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We may still be 14 weeks away from Eurovision Week, but the news has started, so I shall too! Today was the ceremonial passing of the key to the tournament, from the Mayor of Turin, to the Liverpool Mayor.

This years event shall be hosted in Liverpool, England after the UK came 2nd last year. The winner was of course, Kalush Orchestra with Stefania from Ukraine, however due to the conflict currently tearing through the country, were considered unable to reliably & safely host the tournament. So up to the stage United Kingdom, which will be the first time since all the way back in 1998. The UK have also pledged that whilst we may be hosting it on their behalf, it'll truly celebrate the fact it was Ukraines win, and focus on the culture & history of that country.
The dates for your calendar are as follows; Semi Finals, 9th & 11th May with the final/main show on Saturday 13th May.

This year we have 37 entries, after Bulgaria, North Macedonia & Montenegro pulled out, which is sad but at least it means 3 less countries vying for places in the final so the semi-finals are a tinier bit easier to pass, last year I feel we were robbed of some great songs at the SF stage.
Also occurring today was the draw for Semi Final1 & Semi Final 2.
Despite being quite some way away from now, a few countries have announced who is to sing with some also revealing the name, such as Belgium, who have announced Gustaph with the song Because of You, you can even listen to it right now already on YouTube. You know what? Not bad, after an extra listen really sticks on the mind! Also available is Ukraines entry, TVORCHI - Heart of Steel, which is also a fairly strong entry, but who knows, we may have another 35 songs announced that are absolute belters!

Don't be afraid to post your thoughts as more Eurovision news comes in as time goes by, I'm eager to see what my usual favourite countries, Sweden, Denmark & Norway have for us, they usually do whip out the tracks!

Finally, Adam. I've been waiting for this topic!

I'm already upset with Norway. They will on Saturday select Ulrikke with her honestly mediocre ballad, called Honestly. But they should be sending either Jone or Alessandra. Two amazing entries.

Ulrikke Brandstorp - Honestly


Jone - Ekko Inni Meg (Echo inside me)


Alessandra Mele - Queen of Kings


Queen of Kings sounds a lot like Swedish entry "Run to the Hills" from 2022, with the exception the Norwegian can actually sing.

Also, sorry for double posting, but Ukraine will win and the song will be the weakest winner of all time. Yes, even worse than when Azerbaijan won with Running Scared.

Chrill wrote: ↑01 Feb 2023 07:41 Finally, Adam. I've been waiting for this topic!

Well, I thought I should wait until at minimum the official key handover occurred, else it would certainly have been early

I'm already upset with Norway. They will on Saturday select Ulrikke with her honestly mediocre ballad, called Honestly. But they should be sending either Jone or Alessandra. Two amazing entries.

I definitely agree that of the three, Ulrikke is the weakest, with Jone's entry having the fun factor I've come to expect of Norwegian entries, whilst also being a fully developed song, which is more than what I can say of Give That Wolf A Banana from last year.

Yes, even worse than when Azerbaijan won with Running Scared.

I think I had removed that song from my memory, I had to look it up. Definitely a weaker win, although having said that, and it may be sacrilegious to say, given it represented my own country, but I really reckon one of the worst wins is the UK's Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up, the vocals were at best 'meh' on the night i'd say. The song is fun, perhaps that carried the win, and the song, especially the skirt tear for "and if you want to see some more" is now part of British pop culture, being referenced everywhere still, with basically every season of Sewing Bee (Bake Off, but... sewing! I'm not selling it well but honestly its a great show, same for Great Pottery Throw Down, the same... but with making pottery!) referencing it. Having said that, Ukraines first win all the way back in 2004 Ruslana - Wild Dances also being a bit odd vocally.

I took a while to reply purely as I was awaiting the outcome of John Lydon (formerly professionally known as Johnny Rotten with the band Sex Pistols, which perhaps single-handedly started the punk movement here in the 70s/80s) and his attempt to represent Ireland this year. His song, Hawaii along with his post-punk band (yep I had to look up what that was) known as Public Image Ltd. Safe to say, his attempt ended tonight with a resounding 'no', and I can see why, the song was... odd shall we say? I don't know what I expected, but.. not that? Lydon & Sex Pistols is still very much at the front of pop culture here, with his attempt to represent Ireland being fairly big news. Perhaps in part also due to Ireland doing all that well in the last decade and a bit.

