Just a quick post before the first semi-final tonight at 8pm UK time.
Watch out for a change in how the results are delivered at the end of the show, to see who has made it to the Grand Final. You will remember that in the past the ten countries were read out at random, and that was that. This year there will be split screen action, three countries at a time, with one selected as a finalist. They keep repeating this with the various combinations of countries until we have the magic 10. I like it when the EBU tweak the format – it keeps us on our toes and will make for better telly. I guess when it’s split screen we can shout at the screen which county we want to get through (like we have always done!).
Do you remember when the EBU changed the sequencing of the final public vote from least votes to most votes after the professional juries? It was all a bit weird the first time they did that, but looking at old Contests now, delivering the votes the old way is quite long winded.
Let’s see what we think of this change tonight…
No change at the top of the bookies betting odds. Sweden and Austria locked-in for first and second. Belgium on the rise, France falling back, Switzerland on the rise, the UK pretty static in twelfth place. It would be nice to be on the left hand side of the leaderboard in the final. Apparently the staging is a little underwhelming? We’ll see on Thursday when the UK take part in the second semi-final.
Geopolitcs is playing out on the fringes of the Contest, you’ll know why. Let’s hope for good vibes and good times for these semi-finals and, as is usually the case, we’ll have a cracking Grand Final on Saturday.
Tonight the broadcast will be straight down to business, so not too much faffing at the start of the broadcast. I always find the bloomin’ flag ceremony at the Grand Final a bit of a chore. There were promises last year that the producers were going to cut the airtime down. It still topped out at over four hours, which is far too long.
Anyhow, we’ve got two hours and twenty minutes of Eurovision to escape to tonight.
Brian and I had out first gin and Fanta when he arrived last night (a Eurovision tradition of ours as regular readers might remember). We’ll be pouring a g ‘n’ t soon, and I’ve got some spicy Nik Naks and sour cream and chive pretzels for us to nibble on. Here are the receipts from two years ago 😀 …
Get your house in order with snacks and beverages and enjoy the evening. I will be back on Wednesday with a review of ‘what the hell just happened’ (thanks Remember Monday!).
It’s finally here! Long anticipated by many, we’re one day away from the first semi-final.
Rehearsals began in Basel on what was our bank holiday weekend in the UK. In the first week there were technical rehearsals of the staging, lighting etc., with the use of stand-ins in place of the performers – who knew! Following that it was the turn of all the semi-finalists to do their rehearsals on stage in person over recent days. All culminating before the welcome ceremony on Sunday afternoon, on the turquoise carpet no less. If you missed the action, you can catch up via the link below…
From today it’s dress rehearsals and then we’re into the live action on Tuesday night.
This year the rehearsals have been held in private. For many years the eyes and the ears of fans (and others) were all over this stage of the preparations. Some comments were helpful and insightful, some bitchy and snipey. So, in a move to contain the coverage at this sensitive time for the performers, initially the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) released a review of each rehearsal, accompanied by three pictures.
What was hilarious is that some of the fan websites were critiquing the performances based on three photographs and a write up! Oh, the desperation to have something to say! I will have plenty to say once I’ve seen the semi-final on Tuesday.
That said, if you would like to preview all the performances the EBU have now posted lots of content and rehearsal footage via the ESC socials, webpage and YouTube. When I do my recaps on Wednesday and Friday I will have the full semi-final performances in my round-up.
With that in mind, here are my thoughts on the first crop of songs – what I think based on what I’m hearing and feeling (remember, I’ve not seen any performance footage yet). As always, there’s a smorgasbord of musical styles, tilting to styles of music we are already familiar with, and some, not so much.
As I have said to you in the past, a Eurovision winner is a song you have never heard before that you already know…
We start this semi-final with two up-tempo songs…
01IcelandRóa – Væb
A bit of a bop to get us started. Brothers Hálfdán and Matthías Matthíasson are serving youthful energy and galactic silver style. Sung with gusto, interspersed with Celtic fiddles as well as chants of “Hey” to get us involved – and a key change. Even though it’s sung in Icelandic, there’s enough of a hook in terms of melody and rhythm. Good start…
02PolandGaya – Justyna Steczkowska
More fiddling with the Polish song. Confident vocals with a thumping tempo and some nice harmonies. Maintains the vibe in the opening of this semi-final. I like it (btw, I like a lot of the songs this year!)…
03SloveniaHow Much Time Do We Have Left – Klemen Slakonja
Oh gosh, early doors introspection from Slovenia! There are a few song titles this year asking the more philosophical questions of life (we’ll get to the UK later), and this is one of them. How Much Time Do We Have Left is a nice change of pace from the first two songs. I like the timbre of the vocals and the melody. The song feels like a little hug. I hope it doesn’t get forgotten in the running order, but it might. The lyrics are heartbreaking, and the storytelling of the song resonates if you listen to the song. It makes me want to have a little euro-weep. Scratch that, it makes me want to have what Oprah Winfrey calls the ‘ugly cry’. If the professional juries were voting I’d be more confident of it getting through, but they only contribute to the Grand Final. Fingers crossed, but it might be a bit of a buzz kill…
04EstoniaEspresso Macchiato – Tommy Cash
One of the early faves in the betting odds. It has drifted recently, but for me this is one of the first songs that hooked me in this year, and one of the best. There a quite a few songs this year that flip between major and minor keys, or changes of tempo and language. This is one of them. I love it. It’s a bonkers earworm. Clearly riding on Sabrina Carpenter’s fabulous Espresso from last year. Tommy sees that, and raises it to Macchiato level. I would say this is sailing through to the Grand Final. Hopefully Tommy’s signature style and luscious locks won’t be a hindrance…
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As with last year, all of the automatic qualifiers (the ‘Big 6’) perform in the semi-finals. First up is…
Spain Esa Diva – Melody
Pretty much in the oeuvre of Spain when they go all hi-energy dance vibes on us. Singer Melody is serving us sass, with a catchy song including familiar flamenco flourishes. You can also hear a bit of Loreen’s Tattoo on Melody’s vocal stylings (Melody’s melody, if you like!). I am sure that she will be styled in some kind of gem stoned body suit with a bevvy of male backing dancers? If I was a betting man…
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05UkraineBird of Pray – Ziferblat
A delightful groovy song (baby). Shades of Sweet Dreams My LA Ex in the guitar riffs. And for some reason I’m getting Jesus Christ Superstar in the backing vocals. The groove is a departure from what Ukraine would ordinarily send. It will do well, for reasons we would rather not have to take account of in the Eurovision bubble, but also because it’s a good pop song…
06SwedenBara Bada Bastu – KAJ
Now then. Is this the ESC2025 winner in waiting? Well, it’s been number one in Sweden for the past 11 weeks, since it won the Swedish selection process, Melodifestivalen. It’s been favourite in the bookies betting odds since before it won Melodifestivalen (remembering that odds are based on where punters are putting their money).
