Eurovision 2025 – live musicology blog

The next day: actual results vs my predictions.

Not my best work, but not my worst either. I predicted Austria at #2 (winner); Sweden to win (4th); and France near the top (7th). The Fins were predicted #3 (13th). Most tellingly, I went against my music instincts to assume there would be a geopolitics vote against Israel that would prevent its excellent song from placing well, despite my describing it as “one of the best songs in the contest”. In the event, it came in at #2, with a nailbiting finish to the voting. Need to believe in the songwriting more!

Live song analysis from May 17, 2025

Welcome to the Eurovision live musicology blog, now in its 15th year. For context, here’s the 2020 10-year corpus research summary, and the archive of all the posts in reverse order.

Tonight I’m pleased to welcome my wonderful research team, who put together a whole lot of the data, chord sheets, and commentary. I’m co-blogging with my colleagues Rafi Waters and Dr John Pierce O’Reilly, who provided additional research, as well as their own reviews for Estonia, Ukraine, Netherlands, Finland, and Portugal, with collabs on some others. Additional research was provided by the estimable Dasom Chung, who have done a terrific job working on the background info, BPMs and chord loops.

As always, I’ve provided commentary on each song, so you can follow along with the show, or (later) watch the embedded videos. And I’m going to try to predict the winner, before voting begins, then leave the prediction up here for posterity when the votes are in.

Americans – the show goes out live at 3pm Eastern time on Saturday May 17, 2025. You can watch live with a free Peacock TV account.

Europeans – you know the drill.

* I have actually pre-blogged everything based on the Spotify Eurovision finalists playlist and national finals / official videos, but the blog is published on the day of the final (before the voting begins) so should be read live alongside the show as it is broadcast.

Here are my predictions for 2025, made at 3.35pm US Eastern time (9.35pm Swiss time), before the voting starts in Basel:

1. Sweden
2. Austria
3. Finland

France, Netherlands and Switzerland to place near the top.

01 🇳🇴 • Norway • Lighter

Kyle Alessandro • 105 • Dm

Songwriters: Kyle Alessandro, Adam Woods

• Verse: Dm | C | Gm | Bb 
• Pre: Dm F/A | Bb | C | Dm | Dm F/A | Bb | C | F A7/E 
• Chorus: Dm Gm | Am Dm

Norway’s Kyle Alessandro sparks off Eurovision 2025’s torch (or possibly… lighter) with a suit of armour, an ominous bass drone, and some straight-to-camera smouldering. Just in case you think we’re going to get something dark and moody from the country of Ibsen and Hamsun, the low-pass filter gradually opens to reveal a bog-standard reggaeton/soca beat. There’s a nice relative major shift on “I won’t fall again” – major chord, upbeat sentiment… and then… BEAT DROP! From hereon, it could be any ESC song post-2018 (the year Eurovision noticed Despacito).

I like how the drums drop out for every prechorus “somewhere along the way”, although the lyric loses itself in hyperbolae to meet the syllable count of line two. “I had to walk a hundred thousand miles” – that’s 4.02 times round the world, by my maths. What’s he thinking – did he miss her on the first three laps? (I even had my doubts about the Proclaimers TBH – you can’t walk from Leith to anywhere else in the UK without falling into the sea).

Choreography is about what you would expect from a boy band of mediaeval robots. (Norwegian critic Tor Martin Bøe described the song as “Game of Thrones pop”). There’s a euro-typical chantable rising 5th in the chorus “no way, no way” each time, and the song proceeds predictably until the bridge, which drops to piano-vocal only, so sounds like the intro to a completely different song “Silence fills the room / And I’ve taken off my jewels”. This section ends with Kyle’s Vocal Virtuosity Moment (I’m going to coin the acronym VVM because there will be a lot of them tonight), when he hits a nice rising minor pentatonic triplet figure. This is partly autotuned on the semi-final version I’m pre-blogging from, so it will be interesting to see if he manages this lick on the night.

There’s not much memorable about this apart from the costumes, which are flamboyant, fun, and thematically unrelated to the lyric. And given that most Eurovision costumes fit this description, that’s not gonna take it into the top half of the scoring.

52%

Golden girl dressed in ice
A heart as dark as night
You got me to dim my light, no more
I really think I bought your lies
Did anything to keep you mine
You kept me hooked on your line, no more

[Pre-Chorus]
Somewhere along the way I lost my mind
I had to walk a hundred thousand miles
I’m not afraid to set it all on fire
I won’t fall again
I’ll be my own lighter

…

[Bridge]
Silence fills the room
And I’ve taken off my jewels
I wish none of this was true
But there’s a fire growing too

02 🇱🇺 • Luxembourg • La poupée monte le son

Laura Thorn • 130 • Dm

Songwriters: Julien Salvia, Ludovic-Alexandre Vidal, Christophe Houssin

• Verse: Dm | Dm | Bb | Bb | C | C | A | A 
• Pre: Bb | C | A | A/C# | Dm C | Bb | C | A | A/C# |
• Chorus/bridge: Dm | Bb | C | A

Old-school Eurovision! There are playful references to the 1970s here with the almost oom-pah accompaniment and the simple memorable phrases “C’est comme ça, c’est comme ça” (which sounds so different in French, compared to when Bruce Hornsby or Run DMC said the same thing). The choreography even has a nod to Puppet On A String (UK winner, 1967).

Simple kick-snare keeps it all moving at a surprisingly fast 130BPM. The chord loop is a sort of anagram of an andalusian cadence (Hit The Road Jack) and functions in a similar way. The verse chords are the same as the chorus, but half time, which gives a nice feeling of energy when the chorus comes in; the pre-chorus in between takes your mind off the loop, and then makes the chorus seem familiar when it returns on the Dm.

Ooooh bar of 5/4 just before the second chorus! We hear the title “La poupée monte le son”, with a one beat pause before “son” which is the downbeat of the chorus. Laura gives a big playful grin to the camera in chorus 2, suggesting that she and the production team think this is a good bit. I agree!

Retro, fun, and very well done. A mashup of schlager and electro-pop. Unlikely to do well, but I liked it.

81%

If all you see in me is a perfect doll
Who smiles and then shuts up when you want her to
Forget me, I’m not your puppet
That’s the way it is, that’s the way it is
Your little game is over / If you think a man like you can manipulate me
Go back to mummy, you’d better give up
Or else, I’m the one who will dismantle you
Beware, beware, / Because I’m taking the controls

New instruction manual / I can do everything without you
It’s another setup / Another era
I make my voice heard / So, above all, don’t play
The ventriloquist

The doll turns up the sound
Na na na na na na
Remember the lesson / Na na na na na na
The doll turns up the sound
Na na na na na na
Watch out, boy / Na na na na na na
The doll turns up the…

03 🇪🇪 • Estonia • Espresso Macchiato

Tommy Cash • 120 • Em

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Johannes Naukkarinen, Tomas Tammemets (Tommy Cash)

• Verse: Em
• Chorus: Em | Em | Em | Em | Am/C | Em | B

While this song was written in the long tradition of Eurovision parody of national stereotypes, it was the subject of controversy for a perceived mockery of Italians and their lifestyle. With lyrics like “addicted to tobacco” and “sweating like a mafioso”, it’s not hard to see why the people are so mad about it. And to be fair to any Italians who are currently heading to the riding stables with a hacksaw, a holdall and a rail ticket to Talinn, this misses the mark of playfulness because the whole point in Eurovision is self-parody. It would be fine for the Italians to have a lyric like this, but coming from the Estonians it just comes across as mean.

To be fair, they try to use the staging to fix it, and make the song literally about coffee, with the bouncers who have been wisely hired to protect Tommy handing him the titular cups throughout the song. And there is a killer line that mashes up homespun wisdom without letting up the cultural stereotyping for a moment: “Life is like spaghetti, it’s hard until you make it”. Musically, it’s a mashup of that sort of 1920s-electro-charleston that was around in the early 2000s, some cod opera, some standard oom-pah, and a tiny nod to a reggaeton habanera with boots-and-cats techno hi-hat.

If there is a nail-biting scoring moment for this one in the reveal (and there definitely won’t be), let’s hope the Italians don’t have the deciding vote.

