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Showy, impractical to play, and looks like the 1980s: why we keep falling for the keytar

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-mac-mcdermott-1439419">Paul (Mac) McDermott</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p>This year, Perth synth-metal band Voyager finally succeeded in their long-running dream of representing Australia at Eurovision. After multiple attempts, they were directly chosen by the post-Australia Decides <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australias-voyager-though-to-eurovision-grand-final-how-did-they-get-into-the-contest/wancd9kyf">“committious mysterious”</a> and hopped on the long haul to Liverpool.</p> <p>They did not disappoint, making it through to the final. Their song, Promise, was voted ninth by an adoring fanbase. Not bad indeed!</p> <p>But what even is synth-metal?</p> <p>Traditionally, synths in metal, particularly onstage, were generally frowned upon and seen as a sign of inauthenticity. In the 1990s, I swore allegiance to baggy clothes, instrumental techno and synthesisers. The black t-shirt-wearing grunge fans worshipped guitar riffs, screamo lyrics and mosh pits.</p> <p>We kept in our lanes and followed the rules.</p> <p>Voyager’s proud embrace of synthesisers reject this rather 1990s separation and return metal to the melodic pomp of Van Halen’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwYN7mTi6HM">Jump</a> or Europe’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw">The Final Countdown</a>. The band can still rock hard, but like the taco ad says, “Why not both?”</p> <p>If you were coming to the finals fresh, Promise followed the classic Eurovision three-act strategy to maximum effect.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GSoy_mJMlMY?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>Beginning with synthesised staccato pulses playing rich harmonic progressions, it feels like a classic Euro-trance anthem, not unlike the Swedish winner, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE2Fj0W4jP4">Tattoo</a>. We find lead singer Daniel Estrin onstage driving his 1980s convertible, hair half-shaved and half in luscious locks. His mysterious passenger, bathed in neon – a red keytar.</p> <h2>A what? I haven’t seen one of those in ages!</h2> <p>The word “keytar” is a portmanteau of keyboard and guitar. It looks like a keyboard but is hung around the neck and played like a guitar.</p> <p>The first verse of Voyager’s song begins its ascent, “if you haven’t ever done anything like this before then you haven’t been alive”.</p> <p>I suppose not – I really need to get out with my keytar more often, this looks like fun.</p> <p>The keytar stays in its seat as the band rolls through stadium rock, synchronised guitar swings, hard drum hits and distorted guitar stabs. In the second act, Voyager are now death metal.</p> <p>It’s deep growls, drop-tuned power riffs, and scattergun kick drums. The audience’s collective mind explodes.</p> <p>After one more melodic pre-chorus, it’s time for the third and final act. With one boot threatening to scratch the duco of the car, the lead guitar solo lifts us up to melodic rock heaven.</p> <p>But wait. For the second half, Estrin grabs the red keytar and joins in. He throttles its neck and finishes with a lightning-fast arpeggiated flourish that ELO’s Jeff Lynne would be proud of.</p> <p>The finale repeats and ascends until we all rise to metal nirvana. A quick, traditional pyro-pop ends it all. That was truly genius!</p> <p>The power of the keytar is restored.</p> <h2>An instrument of mixed feelings</h2> <p>The keytar tends to be loved or loathed. Created in the late 1970s and popularised throughout the 1980s, it looks like a product of its time.