Austria wins the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with JJ and his "Wasted Love", second Israel with Yuval Raphael, third the Estonian and "Italian" by adoption Tommy Cash. Endorsements from giants like Ed Sheeran are not enough : Lucio Corsi stops at fifth place while the "San Marino" Gabry Ponte surprisingly sinks, relegated to the lowest margin of the ranking.
Hostess a sparkling Michelle Hunziker who wrapped in a silver sheath dress next to Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer begins with a "Good evening to all Italians in the world". Fluent in English and French, every occasion is good to speak (and sing) in Italian with a call to vote that recalls Modugno's masterpiece ("Votate oh-oh") unleashing the joy of Gabriele Corsi and Big Mama, who is entrusted with the Italian commentary. And the most original spokesman of all has yet to arrive: Topo Gigio.
The musical dance opens with Nemo, in an evening dress and fur hat on his head, who won the last edition of the event, bringing it to Switzerland. The competition begins: the first is the Norwegian Kyle Alessandro, just 19 years old, who sings among the flames a mix of pop, Norwegian folk and dance. He has the merit of reminding us of the golden rule of Eurovision: here anything goes. Even less convincing is Luxembourg, which returns after a 31-year absence with Laura Thorn and an insipid hymn to women. One of the most anticipated moments follows: the Estonian Tommy Cash wriggles and bounces to the notes of "Espresso Macchiato" surrounded by fake bodyguards. Fun enough, but the objective of the "stereotype" operation remains unclear.
She was ready for anything but the Israeli Yuval Raphael, who survived the Nova Festival massacre, manages to take it home : just a few boos, if you want to prick up your ears, but in the end the applause prevails. The Lithuanian Katarsis is forgettable, as is the pop hit of one of the Big Five, Spain, with Melody. Ukraine is also flat with Ziferblat and the musical phase begins, but one for teenagers with very few pretensions, with the English Remember Monday. JJ from Austria believes a lot in it, eleven years after her last victory with Conchita Wurst: with her contralto voice she enchants or stuns, depending on your taste. VÆB from Iceland are having fun, there's an Avatar moment with Latvia's Tautumeitas, Claude from the Netherlands, who ran away from Congo with his mother at the age of nine, bursts into tears , Finnish Erika Vikman, dressed in a shiny leather bodysuit, plays with double meanings and rides a golden, flame-throwing microphone.
And it's finally Lucio Corsi's moment: the singer from Grosseto, together with the inseparable Tommaso Ottomano, is like a tried and tested rock star. Just two notes of "Volevo essere un duro" and the 160 million viewers glued to watch the most viewed musical show in the world are dragged into another dimension: minimal scenography, subtitled text (the only one to make this choice) and harmonica. Polish Justyna Steczkowska is anonymous while Germany awakens some emotions with Abor & Tynna. Greek Klavdia is nostalgic, Armenian Parg is unleashed, Zoë Më is a good hostess for Switzerland who focuses on voice and intensity rather than tacky scenography.
Contagious enthusiasm for the Maltese (and half Neapolitan) Miriana Conte, hypnotizes the "saudade" of the Portuguese Napa, the Danish Sissal leaves little or nothing. Standing ovation for the Swedish KAJ with their parodic sauna ritual: the culmination of a comic-musical project with seven published albums, musicals and sketches on TV. Louane moves for France remembering her late mother, and it is a grand finale with Gabry Ponte, who during the initial flag parade had incited the crowds by parading in red trousers, a white shirt and a green jacket. Closing the Italian-Albanians Shkodra Elektronike, they deserved a higher place at least in the lineup. But Eurovision is like this: inexorable.