Editorials & Opinion

Withdrawal skandal – Ten Eurovision gems that never happened

1. Kátya Tompos – Magányos Csónak


The selection
Hungary had a disastrous 2008 Eurovision: Csézy finished dead last in her semi. They needed something to stand out in Moscow, so they asked Márk Zentai to represent them with If You Wanna Party. Márk however, like Tony Marshall earlier, forgot the most important Eurovision rule: No covers allowed. So when the Hungarians found out that this song was in fact the theme song for Sweden’s 2004 Big Brother, Márk Zentai was disqualified. MTV soon selected actress and singer Kátya Tompos for Moscow with her song Magányos Csónak. The song was performed during the film Valami Amerika 2 and had some fame thanks to that. Kátya played Vivi in the film. Case settled then: Hungary’s entry would be Kátya Tompos. Or not?
What was the skandal?
Another skandal where the artist herself was responsible. As I mentioned, Kátya is an actress as well as a singer. When she got her selection, she accepted it and later realised she was actually supposed to be playing in eight different plays at the time of Eurovision. How she even did that, no clue. But anyway, Kátya decided she had no time to properly prepare for Eurovision, so she handed her ticket in to MTV. The broadcaster was probably in pure panic when that happened. In an emergency move, they asked Zoli Ádok to take the plunge with his Dance With Me. A decision each and everyone of us regret. With sixteen points and ridiculously horrible performance, Zoli finished in fifteenth in the semifinal.
How would this have done?
You know what, I don’t really care. It probably  would’ve done better than Zoli and better than Csézy, because there’s always a fan out there for a heartfelt ballad with a rough voice like this (anyone remember Magdi Rúzsa?). This song would’ve represented Hungary with more dignity than the atrocious entry they eventually ended up with. Zoli was too obviously a third choice, an entry even MTV didn’t believe in and an entry no one ever needed to witness in daylight.

What do you think?

I’ve shown you my ten favourites that never made it, but there are so many other cases. Bosnian, German, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and of course, Belarussian songs that never saw the Eurovision stage. I’d love to hear what you think! Let me know below which songs you missed in the line-up or which songs you are delighted about that they never made it. And remember, don’t hold back!

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