</p> <p>Made of shiny plastic, shaped like the future, it’s showy and rather impractical to play.</p> <p>If you want to play chords, it is easier to play them on a horizontal keyboard, like a traditional synthesiser.</p> <p>The primary advantage of the keytar is portability and pose-striking. Like its distant ancestor, the piano accordion, a player is free to move around, finally free of the horizontal grip of gravity.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6TltAi_XbHY?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>Most guitarists thought of it as a joke, whereas new-wave synth players saw it as a cool accessory to their modern sound and fashion-forward hair.</p> <p>This was the future, as viewed from 1980.</p> <p>One early adoptor was Edgar Winter. His instrumental track <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8f-Qb-bwlU">Frankenstein</a> topped the Billboard chart in 1973. A multi-instrumentalist who played guitar, sax, percussion and keyboards, he took conventional synths and simply added shoulder straps to wear them like a guitar.</p> <p>While this is a cool look, it is not great for the spine.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P8f-Qb-bwlU?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>The first manufactured keytars were released in the late 1970s, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mattson_(synthesizer_inventor)#The_Syntar">PMS Syntar</a> (see what they did there?) being exhibited at Atlanta’s 1979 NAMM show (National Association of Music Merchants).</p> <p>It was a time of extremely contrasting genres that nevertheless all had synthesisers at the core of their sound. More traditional progressive rock acts such as Yes vied with the new vision of electropunk by Devo. Glam metal bands adopted its look, while synth-driven electrofunk artists could overturn conventional rock theatrics.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j_QLzthSkfM?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>The fall and the rise</h2> <p>The new, standardised MIDI language created an ecosystem that allowed musos to access any synth from any manufacturer, rather than being beholden to one. This quickly resulted in cheaper, easier-to-use synthesisers becoming more widely accessible, leading to the home recording boom we all enjoy today.</p> <p>This bastion of the future soon became as passe as the flat-tops, mohawks and mullets of the people who played them. As we moved into the 1990s, the joyous excesses of 1980s pop bands would soon be seen as daggy. Replaced by faceless DJs, flannel-wearing rockers and choreographed dancers, it was time to sell your keytar or put it into storage.</p> <p>But after a couple of decades of respectful silence, the humble keytar slowly began to re-emerge. Lady Gaga led the charge on her Fame Ball Tour in 2009. The keytar does make sense for such a look-driven, 1980s-influenced artist.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PecJgs75RxQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>So all hail the keytarists of the world. Thank you Thomas Dolby, A-Ha and Dave Stewart. Respect to Chick Korea, Herbie Hancock and Prince. To Muse, Arcade Fire, John Paul Jones and Lady Gaga, may you shred in space, without a hair in place. Thank you Voyager!<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205640/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-mac-mcdermott-1439419">Paul (Mac) McDermott</a>, Lecturer in Contemporary Music, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/showy-impractical-to-play-and-looks-like-the-1980s-why-we-keep-falling-for-the-keytar-205640">original article</a>.</em></p>

