Georgia's Identity on Stage

Georgia’s Identity on Stage

The way someone presents themselves to the world is the they will be perceived by others. It’s human nature for people to judge and form preconceptions about others. The same can be said about nations. When they’re putting their best foot forward, they emphasize characteristics that separate themselves from others and shy away from things that place them in a negative light. This holds true (or not) in the way that different countries present themselves at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). Due to the national scale of the contest, countries aim to portray themselves as having a good reputation and image. Because of this, the way a country (such as Georgia) presents them self at Eurovision may not align with their national identity. Performances by Georgia in 2017 and 2018 support their national identity in certain aspects while other areas serve as a conflict.

The song “Keep the Faith” (Georgia) was performed by Tamara Gachechiladze in 2017. Watching her performance on the surface level results in the impression of the song having a generic meaning. However, a deeper meaning can be found by looking at lyrics, staging, and the background of the singer. 

Throughout the performance, the colors red and white can be seen on the performer, LED screen, and in lighting and projections. In addition to Gachechiladze’s dress being red, she is wearing red earrings and nail polish, further embodying the national color of Georgia. The color red represents power and determination which relates to the song’s genre. It can be categorized as a power ballad (Lamp, 2017) which connects the strong feeling and emotion of the song to the powerful feeling that red represents. 

On the LED screen, various abstract patterns are displayed. As Gachechiladze sings “spread your wings and breathe”, a smoke-like representation of her breath appears while red “smoke” is being shown on the screen behind her (ESC, 2017). At the start of the second verse, the screen has black and white imagery that resembles a kaleidoscope. The lyrics “Who told you that I’ve reached the points with no regrets/Who told you that my life is a book of fairy tales”, seems like Gachechiladze is referring to difficulties that she had in own life which would make sense because she wrote the lyrics (ESC, 2017). The choice to use black fits well with the first half of the verse because it supports her feeling of struggle and hardship. When singing the second half of this verse, the screen changes to red and white. This transition occurs when singing “I have lost many times/But I’ve never lost my hope” (ESC, 2017). These lyrics mean that although she has faced difficulty, she hasn’t given up in getting through her struggles. The transition from black to red signifies that while she has had rough times, she has hope and determination for the future.  

The meaning of this song can be interpreted in many different ways. The message that is carried throughout these interpretations is “faith”. One of these explanations takes the words at face value. The words “keep the faith” means to continue to stand strong and have hope even if the current state you are in is hard or difficult. Looking at background information on Tamara Gachechiladze provides an alternative meaning. Previously, Gachechiladze was supposed to represent Georgia at ESC in 2009 with the group Stephane & 3G. They were going to sing “We Don’t Wanna Put In” (Zeiher, 2017), but they had to withdraw due to it referencing Vladimir Putin (Prime Minister of Russia) in the lyrics (Zeiher, 2017).The lyrics “keep the faith” and “you got to stand on your own” could refer to Gachechiladze’s determination in representing Georgia, even if she had to do it solo.  Another meaning takes the lyric “keep the faith” on a more literal level. Because the word “faith” closely relates to religion and Georgia is a very religious country, as previously stated in blog post 1, the word faith could take on an entirely different meaning. The message of faith in a religious context could be further supported by lighting at the very start of the performance. Immediately as the song starts, three red spheres can be seen when the camera utilizes an aerial shot. These three spheres can be a reference to the holy trinity which is a core belief of the Georgian Orthodox Church (Blinnikov, 2017, p. 201). 

         Following Gachechiladze, Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao performed the song “For You” in 2018 (Georgia). Aside from their tone/emotion and staging, a non-Georgian speaker may not understand the meaning of Iriao’s performance This is due to Georgia selecting a Georgian-language song for the first time at Eurovision (Mamsikashvili, 2018). However, there is an English translation of the song that can be used to help interpret the message of the song. 

         The combination of analyzing staging and lyrics helps to decipher the message that the band may have wanted to convey. The five all-male members are wearing suits in the performance. Their song “For You” utilized aspects of traditional Georgian folk music which is very distinctive and unique. This is because it’s polyphonic which means that a single person sings two notes at once (Ensemble Alioni, 2011). The type of polyphony used in the song utilizes three parts which sings different melody, rhythm, and text at the same time (Ensemble Alioni, 2017).Additionally, multiple Georgian instruments can be heard throughout the song to accompany their performance. Thechoice to utilize Georgian polyphonic singing seems to be very calculated because it was their first time displaying this part of their Georgian identity.

