Whitney Writes…

This time next week, I’ll be preparing myself for Day Two of Eurovision Semifinals. A fact that is truly astounding to me, as up until two days ago, I did not realize that Eurovision was NEXT WEEK.

I have really struggled to get into Eurovision this year. As some of you may recall, I lost my sick, elderly lab almost a year ago, and during Eurovision was when he started his rapid decline. And I was worried I would have that memory stuck in my head and not be able to enjoy the actual contest. My partner convinced me to still take the days off of work to watch, stating that my dearest Dexter would not want me to miss something I loved so much – even if I don’t feel it right now – due to missing him.

We watched every song as the representatives for each country were announced. And the last few days I have really made myself start listening to them on Spotify. While none are completely running away with my heart, I do enjoy quite a lot of them. I think there is actually only one that I actively dislike… France – how could you do La Zarra like that and follow her up with this dude.

After watching the videos, I had three that really stuck out to me. Three that would become my favorites: Ireland, Croatia, and San Marino. Probably best described as the ‘weirdos’ of the year…

Other than those three beauties, I realized I did actually like a lot of others upon listening to them in Spotify. They all seemed to grow on me the more I listened to them. These ones will definitely be added to my playlists outside of Eurovision:

• Australia’s “One Mikali (One Blood)” by Electric Fields
• Belgium’s “Before The Party’s Over” by Mustii
• Estonia’s “(Nendest) Narkootikumidest Ei Tea Me (Küll) Midagi” by 5miinust & Puuluup – This one took a lot of listening to finally decide I liked it
• Finland’s “No Rules!” by Windows95man –This one took quite a few listens. Sometimes the music videos/winning performances are not the best first impression…
• Germany’s “Always On The Run” by Isaak – His voice is truly amazing
• Italy’s “La Noia” by Angelina Mango – Finally getting back to the legacy of Måneskin it feels like
• Lithuania’s “Luktelk” by Silvester Belt
• Netherland’s “Europapa” by Joost Klein – I never thought there would be a day where I actually liked this one, but… here we are, and here he is on this list
• Norway’s “Ulveham” by Gåte – This feels like it has come straight out of Norse Mythology, and I love it
• Slovenia’s “Veronika” by Raiven
• Spain’s “Zorra” by Nebulossa
• Sweden’s “Unforgettable” by Marcus and Martinus – I was really surprised in finding myself liking this one
• Ukraine’s “Teresa & Maria” by Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil

You can find all the 2024 Eurovision entries’ official music videos here, and their winning performances here. All worth checking out!

And like last year, I will close with my initial/final thoughts on all of this year’s participants!

