Eurovision Song Contest: State of Affairs

Can I have a diamond in the rough, please?

It looks like we are a good month into the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) “Season 2025.

 
 

As of the second week in February, it looks like we have about 11 out of 38 songs, which is a little more than a quarter of the total songs for this year’s contest. While we are in the middle of the national selection season, I’m not really feeling ANY of the songs. I believe participating countries have until the middle of March to submit their songs. Right now we have songs from Albania 🇦🇱, Belgium 🇧🇪, Finland 🇫🇮, Greece 🇬🇷, Ireland 🇮🇪, Latvia 🇱🇻, Luxembourg 🇱🇺, Malta 🇲🇹, Montenegro🇲🇪Slovenia 🇸🇮, Spain 🇪🇸, and Ukraine 🇺🇦.

At this point, none of the songs really makes me want to hit that play again button. It seems as if many of the songs are focusing on shock value rather than musical content, which is fine if that’s the intended audience. For example, the most popular songs so far seem to be Kant (Malta) and Ich Komme (Finland). Ok so kant means I sing in Maltese, but it’s definitely a double entendre especially because the singer, Mariana Conte, says “serving KANT” 80 million times in the song. Ok, so I kinda f*cks with the beat for Kant. The other one Ich Komme basically means I’m coming, but I have a feeling that the sentiment is more of a I’m c*mming. I think this has a bit to do with how ESCs semifinal rounds are set up. Until the year before last, whether or not a country qualified to the final depended on the combination of the public and jury vote. Now, only the public votes will be used to determine if a country qualifies. So, it makes sense that countries might want to send songs that have more of an appeal to a younger audience since those folks primarily do most of the voting in the contest. 

My current rankings as of 12 feb. 2025:

 
 

ESC 2025 vs ESC 2024

Every year, I like to do a little comparison of the previous year and the current years’ songs. Note this ranking does not imply that I like or dislike a song. For instance, I was not a fan of Finland’s 2024 song, and I’m not really a fan of Finland 2025 song, but it think this year’s song is a little better than last year’s.

 
 

It’s kind of funny because I wanted to write some reviews about some of the national finals, but I’m kind of like what’s the point if I more than likely will not like the songs that are selected. Ok, this sounds like sour grapes. While my favorite songs have not been selected (then again, that’s usually the case), I have enjoyed watching a few national finals. Even if I do not like a song that was selected, it does give me an opportunity to listen to music that I probably would have listen to in a normal situation. Or, it gives me a chance to pretend what I know what’s going on in languages besides English and Spanish. 😉

Eurovision 2024 playlist:

 

Social Media Plug:

 

Eurovision (ESC) 2024 ~30 Days Away

Ok, so I really dropped the ball in batch reviewing this year's 37 songs as they were released. I have to say that I was not super interested (or involved) in this season of Eurovision for a couple of reasons.

  1. Very few songs really stuck out for me. This year definitely was the year of the growers, which basically means that it took some time for me to warm up to a few most of this year's songs.

  2. There's quite a bit of controversy over how the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is handling the Israel/Palestine conflict. The fandom is split because most feel that Israel should have been banned from/sat out this year's contest, and others think that it is ok for Israel to stay in the competition. Since the EBU banned Russia for its attacks on Ukraine, many thought that EBU would do the same for Israel. However, I guess the EBU felt it was fine to ban Russia because it was attacking another country that participates in the contest, whereas this is not the case in regards to Israel and Palestine. Also, I think there is the financial piece to this. It's no secret that the EBU is desperate to keep the remaining countries in the contest bc several countries have stop attending (i.e., less money collected from the participation fees). I guess many of us are not United in Music (ESC's slogan) for ESC 2024.

Kwame's Current Rankings:

The full list of songs and performers can be found at Eurovision World (link: ***).

 
 

The funny thing about my ranking: it can drastically change on a daily basis depending on my mood. I think this ranking is based on how I was feeling while running a half marathon in mid April. Pretty much any songs from my #15 to #34 spots can be placed anywhere within this #15-#34 group. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing. BUT, I do know that Serbia, Ireland, and Latvia (#34-#37) will stay in my bottom three. Actually, Latvia might move up to #35 because I like the performer's social media personality.