81% 

My love, my love / Espresso macchiato, macchiato, macchiato
Please, please / Espresso macchiato very hot
My love, my love / Espresso macchiato, macchiato, macchiato
Please, please / Espresso macchiato
Espresso macchiato
(Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh)

Hello beautiful, I’m Thomas, addicted to tobacco
I like my coffee, it’s very important
No time to talk, sorry, my days are very busy
And I just own this little restaurant
Life may give you lemons when dancing with the demons
No stress, no stress, no need to be depressed
I like to fly privately with twenty-four carats
Also, my house is very grand
My money is numerous, I work around the clock
That’s why I’m sweating like a mobster
La-la-la-la
Espresso macchiato / Espresso macchiato

04 🇮🇱 • Israel • New Day Will Rise

Yuval Raphael • 160 • E♭m

Songwriter: Keren Peles

• Verse: Gm | Cm | F | Bb | Eb/Bb | Gm/D | Cm Am7-5 | D |
• Chorus: Gm | Eb | F | Bb D | Gm | Eb | Bb | Am11 D | 

This is one of the best songs in the contest this year. Lovely melodic craft, classic lyric only-you love song sentiment, and a carefully-disguised treatment of the I Will Survive chord loop (see also You Never Give Me Your Money, Fly Me To The Moon, Wild World etc etc). Lyrics are vowel-friendly throughout, and the one-change-per-bar of 6/8 keeps the momentum going even with the compound time sig and almost completely drumless arrangement.

There are two super clever modulations here, which work together to achieve a Eurovision cliche. Here’s how it works. We’ve been conditioned to expect the I Will Survive loop, and the nice but unremarkable relative major/minor switching of the chorus. Then, at the end of the second chorus, at “love of my life”, the D chord at the end changes to a D minor, taking us (Aeolian V) to Gm, but the Gm goes to a C, giving us a new ii-V that takes us to the new key of F major for the Hebrew section. Then we go round the chorus chord loop in this new key (a 4th higher) with only one crunch ‘gear-change’ moment of C major to E major, forcing Yuval into a momentarily awkward melodic chromatic phrase (which she aces). And the payoff is worth it. The E chord acts as the V of the new key of Am for the final chorus. End result – a modulation from Gm to Am, concealed by an entire section. The extra bar and a bit of rubato take us into the home straight, which is when they let the drummer (and for some reason, the hand clapper) loose on the arrangement. Great stuff.

It may not do as well as it deserves in the voting, because…reasons (regular readers will know that this blog is musicology-only, and I never comment on geopolitics). But it’s a fine piece of songwriting. Well done everyone.

80%

And even if you say goodbye, you’ll never go away
You are the rainbow in my sky, my colours in the grey
My only wish upon a star, sunshine in the day
The only song that my piano ever plays

And even if you say goodbye, you’ll always be around
To lift me up and take me high, keep my feet close to the ground
Are you proud of me tonight? Dreams are comin’ true
I choose the light, nothin’ to lose if I lose you

New day will rise, life will go on
Everyone cries, don’t cry alone / Darkness will fade, all the pain will go by
But we will stay, even if you say goodbye

And even if you say goodbye, you will never leave
You are the rainbow in my blue sky, my colours in the gray
And my only wish under a painted sky, a ray of light in my day
The only song that my piano can play

Many waters cannot quench love / Neither can the floods drown it
Even if you say goodbye / A new day will rise
New day will rise

05 🇱🇹 • Lithuania • Tavo akys

Katarsis • 110 • Am

Songwriters: Lukas Radzevičius

• Verse: Am | Am | Bø7+11 | Bø7+11 | C6 | C6 | Dm9 | Em
• Chorus: Am | Am Bø7+11 | C6 | Fmaj | Dm | Em Fmaj7 | Dm
• Bridge: Am 

“There’s not enough shoegaze in Eurovision”, said no-one ever. But to Lithuania’s credit, Katarsis are a real band, formed in 2020, and with some success in their home country. 

The verse is grumpily dirge-y, which I’m sure carries authenticity for the emo crowd, especially with Lukas’s double-tracked droning baritonal delivery. For the chorus it’s as if Jokūbas the drummer knows that the song’s losing energy, so adds some U2-styled (specifically, Beautiful Day-styled) patterns to try to lift it. But the vocal atop is still just Aeolian whining, without enough melodic shape to engage the crowd in a single listen. I don’t think anything this unmelodic has ever placed in the top 5, let alone won.

It’s nice to see rock genres on stage in the final, and this isn’t bad for the style, but its avoidance of any Eurovision tropes at all will almost certainly doom it in the voting. 

46%

Empty words only fuel the fire
The houses are burning / They start to collapse
From her eyes, the greatest downpour
The foundations of everything / Have already begun to rot

Just to protect / Her

Your eyes see pain / For my eyes, it only gives a feeling
Your eyes see pain / For my eyes, it only gives a feeling
Your eyes see pain / For my eyes, it only gives a feeling
Your eyes see pain / For my eyes, it only gives a feeling

Don’t be afraid / I cry in your dreams
Only in your dreams, I cry
Don’t be afraid / I cry in your dreams
Only in your dr, yours, your

06 🇪🇸 • Spain • Esa diva

Melody • 127 • E♭m

Songwriters: Alberto Fuentes Lorite, Melodía Ruiz Gutiérrez

• Verse: Ebm | Ebm | Cb | Cb | Bbm7/Db  | Db | Ebm | Ebm |
• Pre: Abm | Cb | Abm | Bb | Bb [big pause] |
• Chorus: Cb | Gb | Db | Ebm | Cb | Abm | Bb | Bb |

A classic sentiment of self-assertion here: “A diva is so brave, so powerful / Her life’s like a garden full of thorns and roses / She rises while dancing / Stronger than a hurricane”.

This fits neatly into my Eurovision stylistic lyric themes and also archetypes, being a standard Euro-banger arrangement. ESC has lots of songs like this every year, and some of them do well. Melody is going for it throughout, and her belting endurance is impressive (and necessary for a song of this intensity).

Did everyone notice the ABBA melody reference leading into each chorus over “oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhhh”. It is the lick from “Money Money Money”. Nicely done!

Pretty good, but not exceptional enough for the top 3. Middle of the pack, I’d say.

71%

[Verso 1]
Desde que era bien pequeña / Antes de saber andar
Fui del mundo la rumbera
Para mí era tan normal
Y descubrí a una suprema del teatro
Despreciando a los demás del camerino
Pero la supuesta diva por el eco de una vida
Que no le pertenecía, se embrujó (Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh)

[Estribillo]
Una diva sencilla, como un simple mortal
Una diva no pisa a nadie para brillar
Su voz le hace grande, ¿qué más da?
Si ella es librе cantando como un pez en el mar
Una diva еs valiente, poderosa
Su vida es un jardín lleno de espinas y rosas
Resurge bailando / Con más fuerza que un huracán

English translation
Since I was very little / Before learning how to walk
I was the world’s only “rumbera”
For me it was so usual
And I found out a theatre supreme
Disdaining the others in the dressing room
But the so-called diva due to the echo of a lifetime
That didn’t belong to her, became bewitched (Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh)

A diva is simple, like a mere mortal
A diva doesn’t step on anyone else to shine
Her voice maks her great, who cares?
Bcause she is free singing like a fish in water
A diva is so brave, so powerful
Her life’s like a garden full of thorns and roses
She rises while dancing / Stronger than a hurricane

She’s the early morning mother / An artist with no lineup
With or without a fortune / They are divas as well
Fame is not your greatness, equality is my flag
And music is my only enthusiasm

Diva, diva, diva, diva / Diva, diva, diva, diva (Ah-ah, ah-ah)
Diva, diva, diva, diva / Diva, diva, diva, diva (Ah-ah, ah-ah)
We’re divas, you and I / Because she is free singing like a fish in water

07 🇺🇦 • Ukraine • Bird of Pray

Ziferblat • 134 • G♯m

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Valentyn Leshchynskyi, Danylo Leshchynskyi, Fedir Khodakov

• G#m | C#5
• C#5 | C#5/A| G#m | % | C#m | D#/G | G#m | % |
• C#/F | E6 | G#m (ascend) |
• F#m9 | B6 | A#m7-5 | A / C#sus4/G# C# | F#m9 | B6 | A#m7-5 | F#m9 | B6 | A#m7-5 | D# | (G#m7 to intro)

[note to guitarists and other chord fans! Due to the prog-adjacent style of this song, the chords are complex and so there are a lot of bad transcriptions on the Internet. I tested lots of them and this is the best one I found.}

Co-researcher John and I share the view that there are not enough mid-tempo new wave shuffles in the world, and thank you to the Ukranians for boosting the catalogue. This is a great soft-rock production, with some cool 1970s harmonic flair. The slick harmonies and muso-cleverness moments put me mindful of It Bites (remember them? – Calling All The Heroes was the big hit). 

