes of Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. The latter won international song of the year for her hit Flowers.

Indie rock band boygenius won international group of the year.

Ahead of the awards, Kylie Minogue was named as this year’s BRITs Global Icon, while indie rock band The Last Dinner Party were revealed as winners of the rising star award. 
…