Kwame's Top 10:

For the most part, I think most of the songs have stayed in my top 10 group throughout the ESC preseason. I'll say that Greece (Marina Satti, Zari, Music Video: ***) made the most drastic move by "sneaking" into this group. Earlier in the season, I think Greece was in the mid 20s because I was not too keen on the random, "chaotic" arrangement of the song. That said, NOW I love the song. Why? Because of it's random, "chaotic" arrangement. Also, Italy (Angelina Mango, La Noia, National Final Performance: ***) moved up from the teens into my top ten. Originally, I "hated" on Italy's song song because it seems that no matter what Italy sends to the contest, folks act like it's the best thing next to sliced bread. However, I think it's a great song . . . especially for running. ;) Songs from France (Slimane, Mon Amour, Music Video: ***) and Norway (Gåte, Ulveham, National Final Performance: ***) pretty much have stayed in my top two spots since they were released, which is interesting because the two songs are completely differed from each other. France's song is a nice (but generic) romantic ballad, and Norway's song is a progressive rock/folk metal/electronic song...extra points for Norway because it's in Norwegian.

Qualifiers and Non-Qualifiers:

This year, the EBU decided to do something cool regarding the semi-final rounds. In previous years, the performers from the Big Five (France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and Germany) and hosting (this year: Sweden) countries would introduce their songs in an interview during the semi-final rounds. However, this year (and hopefully in future years), these countries will perform their songs during these rounds. I think this is a great idea because the majority of folks who watch Eurovision do not listen to the songs until they watch semi-finals (or even the final). Allowing the Big Five and hosting countries to perform during the semi final rounds might help their performances grow on the majority of viewers.

In the first semifinal round, I really want six songs to qualify: Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, Moldova, Australia, and Luxembourg. Actually, Moldova's song has lost some power with me, so I would not be upset if they didn't qualify. Hand downs, I'm pretty sure that Croatia will be the winner of the first semi-final round since this song pretty much has gone viral within and beyond the fandom.

The second semi-final round definitely will be the "bloodbath" round because there the field of songs is so diverse AND good. I honestly have no idea of what's gonna happen in this semifinal. BUT, that's a good thing for me because this semi will keep us on our toes. From this semi-final round, my top three will have to be San Marino (which is actually a group from spain), Norway, Switzerland, Greece/Georgia (depending on my mood). Ok so, I lied and meant to say my Top Four. ;)

ESC 2024 versus Other Years:

At the beginning of the ESC year, like most folks, I had the opinion of last year's ESC had stronger songs. I guess that's more of an issue with recent bias because obviously, I've heard and seen songs/performances from the previous year(s) more times than the current year, making me more familiar with those year(s)' songs. So, let's put it to the test and compare ESC 2024 to ESC 2023.

 
 

Comparing ESC 2024 to ESC 2023, it looks like I had a clear preference for ESC 2023 (51.4%) over ESC 2024 (37.1%). However, it is not as significant as I would have thought.

 
 

I wasn't surprised that I prefered more songs from ESC 2021, but I assumed that there would have been a higher percentage for ESC 2021 (55.6%) compared to ESC 2024 (22.2%).

Eurovision Preparties:

One cool thing about the ESC season is that the preparties give many performers an opportunity to show the fandom a taste of what they can do before the actual contest. This is great for me because some countries do not have a national section for the songs, making it nearly impossible to hear live vocals until these preparties. This year has been a bit interesting because a few more preparties have been added to the list. This year's preparty list:

  • Madrid (March 28-30)

  • Barcelona (April 4-6)

  • London (April 7)

  • Amsterdam (April 13)

  • Stockholm (Apri 14)

  • Oslo (April 20)

  • Copenhagen (May 4)

For this year's contest, Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen are new preparties. In "normal" years, Tel Aviv would have a preparty, but I think Israel is a bit busy with other things this year. While the performers do not have to participate in all of the preparties, I think this schedule is quite aggressive. I'll give props for the performers who will perform in all of these properties because of the gruelling schedule. That said, I think as the contest grows, which will make acquiring tickets to and accommodations for the actual contest more difficult, the number of preparties are going to increase. In my ripe old age, I would be more likely to attend a preparty than the main event for the following reasons:

  • I am NOT about to sit in front of a computer waiting hours for the POSSIBILITY of purchasing tickets. I've heard countless stories of folks making it through the virtual queue, selecting their tickets, and realized that the tickets have been sold out once their enter their payment information.

