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Meet the ESCXTRA team! Faith

Read to learn more about ESCXTRA's newest team member, Faith!

Nice to meet you! My name is Faith and I am 23 years old from Hertfordshire, England. I currently work as a Junior Graphic Designer for a charity, alongside what I consider my other full time job of being a Eurovision nerd! In my free time, I like to read, do strength training at the gym and exploring new restaurants and bars. I’m also not a bad cook and I bake!

I am very active on Twitter, so if you’re not already following me my twitter username is @EurovisionFaith

Your first Eurovision memory?

My parents both watched Eurovision most years growing up, and it would usually be on TV when it was on. As the Grand Final is a long show, I think it didn’t peak mine and my younger sister’s interest until we were slightly older. My first clear memory was watching the Eurovision 2013 Grand Final at my dad’s place with him and my sister on the sofa, and we ate pizza and snacks like a little party. I was 13 at the time and my sister was 11, I remember my sister watching Denmark’s performance and saying “that was my favourite one” – she clearly has good taste as it ended up winning! Every year since, we kept it a tradition to eat party food and watch Eurovision at his place, until we both flew the nest and went to University.

Your Eurovision Journey

The pizza party tradition at my dad’s place continued for a good 5 years, other than the UK’s song (which was usually played on the radio a lot), I usually hadn’t heard any of the songs until the day of the Grand Final.

It wasn’t until 2018 before I became fully invested in Eurovision’s pre-season, listening to all the songs and watching people’s opinion videos. I don’t remember the catalyst as I got sucked in very fast. I think I must have been recommended a Youtube Video about the upcoming contest and down the rabbit hole I went! I find I sometimes have an addictive personality; once I find a special interest, I go all-in and build knowledge quickly; it’s been 5 years and my excitement is ever-growing.

From 2018 onwards, I fully dive into pre-season every year; no one else I knew, family or friends, would listen to songs before the Grand Final, some of them even thought the fact that I watched Semi Finals was mad! However, luckily I’ve started to rope some people into it. I like to battle the old British attitude of ‘Everyone hates us at Eurovision and the competition is a joke’ mentality.

Why is Eurovision special to you?

In life, I always try and find things to look forward to, whether they be small things like a friend’s birthday on the weekend, or bigger things such as the Eurovision Song Contest. I love the fact that it is on every year, and that every year is so different. I am naturally a competitive person too, I love having something to root for passionately; every year there is a different country I want to win.

What attracted you to ESCXTRA?

ESCXTRA was one of the sites I circled on the internet when looking for Eurovision news and features. I find it is a happy medium of professionalism and casual, it doesn’t feel too informal. I have always loved the idea of writing for a Eurovision website as I read them all the time and I like the idea of showcasing my skills as a writer, which not many people get to see as I do graphic design as my day job. I get to spill all my Eurovision energy here, and have an audience who will read and care about what I have to say.

Your top 5 Eurovision songs of all time?

I know many people say this, but my list changes all the time. A song I enjoy watching as an overall perfomance isn’t necessarily one I listen to on Spotify, and there may be some studio versions I much prefer hearing on Spotify that I think were let down by their live staging. As this is a television show, I’m mostly basing my list from the overall performance of the artists live. I am aware this list is comprised of entries from the ‘modern’ contests, however I do have an appreciation for the older contests and their songs, I think 2012 onwards really changed the show and modernised it for the better and attracts a wider audience as the song diversity is huge.

5 – Dihaj – Skeletons (Azerbaijan 2017)

This song captured my attention when I first saw it at the 2017 Grand Final, and I still listen to this song to this day. It’s definitely one of my favourite Azerbaijani entries and it is very different to anything they’ve ever sent. I think this song needs more attention from Eurofans, so this is at my number 5.

4 – Il Volo – Grande Amore (Italy 2015)

What can I say? This is a masterpiece! Immaculate vocals and beautifully dramatic, what a way to close one of the strongest Eurovision years in history, you can easily see why they won the televote and I’m still mad about the juries putting it 6th to this day.

3 – Go_A – Shum (Ukraine 2021)

2021 is what many people argue is one of the strongest Eurovision years we have had, and for me that year it was between Italy and Ukraine. However, as time has passed, I’ve found myself listening and watching to Ukraine’s performance. Ukraine know how to do Eurovision, and this performance solidifies that fact. It’s eerie, trippy, and unlike anything we have had at Eurovision before. They completely transformed the atmosphere of the arena and the audience seemed to be in a trance with them. I think they will be a blueprint which many future delegations will be inspired by.

2 – S10 – De Diepte (Netherlands 2022)

The first time I heard this song I got chills, and I still do to this day. It remained my favourite entry of 2022, and it was one of my most listened songs on Spotify last year. It’s beautiful, and I wish the Netherlands sent more songs in their native language.

1 – Elina Born & Stig Rästa – Goodbye To Yesterday (Estonia 2015)

For me, 2015 was one of the strongest contests we have ever had, and I think this song is nothing short of an underrated masterpiece. It is timeless, and the theatrics of it really drew me in, especially as I have a background in theatre and acting. The staging is gorgeous, Elina’s vocals are amazing, and the iconic singular teardrop!

Source
ESCXTRA.comYoutube

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