ESC Etc.

More songs! I promise I’m almost all caught up!!!!

Country: Poland
Artist: Justyna Steczkowska
Title: Gaja
Songwriter(s): Dominic Buczkowski-Wojtaszek, Emilian Waluchowski, Justyna Steczkowska, Patryk Kumór
Tempo: 116 BPM Mode: Minor Key: A  Duration: 3:01

Love this. It’s even better than WITCH Tarohoro, which Justyna submitted to the Polish internal selection last year only to miss out on a trip to Sweden by one point. There is a tribal, almost ritualistic quality to the track that both encapsulates Justyna’s musical identity and makes the this sound completely unique within the context of the competition. It’s also a nice throwback to her 1995 entry that had a slightly more folksy vibe but already displayed her penchant for vocal acrobatics and ambitious orchestration. Poland is qualifying this year, so watch out.

Jury Potential: Top 10. Strong vocal and a consummate performer who could sing this live 100 times and it would always give studio cut.
Televote Potential: She’s doing a lot on stage without losing control of her vocals and the performance. I feel like this is more of a jury-friendly entry, but there is definite visual appeal to the overall package.

Country: Estonia
Artist: Tommy Cash
Title: Espresso Macchiato
Songwriter(s): Johannes Naukkarinen, Tomas Tammemets
Tempo: 120 BPM Mode: Minor Key: B Duration: 2:54

Good luck!

Jury Potential: Good luck!
Televote Potential: Good luck!

Country: Norway
Artist: Kyle Alessandro
Title: Lighter
Songwriter(s): Adam Woods, Kyle Alessandro
Tempo: 105 BPM Mode: Minor Key: D Duration: 2:56

I feel like I should be more into this than I actually am. It’s a dance bop, which checks a huge box for me, and it’s got Scandipop vibes written all over it, which checks another box, and yet…it doesn’t excite me. Part of it is the lyrics, which feel a bit clunky in places (“I don’t need saving/ cuz I’m my own lighter” is just musically and idiomatically wonky), but the main reason is that this feels a bit like a Melodifestivalen reject – a perfectly fine, safe pop song without any distinctive qualities that is absolutely pleasant and just kind of…exists. There is some visual appeal to the staging, and people seem to like it more than I do, so I would definitely expect this to make it to the final. I still don’t understand how LLL, who were easily my faves in the MGP line-up, kinda went nowhere with a cooky and far more interesting song (I will randomly just go “BUT I LOVE IT/OH MY GOD” during the day and I’m not tired of it yet).

Jury Potential: It’s definitely a jury song, but there are better, more distinctive ones and it seems as though the new voting system is working against itself in that juries have less to choose from and all tend to gravitate towards the same track. This won’t be it.
Televote Potential: Eh. It’s fine. I don’t think it’s particularly compelling, but it’s well executed and there is a staging concept.

Country: Lithuania
Artist: Katarsis
Title: Tavo akys
Songwriter(s): Lukas Radzevičius
Tempo: 110 BPM Mode: Minor Key: A Duration: 2:53

I feel like this is very competent without being especially enamored with it – it’s not my kind of music, but it’s great in terms of diversity and there is definitely an audience for this. Both the arrangement and the vocal styling are giving Coldplay to me – I just wish there was more of a melody or a hook and that the presentation was more memorable. There is definitely a cohesive aesthetic here, but it’s sort of plain and beige, and I’m not entirely sure people will latch onto this track, especially since it’s likely to be buried somewhere in the middle of the first half of semi 2. I just also want to point out that Lithuania almost sent this track by Lion Ceccah, and that it’s one of the most artistically deranged entries I’ve ever seen in anything ESC-adjacent, and I am absolutely living for it.

Jury Potential: It’s quality, and I think the juries will appreciate it. There are no juries in the semis, though.
Televote Potential: I’m concerned this might go the way of Sudden Lights – an act everyone liked but very few felt compelled to vote for.

