The free language rule can be a bit of a challenge sometimes. Do you stay true to your country’s culture and only sing in a native one? Do you pick one that’s more widely known to the world? Do you pick one from leftfield? Or a mix?
Our friends in Norway haven’t used a native language since 2006. It’s been English almost all the way since then. That almost is because of what happened in 2011. Yes, they used English, but they also used Swahili. Get them! It came from a song from today’s birthday girl Stella Nyambura Mwangi. She was of Kenyan birth, so there was no cultural appropriation to worry about. Stella did find points difficult to come by, especially from the juries of Europe. It was maybe the early draw order. Or the unusual language to European ears.
Stella is 36 today.
Gratulerer med dagen/Heri ya kuzaliwa, Stella!