Yeah, I listened to Lydon's song. It was clear he wasn't going to represent Ireland.

Melodifestivalen starts tonight, and you will be exposed to a genre that has gained traction in Sweden the last 12 months: The Epadunk. Swedish Wikipedia describes it as:

Wikipedia SE wrote:Epadunk, epa-dunk or raggardunk is the music, nowadays often electronic, that is associated with epatractors and A-tractors (Chrill's note: An EPA/A-tractor is a car rebuilt to comply with tractor regulations which limits speed to 45 km/h and driver age drops to 15, so kids in rural areas drive them). The lyrics are often about alcohol, sex and driving an A-tractor. The genre achieved great commercial success in Sweden in 2022, with several songs among the most played on streaming services.

The music style can be seen as part of a larger lifestyle and culture, where young people who drive epatraktors want to show off their vehicles with accompanying sound systems.

Epadunk has been described as a cross between electronic dance music and genitalia rock. Among predecessors and sources of inspiration for the genre is the Norwegian genre russemusik, and the so-called fjortisdunk from the first decade of the 21st century with artists such as Basshunter.

https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epadunk

If you want to listen to a big epadunk hit from 2022, I'd recommend "Rid mig som en Dalahäst" which translates to "Ride me like a Dala horse":

https://open.spotify.com/track/74xfr2ly ... d7072a4475

EDIT: I guess Norway's entry "Jone" I linked above falls under russemusik, or at least close to it.

Well done, Norway. You sent the right song! Alessandra is visiting Liverpool in May.

Chrill wrote: ↑05 Feb 2023 00:22 Well done, Norway. You sent the right song! Alessandra is visiting Liverpool in May.

I personally prefer Jone's song, but at least with this one they're also probably going to get a good end score, Ulrikke was truly... meh.

Redirect Left wrote: ↑04 Feb 2023 02:12
I took a while to reply purely as I was awaiting the outcome of John Lydon (formerly professionally known as Johnny Rotten with the band Sex Pistols, which perhaps single-handedly started the punk movement here in the 70s/80s) and his attempt to represent Ireland this year. His song, Hawaii along with his post-punk band (yep I had to look up what that was) known as Public Image Ltd. Safe to say, his attempt ended tonight with a resounding 'no', and I can see why, the song was... odd shall we say? I don't know what I expected, but.. not that? Lydon & Sex Pistols is still very much at the front of pop culture here, with his attempt to represent Ireland being fairly big news. Perhaps in part also due to Ireland doing all that well in the last decade and a bit.

True, the performance you linked to wasn't good, Lydon's voice was pretty strained. Perhaps he's got a cold or something? The studio version of the song sounds much better, but I must admit that listening to how the song came into being, it was pretty raw and emotional. Having cared for my grandmother in the last year of her life with dementia, I very personally felt this one.

Anyhow, the studio version if you want to compare. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HURFlF8CyV8

kamnet wrote: ↑05 Feb 2023 10:56 Anyhow, the studio version if you want to compare. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HURFlF8CyV8

That one is definitely far better, both vocally & emotionally. I knew it was essentially a love letter to his wife, however that didn't come across as strong in the live performance, when compared to the prerecorded/studio version.

The event is due to be held at Liverpool Arena (clever naming), which from images seems quite a small venue. If its as small as it seems, hopefully they're able to maximise the space and make it look huge on TV.

It looks like it seats about 2000 less than last year's venue, but 4000 more than 2019's venue.

kamnet wrote: ↑05 Feb 2023 15:11but 4000 more than 2019's venue.

Oh wow really? they did indeed make it look fairly big on the TV then for Tel Aviv's turn. I've gone back to the 2019 show (Which you can do on Eurovisions YT channel here), and on closer examination you can note a few of the boundaries, but overall if you're not staring for it, I wouldn't have guessed Expo Tel Aviv was such a small venue.

