Rock will always be relevant, Eurovision proved it
Image Credit: Eurovision 2021
Josh Kinghorn,
25th May 2021
Tags:
Music
Blog
Rock
Whenever the term ‘Eurovision’ crops up, it’s usually accompanied by images of cheesy music, weird stage shows, and Graham Norton being highly opinionated (which is something he and I seem to have in common).
Despite the reputation surrounding it, there seems to be a massive worldwide appeal, with large viewing numbers in America, and Australia even being invited to compete a few years ago.
The divide between rock and pop is slowly dissolving, despite what the charts may say, and this year’s Eurovision has proven that there is still a place for rock in modern pop culture.
We have some rock and metal sprinkled throughout the xRhythms playlists with some bands heavier than others, like Skillet, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, GFM, and more on the way.
Every rock submission has just been pop with real instruments and little grounding in rock.
The last time we had a proper rock track in Eurovision was in 2006 with Finland entry Lordi singing “Hard Rock Hallelujah”, which went on to win the contest that year. Since then, every rock submission has just been pop with real instruments and little grounding in rock.
However, this year had two heavy efforts submitted, and both of them exceeded all expectations. Both of these tracks finished in the top six after a huge score swing from the public vote.
The first was the entry from Finland with the track “Dark Side” by Blind Channel, having clear influences from Linkin Park, which resulted in the nickname Finkin Park. This song ended up finishing 6th
overall.
The band Måneskin entered with the track “Zitti E Buoni”.
The second of these tracks was submitted by Italy. The band Måneskin entered with the track “Zitti E Buoni” with a sound like if Muse was heavier. This was the big shock of the night as they placed 6th in the jury vote and 1st in the audience vote, eventually winning the contest with 524 points in total.
The band accepted the trophy with the exclamation “Rock and Roll never dies!”. Check the track out for yourself below.
Not everyone enjoyed it, with Graham Norton saying at the time, “Maybe it will grow on me, like mould on a bathroom ceiling.” It is clear that not everyone was going to like it, but the votes told us that it was well deserving of the victory.
Who knows what the future of rock in Eurovision looks like.
With Italy and Finland doing so well, who knows what the future of rock in Eurovision looks like, but I for sure am looking forward to seeing what happens.
For more rock and metal, check out the likes of Korn, Hope Through Grace and Red and much more on our xRhythms playlist now!
