February 16Feb 16 Author 39 - Croatia 2024 xTBrVNZtnys Baby Lasagna - Rim Tim Tagi Dim My first thought when I heard this was - this is so 2001. Rammstein, Linkin Park and Bubba Sparks were all big in 2001 and this combined some of their elements. Incidentally, it's interesting that Rammstein have become a prominent influence in Eurovision - Käärijä and Baby Lasagna have cited them having informed their music and now we have Erika Vikman's song with obvious references to them too. This was a lot more instant than Cha, Cha, Cha for me. Not that there should be any comparison despite many Eurovision related parallels between the two. Watching the music video is such an enriching experience. Those hilarious people over in Wikipedia have it listed as part of the Pop punk and Techno genres. Best bit: 1.15 when he jumps to a higher register
February 16Feb 16 Author 38 - Netherlands 2022 v2m-MGSys0k S10 - De Diepte My winner in 2022. Not a year that has stood out with many classics. A lot of my top 10 from that year has completely fallen off my radar. This, however, still makes magic happen in my brain. There was no shortage of sad girl ballads that year but De Diepte was the most poignant. Her voice and the Dutch language saw to that. Best bit: 2.13 gorgeous vocal
February 16Feb 16 Author 37 - Austria 2024 Kqda15G4T-4 Kaleen - We Will Rave This spent most of the season as my winner last year and it's still a blast. Ultimately, it was a disaster live. Her vocals weren't there, very low in the mix and her much hyped dancing was certainly nothing special. One of the biggest disappointments in recent years. Best bit: 2.48 the dramatic return of the chorus with the sound of huge doors being slammed somewhere. :D
February 20Feb 20 Author 36 - Slovenia 2019 vGtPNQ6g6Ng Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl - Sebi My winner in 2019. I dont think any of my winners have maintained their position as my favourite song from each year. I'm sure there's millions of people who get nothing out of this but it was just so enchanting and intimate. I know they didn't do themselves any favours with some of the comments they made but I can forgive them for that when they were so mesmerising. Best bit: 0:08 I love the warmth of the intro
February 23Feb 23 Author 35 - Norway 2020 Ulrikke - Attention The opening bars of this always bring me back to those early months of the pandemic. This was the first year that I followed Eurovision from the national selection stage. The confusion about whether we'd have a contest or not was an odd feeling along with hearing all these things. Having all the time in the world to wallow in Eurovisions national selections and in Eurovisions passed. The anguish of the chorus just hits me. Best Bit: 2.38 the climax after her perfect intervals. Edited February 27Feb 27 by Colm
February 28Feb 28 Author 34 - Belgium 2024Mustii - Before the Party’s Over This, along with Austria 2024, have been the biggest disappointments when it came to the live performance in a long, long time. Going into rehearsal week this was my winner. I had an argument on youtube last year with a guy who claimed that Mustii should have qualified because the live version was more real and heartfelt and that I had no right to expect Mustii to sound like the studio recording. Eurofans be crazy.A note to broadcasters - make sure your singer can sing before you send them. Best Bit: 1.53 the cloudbusting staccato strings.
February 28Feb 28 Author 33 - Russia 20219Sergey Lazerev - ScreamIn 2019, I had not seen Sergey's 2016 performance, so I didn't have any expectations of his return to the contest. I much prefer the live version because, unlike nowadays, you know that someone was able to hit those notes. He was flat in places but not enough to take away from the whole thing. Best Bit: 1.06 - perfect vocal tone.
March 15Mar 15 Author 32 - Italy 2021Måneskin - Zitti E Buoni This was a grower with me. 2021 was a strong year so this finished only around 7th or 8th for me back then. A few things remain impressive - for a start, it oozes pure rock and roll essence. Secondly Damiano's double timed vocals in the second verse accelerate the excitement, and the middle eight melody which has such strident confidenceBest Bit: 2:05 - that middle eight.
March 16Mar 16 Author 31 - Austria 2023Teya & Salena - Who The Hell Is Edgar?Austria, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Recently Austria has not only been giving us quality, it has been giving songs that sound like no other Eurovision entries. Including 2025, they've sent 4 crackers in a row. Even after having being burnt by sending a DNQ bop in 2022, they had the perspective to send this in the knowledge that it could be sung by the singers involved and would advance to the final. It's full of addictive hooks but Selena's Gaga-esque vocals are the highlight for me. I could complain about how it didn't do better but that's old news.Best bit: 2:08 joyful and celebratory vocals.
March 16Mar 16 Author 30 - Estonia 2017Laura & Koit Toome - VeronaHow did this do even worse than Ireland's horrendous Dying to Try? Eugh. Only San Marino did worse with the jury. Full of melody and sincerity, the 2017 final was all the weaker for not having this in it.Best bit: 1.44 the build
March 17Mar 17 8 hours ago, Colm said:30 - Estonia 2017Laura & Koit Toome - VeronaAt last there is one song, which I like. 3rd place from 2017 (behind Macedonia and Poland).
March 19Mar 19 Author 29 - Finland 2020Aksel - Looking BackI really shouldn't like this and I'm quite sure that some people think it's one of the blandest entries ever. I thought that when I heard it first. It sits at 33rd on the community scoreboard - lower than any other song in this list.What's remarkable is that it doesn't have a middle eight at all - which is sometimes the saving grace of a dull Eurovision song. It's just verse-chorus-verse-chorus-chorus.So, why do I like it? Well, the chorus just grew on me. And I'm sucker for harmonies and it has lots of little harmonies hidden that don't surface at first.Best bit: 2.05 when he modulates the word "high". Edited March 19Mar 19 by Colm
March 22Mar 22 Author 28 - Azerbaijan 2017Dihaj - Skeletons2017 was weak. Even some of the few songs I liked back then do nothing for me now. This just managed to grow in the intervening years. This is both my favourite Azerbaijani entry and my favourite entry from 2017. Gorgeous verses and dramatic chorus. Best bit: 2.45 the middle eight with the staccato vocals.
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