Unfortunately Eurovision has been slightly overshadowed by my life being turned upside down by events relating to my health, and I do feel very low. Saying that, the event has provided me with a bit of an escape, which has been much-needed! I am a BIG fan of Eurovision, and was lucky enough to get tickets last year to see it in Liverpool! This year I was of course watching via a screen, but it was exciting nonetheless! Below I detail my before-the-final-show thoughts on each entry (not just the ones that made it to the final!): <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Albania – BESA – \u2018Titan\u2019 <\/strong>– well she looks like a queen! I love the aesthetic, very glamorous. It\u2019s a classic power ballad, with a lot of emotion. Okay, and also with a weird rappy R&B bit? It\u2019s catchy, but I\u2019m waiting for it to shine. Even the bridge feels lacking. I\u2019m not sold on it, but it\u2019s a nice enough groove.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Armenia – LADANIVA – \u2018Jako\u2019<\/strong> – ooh, instantly this has got a unique feel, LOVE actually singing in Armenian! It\u2019s funky with a twist, not quite sure where it\u2019s going, you\u2019ve got snake charmer vibes, but aah her voice is really unique and enchanting, I think it\u2019s growing on me. I kind of want to throw my cares away! Love the range of instruments too, like with the folky elements. As we come to an end though\u2026it didn\u2019t really GO anywhere – I guess I will reserve judgement and wait and see!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Austria – Kaleen – \u2018We Will Rave\u2019<\/strong> – straight away you\u2019ve got that instant ballad-power-song Eurovision feel. And a very strong dancey beat, electronic. This is super catchy, and I\u2019m pumping! DO I LOVE IT? Well, I definitely like it. It\u2019s VERY clubby, in a bit of an old school, unashamed, unpretentious way! HEAD BOPPING.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia – Electric Fields – \u2018One Milkali\u2019\/One Blood<\/strong> – ooh I love the strong vovals taking the lead here. And the voice is gorgeous, soulful, powerful. But you\u2019ve still got a great dancey beat. OOH FLEETWOOD MAC REFERENCE. Love this, a very much love everyone kind of song. AND I LOVE AUSTRALIA ACTUALLY EMBRACING ITS ABORIGINAL HERITAGE. ITS JUST CLASSIC, PURE, BEAUTIFUL, HAPPY, LOVE YOURSELF POP. IT IS RAINING LOVE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Azerbaijan – FAHREE – \u2018Ozunle Apar\u2019<\/strong> – dramatic and serious. He\u2019s got a gorgeous voice too, and this seems like a more sombre ballad, which is a nice change of pace. Vocals have haunting quality. Sadly not memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Belgium – Mustii – \u2018Before the Party\u2019s Over\u2019 <\/strong>– slow, haunting, dramatic\u2026this is interesting, and I think it\u2019s fairly memorable\u2026OH WOW, it\u2019s got an EPIC chorus. AND THE BRIDGE! BEFORE THE PARTY IS OVER. Bonus points for his unique outfits too. No, this is good. Another like (note, not a love).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Croatia – Baby Lasagna – \u2018Rim Tim Tagi Dim\u2019 <\/strong>– WOAH YOU\u2019RE THROWN IN WITH THAT REPETITIVE REFRAIN, DRIVING EVERYTHING, WHAT IS GOING ON. I did not see this coming!? Assault my cow? This is QUIRKY. I\u2019m already loving it! I\u2019m not usually into rap, but it works, and the chorus is catchy and is going to get everyone singing!! And the singer looks cheeky\u2026YES.\u00a0 Plus, apparently song is about economic emigration, AND WE ALSO LOVE A SONG WITH SOME POLITICAL MESSAGE OR REFERENCE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cyprus – Silia Kapsis – \u2018Liar\u2019 <\/strong>– very pop, and I\u2019m certainly bopping along, but do I think it\u2019s anything special? Sorry..just a little meh for me, and doesn\u2019t feel particularly \u2018Eurovisiony\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Czechia – Aiko – \u2018Pedestal\u2019 –<\/strong> ooh, kind of grunge, wasn\u2019t expecting this. I like her echoey voice and her punky aesthetic. OOH THE SCREAMING INTO THE CHORUS. PUT MYSELF ON PEDESTAL. It\u2019s like a grungey take on loving yourself!! I AM DANCING! Excellent!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Denmark – SABA – \u2018SAND\u2019<\/strong> – there\u2019s a nice focus on her vocals, this again feels like a Eurovision ballad, and she is POWERFUL. Dancey, and she commands the stage and your attention. I\u2019m liking it! WOMEN, DON\u2019T LET YOURSELF BE HURT. SHE CAN FEEL YOU SLIPPING THROUGH HER HANDS, LIKE SAND. Get your life back!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Estonia – 5MIINUST x Puuluup –<\/strong> \u2018(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (kull) midagi\u2019 <\/strong>– thumping background beat, this could be interesting..okay yep, what is going on, this is some odd rap, with a club-like feel. I love the soaring long notes and the gravelling rap chorus bits, and I am moving to it all, but I\u2019m not fully sold on it. Has it got enough about it to be catchy? The strings are nice though.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finland – Windows95man – \u2018No Rules!