Oh Lordi
A Finnish metal band in monster garb and platform shoes stole the hearts of pop music fans across Europe last night. Yes, it sounds outlandish, but it's true.


Last night we tuned in for the annual Eurovision song contest, a major pop culture event here. It's also a showcase for some very cheesey music and lots of cleavage. Few Americans have heard of this televised contest, but it's a pretty big deal over here. It launched the careers of both Celine Dion and Abba and, I'm guessing, was the inspiration for American Idol. I actually caught Eurovision by chance two years ago on a trip to Germany. I was an instant fan.

This year 24 countries, from Spain to Latvia, competed for Europe's votes. I was rooting for Romania, who sang a catchy dance tune in Italian. Something you might expect to hear emanating from a bar in the Castro or in an Italian discoteca. (Sadly, Italy itself doesn't particpate in Eurovision. I have no idea why.)

My other favorites were Lithuania and Germany. Lithuania was great for its pure absurdity. The all-male group, older and dashing in elegant suits, simply chanted the same lyrics over and over: "We are the winners of Eurovision. Vote for us." The longer they went on the more comical it became.

Germany's band, Texas Lightning, was more earnest, and their imitation country western was better than what you hear on most country stations back home. Viewers didn't go for it though. Germany ended up with one of the lowest scores.

The winner, by a landslide, was Lordi, the band from Finland, with their head banger anthem Hard Rock Halleluja. The band caused an uproar in Finland, where many people were mortified by them. But Lordi got its "day of Rockoning" (yes, that's a line from the song). I was actually glad to see them win. They were so outrageous, the fact they won shows Europeans don't take all this (or themselves) too seriously.