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Singer Bashar Murad (2019 in Ramallah): “Intifada on the Dance Floor”
Photo: David Corio / Redferns / Getty Images
The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2024 is facing a political problem with a possible entry from Iceland.
In the preliminary round “Söngvakeppnin” on the Icelandic broadcaster RÚV, five songs are still in the running after two semi-finals.
Bashar Murad sings one of them.
The 31-year-old singer is at home in East Jerusalem.
He is Palestinian.
Murad performs "Wild West," a funky pop song in which he sings that he wants to go to the Wild West, "'cos it's the best place for business" - at least in the English-language version, which he will sing at the finale.
In the semifinals he struggled in Icelandic.
The title fits the current hype about the cowboy look.
But this is not the only reason why Murad is considered one of the favorites for Iceland's participation in the ESC: In order to send a sign of solidarity with the Palestinian population, Iceland's association of lyricists and composers RÚV called for a boycott of the ESC - in the event that that Israel takes part.
That is still open.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) rejected calls from over 1,000 Swedish music acts to exclude Israel from the ESC because of the war in Gaza.
However, the Israeli entry for the competition could be “too political” and the replacement song is also said to have failed.
This means that the ESC is under the sign of its political prohibition clause twice, because of Israel and possibly because of Iceland.
A few days ago, Bashar Murad presented the official music video for "Wild West" for the first time - accompanied by a statement from which the ESC fan site "Wiwibloggs" quotes.
So he seems determined to run.
The ESC is one of the largest platforms in the world and he believes in the power of his voice.
As a child, it meant a lot to him to see a Palestinian in the competition.
“As Palestinians, we are deprived of platforms to show our culture, beauty, history and community.” He is grateful to Iceland for giving him this opportunity.
»It is my dream to bring Eurovision 2025 to Reykjavík.«
With a cowboy hat in the rain of bullets
In the video, Bashar Murad makes references to his Palestinian origins that would be difficult to read from the lyrics.
During the line "hit the highway" you can see him driving between orange trees in the VW Beetle - before stopping at a wall with barbed wire.
Afterwards, a plane with him on board flies over Jerusalem's Old City and then crashes into an icy, snow-covered land.
There he is picked up by a pickup truck loaded with watermelons – the Palestinian symbol of resistance.
Later, Murad sings in a cowboy hat in the rain of bullets.
He told the London Times that the video was about his personal experiences of life in Jerusalem: "Born under occupation, separated from other Palestinians, forced to pass through checkpoints, impossible to travel to Gaza."
Such a wealth of symbols is not unusual for the artist, who sees himself inspired by Lady Gaga, Freddie Mercury and David Bowie - and feels connected to the musical tradition of his homeland.
His parents played in the alternative music group Sabreen.
Bahsar Murad studied in the USA at Bridgewater College and returned to East Jerusalem in 2014.
With his queer appearance and his advocacy for the LGBTQ community, he caused offense in the religiously conservative society.
In 2022, a venue in Ramallah where he was scheduled to perform was attacked by militants.
»Intifada on the Dance Floor«
In 2019, Bahsar Murad distanced himself from the BDS movement in an interview with “Ynet”.
Since then, his attitude toward Israel has become increasingly critical.
In 2021 he released a song called "Intifada on the Dance Floor."
The text quotes classic euphoric dance music lyric phrases and places them in the context of the Palestinian resistance: "Inform the neighbors / This place is about to be on fire" or "Don't ask me how or why: On the dance floor we “build a nation”.
Most recently, he described the war in Gaza with the controversial, anti-Israel term “genocide.”
This must be stopped and a ceasefire called for.
Israel cannot be excused from responsibility because of its LGBTQ-friendly stance: "The queer community worldwide sees through Israel's pinkwashing."
In his ESC song it's not quite as drastic.
Probably not a coincidence.
When he applied, Murad told the Times, his goal was to write something that wasn't explicitly political; he wanted to make pop music.
“At its core, the song is about a person who has big dreams, even though the odds are against them.” Will the EBU see it the same way if Murad wins the Icelandic preliminary round?
There are cases where the EBU excluded songs due to the politics ban clause.
The competition sees itself as “a non-political event”.
The rather unusual contact with Iceland came about through the ESC.
In 2019, after Netta's victory the previous year, the competition took place in Tel Aviv.
Calls for a boycott fell silent, but the Icelandic act, the industrial trio Hatari, waved Palestinian flags in the green room on the final night.
The musicians expressed interest in talking to Palestinian artists.
Bashar Murad was placed.
Hatari and Murad eventually recorded a song together.
In the video, Murad carries the Palestinian flag through the Jericho desert.