<\/strong>\u2019 – disco rap beat, and the singer is\u2026well, it\u2019s a very creative choice of staging and outfit! It\u2019s not as unique as I hoped, and while it\u2019s catchy, I\u2019m not totally moved by it? It\u2019s relying a lot on the \u2018no rules\u2019 refrain and the dancey beat, and DEFINITELY the amped up performance, but lacks substance. Sorry, Finland. I\u2019ll be singing and dancing, but I don\u2019t believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n France – Slimane – \u2018Mon Amour\u2019 <\/strong>– now, will France do their usual and deliver a gloriously dramatic, romantic, glamorous, mature, piece, with much emotion? Ooh yes, and it\u2019s goooooood. I have tingles! France, you never fail to deliver (but maybe do fail to surprise)! AND I love how France always sing in French. Have pride in your language everyone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Germany – ISAAK – \u2018Always on the Run\u2019 – <\/strong>ooh, groovy beat, and he\u2019s got a strong voice. Nice strong percussion, without taking the lead. I like the meaning of the song too, very emotive. Catchy chorus. Not stand out, not a winner, but pretty good! More German next time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Georgia – Nutsa Buzaladze – \u2018Firefighter\u2019 <\/strong>– back to the female power ballads! This is dramatic, exciting, emotive, definitely pretty catchy, but there\u2019s nothing unique. Awesome fire staging though!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greece – Marina Satti – \u2018ZARI\u2019 <\/strong>– WOAH, the song jumps in with some unexpected but stunning (Greek) vocals, and then the beat drops, as they say! Oh\u2026I\u2019m just not feeling this in the end. Not really catchy or memorable, even if she has an amazing voice – and I liked some of the folky elements, just not the R&B bits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iceland – Hera Bjork – \u2018Scared of Heights\u2019 <\/strong>– this instantly feels feel-good! I love the clapping, the way it\u2019s straight in with \u2018how far we made it\u2019! It\u2019s a glamorous, funky disco, a more mature leading woman, embracing who she is. I don\u2019t think the vocals are particularly amazing, but it is happy. Could grow on me, but for now, I can\u2019t rate it highly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ireland – Bambie Thug – \u2018Doomsday Blue\u2019 <\/strong>– Ireland have won Eurovision a lot, so I\u2019m intrigued. Wait, electro metal, WHAT!? It\u2019s very artistic, genre flipping, seems to feature spells, it\u2019s odd and kind of crazy. Not sure about the screamo parts. I do appreciate it, but it\u2019s just not Eurovision to me. Would consider listening outside of the contest!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Israel – Eden Golan – \u2018Hurricane\u2019 – <\/strong>Israel often have a gorgeous female power ballad, and this looks like it\u2019ll be the same! Strong vocals, emotional piano backing..this feels more stripped back than some of the other songs in this contest. Builds to a really catchy chorus and bridge, with so much emotion and power. She really is an amazing singer. I feel it!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Italy – Angelina Mango – \u2018La noia\u2019 <\/strong>– love it being all in Italian, and it\u2019s definitely got a catchy ring, is groovy, kind of a mix of fast rap and classy sung vocals that have a commanding, fierce, sassy tone. She has a beautiful voice but the song is really just okay, not anything special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Latvia – Dons – \u2018Hollow\u2019 –<\/strong> Latvia are going for something a bit different, this feels like a very soulful piece of pop. Reflective. I like it, strong chorus. Has a bit of an edge to it. All about connecting to yourself, which is relatable. Pretty good!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lithuania – Silvester Belt – \u2018Luktelk\u2019 –<\/strong> ooh this is dramatic, haunting, and in Lithuanian! AND THEN ITS PUMPING. Not sure about the pumping though, it\u2019s got a club dance R&B vibe to it, which I can move to, but I\u2019m not particularly wowed by.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luxembourg – TALI – \u2018Fighter\u2019 –<\/strong> interesting to hear French in a completely different tone! This is quite cool! Very much sassy, seductive, powerful woman, owning her sexuality and power feel. She has a lovely voice. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a winner, but it\u2019s a good song!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Malta – Sarah Bonnici – \u2018Loop\u2019 –<\/strong> THIS FEELS SPACEY AND FUTURISTIC. Another very R&B-ballad. It\u2019s dramatic, she\u2019s a great singer, but this one just isn\u2019t doing it for me. I don\u2019t get the message, and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s really very catchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moldova – Natalia Barbue – \u2018In The Middle\u2019 –<\/strong> this feels very different..BUT I SEE VIOLINS OOH. Sadly, this just feels very\u2026basic. I like the violin element, but otherwise..nothing standout, nothing particularly catchy. There\u2019s an interesting set of high pitched vocals, kind of chanting at the end, but it all feels a bit meh. Sorry Moldova!