San Marino wants YOU ... to compete at Eurovision
October 20, 2017 6:01 AM   Subscribe

After limited success since joining the contest in 2008 -- one Grand Final appearance in eight tries -- San Marino's national broadcaster, RTV, is teaming up with 1in360.com to find "The Internet Candidate" for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. Ten finalists will have the opportunity to compete to represent the country in Lisbon; keeping in line with Eurovision's mission to promote technological innovation, "parts of the [final round] will be filmed and broadcast in 360 and virtual reality." If you wanna be seen by everyone, wanna be in the dream and have some fun ... if you wanna be on the hook, simply take a look!

Sending non-native representatives to Eurovision is not unheard of; Celine Dion won for Switzerland in 1988, and an American lead singer helped the UK take the trophy in 1996. It doesn't always end well, however, as Germany's borrowed Americans (including Dita von Teese) only managed to finish 20th in 2009. Each country is allowed to set their own selection rules and process, provided all entrants are at least 16 years old in time for their semi-final performance and otherwise abide by the contest rules.

Previously, in San Marino's Valentina Era:
2012: Valentina Monetta, "The Social Network Song"
2013: Valentina Monetta, "Crisalide"
2014: Valentina Monetta, "Maybe"
2015: Anita Simoncini & Michele Perniola, "Chain of Lights"
2016: Serhat, "I Didn't Know"
2017: Valentina Monetta & Jimmie Wilson, "Spirit of the Night"
posted by zebra (8 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
The Social Network Song is really astonishingly bad. I'm thinking that My Lovely Horse could have handily beaten it.
posted by jaduncan at 6:19 AM on October 20, 2017 [4 favorites]


I'm all for inclusivity and such, but I don't think effectively inviting the Internet to compete at ESC is necessarily a super idea. I mean, have you seen the internet lately? Fingers crossed for a judicious sifting of the open submissions.

Or we'll have, "Singing for San Marino, it's Boaty McNaziface!"

Nul points.
posted by norabelle at 6:22 AM on October 20, 2017


Tempted . . . .
posted by JanetLand at 6:55 AM on October 20, 2017


PAGING GWAR

A NEW ERA BECKONS

round three for jedward is okay too
posted by delfin at 8:38 AM on October 20, 2017 [4 favorites]


i know a fair few americans who'd do it in exchange for citizenship
posted by halation at 9:00 AM on October 20, 2017


That stupid Facebook song was awful and the next two were extremely forgettable, but I didn't hate Spirit of the Night, and I kind of assumed they were just going to let Valentina do it forever. To me, that's a better gimmick than whatever the hell this is.
posted by Copronymus at 9:45 AM on October 20, 2017


Probably Valentina will win the internet contest.

And that's how the story ends!
Oo Ooo Uh Oh Oh!
posted by chavenet at 10:26 AM on October 20, 2017


Worth noting (a) up until ESC2018 San Marino has always selected, internally and (b) the broadcaster is making public what has been an open secret for years - the San Marinese would always listen very carefully to those who were willing to help finance the project.

Here it's new technology as opposed to a career singer.
posted by ewan at 7:25 PM on October 20, 2017


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