Country: Italy
Artist: Lucio Corsi
Title: Volevo essere un duro
Songwriter(s): Lucio Corsi, Tommaso Ottomano
Tempo: 79 BPM Mode: Major Key: E Duration: 3:05

For the first time since 2016, Italy won’t be represented by the Sanremo Festival winner. Olly, who was given right of first refusal after winning the contest with Balorda Nostalgia, decided to turn down the offer, citing previous commitments (his tour starting in May is entirely sold out through March of next year). Do I think that this is an absolutely asinine choice from someone who is 23 and on the brink of going supernova and would have gotten the chance to perform his (great) winning song in front of 200+ million people across the planet? Yes. It is what it is. The act who came in second, Lucio Corsi, immediately jumped at the opportunity, and I am of two minds about it. I’m incredibly happy for Lucio, who’s an independent artist and is having a completely unexpected breakthrough in Italy, but I also feel like the song itself is somewhat of a downgrade. Make no mistake – Italy will still land somewhere in the Top 10 with this, and I do have a soft spot for it because I understand the lyrics and the message behind it (not living up to people’s expectations about who you are and should be, including your own), but rock ballads are a tough sell for me, and I wish this went somewhere bigger with just a bit more of an emotional punch in the arrangement. That said, it’s still great quality.

Jury Potential: This should do well with juries – it’s well performed and the lyrical message packs a punch.
Televote Potential: Italy is kind of a perennial televote fave at ESC, and based on the music video I’m inclined to think we will get a rather memorable staging package.

Country: Armenia
Artist: Parg
Title: Survivor
Songwriter(s): Alex Wilke, Armen Paul, Benjamin Jon Alasu, Eva Voskanian, Joshua Curran, Martin Mooradian, Parg, Thomas G:son
Tempo: 78 BPM Mode: Major Key: C♯/D♭ Duration: 2:31

What is there to say about this? Depi Evratesil, the Armenian natinal selection for 2025, was nothing short of a fever dream, and everyone was expecting Athena, the Armenian act in 2020 (the year that never was) to walk the contest blindfolded. Alas, the gay banger that Athena had promised turned out to be a gay flop, and Parg ultimately emerged as the winner. I am…lowkey obsessed with this. It’s not good (it sounds like Imagine Dragons with an ear infection) but Parg is just having the time of his life and selling the crap out of it, and I am here for it. Also, and most importantly, he is incredibly hot and I would like to kiss him. And since Armenia didn’t really have anything of substance to send in the first place, at least I get to look at him for the next few months.

Jury Potential: Let’s just hope for the best!
Televote Potential: I think this could do decently well with the televote. As dated as the song is, it’s also somewhat rousing, and I can imagine people finding themselves entertained.

Country: Iceland
Artist: Væb
Title: Róa
Songwriter(s): Hálfdán Helgi Matthíasson, Ingi Þór Garðarsson, Matthías Davíð Matthíasson
Tempo: 140 BPM Mode: Major Key: G♯/A♭ Duration: 2:43

Oh, Iceland. After a banging national selection in 2024, Söngvakeppnin returned this year with a roster of songs from, uh…circa 1985? I was so incredibly disappointed at this line-up both as someone who lives for Nordic pop and someone who is desperately rooting for this country to get their first win, but rooting for Iceland is like rooting for that friend you really care about who continues to make terrible life choices. What’s worse, Iceland had exactly one (1) competitive track that the fandom immediately singled out and took to, and they promptly got rid of it in the semis instead (Birgo you will always be famous in my household). Ultimately, Væb (it’s pronounce “vibe”) emerged as the winner, and…fair enough, I guess? It’s a fun, energetic track, and it’s well produced (so was their effort from last year, so there is a baseline of quality here) with no ambitions other than being a good time. The staging in the national final…well, there was no staging, just a bunch of people jumping around, and that’s a concern. I do feel like this could qualify, but it needs a lot of work for what would likely be a bottom 5 finish.

Jury Potential: Well…no.
Televote Potential: Points will be coming from here, but it remains to be seen exactly how many.

Country: Australia
Artist: Go-Jo
Title: Milkshake Man
Songwriter(s): Amy Sheppard, George Sheppard, Go-Jo, Jason Bovino
Tempo: 154 BPM Mode: Major Key: C Duration: 2:52

This is the most Eurovision Australia’s ever been at Eurovision, a real “hold my beer” moment after they failed to qualify (for only the second time ever) last year with Electric Fields. What’s the song about, exactly? Well, you can hear it straight from Go-Jo here. So, yeah. Beyond the meaning of the song, one that I hold dear to my heart, this is just a fun, dumb, inconsequential banger performed by a really attractive man who should be shirtless a lot and whose upper to lower lip ratio is possibly actual magic. This will definitely qualify, and I can already hear the whole arena shouting YUM YUM in unison. Which means…mission accomplished.

