Eurovision Song Contest, 2025

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It's February, which means it is time to get the build up train going!
For your calendar, the dates are Tues 13th & Thurs 15th May (Semi Finals 1 & 2). The big one, the final this year will be on 17th May.
We are in the city of Basel this year in Switzerland after the well deserved win by Nemo singing The Code in 2024.
This year there are 37 countries participating, 26 will go through to the finals after the 2 semis. Montenegro is back after 2 years of not being here, Moldova announced participating and then withdrew because their internal natioinal competition this year was a dumpster fire.

We've got some songs coming in early this year. Those are;
- Shkodra Elektrike - Zjerm
- JJ - Wasted Love
- Red Sebastian - Strobe Lights
- Adonxs - Kiss Kiss Goodbye
- Klavida - Asteromáta
- Laura Thorn - La Poupée Monte Le Son
- Nina Žižić - Dobrodošli
- Melody - Esa diva

Some countries have released who is singing the song, without naming the song or language, these include France, Netherlands & Israel (yes, they're back this year). Slovenia have just gone "its uh, yeah its an English song" with no other details.
& announced the artist & song title as above, but i can't source any reliable data about the song itself on any trustable youtube channels.
Of the 6 linked above, so far I think "La Poupée Monte Le Son" is my favorite, but as always. Early days, very early days. Belgium & Spain especially may grow on me in time.

Unfortunately Switzerland is an expensive country, so I shall not be making an appearance there

[vear]

I was thinking about going there, but the day Basel was selected, all accommodation prices around the whole canton surged rapidly, making it an absurdly pricey folly. I'll stick to the TV.

One thing I'm certain about, the Polish entry is going to be weak, if not plainly embarrassing. As usual.

[Chrill]

Our Melodifestivalen started on Saturday. Unfortunately people seem keen on sending former competitors again. The two favourites are John Lundvik (from 2019) and Måns Zelmerlöw (who won in 2015).

In Heat 1, there were no real standouts but I did appreciate Maja Ivarsson, the frontwoman of Swedish rock band The Sounds:


Definitely an 80s vibe to it, very "Kids in America"-esque. Surely not a winner, not in Sweden nor international, but the best from Heat 1 to me.

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Måns Zelmerlöw (who won in 2025).

Predicting the future, are we?

frontwoman of Swedish rock band The Sounds:

This is quite a bop to be honest. I wouldn't be upset if that ended up winning, but we'll see what the other heats give us for sure.

[Chrill]

Måns Zelmerlöw (who won in 2025).

Predicting the future, are we?

I regret nothing.

This is quite a bop to be honest. I wouldn't be upset if that ended up winning, but we'll see what the other heats give us for sure.

It's a bop, and you can tell she is a very experienced singer. She takes the crowd very well, but maybe struggles a bit more with the TV and camera work. She's pure rock, I've seen her live.

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Lately i have been rocking out to Spain's entry. You know what, its pretty great. My favorite so far, but it may get lost in the mix when we know the songs for most other countries.
The staging really works well here too.

[Chrill]

Sweden. It is time we do something fun.



KAJ is a Finnish comedy group whose native language is Swedish (more specifically Finland Swedish, which is similar but quite distinctly different to Swedish).

The song is about "one two three sauna". It's amazing. And it's realistically the only alternative to sending yet another former winner. That worked out well last time, no?

And yes, there is definitely a piece of Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball in here, Måns.

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The song is about "one two three sauna". It's amazing.

100% agreed. I hope Sweden don't send Måns just because he won it last time. Both of those songs are great in their own ways. But "Bara bada bastu" feels like a fresh new direction for Sweden to take considering the last decade y'kno? I don't mind Maja Ivarsson's entry either, it has a bit of high energy that I just love. But I would love to see KAJ above the rest on the stage in May.

[Chrill]

Tomorrow, we all vote for KAJ. Bara Bada Bastu. Let's do it.

[orudge]

The UK's entry for 2025 has been revealed:



There's potential there I think, not the worst we've ever entered!

[Chrill]

not the worst we've ever entered!

In fairness you have entered some horrid stuff over the years.

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In fairness you have entered some horrid stuff over the years.

I want to debate you heatedly.

Unfortunately you have spoken no lies

I really wish the BBC would start organising a Melodifestivalen type event, rather than internal selections. Would we still submit utter tosh? Yeah probably, but at least we had some minor say in which tosh would Eurovision suitable.

[Chrill]

I really wish the BBC would start organising a Melodifestivalen type event, rather than internal selections. Would we still submit utter tosh? Yeah probably, but at least we had some minor say in which tosh would Eurovision suitable.

I feel like you did for a bit pre-pandemic, no? It made no difference.

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I feel like you did for a bit pre-pandemic, no? It made no difference.

At least we couldn't complain that we sent rubbish, as we literally did send the rubbish.

We did it on & off between 1957 & 2019. Using a show that had at least 8 names, varying from "Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up" to "A Song For Europe." 2011 - 2015 was internal selection, then we went public again with "Eurovision: You Decide" (another different name...), then in 2020 it went to internal processes again.

This means our first internal selection of the most recent batch would have been James Newman: My Last Breath - which arguably isn't too bad? However that eurovision got cancelled because people couldn't stay at home enough. You'd think after James Newman returned the year after with the song Embers and a fat zero points from both juries & public they'd have figured "..hm maybe we actually don't know how to pick a song/artist internally?"

[Chrill]

We did it. I'm literally shaking. We did it. I love Sweden. I love KAJ.

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We did it. I'm literally shaking. We did it. I love Sweden. I love KAJ.

Can't lie. I 100% expected the Swedish public to roll the dice on Måns again and hope for another win like they did with Loreen. Unless the chaotic turn of Malmö 2024 has slightly reduced the eagerness to roll that dice.

Either way, what a huge win. Roll out the red carpet and made sure the vocals of KAJ are looked after for the next 2 months!

[Chrill]

Can't lie. I 100% expected the Swedish public to roll the dice on Måns again

I was expecting the televote to be close, potentially to KAJ's advantage, but the jury vote was supposed to be a Måns landslide. Sweden uses international juries, and they are given the instruction "Pick a Eurovision winner". After jury voting, Måns led KAJ with just 2 points. KAJ then won the televote with 9 points, resulting in a rather narrow win for them.

And here is the national final performance of Sweden's 2025 entry, Bara Bada Bastu (Let's just sauna).


And judging by the Youtube comments, people like it. A lot.

[vear]

Hey, you can't have another win just two years after the last one! Or can you? Dunno, that song is kinda good indeed.

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I made the mistake of listening to Bara Badu Bastu more than once.

So that's going to be in my head long after Eurovision, that is a real gem of a song. Definitely has quickly become my #1 favorite of the announced songs so far this year.

[Rallyn]

What a thrilling discussion, everyone! I’m really digging how "Bara Bada Bastu" has cemented itself as a top contender—it's one of those earworms that sticks with you long after listening. I’m curious to see if the narrow split between the jury and televote will hold up when the international votes come in. And with the unpredictable weather on Sunday, this race weekend could bring even more surprises. Here’s to an unforgettable start to the season and to more epic debates ahead!