Interesting to note that this is the first time since 1998 that Sweden will be singing in Swedish and not English. As of 1999 participating countries could sing in any language, prior to that it was only in their domestic tongue. Singing in Swedish doesn’t seem to have diminished the songs popularity. Why? Because it’s joyous, fun, a bit giddy and an earworm of a song – something we can all sing along with even though we don’t understand Swedish (us non-Swedes!).
It goes off script from what Swedeen would usually send – perfectly crated mainstream pop. This is perfectly crafted, but with the musical stylings of dansband in the mix it feels fresh and fun. And the song is one that, once you’ve got the hook, it’s easy to sing along with.
Oh, and – what’s that you say? Why is this blog post titled Finns can only get better? Well, that’s because the group KAJ are Finnish, so the Finns are doubling-up this year. KAJ seem on for the win and deffo top three in the Grand Final. It’ll be interesting to see what the professional juries make of it. See what you think…
07 Portugal Deslocado – NAPA
Mid-tempo guitar vibes from Portugal. Nice melody, with shades of The Beatles and Elton John to my ear. If it gets to the Grand Final, I am sure it will be popular with the professional juries. The first Portuguese song to catch my ear in quite a few years…
08NorwayLighter – Kyle Alessandro
An up-tempo pop song that you have heard before. It breaks down the tempo over the bridge. It’s OK, if a bit generic. Performance will be key. I hope they tweak the national final staging, I’m guessing they won’t. Maybe one to refill the snacks and beverage to…
09BelgiumStrobe Lights – Red Sebastian
He’s not just any Sebastian, he’s Red Sebastian. 😀
This is a europop banger. Over the recent past, Belgium has a habit of sending heavily inspired retro sounding songs (think Gustaph in Liverpool in 2023 with the 90s-tastic Because of You). Red Seb is giving us techno vibes on a plate, allowing those of us of a certain age to enter the Eurovision Tardis. File this under “this sounds a bit like 2Unlimited’s ‘No Limits’”. We have at least one of these songs every year. Consistently in the top ten betting odds, sure to make the final…
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And so to the second of the ’Big 6’…
ItalyVolevo essere un duro – Lucio Corsi
Aah, another song that is a hug in the form of a song. Very much in the oeuvre of what Italy send to the ESC, and a style with which they consistently do well.
BTW, songs representing Italy @ ESC ordinarily have a route though the San Remo Music Festival. Each year the winner is invited to represent Italy. As with other countries over the years, some performers decline the opportunity to represent their country (which happened in Germany a few years back). And so it was this year that the winner of San Remo, singer Olli, declined to take the invitation. Unsurprisingly, when offered to runner-up, Lucio Corsi, the invitation was accepted – like you would!
For me it’s adjacent to the vibe of Portugal, but I like that too. I’m sure the professional juries will lap it up. And be sure to not judge a book by its cover, right…
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10AzerbaijanRun With U – Mamagama
Ooh yeah. We’re back in the groove again. Love it. Deffo vibes from Daft Punk’s Get Lucky, and playing with falsetto on the vocal is effective. A few years back Azerbaijan hit the ground running when they debuted at ESC2008. A run of good results – and winning ESC2011 – has tailed off in recent years. Let’s see if they can reach their first Grand Final since 2022…
11San MarinoTutta L’Italia – Gabry Ponte
Keeping the good vibes coming, this song is adjacent to Sweden’s Bara Bada Bastu, in that there’s more chanting for us to get involved with, and more ‘speaking-singing’. Accordions in the mix on this one? It’s catchy, and I’d like to see it get though. It might get cancelled out by Sweden. Good job San Marino, it’s been hit and miss in the past. More of a hit for me this year…
12AlbaniaZjerm – Shkodra Elektronike
I often like the musical stylings of Albania, so it’s no surprise that I like this song. Very much staying in their lane. I love the orchestration and the lyrical hook of ‘Aman, miserere, Aman, miserere’, and the interplay of the female and male vocalists. It’s another song overlapping with another song – Poland this time. Looking at the ESC history books, Albania get through every other year, so if that’s the case, they should get though this year…
13The NetherlandsC’est La Vie – Claude
Don’t be fooled by the balladeering at the start of the song. Forty-four seconds in it’s * boom * – a pop banger! This is so going through and a possible top five finish in the Grand Final. Deffo top ten. A brilliant year for The Netherlands, for sure…
14CroatiaPoison Cake – Marko Bošnjak
There are often highs @ ESC, followed by lows. In other words, success or relative failure. The UK had it between 2022 and 2023, for example. Sam Ryder finished in second place in 2022, followed by Mae Muller in 25th place in 2023. France finished in second place in 2021, and then 24th in 2022. Etc, etc.
