Poli Genova - If Love Was A Crime | Bulgaria's 2016 Eurovision entry as a pro-LGBT protest anthem
I didn't watch Eurovision this year. To be honest, I didn't realize Eurovision aired on May 14 until I saw mysticowl's tweets a day later. Which is kind of shame. From what I gathered, voting got pretty close at times, so there was lots of tension, and we got the kind of spectacle we've come to expect from Eurovision. Plus, I would have loved to see the live response to Ukraine winning the contest with an entry seemingly tailor-made to troll United Russia - a Crimean Tatar performing a song about Stalin exiling her people from Crimea (which was controversial to begin with, but in context of Russian Federation's annexation of the peninsula, it's hard not to draw present-day parallels).
As I was looking through mysticowl's posts, I came across her enthusiastic endorsement of Bulgaria's entry.
And I quickly realized why she liked it. Not only is it a damn catchy song, but its an energetic song. The pounding drums, the way it builds up energy as it approaches the chorus. It's the sort of song that makes you want to get and move - and keep moving.
Bulgaria's Eurovision song confirmed excellent work-out music.
- Alina (@LJmysticowl) May 16, 2016
The other thing I quickly realized is that it's all but impossible not to read it as pro-LGBT. With lyrics like "And you and we're alive, What we feel is what is right, We can run like never" and "Unafraid, Never fade, When it's dark we illuminate, Can we rise together," well... it's literally practically text.
It's not the only possible interpretation. Poli Genova herself apparently said that the song was about anyone whose love faces obstacles, whatever those obstacles may be. And it can definitely work in other ways, too.
Did Genova want to do an LGBT friendly-song and hedged her bets to avoid backlash? Or did she want to do a love song that could appeal to sexual minorities, too? Or some combination of the two? We may never know.
Whatever the case may be...Between the lyrics, the energy and the optimism, it makes for one hell of a pro-LGBT protest song.
All I'm saying is - if I don't hear it in the pride parades, or in civil rights protests to come, I will be very disappointed.
As I was looking through mysticowl's posts, I came across her enthusiastic endorsement of Bulgaria's entry.
Click to viewAnd I quickly realized why she liked it. Not only is it a damn catchy song, but its an energetic song. The pounding drums, the way it builds up energy as it approaches the chorus. It's the sort of song that makes you want to get and move - and keep moving.
Bulgaria's Eurovision song confirmed excellent work-out music.
- Alina (@LJmysticowl) May 16, 2016
The other thing I quickly realized is that it's all but impossible not to read it as pro-LGBT. With lyrics like "And you and we're alive, What we feel is what is right, We can run like never" and "Unafraid, Never fade, When it's dark we illuminate, Can we rise together," well... it's literally practically text.
It's not the only possible interpretation. Poli Genova herself apparently said that the song was about anyone whose love faces obstacles, whatever those obstacles may be. And it can definitely work in other ways, too.
Did Genova want to do an LGBT friendly-song and hedged her bets to avoid backlash? Or did she want to do a love song that could appeal to sexual minorities, too? Or some combination of the two? We may never know.
Whatever the case may be...Between the lyrics, the energy and the optimism, it makes for one hell of a pro-LGBT protest song.
All I'm saying is - if I don't hear it in the pride parades, or in civil rights protests to come, I will be very disappointed.