Crno i Belo Analysis

 North Macedonia’s 2012 Eurovision Performance Analysis

National identity within “Crno i belo”

The song, “Crno i belo”, by Kaliopi represented North Macedonia at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. In this blog post, I will be analyzing her performance as well as the song itself in conjunction with one of the main aspects of the North Macedonian national identity: the Macedonian language.

Historically, North Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia and fought to be seen as a separate country with its own language, however similar it might be to the Bulgarian language. After declaring independence from Yugoslavia, Bulgaria was one of the first countries to recognize North Macedonia as a separate country, even though Bulgaria had reservations about recognizing Macedonian as a distinct language (Stojanovski et al., 2014). Bulgaria’s recognition of North Macedonia as a country alone did not go far enough for the Macedonians, as their language was a main aspect of their national identity.

It is important to note that Kaliopi didn’t sing in English, making “Crno i belo” a part of the minority in recent Eurovision entries. After the Eurovision language rule changed, more countries have been represented by English language songs instead of in each country’s own (non-English) language (John, 2022). By singing “Crno i belo” in Macedonian, Kaliopi helped to preserve some of the magic Eurovision once had when songs were sung in each country’s own language. Kaliopi remarked she found it so much easier to express feelings in her native language (EurosongBe, 2012). As an avid Eurovision fan, I find it diminishes the power of the songs when they are sung in English. A great example is Iceland’s 2018 song, “Our Choice”. It came in last place, partially because the lyrics, when translated into English, felt like they did not fit the song. While Kaliopi does not think that singing in your mother tongue is an advantage in the contest, she does believe that doing so retains some of the exotic nature of Eurovision (EurosongBe, 2012). If everyone sang in English, the contest would be less “Eurovision” and more “Anglo/English-vision” (EurosongBe, 2012). Kaliopi had other personal reasons for singing in Macedonian. Like many non-native speakers, she isn’t confident in her English language abilities. So, she doubted her ability to write a song in a non-native language that would be “Eurovision worthy”. After it was announced she would be the Macedonian representative for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, she announced she would write the song herself (Esctoday, 2011). It was important to her to write her own song. It in a way is a full-circle achievement/moment because she dreamed as a child to be up on the Eurovision stage singing for her country (EurosongBe, 2012).

The performance

There are two genres present in the song: operatic pop and hard rock. The operatic pop portions are heard at the beginning and end of the song. The hard rock portion is heard in the middle of the song. In the beginning and at the end, the song isn’t as ‘hard’ or ‘loud’ but instead much softer with string instruments and piano playing in the background. This is categorized as operatic pop—still with standard rock elements but with those beautiful string instruments playing instead of loud electric guitars and drums. Operatic pop is calmer, not as rough nor as loud as hard rock. The hard rock is almost like a beautiful punch whereas the operatic pop is like a whisper of a punch. During the hard rock section, you can still hear the string instruments playing, which adds a nice touch, each section supporting the other. Of course, the string instruments are a bit quiet when compared to the electric guitar and drums. The instruments used and the timing of them in the performance help create the atmosphere for each section of the song. The only instruments used in the operatic pop section were an electric violin and piano. These two instruments were played softly and created a feeling of calmness. Kaliopi has such amazing vocal control and her vocal styling changes across the two different genres. Though her voice is powerful, during the operatic pop parts her voice is clear and soft. You can feel the emotion Kaliopi was trying to convey while singing both operatic pop and hard rock.

As is common with ESC performances, the lyrics in “Crno i belo” are repetitive, but perhaps in a different style. Most ESC songs sung in English have whole stanzas (and a chorus) which repeat, making it easier for non-English speakers to pick up words and sing along. Interestingly, rather than full stanzas repeating, in “Crno i belo” the first line of many stanzas repeat. In total, there are four lines which each repeat twice. This style of repetition really makes "Crno i belo” stand out. In an interview with wiwibloggs, Kaliopi wrote this song as a kind of life story (wiwibloggs, 2012). She took things she learned in the second part of her life and used that growth as inspiration for this song (wiwibloggs, 2012). Many people may assume the song is about a bad relationship since it has several phrases that imply that: “Baby look into my eyes” and “Darling open up your soul”. These two phrases are each are repeated twice. Later in the interview, Kaliopi basically said that after you’ve gone through many different life experiences, you learn everything in your life is black and white, only good or only bad, only happiness or only sadness (wiwibloggs, 2012).

