Well, they’re Scandinavian; but, they ain’t ABBA. Yes — the Finnish Death Metal band, LORDI, won the contest.
There’s a giant stadium, highly toned participants, intense rivalry and flag-waving fans from many nations. It’s not the Olympics: It’s the Eurovision Song Contest, the annual kitsch extravaganza, known for its bland dance music and bubble-gum pop, that sees acts from 24 countries face off before tens of millions of television viewers.
But in a stunning upset for the contest that launched the Swedish group ABBA, a Finnish metal band with monster masks and apocalyptic lyrics won the contest late Saturday.
The band Lordi scandalized some of their compatriots when their song “Hard Rock Hallelujah” was chosen to represent the nation. At a press conference, the band’s frontman said his plan for the final was to “scream louder. And turn the amps up.”
Lordi beat an unusually eclectic 24-nation field, which ranged from the perky pop of Danish teenager Sidsel Ben Semmane and Malta’s Fabrizio Faniello to the balladry of Ireland’s Brian Kennedy and the country-pop of Germany’s Texas Lightning.
Regarded by many as the contest good taste forgot, Eurovision is adored by fans of camp everywhere.
Rock on!