A subtle change in spelling results in a bittersweet double meaning that enhances the appeal of Ukraine and their 2025 Eurovision entry, Ziferblat. Even though it may not ignite the European dance floors, it is a welcome departure from the two primary categories of eventual winners. There’s a melancholy to the BVs (the 2-bar ‘ahhhh’ soprano phrase) which is a lovely unexpected extra hook for the outro that will stay with you after the song has finished. Brave, musically interesting, and very well crafted and played. 

67%

[Куплет 1]
Зайде-зайдеш і до мене, моя пташка
Крилами пісня злітає важка
Серденько-серце кохане, не турбуйся
Доля довірила світ останнім із нас

[Передприспів]
Я світла шукаю, гори зверну / And I call you

[Приспів]
Fly, bird
I’m begging you, begging you
Please just live, share my heart with someone who cares / Of me and my little bird of pray

[Куплет 2]
Вертай-вертайся додому, рідна стежка
Спів перелітних пташок народить весну (I call you)

[Приспів]
Fly, bird
I’m begging you, begging you / Just care of me and my little bird

[Бридж]
Fly like a bird / Where do you go? I’m begging you
Please just live, share / My heart with someone who

[Приспів]
Flies. Bird
I’m begging you, begging you
Please just live, share my heart with someone who cares / Of me and my little bird of pray

08 🇬🇧 • United Kingdom • What the Hell Just Happened?

Remember Monday • 67 • G

Songwriters: Charlotte Steele, Holly-Anne Hull, Julie Aagaard, Kes Kamara, Lauren Byrne, Sam Brennan, Thomas Stengaard, Tom Hollings

• Intro: G | Bm | Em | Dm | C | A | D | D |
• Chorus 1: G  / Bm B/D# | Em / C Cm | G  / Bm B | Em Cm |  
• Verse: G | G | C | C | D | D | G | G D/F# | Em | A | D11 | D  |
• Chorus 2: | G  / Bm B/D# | Em  C | G  / Bm B | Em  Cm |  G  / Bm B | Em  | NC |

Good question. To be fair, the allusions to Queen and The Beatles are admirable. There are tempo changes, layered vocals, and production elements reminiscent of arena rock. The lyrics are lighthearted, if not slightly worrisome. Hopefully Remember Monday are able to recover in time for this evening. If not, the UK are in for another “real hard year”.

After last year’s disco revival, the United Kingdom have decided to take things in a different direction musically. Remember Monday, who gained recognition after appearing on The Voice UK in 2019, belt their way through their morning-after-the-night-before tale to a soundtrack that sounds like every late-noughties UK No 1 mashed into one. The impressive vocals, in particular the group’s signature three-part harmonies, lend “What the Hell Just Happened?” a degree of musical interest that is otherwise missing. Musically the song is engaging. The initial build from the sparse piano-led introduction to the explosive entry of the first chorus is well managed, and the double-time second verse leads nicely into the second chorus. After this, though, it’s all a bit rinse and repeat. “What the Hell Just Happened?” seems to miss a trick, drowning the vocal harmonies that Remember Monday do so well in 1980s-via-2008 production values. We’re teased with two bars of an acapella chorus just as the song ends, and as a listener we’re left to wonder what might’ve been. Lyrically the song is a mix between Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” and Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” without being either, and at times it feels a bit rhyme scheme over reason.

While a bit more promising than efforts of previous years, I fear the UK’s Eurovision hopes might once again rest on their ability to charm their European neighbours. History doesn’t favour them.

[Written by a bitter Irishman]

73%

Someone lost a shoe / I’m still in last night’s make up
I’m wakin’ up like, “What’s this new tattoo?”
Room is spinning / Ears are ringing
Clutch my pearls like
What the hell just happened? / What the hell just happened?
No clue, but I liked it

(One, two, one, two, three)

Broke a heel, lost my keys, scraped my knee / When I fell from the chandelier, oh
What a night, I don’t mind, it was time / To unwind and I volunteered
Ripped my dress, called my ex, I confess / I’m obsessed, not the best idea, woo
I’m a mess, it’s a trend / In my defence, it’s been a real hard year

09 🇦🇹 • Austria • Wasted Love

JJ • 68 • C♯m

• Verse: C#m | E | B | A G# |
• Pre: F#m B | C#m G#m/D# |F#m C#m | G# |
• Chorus: C#m | E | B | A G# |

One of the challenges some early-career songwriters (and my students) face is developing a clear identity in each section verse, pre, chorus. JJ has no such problem here. The verse starts before the downbeat, landing on, and majorly milking, the big syllable on “love”, and then doing the same with the the other concrete noun “water”, and then creating reflective repetition on “under / under” in the answering phrase. The pre-chorus has a super-scalic change of pace to a run of 16th notes “left me in the deep end”, picking up the pace and telling us that there’s a big chorus coming. And there sure is! The “now that you’re gone” chorus is really a showcase for JJ’s remarkable countertenor, which is the song’s main feature (to be neutral) or gimmick (to be more cynical). He’s good, really good – the “all I have” takes him to G#5. Is he going to go higher on the outro? Expect so.

And now the outro – what?! They wait until NOW to give us the four-on-the-floor kick drum? And they drop it in at ~162BPM! The effect processing on the vocal is a square wave LFO, an effect I have loved ever since I heard Johnny Marr use it on The Smiths’ How Soon Is Now. Here the LFO is synched to 16th notes at the high tempo, so we get this amazing burbling on-off effect that makes the voice into a kind of robotic techno hit-hat. Given that we’ve already heard his impressive range, it’s a great way of adding interest.

He finishes on the high C#6, saving that pitch headroom for a last moment of impressiveness before the blackout. Bravo.

89% 

I’m an ocean of love / And you’re scared of water
You don’t want to go under / So you let me go under
I reach out my hand / But you watch me grow distant
Drift out to the sea and / Far away in an instant

You left me in the deep end
I’m drownin’ in my feelings / How do you not see that?

Now that you’re gone / All I have
Is wasted love / This wasted love
Now that you’re gone / Can’t fill my heart
With wasted love / This wasted love

When you let me go / I barely stayed afloat
I’m floatin’ all alone / Still, I’m holdin’ on to hope
Wasted love / This wasted
Wasted x8 / Love (Wasted x4)
Love

https://genius.com/Jj-aut-wasted-love-lyrics

10 🇮🇸 • Iceland • Róa

Væb • 140 • Bm

Songwriters: Gunnar Björn Gunnarsson, Hálfdán Helgi Matthíasson, Ingi Þór Garðarsson, Matthías Davíð Matthíasson 

• Bm G | D A | Bm G | D F#m |

If you’re going to recycle the chords from Toto’s Africa (and many other well-loved vi-IV-I-V), it’s a good strategy to conceal this with an unusual arrangement. In Iceland’s case, this means electro-shuffles with a higher-than average tempo. There’s a predictable ethnic instrument (Irish diddly-dee fiddle – there are no rules about which ethnicity to raid for this) and the whole thing sounds like one of the very hard levels of Beat Saber.

The song relies on the tempo, fast-changing chords, and groove to create the energy, and the melody takes a back seat here, just nailing chord tones as the loop flies past. For me, this makes for an unmemorable topline.   

Eurovision-cliché key change arrives for the final chorus, stepping us up into Cm. According to my research we haven’t had a key-change winner since 2007. Perhaps they think it’s time. It’s not time.  

