Does personality come into play for you?

[RainyWoods]

With the recent storm surrounding Armenia this year, people raised a lot of questions. Many argued that Eurovision is a song contest and that it was ridiculous how people suddenly turned their back on a song because of a comment.

My question to you all is does a contestants personality have an impact on your listening experience? Is a good personality important to you or do you not care less?



For me personally I think it does come into play. There is no denying that first and foremost it's about the song.. but my three favourite artists of recent editions of the contest that are Rona, Valentina and Kaliopi all were wonderful, warm, big characters. As hardcore fans of the contest, we don't just tune in on the night and think "Oh this song is the one I like most so i'll vote for it". We build up a fierce loyally to our favourites and that bond is strengthened by the various interviews and things they take part in over the months leading to the contest.

Would I like Valentina as much if she wasn't the sweetest, most adorable, unintentionally funny little thing ever? almost certainly not as I believe her personality comes across so strongly in her music and is a big part of my listening experience with her.

At first I wasn't very keen on Tijana's song this year. It's the complete opposite of what I usually like but slowly I started to listen to the song more and more.. not because I was especially fond of it, it was because all I had in my head was Tijana's extraordinarily awesome lip-sync presentation video

On the other hand I remember last year with ByeAlex my feelings changed quite a bit. Before the week leading up to the contest I thought his song was ok, nothing special but pleasant. Then I started to read press about how cold he was and not really feeling the spirit of Eurovision. Combine that with the static performance and I found myself really resenting Hungary's 10th place at the end of it all.



What are your views? One thing i'm sure of though is that we can all agree that an artist with a great personality is an added bonus

 

[HarryUK]

Of course it does! Aram was stupid enough to make such narrow-minded comments when he's competing in what is effectively the biggest LGBT event on every calendar, he can't expect a positive reaction for that.

 

[Pawhlen]

Of course, it matters. Iceland went out of the semi 2006 because of misbehaviour

 

[Verjamem]

Of course, it matters. Iceland went out of the semi 2006 because of misbehaviour

Iceland went out, because people didn't realise that it was joke.

 

[tuorem]

Personally, I realized that it does not matter to me in Eurovision. It is the music that prevails after all and it's not like artists that I will follow during several years.

For example, Anastasiya Prikhodko dissed Svetlana Loboda and also allegedly made racist remarks on someone else, but Mamo is still 3rd in my 2009 ranking.

Same for Eric Saade in 2011, I really enjoy his song despite him being big-headed.

But it somewhat unusual since most participants try to act lovely to anyone during the Eurovision period.

As to Armenia this year, I didn't listen to Aram's song yet, but if I like it, I will like it. On the contrary, someone may be the sweetest person on earth, if I do not enjoy the song, then there is nothing to do

 

[RainyWoods]

Personally, I realized that it does not matter to me in Eurovision. It is the music that prevails after all and it's not like artists that I will follow during several years.

For example, Anastasiya Prikhodko dissed Svetlana Loboda and also allegedly made racist remarks on someone else, but Mamo is still 3rd in my 2009 ranking.

Same for Eric Saade in 2011, I really enjoy his song despite him being big-headed.

But it somewhat unusual since most participants try to act lovely to anyone during the Eurovision period.

As to Armenia this year, I didn't listen to Aram's song yet, but if I like it, I will like it. On the contrary, someone may be the sweetest person on earth, if I do not enjoy the song, then there is nothing to do

That's interesting as I was going to mention Anastasiya Prikhodko. "Mamo" is a song that grew on me over time and I often find it swirling around in my head. However, I feel like I just can't personally indulge myself with the song when there is video footage online of her being dreadfully racist. The footage actually scared me.

I'm trying to think if there are any questionable artists i've enjoyed at Eurovision and Sylvia Night is the only name that came to mind but then she was as Verjamem pointed out, just a character. Outside of Eurovision I listen to plenty of dodgy people though.

 

[revallsay]

Not exactly. I only take the personality of an artist into consideration when there are two songs I equally like, so the song of a person I like more is higher.

