TVP’s decision to send Blanka to Eurovision aroused great excitement from the very beginning. Needless to say, there were negative reactions at first. Most fans of the competition on stage in Liverpool wanted to see Jann, but during the pre-selection it was Blanka who came first in the jury ranking. Internet users did not leave a dry thread on her and the national broadcaster. In bold words, they pointed to the singer’s lack of vocal skills and the cliché of the song. They also searched for other reasons that were supposed to prove unfair elections during the pre-selection. They even tried to challenge the verdict by sending a petition to the European Broadcasting Union.
“Zero to hero”, but not for everyone
After some time, the matter quieted down, and suddenly the mood around the 24-year-old singer changed 180 degrees. The entire social process “from hate to love” was analyzed by Marta Nowak in her column “”, where she described how exactly the moods around the Polish representative changed.
On Thursday, May 11, when Blanka went on stage during the second semi-final, there was no end to joy. The Internet was buzzing with slogans like: “Unpopular opinion: Blanka had a pretty good performance”, “Blanka did it”, “Blanka broke the bank” or “It was really good”. Everyone was convinced about the progress that the Polish woman had made in singing since the pre-selection, and were also impressed by her choreography. The attention was also paid to her creation, which according to many was perfectly tailored for this performance. “Elegant, attractive, vulgar and classy. She looked stunning” – .
The singer’s styling was also noticed by a lot of Internet users. One Twitter user @shadowsofalia joked that the colors of Blanka’s dress corresponded to the colors of the lesbian flag. She captioned the whole thing with the caption: “It’s so touching that Blanka supports lesbians on the Eurovision stage.” The tweet was liked by over three thousand users, and in total it was seen by over 120 thousand. twitterers.
The post caused quite a stir. Commenters were not convinced about the association of the user, but it turns out that they simply did not understand the allusion. Later, she explained in references to her tweet why she created this post: “It’s a joke, and it’s that she’s super aligned with TVP, which is a homophobe’s paradise … So it’s funny because they hate such comparisons.” . In the comments you can also find statements from other users who are convinced that Blanka is homophobic. There are several of them, but in none of them there is a substantive justification for these opinions.
I honestly admit that a few days ago I was wondering what Blanka’s attitude towards the LGBT+ community was. Many Polish artists have no problem expressing their opinion on this subject, and more and more often musicians from the rap environment, which until now has been associated as strongly homophobic, express their support. We could hear voices of support from artists such as Pezet, Bedeos, Solar and Taco Hemingway. On the other hand, we rarely heard any statements about LGBT+ people from people who represented our country at Eurovision. This Eurovision, which was won by Conchita Wurst in 2014 and which is constantly involved in defending the rights of minorities. The exception is Michał Szpak, who represented Poland in 2016. It is worth recalling that the artist has been criticized for many years for his cooperation with TVP, which he officially parted with only a few years ago.
“My house is divided by a wall” 35 years later
I am writing about it because I wonder how much one can judge someone’s views through the prism of cooperation with a given station. The fact that the government media apparatus is extremely biased and has been openly attacking LGBT+ people for years is no secret. A few days ago, he reported on the intensification of hateful materials. The topic of “the threat of LGBT ideology” returns like a boomerang in the national media, but in relation to this whole situation, I believe that another issue is more important, which is also not a secret. People who belong to sexual minorities certainly work in Polish Television and Polish Radio and they do not care about how they earn money, while acting to their disadvantage. Who knows, there may even be Eurovision hosts among such people. I wonder if they realize that in recent years the level of acceptance of LGBT+ people in Poland has been getting worse. According to the ILGA-Europe 2023 ranking, which examines the level of equality of people in the rainbow, our country was ranked last among the European Union countries for the fourth time. In addition, an important and rarely discussed thing in the media is the fact that the life of such people looks different in large cities and in smaller towns far away from larger centers. I wonder if people who live comfortably in their bubble, and at the same time make life difficult for people who live somewhere far away, know this.
This situation shows that many people are able to put their pride and true beliefs in their pockets in order to achieve success. But I am not sure if I can count Blanka among such people. She is a young artist who, wanting to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest, had to – willy-nilly – marry TVP, because she is associated with the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the Eurovision Song Contest. It is true that she previously performed at events signed by TVP, but as an artist trying to break out, I can forgive it. And her song before the Eurovision craze was certainly more associated with Radio Eska than with national media concerts.
Anyway, Blanka stands out from the rest of the Eurovision participants with her unblemished heteronormativity, which, contrary to appearances, may help her in the competition. Is it wrong? Yes and no. I believe that everyone has the right to present themselves the way they want, and Blanka is a beautiful and young girl who looks great both in everyday life and in Liverpool. However, I am sorry that so far we have not been represented by any artist who would boldly present a socially important message. Not only on LGBT+ rights, but on anything. For example, the representative of Norway shows how important self-acceptance is. This is an important thought that can comfort many who are lost in the age of social media and constant comparisons.
What does Blanca have to say? Nothing specific. And should we require it from an artist who performs a light and danceable song? We don’t have to, but we can. The above example of 20-year-old Alessandra shows that not only “ambitious” creators have the right to raise serious issues. I will even be tempted to say that maybe the more mainstream ones have a better chance of reaching the audience because of their huge reach. And here, for a moment, we can return to Jann, in whom Eurovision fans saw a chance for such overtones in the world.
Unfortunately, I dare say that Jann could also be “barred” from speaking out on certain matters, especially LGBT+ people. That’s why I understand that young artists who want to make this “deal with the devil” do it so that they can free themselves from it later. I’m not convinced, but I hope it will be similar in the case of Blanka. The 24-year-old seems incredibly friendly and open, and she lived in the United States for several years. I can’t say how her career will go, but there’s a chance she won’t become a one-hit singer. As a reference, you can take the Romanian singer Inna, whose song “Up” by the way is compared to “Solo” by many. The 36-year-old artist has been active on the stage for 15 years and still releases new hits, and in Europe she is considered the princess of dance music. Its fat years are certainly behind it, because it is no longer played so willingly in Western Europe, where the craze for it quickly passed, but it holds up bravely and is still Romania’s export commodity. Also, the success of Doda’s “Aquaria” album shows that there is a demand for dance music, which in my opinion perfectly counters the unleavened disco-polo. I hope that if Blanka wants to stick to this style of music, she will jump into this trend and continue to improve her vocal skills. And then she will surprise us all, because in my opinion she could be the perfect ally of LGBT+ people!
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
