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Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury 2020 Championship, The Grand Final Written by on May 15, 2020 | 11 Comments

Our extended Juke Box Jury journey for 2020 comes to a close. Listen to previous Juke Box Jury episodes, Insight News, and more podcasts, add the RSS Feed to your favourite podcast application, or click here to follow us in iTunes and never miss an episode.

Welcome to the Grand Final of 2020’s Juke Box Jury Championship. The eight winners of our regular shows, which started back in early March, were brought together at the start of this week. Two Semi Finals later, we have our four songs and this Grand Final.

No hit, miss, or maybe, today. It’s all about the points as we look to find our Juke Box Jury winner. It’s not about who would have won the Eurovision Song Contest, it’s about which song is our favourite.

Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury 2020 Championship, The Grand Final
with Ross Middleton and Samantha Ross

Lithuania: On Fire, by The Roop
Iceland: Think About Things, by Daði Freyr.
The Netherlands: Grow, by Jeangu Macrooy.
Bulgaira: Tears Getting Sober, by Victoria.

We might even have an interval act for you as well…

Thank you all for joining us on the journey through the 41 songs on this year’s Juke Box Jury. As always your comments are welcome. If you want to review the ESC Insight podcast in iTunes, Google Podcasts, we’d appreciate it.

ESC Insight will be here during the summer to watch over the world of the Eurovision Song Contest. You’ll find the show in iTunesGoogle Podcasts, and SpotifyA direct RSS feed is  available. We also have a regular email newsletter which you can sign up to here.

About The Author: Ewan Spence

British Academy (BAFTA) nominated broadcaster and writer Ewan Spence is the voice behind The Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcast and one of the driving forces behind ESC Insight. Having had an online presence since 1994, he is a noted commentator around the intersection of the media, internet, technology, mobility and how it affects us all. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, his work has appeared on the BBC, The Stage, STV, and The Times. You can follow Ewan on Twitter (@ewan) and Facebook (facebook.com/ewanspence).

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11 responses to “Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury 2020 Championship, The Grand Final”

  1. mark dowd says:

    very odd that the Netherlands, a song that has rarely featured in the top ten dozens of polls, should be so favoured. I thought Italy and Switzerland would have scored more favourably with such seasoned panelists. Chacun son goût !

  2. Ewan Spence says:

    Mark, we weren’t looking for the ‘who we thought would win ESC’ in this, just our favourite song. Also, Italy and Switzerland were not the ‘top’ songs in each of the main Juke Box Jury shows (which of course now become heats!). Italy lost to Iceland (Show 8), and Switzerland to the Netherlands (Show 2). Thanks for all your comments during the run!

  3. markdowd1959 says:

    Yes, I know that JBJ is never a predictor, more an expression of preferences….but I still register my surprise as the Netherlands has picked up very little momentum in the oodles of ESC circles I move in….that’s all I was saying. I’ve listened to all the rounds (enjoyable as ever) and got the qualifying concept. I still think Gijons Tears would have blown everyone away live (like Jamala did in 2016 in that first electrifying rehearsal.) But, all this will be forever conjecture. He will impress in 2021: I hope. But impossible to better his song I fear

    Stay safe and well all.!.

  4. Ewan Spence says:

    I think everyone always loves 6-10 songs every year, but the delight of the community is we all like a different 6-10 songs! Glad you enjoyed the shows! If you all keep listening, we’ll keep making them!

  5. Marc says:

    Oh dear, I’ve been way out of touch with JBJ opinions this year. ‘Grow’ still hasn’t grown on me yet (in the slightest) while I think the same about Iceland as Ross does about Lithuania. I do agree with the feeling about the lost moments, because for each contest then have been three or four songs which have clicked for me only when I’ve seen the stagings.

  6. Marc says:

    markdowd1959 agree re Switzerland, and how neat it would have been for them to continue their sequence of wins every 32 years.

  7. mark dowd says:

    Marc..hadn’t spotted that! Bit like the 1978, 1998, 2018 Israel run…2038???

  8. Thanks so much for your excellent podcast and for this year’s Juke Box Jury even though my taste often differ from yours 🙂 Yesterday I published my own thoughts in my blog but it’s in Swedish and won’t be so fun for you to read. Anyway, I’ve made my own top 41 together with my thoughts of all the songs, the national finals and some other trivia. My top 5: 1. Lithuania 2. Iceland 3. Ireland 4. Denmark 5. Azerbaijan. The blog (in Swedish) can be found here: https://fredrikerlandsson.wordpress.com/2020/05/16/eurovision-song-contest-2020/

  9. Ewan Spence says:

    Marc, or me it’s Switzerland. Leaves me cold but talked up as a winner by many! I hope you’ve been enjoying the Juke Box Jury season!

  10. Ewan Spence says:

    Thanks Fredrik, it has been a weird end of the season! Glad we could help you through it.

  11. Eurojock says:

    The Netherlands was my personal favourite this year.

    In terms of who would have actually won, the evidence pointed to Iceland, Russia or Switzerland. I would have gone for Iceland because the Eurovoix Eurojury poll indicated they may have surprisingly topped the jury vote.

    The other acts most likely to make up the top ten were Sweden, Malta, Lithuania, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and ?????

    Finally, thanks to all at Esc Insight for helping we hard core fans to get through this strange year.

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