you think Amer. Idol is wild? it ain't political like this one, wow:

[ensho]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KB25Ak01.html


Turkey's song and dance over Eurovision


Unlike most competing nations, Turkey throws itself wholeheartedly into the annual kitsch extravaganza that is the Eurovision song contest, and here there is none of the tongue-in-cheek lampooning of contestants or their songs that is popular in nations like Britain.

The contest is taken so seriously that Turkey's choice of singer and song were announced this year by the top state broadcasting organization, TRT, on their important New Year show. Hadise, the Belgian-born R&B singer-songwriter, will be Turkey's representative with the pop song Dum Tek Tek (Crazy For You).

With her youthful looks, great vocal range and racy dance routines, Hadise's nomination has been widely welcomed by the public. She already has European success with her 2008 hit Stir Me Up and was the consistent winner of TRT's online polls for who should go to Moscow, where the contest takes place in May.

Controversy already surrounds this year's competition, with Georgia's entry We Don't Wanna Put In, a not-too-subtle jibe at Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after the nations' five-day war in August, 2008. The Caucasus nation initially threatened to boycott the event in protest against Russia's de facto annexation of two of its separatist regions after the conflict. A spokesman for Putin has denounced the song as "hooliganism".

There has also been anger at Israel's plans to field the female Jewish-Arab singing duo Nini and Mira. The pair was selected by Israel's national broadcasting authority for the competition a day after Israel began its offensive against Gaza in December, 2008. The Israeli-born Nini was criticized by Israeli peace activists for calling Hamas a "cancer" and a "virus", while Palestinian Mira was attacked in a petition organized by Israeli-Arab artists.

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Accusations of geopolitics, vote-rigging and vote-swapping playing a role in the concert's results have dogged the competition for decades. It was not until 2004, when the contest was held in Istanbul that the disputed island of Cyprus and Turkey first exchanged votes, despite a failed attempt by the Turkish organizers to present the Cypriot entry as the "Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus".
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power to the performers!