Speaking of 2019's show, if you ever get bored, the YouTube has lots of old editions of Eurovision if you ever want to go back and rewatch a particular favourite one.

When Sweden last hosted Eurovision, we opted against using the stadium we use for Melodifestivalen (with a concert capacity of 65,000) because it would not come across well on TV. We instead hosted at Avicii Arena (Globen), with a 16,000 capacity it's still a big indoor arena.

i'm just kinda happy that Luxembourg doesn't take part anymore in that political asscrawling competition. it's not about quality anymore, it's about who has the best/most neighbor countries to get points from. I was pretty disappointed the last years, but at least it's not a "chanson" contest anymore and finally some modern music takes over, a wise decision (even years too late).

So i'm hoping for a nonpolitical event with a cool song to win. I must admit, the best one from the last years was Germany with Lena - Satellite; still in my head, cool uptempo melody (although i hate her fake english accent)

Phreeze wrote: ↑06 Feb 2023 14:55 i'm just kinda happy that Luxembourg doesn't take part anymore in that political asscrawling competition. it's not about quality anymore, it's about who has the best/most neighbor countries to get points from. I was pretty disappointed the last years, but at least it's not a "chanson" contest anymore and finally some modern music takes over, a wise decision (even years too late).

So i'm hoping for a nonpolitical event with a cool song to win. I must admit, the best one from the last years was Germany with Lena - Satellite; still in my head, cool uptempo melody (although i hate her fake english accent)

Do you want me to hug you? You seem like you need it.

In regards to neighbours voting, as a member of the Scandinavian pact, let me just point out there may be a reason neighbours vote for one another: Culture.

Is Cypriot music taste similar to Greek? Probably?
Is Spanish music likely to match the preferences of the Portuguese or the Polish? Portuguese.
Is Norwegian pop played on Swedish radio more than Georgian pop is? Yup.

Can countries from different parts of Europe win? Well, let's take a look:

2022: United Kingdom came 2nd, but Moldova won the televote if we discard Ukraine.
2021: Italy won both overall and the televote, with Ukraine second in the televote
2019: Netherlands won, but Norway won the televote
2018: Israel won both overall and the televote, with Cyprus second in the televote
2017: Portugal won both overall and the televote, with Bulgaria second in the televote

Now, correct me if I'm wrong but despite listing two countries per year (thus 10 in total), no country is repeated here. So maybe the competition is bit more fair than you think.

Chrill wrote: ↑08 Feb 2023 09:21 2022: United Kingdom came 2nd, but Moldova won the televote if we discard Ukraine.

I was as surprised as anyone at this one. Especially given the UK isn't precisely anyones favourite country as of the last few years, including many people who actually live in it .
I'd have been happy for Moldova to have taken it too, their song Trenulețul (which translates as 'the little train') being an amazingly random song about a pleasant journey between Chișinău in Moldova & Bucharest in Romania. I suspect Moldova will throw in Zdob și Zdub again at some point given their good showing in the televote, it'll only be the *checks notes* 4th time, and in all of the previous 3 attempts, at minimum qualified for the main event, the only band to date to do so.

Since my original post, we have more songs!
Ireland have revealed Wild Youth - We Are One - for me this one is a grower, the first time I listened I kinda shrugged it off, but on second listen, it's definitely interesting.
Meanwhile the Czech Republic (Czechia?) went with Vesna - My Sister's Crown - This song throws in multiple languages, and it really works I think!
Albania have Albina & Familja Klemendi - Duje - for me, this is the weakest of the recently announced lot, it doesn't really resonate with me, if that makes sense?
Spain went with Blanca Paloma - Eaea which is... a choice? It's another that doesn't resonate with me, but I can definitely see some enjoying it greatly.
Announcing soon (on or around tomorrow, in fact) we have Malta, Croatia, Latvia, Denmark, Estonia, Romania & Italy coming up. Denmark, Croatia & Italy quite often have some very decent tracks, so I am especially looking forward to those 3 of the next bunch.

And in other Eurovision (of the past) news, one half of last years Italian entry, Blanco, who performed 'Brividi' last year with Mahmood decided to tear up a stage due to technical issues, let's be grateful he didn't think the same of last years technical issues with the frozen in place background. He was a special guest at Italy's "Sanremo Music Festival" which picks that years eurovision entry.

