Blog Post 2: The Nation on the Eurovision Stage

When first listening and analyzing a song it can at first feel a bit overwhelming. Songs and music or so multileveled and dynamic, there are so many layers to what makes it what it is. This is why when at first listening to a song it might be helpful to use the “Switched on Method” in which there are four simple steps to listening to the song and truly understanding it at every level possible. Step one is called “Liner Notes”, this comes before we even listen to the song for the first time and includes learning about who, what, when, and where the music was recorded. Step one can also include the genre of music, what instruments were used, who is playing what, and the key and tempo of the song. Step two, the “Needle Drop”, is when listeners finally get a chance at listening to the song for the first time. Step three, “The Scratch”, is the moment in the song where listeners say to themselves “Woah, I need to hear that again!”. Lastly, step four is called “The Remix”, and is when listeners make the song their own by interpreting it however they see fit. All of these methods are highly useful and helpful, especially when analyzing Eurovision Song Contest performer Monika Liu’s song, Sentimentai which placed 14 in the 2022’s contest. 

Liner Notes and Needle Drop

When at first deciding who would be representing the country of Lithuania in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, Lithuania didn’t simply draw names from a hat, they had a series of televised competitions called “Pabandom iš naujo!” which helped them to narrow down and select the next Lithuanian representative. After thirty-six initial contestants competed in three heats, two semi-finals, and a final competition, singer Monika Liu was chosen as the singer representing Lithuania at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022. Monika Liu is one of Lithuania’s most popular and respected artists and initially gained popularity in 2015. Liu was born and raised in Klaipėda where she would also attend university before going on to further her education at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. While Liu currently resides in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, for a time she lived in England and even wrote and recorded her Eurovision song, Sentimentai in London. 

Sentimentai is a smooth, jazzy, and retro-sounding song that really draws from Liu’s natural jazzy voice as well as her jazz vocal training at the Berklee College of Music. One thing that marks this song as particularly special is that is sung entirely in the Lithuanian language. This is only the second time that Lithuania has performed at the Eurovision Song Contest with full Lithuanian lyrics and not in English, the first time this was done was at Lithuania’s debut in 1994. The song performed by Liu certainly isn’t one of the many novelty songs or gimmick songs that are oftentimes performed in order to be seen as out of the ordinary or to call attention to something special. Instead, Sentimentai is a song about love and heartbreak. Liu sings about a lover who can’t seem to forget or get rid of the memories of their previous lover. 

The Scratch and The Remix

As far as staging and theatrics go, Liu kept it simple and is the only one seen on stage. While Liu’s performance looked amazing even while simple, this simple look could have been attributed to staging issues that affected everyone's performance at the competition. Originally, the stage design was called “The Sun Within” which included a large LED screen that was supposed to show everyone's graphics. Due to issues with the LED screen being able to move around fast enough, the European Broadcasting Union agreed that the screen would not be used for any of the performances so that all performers would be given a fair chance at winning. Performers were only warned of this change a couple of weeks prior to the song competition and many, including Liu, were forced to change how they interacted with the stage and what their  performances would look like. Liu had originally planned to have graphics on the LED screen behind her which definitely would have added more to the general performance and perhaps even made it so that she would have received a higher score. Because of the lack of visuals and possible backup dancers on stage, Liu relied on subtle dance movements that were elegant and simple, as well as her own elegant outfit to draw attention to herself. All in all, I would say that Liu’s lack of background visuals is actually what made her performance so memorable to viewers. Dressed in a sequined, sparkly, floor-length slimming dress and her signature bob, Liu’s presence on the stage almost commands viewers to look at and pay attention to her. I do think that Liu could have had more stage presence as she doesn’t really move much from the center of the stage, as this would have increased her engagement with different parts of the audience but it was still a beautiful performance. 