• Albania: Besa “Titan” – It’s not really my jam, but it’s a good feel-good song. It weirds me out a bit in the one part she sounds like she’s trying to do an American Country sound. I thought it was accidental, but upon watching her Live at the Pyramid of Tirana… I don’t think it is.
• Armenia: Ladaniva “Jako” – I’m not a big fan, but the music video is super cute and her happiness is a bit infectious.
• Australia: Electric Fields “One Mikali (One Blood)” – I love the vibes of this one. The video is a bit bland, but I feel like they’re really letting the song speak for itself. I can’t wait to see what they do with their live performance.
• Austria: Kaleen “We Will Rave” – Wasn’t a fan of it when we just watched the video. Though I do love that the entire point of her video seems to be she got to dress super sexy and dance with a bunch of hot boys. In an… abandoned warehouse? You know, everyone’s favorite romantic spot. But giving it proper listens, it has a really fun beat. I also cannot wait to count how many dance breaks her live performance has.
• Azerbaijan: Fahree featuring Ilkin Dovlatov “Özünlə Apar” – This one is alright. It falls somewhere in the middle for me; neither love, nor hate.
• Belgium: Mustii “Before The Party’s Over” – I love the very end of this song the most. And I definitely do not mean that in a cheeky manner, I just find that final verse where he finally gets really into the “before the party’s over” line really lovely. And the way is he belting it out, finally matches the caliber of his music video performance.
• Croatia: Baby Lasagna “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” – I saw LOADS of memes for this one before I heard/saw it. I made sure we saved it for last, because I was really hoping it would be good. And I was not disappointed. Anyone that says ‘meow’ to a cat and asks it to meow back in their song is a winner in my book. Along with “my anxiety attacks”. I feel you, Baby. The level of chaos he brings is just delightful and I hope he wears those insanely puffy sleeves from his Nationals win. And, of course, the eyeliner. I just hope an interview sheds light on why he’s called ‘Baby Lasagna‘.
• Cyprus: Silia Kapsis “Liar” – The first entry where the start of her song is completely different from the rest of it. Overall, it’s fine. Also can’t wait to see how many dance breaks she has.
• Czechia: Aiko “Pedestal” – I am definitely loving this one the more and more I listen to it.
• Denmark: Saba “Sand” – This one is pretty good. It sounds a lot like things you can currently find to listen to in popular music, though. But I’m not entirely positive if that is a detriment to her song or not.
• Estonia: 5miinust & Puuluup “(Nendest) Narkootikumidest Ei Tea Me (Küll) Midagi” – When we watched the music video, I was staring at our tv going “Wtf….” But upon multiple more listenings… it did the thing. It grew on me. Kazoo-sound and all. I also cannot wait to watch the chaos of this live.
• Finland: Windows95man “No Rules!” – I usually love the weirdness Finland kicks out for Eurovision. Finland and my brain… same wave length. I did NOT feel that when we watched the Nationals winning performance for this one. I was incredibly weirded out by the apparently pants-less man that hatched from a giant denim egg running around like a crazy person. The main singer cut some really funky notes on the higher ones. But then I removed the song from the video. Really listened to it. Listened to the lyrics, had my heart ripped out (“Is there something wrong with the way I look? Is there something wrong with who I am? If I’m not alright, tell me why do I feel so beautiful tonight?”) And then I realized it had happened again… it had grown on me. And it very well might have become one of my favorites.
• France: Slimane “Mon Amour” – NO. Snooze. Go. AWAY. Bring back my love, La Zarra. I think I genuinely hate everything about this one. Other than he’s this year’s obligatory Human Disco Ball.
• Germany: Issak “Always On The Run” – First reaction: “They went from Lord of the Lost to this?!?” But, then I heard his voice. His voice is gorgeous. He’s one of the few acts this year to legitimately give me goose bumps. And the way he says ‘run’ at the 2:45 mark gives me life. He deserves so much better than LOTL got last year (but then again, so did they), so if he gets zero points… they officially just all hate Germany.
• Georgia: Nutsa Buzaladze “Firefighter” – I had this one mixed up with “Fighter” for a long, long time. Again… the dance breaks… but the song’s alright.
• Greece: Marina Satti “Zari” – Another one who’s song starts out WAY different than the rest of it. And I just… don’t get it.
• Iceland: Hera Björk “Scared Of Heights” – She’s definitely lacking the weird factor I have come to expect from Iceland’s entry. But the song is fun. Though I can’t help but feel like her sound isn’t right in her Nationals performance, because you can hear two female voices, but only she’s singing. So she’s either not matching her pre-recording, or…
• Ireland: Bambi Thug “Doomsday Blue” – It’s weird. It’s hexing. It’s whimsical. It’s my jam. I love literally everything about it. I cannot wait to see their live performance and them on the Turquoise Carpet.
• Israel: Eden Golan “Hurricane” – I have mixed feelings about this one. It’s a lovely song, but after the precedent the committee set with banning Russia following the war in Ukraine, I’m not entirely sure Israel should have been allowed to participate. But her line “promise me you’ll hold me again” gets me every time. And the closing lyrical bit is… too much.
• Italy: Angelina Mango “La Noia” – She does big things with this song, and it finally feels like two years on, there is finally an artist to fill the Italian shoes of Måneskin.
• Latvia: Dons “Hollow” – He has a nice voice. But it’s a bit boring.
• Lithuania: Silvester Belt “Luktelk” – Initially, I was jaded by knowing that he beat out The Roop in their attempt to return to Eurovision. But upon further listening, I quite like it.
• Luxembourg: Tali “Fighter” – I prefer it to “Firefighter”
• Malta: Sarah Bonnici “Loop” – This one’s fun. And probably lots of dance breaks again.
• Moldova: Natalia Barbu “In The Middle” – I like this one. The staging is great.
• Netherlands: Joost Klein “Europapa” – I hated this with a passion when I heard it the first time in the music video. I could not comprehend all of the posts in Eurovision groups saying how amazing this song is. Then two nights ago, while making dinner, I realized I was humming it. And I knew it had happened once again. It had grown on me.
• Norway: Gåte “Ulveham” – I love the other-worldly sound of this and am really looking forward to the staging.
• Poland: Luna “The Tower” – This one’s cute.
• Portugal: Iolanda “Grito” – I don’t think I have ever really liked a Portugal entry. A fact I find interesting.
• San Marino: Megara “11:11” – I. Am. In. Love.
• Serbia: Teya Dora “Ramonda” – It’s not bad.
• Slovenia: Raiven “Veronika” – This one draws me in with it’s other-worldy-ness, just like Norway’s entry. I love the siren-ness of it.
• Spain: Nebulossa “Zorra” – One word: CHAPS. But seriously, I love this song. I love her. I love the message she’s sending.
• Sweden: Marcus & Martinus “Unforgettable” – I am genuinely surprised by how much I like this one. I’m usually rather turned off by brothers singing about love interests. It’s weird to me. But I’m going to take a venture that it’s because it rather mirrors the book I was reading at the time, “A Deadly Education” by Naomi Novik.
• Switzerland: Nemo “The Code” – This one is SO MANY THINGS. The more I listen, the more I love it. It’s such a beautiful story of finding yourself.
• Ukraine: Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil “Teresa & Maria” – I really enjoy this one. The beginning had me questioning how I felt about it, but again, the more I listen, the more I love it.
• United Kingdom: Olly Alexander “Dizzy” – I don’t like it. Yet it gets stuck in my head.