Last year Croatia were runners-up with the rather shouty (and Käärijä adjacent) Rim Tim Tagi Dim. Good result, almost won. This year they offer us Poison Cake. Feel good vibes all around, erm!? I feel they may well feel the lows rather than the highs this year. It’s not a terrible song – I like the nursery rhyme vocal interludes – but it’s not as catchy as Marko was last year…
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Back with the ‘Big 6’, it’s the turn of our hosts…
SwitzerlandVoyage – Zoë Më
Another song in the form of a hug. Ethereal melodies and breathless vocals give the song a certain coquettish-ness. It’s a lovely break from a run of uptempo bangers. Let’s see where it sits in the Grand Final. Well done, Switzerland – the host country has done good.
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15CyprusShh – Theo Eva
The last song of this semi-final, and all talk is that this performance – like Bambi Thug last year – has had a bit of a ‘glow up’ since the national final (thanks Brian!). Ooh, the intrigue!
We’ve heard this song in previous contests, and in other songs. This time we are absolutely channelling the brilliant Insomnia by Faithless. Love it just for that. On the one hand this is generic recycled pop, but by this stage in the semi, we will all be warmed-up (possibly imbibed!) and ready to rave it up 2005 stylee. Yes, it really is twenty years ago since Insomnia was released – strewth!
Going though for sure…
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So, that’s my take on the first semi-final songs. It’s a good year, right? Even if there’s something familiar, there’s always something new. I don’t do predictions anymore, but as I type, my favourite songs – nothing to do with the competitive aspect – are…
Azerbaijan
Estonia
Sweden
The Netherlands
San Remo
Let’s see how they all translate when they take to the stage on Tuesday evening.
How about you? Is your favourite song in this semi? Have we heard the winner yet?
As I said earlier in this post, there is plenty of official coverage over the eurovision.tv socials and webpage to keep you updated on what’s occurring in Basel (pronounced Baa-zel, btw).
I will be back on Tuesday to assist with snack and beverage selection. Click back then.
Bonjour, vilkomen, ciao and welcome to my Eurovision Song Contest blog for 2025!
I can’t quite believe that it’s just over a year since I last blogged with you and shared my thoughts, feelings and memories on all things Eurovision. Longtime readers will know that I’ve been doing this blog for Edge Hill University since I first attended the Contest in the host city of Belgrade in Serbia, way back in 2008. Back then, and over several years, I travelled to the host countries. These days (and this year), I’m watching from home with drinks and nibbles to hand.
Welcome to any new readers. Hopefully I can add a little something to your Eurovision experience in 2025.
This year we head to Basel in Switzerland, following Nemo’s win with their song The Code in Stockholm last year.
There are 37 participating countries this year, which includes the ‘Big 6’ who are automatically qualified for the Grand Final. This means that in each of the two semi-finals, ten songs from each will join France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and hosts Switzerland to contest for the crown this year.
The semi-finals are on Tuesday 13 May and Thursday 15 May, with the Grand Final on Saturday 17 May. In the UK, all television broadcasts are via BBC1 and BBC iPlayer, as well as the live feeds from eurovision.tv.
I feel slightly more prepared this year, as the Contest is happening a week later, and I’ve been listening to the songs and doing my Eurovision homework. As with the last couple of years, I won’t see any performance footage until the live television broadcasts. What sounds good now might look and sound lousy on the night, as much as what sounds pants now might look brilliant and therefore sounds better. Let’s see!
What’s great about the ESC every year is as Terry Wogan used to say, it’s “the great unpredictability of it all”. Whether that’s your favourite song winning – or not, or a song coming from nowhere and surprising everyone and upsetting the betting odds.
Sweden have been locked-in as favourites to win for months now. If they win this year, they will have won eight Contests and that would take them clear of the joint seven victories they have, along with Ireland. More on their potential/probable success on the blog in the days ahead…
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So, all eyes turn to Switzerland as the host Country for ESC2025. Eurovision really is the history book on the shelf that’s always repeating itself, in some ways. Switzerland hosted the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, in Lugano. Not only that, but they also won the first Eurovision Song Contest with the song Refrain, sung by Lyss Assia.
Aah, the beautiful chanson stylings of the mid 1950s. As I say to my students when I’m teaching ESC related lectures, when we look at archive footage, this was the pop music of the day, even if it looks and sounds a bit old fashioned now.
I had an encounter with Lyss Assia at the Grand Final of my first Eurovision in Belgrade in 2008. For whatever reason, before she went on stage to do a link with the presenters, she was standing in the aisle next to my seat. Seemingly abandoned by whoever was looking after her, with them perhaps not realising who she was. Leaving a Eurovision legend standing in the aisle seemed a little impolite, so my friend Milija offered her his seat. And so it was that for a few minutes I was sitting next to, and chatting to, Eurovision royalty. I so totally wanted to take a selfie! I thought better of it. I’ve got the memory of chatting to the first winner of the thing that I care so deeply about – that’s the ESC, not Lyss Assia! It’s a special memory that always makes me smile… and because the producers left her standing in the aisle!
I have another story about being in a queue my dear friend Ruxandra at a conference behind Jürgen Habermas. But that’s for another day…
My earliest memory of the ESC is when Brotherhood of Man won in 1976 with Save Your Kisses For Me. At the time I was five years old. For many of us, our earliest ESC memories are from watching with family, and so it was for me.