In her performance, Kaliopi wore all-black clothing, as were the musicians behind her. She wore a black shirt, black blazer, and black trousers. The blazer had black velvet buttons from her waist to her collarbone. This costume is perfect for the song, not just because the song translates to Black and White, but it also reinforces the rock genre of the song. Lighting aided in creating the performance’s ambiance. Early in the performance, the stage is completely dark except for a spotlight shining on the guitar player and then the spotlight moves to Kaliopi. Since the stage is very dark, the spotlight and the light in front of Kaliopi allow the audience to see her face and connect with her. As the song transitioned from operatic pop to hard rock, the drums and electric guitar came in along with the stage lights suddenly turning on. The sudden change in lighting, from a dark stage with a selective spotlight to hundreds of stage lights, marked the dramatic change in genre.  One spotlight shining on Kaliopi made the stage feel close and intimate, then the sudden bright stage lights reflected the loudness of the change to hard rock.

There wasn’t much choreography as Kaliopi stood with a microphone in front of her. She wasn’t smiling or singing to specific people—she was singing to the whole audience. This felt like part of her message. She was using the song to teach the audience that life isn’t just one grey blob and that it is okay to have low and high points in their lives. There were two or three signs of limited choreography – when she raised her arms to shoulder length and turned to each side for a couple of notes.

Kaliopi’s lyrics not only teach the audience that life is black and white, but they also teach us that we all experience our ups and downs (wiwibloggs, 2012). This collective experience of having ups and downs in our lives relates to the idea of cosmopolitanism and creates a sense of greater community. Her choreography, which is limited to rare glances at each side and raising her arms, also ties into the possible relation to cosmopolitanism by bringing the entire audience together as one. She teaches her message to everyone, not just a specific group or population.

Is it a novelty song?

“Crno i belo” absolutely is a sort of novelty song, which Ellie Chalkley defines as a song which “uses presentation, musical style or an individual talent to produce something different”.  She states that a novelty song must have at least one of the following attributes:

“1. An unusual vocal quality or technique; 2. Be about something other than love and heartbreak; 3. A presentational gimmick; 4. Some form of musical innovation.” (Chalkley, 2017)

“Crno i belo” fits this definition well. Kaliopi’s one high note fits the unusual vocal quality or technique. The song itself stitches together two song genres, suddenly switching from operatic pop to hard rock and back again, in an innovative way. Nobody had really done that before, and no one has since. Some songs are written to be novelty songs on purpose, though it does not seem Kaliopi wrote “Crno i belo” with the goal of it being a novelty song.

Conclusion

At the time “Crno i belo” was sung in 2012, it was important for North Macedonians to hear their country’s entry in ESC being sung in Macedonian. Further, it is possible that North Macedonians felt that the themes in “Crno i belo” correlated with their struggle to be accepted as different and distinct than the other countries in their region. It will be very interesting to see how a future Macedonian entry involves other aspects of their national identity, such as their religions and the name of their country.  

Word Count: 1,544

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Chalkley, E. (2017, May 10). Gimmicks, glitter and glam: Eurovisions' novelty song contest. ESC Insight - Home of the Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcast. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://escinsight.com/2017/05/02/eurovision-song-contest-novelty-songs/ 

FYR Macedonia: Kaliopi to sing in Macedonian in Eurovision 2012. (2011, November 28). Esctoday. Retrieved February 28, 2023 from https://web.archive.org/web/20120304132643/http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/17889

Interview Kaliopi (Crno i Belo - Macedonia Eurovision 2012). (2012, April 23). EurosongBe. Retrieved February 28, 2023 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYK-2dQ-TRg

John. (2022, May 29). The rise of English and use of national languages in Eurovision. JohntheGo.com. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.johnthego.com/2018/04/16/rise-english-use-national-languages-eurovision/

Kaliopi (Macedonia) @ Eurovision in Concert 2012 - Interview. (2012, May 12). wiwibloggs. Retrieved February 28, 2023 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtNR3oyW2DY

Stojanovski, S., Marlov, D., & Ananiev, J. (2014). Macedonian question reframed: politics, identity, and culture in North Macedonia. Balkan Social Science Review, 295-322