Armenia was right…to choose Parg and ‘Survivor’
Dude Points
The Eurovision Song Contest is my best week of the year, but it’s also the most stressful week of the year. Visiting the host city, we’re surviving on little sleep; half the time, we aren’t allowed to have any bags with us; and—most importantly—artists we’ve come to love get knocked out of the competition. Yet at every moment I got stressed out in Basel, there was one thing that could make me feel better: Parg’s ‘Survivor.’
‘Survivor’ is an unlikely song to have as a security blanket. It is, by many objective measures, not good. Ten people were required to come up with the lyric “I’m a survivor/stay aliver.” And its bombastic melodies are no one’s idea of subtle or complex. In the past, I have called it “music for straight men.”
Well, I guess I’m now a straight man, because ‘Survivor’ was the song that, in a week when I was averaging less than five hours sleep a night, instantly provided a jolt of adrenaline. Seeing Parg stomp about on stage on his little treadmill just gave me a sense of old-school, low-stakes, pure fun Eurovision. And I don’t know how Parg did it, but every time he did his fake laugh, he managed to trigger a real laugh in me. Scientists should study this.
On a more serious note, Parg finally proved that yes, Code of Conduct violations are being taken seriously. During his Semi Final, the commentators from KAN made some negative comments about his performance and the Armenian community in Jerusalem… KAN swiftly produced an apology letter following complaints to the EBU. We now have this as a model to follow if further violations take place.
Sweden was right…to have Karin Gunnarsson as Competition Co-ordinator
Ben Robertson
The Eurovision Song Contest community has made Sweden, and in particular Sweden’s selection show for the Song Contest, Melodifestivalen, one of their main targets for critique in recent years. In a true case of “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”, year after year, I have felt a need to defend Sweden’s premier entertainment show from those who want to knock it down a peg or two.
And one of the biggest sources of criticism is the music. Sweden as a nation is a huge exporter of pop music, and it’s no surprise that Sweden’s Melodifestivalen is home to many slick, perfectly-produced, three-minute slices of pop music that are objectively high quality, but maybe lack the soul or edge to put a musical risk out there for the world.
Karin Gunnarsson came into her current role as Competition Co-ordinator for the 2022 season, following on from Christer Björkman. With a career that previously involved her being music editor at P3 here in Stockholm (one of the radio stations aiming to be more diverse and youth-orienterated) much was thought about how she would transition Sweden’s Saturday night traditional show into something that brought in acts not just for kids, or for their parents, but also those that would attract young consumers of music to the playground.
In those years with Karin as the Competition Co-ordinator, helping to choose the long list for Melodifestivalen, our winners have been ‘Hold Me Closer’, ‘Tattoo’, ‘Unforgettable’ and now ‘Bara Bada Bastu’. Not only have they all been four more Top Ten results for Sweden at the Song Contest, but together they represent a far more diverse selection of songs and sounds from Sweden; pushing pop music to its limits rather than being confined by its structures.
And KAJ’s inclusion in Melodifestivalen is all down to the work of Karin Gunnarsson in actively searching for diverse acts to be a part of the competition. The story goes that Karin Gunnarsson last May read a newspaper article about KAJ in Dagens Nyheter, one that was re-published from the Swedish language press in Finland. At that point, she emailed the group, who had long dreamt about something like Melodifestivalen but never thought it possible, helped them to get in contact with co-writer Anders Wrethov, and eventually allowed for KAJ to be a part of Melodifestivalen and take their Vörå dialect around the world.
When I spoke to Karin in December at the press launch, she indicated that this year’s Melodifestivalen would have more sounds that would be something new compared to what it has been traditionally. I don’t think any of us would have imagined at that time that Finnish weirdness would be our biggest hit this year, still number one now 13 weeks after release.
Hats off to Karin Gunnarsson for finding KAJ and bringing them to Sweden and to the world.
Albania was right…to choose Shkodra Elektronike and ‘Zjerm’
Fin Ross Russell
Coming annually around the December period, it’s very easy for Festival i Këngës to fly under the radar. As a result of its early placement in the Eurovision calendar, it’s quite common for Albanian entries to have undergone a significant revamp and potentially a language change by the time they reach the Song Contest. Given that, I feel quite comfortable giving it a pass until the final version is released in May.
