#esc 1992

A group of former Eurovision contestants are going on tour together across Europe and Australia for "Eurovision On Tour 2024." The concert series will begin in October and finish in January of 2025.

The group behind the idea for the tour, Eurodrama Entertainment SL, also produces the Barcelona Eurovision Party and Nordic Eurovision Party.

The artists who have confirmed their participation in the concert event are:

Silia Kapsis (Cyprus 2024), Carola (Sweden 1983, 1991, 2006), Emmelie de Forest (Denmark 2013), Linda Martin (Ireland 1984, 1992), The Roop (Lithuania 2021), Destiny (Malta 2021) and Sunstroke Project (Moldova 2010, 2017).

[Sources]

Sonja is another alumna of the 1985 Eurovision final. She finished 9th with "Eläköön elämä" (Long Live Life) behind Kikki Danielsson. This was also her fourth attempt in the Finnish national selection and she finished 3rd of 10.

Unlike Kikki Danielsson's song, this one does feature an accordion. This one lurking behind her in the shadows of the stage. "Rakkauden bulevardi" (Boulevard of Love) is similarly a power schlager once again belted out with confidence. Sonja stands in front of the orchestra and kills it.

Her look is all pointy gold on black, once again with the big earrings almost hidden by her dramatic platinum bob. She's not sharing her spotlight with anyone let alone a random escapee from the orchestra with a squeezebox. I admire the poise, the look and the confidence even if it is something of a standard Eurovision number.

#38: Mia Martini -- Rapsodia (Italy 1992)

“Ma un giorno i vecchi amori si chiedono di più, I sogni e i desideri di un'altra gioventù, E lasciano famiglie tradiscono gli amici, Non vogliono consigli per essere felici,”

“But one day the old lovers long for more, Dreams and desires of another youth And they leave their families, betray their friends They don't want advice about how to be happy.”

The opening piano keys just pull on the heart-strings, and set the stage for what the song is about—two ex-lovers who meet in a bar, who talk about their lives since they split apart. While there’s a point they could get back together, the melancholic mood doesn’t ensure a happy ending.

If you haven't read my notes on my favorite Adele songs ever, then one of them is "When We Were Young", because of the sophisticated, yet simple ambience involved. Yet in that comfortable space (I also imagined Rapsodia being sung in a bar) is a sullen nostalgia about what passed between the two people over time, and the hope they might get it back. While Adele does it with a clean grace, Mia's song is significantly rawer.

That difference is highlighted with Mia’s voice, which also tugs on the emotions. Compared to her 1977 entry, which features a happy, light tone, she sings with a grungy, hoarse tone that fit with the song’s content. It also hinted at the hurt she has been through, as she was shunned out of the Italian music industry for six years before coming back with the evergreen Almeno tu nell'universo.

Admittedly, Rapsodia doesn't really break the wheel in song craft--it's a classical Italian ballad, comparable to Voilà this year (oops, another spoiler...). One blogger commented on how it wouldn't work if it were in Icelandic or any other language, because of the "standardness" of this one. The fact Mia died three years later adds to the sadness in this piece.

But does it need to? It pulls on the heartstrings, tells a compelling story, and keeps your attention for the entire three minutes. In addition, it doesn't seem to age at all; even listening to the opening bars is enough for me to shed a tear.

With all that, how did this song not win? Or even make the podium?

Personal ranking: 1st/23 Actual ranking: 4th/23 in Malmö

Final Impressions on 1992: If 1991 is the embodiment of chaos, dysfunction, and weak production, 1992 was more "competent" in the latter. In the process, however, it strips away any sense of personality, leading to a dull contest with a pretty average song set. Most of the songs here fall into either schlager or ballads (which Rapsodia is no exception), and misaligned a lot with what's going on in the charts. Plus, we had the first Anglophone top three ever, but none of the songs deserved to be on there. (it's only a coincidence--not a correlation).