Jury Potential: Well…also no.
Televote Potential: People will love this. It’s exactly what casual viewers tune in to see, but it’s also a really professional, polished package.

Country: Serbia
Artist: Princ
Title: Mila
Songwriter(s): Dušan Bačić
Tempo: 140 BPM Mode: Minor Key: G Duration: 2:57

Let’s keep things rolling for the sake of efficiency. This ain’t it. However, Princ’s instagram most definitely is.

Jury Potential: This year it’s not going to matter.
Televote Potential: I feel like this might unfortunately actually come in last place overall.

Country: Denmark
Artist: Sissal
Title: Hallucination
Songwriter(s): Chris Chordz, Line Spangsberg, Linnea Deb, Malthe Johansen, Marcus Winther-John, Melanie Wehbe, Sissal Jóhanna Norðberg Niclasen
Tempo: 140 BPM Mode: Minor Key: F♯/G♭ Duration: 3:03

I obviously love this. Like…come on. An EDM banger that tastes like the ’90s and is sung flawlessy by a stunning and imposing blonde Scandinavian woman? Where do I sign? This is just perfect to me. Does it kinda sorta really sound Euphoria? Yes. So what? The real issue here is the Danish delegation, and the fate of this track rests entirely on their shoulders. They need to give this woman money for a staging package that is more than Sissal singing just standing on stage in a body suit while a fan obliterates her hair. I’ve been hearing contradicting opinions from the national broadcaster on whether the staging will remain unchanged, and Denmark’s got a spotty track record in that department to begin with. I would be honestly heartbroken if this wasn’t the soing that ends up snapping this country’s NQ streak.

Jury Potential: This vocal will definitely get points here. Juries tend to favor polished pop radio-friendly tracks.
Televote Potential: Televote might be more muted. Which is fine, as long as it’s enough to get this into the final. That’s all I want.

Country: Germany
Artist: Abor & Tynna
Title: Baller
Songwriter(s): Attila Bornemisza, Alexander Hauer, Tünde Bornemisza
Tempo: 138 BPM Mode: Minor Key: C Duration: 2:39

Chefsache, the reimagined, much anticipated German national final led by Stefan Raab, turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. All qualification heats were held behind closed doors, failing to build any early buzz behind any of the entries, and the semis were geoblocked outside of Germany, so there was basically no real ramp-up the final show, either. What we effectively got was one chaotic, drawn-out slog of a competition episode where a bunch of contestants randomly performed a mix of original songs and (for no apparent reason) covers of past ESC hits, which only made said original songs sound even worse than they actually were. Baller was really the only option in the bunch, but if you’ve seen the live, you know that the current vocal is essentially undeliverable (and she would need way longer than two months to fix it) and that the song needs to be completely restaged. How was all this not addressed ahead of time? Of course, Germany does not need to qualify to the final, but as unoffensive as the song is, it is also not the type of entry that’s going to make people run to their phones.

Jury Potential: The live vocal for this is shocking, which doesn’t help a track that already started at a disadvantage in terms of genre.
Televote Potential: So much would need to happen for this to rise to the level of other staging packages this year, I just don’t know if there’s enough time.

Country: Croatia
Artist: Marko Bošnjak
Title: Poison Cake
Songwriter(s): Bas Wissink, Ben Pyne, Emma Gale, Marko Bošnjak
Tempo: 171 BPM Mode: Minor  Key: F♯/G♭  Duration: 2:58

In many ways, Croatia this year found itself in the same spot Finland was in 2024 – having to follow up a massively popular entry that nearly nabbed the win with something equally good and exciting in order to keep the momentum going. And, much like Finland last year, Croatia ended up fumbling the bag. Now, I don’t really want to compare Marko to Windows95man – this isn’t a novelty entry and it is definitely taking the contest more seriously. That said, it’s similarly disappointing. Poison Cake is just a very difficult track from a compositional perspective – the chorus in particular doesn’t resolve, and there is something strident about the melody (the key? The chord progression?) that makes it feel really disjointed. I like the sing-songy bit, and I imagine the live audience will, too, but the “poison cake” refrain that immediately follows is such an energy vacuum, it all just feels like trying to start a car that keeps conking out.

Jury Potential: This is the kind of stuff juries throw peanuts at.
Televote Potential: There is some visual appeal to the staging package, but the track itself feels so punishing, I don’t think people at home will feel particularly compelled.