49%

[Viðlag: Hálfdán]
Róandi hér, róandi þar / Róa í gegnum öldurnar
Það getur ekkert stoppað mig af, úah-úóh
Róandi hér, róandi þar / Róa í gegnum öldurnar
Það getur ekkert stoppað mig af

[Vísa 1: Matthías, Hálfdán, Báðir]
Ég set spýtu ofan á spýtu og kalla það bát
Ef ég sekk í dag / Er það ekkert mál
Með árar úr stáli / Sem duga í ár
Stefni á Færeyjar (Já) / Ég er klár
Ég er með vesti fyrir belti og vatnshelda skó
Því að veðrið það er erfitt / Ég er kominn með nóg

English
Rowing here, rowing there / Rowing through the waves
There is nothing that can stop me
Rowing here, rowing there / Rowing through the waves
There is nothing that can stop me

I place a plank on a plank and call it a boat / If I sink today, it’s no problem
With oars out of steel / That last for a year
With course towards the Faroe Islands / Yes, I am ready
I have a vest for a belt and waterproof shoes
Because the weather is rowdy / And I’ve had enough

When the sea opens, the waves come
I’m alone on a boat / Looking for a better place
I haven’t lost everything yet / But we hoist up the sails and set off again
I am still in a boat

Look at this, wow / Stopping in Greenland?
Yes, I am down / Steering at sea, I am a captain
Call me Gísli Marteinn / Many months since I last saw some sun
Want to spend the rest of my life out here at sea

When the sea opens, the waves come
I’m alone on a boat / Looking for a better place
I haven’t lost everything yet / But we hoist up the sails and set off again

https://genius.com/Vb-isl-roa-lyrics

11 🇱🇻 • Latvia • Bur man laimi

Tautumeitas • 140 • E

Songwriter (music and lyrics): Asnate Rancāne, Aurēlija Rancāne, Elvis Lintiņš, Laura Līcīte, Gabriēla Zvaigznīte

• Verse: (Bm C#m | D C#m Bm) Bm7 | A | A | G | G | F#m | F#m | E
• Chorus: E | E | D | D | D | D | E | E 
• Bridge: Bm7

Some countries don’t really want to win, and prefer instead to use Eurovision to showcase their songwriting talent and national identity. This is a consistent strategy employed by Latvia, who have qualified for the final only 8 times in the last 21 contests, including a 6-year dry streak 2009-2014. Tonight they’re doubling down on the keep-it-real plan, providing a song about magical fairies, sung in Latvian, with sections that sound like they all come from different songs.

Which is not to diss them – I thought this song was charming. Tautumeitas have been around for around 10 years, and have been lauded for their revival of Baltic folk music traditions. There’s lots of interest here, from the chanting open-5th harmonies to the super-busy drumming parts. The staging is very Midsummer Night’s Dream, enhancing the whole fairies-magical-night vibe. The mixolydian melody in the chorus sounds like a mid-70s Martini advert. And I mean that in a good way.

It’s great to see that the contest still has those who value its spirit of sharing, and are willing to put forward music that is interesting, but not popular. 

59% 

Summon, summon, summon, summon / Cannot ruin me
Cannot cannot cannot cannot / Cannot ruin me
Others are making a bridge of copper
I’m making one of oak / Others are making a bridge of copper
I’m making one of oak / The bridge of copper corroded
The oaken one came into leaf
The bridge of copper corroded / The oaken one came into leaf
I didn’t know my own happiness
Until I met my misery

[Pants]
Bur man, bur man, bur man, bur man, nevar manis izpostīt [x2]
Nevar, nevar, nevar, nevar, nevar manis izpostīt [x2]

[Piedziedājums]
Ļaudis dara vara tiltu, es ozola darināj, ļaudis dara
Vara tiltu, es ozola darināj
Ļaudīm vara sarūsēja, ozoliņa salapoj, ļaudīm vara
Sarūsēja, ozoliņa salapoj

[Piedziedājums]
Ļaudis dara vara tiltu, es ozola darināj, ļaudis dara
Vara tiltu, es ozola darināj
Ļaudīm vara sarūsēja, ozoliņa salapoj, ļaudīm vara
Sarūsēja, ozoliņa salapoj

[Tilts]
Laimi savu nezināju [x2]
Līdz satiku nelaimīt

[Atturēties]
Bur man, bur man, bur man, bur man, nevar manis izpostīt [x2]
Nevar, nevar, nevar, nevar, nevar manis izpostīt [x6]

https://genius.com/Tautumeitas-bur-man-laimi-lyrics

12 🇳🇱 • Netherlands • C’est La Vie

Claude • 124 • F♯m

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Arno Krabman, Claude Kiambe, Joren van der Voort, Léon Palme

• Verse: F#m | Bm | E | A | D | Bm | C#(4-3) | C#
• Pre: F# | Bm | E | C#/E#
• Chorus: F#m | Bm | E | A | F#m | Bm | C# | C#
• Bridge: F#m | Bm | E | A | F# | Bm | C# | C#

Rounding out the first dozen performances of the night is Claude, who represents the Netherlands with “C’est La Vie”. With its booming four-on-the-floor bass drum, timeless circle of fourths chord progression, and passionate autobiographical sentiment, this song marks the first-ever entry by the Dutch to include French lyrics, in addition to Dutch and English. After Mothers’ Day was celebrated throughout most of Europe just last week, Claude is paying homage to his mother and her wisdom in just about the best way possible. 

We have all of the simple transferable French phrases here – the title of course, plus “Chantez un, deux, trois” and “C’est comme ci, c’est comme ça” (see also Luxembourg). The melody is nicely put together chorus, with a predictable but very pleasing topline tracking the chord changes in the chorus. This also makes it super memorable after a single listen. Should do well.

82%

[Verse 1]
“C’est la vie,” she sang to me / Je me rappelle, j’étais petit
Oh, I was just a little boy, but I remember / La mélodie, la mélodie

[Pre-Chorus]
C’est comme ci, c’est comme ça, c’est en haut et en bas
It goes up, it goes down, and around, and around
Qué será, oui, será, me voici, me voilà / Chantez un, deux, trois

[Chorus]
C’est la-la-la-la-la vie
C’est la-la-la-la-la vie
Oui, c’est la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la vie

[Verse 1]
“C’est la vie,” she sang to me / I remember, I was little
Oh, I was just a little boy, but I remember / The melody, the melody

[Pre-Chorus]
It’s like this, it’s like that, it’s up and down
It goes up, it goes down, and around, and around
What will be, what will be? / Here I am, here I go / Singing one, two, three

[Chorus]
It’s la-la-la-la life x2
Yes, it’s la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la life

[Verse 2]
That’s life, and what a miracle
Sometimes in love, sometimes miserable
And I still hear my mama’s voice inside of me / The melody, the melody

[Pre-Chorus]
It’s like this, it’s like that, it’s up and down
It goes up, it goes down, and around, and around
What will be, what will be? / Here I am, here I go / Singing one, two, three

[Chorus]
It’s la-la-la-la life x2
Yes, it’s la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la life
Yes, it’s la-la-la-la-la,

13 🇫🇮 • Finland • Ich komme

Erika Vikman • 147 • Dm/D

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Christel Roosberg and Jori Roosberg (Roos+Berg)

• First verse: Dm | Dm | A Dm | Dm | C | C | A | A 
• Pre: A | A | Dm | Dm | A | A | Dm | Dm
• Chorus: D | D | G Am | F G
• Second Verse: D | D | D | D | A | A | D | D
• Bridge/Outro: D | D | G | G | C | Em7

For any listeners with a cursory knowledge of Germanic languages, the title of this song means exactly what you think it does. singer Erika Vikman says the lyrics reflect “the joyous message of pleasure, ecstasy and a state of trance”, and the song is structured to reflect sexual pleasure and reaching orgasm (known in the UK as “you know what!!”). Given Finland’s colourful past in Eurovision (e.g. “Windows95man”), “Ich komme” is a relatively straightforward entry. While its dance-synth-pop verses, slightly metal-inspired prechorus, and anthemic chorus probably won’t make it a winner tonight, it’s one of my favourite songs in the contest.

“Ich komme” opens with a synth-driven verse that sounds like a joint venture between Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Rammstein. The song then explodes (steady…) into an anthemic chorus, driven by do-re-mi “ich komme”s from a male choir. The transitions from pre-chorus into chorus are particularly powerful thanks to the modal switch from D minor to D major. For reasons which we can infer from Vikman’s structural insights above, the song’s climax is heralded by a double time, club-banger rendition of the chorus, which presumably takes us from the present continuous tense to the present perfect. 

Finland probably won’t win, but at least we know they’ll have had a good time.