People often ask me when Eurovision took a proper hold on me. Well, it was ESC1988 and the climax of the voting (see below). With one jury left to vote, the United Kingdom were five points ahead of Switzerland. If we got eight points or more the UK would win, anything less…
Céline Dion won the Contest for Switzerland for the first time since 1956, pipping the UK’s Scott Fitzgerald by ONE POINT – quelle dommage!
Céline was a largely unknown (beyond Canada and French speaking territories) French Quebec singer. And now she is unquestionably one of the greatest female vocalists of all time. Blimey, you can hear her pipes in this vocal in 1988 – just brilliant, although the less said about the outfit the better 😀 …
Why we ever forgave her… well yeah, that voice will forgive anything! And I’m team Céline all the way, but maybe not that night or the day after!
Fast forward to 2024 and Switzerland won for the third time. For both performance and vocal it was a deserving winner on the night – although I can’t say it’s been a song I have listened to much since…
Kudos to Nemo for bringing the ESC back to Switzerland for 2025!
(this was the confirmation of Basel as host last year)
As always, we’re in for a treat for the eye and the ear, and the staging is looking fabulous…
There is lots for me to guide you through over the next few days here on the blog, but in the meantime you can get your euro-party started with…
The non-stop Euovision playlist
and
The Winner’s playlist
Plenty for us to look back on and look forward to as the blog is back for all things ESC2025!
Thanks for reading along (again). I will be back on Monday with my preview of the first semi-final which takes place on Tuesday 13 May at 8pm on BBC1 (UK time).
What a brilliant show last night, as the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest reached its conclusion.
We’re off to Switzerland next year, after their well-deserved win. As with last year, the winning song was the favourite with the national juries but not the public televote. I don’t have a problem with that (as I said on the blog last year), the combination gave Switzerland a clear win.
As Graham Norton said in his commentary, how Nemo managed to deliver that vocal whilst doing all the balancing and acrobatics was amazing. Vocal and core strength was a winning combination.
SVT did another brilliant job curating the grand final. The presenters continued to shine (in the main), and there were brilliant interval acts once again. What has been noticeable is that SVT has celebrated Swedish music and in effect made a show for their domestic audience (much like at Melodifestivalen, obviously). Even the flag parade at the start was made bearable by a brilliant Swedish mixtape underscoring the arrival of the finalists on stage.
I was delighted to see Alcazar on stage – one of my favourite pop acts. I went to their farewell tour in Göteborg (Gothenburg) in 2018 – hopefully a reunion is on the cards. The swedes do like to take the micky out of themselves, and the way Petra dispatched Alcazar was hilarious. They are pop royalty in Sweden, but they didn’t mind being the butt of the joke.
So we were teased with Abba, and then we got the Abbatars. A nice touch, but not what we were all hoping for. Then again, them not appearing in the arena just adds to their mystique in some ways.
Conchita, Carola and Charlotte did a nice cover of Waterloo, without out-diva-ing each other.
I mentioned booing on my last post, and there was some last night – most notably for Martin Österdahl. He certainly wasn’t comfortable with that, and his usual swagger when giving the ‘good to go’ green light was replaced by a rather hurried handover. Peeps not happy that The Netherlands were excluded. There will be ramifications for the EBU to deal with, and I am sure that will play out over the coming weeks and months.
The musical homage to Martin from Sarah Dawn Finer’s Lynda Woodruff was genius… ‘when he licks his lips and says you’re good to go’. 😀
The televoting sequence was certainly surprising and dramatic. Poor Olly Alexander getting the dreaded nul points was devastating. I’ve seen pictures of him today smiling and seemingly positive. The UK finished 18th, which was a marked improvement on last year, with a staging that was a bit provocative. Clearly the jockstraps were not to everyone’s taste?!
Delighted that Ireland had such a good result. It really is an OMG performance. Hefty scores went to some countries – perhaps unsurprisingly. A few raised eyebrows about some of the douze points from the juries. And didn’t Joanna Lumley do an ab fab job delivering the UK jury vote. Patsy Stone vibes all the way.
I think the whole week has been absolutely fabulous. I like it when Sweden host as they know better than any country (I would say) what works and what to do. So much drama, but also lots of nostalgia to remind us why we love this Contest. Let’s hope Switzerland do as well as Sweden next year.
Yesterday, we thought we had our running order for the grand final. Well, we did – until today. There were news stories circulating yesterday about something going on with The Netherlands, as they did not participate in the dress rehearsal on Friday afternoon. For the Jury Final last night, a recording of their previous performance was shown as part of the show, with Joost again not taking part.
Today it has been announced that the EBU have withdrawn The Netherlands from the Contest. So Joost it toast. This is (I think) an unprecedented move by the EBU. In the past they have withdrawn songs and countries before the Contest, but never during. I might be wrong, but this is certainly fanning the flames in Malmö.
Who knows what will happen tonight, with talk of countries boycotting for various reasons, and hostile crowd reactions during the dress rehearsals.
When Brian and I were in the arena for the grand final of ESC2015, in Vienna, the crowd were extremely hostile to the Russian singer following her performance and during the voting sequence. It was really quite unpleasant.
When I returned home to watch the Contest I expected to hear this disquiet in the crowd. And yet I didn’t. The audio feed had clearly been tweaked for broadcast, effectively disguising the boos. So tonight there will be no sign of the booing in the arena for us watching at home/elsewhere. Manipulation of this kind feels a bit shady, but on the other hand it’s perhaps good that it can be tweaked so as to not give bias for or against any act.