Wow, two songs from Ireland that really hits me in the feels. But We Are One is definitely the better of the two.

Chrill wrote: ↑08 Feb 2023 09:21

Phreeze wrote: ↑06 Feb 2023 14:55 i'm just kinda happy that Luxembourg doesn't take part anymore in that political asscrawling competition. it's not about quality anymore, it's about who has the best/most neighbor countries to get points from. I was pretty disappointed the last years, but at least it's not a "chanson" contest anymore and finally some modern music takes over, a wise decision (even years too late).

So i'm hoping for a nonpolitical event with a cool song to win. I must admit, the best one from the last years was Germany with Lena - Satellite; still in my head, cool uptempo melody (although i hate her fake english accent)

Do you want me to hug you? You seem like you need it.

In regards to neighbours voting, as a member of the Scandinavian pact, let me just point out there may be a reason neighbours vote for one another: Culture.

Is Cypriot music taste similar to Greek? Probably?
Is Spanish music likely to match the preferences of the Portuguese or the Polish? Portuguese.
Is Norwegian pop played on Swedish radio more than Georgian pop is? Yup.

Can countries from different parts of Europe win? Well, let's take a look:

2022: United Kingdom came 2nd, but Moldova won the televote if we discard Ukraine.
2021: Italy won both overall and the televote, with Ukraine second in the televote
2019: Netherlands won, but Norway won the televote
2018: Israel won both overall and the televote, with Cyprus second in the televote
2017: Portugal won both overall and the televote, with Bulgaria second in the televote

Now, correct me if I'm wrong but despite listing two countries per year (thus 10 in total), no country is repeated here. So maybe the competition is bit more fair than you think.

i'm totally ok with you, but regarding the songs that won over the last years, you can't come with the "culture" point: did the winning song from Ukraine was typical ukranian? nope. The argument would be valid if a spanish singe with a spanish type of song would have gotten the Mediterranean points and nothing else because other countries don't like (we are purely theoretical here). Songs that win are often "internationally appreciated" but still: what would have been the picture if people really only gave point to their favourite song, regardless of the nationality? That was my point.

kamnet wrote: ↑11 Feb 2023 09:57 Wow, two songs from Ireland that really hits me in the feels. But We Are One is definitely the better of the two.

I really hope Ireland manage to get themselves out of the rut they're currently in. They've gone from winning three times in a row (93, 94 & 95) and nearly managed 5 in a row (back on the top podium for 97, only missing 96). However in the last 15 years, they've only had 1 top 8 song which was... uh Jedward with Lipstick. Whilst Jedward is likely no ones favourite artist I think, their song was basically peak trash europop which probably sailed them to the top 10. In the last 15 entries, they also failed to qualify 8 times.

Of the most recently announced songs from the weekend, I think Italy is my favourite with Due Vite by Marco Mengoni, with Malta's The Busker & 'Dance (Our Own Party)' coming second. Being entirely honest, I was underwhelmed with the rest.

Italy always deliver, and 2023 is no exception. But my favourite is Norway's Italian. Alessandra is awesome. She's energetic, in your face, with a powerful song and a modern message.

So far, Sweden have not produced anything I'd be thrilled to send to Eurovision. We have 50% of our entries still to come, so we shall see.

So after listening to all of the released songs again, I somehow had missed Croatias "Mama ŠČ!" by Let 3.
The song is an anti-war song, and is a metaphor for Mother Russia, it mocks all previous dictators as being absurdly childish and playing war. The lead singer is dressed as Stalin (can't lie, I thought it was a certain other dictator from around Stalin's time), whilst other members are dressed in a transgender and drag-queen manner, which is meant to directly mock the supposed homophobia that Putin has shown.
Now, full transparency, the above is taken from the Wikipedia page, as it was one that was easy to misrepresent through only my own experiences of seeing the song performed.

Overall though? I like it! I'm not sure how well the visuals will be represented on stage compared to the video, as Eurovision tries to stay clear of anything too directly referential of large political events, and this might be a tad too on the nose for Eurovision execs as is?