85%

(I’m coming)
Night falls, heart beats, they fall in love
Moon rises, earth arches, my gates are open (Hey)
I am Erika, welcome / You are like gorgeous, trance god
Just make yourself at home, do what you want
And when you come, I’ll come with you
(I’m coming, I’m coming) / And before you come, I hear you screaming
(I’m coming, I’m coming) / And to that, I scream out loud, “I’m coming”
(I’m coming, I’m coming) / And together we come and be like
(I’m coming, I’m coming) / It’s like that when you fall in love
(Wonderful)
I am Erika, nice to meet you
I’ll dance with you even a wedding waltz, but naked
Let go and let it happen
Baby, surrender and come with me
The stars in your eyes and me on top of you
Baby, you deserve only good / Let go and let it happen
Baby, you can still fall in love with yourself
Stars in your eyes and me on top of you
Baby, you deserve only good
(I’m coming, I’m coming) I’m coming
(I’m coming, I’m coming) Fall in love
(I’m coming, I’m coming) Hey, baby
(I’m coming, I’m coming) It’s like that when you fall in love
full lyric

14 🇮🇹 • Italy • Volevo essere un duro

Lucio Corsi • 79 • E

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Lucio Corsi and Tommaso Ottomano

• Verse: E B | A A/B | E B | A A | B
• Pre: F#m7 | B
• Chorus: E | C#m | F#m7 | B7
• Bridge: F#m7 | F#m7 | E | A | E | A

Old-school piano ballad from the Italians tonight. This song could have appeared at any Eurovision final from the mid-60s to the present day. It’s all so predictable that even the 2/4 bar at the end of the chorus feels comfortable (and it’s nicely done, adding 2 extra notes to the ascending strings line that brings us into verse 2). The chorus chord loop is an old 1950s staple (I-vi-ii-V), beloved of the doo-wop bands and many others.

And… he’s getting up from the piano. And strapping on the guitar, which is being readied throughout verse 2 (good multitasking there). I feel a twin-lead guitar solo coming with the other guy. And there it is! Oh lovely. Harmony guitars, harmony vocals, call and response. Very cool. And they did it live, properly, for the Italian national final (you can see the orchestra and conductor in shot). 

I’m predicting in top half, but still somewhere near the middle. Very competent, and fully aligned with my old-school 1970s rock affections, but not exciting or quirky enough to win.

74%

Volevo essere un duro / Che non gli importa del futuro
Un robot, un lottatore di sumo
Uno spaccino in fuga da un cane lupo
Alla stazione di Bolo
Una gallina dalle uova d’oro
Però non sono nessuno / Non sono nato con la faccia da duro
Ho anche paura del buio / Se faccio a botte, le prendo
Così mi truccano gli occhi di nero
Ma non ho mai perso tempo / È lui che mi ha lasciato indietro

Vivere la vita è un gioco da ragazzi
Me lo diceva mamma ed io cadevo giù dagli alberi
Quanto è duro il mondo per quelli normali
Che hanno poco amore intorno o troppo sole negli occhiali

“I wanted to be a tough guy
Who doesn’t care about the future
A robot, a sumo wrestler / A drug dealer on the run from a wolf dog
At Bologna station / A hen that lays golden eggs
I’m nobody though / I wasn’t born with a tough face
I’m even afraid of the dark
If I get into a fight, I get beaten up
So they paint my eyes black
But I’ve never wasted time / It’s time that has left me behind

I wanted to be tough / But I’m nobody
A white belt in judo / Instead of a star, just a sneeze
Sunflowers with sunglasses told me: “Be careful of the light”
And that moons without craters are just rip-offs
And that in the end, there’s no use running away from your fears
I’m nothing but Lucio / I’m nothing but Lucio

full lyric

15 🇵🇱 • Poland • Gaja

Justyna Steczkowska • 116 • Dm

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Justyna Steczkowska

• Verse: A Eø7 
• Pre: A | Dm | F | F Eø7
• Chorus: A Eø7

No you’re not imagining things, Justyna Steczkowska is back! After a memorable 18th place finish in 1995, Steczkowska is returning to the Eurovision stage thirty years later. Her 1995 effort “Sama” blended folky elements with vaguely rock-ish sensibilities, but “Gaja” has ditched all that in favour of the club.

“Gaja” opens with a cappella vocals reminiscent of Carmina Burana, and worthy of the godly mum. From there, the ancestral mother of Zeus et al. enters her brat summer. Four-on-the-floor kick drums and hypnotic synth lines, along with more Orff-ish vocals, underscore the dramatic and slightly ostentatious lyricism to make for a song that is monumental in scope, mesmerising in effect, but ultimately unmemorable in the grand scheme of things. Kudos to Steczkowska, whose gap of 30 years between her two participations breaks the previous record of 24 years set by Anna Vissi (Cyprus in 1982 and Greece in 2006). 

64%

They call me Gaja!
Ranisz moje serce Ty / Który moją miłość masz za nic
Naznaczyłeś sobą mnie / Obudziłeś samotności krzyk
Moje imię Gaja / Jestem Bogiem, siłą
Moją matką miłość / Kiedy płaczę to we łzach tonie świat
Tulę w swych ramionach zaginiony czas

Jestem stwórcą twego ja / Duszy zgubą, twoim ocaleniem
W krwioobiegu płynie czas / Święta woda zmywa przeznaczenie

They call me Gaja / I’m the love
I’m the life of all imagined / The world drowns as it watches me cry
I’ll be holding it close in my arms / Time / Czas

Zargo Raga Urra Gara / Jarga Jarun Era Czarodoro
Czas / Moje imię Gaja

full lyric

16 🇩🇪 • Germany • Baller

Abor & Tynna • 138 • Cm 

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Attila Bornemisza, Tünde Bornemisza, Alexander Hauer

• Cm | Bb/F | Ab | Bb
• Cm | Bb/F | Ab | Gm
• Cm | Gm7 | Ab | Bb
• F-G-Eb-D Motif heard throughout

Berlin really is the home of European techno, and this is fall-of-the-wall era authentic, even down to the retriggered vocal sample at the start of each verse phrase (we had to do these short samples in the 90s because the sampler would only record a few seconds – a good example of creativity within constraint!). Tynna sometimes looks as if she’s not sure what to do while the sample (of her own voice) plays, but sensibly does not attempt to mime to it. 

The bass sound has a nod to the TB-303 that is part of that culture, but has been updated to a slightly rounder tone (the authentic one would have been too brittle and not shiny enough for Eurovision). 

Side-note – I think we’re seeing more prechoruses this year. Wonder if that is a trend. More data-mining needed.

It’s not Eurovision-melodic, nor could it be in this genre, but it’s danceable as anything, even at 138 BPM, and performed with energy and style.

66%

Ich baller’ Löcher in die Nacht
Sterne fall’n und knall’n auf mein Dach
Es tut noch bisschen weh, wenn ich dich wiederseh’
Aber ich komm’ nie wieder, egal was du mir sagst
Ich baller’ Löcher in die Nacht
Sterne fall’n und knall’n auf mein Dach
Es tut noch bisschen weh, wenn ich dich wiederseh’
Aber ich komm’ nie wieder, egal was du mir sagst

Kreidesilhouetten auf dem Trottoir / Zwischen uns ein Tatort wie bei CSI
Hast „Baby, tut mir leid“ gesagt zum ersten Mal / Hätt wissen soll’n, dass das das Ende von uns war

Du setzt ‘n Punkt nach dem Satz, als hättst du mich nie gekannt
Also wechsel’ ich Parfums und kauf’ mir neues Gewand
Ich krieg’ wieder diesen Drang, ich will den Weltuntergang
Ha, ich glaub’, das war’s, I shoot for the stars

I shoot holes into the night / Stars fall and crash onto my roof
It still hurts a little when I see you again / But I’ll never come back, no matter what you tell me
Chalk silhouettes on the sidewalk / Between us, there’s a crime scene like on CSI
You said “Baby, I’m sorry” for the first time / Should’ve known that that was the end of us

You put a period at the end of the sentence as if you’d never known me
So I switch perfumes and buy myself a new outfit
I feel that urge again, I want the end of the world
Huh, I think that’s it, I shoot for the stars

I see the star shards on my skin like glitter
I’ve learned that what doesn’t kill me only makes me more chic
Would you still catch a bullet for me? / ‘Cause your weapon is now in my hand

I shoot, la-la / I shoot, la
La-la-la-la-la-la

full lyric

17 🇬🇷 • Greece • Asteromata (Αστερομάτα)

Klavdia • 122 • C♯m

Songwriters: Arcade and Klavdia

• C# ped.// A | F#m | C#m | C#m 
• Amaj7 | F#m | C#m | C#m (B)
• C#m | B | A | F#m

This is a deliberate allusion to Nana Mouskouri, right? Glasses, centre stage, off-white outfit, singing all in Greek? Well, almost. NM actually called Kalvdia before the semi-final to congratulate her on the authentic Greek-ness of the song, saying “We have something in common, our glasses. When I started out, they wanted to make me take them off immediately. They didn’t want me to sing with glasses. In any case, the most important thing is to be yourself. It’s a tough job, but you must not break. And the idea of singing a little a cappella is excellent”

The nods to Euro-pop here are indeed subtle. There’s a little reggaeton-adjacent drumming in the later choruses, and gentle synth parts prop up the mix throughout – I especially liked the low-pass-filtered arpeggiator in the pre-chorus. As an arrangement I suspect it might not have the dynamic range to set the stadium on fire on the night, but I found Klavdia to be engaging and charming as a performer. 

