The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — are combing through the 2010s, choosing the cream of the crop from the top three placers from all ten contests of the decade. So many of the artists we’re reviewing are full of youth (hey, Kristian Kostov!), or high-energy dance moves, but today we come to review the group containing the oldest participant ever in Eurovision history, Russia’s Buranovskiye Babushki with “Party for Everybody”
Come on and DANCE! When the Buranovskiye Babushki were selected to represent Russia (beating past contest winner Dima Bilan into second place, we might add), not many people expected them to turn up on stage in Baku with a revolving oven, baking cookies during the song. Nor for them to have the crowd dancing like there was no tomorrow. Yet the grannies also managed to achieve another unexpected thing: being the runners-up of the contest.
As the only novelty song in our list of the Wiwi Jury of the 2010s, we have to say well done for doing as well as they did, and for raising all that money and awareness for building a church in their hometown of Buranovo. Are we loving the kitsch or do we just want this party to stop? Read on to find out!
Buranovskiye Babushki – “Party For Everybody”
“Party For Everybody” reviews
Robyn: In a way, the victory of “Euphoria” in 2012 killed off songs like “Party For Everybody”. Loreen’s slick pop jolted the contest forward into the new decade and meant that goofy novelty pop had a less secure place in the contest. But let’s not forget that “Party For Everybody” came second. The Babushki delivered an incredibly fun performance and perhaps is the last great pure novelty Eurovision entry.
Score: 7/10
Jonathan: A fun-filled upbeat party anthem tinged with a bit of traditional Russian instrumentation: yes, please and thank you! Out of all four of Russia’s entries in this Wiwi Jury, “Party For Everybody” in a way stands out as the most authentic. There’s a charm in the Buranovskiye Babushki’s performance that warms your soul just as much as the baked goods in their rotating oven. Even if you think the performance is a bit gimmicky, you have to respect the group of them for showing us all that you’re never too old to enjoy your life (and raise some money for your local community in the process).
Score: 7.5/10
Luis: The Babushki were arguably the last deliberate “meme” entry we’ve had at Eurovision that actually succeeded. “Party for Everybody” was all about good, healthy fun and it was bound for the top five since the very moment it was selected. While there’s nothing wrong with that, there’s also nothing particularly great about it. Modern-day Eurovision does not really need these kind of gimmicks. The distance between the 2012 winner and runner-up, more than a numerical matter, is related to the change of Eurovision era that brought the 2010s decade.
Score: 5/10
Russia's singing grannies ("Buranovskiye Babushki") have recorded their very own World Cup song. And it is frustratingly catchy… pic.twitter.com/bcIx646oRy
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) June 11, 2018
Lukas: When Russia doesn’t send songs about peace or Sergey they send amazing Babushkis who know how to put on a great party. This song and performance always been so cute and adorable to me that I am happy it got so many points and placed second overall. The staging was great it was unique and we all love that spinning oven thing. To this day, I still love this song.
Score: 8.5/10
Natalie: I really melt at the thought of what might have happened if it wasn’t for “Euphoria” and this had become the winner of Eurovision 2012. Not a pleasant idea, to say the least. I don’t even really like it at second place. Sure, it’s fun, it’s likeable, it has lots of colour and energy and those babushki have a great stage presence. But… it’s not really the kind of thing we want to encourage at Eurovision. Hugs from us, but the trophy is much better off in Loreen’s cabinet.
Score: 6.5/10
Charlotte: I will never forget about these cute, little, dancing and singing, cookie-baking Russian grandmothers. Vocally, it was not good but they managed to build an unforgettable show around this song. Honestly, I really don’t dare to say anything bad about this performance, because they are our little European grandmothers and I don’t want to disappoint my grandmother.
Score: 5/10
In the Wiwi Jury we have 24 jurors but only have room for six reviews. The remaining scores are below:
| William: 9/10
Antranig: 6/10 Pablo: 5/10 Angus: 2/10 Lucy: 2/10 Sebastian: 8/10 Bernardo: 4/10 Deban: 3/10 Calvin: 7.5/10 |
Oliver: 5/10
Kristin: 8/10 Edd: 9.5/10 Barnabas: 7.5/10 Florian: 6.5/10 Steinunn: 7/10 Julian: 5.5/10 Katie: 6.5/10 Tom: 3/10 |
We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 9.5.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.05/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
Grannies were used by Drobysh the puppetmaster, he ripped off every Verka’s trick in the book.
As for the Grannies, they had a much better “Dlinnaya-dlinnaya beresta i kak sdelat’ iz neyo aishon” in the Russian NF in 2010.
Oh, I loved their 2010’s entry
Thank goodness for Deban. We should see the narrative which goes with the low scores.
I have been quiet recently. There’s a reason for that. 🙂
Fun staging, great performance, but the song… just no.
any score lower than 11 is invalid
I will defend this song until the day I die, just like I will defend The Flintstones from 1994. Some people just don’t get it.
Defending anything that evil Drobysh made is a Eurovision sin
I like song, but better song had Sweden,Serbia,Spain,Italy,Albania,Azerbaijan,Estonia.
They had better song in 2010 , with that song they would won Eurovision 2010.
Love it, 1000x better than any crying diva singing another cheesy sad ballad.
