Every year, Eurovision is probably the biggest thing that happens in my house. This year, there are some amazing entries that I absolutely love. There are also quite a few lunkers. At this point, over half of the songs are out, and I have watched quite a few song contests along the way. Here is a nice recap of how this season is going so far.
National Song Contests
National song contests are my favorite part of Eurovision. There are always great songs for my playlist (more on the playlist later). Every year, national song contests vary in quality. This year has had both lunkers and bangers so far.
Melodi Grand Prix (Norway)
Melodi Grand Prix (MGP) is always my favorite song competition. While many people love Sweden’s Melodifestivalen, I feel like Norway has surpassed it in terms of quality over the past few years. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I was to watch MGP. You’ll notice my playlist (see the end of the article) starts off with multiple songs from Norway because it ended up being great.
This year, Semi Final 1 of MGP was an absolute banger. There were no bad songs. All of the performances were great, and it was a real shame all of them could not go through to the final. It was no surprise that Alessandra’s “Queen of Kings” and Ulrikke’s “Honestly” went through to the final. However, I was still pretty gutted that neither “Tresko” or “Freaky for the Weekend” went through. Both of those are absolute cuts.
When Semi Final 2 started, my jaw dropped open when I saw JONE. JONE is a treasure. His vocals are impeccable. His stage show was great. He looks like a villain out of Cobra Kai who is also in the House of Slytherin, and I’m 100% here for it. I highly recommend you check out his other music stat. I really think he has the makings of a big star. The rest of Semi Final 2 was such a letdown compared to him. “Ekko inni meg” is officially my new hype song.
Then came Semi Final 3 … and oh boy did I fall in love with Eline Thorp. “Not Meant to Be” was incredible live. I had goosebumps, and I was all in the feels. Akuvi opened the show, and “Triumph” is stuck in my head on the regular now. It was a shame that she did not go through to the final. I hope she comes back and tries again in the future.
In the Final, I was so confused. Some things were easy to spot. It was pretty clear that Alessandra and Ulrikke were going to duke it out for 1 and 2, but I have no idea why the jury was so hot on Atle Pettersen’s “Masterpiece”. Any other year, this would have been Ulrikke’s second time representing Norway in Eurovision.
Although there are other entries I liked better, Alessandra was definitely the best choice for Eurovision. Her song is catchy. She performs the hell out of it. She has the eye of the tiger that says “I’m winning” and is so sure about it. That kind of confidence should do her well going into Eurovision.
UMK (Finland)
I have a lot of Finnish friends, and I always want Finland to do well because of it. Most years, I’m pretty disappointed in the entries chosen for Eurovision. I’m still heated that, even though Eurovision didn’t happen in 2020, Erika Vikman’s absolute banger “Cicciolina” was not chosen. Going into this year, I had no idea what to expect from Finland. What I got was one hell of a show.
I genuinely liked 6/7 songs. The quality of the entries this year was fantastic. I have to give a little WTF to Finnish voters though. Finland hated on my boy Benjamin with his song “Hoida mut”. It’s a certified cut that is very high up on my playlist. Even though he was pitchy, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. That was not a last place song. He deserved better.
However, the Top 2 were absolutely correct. Had it been any other year, I fully expect that The Portion Boys’ “Samaa taivasta katsotaan” would have went through to Eurovision and done very well with voters across Eastern Europe. Their song absolutely rocks. The sportsmanship shown when they got second place was outstanding. I’ve never seen anyone other than Jamie Lee Curtis be that excited about someone else winning.
At the end of the day, The Portion Boys ran into the brick wall of “Cha Cha Cha”. It absolutely dominated the televote. Käärijä has such charisma. His song is extremely catchy and crosses multiple genres. There are so many of us introverts who need that little bit extra to get to Mr. Cha Cha status, so I imagine it will also be very popular with the voters in Eurovision. So far, it is hands down my favorite song. As we are supposed to be able to vote this year, I fully expect I’ll be voting for “Cha Cha Cha”.
Other Competitions I Watched …
Lithuania’s Pabandom iš naujo! was brutal for me to watch. I absolutely love Ruta MUR. Thanks to this competition, I have a new favorite album that I suggest you listen to. I think “So Low” was potentially a Top 5 song at Eurovision. It gives me goosebumps. Ruta has an amazing voice that emotes pain so well, and it just transports me to a future retro 80s night club where I need to drink the pain away. To have Ruta hit a tie and lose because of the jury’s lower score was just awful. It was especially tone deaf in a year when Eurovision is trying to give a voice more to the people via voting changes.
Iceland’s Songvakeppnin is a staple in our house. Iceland is one of our favorite countries in Eurovision. Before Songvakeppnin even happened, I told my husband that Diljá would win with “Lifandi inni í mér” AKA “Power”. After her Semi-final round, I was definitely convinced that even though she had some pitch issues that she would kill it in the final. And she did. I love Langi Seli og Skuggarnir’s “OK”, and I was so stoked they were in the faceoff with Diljá in the final. I am very happy with the results of this competition!
This is yet another year I am disappointed with the result of Estonia’s Eesti Laul. It always produces amazing entries but typically has the wrong winner. Last year was an amazing surprise with Stefan winning with “Hope”. This year, even though my favorite song from Eesti Laul was definitely the Bedwetters’ “Monsters”, I was really hoping Ollie would win with “Venom”. This year “Monsters” and “Venom” split the vote in the Super Final to let Alika’s “Bridges” win. I truly believe that if there was a 2 person Super Final in Eesti Laul that “Venom” would have won.
Poland’s Tu bije serce Europy was full of nothing but pitchy live entries. I really don’t feel like talking about it. Blanka’s “Solo” was the least pitchy and most performative. It makes sense that it won.
San Marino’s Una voce per San Marino was the thing I wanted to watch the most. I just got my chance to watch the entries in the finale because RTV finally put them up. I was really excited to see Albanian queen Ronela back on a stage again, and “Salvaje” is a fun song. I was surprised she was not in the Top 10. Special shout out to the backup singers and trombone players in “Tromba” for being great hype men. Personally, I wanted Le Deva’s “Fiori su Marte” to win, and I would have appreciated if Lorenzo Licitra’s “Never Give Up” won because that song is a cut. Instead, we get Piqued Jacks’ “Like an Animal”. It is radio friendly, but it isn’t Eurovision-like enough for my taste.
Looking Forward
I cannot wait for Sweden’s Melodifestivalen to be over. This is a very lackluster year for Sweden. My hot take of who I wish would win is Marcus & Martinus with “Air”. Those boys are fantastic, and I love this song. However, the world has pretty much been signaling this year (just check the Eurovision odds boards) Loreen’s “Tattoo” will win both Melodifestivalen and Eurovision. Don’t get me wrong, Loreen can sing, and she is putting on a master class for every other contestant on how to perform. It literally looks like someone who is a professional vs. a bunch of amateurs. I just don’t find the song to be that compelling.
We also are still awaiting the release of the results from Portugal’s Festival da Canção as well as the release of songs for Greece, Austria, Israel, Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Armenia, Georgia, and the United Kingdom.
Playlist
Last but not least, another annual tradition is my playlist. As songs are released, I listen to all of the ones I can find on American Spotify and cultivate a Eurovision playlist. All of the songs are from the song contests leading up to Eurovision as well as some Eurovision entries. This year, there are some great songs. Check it out here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7pyHxlOQJk7GqXWnktSAZX?si=275649ff9c50437a
If you think I’m missing anything, feel free to message me below and let me know! I’m always looking for gems that might not have been released as I made my list.