 

[tuorem]

That's interesting as I was going to mention Anastasiya Prikhodko. "Mamo" is a song that grew on me over time and I often find it swirling around in my head. However, I feel like I just can't personally indulge myself with the song when there is video footage online of her being dreadfully racist. The footage actually scared me.

I'm trying to think if there are any questionable artists i've enjoyed at Eurovision and Sylvia Night is the only name that came to mind but then she was as Verjamem pointed out, just a character. Outside of Eurovision I listen to plenty of dodgy people though.

Yeah, I know. Unfortunately, people like her who have an extreme opinion on foreigners are everywhere, including the music sphere. She's talented and has charisma, but she seems to be hard and cold as hell too when she's not on stage, which is a shame tbh. I know I won't follow her since I'm not that much interested in her carreer, however as to that particular song "Mamo", I just love it and think it is one of the best songs (if not the best one) Russia sent in recent years.

As to Sylvia Night, that is not the same thing of course, since this is a character. However I found it vainly offensive. I mean: what was the point of acting like this? Just an attempt to draw attention to Iceland.

 

[purplefebruary]

I realise that the Silvia Night act was just a joke and was meant to be an over-the-top character, but personally it's really not my type of humour. I find vapid melodramatic airhead characters incredibly irritating

In general, it doesn't really bother me that much if the singer of an entry I like is not all that nice, but it's helpful in making me enjoy it to an extent. As far as I know, the artists in my top 10 for this year don't seem to be really horrible people, some even come across as really lovely

 

[tuorem]

I realise that the Silvia Night act was just a joke and was meant to be an over-the-top character, but personally it's really not my type of humour. I find vapid melodramatic airhead characters incredibly irritating

Agree! That wasn't funny at all, and rather irritating.
But that was during those Eurovision years when acts jokes, kitsch and glitter were the trend. It was more like : who will be the biggest attention-whore this year.

I don't say it disappeared now, but it has considerably toned down recently (since 2009 actually).

 

[EscGeek]

what did Aram mp3 say???

 

[AronS]

Yes, personality is important for me. Music is not just a song - it's the artist singing a song as a complete extension of themselves. It's a complete package.

 

[Pawhlen]

Iceland went out, because people didn't realise that it was joke.

What´s the difference? When you are competing in this Contest, you have to be VERY VERY careful with what you are saying.

 

[Joyride]

It depends.

If a song is good and the singer(s) is/are quite charming, then it sounds even better to me.

If a song is good but I don't like the singer(s) then it's still good to me (for example, 2011 - Saade - weirdo but great song, I loved it and I voted for it!)

If a song is not my thing but the singer(s) is/are charming then there might be a chance that I like the song better but a sympathetic artist doesn't make a terrible song my new favourite.

 

[LakZaNokte]

i couldn't care less about their personalities, this isn't miss congeniality contest :?

just as with politics.

if your song works, it works. also, if it sucks, it sucks no matter where u come from or how adorable u are

 

[Sabrewulf238]

To a certain degree it doesn't.....

but it's hard to ignore somebody being a horrible person, if they're bad enough I think it can poison your perception of a song even if you don't want it to. Especially if what they're singing about goes against how they're acting.

 

[Franco]

It's of paramount importance!
You must like the song, of course, but it's the performer's personal charisma that makes you raise from the couch, grab the phone and send the votes.
Otherwise you would be just a passive viewer of the show: you'd had your favourite song but you wouldn't care who wins and who loses.

In other words: personality is not relevant for choosing your favourite song, but it's essential for making you vote for your favourite song.

 

[greece]

Well talking as a person who's fave singer is Dima Bilan no the personallity doesn't plays any role...

It doesn't depent how much nice in a singer to like his songs. If you like his/her voice and the songs, the personallity is nothing

 

[IncognitoGH]

Personality is important. I need to connect with the artist to enjoy the overall performance

 

[LalehForWD]

Silvia Night - Congratulations

The only one I can remember that put me off was the nonchalant attitude of Rambo Amadeus 2012. I used to like the song before he arrived in Baku.