Degree of Alignment 

When at first thinking about the degree of alignment between Monika Liu’s performance and Lithuania’s national identity, a couple of factors such as representation, novelty, essentialism, and simulation must be considered. Considering Liu’s song, Sentimentai, is spoken and sung entirely in the Lithuanian language is quite a big deal, especially when thinking about how this is only the second time Lithuania has presented at the Eurovision Song Contest with a fully Lithuanian song. Because of previous Russian occupancy in the nation and the act of Russification, the act and process of involuntarily “making something Russian” (Merriam-Webster), having the song presented in the Lithuanian language would definitely speak volumes to Lithuania’s pride in their own language. This being said, some of the lyrics in Sentimentai refer to the “dunes of Nida” (Sentimentai) which are sand dunes located in the coastal beach town of Nida in Lithuania. I think this was a great touch to the song as it provided an extra personal touch to a song that isn’t outwardly devoted to Lithuania’s national identity. When it comes to novelty, Liu doesn’t include any gimmicks, political satire, or sing about something other than love. Despite the lack of extra added theatrics, I think that the simplicity of Liu’s performance is actually what made it so memorable. When looking at Karakasidou's definition of essentialism which occurs when “the innate and primordial characteristics of a national group are emphasized” (Baker, pg. 174), It doesn’t appear that Lithuanian characteristics are overly represented in Liu’s performance. Liu’s performance lacks any kind of visuals, traditional dancing, or colors that would refer to Lithuania’s national colors. 

Lithuania, like many of the Baltic countries, has at times been seen as the “other” by the West. As said by Catherine Baker in her article Wild Dances and Dying Wolves: Simulation, Essentialization, and National Identity at the Eurovision Song Contest, “The concept of a foreign gaze which seeks out difference as entertainment has led to simulations of national folklore, which are essentialized because they present one region’s customs as standing for the whole nation” (Baker, pg. 181). Many nations tend to capitalize off of this in their Eurovision performances as a means to cater to the idea of what other countries see them as. It would have been easy for Lithuania to pull out a performance that also catered to the idea of what a “true” or “authentic” Lithuanian performance should look like in terms of the tourist gaze, “where tourists’ expectations about the foreign destination are “constructed through difference” to their everyday routines” (Baker, pg. 181). While Lithuania does get tourism, there isn’t as much of a need to sell a certain look or idea which is perhaps why Lithuania didn’t feel the need to send an artist or a song that over-exaggerated the idea of what Lithuania is like in order to be seen as more memorable by viewers. Ultimately, Liu had a performance that was memorable and vibrant enough that extra added theatrics were not needed to make elevate the performance to be something that isn’t.

Word Count: 1,358 

References 

Adams, W. L. (2022, May 3). Rainbow of death: Broke down "Kinetic sun" will remain on Eurovision stage "out of fairness" to all acts. wiwibloggs. Retrieved February 27, 2023, from https://wiwibloggs.com/2022/05/03/eurovision-2022-stage-problems-kinetic-sun-remain-in-place/272157/ 

Baker, C. (2008). Wild Dances and Dying Wolves: Simulation, Essentialization, and National Identity at the Eurovision Song Contest. Popular Communication, 6(3), 173–189. https://doi-org.proxy.seattleu.edu/10.1080/15405700802198113 

Christensen, M., & Christensen, C. (2008). The After-Life of Eurovision 2003: Turkish and European Social Imaginaries and Ephemeral Communicative Space. Popular Communication, 6(3), 155–172. https://doi-org.proxy.seattleu.edu/10.1080/15405700802197834 

Development and importance of tourism for Lithuania. Worlddata.info. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2023, from https://www.worlddata.info/europe/lithuania/tourism.php 

Monika Liu. Eurovision Song Contest. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2023, from https://eurovision.tv/participant/monika-liu-22 

Ndr. (n.d.). Litauen - Monika Liu · "Sentimentai": Finale 2022. Eurovision. Retrieved February 27, 2023, from  https://www.eurovision.de/videos/2022/Litauen-Monika-Liu-Sentimentai-Finale-2022,litauen870.html 

RadioTimes. (n.d.). Who is Lithuania's eurovision 2022 act? meet Monika Liu. Radio Times. Retrieved February 27, 2023, from https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/monika-liu-eurovision-2022-lithuania/ 

“Russianize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Russianize. Accessed 26 Feb. 2023.