This year, however, was different. Elvana Gjata, one of Albania’s most beloved pop stars was competing in Festival i Këngës with a song in ‘Karnaval’ that felt tailor-made to become a Eurovision classic. Having never watched Festival i Këngës live, I tuned in this year excited to see the coronation of a song that would mark a huge transition from the type of Balkan balladry that Albania are generally known for sending to Eurovision.
That didn’t happen though. Enter Beatriçe and Kolë with their unorthodox charisma, infectious energy, electronic sounds blended smoothly with traditional folk beats and lyrics painting pictures of a peaceful utopia. The voting was close but Shkodra Elektronike won the competition by 8 points and I immediately thought that Albania had made a huge mistake.
I didn’t expect Albania to resist the temptation to tinker with the song by revamping it with English lyrics or synths that would distort the Albanian character – they did. I didn’t expect the community to warm to that performance given the many wild contrasts present in the song and staging but those contrasts ended up being what made people fall in love with Shkodra Elektronike and Beatriçe in particular. I didn’t expect a performance that is so small, simple and intimate in nature to translate to a massive arena stage in Basel but the red and white graphics ended up being excellent visual storytelling that meant audiences didn’t need to know the backstory or understand Albanian in order to connect to the performance.
This year, the Albanian delegation demonstrated its versatility by taking risks and making different choices. They were rewarded with their third-best result of all time and almost certainly, an exciting new batch of local and diaspora artists who will consider applying to Festival i Këngës. Shkodra Elektronike have demonstrated to those artists how Eurovision participation is an exciting opportunity for showcasing their music and launching their careers internationally under the guidance of an Albanian delegation who will make the most of their limited resources to support their artists’ unique creative vision.
Latvia was right…to choose Tautumeitas and ‘Bur man laimi’
Samantha Ross
After a heartbreaking six consecutive years wallowing in Semi Final Limbo, with one of Eurovision’s worst qualification records since the two-semi system was created, it seemed like an absolute miracle, a parting of the rainclouds, when Dons finally broke through to a Saturday night last year with ‘Hollow’. A surprise qualifier with an understated ballad, most had written the veteran singer off, especially in a semifinal where the results were decided exclusively via a public vote. When the dust settled, and it was time to look ahead to the 2025 contest, nearly 100 songs were submitted to broadcaster LTV for Supernova, including potential Eurovision returnees Justs and Citi Zēni, alongside constant National Final stalwarts like Katrīna Gupalo, Rūta Dūduma, and Markus Riva, making his eleventh attempt at victory.
In the end, it was a bloody fight to the finish, with three songs tied at the top of Supernova’s leaderboard, and the public vote winner, ‘Līgo’ by The Ludvig, a single point behind that leading peloton. If someone had sneezed during a pivotal moment, I could have easily been writing this piece about Emilija’s sweet ‘Heartbeat’ or Citi Zēni’s thumping ‘Ramtai’, but in the end it was the stunning six-part ensemble Tautumeitas who’d be Latvia’s standard-bearers this year.
In recent years, we’ve seen successful Eurovision acts play less towards being universally accessible for the sake of getting votes, and more towards embracing regional roots or being challenging, artistic, and risky. ‘Bur man laimi’ was a fabulous example of this. Tautumeitas, which basically translates as “girls in traditional dress”, might not have been wearing the skirt, sashes, and vests traditionally associated with Latvian folk uniforms (unless there’s a region known for axolotl-chic that I’m not aware of), but they gave us a hypnotic, Latvian-language chant with intricate rhythms and harmonies, likely impossible for lay-people to sing at Eurovision karaoke, but equally impossible to ignore.
They were uncompromisingly Latvian, and as a bonus we got to hear the Latvian language performed at a Eurovision final for the first time ever (‘Sudden Lights’ came achingly close in 2023 with ‘Aijā’, and Fomins and Kleins’ ‘Dziesma par laimi’ failed to qualify in 2004). And voters and juries responded wholeheartedly, placing them second overall in their Semi Final and thirteenth in the Grand Final, their best result since Aminata’s ‘Love Injected’ back in 2015.
Obviously, we never know what the future will bring. One year’s success isn’t automatically a portend for next year’s results (I’m looking at you, Ireland and Croatia), and 2026’s Supernova might not be as competitive and innovative as this most recent edition was. But at the very least, let’s hope the results of the past few years continue to light a fire with the Latvian delegation and local music scene, and that they continue to nes mums laimi (bring us happiness) for years to come.
