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Joel Beard
May 13, 2023
Eurovision 2023: Austria, Belgium and Australia qualify as final 10 acts are revealed
Euronews Culture / VideoElephant
Let’s be honest: none of us saw a song about being possessed by the ghost of writer Edgar Allan Poe coming at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, but we’re all here for it.
In Austria’s entry for the competition – taking place in Liverpool on behalf of last year’s winners, Ukraine – singers Teya and Salena ask “Who the Hell is Edgar?”, and that’s a blooming good question.
The answer? Edgar Allan Poe… poe, poe, poe, poe, poe…
Yes, that is the chorus, and yes, it is that catchy.
So aside from being supposedly possessed by Poe, what prompted the duo to write about the American writer, who died all the way back in 1849?
According to the lyrics, the singer is “happy” to be taken over by Poe because the song is “feeling special” and will “make me rich”.
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However, arguably the more interesting lines come later in the track, when Teya and Salena reference the figure “0.003” – the amount of money music streaming giant Spotify pays artists after a single stream of a song.
\u201cAustria\u2019s song is about the lack of royalties musicians receive from the likes of Spotify, with 0.003 referencing how much some artists get per stream.\n\nJust boss moves. Absolutely no notes. #Eurovision\u201d— Scott Bryan (@Scott Bryan) 1683835807
The lyrics continue: “Give me two years, and your dinner will be free / Gas station champagne is on me / Edgar cannot pay rent for me.
“Zero, dot, zero, zero, three / At least it pays to be funny / Ugh.”
So yes, “Who the Hell is Edgar” does appear to actually be about the poor treatment of artists in the music industry.
We love to see it – and so do other Eurovision fans:
\u201cAmbulance on its way to the arena after Austria breaking their back from carrying semi final 2 #Eurovision\u201d— Teresa C (@Teresa C) 1683835735
\u201cAustria performing a song about being possessed by the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe to criticise the music industry was not on my #Eurovision2023 bingo card.\u201d— Jan Schneider (@Jan Schneider) 1683836538
\u201cedgar allan poe is the oldest artist to ever compete at eurovision. he is 213 years old ! #eurovision #eurovision2023\u201d— mollie | \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8 (@mollie | \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8) 1683835560
\u201cOOOOOOOOO MIO PADRE IT'S GHOST IN MY BODY\nPOE-POE-POE-POE-POE-POE-POE\nEDGAR ALLAN POE #Eurovision2023\u201d— daria | esc season \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddfb (@daria | esc season \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddfb) 1683835634
\u201cthe ghost of edgar allan poe at #eurovision right now\u201d— tom (@tom) 1683835566
\u201cEdgar Allan Poe\u2019s ghost must be so confused as to who is summoning him. #sbseurovision #eurovision2023 #AUT\u201d— Ashleigh Ubank (@Ashleigh Ubank) 1683836218
\u201c"huge fan of the Edgar Allan Poe stan song" is not a sentence I expected to ever say but here we are. #Eurovision\u201d— David (@David) 1683835656
\u201cOK Austria\u2019s weird Edgar Allan Poe bop SLAPS. This shit is literally why I watch #Eurovision\u201d— Dr Carolina Are \ud83d\udc83\ud83c\udffb bloggeronpole (@Dr Carolina Are \ud83d\udc83\ud83c\udffb bloggeronpole) 1683835657
However, Austria’s chances of winning the contest may be scuppered now, after it was revealed on Friday that they would be first up to perform in Saturday’s Grand Final.
According to an online article from the Eurovision Song Contest itself back in 2019, at the time, only three songs in the competition’s history won after performing first.
Out of 67 winners, just over 34 per cent came from the first half of the show, so it doesn’t look that good for them.
Elsewhere, though, there is some good news for Luxembourg, as it’s been announced the country will return to compete in the show from next year – ending a 30-year hiatus after they were relegated in 1993.
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