Why do Eurovision fans hate Latvia?

Since 1994 the countries behind the old iron curtain have sauntered into the contest one by one, and nobody can say that they haven't had an impact on Eurovision. In that first truly pan-European contest at Dublin's Point Theatre, Estonia and Lithuania occupied the very last two places. Their Soviet Baltic neighbour, Latvia, were to resist the contest for six whole years. By 2000 almost every new country in Eastern Europe had entered and Latvia's belated entry certainly went with a bang. They sent the band Brainstorm, complete with charismatic lead singer Renars Kaupers, and a 90's Britpop song that was quite unlike anything heard at Eurovision before. Against all predictions "My Star" sailed to third place in a contest when some major assumptions about the type of song to excel at the contest were well and truly dispelled (hello Linda, Nicki).



In 2001 this success could not be repeated and the end result meant that Latvia was excluded from the 2002 contest. But Portugal withdrew due to financial problems at their TV station, and as the next country on the list, Latvia took their place, and a remarkable story began. The country handed a lifeline sent an entry very much based on the Latino-lite style popular in pop charts all over the world at the turn of the millennium. So far so pleasant. When Marie N turned up for rehearsals in Tallinn with her stage show of stripping of her "male" outer suit to reveal a sassy skirt, the hysterical reports from the venue suggested a victory, that was confirmed on the night, albeit narrowly ahead of Malta who could only reposte with a pocketful of glitter.



And so Riga replaced Tallinn as the next stag-party nexus to host Eurovision. The host nation sent a pop confection by a manufactured trio that included a singer with arguably the most annoying voice in Eurovision history, so a repeat victory was never
going to happen. The next year, in the first year with semi-finals, Latvia submitted a sweet if unspectacular guitar hymn to peace, and made the top five with ease. At this point they were actually top of our Nul Points All Time Country Rankings.



Then it all started to go wrong (scoreboard wise anyway). Their 2006 entry remains in the history books as the only Eurovision entry to be performed acapella, yet it wasn't the most hummable song in the world (although we love it!) and it flopped badly. For some reason internet fans still find it way too challenging.




In 2007 they joined the pop-opera bandwagon and sailed into the final with an Il-Divo type song sung in Italian, yet once in the final they fell again very badly short, with quite a huge discrepancy between their semi and final scores. The next year, the first with two semis, they advanced with a cheesy pirate song that kind of middled out in the final, then this year they really didn't try too hard at all with a downbeat song that just got lost.



Latvia have now submitted ten Eurovision songs. After all their efforts, they still seem to hold a bizarre place in the disdain of Eurovision fans. Their entries regularly end at the foot of fan polls, without a good word to be said. Now, why could this be?. Some theories:

• They have never sent a disco diva (unless we count Marie, who had the nerve to win)
• They ignored our beloved contest for six whole years (after Estonia and Lithuania)
• They were far too successful far too soon (ref: Portugal)
• They send too many male singers (and the fans love the ladies)
• They send songs outside the fan's comfort zone (not difficult)

The explanation is probably a mix of some of the above with some other stuff as well, it is certainly true that fans favour female singers and Latvia usually chooses blokes. We love you Latvia!

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