A reminder of (minus The Netherlands) the running order tonight…
Looking at the running order, the producers have once again sequenced the songs in a way so as to not have a run of ballad after ballad, and pop followed by more pop. Also, don’t forget that songs are sequenced around the commercial breaks that will be happening in some countries.
The host nation Sweden will get things going tonight. It is rare for host countries to open the show, but M&M will get a home town roar (even though they are from Norway!) that will get our Eurovision party started.
Ukraine is killed off from second in the running order – no country has ever won from there.
Spain, followed by Estonia, who are followed by Ireland, is a good run of songs. That’s a good position in the draw for Bambie Thug. It has been rising in the betting odds, and is currently in the top five.
Greece followed by the UK is a good setup for Ollie. I hope he does well tonight, as his genuine excitement that he is taking part is highly infectious And if you have watched the documentary about his rehearsals on iPlayer, I think he deserves to.
The much fancied Croatia and Switzerland are in the final six songs in the running order. This is also good for them.
And I think the final song from Austria will be boosted from France’s amazing climax and crowds reaction to it, which precedes it.
Tonight the smorgasbord is really tasty, and as I have said all week, there is something for everyone. Speaking of tasty, there are also quite a few songs when watching from home where I will be topping up our drinks and snacks. You can’t do that in the arena! 😀
So wherever you are enjoying the ESC tonight, I am with you and sending you lots of Eurovision positivity – I think we should all be doing that this year, as we have in the last couple of years.
Being united by our love of Eurovision is a lovely thing, and I have enjoyed reviewing and commenting again this year. I hope the songs you love make you proud tonight.
I will be back for one last review on Sunday, when we will have a new winning song, and a new host country to visit via the telly next year. And we might have enjoyed some surprises (ooooh!)…
The fun times continued in Malmö arena last night, with Petra and Malin guiding us through the proceedings effortlessly. What did you think of the songs? I found it a bit of a slog!
I think that was because the first semi-final had a number of songs that had everyone talking (UK, Ireland, Croatia). Last night felt a bit flat – although it was still brilliant telly. By the time we got to the voting reveal I wasn’t particularly invested in many of the songs that got through – although the main ones that needed to did. Watching with Brian and Ellen in Liverpool, we were all surprised by Latvia getting through. Not my work wife Claire Parkinson, who was very happy that it did.
Petra and Malin opened proceedings with a genius comedic interpretation of Loreen’s Tattoo. As with Tuesday night, the script throughout was spot on and cringe moments were again once avoided. The script for both semi-finals has been imbued with togetherness and coming together. And we know why that is…
For one of the interval acts, another great line-up of Eurovision alum/turns included Helena Paparizou, Charlotte Perrelli and Sertab Erener. They served us Eurovision girl power with (finally!) some wind machine action!
The public vote winner from last year, Cha Cha Cha was reprised, with Käärijä showing that the songs leaning into it this year are poor imitations when it comes to that staging.
Petra’s musical interlude, We Just Love Eurovision Too Much, was perhaps a bit of a thin parody of their participation compared to the amazing Love, Love, Peace, Peace that she performed with Måns Zelmerlöw back in 2016.
The singalong was highly entertaining. We were singing along in Liverpool, I’m sure you were too!
So what did we learn in the second semi-final?
Who knew that this year is the 50th anniversary of Greece participating in ESC? Opa!
Both semi-finals have had an in-memoriam sequence…
Spain doing schlager is fun and unexpected…
Eurovision in the round is brilliant…
And a few observations about the performances…
Switzerland was as good, if not better than Croatia. And like the UK’s staging, core strength is needed…
France started off slowly, but the moment Slimane stepped back from the microphone and continued to belt out the song, it was amazing. As was the reaction of the audience in the arena…
The staging for Chechia was poor, and took away rather than adding to the song – it was always going to be difficult coming after Switzerland…
The staging for Italy was also poor and detracted from the song. The fact that it is drifting in the betting odds is no surprise…
The staging for San Remo lifted the song with Bambi Disney Thug vibes…
The jollity that is the Armenian entry woke things up (the semi was dragging!)…
The vocal for Estonia was very pitchy, but connected with enthusiastic staging…
That poignant moment at the end of The Netherlands had us dewy-eyed (no, you’re crying)…
After the reveal of the ten songs going through to the grand final, there were even more nostalgia vibes – which has been more noticeable this year. The show ended with Sweden’s winner from 1984 – Herreys performing their classic song Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley. All rather brilliant, with men of a certain age now in their golden shoes (not boots) in 2024.
In the early hours of Friday moring, the ESC producers revealed the running order for the grand final…
(source: EBU)
I will review it on my Saturday blog post, so do check in with me again before the grand final at 8pm in the UK on BBC1 and iPlayer.
Who on earth will the producers drag out for the grand final? Something big is promised, and this year is the 50th anniversary of Abba’s victory with Waterloo. Surely it can’t be Ab…
We start the second semi-final with a run of rather pedestrian (similar) sounding songs. Handy for first-time viewers!
01Malta Loop – Sarah Bonnici
As befits these semi-finals, they always start with a bit of a bop. Up-tempo stomping vibes, very familiar even if it’s your first listen. Perhaps a bit generic, but a decent opener…
02 Albania TITAN – BESA
Familiar vibes also for this song. Another generic mid-tempo bop…
03 Greece ZARI – Marina Satti
There’s a whiff of Laurie Anderson’s O Superman with that slightly computerised/vocoder vocal. That’s what sets it apart from the opening two songs, and the indigenous Greek pop vibes. Interesting enough to get through if the staging is good.
