👥 EBU announces “areas of development” for the Eurovision Song Contest
👥 The #EBU has announced areas of development they will be implementing for future editions of #Eurovision. This is following the internal investigation following the previous contest. #ESC2024
The internal review of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 has taken place. Following the review and investigation, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has set out areas they will be working on in future editions of the Eurovision Song Contest.
The investigation into the Eurovision Song Contest 2024
The investigation into the EBU’s handling of Eurovision 2024 was carried out by and independent…
So, as I (kind of) promised a while ago, I’m starting a series where I review national finals, give my overall impression, mention a few of my favorite songs and predict a possible winner. I’m trying to review as many NFs as I can, but there might be limitations due to my schedule and song availability. Nevertheless, since the NF season is well underway, let’s start with the short but sweet Czech selection!
Overall impression: The Czech Republic gives quality over quantity once again with their selection that, despite only consisting of seven songs, provides a great variety of genres and styles. All songs give a radio-friendly international hit vibe and would work greatly outside of the contest; none of them sounds tailored for Eurovision, which is only a plus. That being said, when it comes to a contest setting, some have more success potential than others.
Personal favourites: I like all seven songs, but these three really stood out for me:
GIUDI - Jezinky
This has a beautifully haunting and witchy atmosphere. Her voice is lovely and fits the song just perfectly! It would definitely stand out in Eurovision, in a good way!
JORDAN X EMMA - By Now
This is among my favourite types of songs - an indie pop track with a calming and pleasant atmosphere. I really like Emma’s voice and it fits greatly with Jordan’s. My only complaint is that the live performance shown in the video feels a bit lacking. But of course, that can always be improved for the actual contest.
We Are Domi - Lights Off
This sounds like a song that Spotify would recommend me, and I would add to my playlist for sure - so it’s spot on! It’s a catchy song that many can easily get into, while still having its own unique style. Totally success material!
Prediction: Domi seems like the most plausible winner due to their song being a modern hit with a lot of jury-appeal, but also catchy and memorable enough for the audience. Giudi also seems quite popular based on YouTube views on her performance, but I’m a bit worried as these kinds of songs don’t always fare well with the jury. Her amazing vocals could help a lot, though.
I'm not done yet, bear with me pls, I love this show and I always wanted to comment it live... I'm eurovision #1 trash Comment with your thoughts 😘 Australia: can someone explain me why they are singing in an european contest since 2015?! I'm in love with him tbh, he's a lil bean and he needs to be protected Greece: that thigh highlighter tho 😍 celebration of gay love, always a fan Spain: I don't remember giving you guys consent to make me doubt my own being!!! These spanish hot young men... Norway: I approve, I'm not gonna waste more words, I just approve (aka I'm gonna listen to this non stop and make it my whatsapp status) United kingdom: am I the only one who had enough of these cheesy love songs?! She's great tho, like incredibly and ridiculously great, such a powerful voice 😍 Cyprus: very scenic, outfit on point!! Very similar to "human" by Rag'n'Bone Man Romania: they are just brilliant 😱 if u look for me I'm gonna be in the mountains surrounded by goats singing yodel.. Germany: beautiful.. the quiff is alive!1!! Ukraine: I mean... home court advantage amirightt Belgium: yaaasss queen!!! 😍😍 Sweden: I can't even!! The eye contact, the coordination, you guys are v STYLISH 😎 also, they probably spent more time on a treadmill during this performance than me in my whole life Bulgaria: da first millennial... he's making me feel bad for being an useless piece of trash while he's world famous.. France: I know I keep saying the same things over and over but biiitch this woman is beautiful and amazing... also gimme dat dress P.s. the clip of the hosts training is hilarious 😂 Don't be a dick, vote
Had to split this review onto two parts since I can only put a limited amount of video links in one post! But to continue with my personal favourites:
STEFAN - Hope
Another well-written EDM track. This gives me very similar vibes than Heroes by Måns Zelmerlöw. Not saying it’s a definite winner because of that, but who knows? One of Stefan’s best entries nevertheless.