Staaaaay until we find the waaaaaaay,
To be togeeeeeeeeeeetheeer
What an awful and ridiculous song. The fact that this came 2nd shows how weak of a contest Eurovision 2012 was.
0/10
This came 11th with the juries in the final. 11th! Musically, what is this, exactly? It’s not even funny in an ironic way like Ukraine 2007 was. Also, it cost me the chance of seeing Dima and Julia at Eurovision. And it is one of the HARDEST Eurovision songs to explain to non-Eurovision fans without looking like a weirdo.
In case it wasn’t obvious, I REALLY don’t like this. 😉
What do you mean by “exactly”? Do you want to know exactly? It’s fun from a culture where they mix traditions with anything modern.
juries can be fun too. not everything is serious
some of the juries which gave this high marks were the usual suspects from former soviet states connected to Drobysh
The grannies laugh all the way to the bank. Even though they are not the same members, I’m sure they make more money than one hit wonder Loreen.
they are nowhere to be seen
Yeah, this was really fun and silly, but honestly, seeing Spain, Italy and Macedonia placing much lower, really hurt. This is the first time I understood ESC haters.
One small correction: the group didn’t contain the oldest ESC contestant – while the age of the oldest member (Natalya Pugachyova) – 76 years – is really impressive, it’s nothing compared to Emil Ramsauer, member of Takasa (Switzerland 2013) who was 95 years old when he took part in the contest. But of course the combined age of all the lovely Russian grannies – 403 years – is pretty unbeatable.
I think Emil is still alive, right? I know he celebrated his hundredth birthday last year.
As much as I appreciate the ethnic touch, the song is quite annoying to my ears. Could I say that to one of the adorable grandmas? Definitely not! Of course they’re the selling point of the entry, but there’s also smart staging here. Not just they took great use of their likeability, but the colorful lights and the spinning oven made it very appealing. In the end, I’m happy that they raised money for their church. And even happier that we live in a timeline where Loreen won and changed Eurovision for the better.
Most of the time, I think countries like Russia are much too serious at Eurovision. It was great to see them finally lighten up and see them send something fun and silly. I always enjoy revisiting this one. 9/10.
They brought different language to Eurovision stage. The song makes me smile and wanna dance, and still does. It was different choice from Russia. Remember that they beat Dima Bilan (WINNER 2008) & Julia (3RD 2003) in national selection.
This is a fun entry and I love the cuteness and pure joy on stage. Sure, lyrically and vocally not very strong, but the overall package is quite enjoyable. And can we point out the circeling oven in the background? This is so funny 😀 7/10
I love this entry and I am not ashamed of it. In a sea of songs trying to be something more than they really are, Buranovskiye Babushki just wanted to have some fun on stage and share their joy with others. And it’s not such a bad song in itself – it’s extremely catchy, great for dancing, and it incorporates some nice traditional elements. The lyrics, tho quite simple, remind me of a folk song (especially the verses), and they match the song’s vibe very well (also, let’s not forget that “Party For Everybody” brought Udmurt to the Eurovision languages… Read more »
Everyone should embrace their inner granny and enjoy the fun and charm in this song. The contest definitely needs more songs like this, not less. A well deserved second place.
Herein lies the inherent paradox of Eurovision. This song is clearly not very good, but without these type of entries Eurovision will die. I get that this is a serious fan site, so I’m ready for the downvotes, but we have to remember for most people, Eurovision is a once a night event where they tune in to be entertained. They’ll hear the song for the first time on the night and want to have fun. I just watched the clip for the first time in years and it was fun and I was entertained, so for me it deserves… Read more »
Ignore the downvotes – you’re 100% correct!
I don’t disagree with you, but there is no way that the song deserved 2nd, or even the top 10 in a year with Pastora, Nina Zili, Ott, Rona Nishliu and Sabina, and with Pasha and Kaliopi just outside it. Even if it is a fun song (and I disagree with it being fun) there’s no way a joke song like this deserves the top 10 in the 2010s. I mean, I could see each year having one or two joke songs that entertain people and finish on the right hand side of the scoreboard, but they shouldn’t do super… Read more »
What’s the 2010s got to do with anything? Fun songs will exist forever while ever there is a televote – and they have a justified presence in Eurovision
What part of “it shouldn’t have finished in 2nd” and “these songs should finish on the right hand side of the scoreboard” do you not understand? It’s one thing for songs like this to finish this high in the 2000s, but not when the songs are getting better and better artists are participating.
That’s very judgmental of you. Personally, I think the history of Eurovision is to be celebrated rather than derided.
I don’t get to say this often in a Eurovision context, but I’m glad I can finally say it and mean it: THANK GOD for Sweden! Sure, Russia 2012 is a fun idea, but is it that fun to justify it getting a better result than Ott Lepland, Pastora Soler, or Kaliopi? Better than Eva Boto who inexplicably ended up second last in the semi final? Yeah… no, don’t think so. To me, a good Eurovision entry MUST always have a decent studio version to listen to. Always .I do however like their cheerfulness and the sentiment it conveyed.
Well, an incel like you must know that, so I’ll take your word for it, Rasmus/Davve/whatever. 😉 Isn’t it “Dave”, or are you too incompetent to spell your own fake name?