Welcome to your latest Bank Holiday. Excited, yeah? No? What's that? You're bored? Well look no further. Use the time off to prepare for the days ahead. Because - and I'm sure you're already on this - IT'S EUROVISION WEEK.
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| Kalush Orchestra, last year's winners, doing their set at the Pier Head. Liverpool is alive with the sound of (free) music. |
Meanwhile, as is tradition, here are the toonz that stand out to me. I'm notoriously bad at predicting the winner (Portugal 2017 and Italy 2021 are the happy exceptions) but these are the ones I think will have an impact. By all means, disagree to your hearts content. There are no wrong answers, just love, love, peace, peace.
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| Lords of the Lost |
Germany
This is the entry that's given me the most persistent earworm. Blood and Glitter has really got into my head. Because I'm a child of the eighties, I want the camp-rockness of this to be turned to eleven with a key change, or elevated oomph towards the end. That's where it lacks for me. It comes in hard but just stays there. No matter. Regardless of what you hear after this, the words blood and glitter will swirl around your brain long after Lord of the Lost's three minutes are over. Sometimes that's all it takes. (Germany along with the UK, Spain, Italy, and France are straight through to the final.)
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| Teya and Salena |
Who The Hell Is Edgar? is of course, referring to Edgar Allan Poe, so that's that sorted. This is fun, and manages to be novel without going down last year's Subwoolfer route. I love the video so I worry that the narrative won't transfer easily onto the stage but we'll see. Either way, this is strong from Austria. I hope it does well and breezes through the Semis.
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| Loreen |
Of course this is going to be popular. It's Loreen, innit. The queen of Eurovision and an absolute icon. She won in 2012 with Euphoria - one of those songs that even if you'd put barbed wire around your house, switched off the WIFI, binned your devices, and locked yourself in your room, you'd still have heard it. Tattoo is no Euphoria, but it's still good. Will it win? Maybe. Is it the best song? Not sure. Is Loreen going to come on stage to a roaring heroine's welcome? Absolutely. The idea of this not qualifying is ludicrous.
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| Käärijä |
I think this might be my secret favourite. It's taken some time. In fact, it took the first half of the song to pass before I realised I was loving it. Something about the way the chanty-shouty start gives way to the more melodic part, makes me feel happy. It's also catchy, dance-y, and will definitely go down well in the arena. It still has to qualify so hopefully the world feels the same.
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| Mae Muller |
Since the team behind the UK's entries changed in time for Sam Ryder's almost rise to glory, the UK has made tonnes more effort where it matters. The same goes for this year. This is a solid, catchy, engaging song. Like Finland's Cha Cha Cha, it'll go down well with a crowd that know the words and want to dance. I'm not sure it'll hit the top spots but I hope we settle comfortably on the left hand side of the scoreboard. Fingers crossed.
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| Wild Youth |
Ireland's past glories don't guarantee them a place in the final which feels all wrong. And this deserves to be played on Saturday night. Giving me huge nineties flashbacks, it's a lovely sweeping anthem of a song. It feels like it's from my sixth form era, so I'm aware my love for this may be pure projection. Either way, it makes me want to belt it out and cheer from the rooftops.
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| Alessandra |
Norway
It's a fast lyric. Will Alessandra manage to get out all the words when I haven't even managed it with subtitles? Yeah, course she will, she's got this. I think it'll do well because it's just a little outside standard pop to stick in the mind. It's also catchy. At the end of the Final, when most people have only tuned in that evening, it's the catchy ones with a hook that are memorable by voting time. I reckon Queen Of The Kings will sweep up.
A few other things to look out for. Azerbaijan has a sweet effort that channels pure Beatles vibes. (It might just be me.) The smoke-effects of Switzerland's anti-war song dodgily create an on-stage warzone. Croatia's costuming styles seventies drag with military chic. France is classy, sexy, and makes me wish I spoke French so I could karaoke it with conviction, and Netherlands evokes the Common Linnets with their duo singing directly into each other's eyes. I could go on, but it's time to draw this to a close.
If you've already downloaded your Semi Final score cards and want more oomph to your viewing, you can use this bingo card from Scandikitchen. Whichever way you want to enjoy the experience, make sure you do. I don't think the UK will be winning this year, so it's now or - not never but - some years in the future until we host again. But what do I know? Whatever happens, have the night of your lives. You deserve it.
Have a lovely week, folks.
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