As the calendar page turns to May, people’s thoughts move to May flowers, Star Wars Day, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, graduations, and Justin Timberlake singing “It’s gonna be May.” Mine turn to the Eurovision Song Contest, my favorite annual musical event. It’s an extravaganza that is part World Cup Finals, Olympics, and Super Bowl, with healthy doses of self-knowing camp and cheese, and a 37-nation soundtrack. Quoting from the movie Patton, “God help me, I do love it so.”
Last year, I prepared by watching all the Official Music Videos for each entry, and this year, I did the same. However, the Official Music Videos usually don’t predict the look and quality of the live performances. So, this year, I took the extra step of watching 30-second clips of the second rehearsals. These clips are submitted by the contestants and packaged together by Eurovision for YouTube. These videos provide a glimpse into what the live performances will look like on TV.
Here are my eleven faves of the 37 entries with my in-the-moment reactions. I’ve listed them in order of when they will appear in their respective Semi-finals. I’ve also included in parentheses where they rank according to the betting odds at the time of this post. Contestants receive votes from the public and professional juries from each country, so the betting odds are a rough measure of public sentiment.
As I write this, only four of my faves are in the top ten betting odds, and a few are near the bottom in popularity. Years of voting in televised singing competitions have proved that my perspective on artists differs from that of the public. Eurovision is no different.
First Semi-final
- Serbia (20) Ramonda Her voice inhabits every crevice in my soul
- United Kingdom (10) Dizzy This has been my most persistent earworm
- Ukraine (3) Teresa & Maria Just so beautiful. I seem to like Ukraine every year
- Slovenia (19) Veronika OMG, the way this song builds and SLAYS me over the last 50 seconds. OMG
- Moldova (35) In the Middle strings! dramatic sound
Second Semi-final
- France (6) Mon amour I annually stan for France
- Austria (16) We Will Rave such a banger and another persistent earworm
- Denmark (25) SAND BIG, dynamic, hooky, 2010-ish still sounds good to me
- Latvia (27) Hollow (makes an obscure geeky comparison to Poland 2022 for reasons only apparent to me LOL)
- San Marino (34) 11:11 Lady Gaga “Born This Way“ era vibe
- Israel (8) Hurricane WOW!! CHILLS!! JOYOUS TEARS OF… JOY!
The countdown is on. As I write this, only another 2 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes, and 19 seconds to go!
Ray's Musings 
Leave a comment