60%

Γλυκιά μου μάνα μην μου κλαις
Μαύρα και αν σου φορούνε
Το ξέθωρο το σώμα μου / Φλόγες δεν το νικούνε
Τα χελιδόνια της φωτιάς / Θάλασσες και αν περνούνε
Του ριζωμού τα χώματα / Ποτέ δεν λησμονούνε

Αστερομάτα μου μικρή / Γύρε να σε φιλήσω
Στα άγια σου τα δάκρυα / Τα χείλη μου να σβήσω
Αστερομάτα μου μικρή / Γύρε μου να σε πιάσω
Τα ξεχασμένα μου φτερά / Στερνά να ξαποστάσω

My star / My star

My sweet mother, do not weep / Though they dress you in mourning black
This faded, weary body of mine / No flame can ever crack
The swallows born of fire’s embrace / No matter how far they roam
Shall never forget the sacred earth / That once they called their home

Oh, my little starry-eyed one / Lean, let me kiss you
Upon your holy tears of light / Let my parched lips rest anew
Oh, my little starry-eyed one / Lean, let me hold you
Let these weary, forgotten wings / Find their last breath upon you

Ah / Ah, my star, my precious light

My sweet mother, do not weep
My life’s a vessel, drifting free
Forever searching for its home / The wind, its sail at sea

My star

full lyric

18 🇦🇲 • Armenia • Survivor

Parg • 130 • Dm

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Parg, Alex Wilke, Armen Paul, Benjamin Alasu, Eva Voskanian, Jon Aljidi, Joshua Curran, Martin Mooradian, Peter Boström, and Thomas G:son

• Dm | Dm C/E | A | A/C# 

Grim, in all senses of the word. The post-chorus chant is the best bit “ra ra ra ra”, with a great moment when the bassline doubles the chant 2 octaves below. But the journey to get us there is not a pleasant one. The vocal is, sadly, not in tune (at least not in the official video I reviewed), and I can’t imagine the monitor mix will be awesome enough on the night to make the vocal intonation any better.

Lyrically it’s self-assertion, which is a common ESC theme, but taken to the point of braggadocio, or arguably rage. I’m hotly tipping this one for the bottom three. I wonder if the betting rules allow shorting the market?

39%

I got my bad shades on (Oh)
Jet black, I’m in my zone (Ah)
I’m sick of the news, I’m sick of the views / I’m sick of the lies they’ve told (Yes)
Come on and shine the light (Okay) / Come on and shine on me (Woah)
Guess you can see, I don’t believe / Anythin’ they told me

Lettin’ me down, liftin’ me up / Keepin’ me slow, I don’t give up
It’s tearin’ me apart, I’m alive
Try to look up, atop of a rock / Climbin’ these heights, man, I can’t stop at all
I’m standin’ tall

I’m a survivor, stay-aliver / Do or die, in my prime, I’m a fighter
I’m a survivor, won’t be tied up
Break from the pain, take your place, I’ll remind ya

I’m a survivor (Ra, ra-ra-ra, ra-ra-ra, survivor)
(Ra, ra-ra-ra, ra-ra-ra-ra, survivor) / (Ra, ra-ra-ra, ra-ra-ra, survivor)
Break from the pain, take your place, I’ll remind ya

Kickin’ me, breakin’ me, but I won’t stop
Pushin’ me, pullin’ me, I will get up
Hittin’ me, mockin’ me, stabbin’ me, crushin’ me
Tearin’ me, burnin’ me, I’ll never stop

I could have lost my way
I could have made mistakes / I bled a lot, more than you thought
But I didn’t fade away (Oh)

Breathe in, breathe out, it’s all done / Never forget who you are
Breathe in, breathe out, it’s all done / Never forget who you are

I’m a survivor

full lyric

19 🇨🇭 • Switzerland • Voyage

Zoë Më • 75 • E♭

Songwriters: Emily Middlemas, Tom Oehler, Zoë Anina Kressler

• Verse: Eb Gm | Cm Bb | Eb Gm | Cm | Eb Gm | Cm Bb | Eb Gm | Cm | 
• Pre: Ab | Fm | Ab | Bb
• Chorus: Eb Gm | Cm Bb | Eb Gm | Cm Bb | Ab Bb | Eb Cm | Ab Bb | Eb
• Bridge: G7 | Cm | G7 | Cm Bb/D Cm/Eb Cm/F | G7 | Cm | G7 | C C7 | F/A C/G (into key change)
• (Key change to F)

I theorize that the reason for pop being so melody-led in the early to mid 20th century is that people were buying sheet music more than they were buying vinyl, so the ‘charts’ was basically a competition for the best, most memorable melody. Perhaps that’s part of the ‘great’ in ‘Great American Songbook’. And for a while, melo-centric pop hits survived into the pop era – a lot of early Beatles songs, for example, would have been played on one-inch speakers on little transistor radios with decidedly midrange fidelity, meaning that the melody was a the centre of the mix in every way. Since then, of course, we all have better speakers and full-bandwidth headphones, which perhaps explains the rise of more frequency-dependent music like rock and hip-hop. 

This charming song from the Swiss harks back to that time when melody was the only game in town. I listened to this song literally 0.5 times (end of first chorus) and that hook was instantly in my brain. “Faire un voyage” is four syllables, sung over C-E-C-F (and then Bb-G-Eb-F – I love that rising sixth on the second “Faire un…”). Exquisite song, authentic sentiment, no gimmicks. I’d like to see it win, but placing it in the top 5, maybe the top 3.

79%

[Couplet 1]
Mes yeux candides découvrent le monde
D’une façon naïve à faire confondre
Les démons de la nuit, mmh-mmh, mmh-mmh
Tu m’balances des mots qui m’étouffent
Quoi qu’il advienne je me couche / Près de toi ce soir, mmh-mmh, mmh-mmh

[Pré-refrain]
Tu comprendras un jour / Que les fleurs sont plus belles
Quand tu les arroses / Tu m’as coupée

[Refrain]
Tellement de fois / Si tu veux, je pars
Avec toi pour faire un voyage / Faire un voyage, voyage
Faire un voyage avec toi

–

My candid eyes discover the world / In a naive way that confounds
The demons of the night, mm, mm / You throw words at me that choke me
No matter what, I’ll lie / Next to you tonight, mm, mm

One day, you’ll understand / That flowers are more beautiful
When you water them / You’ve cut me

So many times / If you want, I’ll go
With you on a journey / Go on a journey, journey
Go on a journey with you

Let me love you even if you don’t / I’ll drown in your tears
I’ll share your melancholy / You eat me up with your gaze
No matter what, I’ll never stop singing to you

Go on, go on a journey x2 / Go on, go on a journey with me
Go on, go on a journey x2 / Go on, go on a journey with me, with me

If you want, I’ll go / With you on a journey
Go on a journey, journey / Go on a journey with you

full lyric

20 🇲🇹 • Malta • Serving

Miriana Conte • 122 • Em

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Benjamin Schmid, Miriana Conte, Matthew Mercieca, Sarah Evelyn Fullerton

• Em // E | E | E | E | Am | E C | B | Em | Em D E (Arabian Riff )

I’m not going to retread into the controversy that this recently-retitled song attracted, other than to say that the edited-out word that originally appeared on the downbeat of the chorus is soooo going to be chanted by the crowd in Basel tonight. We have more interesting (melodic) fish to fry.