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Netherlands – Joost Klein – \u2018Europapa\u2019 –<\/strong> THROWS you in straight away, THIS IS FUN. Another crazy rap, dancey, will the chorus do it justice?? IT DOES! IT\u2019S GOT A LIGHTER FEEL, LITTLE BIT DIGITAL-Y AND GAME LIKE, this is kinda cool! And it\u2019s his journey of self discovery! LOVE IT. EUROPAPA! THUMPING BRIDGE TOO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Norway – Gate – \u2018Ulveham\u2019 –<\/strong> I hope this grows on me, because the chorus truly is EVERYTHING. That woman is a powerhouse of emotion. But the rest of the song doesn\u2019t do a lot for me, on first listen. Update: halfway through the song and suddenly I\u2019m hit by like, wanting to overcome obstacles, and injustice, and feel my pain and emotion. THIS IS GREAT! YES NORWAY! It\u2019s very grand, it\u2019s got real presence! I just worry it isn\u2019t like, catchy enough for everyone!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Poland – LUNA – \u2018The Tower\u2019 –<\/strong> this is a fairly quick poppy little groove, feels light, swift, building to a stronger, more anthemic chorus\u2026the dancing in the music video is amazing! It\u2019s pretty delicate throughout, but I kind of like her silvery voice, and I love love love the meaning, and I do feel more and more empowered as I hear it!! RIGHT, BY THE END IT\u2019S HOOKED ME, THIS IS A WINNER. I AM THE ONE WHO BUILT A TOWER.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Portugal – iolanda – \u2018Grito\u2019 –<\/strong> this feels very haunting, emotional..it\u2019s a slow, steady song. Beautiful, but just not like, WOW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n San Marino – MEGARA – \u201811:11\u2019 <\/strong>– ALT ROCK IN EUROVISION? WE LOVE IT! This is cool! I wasn\u2019t sure at first, but the chorus is awesome, and it\u2019s just great, classic alt rock! I LOVE them singing in their own language too! I am rocking out to this!! I did not see this coming and I am here for it! CHORUS HAS A FLAMENCO TWIST TOO WHICH IS UNEXPECTED. I JUST WANT TO DANCE!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Serbia – TEYA DORA – \u2018RAMONDA\u2019 <\/strong>– another emotional ballad, slow, quite sombre and reflective, sways between extremely powerful and delicate. It\u2019s nice, but not that special or memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slovenia – Raiven – \u2018Veronika\u2019 – <\/strong>VERY VERY HAUNTING, almost ghostly!! Beautifully sung emotive ballad, but I\u2019m again, not sold on it. She has such an amazing voice, and the bridge really shines, however it just doesn\u2019t connect with me, and the bridge can\u2019t make up for the whole song.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spain – Nebulossa – \u2018ZORRA\u2019 –<\/strong> apparently all about female liberation! I love this, but I really don\u2019t feel like the music is strong enough. It\u2019s just a good, dancey, discoey kind of song. I\u2019m not likely to remember it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sweden – Marcus & Martinus – \u2018Unforgettable\u2019 <\/strong>– right, last year\u2019s winners, here we go. It is a groove for sure, very digitally-techno sounding, catchy, AND VERY EUROVISIONY with the \u2018she is unforgettable\u2019 refrain and sound. Soulful but still poppy, and uplifting, dancey, fun. I don\u2019t love it, but I don\u2019t hate it. In no way comparable to Tattoo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Switzerland – Nemo – \u2018The Code\u2019 – <\/strong>WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? I am loving this WHAT? It\u2019s quirky, stands up for the LGBT community, and it\u2019s just awesome and catchy, with a random but very good, swift rap, so many weird twists and turns! I don\u2019t think it will win, but I really really really like it (COULD EVEN BECOME A LOVE, may need time to process!)! It\u2019s like opera, musical theatre, pop, and an orchestra AND digital elements!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ukraine – alyona.alyona & Jerry Heil – <\/strong>\u2018Teresa & Maria\u2019 – this feels like it\u2019ll be controversial. I think the rap sounds weird, and the haunting vocals are beautiful, but don\u2019t capture me. It\u2019s not for me, but I feel like I might be missing something. Has a good beat, feels dramatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n UK – Olly Alexander – \u2018Dizzy\u2019 –<\/strong> finally, the UK. I didn\u2019t love this upon first hearing, but it\u2019s a bit better than I first thought. Not special, not standout, but it\u2019s a nice enough synthy pop song, feels sweet. I can definitely dance to it, and Olly\u2019s dancing definitely adds to the whole performance! Light vocals. Feels a little basic overall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am a BIG fan of Eurovision, and below I detail my before-the-final-show thoughts on each entry (not just the ones that made it to the final!).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[27,20],"class_list":["post-263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv-show-reviews","tag-culture","tag-music"],"featured_image_src":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/fb9ebcbd-645c-4438-82c6-bd7c9dbec72b_16-9-discover-aspect-ratio_default_0.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"saffmae","author_link":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/?author=1"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=263"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":265,"href":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263\/revisions\/265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/howsaffworks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}