Turkey launches Eurovision song ‘Love Me Back’
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
Young singer Can Bonomo will represent Turkey with the English song ‘Love Me Back’ at the 57th Eurovision Song Contest to be held in May in Baku.
Turkey’s entry at the 57th Eurovision Song Contest will be an English-language song titled “Love Me Back,” Can Bonomo, the artist who was previously named as Turkey’s representative at the event, announced Feb. 22“The song tells the story of a sailor,” Bonomo told reporters after he introduced his song at state-run TRT’s studio in Istanbul. “We are very excited. We are very happy, and we believe it is a beautiful song.”
Bonomo said the song was arranged by Can Saban. “The song has many figures from our own culture. We have written English lyrics using our own music and own melodies,” Bonomo said.
Bonomo said the song told the story of a sailor, his passion for his love and the sea. “I am from İzmir, I grew up by the sea. This is why we have a different love for the sea. At the same time, Cahit Külebi is one of my favorite poets. I was impressed by two of his verses while writing lyrics for the song: ‘İzmir’s sea is a maiden, its maidens and streets smell like the sea.’ I was reading the book ‘Through the Looking-Glass’ by foreign writer Lewis Carroll. The book is like the continuation of ‘Alice in Wonderland.’”
Bonomo said the Eurovision mission was a very big opportunity for them and thanked TRT for picking him to head to Baku, where Eurovision will be held in May. “When we were given this mission, I told my friends that we should not be avoid our own style and our own music. And still, we are what we are; our clothes are the same, too.”
When asked if possible competition from world-famous star Adele worried them, Bonomo said: “The Eurovision representative of England has not been announced yet. This is not true; she is not even among the nominees. I listen to her and don’t think that she will join the contest.”
Professional choreography
Bonomo said they had not yet done the choreography for the song. “We will work with very successful choreographers. We will present a very professional choreography. Work will start soon, and it will take a long time to finish it because I don’t have dance training. We will prepare the choreography that will represent Turkey the best.”
Bonomo said their song did not have a certain type of melody and that they defined their music as “Istanbul music” since the song would feature all ethnic instruments, as well as an East-West synthesis.
He also added they would start promotions abroad.
As for the first reactions to the song, Bonomo said: “It is not possible in the first place to make music that is liked by everyone. I hope that many people will like it.” Saban, who will make the music video for the song, said it would be a surprise. “We have an idea with Bonomo, I will work on it. The music video will be seen in one or two weeks,” he said.
Racism stirs in Ukraine
KIEV - Agence France-Presse
A nationalist politician prompted fury in Ukraine on Feb. 22 with racist remarks about a singer of African origin who will represent the country at this year’s Eurovision song contest.
“The show’s millions of viewers will see Ukraine represented by someone who does not belong to our race, and they will think Ukraine is located somewhere in Africa,” Yury Sirotnyuk of the Svoboda (Freedom) party said.
Born in Kiev to a Congolese father and a Ukrainian mother, 32-year-old pop singer Gaitana and her song “Be My Guest” is Ukraine’s entry to the annual pop extravaganza. An opposition party led by WBC heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko slammed the comments by Sirotnyuk, a senior official in a nationalist party that does not have any parliamentary seats.
“This deplorable instance of xenophobia is not consistent with Ukraine’s European aspirations” and deserves “severe public condemnation,” Klitschko’s UDAR party said in a statement.