From our special correspondent in Turin (Italy)
The song is in Serbian, but your ear will probably pick out a famous name. “What is the secret to Meghan Markle’s healthy hair? asks Konstrakta at the start ofIn Corpore Sano with which she represents Serbia at Eurovision this year. “I think it’s a matter of deep hydration,” she hastens to add.
On stage, the 43-year-old artist, neatly cut raven bangs, seated facing a basin, washes his hands with soap. The strange chorus that surrounds him is quick to turn napkins. “Another one of those performance gags that you only see at competitions? you say to yourself. Think again, these three minutes are singular, but the subject is very serious. In Corpore Sano is moreover the most committed piece of this Turinese competition.
“It’s not good, an enlarged spleen, nor beautiful”
Why Meghan Markle, then? “She has beautiful hair, doesn’t she? I read it in an article. I didn’t want to talk about her specifically, it could have been someone else, but she represents people who get media attention,” Konstrakta explains. The lyrics of the song, strongly tinged with irony, attack the obsession with health.
“Skin and hair don’t lie. /Thus: dark circles around the eyes/ Are a sign of liver problems. / Spots around the lips, enlarged spleen. / It’s not good, an enlarged spleen, nor beautiful, ”she sings, in the first verse.
“We live in an atmosphere of fear where health is represented as a value requiring great expenditure. Health is seen as something that you can keep completely under control, provided you do this, follow the trends, listen to this… You have to be healthy. It’s the pressure that scares us, she explained to the media of her country after his victory in the Serbian selection for Eurovision. It is possible to adopt a common-sense attitude on the assumption that we have taken health to some degree, and that therefore we accept the idea of illness and death with less fear. . »
“Someone told me that kind of movement was very K-Pop”
During the same interview, Konstrakta denied the rumor thatIn Corpore Sano is a tribute to the guitarist Miroslav Ničić, member of a group of which she was part and who died of leukemia and who could not have the best access to care because in Serbia artists are not covered by Security social. Yet she makes explicit reference to this last point through the lyrics: “I don’t have health insurance/Oh, how will they follow me? /How will they take care of me? / An artist is invisible / You can’t see me, as if by magic”.
Hence the injunction of the chorus: “An artist must be in good health. She must be in good health, good health. Good health, good, good, good. Good health, good health. Good health, it must be, must be, must be,” chants the singer, clapping her hands in rhythm. A very effective gimmick which gives to his performance and to the song an exciting relief. “Someone told me that kind of movement was very K-Pop. Maybe it can prevent the audience from understanding the meaning of the song, admits Konstrakta. You have to dive into the lyrics. »
Her performance on stage, the frenetic and repetitive aspect of her washing of hands, is inspired by a performance by the Serbian Marina Abramovic, who is for the singer “one of the most important current artists”. In 1975, in Copenhagen, the latter combed her hair for an hour tirelessly repeating “Art must be beautiful, artist must be beautiful” (which is the title of the performance: “Art must be beautiful, the artist must be beautiful.”).
“The song opened discussions”
In the last seconds ofIn Corpore Sano, the rhythm gets carried away and the words are tinged with a latent anger. “The body is healthy, now what? A sick mind in a healthy body. A sad soul in a healthy body. A desperate mind in a healthy body. A scared mind in a healthy body. So what do we do now? » ; concludes the singer, addressing mental health and leaving the question hanging.
“Systemic support is scant, unfortunately, both in the health system and in education. Access to care is more and more expensive and inaccessible, ”lamented Konstrakta after his victory in the national team in March. Since then, his track has become a phenomenon in Serbia and beyond.
The choreography went viral, inspiring memes and parodies, but the whole thing would have had a more serious and down-to-earth effect. “The song changed things in the sense that it opened up discussions. But my message can have a universal reach, ”she said after her first rehearsal last week.