  • I'm "cheap". Obviously I'm at a slight geographical disadvantage traveling to the contest. Reading the experience of some American fans that went to last year's contest, it seems that the average cost was around $6,000 (my guestimation). That seems a bit pricey to me for a music contest that lasts a few days, especially when I could use that money to vacation in one of my bucket list countries. Not that there's anything wrong with this. I just do not see the point in spending this amount of money to attend a "concert" in person...a concert that is geared to be watch on television. If I was in my 20s, I probably would throw caution to the wind and put all of this crap on my credit card because YOLO. I guess it's a good thing that I did not know about ESC back in my early and mid 20s.

  • For now, the tickets for preparties are not super expensive, and the the preparties are not popular enough where businesses (e.g., hotels, restaurants, flights) will not price gouge. Perhaps, next year, the hubby and I can align our yearly trip to Spain with one of the preparties in Spain.

Concluding remarks:

As of April 14th, it looks like we have 23 days until ESC 2024 week. I'm am moderately excited for the contest, but I have to admit that I'm not as engaged with this year's contest (as I mentioned above) for a several reasons. 1) The conflict in the Middle East. 2) Life in general because I'm still trying to get back on track after starting a new career and moving to a new state. 3) Some of the drama within fandom is a bit annoying to deal with. Perhaps, it's a maturity thing, but some in the fandom take you not liking their favorite song(s) as a personal attack on them. 4) Lack of an in-person community. Back in my NYC days, EurovisioNYC (a group of NYC-based ESC fans) had several meetups during the year, which made it nice to interact with other fans in person. Since the US does not participate in the contest, these events were relatively drama-free because there was not too much nationalist pride within the group.

Eurovision 2024 playlist:

 

Social Media Plug:

 

Eurovision 2024 - 3rd Batch 🇪🇪🇱🇻🇩🇰🇩🇪🇲🇩🇱🇹

We are back for another season of Eurovision, and this year we are heading to Malmö, Sweden 🇸🇪. As countries begin to select their songs, I'm going to do a brief recap of what I think of the 'current' songs.

For this recap, I'm going to chat about (in no particular order): Estonia 🇪🇪, Latvia 🇱🇻, Denmark 🇩🇰, Germany 🇩🇪, Moldavia 🇲🇩, Lithuania 🇱🇹.

Like last year, I'm gonna do follow this mode of attack:

  1. Review songs in batches of 5 or 6 rather than doing a country-by-country recap.

  2. Watch the national selection final (or internal selection) once or twice.

  3. Not constantly listen to the songs until we get into semifinal week.

Reasons 1-2: For this edition, I don't have time to write 35+ posts (one per country) before getting into the actual contest. Also, what's the point of doing an in-depth or half-assed review (depending on how much free time I have) before the delegations either revamp the song and/or the performance? Reason 3: I don't want to get tired of the songs before the contest. A couple of Eurovisions ago, I noticed that I was pretty much over the songs that were released early in the national final (January/February) season by April.

Kwame's Current Rankings:

Like always, I'll use my cheezy Eurovision meter to rate the songs.

 
 

Alright let's get started:

Estonia 🇪🇪: 5miinust & Puuluup -- (nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea (kull) midagi (We [really] don't know anything about [these] drugs)

National Selection Performance - Eesti Laui 2024 (link: ***)

Songwriters: Estoni Kohver, Kim Wennerström, Lancelot, Marko Veisson, Päevakoer, Põhja Korea, and Ramo Teder

Key: D; BPM: 145

 
 

Something a little different. Word on the street is that this song title is the longest in the history of the contest, so that's something. It's not necessarily my cup of the tea, but it's upbeat as hell, which always works for me. This one kind of reminds me of Moldova's 2022 entry, which I hated at first, but grew to love. Even though, the song (well the performance) is a bit chaotic (IMO), I think this is a song that definitely will amp on the crowd. For me, it seems like it's three songs in one. While I do not hate *insert long title here* (because I'm not retyping all of that 🤣), this one definitely will have to grow on me.

Latvia 🇱🇻: Dons -- Hollow

National Selection Performance - Supernova 2024 (link: ***)

Songwriters: Artūrs Šingirejs, Kate Northrop, and Liam Gedde

Key: C#/Db; BPM: 148- Really a 148 bpm, the song seemed a little low-tempo to me.