Jaagup Tuisk - Kui Vaid
I must confess that while Jaagup’s last entry was a fan favourite, it didn’t really appeal to me. But this actually is a great song with its own unique personality! it just needs great vocals to work live, but I’m sure Jaagup will deliver.
Now that my semifinal favourites are out of the way, let’s move onto the honorary mentions. Sadly, we lost these gems in the preliminary round:
Jessica - My Mom
Bummed about this nice little synthpop track. It could’ve been among my top three semifinalists, but I guess it’s hard to qualify when you’re a newbie competing against big names. I hope Jessica will return in the future with a similar song.
Shira - Under Water
While I’m happy at least one Shira song made it, I would’ve preferred this one. This so pleasant to listen to, you can just vibe and enjoy her voice. Maybe not the most competitive out of the selection, but it still would’ve been a good addition to the live shows.
Silver Jusilo - Elu rüpes
His low voice is so pleasant to listen to, and the song has a beautifully relaxing atmosphere! It could’ve created a magical moment onstage. Hopefully he will make a return to the selection!
Prediction: Out of all the songs, I think Stefan’s has the biggest chance to appeal to both the jury and the audience. In case we have a three-song superfinal once again, I can see it being the trio of Stefan, Stig and Elina. Which of them is the eventual winner depends on the whole package. Elina could actually make an Eurovision return if the two EDM guys cancel each other out?
I titled two of these posts as “national final review”, than I remembered that many selections also have semifinals or other preliminary rounds. Whoops.
Anyway, onto Estonia. There might be a while left until the actual live shows, but since all the songs are already out, I better focus on them now when it’s still a relatively calm season, with no new song releases or selections in the upcoming days (other than Albania, but I already did that one).
Overall impression: For the past few years, the Estonian song selection has left me quite underwhelmed. It used to be one of my favourite selections, but it went downhill when they started increasing mainstream pop tracks at the expense of the more unique and artistic ones. Nevertheless, adding preliminary rounds and increasing the amount of vote-able songs seems like a step to the right direction, as I found some nice additions to my playlist, despite the overall quality still not being stellar (and some awesome songs not making it to the semis). So while Eesti Laul still has to do some work to reclaim the favourite status (they could return to their previous voting system, for example), this time I can say I’m looking forward to the show.
Personal favourites: I’m going to focus on my favourites from the 20 semifinalists as well as a couple of honorary mentions. First of all, we have:
Elina Nechayeva - Remedy
I was over the moon when I heard the operatic goddess Elina Nechayeva was making a comeback! While I was first a little bummed that the song wasn’t an opera masterpiece like La Forza (still one of the best ESC songs ever!) I quickly learned to love this beautiful, emotional ballad. The best songs for me are those that raise emotions, and this definitely does, in a good way! I’m expecting the impact to be even bigger when performed live, so looking forward to that!
Merilin Mälk - Little Girl
A very sweet little song that is also surprisingly memorable. It has this relaxing vibe that would make it fit greatly a movie soundtrack. overall really enjoyable.
Maian - Meeletu
Surprise Spanish! This is a really nice electro pop track with a catchy tune and chill atmosphere. actually has quite a similar vibe than the previous one. My only concern is that this might be one of those songs that are great for casual listening but won’t fare so well in competitive settings. But we’ll see.
Stig Rästa - Interstellar
This might not be the most original track in the selection, but damn is it catchy! Stig sure knows how to write an EDM song with an international hit feel. Could make a good contender.
Elysa - Fire
Every year needs at least one charmingly outdated dance pop track with nonsensical lyrics. Despite having little changes to actually succeed, they still appeal to a nice amount of eurofans, and I must confess I’m a part of this amount. It’s fun, danceable, and makes me happy, and how a song makes you feel is important, right?