The vocal verse melody has a chromatic line straight out of Elvis Costello’s Pump It Up (younger readers will know this riff as Olivia Rodrigo’s Brutal). The “queen energy” section of the verse uses the double harmonic major scale, with a sweet little flute phrase answering the vocal and bringing the exotic-ness. The pre-chorus “Why should we let other people decide” is mostly standard Eurovision filler, which bridges the gap until we get to the next cool melodic phrase “I do it all the time”, which is a quote from the 19th century “Arabian Riff” aka Streets of Cairo/Poor Little Country Maid. Certainly out of copyright, though, so it’s fine to re-use it! Side note: Singing In The Rain is now out of copyright, so feel free to steal that tune too. My remarkable occasional colleague Jennifer Jenkins at Duke University helpfully tracks all the song that go out of copyright every year via the Public Domain Day project – essential reading for copyright nerds.

For the chorus, Miriana has only the ‘s-s-serving…” line to work with, so there isn’t much of a vocal hook here, and I think this is the song’s main musical weakness. The verse and pre build us up to what is (now, with the deleted word) a rather disappointing chorus.

Pretty good. Won’t win.

76%

I got a secret you should know
Come a little close, I’ll whisper slow
I got a secret you should know (Shh, shh, shh, shh)

People say, “Don’t be so loud / Watch the words comin’ out your mouth
Hands crossed, don’t dare stand out / Follow the crowd, follow the crowd”

Pull up, pull up, make ’em all bow down
“Shut up, shut up,” I’ma be real loud
Get up, get up, I don’t back down / Follow me now, follow me now

Only lovers, no enemies / Feel it ’round me, queen energy
In my power, a higher me / Here’s the secret remedy

Why should we let other people decide
When we could be havin’ the time of our lives?
Let down your walls, come and dance to my vibe
I do it all the time, yeah, I do it all the time

Serving (Ah) / Do-re-mi-fa-s-s-serving (Ah)
Do-re-mi-fa-s-s-servin’

full lyric

21 🇵🇹 • Portugal • Deslocado

Napa • 75 • G♭

Songwriters (music and lyrics): André Santos, Diogo Góis, Francisco Sousa, João Guilherme Gomes, João Lourenço Gomes, João Rodrigues

• Verse: Gbmaj7/Db | Cb Gb | Abm7 Db | Bbm | Abm7 | Cb Gb | Abm Db | Bbm Gb | Abm7
• Pre: Cbmaj7 | Cbmaj7 | Gb | Gb
• Chorus: Abm7 | Db | Gb Gbmaj7 | Gb7 (Ebm7)| Abm7 | Db
• Bridge: Cbmaj7 | Bb7 | Eb | Ab7+9

“Deslocado” is Napa’s tribute to their origins in Madeira while living ‘displaced’ in mainland Portugal. The sentiment is nice, and so is the music. Melodically straightforward and harmonically dreamy (watch those 7th and 9th chords!), “Deslocado” is a lilting love letter. Its use of the Portuguese language – even to British xenoglossophobes – lends the song an authenticity, and amplifies the song’s homesick sentiment and slightly haunting nostalgia.

Indie rock is not a very Eurovision-y genre, and that is a shame. Napa’s musicality is evident, and their understated-yet-confident stage presence – reminiscent of every student band you’ve ever seen –  is a tonic to the often overblown and gimmicky stagecraft that Eurovision attracts, and encourages.

This is why betting on Portugal is unwise. “Deslocado” is very lovely, but it isn’t very Eurovision. 

Napa look slightly out of place in the competition, and maybe that is to their benefit. Importantly, however, it is not to Portugal’s.

45%

I’m counting down the days to myself
With my suitcase packed / Almost didn’t fit
The accumulated saudade / I can see the garden from the blue
Just behind the wing / Mom, look out the window
I’m coming home [x3]

No matter how it may seem
I’ll never belong / To that city
The sea of people / The different sun
The pile of concrete / Doesn’t provoke me
It doesn’t feel like home

Because I / I came from far away
I came from the middle of the sea
In the heart of the ocean I have my whole life
I make my way thinking / Of returning
To my home, island, peace, Madeira

If I explain it to you word by word
You’ll never understand the pain that silences me
The loneliness that haunts the moment of departure
I carry the peace of being able to return
Mom, look out the window, I’m coming

full lyric

22 🇩🇰 • Denmark • Hallucination

Sissal • 140 • F♯m

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Chris Rohde-Frisk, Line Spangsberg, Linnea Deb, Malthe Johansen, Marcus Winther-John, Melanie Gabriella Hayrapetian, Sissal Jóhanna Norðberg Niclasen

• Verse: Bm | Bm | F#m | F#m | A | A | E | E
• Pre: Bm | F#m | A | E | Bm | D | F#m | E | E |
• Chorus: Bm | Bm | F#m | F#m | A | A | E | E

I wonder if the Scandinavian nations get together in a secret cabal every January to decide which of them gets to write the year’s one-word-noun Euro-banger? We know that Sweden usually carry this responsibility (Euphoria, Heroes, Tattoo), but it looks like the Danes got it this time around.

It’s nice enough, and the 5-syllable title word has enough vowels to be a chorus on its own. I suspect the writers knew that the chorus wasn’t quite doing enough, even at 140BPM, to hit the excitement button hard enough, which would explain the dynamic ramp at about 2:10. Sissal just sings “yeah-yeah-yeah…” pitching up as high as E4, to give us that peak point that Euro-bangers need at this point. Have a look at it on the YouTube slider – the ‘most replayed’ peak looks like a mountain. Shows that this is what people like, and the Danes are happy to give it to them.

62%

You show me more, more than meets the eye
You open all the doors inside my mind
I see colours I never saw before
A thousand shades of light come to life

Making me question all that I thought true
All that I’m seein’ through you
My vision’s blurry, but I can see clearly
Baby, I’m losing control

You’re my hallu, hallucination / Hallu, hallucination

I’m paranoid, slipping from reality / You’re leading me into another fantasy
Worlds are changin’, darkness fadin’ / I follow you to the end and now I’m changin’ (Now I’m changin’)

It’s a new sensation / (Worlds are changing, darkness fading, my hallucination)
Hallucination / (Worlds are changing, darkness fading, my hallucination)

full lyric

23 🇸🇪 • Sweden • Bara bada bastu

KAJ • 106 • Am

Songwriters: Kevin Holmström, Axel Åhman, Jakob Norrgård, Anderz Wrethov, Kristoffer Strandberg, Robert Skowronski

• Verse: Am | Dm/F E
• Pre: Am | Dm E
• Chorus: Dm F | G Am | F Dm | E
• Bridge: Am // Am | Dm E
• (Key change to Bm)

Regular readers will know that I take the view that it’s difficult to lose money betting on the Swedes. And this year is no exception. In Bara bada bastu they’ve stayed away from familiar Euro-pop territory (the Danes are covering that this year) and are going for this comedy-schlager oom-pah silliness.

But, this being Sweden, there is serious song craft below the lumberjack shirts.The syncopation on that chorus is superb, and the dropping 5th of the title line creates a killer hook that, combined with the connecting scalic parts, makes a chorus that is singable after a single listen.

The lyric theme is, apparently, Finnish-Swedish rivalry about which nation does sauna the best. Cue men in towels, and a full-commitment performance that brilliantly carries the deadpan comedy. This is my tip to win – yes, even with a key change.

No smoke machines or pyros here. Only steam.

94%

[Verse 1: Jakob Norrgård]
The clock strikes, now is the time
All worries will soon disappear
The best cure for body and soul
Four wood-paneled walls

[Pre-Chorus: KAJ, Jakob Norrgård, Axel Åhman]
(Oh, eh-oh, eh-oh) This firewood of ours heats just as well
(Oh, eh-oh, eh-oh) As tango with Arja Saijonmaa
One, two, three, sauna

[Chorus: KAJ]
We’re gonna have a sauna, sauna, steam up and release all stress today
Sauna brothers, we’re the ones who glow, hundred degrees, well then
Just having a sauna, sauna, throw on so that the sweat just whirls around
Oh, sauna bathing, yeah
We’re gonna have a sauna, sauna, steam up and let go of all stress today
Sauna brothers, we’re the ones who glow, hundred degrees, well then
Just having a sauna, sauna, throw on so that the sweat just whirls around
Oh, sauna bathing, yeah

[Post-Chorus: Axel Åhman & Kevin Holmström]
Sauna / Sauna (Yeah, exactly)

[Verse 2: Kevin Holmström]
Pour water and get more steam now
Tick-tick-tock, how long can you hold out?
Ninety degrees, we’re almost there
Damn, it’s getting hot in here

[Pre-Chorus: KAJ, Kevin Holmström, Axel Åhman]
(Oh, eh-oh, eh-oh) The sweat’s dripping, yeah, yeah
(Oh, eh-oh, eh-oh) One, two, three, sauna

[Chorus: KAJ]
We’re gonna have a sauna, sauna, steam up and release all stress today
Sauna brothers, we’re the ones who glow, hundred degrees, well then
Just having a sauna, sauna, throw on so that the sweat just whirls around
Oh, sauna bathing, yeah

24 🇫🇷 • France • Maman

Louane • 88 • Gm

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Louane, Tristan Salvati

• Verse: Gm F | Bb Dm | Eb F | Gm or Bb D7/A
• Pre: Gm F/A | Bb | Eb Dm | Gm
• Chorus: Gm | D7/A | Gm/Bb | D(4-3)

Two big hitters after another. The French are fancied, and especially so in this evening’s competition. Louane’s emotional ballad “Maman” is a tribute to the singer’s mother, who passed away in 2014 when Louane was 17 years old. The song is big and emotional and, should Louane pull it off on the night, will be hard to beat.