 
 

Dons has a very strong voice; however, the song is a bit mid for me. Well, actually, the verses are a bit mid, but the chorus is a slightly electrifying. Overall, I think that I need to listen to this one a couple more times for it to move or inspire me. Unfortunately, I think it might be tough for this one to qualify (in its current state). Since we have a lot of unique, nutty songs this year, I fear this one will get lost in the mix. I think this song could have work in 2022's contest, but there are too many unique, witchy, random songs in this year's contest. While Dons has an excellent voice, I don't think he really has a stage presence that will draw in a lot of folks.

Denmark 🇩🇰: Saba -- Sand

National Selection Performance - Melodi Grand Prix 2024 (***)

Songwriters: Jonas Thander, Melanie Wehbe, and Pil Kalinka Nygaard Jeppesen

Key: E minor; BPM: 114

 
 

The lighting for this one is very pretty and dynamic. Whoa she has a very strong voice. Overall, I'm really loving this one. Hopefully, this will be the song that finally gets Denmark into the grand final. I mean, the lighting is some of the best that I've seen so far in this year's contest. However, the delegation should get a better platform for her to stand on because it's giving one of those small tables from Ikea. I think those small tables are called Lack. Also, I hope for the Eurovision performance of this song, Saba will eventually leave the platform at some point. Since this is an upbeat "ballad", I would like to see a bit more movement because I'm not a huge fan of very static performances where the artist stands in one place for the duration of the song. An issue that I have with this song, it sound a bit like Loreen's Tattoo - last year's winning song. Some folks might pass Saba's Sand because folks may think Denmark is just trying to copy Sweden's win last year.

Germany 🇩🇪: Isaak -- Always on the Run

National Selection Performance - Das Deutsche Final 2024 (link ***)

Songwriters: Greg Taro, Isaak Guderian, Kevin Lehr, and Leo Salminen

Key: A#/Bb BPM: 110

 
 

What a soulful voice. The song has an over nice, feel good message, and Isaak's voice is pretty flawless. However, Germany will have to up the staging and Isaak's stage presence for this performance. To be honest, Isaak is dressed like he is rehearsing for his final performance for Das Deutsche Final. Unfortunately for Isaak, Germany is one of those countries that has to be twice as good to get the same credit in this contest. Although I like the song (and somewhat like the performance), I don't see this moving from the bottom five in the contest.

Moldavia 🇲🇩: Natalia Barbu -- In the Middle

National Selection Performance -Etapa Națională 2024 (link: ***)

Songwriters: Natalia Barbu, Khris Richards, and Natalia Barbu

Key: G#/Ab; BPM: 114 (hmm, it seemed little faster)

 
 

No surprise that Moldova is bringing something a bit different to this contest, but it's a good kind of different. For some reason, I find this song and performance very soothing. I think this might be due to its uniqueness in a field of many "loud" and "out there" performances. Actually, this performance might be out there a little bit. For instance, I'm not sure if the backup vocalists are supposed to move months while not actually singing. I hope it's not the case of the backup vocalists lipping the words, so they know when they are actually supposed to sing. The violin pieces gives this performance a cool low-vibe feel. OK, so I've never played violin, but it seems as if they (or some of them) need to rehearse a bit more. All of that said, Natalia and her crew have time to learn the words and rehearse playing the violin before going to Malmö in May.

Lithuania 🇱🇹: Silvester Belt -- Luktelk (Wait)

National Selection Performance - Eurovizija.LT (link: ***)

Songwriters: Džesika Šyvokaitė, Elena Jurgaitytė, and Silvestras Beltė

Key: B; BPM: 140

Nice little boop. With the first listen, I didn't really move me vocally, but I was bobbing my head to the song. Also, I can see it growing over the next couple of months. Silvester has a pretty relaxing vocal, but it comes off a little monotone for me. Ok, I know that prerecorded backing vocals are allowed in the contest, but I feel like he is relying on the backing vocals way too much. There were points in the song where the prerecorded backing vocals were louder than Silvester's vocals. Perhaps, that supposed to be the artistic effect.

Up Next:

That's it for now, let's see what the next batch of songs will bring. Looking at the national selection final calendar, it looks like the next batch of songs will include: Croatia 🇭🇷, Iceland 🇮🇸, San Marino 🇸🇲, and Belgium 🇧🇪.

 

Eurovision 2024 playlist:

 

Social Media Plug: