ESC Etc.

We’re wrapping things up at least until the EBU releases the finalized list of competing countries – hopefully soon!

SPAIN

Since its inception in 2022, Benidorm Fest has established really high stakes for itself, immediately producing a Top 3 finisher with an all-time staging production followed by a more experimental act that, in spite of a disappointing finish, definitely managed to turn heads in the fandom at large. This contest is well on its way to becoming one of the best ESC national finals and one that, as I previously discussed, I’m starting to actively look forward to. In that same conversation, I also highlighted the fact that, in picking an act for ESC, Spain might want to strategize a bit more shrewdly – there are really no bad lessons to be taken from Blanca Paloma’s participation this year (she is a phenomenally talented artist who brought a number that sounded and looked like nothing else at ESC) but I have a hard time ignoring the fact that the 2023 Benidorm lineup also featured two ESC-ready entries (Quiero Arder and Nochentera) that would have arguably both had a shot at a Top 10/5 finish at ESC and were huge crowd pleasers (the former being the fandom’s nearly unanimous choice and the latter going 5x platinum on the Spanish charts compared to Eaea, which only charted in Lithuania and couldn’t even break into the Top 65 there). The 16 2024 acts were recently unveiled, and it is an impressive roster featuring a wide range of sounds (pop, EDM, reggaeton, rap) and experience (new acts debuting alongside well-established names), but we don’t have the songs yet. If Spain can find a balance between their brain and their heart and choose wisely, watch out. It does feel like we’re bound to head to Valencia for ESC within this decade.

SWEDEN

The two times Sweden failed to deliver this decade, we had one of the weakest Melodifestivalen editions ever (2013) going to the only winner to ever advance to the final from Andra Chansen, and a contest without a frontrunner (2021) that crowned a basic, uninspired message song (both still landed in the Top 15 at Eurovision). That said, Sweden knows how to play the ESC game better than anyone, they have the most ESC wins (tied with Ireland) and, if Aftonbladet is to be believed (they’re usually eerily accurate), the 2024 Mello lineup is a strong, intensely competitive mix of returning acts (Dotter, Liamoo, my beloved Clara Klingenström, Marcus & Martinus, among others) and new faces (Kim Cesarion, Elektra, Gunilla Persson, Fröken Snusk). If everyone shows up operating at their best, it is going to be fire. The long-standing narrative here is that, after years of sending handsome young guys singing polished pop bangers, STV course-corrected to balance out their strong jury finishes and more unpredictable televote results by sending two female acts back-to-back with a pop-rock ballad (coming in 4th) and an electropop scorcher (winning the whole thing). Sweden is the 2024 host, and you best believe they will come as correct as it gets.

SWITZERLAND

My fear for Switzerland is that they’ve started to pigeonhole themselves as a sad boy ballad maker with dramatically diminishing returns since their 2020 entry Répondez–moi, which felt like a complete, surprising departure from the more fun, Latin-infused, ballroom uptempo stylings of Luca Hanni in 2019. Honestly…I’m a bit bored? Ballads at ESC are a particularly tough sell unless they are truly exceptional (looking at you, Undo) and they’re even harder to digest if put in the hands of a ham-fisted production team (I appreciate Sacha Jean-Baptiste as much as the next ESC country trying to dig themselves out of a hole, but the decision to stage an already poorly conceived message song about the war by simulating literal bombs being dropped on stage remains possibly the most tasteless, ill-conceived production idea I’ve ever seen at Eurovision) and to top it off, Switzerland’s general feedback is that they can get away with it and still advance to the finals, so where’s the incentive to change things up? Teya offered a glimmer of hope this summer when she said she had reportedly heard the (likely) Swiss 2024 entry at the Swiss summer songwriting bootcamp, sounding rather enthusiastic about it. We’ll see.

UKRAINE

Ukraine will deliver quality like they always do, and they will have the televote across all of Europe supporting them (as they should). That is never a concern. Even a weaker Vidbir final like the one we got in 2023 (in terms of song quality, not production values) was ultimately able to produce a Top 10 finisher at ESC. Ukraine has a 100% qualification record in the ESC finals – the only country to have never missed since the introduction of the semifinals – and, like Sweden and Italy, their strength is in not checking for any specific artist or genre or sound but simply picking their favorite entry and giving themselves a wide variety of options to do so (ballads, rap, dark pop, EDM, all with a clear perspective and soundscape). The 2024 long list of 20 acts has been revealed, featuring three notable returns: Carpetman of Kalush Orchestra fame, Jerry Heil, the 2023 presumptive favorite and ultimately 3rd place finisher, and Mélovin, Ukraine’s ESC representative in 2018. 10 acts will be selected to advance to the final at the end of the year, when we should also ideally get the songs. Another Top 10 finish? Very likely.

UNITED KINGDOM

With TaP Music out of the picture and a 25th place finish in 2023, the UK is in need of some regrouping. What worked so well in 2022 (a likable, enthusiastic representative with a great voice and a well-produced, anthemic Brit pop track) seemed to come undone a bit this year, and as likable as Mae Muller was/is, her vocal never really came together in support of a track that already felt just a bit slight and generic (and got the worst possible running order to boot). There still is a bit of momentum left in my opinion, and while the assignment isn’t necessary to find another Sam Ryder, it would behoove the UK delegation (who has reportedly already internally selected a representative) to spend some time deciding what kind of sound would best represent them and what’s popping on the charts right now. The UK indie folk/pop scene has always been particularly interesting to me and somewhat under-represented at ESC – and in 2023 we have evolved well past thinking of Eurovision as a Eurodance/pop dumping ground – so why not test this more introspective, musically layered, lyric-centered sound (Birdy, Rozi Plain) or go the nu-folk route altogether? Ultimately, I feel like a country that stays true to their musical scene (see: Ukraine/Italy/Sweden) is bound to find its footing and do well down the line. Maybe that’s what’s going to get them back into the Top 5.