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Is Eurovision finally cool? That depends on your definition – ‘cool theory’ expert explain

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/vanessa-brown-142590">Vanessa Brown</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/nottingham-trent-university-1338"><em>Nottingham Trent University</em></a></em></p> <p>With an aesthetic dependent on novelty and spectacle, and a structure that’s both disjointed and drawn-out, Eurovision – for some – cannot fail to fail. In its “failed seriousness” (the phrase writer Susan Sontag <a href="https://www.artandobject.com/news/what-camp-met-tries-define-ineffable">used to describe “camp”</a>), the song contest has all the exaggerated expressiveness that audiences associate with kitsch. So, how could it possibly be cool?</p> <p>I’m interested in viewing the show through the lens of <a href="https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/45239/1/1507168_Brown.pdf">cool theory</a> (which identifies different kinds of cool and breaks those down into core qualities). “Coolness” itself is a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14797585.2021.2000837">slippery and controversial term</a> that can mean almost opposing things.</p> <p>For some, “cool” is simply what is fashionable. It can also be a rebellion against what is fashionable. Or an anti-social attitude in which nothing and no one else matters beyond your own stylish persona.</p> <p>Indeed Sam Ryder – the UK’s near-win Eurovision act of 2022 whose high energy performance combined epic, earnest vocals with flowing natural locks, pearly teeth and a bejewelled one-piece – told the Guardian in 2022 that cool is “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/may/19/cool-is-the-enemy-eurovision-hero-sam-ryder-on-how-he-ditched-his-ego-and-found-his-joy">the enemy</a>”.</p> <p>The profile of Ryder claimed he had no interest in the “detached rock star” exterior. This refers to the sense of unwillingness of “cool” musicians to have their dignity compromised by other people’s rules – an unwillingness to be caught making an effort.</p> <p>But Eurovision is all about effort. A publicised drama of rehearsals and heats, nervous waving and nail biting in the green room – the performers are just generally far too eager. Because whether it’s death metal or pared back electronica, being liked is what these musicians are here for.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RZ0hqX_92zI?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Sam Ryder’s 2022 Eurovision performance.</span></figcaption></figure> <p>On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine the uber-cool 1960s <a href="https://www.loudersound.com/features/krautrock-communism-and-chaos-the-anarchic-story-of-can">krautrock band Can</a> giving two hoots what a jury in Brussels would make of their genre-defining understated rock. Nor the jazz men Miles Davis, Charlie Parker or Lester Young, who set the parameters of cool performance with their sharp, formal attire and <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/cool-shades-9780857854643/">refusal to acknowledge the audience</a>.</p> <h2>What kind of ‘cool’ is Eurovision?</h2> <p>Although the performers of Eurovision aren’t detached, the audience can be. Sociologist Janna Michael’s <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1469540513493206?journalCode=joca">2015 study</a> of European urban hipsters revealed that the point of cool is not what is liked, so much as how it is liked. This goes some way to explaining Eurovision’s appeal.</p> <p>Since the 1980s, Eurovision has been presented (certainly in Britain) as something to enjoy in a specifically detached way, through irony. From 1973 to 2008, former commentator Terry Wogan’s flippant narration allowed the audience to collude in a knowing superiority over the event, finding its failed seriousness funny.</p> <p>The cult following of Eurovision among those with a camp sensibility was further endorsed by the appointment of comedian Graham Norton as Wogan’s more obviously camp successor.</p> <p>Do these fans love Eurovision because they enjoy the catharsis of the unabashed release of “bad taste”? Or because they enjoy feeling superior to those people (and nations) who genuinely engage with the drama of the competition? This is a side of <a href="https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780719066153/Kitsch-Cultural-Politics-Taste-Ruth-0719066158/plp">cool’s ironic detachment that celebrates disdain for others</a>.</p> <p>However, many British fans now speak enthusiastically about the tolerance and openness of Eurovision. As <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/showbiz-news/eurovisions-rylan-clark-blown-away-26873868">host Rylan Clark said this year</a>: “Everyone is welcome.” In recent years Eurovision has become more obviously and consciously open to gender diversity and aligned to LGBTQ+ tastes.</p> <p>This was crystallised by bearded Austrian drag queen Conchita’s winning performance in 2014. The <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2023/05/11/eurovision-alesha-dixon-and-hannah-waddingham-turned-into-drag-queens-18770837/">drag makeovers given to all three semi-final hosts this year</a> confirmed the contest’s status as a space which endorses self-creation, individuality and tolerance – all aspects of the cool attitude.</p> <h2>Becoming mainstream</h2> <p>In the past, scholars of the theory of coolness have often focused too heavily on men and masculine, emotionally blank forms of “cool”, with composure and self-possession at their heart. Though this brand of cool is eloquently expressed in jazz, it is also visible in the consummate performer of drag.</p> <p>Thanks to the popularity of shows such as RuPaul’s Drag Race, drag – once enjoyed purely in LGBTQ+ subcultures – is now mainstream entertainment. This is perhaps one reason Eurovision has suddenly become perceived as “cool” <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120607180110.htm">by some</a>. But experiences of exclusion and marginalisation have historically been the conditions in which modern cool has been forged.</p> <p>The very fact that Eurovision has been viewed for decades as a cultural white elephant, a place of almost inconsequential melodrama, gives it the potential to be resurrected as cool.</p> <p>Liking Eurovision was once an anti-mainstream position. This gave the show the potential to become “cool”, through both its exaggeration of qualities seen as undesirable by dominant social tastes, and its willingness to push the boundaries of convention, despite the detractors.</p> <p>The concept of cool is complicated – and it is changing. Indeed, <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120607180110.htm">some recent studies</a> have shown that perception of coolness is connected to activism and pro-social traits. Eurovision may seem like sparkly fluff, but perhaps now more than ever, it is also a vehicle for promoting greater acceptance of other ways of life. It’s all cool.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205600/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/vanessa-brown-142590">Vanessa Brown</a>, Course Leader MA Culture, Style and Fashion, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/nottingham-trent-university-1338">Nottingham Trent University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty </em><em>Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-eurovision-finally-cool-that-depends-on-your-definition-cool-theory-expert-explains-205600">original article</a>.</em></p>

