6 December – It was wonderful to fly away

It’s always an interesting thing to watch when following the progress of fan favourites through the Eurovision season. The song gets picked and immediately there’s a buzz about it. Is the buzz just because it’s a fan favourite, or will the wider public of Europe (and Australia) like it too? The song does the rounds of the various parties and builds a head of steam. That’s OK, but they really don’t count for much.

Then, the song hits the host city and really has to prove its worth. Rehearsals, interviews, public appearances. And then you get the crucial live performance when the public votes. You wish it well, but there’s something missing. Has the singer just got tired? Was the singer just being autotuned until the semi-final? Or did it just go horribly horribly wrong. I’ll let you decide what happened to today’s birthday boy Paolo Meneguzzi (né Pablo Meneguzzo).

Paolo is 47 today.

Buon compleanno/Bonne anniversaire/Frohe Geburtstag, Paolo!