04 Switzerland The Code – Nemo
Ok, yeah – familiar vibes here too, but there are enough transitions in the song with the vocal, rapping and operatic vocal stylings to make it stand out. I think this and Croatia overlap in some ways. It’s a bit of a bonkers song (the Cha Cha Cha influence is in there, right?), but with at least three hooks it’s quite clever. I’m really looking forward to the performance on stage tonight (Thursday). One of the overall faves is deffo going through.
05 Czechia Pedestal – Aiko
This song transports me back to The Bangles, Sleeper, Transvission Vamp and Voice of the Beehive from the 80s and 90s. I like the melodic female retro rock vibe. Interesting track interruption towards the end where there’s a bit of a spoken argument. I’d like to see this go through…
BIG 6: France Mon Amour – Slimane
This song has been a well-fancied song since it was selected as the French entry. As is Slimane himself! 😉
It’s an impassioned ballad – one of the best. When France gets it right, they get it right. And yes… top ten with a good wind behind it. Btw, where are the wind machines this year?
06 Austria We Will Rave – Kaleen
Taking some of us back to the summer of 1993 – we certainly will rave… again!
I’m sure I‘m not the only one one singing along to the chorus with these familiar lyrics:
Call him Mr Raider
Call him Mr Wrong
Call him Mr Vain
More than a whiff of Culture Beat’s Mr Vain. We’ll file this under retro dance pop. Get your glow sticks out for this one…
07 Denmark SAND – SABA
We’re back to generic pop again, and it takes too long to get to the chorus (as we have to get through the pre-chorus first). The ‘hand’ ‘sand’ rhyming is a bit obvs, and towards the end it’s all a bit shouty. Staging will be key to lift it…
08 Armenia Jako – LADANIVA
Yay, proper full-on ethnopop vibes. By now a drink might have been taken, so it might make the song even more joyous. It certainly stands out – and a wee ethnopop bop often does * very * well at Eurovision. There aren’t many, so it will probably get through…
09 Latvia Hollow – Dons
In the bigger picture of 37 songs this year, we’re not swamped by ballads. This might struggle as it feels a bit phoned-in. Again, to make it to Saturday the staging needs to make it stand out. Might not…
BIG 6: Spain ZORRA – Nebulossa
I know this song is a bit marmite for some people. Well, as you know I love marmite, and I really like this. Let’s file this under retro disco diva europop, ladies who lunch. And fair play for Nebulossa representing as a mature performer. Loved it when the UK did that with Engelbert and Bonnie Tyler…
10 San Marino 11:11 – MEGARA
More female rock vibes. I don’t mind it, although the struggle is often real for San Marino…
11 Georgia Firefighter – Nutsa Buzaladze
Ok, get ready for the pyrotechnics on stage for this one, surely?! A good vocal with familiar vibes – a theme for this year. May well get through?
12 Belgium Before the Party’s Over – Mustii
For me, this overlaps with Latvia, and there are now a few anthemic songs this year with choral backing singers. A bit meh as a result…
13 Estonia (nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi – 5MIINUST x Puuluup
I can’t wait to see this performed. There’s an ear worm in there for me on the chorus. With the bpm, it’s bit of a bop. Again, appealingly quirky. I hope it gets through…
BIG 6: La noia – Angelina Mango
Next up is Italy’s pop princess. It feels too soon for Italy to host again, but this is a great dance-pop song. Again, it thumps along quite nicely. One of my favourites this year, and well-fancied in the betting odds (it has drifted a bit this week). Looking forward to seeing it performed tonight…
14 Israel Hurricane – Eden Golan
In this year’s song contest this is one of the best ballads for sure…
15 Norway Ulveham – Gåte
This song leaves me wanting more of a chorus. I know it’s in there, but the transitions and the shouty vocal leaves me a bit cold. I know some people love it. Maybe my ears will get it more when I see it tonight (Thursday)…
16 The Netherlands Europapa – Joost Klein
A great song to finish on. We’re back to the 80s and 90s again here (yawn by now?). This time we’ve got Falco and 2 Unlimited (and others) in the mix. Yes, towards then end we get to the part when we can intuitively sing…
No no, no no no no, no no no no, no no there’s no limit No no, no no no no, no no no no, no no there’s no limit
Another bonkers song, and deliciously retro pop vibes to finish with.
😀
That’s it. It feels like there are more songs in this semi-final that need to benefit from interesting staging to lift them. All three Big 6 songs tonight are good, so overall, for me, it’s five out of six – sorry Germany.
And for this semi-final, there are two things going on: a lot of retro and recycled vibes to the songs; and a few songs might cancel each other out. Whatever happens tonight, another ten songs will join the other sixteen in the grand final.
It’s an open contest this year, and it’s going to be interesting to see who makes it.
On my first blog post this year I said that Sweden know how to do Eurovision, and boy did they do Eurovision last night!
Staging – amazing.
Presenters – amazing.
Some performances – amazing. Some of which I know we weren’t expecting!
As tends to be done every year, the history book really was off the shelf as there was a nice nostalgic montage of clips from the vaults to remind us of the history and longevity of the ESC.
Watching the performances for the first time – as I know a few of you are doing similar to me this year – made for an unexpected evening and a highly enjoyable semi-final. I had a bit of a jealous twinge seeing the spectacle and the audience having such a fab time. That said, being in front of the telly was where I wanted to be, drinks and nibbles on hand.
Watching from home with my dear friend and Eurofan, Brian Singleton, is a joy as always. And a bit more exciting for him as Ireland have got it going on this year.
