Diversity


Blog Post 2: Estonia on Stage
Diversity is defined by “being composed of different elements”(Merriam Webster). Diversity can be displayed in many different ways; for example, singing or performances. In this blog post I will be analyzing the 2017 and 2018 Estonia Eurovision performances, explaining how these performances show or don’t show diversity of the country. I analyzed the songs “Verona” (2017, Estonia)  and “La Forza” (2018, Estonia), I broke them down into four categories: lyrics, production, performance, and identity.
“Verona” (2017, Estonia) was performed by Koit Toome and Laura, with the music and lyrics written by Sven Lohmus. Looking at the lyrics, I imagined the song to be about love, but more specifically a break-up love song. The scenario is about two people who are so madly in love with each other which ironically is what drives them apart. The reference to “Romeo and Juliet” (“Verona” 2017)  fits perfectly into this song because the two characters loved each other so much even though their families have been long-standing enemies. This crazy love eventually drove them to death. The song title is “Verona” (2017) which is the location where Romeo and Juliet was set. In this song the performers were trying to replicate the love that Romeo and Juliet had.
The country decided to make into a duet between a man and a woman. At the first the women, is on stage by herself in complete darkness, when she says the first line of the chorus, “I was high on loving you” (“Verona” 2017) the spot light turns on and you can fully see her face. The man, Koit Toome, appears on screen singing the second verus “Learning through the scars”, but the next verse he sings, “I’m not the loner kind” shows him on the stage. The audience does not see him enter, the camera just turns to him with a black and sorrowful background. Throughout this whole performance the two are not shown together until the final part of the chorus. Instead, the camera shows an intimate close-up of Laura and then the cameras turn to Koit right after. The viewers rarely see the audience during this performance, which makes the viewers know that it this a very intimate scene between the two lovers. However, the singers do not seem to be sad at the fact that they are about to break up, but more content. I think this is where the audience gets confused on how the performers feel about each other. They are not crying nor sad, but the woman smiles a lot during the song. The way the performers performed did not correspond with the lyrics of the song.
The background and lighting during this whole performance is very simple. A simple pink and white background was shown on three screens behind the singers at all times. Mostly white colored lights were displayed throughout the performance. I believe this adds to the intensity of the song between the two lovers. Showing the deep connection between the two ex-lovers and not having the audience be distracted with wild lighting. The country really wanted to keep things simple and focus the song on the performers.
Speaking of the performaners, Koit Toome and Laura both have represented Estonia at Eurovision in the past. Koit represented Estonia in Birmingham in 1998 and Laura in Kyiv back in 2005 as a member of the girlband Suntribe (Eurovision.tv).  Koit Toome is Estonian and is a singer and actor. While, Laura was born in Tartu, Estonia and is a famous pop star. The composer and lyricist  Sven Lohmus, is the greatest hit maker in Estonia. The 2017 Eurovision was his fourth participation. Sadly they did not make the finals, but they made the second semi-final which ranked 14th (Eurovision.tv). I believe the audience was very confused by the message of the song. Stated before, the performers didn’t show the right emotion that went along with the song. The lyrics, staging, and performance piece did not coincide very well. However, Estonia’s 2018 performance did much better.
“La Forza” (2018, Estonia) performed by Elina Nechayeva came sixth in the finals of 2018 (Eurovision.tv). The song was written and sang in Italian, the genre would be described as an Italian pop-opera. When I read the lyrics in English, I was not quite sure what the song was about. ‘La Forza” translates to The force in english.  My first guess was a love song, the line “Our love will be a guide to us always and forever” (“La Forza, 2018) gave me that hint. However, looking closer at the lyrics, I believe the song is more about a powerful force that protects us. The lyric that stuck out to me the most was, “There is a star. It lights up my way. Always. It is my guide in the immensity.” With the song title to “the force” it makes me believe that it is talking more about a force that drives us to find love. Sometimes love could even be the force that drives us to do things. “Our love will be a guide to us always and forever” is one of the verse that is sung throughout the song. This is a love song, but not in a traditional way about a boy, it is a love song describing what love is.
At the beginning of the song, blue lights are pointed down and you can only see Elina from the chest up. As she sings the lyric “There is a star” twinkling stars start to appear on the screen behind her. Right before she is about to sing the chorus, the stage turns bright red and as she sings “La Forza” (2018) her whole bottom of the dress lights up with snowflakes. However, during the second verse, the camera strictly stays on Elina and there are not any projections on her dress. The background turns back into stars. Once again, right before she sings “La Forza” the stage turns red and her dress animates into tie dye and then it turns solid red and purple to match the background. During the lyric “Is it a dream or is it real” her dress starts looking almost like a galaxy with all the purples and reds that are splattered on the dress. This is what made me believe she is talking about an actual force. During the whole song, she sings to the audience standing completely still, while moving her hands. It almost seems as if she was acting as the force. When she lifted her hands, the dress would change into a new color.
Elina was born in Taneilli, Estonia, the capital of the country. However, she is Estonian, Russian, and Chuvash, it is these mix where she can fluently speak five languages (Eurovision.tv). She is a soprano in the opera in Estonia. Elina was a great performer for this performance.
The performances “Verona” (2017) and “La Forza” (2018) do not necessarily show diversity. There was a bit diversity shown in “La Forza”. Having Elina Nechayeva a Russian performer, sing a song in Italian, a language that is rarely spoken in their country shows a bit of diversity. This could be portrayed as trying to incorporate different types of culture in Estonia. However, overall the country itself did not show a lot of diversity in their performances.

Word Count:1,221
References:
Boks, E. (2018). Destination Lisbon (#27): Meet Elina Nechayeva from Estonia.
(Eurovision.tv). Retrieved from
8
Elina Nechayeva (2018). La Forza (Estonia). Eurovision Song Contest 2018 Lisbon
[DVD]. Baarn, NL: Universal Music Group.
Koit Toome and Laura (2017). Verona (Estonia). Eurovision Song Contest 2017 Kiev
[DVD]. Baarn, NL: Universal Music Group.
Koit Toome & Laura - Eurovision Song Contest Kyiv 2017. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Ndr. (n.d.). Estland: Elina Nechayeva - "La forza". Retrieved from

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