Whitney Writes…

Excuse me a moment as I lumber out of my cave and shake off the writing hibernation sleepies, creakies, and cobwebs in my brain. Eurovision is TOMORROW. I still do not understand how that is possible. I’ve known it was coming up, I’ve listened to the songs quite a bit. I think it has snuck up on me because I find this year so…. lack luster? Don’t get me wrong, there are still lots of things to love about this year’s Eurovision. Don’t believe me? Just check out this little gem of a video I found on YouTube this weekend and have watched more times than I care to admit to…

Before all the acts were even announced, I knew who I would be cheering for already: Tommy Cash from Estonia with “Espresso Macchiato”. My partner and I stumbled upon him years ago, whilst going down one of our now famous YouTube music rabbit holes. Our first exposure to him was through Little Big; appropriately enough, they were supposed to be Russia’s entry in 2020 before the little hiccup called Covid happened.

There are a lot that I find simply meh, a bunch that I enjoy, but only a couple favorites. I feel like this year is lacking songs that have really spoken to my soul, like Bambie Thug’s “Doomsday Blues” last year, and Käärijä two years prior. This year’s favorites for me are Estonia, Sweden, and Finland.

Other than those three, I do enjoy quite a few of this year’s entries. Are they anything groundbreaking, not really, but they’re still fun. And really, that’s what Eurovision is all about.

• Albania’s “Zjerm” by Shkodra Elektronike
• Australia’s “Mikshake Man” by Go-Jo
• Azerbaijan’s “Run With You” by Mamagama
• Iceland’s “RÓA” by VÆB 
• Latvia’s “Bur Man Laimi” by Tautumeitas
• Malta’s “Serving” by Mariana Conte
• Netherlands’ “C’est La Vie” by Claude
• Spain’s “Esa Diva” by Melody
• United Kingdom’s “What The Hell Just Happened?” by Remember Monday

I don’t know why, but it feels like a weird year. There are more than a bunch that I am like “No thank you, next please!” about. If you want to check out all of the 2025 Eurovision entries for yourself, you can find their official music videos here!

And to close, my initial/final thoughts on all of this year’s participants!

• Albania: Shkodra Elektronike “Zjerm” – I’ve always enjoyed this one. I can’t quite put my finger on it, maybe a bit like how I liked “Veronika” last year. It tugs at my imagination a bit.
• Armenia: Parg “Survivor” – It’s catchy, until you read the lyrics.
• Australia: Go-Jo “Milkshake Man” – I really quite like this one, and I feel dirty just saying that 🤣 It’s along the lines of Finland’s… The silly video at the start of this post saying that they picked appropriate songs for this being the 69th year of Eurovision…. was not wrong.
• Austria: JJ “Wasted Love” – Nope.
• Azerbaijan: Mamagama “Run With U” – This one bops. I like it. It might be the first time I’ve actually liked an Azerbaijan song before.
• Belgium: Red Sebastian “Strobe Lights” – Not feeling this one.
• Croatia: Marko Bošnjak “Poison Cake” – He wants so badly to be a dangerous bad boy. And it just doesn’t work for him.
• Cyprus: Theo Evan “Shh” – It’s catchy once it gets to the chorus. But…. it’s dumb.
• Czechia: Adnoxs “Kiss Kiss Goodbye” – I forget I kind of like this one.
• Denmark: Sissal “Hallucination” – There is nothing remarkable about this one, I fear…
• Estonia: Tommy Cash “Espresso Macchiato” – Unbiased perfection 😉
• Finland: Erika Vikman “Ich Komme” – She’s coming, baby, ready or not.
• France: Louane “Maman” – Snooze. Ok, but in all reality, it is quite beautiful and touching.
• Georgia: Mariam Shengelia “Freedom” – Her backup dancers are far more entertaining than the song is.
• Germany: Abor & Tynna “Baller” – She destroys a cello. Yes, it’s fake. But we know how I feel about cellos. Unforgiveable.
• Greece: Klavdia “Asteromata” – Why is Greece always boring?
• Iceland: Væb “Róa” – This is fun. And silly. And Iceland.
• Ireland: Emmy “Laika Party” – Honestly… the video at the start sums up my thoughts on this one perfectly. It’s stupid. This is the kind of whimsy I should be into, but… I just can’t.
• Israel: Yuval Raphael “New Day Will Rise” – They shouldn’t be allowed to participate, so no thoughts.
• Italy: Lucio Corsi “Volevo Essere Un Duro” – Put this back where it was found.
• Latvia: Tautumaitas “Bur Man Laimi” – I love that Latvia sent this!!!! It’s gorgeous and ethereal. And it’s a chant for happiness, and we all need more of that right now.
• Lithuania: Katarsis “Tavo Akys” – I typically like Lithuania, but this is awful.
• Luxembourg: Laura Thorn “La Poupée Monte Le Son” – I don’t like this song. And her staging/dance seems like a straight up ripe-off of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 🤣
• Malta: Mariana Conte “Serving” – YES, GIRL, YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Montenegro: Nina Žižić “Dobrodošli” – The music at the start sounds like American Football is about to start…
• Netherlands: Claude “C’est La Vie” – I hated this song at the start, but once it really starts going and grooving, it’s spectacular.
• Norway: Kyle Alessandro “Lighter” – This.. is…. just ok.
• Poland: Justyna Stexzkowska “Gaja” – A bit fun, a bit campy.
• Portugal: Napa “Deslocado” – What… even… is… this……
• San Marino: Gabry Ponte “Tutta l’Italia” – This one’s fun!
• Serbia: Princ “Mila” – It’s pretty, I don’t hate Temu Thor….
• Slovenia: Klemen “How Much Time Do We Have Left” – It’s not a bad song. The staging is… strange, though.
• Spain: Melody “Ese Diva” – A worthy successor to Chanel!!!
• Sweden: KAJ “Bara Bada Bastu” – I am typically predisposed to not liking Sweden, thanks Loreen. But I could not help but get KAJ’s song stuck in my head. All it took was a little snippet, and I would be bopping around the house humming “Bara Bada Bastu, Bara Bada Bastu” all night.
• Switzerland: Zoë Më “Voyage” – BBBBOOOORRRRRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG
• Ukraine: Ziferblat “Bird Of Pray” – I hope this one surprises me.
• United Kingdom: Remember Monday “What The Hell Just Happened?” – This honestly sums up so much for me. Eurovision this year. My own liking of this song. That the UK sent a country song?!?! And that I don’t HATE it?!!?!?!?!

I can’t wait to watch this stage come alive tomorrow!!