I mentioned to you yesterday that Eleni, Eric and Chanel were the three interval acts for the first semi-final. Rather bizarrely they opened the show, so they were the opening acts rather than the interval acts. A bit confusing! Mind you, it certainly got the Euro party started, raising the energy in the arena and it translated to us watching from home/elsewhere. Johnny Logan popped-up during the voting window to cover Loreen’s Euphoria. A nice orchestral version from Eurovision royalty.
A good Eurovision week becomes a great Eurovision week when the presenters are on top form. From the first words they said, Petra Mede and Malin Åkerman had the audience on their side, particularly on Petra’s side. Hosting for the third time she is a clear fan and crowd favourite – because she’s brilliant. She’s natural, funny, on message and a safe pair of hands. If she were an entrant, Petra would win by a country mile! 😀
Joined by a suitably assured Malin this year, there wasn’t one moment of cringe. The script was * genius *. All the gags landed, and we were all laughing along. Love how the set pieces of supposed spontaneous interaction were clearly scripted, but done very naturally.
So, what things did we learn from the first semi-final?
A lot of performances had an obelisk of some kind on stage for the singers to interact with/fall off. For some it was an obstacle too far…
Backing dancers were out in full effect for most entries…
Speaking of which, is there an EBU male nipple allowance these days? …
A lot of backing dancers were channelling covid-time vibes with hoodies and face masks – all a bit random…
It looked a bit odd when the solo singers were on stage alone…
We did have a couple of sightings of the lesser spotted backing singers – yay!
The Billy brigade were out in force, as Serbia made it through to the grand final…
The backing track was clearly doing a lot of the heavy lifting for some singers, including Cyprus (watch it back!)…
Poland was a hot mess – channelling Gaga, Taylor, and Beyoncé wasn’t a great look…
Hera’s song is called Scared of Heights and ironically she had to descend a steep set of stairs from quite a height…
We were not bowled-over by Moldova.
Some observations on a few of the performances…
Lithuania really did add to the song with fantastic visuals and choreo – it amped up a song I already liked and was a no-brainer to get through…
Croatia was very well staged, and I hadn’t realised that there is a crowd-pleasing singalong hook for us to join in on…
Finland isn’t worth my time. I like marmite, but I didn’t like this performance; all kinds of odd – a joke that wasn’t funny for me …
And yes, Croatia is currently the favourite, but for me (with no bias) the two stand out performances of the night were Ireland and the UK…
I mean, Ireland, can we talk! I loved the Maleficent stylings and the cosplay from Bambi Thug and their backing dancer/devil. Brilliant staging and vocals. Love that Bambi has a screaming vocal coach with them in Malmö! It was an entertainingly W-T-Thug moment. I hope the kids had been put to bed! Mind you, you’d see similar ghoulish figures on Doctor Who.
Nobody (I’m generalising) had expected what Ireland delivered on stage last night. Just brilliant. Brian is giddy with tipsy today, as are other Irish friends of mine. It’s a game changer for concept and performance at ESC – I just hope it doesn’t get copied too much in future years. It will be, as it’s iconic after one ESC performance. Makes Lordi look like pantomime!
And then there was the UK’s Olly Alexander, standing in his popstar light and del-i-ver-ing. The whole package was as impactful as Ireland, but in a totally different way. Stunning choreo, staging and camera effects (with some of it clearly pre-recorded – I mean how did Olly get from his box to the stage with one camera shot?).
The performance from all on stage stood out because it was clearly inhabiting a queer space, and the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) are cool with that. Not kitsch, not camp, but a masculine queerness that didn’t feel like a trope of old. Go queer Eurovision! Scott and Rylan in commentary on BBC1 got a bit carried away, saying it was the best Eurovision staging * ever *. Well, answers on a postcard on that one. It’s definitely the UKs best ever staging. Well done to all the creatives involved.
If you’re interested in Olly Alexanders Road To Eurovision2024, you can watch it now on BBC iPlayer. It was an illuminating (and poignant in places) 30 minutes. It reveals the pressure he has faced because he did not boycott the ESC due to what is playing out beyond the ESC bubble. Great to see the extensive rehearsals involved in what came together so brilliantly on stage last night.
So, the first semi-final was all about songs, staging and spectacle. This is what we’re here for, and we’ll do it all again for the second semi-final on Thursday night…
I know I was gushing about the stage when I relaunched the blog recently. It will certainly give us a fabulous spectacle tonight…
(copyright: EBU/Peppe Andersson)
Here are the songs in the first semi-final…
01 Cyprus Liar – Silia Kapsis
This is a good start! Good pop vibes, with a catchy hook. It should get through to the final. It does make me chuckle that it starts with what sounds like the audio flare of the aliens approaching in War of the Worlds (2005).
02 Serbia RAMONDA – TEYA DORA
You would think that coming off the back of Cyprus’s pop banger, this song would ruin the party before it’s got started, but no. An early ethereal moment with Billy Eilish vibes makes for a pleasing listen. I hope the Billy base and others send it through to the final…
03 Lithuania Luktelk – Silvester Belt
This reminds me of O Zone’s Dragonstea Din Tei…
Both great pop songs. I hope it gets to the final. Silvester that is! 😀
04 Ireland Doomsday Blue – Bambie Thug
Now then, one of my Eurovision besties, the lovely Brian Singleton, is visiting from Dublin to enjoy Eurovision week with me. He is very giddy about the fact that Ireland are going to qualify for the grand final for the first time in ages. And I agree. Ok, I am so not a goth (stop giggling), but kudos for giving those who are a bit of what they want. Taxi to the final, surely…
(realising I’m sending everything so far to the final!)