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Piers Morgan slams Ukraine’s “sympathy” Eurovision win

<p dir="ltr">Piers Morgan has slammed the winners of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, claiming the act from Ukraine won on a “sympathy vote”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The rap group Kalush Orchestra were crowned winners of the annual contest for their song <em>Stefania</em>, with Morgan claiming that their musical talent was not considered in the voting process, but rather that their country is under attack. </p> <p dir="ltr">In a Twitter post, the 57-year-old broadcaster wrote, “Nobody who voted for Ukraine thought it was the best song because it obviously wasn’t anywhere near the best. Even Ukrainians don’t think it was the best song.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“They got the sympathy vote, which is fine as long as we drop the word ‘contest’ from Eurovision.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Morgan also suggested that the contest is a “rigged farce” and suggested Ukraine would have won due to the highly publicised invasion by Russia, regardless of their act.</p> <p dir="ltr">He added in a separate tweet, “The world’s most absurd, pointless, politically-motivated ‘contest’ excels itself. Ukraine could have sent one of its heroic bomb-sniffing dogs to bark the national anthem and still won. Happy for them, but please let’s stop calling #Eurovision a contest... it’s a rigged farce.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleh Psiuk thinks that their winning song, which pays tribute to his mother, has been redefined as a rallying cry for Ukraine amid the devastating conflict with Russia.</p> <p dir="ltr">He said, “After it all started with the war and the hostilities, it took on additional meaning, and many people started seeing it as their mother, Ukraine, in the meaning of the country.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“It has become really close to the hearts of so many people in Ukraine.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Meet the former Voice contestant representing Australia at Eurovision 2022

<p dir="ltr">After a tight race at this year’s <em>Eurovision - Australia Decides 2022</em> competition, 22-year-old Sheldon Riley will be representing the country at this year’s <em>Eurovision</em>. </p> <p dir="ltr">The young performer first shot to notoriety when he auditioned for <em>The X Factor</em> in 2016, where he came in third place. </p> <p dir="ltr">Following his time on <em>The X Factor</em>, Sheldon auditioned for <em>The Voice Australia</em> 2019, where he was coached by Delta Goodrem before he was eliminated in the semi-final. </p> <p dir="ltr">Sheldon also appeared on <em>America’s Got Talent</em> in 2020, but was eliminated in the third-quarter final. </p> <p dir="ltr">The young artist performed his original song <em>Not the Same</em> at the Australia Decides competition, and spoke to <a href="https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/eurovision-australia-decides-2022-sheldon-riley/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pedestrian</a> after he was crowned the winner. </p> <p dir="ltr">“This is the stage I have watched for years and years and years and now I’m going to be standing on it!” Sheldon said.</p> <p dir="ltr">He reflected on his experience in competitive singing shows and the way they tried to mould him into personas he didn’t identify with.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Now I’m standing on a stage being respected as an artist not as a competitor. That means the world to me,” he explained.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CaiFUoivZmN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CaiFUoivZmN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by SHELDON RILEY (@sheldonriley)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Sheldon also touched on the meaning behind his emotional power ballad <em>Not the Same</em>, and how it reflects his own struggles. </p> <p dir="ltr">“There is such an unseen community in Australia who have no idea who they are and what they’re capable of,” Sheldon said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I come from a very religious and reserved family [and I’m also] a kid of public housing.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I didn’t know what I was going to be able to achieve and create. Now I work with Australia’s best and I’m about to represent the country!”</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s just a little crazy, isn’t it?”</p> <p dir="ltr">You can catch Sheldon Riley in the second <em>Eurovision</em> semi-final on May 13th on SBS. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Instagram @sheldonriley</em></p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-2bd8cb04-7fff-e4c0-6574-c44358f73bb7"></span></p>

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Jack Vidgen slammed for Eurovision decider performance