And Markus Riva will enter for the twelfth time.
Denmark was right… to choose Sissal and ‘Hallucination’
Martin Bishop
Denmark was in the enviable position of having two viable options at the end of this year’s Dansk Melodi Grand Prix. On the one hand, they had Sissal with a big vocal and a fairly standard Euroclub number in ‘Hallucination’. On the other, Tim Schou with a guitar and a heartfelt story in ‘Proud’.
‘Proud’ won the public vote, and you could make a strong argument that it was the safer bet at qualification. It stuck closely to the old Estonian model of “good looking man with a guitar” that took Victor Crone and Stefan to the Grand Final in 2019 and 2022. It also had a proven Eurovision performer at the helm. You could give Tim Schou a simple staging and trust his charisma to carry the performance. It felt authentic and it had a hook. If I write too much about ‘Proud’ I’m going to change my mind, because I honestly prefer it as a song.
However, it was Sissal who took the win at the Boxen Arena in Herning. With ‘Hallucination’, Denmark got a song that was much more in tune with the wider fandom. They also got an excellent ambassador for the country. Sissal is a very warm, chatty, often indiscreet media performer. She is an interviewer’s dream. She also excelled on social media and became the “Mum” of the class of 2025. By engaging so well with the fans, she brought a feelgood factor to team Denmark and got people on her side. You can say that all this is just for the benefit of our Eurovision bubble, but national commentators and mainstream media feed off that.
The performance in Basel was also a significant upgrade on what we saw at the National Final. They added little highlights in the track during the verses to coincide with camera tricks on screen. Combine this with clever use of lights and a giant curtain and you get a compelling package that holds your attention all the way up to the big chorus. Then success! Denmark are finally back into the Grand Final!
Perhaps ‘Proud’ would also have achieved that precious first qualification since 2019, but it didn’t have the same vocal power that undoubtedly contributed to Sissal’s 45 point jury score in the final. Also, when you hear the reaction that ‘Hallucination’ got live in the arena and everywhere else it was played during contest week, there’s no doubt Denmark got it right.
The German Public was right… to choose Abor & Tynna and ‘Baller’
Ewan Spence
“This is Germany’s year” was my utterly confident, without any foundation, prediction at the start of the season. German broadcaster NDR helped me back that up first with the appointment of Stefan Raab. He previously took Lena to victory with ‘Satellite’ and masterminded the Dusseldorf 2011 edition. The broadcaster took it further, saying “Nothing less than victory justifies such a collaboration.”
Surely, you would only say those words if you knew you had something special? And if NDR had went from this proclamation and backroom casting, to presenting the Eurovision community with Abor & Tynna’s ‘Baller’, I would have been cheering it on from the depths of whatever Berlin nightclub it had been found in. For everyone who asks for “modern music at the Song Contest,” ‘Baller’ delivers that in spades from the German market.
Unfortunately, ‘Baller’ wasn’t an internal selection. It was the exhausted last song standing in a chaotic National Final selection that saw rule changes during the week of broadcast, showcase rounds of covers and personal tracks, and 100 percent jury voting for the majority of its run. Put simply, Chefsache ESC 2025 was a right horlicks of a show.
At the end of it all, the German public pointed to ‘Baller’ and said “that one.”
It remained a rough ride for Abor & Tynna through the preview concerts and promotion tours, with Tynna forced to rest her voice and rely on playback at several key events in the calendar. The path to Basel was not what the initial noises from NDR would have suggested. Nevertheless, ‘Baller’ picked up 77 jury points and 71 from the televote.
In 2024 Germany finished 12th with ‘Always on The Run’. In 2025 Germany finished 15th with ‘Baller’, finishing 13th with the juries and 11th with the televote, which doesn’t match the pre-season hype. Yet ‘Baller’ is winning out elsewhere, specifically in the streaming and download charts. As I write this, it’s the third highest Eurovision 2025 song on Spotify (‘Espresson Macchiato’ and ‘Bara Bada Bastu’ are ahead of it), third in iTunes, and second in Apple Music. We might not have a Eurovision winner, but we do have a Summer Club Smash.
Maybe in August we can reflect and say, yes, this was Germany’s year after all.
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