Category: Review
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Ireland 2024 Review: “Doomsday Blues” – Bambie Thug
Ireland had one job. Faced with an abysmal qualification record these past 10 years (only two placements in the grand final), a national broadcaster who couldn’t give half a s**t, and the growing frustration of the fandom, the Irish delegation (read: Michael Kealy) knew they needed to hit the reset…
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Das Deutsche Finale 2024 – ESC Etc. Top 2 Songs from the German National Final
So…yeah. I sat on this piece for a few days while I played and replayed these DDF songs trying to find three tracks I could justifiably discuss as viable options for Germany. Sometimes it takes multiples listens for a song to really come into focus, you know? Well…that didn’t happen.…
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Slovenia 2024 Review: “Veronika” – Raiven
When news broke out that Slovenia had internally selected Raiven to represent the country at ESC, the Eurovision fandom more or less entered a state of euphoric meltdown. An eternal fave, Raiven had previously attempted to represent Slovenia at ESC on three different occasions, finishing 2nd, 3rd, and finally 2nd…
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Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2024 – ESC Etc. Top 3 Songs from the Finnish National Final
It’s fair to say that there was an unprecedented level of buzz and anticipation around UMK this year after the outstanding 2023 national final and Käärijä’s, well…everything he was and did at ESC. I remained wary but hopeful – I wasn’t sure how the new lineup would stack up against…
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Vidbir 2024 – ESC Etc. Top 3 Songs from the Ukranian National Final
Ukraine needs no introduction when it comes to ESC – the only country to still have an immaculate qualification record since the introduction of the semifinals, peppered with three wins all in the 21st century (so far the only country to have done so). This exceptional track record (only Italy…
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Eurosong 2024 – ESC Etc. Top 3 Songs from the Irish National Final
Let’s make one thing clear – there are good songs and great artists in Ireland. The reason behind the country’s recent abysmal qualification record (one qualification to the final in the last 9 years) lies squarely at the feet of RTÉ – the national broadcaster in change of selecting acts…
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Supernova 2024 – ESC Etc. Top 3 Songs from the Latvian National Final
Latvia currently has the longest ongoing non-qualification streak at ESC (alongside Georgia) having now failed to make the cut for 6 consecutive contests (and really, Sudden Lights deserved last year and we collectively failed them). So, when it comes to Supernova nowadays my main concern isn’t really re: does Latvia…
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Luxembourg Song Contest 2024 – ESC Etc. Top 3 Songs from the Luxembourgian National Final
Let’s be exceedingly clear: we’re all happy Luxembourg is back. Ecstatic, as a matter of fact. At a time in which, for a number of well-documented reasons, ESC has been losing entrants, any country making a comeback is to be welcomed with open arms (and wallets). That said…after hearing about…
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Dora 2024 – ESC Etc. Top 3 Songs from the Croatian National Final
Dora gone done it this year. Not only does this roster feature the most eclectic and current lineup to recent memory, but Croatia’s got the track. I have reviewed several national finals so far featuring strong, oustanding entries, but here we’re looking at the first one that legitimately screams potential…
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Etapa Națională 2024 – ESC Etc. Top 3 Songs from the Moldovan National Final
If you’ve listened to our podcast at all, you probably know I have a huge soft spot for Moldova at ESC. No other country knows how to elevate poor to middling entries to bonafide Top 10 contenders like Moldova does, and that’s a fact. Every year the staging for Moldova’s…
ESC Etc. 