<p>Jack Vidgen has been brutally mocked online after his performance on the Eurovision competition, Australia Decides.</p> <p>His fans have rallied around the Australian star after a number of terrible comments were made against Vidgen, with one person even saying he was so bad that they had “laughed out loud” at his television screen.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8TaGjqJEQe/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8TaGjqJEQe/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by jack vidgen (@jack.vidgen)</a> on Feb 8, 2020 at 2:53am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The 23-year-old performed on stage on Sunday night on the Gold Coast to battle it out for the prize of representing Australia in the Eurovision on May.</p> <p>He battled Australian singer Montaigne.</p> <p>People took to twitter to fiercely defend the<span> </span><em>Australia’s Got Talent</em><span> </span>star from the onslaught of bullying, with one fan writing: “WTF is wrong with people? Jack Vidgen has emotions like the rest of us. The haters on here ought to be ashamed. Find something productive to do instead.” </p> <p>“Why did I see someone asking why Jack Vidgen wore makeup like a girl? It’s 2020 people,” another person wrote. </p> <p>Others called Jack’s performance ‘Eurovidgen’ and questioned why the singer was copping so much flak online. </p> <p>That didn’t stop people from writing nasty things online after Jack’s performance. </p> <p>“Jack vidgen was just so bad i laughed out loud - dear god make it stop!!,” one person wrote. </p> <p>“Jack Vidgen sounds like me singing along to Mariah after a white wine,” another added. </p> <p>Montaigne was crowned winner after going against 10 other Aussie acts, including pop icon Vanessa Amorosi,<em> Australian Idol</em> powerhouse Casey Donovan and<em> Australia's Got Talent </em>winner Jack Vidgen.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Ts0mCDyaB/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Ts0mCDyaB/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Montaigne (@actualmontaigne)</a> on Feb 8, 2020 at 5:37am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"THE MOST INSANE NIGHT EVER — I'M GOING TO EUROVISION — LIFE IS CRAZY — THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ME," Montaigne posted on Facebook after the results were announced.</p>

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Veteran BBC broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan passes away, aged 77

<p>Terry Wogan, whose warm Irish brogue and sly, gentle humour made him a star of British television and radio for decades, has died. He was 77.</p> <p>His family said in a statement that Wogan died Sunday surrounded by his loved ones "after a short but brave battle with cancer".</p> <p>"Sir Terry Wogan died today after a short but brave battle with cancer. He passed away surrounded by his family. While we understand he will be missed by many, the family ask that their privacy is respected at this time."</p> <p>The disc jockey and presenter was a staple of British broadcasting, best known for his long-running BBC radio morning show Wake Up To Wogan, his annual hosting duties for Britain's coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest and his longstanding association with the Children in Need telethon.</p> <p>Born in Limerick, Ireland in 1938, Wogan began his broadcasting career on Irish network RTE before moving to the UK and the BBC, for whom he hosted quiz programmes, game shows and a 1980s television talk show.</p> <p>His strengths were a deep, buttery voice, dollops of Irish charm and a wry sense of humour. His Eurovision commentary affectionately mocked the kitsch pop music competition, at which Britain generally fared badly.</p> <p>He hosted Wake Up To Wogan between 1972 and 2009 – with a break from 1984 to 1993 – and made the show the most popular on British radio, with 8 million listeners. Wogan called his fans TOGS, for Terry's Old Geezers or Gals.</p> <p>Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Britain has lost a huge talent – someone millions came to feel was their own special friend."</p> <p>Former CNN talk-show host Piers Morgan tweeted that Wogan had been "one of the greatest broadcasters who ever lived".</p> <p>Fellow BBC broadcaster Jeremy Vine said someone once asked Wogan how many listeners he had.</p> <p>"Instead of answering 9 million, which would have been accurate, he said: 'Only one'. And it was this approach that made him one of the greatest broadcasters this country has ever seen. He only ever spoke to one person."</p> <p>Wogan, who had joint Irish and British citizenship, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.</p> <p>First appeared on <a href="http://www.Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Stuff.co.nz</strong></span></a>.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/02/cat-shows-dog-how-to-escape/"><strong>Hero cat shows anxious dog how to escape</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/01/petition-to-put-fred-hollows-on-5-dollar-note/"><strong>Petition to put Fred Hollows on $5 note gains support from high profile Aussies</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/01/can-you-find-the-6-words-hidden-in-this-picture/"><strong>Can you find the 6 words hidden in this picture?</strong></a></em></span></p>

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