Harmonically the song is undecided between G minor and its relative major key of B-flat; the progression constantly drifts between the two in a way that echoes the lyrical pull between grief and optimism. This is especially evident in “Maman”s pre-chorus and chorus: the relatively hopeful “Je vais mieux, je sais où je vais [I’m better now, I know where I’m going]” is accompanied by a cadence in B-flat major, before the repeating refrain “Maman [Mother]” is harmonised entirely in G minor. As if this emotional harmonic tension wasn’t enough, the final “Maman” that we hear is spoken by Louane’s own daughter Esmée – awww.

Given their order on the night, “Maman” could make Sweden’s saunafest look just plain silly, and beat it. 

88%

[Couplet 1]
Y a plus d’amants
Y a plus de lits
Finalement, tu vois
J’ai construit ma vie
Et le vide est grand
Les questions aussi
Toi, tu vas comment ?
Est-c’que tu vois tout ici ?
Et j’ai bien changé
J’ai bien grandi
De toi, j’ai gardé
Tout ce qui fait qui je suis

[Refrain]
Je vais mieux, je sais où je vais
J’ai arrêté d’compter les années
Et si j’ai voulu arrêter le temps
Maintenant, c’est moi qu’elle appelle “maman”

[Post-refrain]
Maman, maman, maman

––

[Verse 1]
No more lovers
No more beds
In the end, you see
I built my life
And the emptiness is vast
So are the questions
How are you doing?
Do you see everything here?
And I’ve changed a lot
I’ve grown up
From you, I’ve kept
Everything that makes me who I am

[Chorus]
I’m better now, I know where I’m going
I’ve stopped counting the years
And if I once wanted to stop time
Now, I’m the one she calls “mother”

[Post-Chorus]
Mother, mother, mother

full lyric

25 🇸🇲 • San Marino • Tutta l’Italia

Gabry Ponte • 128 • E♭m

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Gabry Ponte, Edwyn Roberts, Andrea Bonomo

• Ebm | Cb | Abm | Db Cb | Db | Bb | Ebm
• Ebm | Cb | Abm | Db 

Here, the ethnic instrument intro duties are taken by the accordion, for some reason. Thankfully it is ignored after 4 bars, reappearing later as a post-chorus instrumental hook. The song desperately needs this, because the rest of the melody reaches hitherto unachieved levels of meh. The front-person is our DJ, flanked by dancers and two shinily faceless men in top hats. No-one appears to be singing, and no-one appears to care.

This is another 6/8 new-wave shuffle – there’s a lot of it about this year – and it’s really danceable, at a perfectly appropriate 128BPM. Gabry is bringing all the energy, even from behind the decks. 

Lyrically, we have spaghetti, wine, and anti-French resentment about the Mona Lisa. Like the Estonians this year, the Sammarinese are stereotyping the Italians from a safe distance – about 2,700km. And yes, we fact-check this blog.

56%

Mamma stasera non ritorno
Ma sicuro finisco in qualche letto, poi dormo
Siamo tutti dei bravi ragazzi, a posto
Spaghetti, vino e Padre Nostro
E la Gioconda ride
Va bene, ma lei sta a Parigi
I baci vietati nelle stradine nere
Occhi tristi ma felici
Quanti amici degli amici

Tutta l’Italia, tutta l’Italia, tutta l’Italia (Hey)
Tutta l’Italia, tutta l’Italia, tutta l’Italia
Lasciateci ballare
Con un bicchiere in mano
Domani poi ci pentiamo
A dirci: “Ti amo”
Che qui ci sente
Tutta l’Italia, tutta l’Italia, tutta l’Italia (Hey)

––

Mom tonight I’m not coming back
But I’m sure I’ll end up in some bed, then I’ll sleep
We’re all good guys, it’s alright
Spaghetti, wine and Padre Nostro (Our Father)
And the Mona Lisa laughs
Ok, but she’s in Paris
The forbidden kisses in the dark streets
Sad eyes but happy
So many friends of friends

All of Italy, all of Italy, all of Italy (Hey)
All of Italy, all of Italy, all of Italy
Let us dance
With a glass in our hands
Then tomorrow we’ll regret
Saying “I love you”
Who here hears us
All of Italy, all of Italy, all of Italy (Hey)

Full lyric

26 🇦🇱 • Albania • Zjerm

Shkodra Elektronike • 95 • Cm

Songwriters (music and lyrics): Beatriçe Gjergji, Kolë Laca, Lekë Gjeloshi

• C ped. (with Bb step ups)
• Cm | Bb | Ab | G7 | Cm
• Cm | Bb | Ab | G7 

Albania wins best ethnic instrument of the year IMO, with the welcome appearance of the wonderful Çifteli (2-stringed mandolin-like instrument). Harmonically, Zjerm is a slow andalusian cadence (see Luxembourg earlier this evening), and the loop goes pretty much throughout.

The duo aspect of the vocal works well – from Beatriçe Gjergji’s penetrating and urgent melodic lines, to Kolë Laca’s voice-of-anti-doom spoken word sections. And lyrically, I love it – the title means “Fire”, but it is a fire of renewal, of hope, of burning away all that is wrong with the world, and building a better tomorrow, free from conflict, pollution, and human misery. What a great sentiment to end the Eurovision final!

78%

N’këtë minutë, n’këtë çast, no paranoja (Ah)
Pas shiut, ylber të duket bota (Ua)
Nëpër rrugë, asnjë ambulancë, kurrkush s’flet me arrogancë
Edhe sot na thanë që s’prishet koha
Përfundova nën ujë, kurrë s’m’u tha goja (No)
Imagjino një minutë pa ushtarë, pa jetima
Asnjë shishe n’oqean, naftës i vjen era jargavan
Lirinë e fjalës ta mëson shkolla (Hopa)

Krijo në mua një zemër t’pastër
Në natën time, të dërgoj dritën
Aman, miserere
Aman, miserere

Në zemrën time, n’zemrën teme
Ky minutë do të vazhdojë
Njerëz’t e mirë e njerëz’t pa emër
Kërcejnë valle n’shpirt
Jarnane ti toka ime
Ku kam lindë, s’do të harroj
Jarnane ti bota ime
Vazhdo me shndritë, shndritë, shndritë, shndritë

––

In this minute, in this moment, there’s no paranoia (Ah)
After the rain, the world looks like a rainbow (Wow)
There’s no ambulance around the street, no one talks to you arrogantly
Even today they told us that the weather won’t be bad
Ended up under the water, my mouth never dried (No)
Imagine a minute where we wouldn’t need soldiers, no one would be orphaned
No bottle would be in the ocean, gas would smell like lilac
You would learn freedom of speech in school (Hopa)

Create a pure heart in me
In my night, I send you the light
Please, have mercy / Please, have mercy

In my heart, in my heart
This minute will go on / Good people and nameless people
Their souls dance valle / Jarnane, my land
Where I was born, I won’t forget you
Jarnane, my world / Continue to shine, shine, shine, shine

Fire falls upon our tribal dances / That rattle like the avalanche when it falls upon mountains
Fire, nameless people and pure people
They all rip and fall the same way like seven knives stabbed into your soul
Fire, here rests the sea, sand and Moon
And we can’t see the stars ’cause our feet step on them when we walk on delirium
Fire, we crave for flame and light
And we search for you in this darkness that refuses to shine on you

Full lyric