Chez Wombat

Encouraging start, though I guess the juries won't be all over Israel. Brilliant for Switzerland though and Ireland doing this well with juries is a good sign!

Great set of songs this year, would be an absolute insult if Israel won, might throw some votes to it's nearest challengers as they happen to be my favourite. 01; Ireland 02; Croatia 03; Estonia 04; Armenia 05; Switzerland 06; France 07; Ukraine 08; Norway 09; Italy 10; Finland 11; Lithuania 12; Austria 13; Greece 14; Serbia 15; Slovenia 16; Cyprus 17; Spain 18; United Kingdom 19; Luxembourg 20; Georgia 21; Germany 22; Sweden 23; Portugal 24; Israel 25; Latvia Oh yeah and we didn't really stand out at all sadly, probably as good a try as we could've done x

Very standout song from Switzerland, nice change of pace from them from the usual ballads.

Finland bringing the Moldova style fun back, I approve x

Estonia and Ireland delivering an incredible back to back <33333 The latter taking a bit of a swerve x

Well, Israel would not only be a morally disgusting winner but also a very boring one, flush x

Gosh, I really hope they disqualify Israel before the final, this will be a total farce and a potentially dangerous one otherwise.

Finally watched this, I usually go through things at a snail pace, but I had major FOMO with all the discourse! Incredible show, contender for best of the year, I've never seen a more honest portrayal of a reaction to trauma in Donnie and the profound effect of mental illness in Martha. There's so much nuance there, you can't believe what Donny went through yet you still despair at some of his choices and while Martha is certainly hateable at times, they did a fantastic job of balancing out the psychotic behaviour with that of a well-meaning, lonely old woman who just wanted the company. Incredible performance from both. A brutally honest portrayal of LGBT issues as well, Teri definitely complemented it really well. Certainly not surprising that such a nuanced show has attracted a response that's anything but nuanced, I'm not even entertaining the idea of looking up Piers Morgan's interview. There is something so beautifully yet painfully ironic that serves as an example for the ages on the study of humanity that this is all happening about a show that shows clearly the dangers of being drawn in to unwanted attention and not acting until it's too late...they do say life imitates art!

The thing that's a bit irksome here is that there's really no 'loser' on the main stage. No matter if he 'loses' the beef, Drake will still get loads of streams next dull 100-song album, curiosity added in there, and I imagine Kendrick will too whenever it comes about as well as critical acclaim as always. It's completely taken over musical discourse and the tracks are getting streamed by the millions. It's a world class publicity stunt, but if it's actually leading to people getting hurt, it's gone far beyond that.

Ooh this is a good selection, Busted an easy first pick. Goldie Looking Chain is iconic x

Fatboy Slim – The Rockafeller Skank Eagle-Eye Cherry – Save Tonight Daft Punk – Da Funk / Musique Massive Attack – Teardrop The Mamas and the Papas – California Dreamin' + Des'ree - Life for the Jamelia slot x

Congrats Nate, what a landslide *.* Was a very big standout, admittedly quite well known names, but certainly worked really well for the theme. Wonderful to have my top 2 as the top 2 and I voted for the rest of the top 5 too! Given I had just six voters, I'll take avoiding the bottom 5, thanks all, and stream Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds new song too x Thanks for hosting Iz, let me make sure I put a bit more thought into my entry for next time x

Went tactically for Rehab (though Britney isn't miles ahead) in the vain hope of a hip hop classic making it to its rightful place in the final with Back to Black x

Ooh what an excellent top 2 so far, and both would be first time winners! I must say this is probably the first time I wasn't really that happy with my entry here. In that sense, I deserve to be flopping. :') It was a placeholder and I just didn't have time nor could find anything I liked more. Not that I dislike this, I do love the original, and anything that gives Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds some more presence is a good thing, and hopefully I'll get round to the show at some point x I enjoyed it a decent amount, but we can never beat the Bhangra remix in BJSC plus Anna Meredith's rework.

My 31st was Dua Lipa - Houdini, good one but sad it wasn't triple McCartney (28, so close!). Probably the rare year I somehow avoid a Christmas song! (though I did have one as number 1 x)

I'd rather listen to a song that sounds great with bad lyrics than song that doesn't sound very good but has very good lyrics. I can normally just appreciate the latter but I wouldn't listen out of choice. Music ultimately is a bit more of an audial experience above all, but good lyrics can certainly enhance that enjoyment.

Their early material isn't on the same level of their experimental stuff, but I Want To Hold Your Hand is probably my favourite of them, a very timeless song. The German version bangs too x

Congrats to Addy, only fitting that a classic BJSC artist wins in an Ashton contest! Song wasn't really for me (and that's three winners in a row now oops x), but I get its appeal. I feel bad not giving Jadakissnia 18 now, but Summericia was one of the best trance songs I've heard in a while so it just edged it out, two amazing discoveries though that I will keep and really glad that atmospheric post-rock seems to have such a wider audience now. Singerpurear and Persephonia were the only others in the top 10 I voted for, but Abeltesfayeton and Danaeviia were close. A shame Quintessa didn't vote as that was a great song and could soundtrack a folk horror x After jumping around a bit, I'll take 21st as a nice middle ground, thank you for all the votes, hopefully it's added to Spotify soon and if you like this, I do encourage you to check out his other work on YouTube, as there are some very creative visuals and a variety of styles there. 10 and 7 from Zanmatony and Kylienips in the semi to 0 in the final from both though? Pfft -_- Thank you for te speedy hosting, Phil!

Not sure Sadness can hold on with those remaining voters, but here's hoping, would be an amazing winner <3 (although could finally be that first win for Klum Rep!) Ooh I wonder if I'll finally get that 25th place that's been eluding me since the start? *.* *falls even lower*

Ooh an 18, how wonderful :wub: Many thanks Jim What an amazing three way tie at the top.

Thank you for the votes so far ^_^ This was a really strong final with some of my favourite discoveries in a while, I hope I can get a decent finish, though I wouldn't be surprised if I fell under the radar a bit. The supposed contenders weren't appealing to me much, so Jadakissnia on top right now is a great sign *.*

Let's go with the 1997 style wipeout *.* (I was too young to pay much attention when it last happened x). I imagine the next few months will be scrambling to ensure that them and their mates get cushy deals or GB News posts and an election probably September/October. Though their friends there will certainly try, I can't see how any media scandal can stop Labour now. They've been pretty smart and the Tories have just continually dug deeper with a leader that wasn't even their first choice. I do hope Labour use this opportunity to show how how their policies they can actually change things and not just go for the centrists, it's not like the Tories are not pleasing anyone right now so it's not like they've got much to lose x (I will likely vote for them but purely tactically, Starmer isn't appealing to me much)

Correct top 2 by a mile, Muse to win as GA have already won before.

And actually if people did their research and didn't just follow reactionary headlines, Stabbings in London, while still above the national average, has actually been on a downward trend since Sadiq Khan took over as Mayor and is higher in other parts of the country.

Oh phew, I do apologise on behalf of Bexley and Bromley x Clearly the only constituency that can be bothered to protest vote and not even enough! Khan isn't perfect and my vote was entirely tactical, but it's refreshing to see an honest, moral political leader. I imagine ULEZ was the sole reason Hall got that close, utter nutcase, if that was the best her party I could do, they weren't even trying!