Yahoo – AFP, Hugues Honore, May 15, 2016
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| After a tense vote count Jamala representing Ukraine was declared Eurovision 2016 winner after a heart-felt performance of "1944", about the deportations of Crimean Tatars during World War II (AFP Photo/Jonathan Nackstrand) |
Stockholm
(AFP) - Ukrainian singer Jamala snatched victory from arch-rival Russia to win
the Eurovision song contest, adding a touch of political drama to the annual
kitsch extravaganza.
After a
tense vote count, during which it seemed Australia was going to run away with
the crown until the audience votes came in, Jamala was declared the winner in
Stockholm after a heart-felt performance of "1944", a song about the
deportations of Crimean Tatars during World War II.
Jamala's
entry -- which stirred controversy over perceived veiled criticism of Russia's
recent annexation of Crimea -- scored 534 points, closely followed by
Australia's Dami Im with 511 points, the juries' favourite.
The hotly
tipped former Russian child star Sergey Lazarev came in third with 491 points.
In Moscow,
public TV channel Rossiya 1's commentators congratulated Jamala on her win,
without mentioning the Crimean Tatars.
They said
Jamala's song was "about her family members", without offering further
details.
Jamala
herself described the win as "amazing".
"I was
sure that if you sing, if you talk about truth it really could touch
people," the 32-year-old said at the winner's press conference.
The
stunning turnaround in the final minutes of the show capped an eventful 61st
edition of the love-it-or-hate-it kitsch fest, which was expected to be the
most-watched Eurovision since the event was first staged in 1956.
Scores were
decided by national juries as well as viewers. In an attempt to give the
outcome a more democratic feel this year, fans were given the final say --
adding some last-minute suspense to the contest.
Among the
evening's other highlights was a guest appearance by US pop star Justin
Timberlake, who entertained the crowd with his hit "Rock Your Body"
before performing his new single, the upbeat "Can't Stop the
Feeling", which itself wouldn't have sounded out of place in the
Eurovision line-up.
In another
sign of the contest's growing appeal, Eurovision was for the first time
broadcast live in the United States on the Logo channel, which is aimed at the
LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.
The show
was also live-streamed on YouTube, giving Google a piece of a pie once reserved
for European public broadcasters.
"The
Eurovision Song Contest is now a truly global phenomenon," producer Jon
Ola Sand said, amid expectations that the show will push last year's record of
197 million viewers worldwide.
 |
Ukraine's
Jamala performs the song '1944' as the wins the first place during the
Eurovision Song Contest final in Stockholm, Sweden, Saturday, May 14, 2016.
(AP
Photo/Martin Meissner)
|
'In my
blood'
Characterised
by critics as a potpourri of bizarre performance antics, special effects and
cheese, the light-hearted contest usually tries to avoid controversy and steer
clear of geopolitics but this year was always going to be different.
Political
leaders in Moscow and Crimea had initially sought to get Jamala's song
disqualified, arguing that it criticised Russia's annexation of the Black Sea
peninsula in March 2014.
The jury
approved the lyrics nonetheless, setting the stage for a monumental confrontation.
Inspired by
Jamala's great-grandmother's story, "1944" recounts the deportation
of the Crimean Tatars by Soviet strongman Joseph Stalin, and she sings it
partly in the Tatar language, she says, because "it's in my blood."
The song
has resonance for contemporary Ukraine, where memories of that horror were
revived by Russia's seizure of Crimea, and Jamala's poignant lyrics tell the
story of a people with a history of persecution that continues to this day.
Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko was among the first to congratulate Jamala on her
victory.
"Yes!!!"
Poroshenko tweeted. "An unbelievable performance and victory! All of
Ukraine gives you its heartfelt thanks, Jamala."
Ahead of
showtime, bookies had tipped Russia's Lazarev and his catchy "You Are the
Only One" tune to win the contest between 26 finalists -- 25 Europeans and
one Australian.
Lazarev,
popular in his own country and eastern European nations, has built an eventful
career as a singer, actor and TV host.
He has also
drawn admiration from gay rights campaigners for speaking out against his
country's climate of homophobia.
Earlier
this month he told Sweden's QX gay magazine that he was happy for fans to wave
rainbow flags at his performance, saying he respects his gay fans and they
respect him.
Guest
competitor Australia also lived up to its billing as a frontrunner, cementing
its reputation as a country to be reckoned with in its second year of
competition after first being invited to last year's anniversary edition.
South
Korean-born Dami Im, 27, a classically trained pianist and former X-factor
winner, won over the national juries with her slick performance of "Sound
of Silence", but in the end it was the viewers who decided it wasn't quite
enough to beat Jamala's performance.
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