Lights of various colors are used to give different effects. Red is displayed the most which is an homage to Georgia’s national color. At the very start and near the middle of the performance, the stage is covered in blue lights. This occurs when the music is much slower and calmer, which relates to the calm feeling that blue represents. The color yellow is shown during certain parts of the song which seems to represent warmth or sunlight when looking at the lyrics.

Near the beginning of the performance, yellow twinkling lights appear in the background which could represent stars. This occurs when the lyric “Shine for us not me” is sung which could support the idea of stars shining on us (ESC, 2017). Lighting that resembles sun rays seem to appear during the line “The sun rises in time to grant people warmness” which could mean that they’re trying to emphasize the feeling of giving people warmth.

The translation of the lyrics is loose, but multiple messages can be interpreted. Lyrics that stood out are “what is the heart if not break[sic] into nine pieces to share with others” and “you own only what your share”. This could mean that our value isn’t what we have, it’s what we share with others. We should be more selfless and “others-oriented”. The words “day”, “sun”, and “warmth” gives the impression of casting warmth and being friendly to others (ESC, 2017). The overarching theme of this song is to be more kind and “warm” to others in order to spread more love. 

These performances support Georgia’s national identity in certain areas. “For You” demonstrates Georgia’s prideful identity through its use of the Georgian language and traditional singing. Having an all-male ensemble in suits supports the older generational view on Georgia’s national identity of being more conservative. On the other hand, “Keep the Faith” can fit under the identity of older generation Georgians (religion) and younger Georgians (having a woman represent Georgia), depending on which meaning you use which is  supported by blog post 1. Although diversity was shown through a woman representing Georgia in 2017, all male performers followed her up in 2018. This could be due to the fact that there was a national final to select the 2017 artist (Lamp, 2017) and an internal selection was utilized by the Georgia Public Broadcasting to choose the 2018 performers (Mamsikashvili, 2018). Diversity in terms of their culture such as ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation was not represented in these two performances. This could be due to their lack of willingness to demonstrate these topics (in an internal selection) or that it was not an option to choose from (in a Georgia national final). 

Word Count: 1,319

References

Abashidze G., Abshilava, L., Gelekva, S., Javakhishvili, M., & Murgulia, B. (2018). For You 

(Georgia). Eurovision Song Contest 2018 Lisbon. Retrieved from 

https://www.eurovision.de/videos/2018/Georgien-Iriao-For-You,georgien626.html

Blinnikov, M. (2017). A geography of Russia and its neighbors. New York, New York: The 

Guilford Press. 

Eurovision Song Contest. (2018). Ethno Jazz band Iriao. Retrieved from 

https://eurovision.tv/participant/iriao

Eurovision Song Contest. (2017). Tamara Gachechiladze. Retrieved from 

https://eurovision.tv/participant/tamara-gachechiladze

About Georgian music (2011). Ensemble Alioni. Retrieved from http://www.alioni.org/about-

georgian-music.html

Lamp, A. (2017, Feb 3). “Keep the Faith” lyrics-Tako Gachechiladze (Georgia, Eurovision 

2017). Wiwibloggs. Retrieved from https://wiwibloggs.com/2017/02/03/tako-keep-the-faith-lyrics/

Mamsikashvili, R. (2018, Mar 13). Georgia: Jazz group Iriao reveal final Eurovision entry “For You”. 

Wiwibloggs. Retrieved from https://wiwibloggs.com/2018/03/13/georgia-jazz-group-

iriao-reveals-eurovision-entry/

Tamara Gachechiladze. (2017). Keep the Faith (Georgia). Eurovision Song Contest 2017 Tel Aviv

 [DVD]. Baarn, NL: Universal Music Group. 

Zeiher, C. (2017, May 10). The artists of Eurovision 2017: Tamara Gachechiladze – “Keep the 

Faith” (Georgia). SBS. Retrieved from https://www.sbs.com.au/guide/article/2017/05/01/artists-eurovision-2017-tamara-gachechiladze-keep-faith-georgia