Now then, before we get to song five, this year all of the automatic qualifiers (the ‘Big 6’) will take to the stage to do a full performance of their song during the semi-finals. Finally! I’ve been suggesting this for years. No longer consigned to a montage, they get the full exposure to connect with the telly viewers. First up is our very own Olly Alexander…
BIG 6: United Kingdom Dizzy – Olly Alexander
I found this all a bit beige when it was first released. The obvious leaning into the melody and rhythm of I Will Survive and It’s A Sin put me off. Lazy? Yes, a little, but then how many songs this week have done similar – a lot! So, I’m a little less grumpy now, and actually, there is an ear worm in there.
Left hand side of the leader board this year? Hopefully! Last year Mae Muller went to Eurovision as a pop star in the making. This year, Olly goes there as a legit pop star who is there being himself, doing his thing, being authentic, and connecting with kids who will see themselves in him. Brava!
Ok, back to the songs competing tonight…
05 Ukraine Teresa & Maria – alyona alyona & Jerry Heil
We’re back with the ethnopop vibes that have done very well for Ukraine over recent years. A nice melody on the chorus with the rap vibes. Will go through to the final, fo sho!
06 Poland The Tower – LUNA
A bit of a bop, familiar pop vibes. I like it. It’s a great set-up for the current favourite…
07 Croatia Rim Tim Tagi Dim – Baby Lasagna
You can’t unsee this, but it’s a great pop song – don’t let this put you off…
As you know, I will see the performance on stage for the first time tonight. Let’s see how my ear is guided by my eye! Listening to it, it’s hook filled and (ahem) familiar. Deffo shades of Käärijä from last year. But it feels less aggressive and more melodic, which makes it a brilliant entry. And boy, I’d be * delighted * if Croatia won…
08 Iceland Scared of Heights – Hera Björk
Now then, Hera is a Eurovision * legend *. In 2010 she first represented Iceland with the * iconic * Je Ne Sais Quoi. At the end of a very mediocre semi-final, Hera landed with this piece of schlager pop perfection, and it lifted the roof off the arena – I was there! (you can see peeps jumping up in joy at the end)…
What I wouldn’t give to be on b-vox with her, swaying in choreographic harmony. Loved that!
Bless her, Hera ain’t gonna eclipse her former entry. Although last year Belgium’s Gustaph had similar retro vibes with his song Because Of You, and that landed in the top ten. If only for Hera…
Oh, and by the way…
BIG 6 Germany Always On The Run – SAAK
Feels like a few songs in one, with familiar ‘na na hey’ chanting. Also, there’s a whiff of Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger in there. Probably my least favourite song from the ‘big six’ this year…
09 Slovenia Veronika – Raiven
The first of the more earnestly anthemic ethnopop vibes of this semi-final. By looks of this there will be moody and emotive staging…
10 Finland No Rules! – Windows95man
Yep, Finland are tipping over into novelty song and performance territory this year. Mind you, people were saying similar about Cha Cha Cha last year. Will it be a joke lost on viewers? Probably – although kids might like it. Having said that, an old dude singing in his pants isn’t exactly going to earn many points! I love how the Microsoft logo has been blurred – clearly they have objected to their logo being used. And with this song, who wouldn’t! 😀
11 Moldova In The Middle – Natalia Barbu
Natalia competed in ESC2007, and she’s back again. She’s giving us futher adventures in moody ethnopop vibes, and is it just me – a rather alarming take on Robert Palmer’s Addicted To Love music video. All a bit creepy! Get ready for the gag I do every year… will people be bowled over by Moldova this year? 😀 Hmm…
BIG 6: Sweden Unforgettable – Marcus & Martinus
I was in the Friends arena in Stockholm to see this performance back in March. Well, when I say see it we actuallty didn’t see very much of the boys as our seats were side on to the stage, and M&M spent a lot of time in their box! It was the runaway winner of Melodifestivalen. I like it, it’s a bop, but they have sent this song before and done it better. Not even in the top ten with the bookies (yet), which is strange for Sweden…
12 Azerbaijan Özünlə Apar – FAHREE feat. Ilkin Dovlatov
EP vibes again, with a bit of two step and Madonna’s Frozen strings in the mix. For that reason alone, I quite like it. And a great pair of vocalists. I’d like it to get through to the final…
13 Australia One Milkali (One Blood) – Electric Fields
So, this music video really doesn’t add anything to the song, so I am interested to see how it is interpreted on stage tonight. A bit of a pedestrian song even with the retro vibes, and certainly not Australia’s best entry, I’d say…
14 Portugal Grito – iolanda
Portugal very much staying in their lane – and fair play to them. The choreo is a bit distracting, and the dancers remind me of that episode of RuPaul’s Drag where Valentina wanted to lip-sync with a mask on…
Luxembourg are back, back, back for the first time since 1993. Good to have them back, with a song that reminds me a bit of Ain’t It Funny by Jennifer Lopez. I like the language mix and the melody on the chorus. A nice way to wrap the first semi-final.
So, out of these songs Croatia is clearly going to win this semi-final, and I am intrigued to see who joins them in the grand final on Saturday.
During the voting window the interval acts tonight are returning singers Eleni Foureira, Eric Saade and Chanel. You may remember that Eleni brought the Fuego in 2018, Eric was Popular in 2011 and Chanel was in SloMo in 2022. They all have bragging rights that they should have won, but for me Eric Saade’s Popular is a brilliant pop song. If he had done a stronger live vocal it would have won. And now that the backing vocals are on the backing track, he deffo would! I was in the arena, the year of the throbbing tonsil…
We might have heard our winner in this semi-final, but there are a few other potential winners to come later in the week…
