Jr Eurovision: Georgia Wins the World’s Largest Song Contest for Kid

TIME Magazine
Dec 4 2011

Junior Eurovision: Georgia Wins the World’s Largest Song Contest for Kids

By William Lee Adams

Their winning song, entitled `Candy Music,’ set their love of sugar to
a disco beat. `Who loves sweet caramel? Wow, jellies and lollipops,
fruits and nuts and bonbons!’ they crooned in Georgian during
Saturday’s contest in Yerevan, Armenia. `We’ve got plenty here, can
you hear?’ Plenty of candy indeed, as it was even plastered on their
outfits. The girls, who range in age from 11 to 15, wore leggings
patterned with candy canes, shoulder pads shaped like dollops of
frosting and at least one tutu that resembled cotton candy. En route
to victory, they defeated an Armenian dressed as an air hostess, and a
Latvian crooning about her dog.

(MORE: Baby Gaga and Tributes to Mama at Junior Eurovision)

Throughout Eastern Europe, communism has given way to competition –
and at Junior Eurovision, it’s usually doused in glitter and sequins.
Broadcast live to 30 million viewers in Australia and much of Europe,
it’s the world’s biggest song contest for kids aged 10 to 15. It’s
also a miniaturized version of Eurovision, the European singing
competition that helped launch the careers of musical icons like Abba
and Celine Dion. For little contestants from small countries, Junior
Eurovision offers a platform for some very big dreams. As the head of
the Maltese delegation told TIME last year: `Kids look at it as an
opening to Europe. Maybe they can make contacts with producers. You
don’t know who is watching.’

Courtesy of the European Broadcasting Union / Junior Eurovision
Candy, winners of the 2011 Junior Eurovision Song ContestContestants
write and compose their own songs, providing a unique window into
childhood. This year’s songs covered everything from teenage rebellion
to superheroes. But, as always, the overwhelming theme was love. The
singer representing Russia compared her unrequited love to the tragedy
of Romeo and Juliet. The Belgian entry pleaded with her wayward beau
for `just one more kiss.’ And the 15-year old Swedish contestant
sounded more like a forlorn divorcee than a kid: `Silly me, standing
at your door/When nothing is like yesterday/Breathe, breathe/You’re
ignoring me…You have to know I’m falling.’

It may sound surprising, but Georgia’s sugar-coated ode to sweets
actually represents a move toward understatement. In 2008 the nation
won the contest with a trio of kids dressed as bees singing in an
imaginary bee language. And last year Georgia placed fourth with an
outrageous act (and pink wigs and rhinestones) that earned its singer
the nickname Baby Gaga.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress