Whitney Writes…

Eurovision looked a little different this year. For a lot of reasons. Spain, part of the Big Five pulled out due to the decision of the EBU to allow Israel’s participation. Along with Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland, and the Netherlands. I would also like to preface this post with the following: that this will be the only way in which I am mentioning Israel’s performance. I’m still firmly in the camp of they should not be allowed to participate, but I do understand the precariousness of the EBU’s position on the matter. (The short version, from my understanding: the EBU backs the only non-government run television station in Israel, and if the EBU bans Israel from participating, Israel’s government will shut down that television station, leaving the Israeli people with nothing by government-run-television. For reasons that is bad, see Russia.)

But also on a personal level. I am living on my own for the first time, in a space that is all my own. And I also did not listen to any of the songs prior to the semi-finals, due to things going on in my personal life. So, going into the Semi-Finals, I had no favorites. Though, that did quickly change.

Semi-Finals: Round 1

I will list the running order, along with my initial thoughts of each act.

1. Moldova with “Viva, Moldova” by Satoshi – my original thoughts were ‘what in world is this?‘, but I will say that this song and the performance overall has really grown on me since that original exposure.
2. Sweden with “My System” by Felicia – I was… unimpressed? Though, I do rather like the song, the performance felt… disjointed from the song? Not to mention, once I really listened to the lyrics, I was, again, disappointed.
3. Croatia with “Andromeda” by Lelek – I loved this one! The visual storytelling, those ethereal voices…
4. Greece with “Ferto” by Akylas – this one felt like it was on LSD. But was catchy as hell. Bonus points for grown man in cat ears.
5. Portugal with “Rosa” by Bandidos do Cante – I don’t know why Portugal is incapable of sending anything other than these types of songs… Not my jam, and thankfully they ended up not making it to the Grand Final (sorry…) so I didn’t have to listen to them again.
6. Georgia with “On Replay” by Bzikebi – I have a predisposition to like Georgia acts. And no matter HOW much I tried, I could not bring myself to like an ounce of this act. The song was cheesy. The dance was cheesy. The effects were awful.
7. Finland with “Liekinheitin” by Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen – I am also predisposed to liking Finland. This was very tame following last year’s entry, but it was still pretty amazing. Plus, she got to play her violin LIVE. And this duo was pretty heavily favored to win this year.
8. Montenegro with “Nova Zora” by Tamara Živković – SHE WAS ROBBED. THE SONG. THE COSTUMES. THE CHOREOGRAPHY. THE IMMEDIATE STORY THAT STARTED PLAYING IN MY MIND ABOUT A CENTURIES OLD NOBLE VAMPIRE WITH HER FOUR LOYAL HANDMAIDS THAT ARE ALSO HER LOVERS………. 🫠
9. Estonia with “Too Epic To Be True” by Vanilla Ninja – Estonia….. you followed Tommy Cash up with that…………. 🫣🤦‍♀️ It was genuinely awful in every sense of the word.
10. Bathroom break 🙃
11. Belgium with “Dancing On The Ice” by Essyla – this… was just really, really, really boring. Another performance very disjointed from the song itself.
12. Lithuania with “Sólo Quiero Más” by Lion Ceccah – silver, weird, mechanical (but also supposed to be?). Whatever it was, this entry was very much art. I did enjoy the portion of the song where the subtitles magically appeared and he literally sang “…maybe it would be easier with subtitles?”
13. San Marino with “Superstar” by Senhit – Boy George was inexplicably there, adding absolutely nothing to Senhit’s stage performance. She got more out of Flo Rida a few years back… I was a bit surprised she didn’t make it through, this song was a bop. But… maybe the Eurovision community is just… over her? She had already been to multiple Eurovisions by the time I watched in 2021. And this was the third time I’ve seen her…..
14. Poland with “Pray” by Alicja – my gods, her vocals. She was amazing, powerful, and that stage presence was undeniable.
15. Serbia with “Kraj Mene” by Lavina – **fair warning: I’m going to fangirl my brains out here a little bit** My jaw was on the floor. I had goosebumps. I was spellbound. The lyrics. The staging. The cape toss. The flames. The lyrics. The costumes. (That neckline…🫠) THE SWORD. The lyrics. The vocals. The raw emotions. The storytelling. The lyrics. The eyeliner. The screams. The growls. That snap. THE LYRICS. I was in a puddle on the floor. 🫠 This song spoke to me on a level I have not experienced since the first time finding Ghost. To be clear, this performance was done in Serbian. I could not understand a single word of it. But there was something about the emotion of the performance, I felt it on a spiritual level and when I looked up the translation I was left furtherly speechless. Keep your eyes peeled for a Eurovision Tales based on this beauty, and also perhaps just a song essay, because yes, I adore this so much and want to dive into every inch of it, but in the meantime, I’ll close this gush with the part that really got me: “I wanna love you but you’re killing me. I wanna hold you but you just keep dragging me down. I’m at the lowest I have ever been. The less you say the more you haunt me.”

We also got to see a sneak peak at Germany’s and Italy’s performance. I did not care for Germany’s in the least. Italy’s started out rather boring, but when a wedding dress is revealed to be the Italian flag…. yeah, ok, I’ll pay attention.

I had a couple favorites by the end of the running.

Obviously, Serbia was my number one.

I also really enjoyed Croatia, Montenegro, Finland, and Poland.

And now for the ten who would make it to perform again at the Grand Final, in their placements, with points:

1. 🤷‍♀️
2. Poland with “Pray” by Alicja with 247 total points; 110 from the public, and 137 from the juries
3. Finland with “Liekinheitin” by Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen with 227 points; 100 from the public, and 127 from the juries
4. Moldova with “Viva, Moldova” by Satoshi with 208 points; 146 from the public, and 62 from the juries
5. My boos!! I mean, Serbia with “Kraj Mene” by Lavina with 187 points; 131 from the public, and 56 from the juries
6. Croatia with “Andromeda” by Lelek with 175 points; 90 from the public, and 85 from the juries
7. Greece with “Ferto” by Akylas with 159 points; 71 from the public, 88 from the juries
8. Lithuania with “Sólo Quiero Más” by Lion Ceccah with 101 points; 55 from the public, 46 from the juries
9. Sweden with “My System” by Felicia with 96 points; 17 from the public, 79 from the juries (dang, that drop off of the public votes….)
10. Belgium with “Dancing On The Ice” by Essyla with 91 points; 10 from the public, 81 from the juries (eesh….😶‍🌫️)

The non-qualifiers were Estonia with 79 points, Portugal with 74 points, Montenegro with 71 points, San Marino with 41 points, and Georgia with a painful five points.

Semi-Finals: Round 2

I will, again, list the running order, along with my initial thoughts of each act.

1. Bulgaria with “Bangaranga” by Dara – this was fun and crazy and just… so much fun.
2. Azerbaijan with “Just Go” by Jiva – pretty, but boring
3. Romania with “Choke Me” by Alexandra Căpitănescu – this was just… everything
4. Luxembourg with “Mother Nature” by Eva Marija – they always manage to follow-up something quite edgy with something so uncomfortably wholesome… I was not a fan of this one
5. Czechia with “Crossroads” by Daniel Žižka – this one was… boring. I don’t do well with ballads in general…
6. Armenia with “Paloma Rumba” by Simón – this was fun. But there were parts I liked and parts I didn’t. So, a bit indifferent.
7. Switzerland with “Alice” by Veronica Fusaro – this was amazing. I loved it.
8. Cyprus with “Jalla” by Antigoni – I saw a reaction video where they say that between this and the Grand Finals, someone taught her how to sing. Sorry…
9. Latvia with “Ēnā” by Atvara – this was pretty, sparkly, and unfortunately a bit boring
10. Denmark with “Før Vi Går Hjem” by Søren Torpegaard Lund – thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis, oh my gods, I adored this
11. Australia with “Eclipse” by Delta Goodrem – her voice. That’s it. Just… her voice.
12. Ukraine with “Ridnym” by Leléka – this was sooooooo pretty. She missed the super high note, which was disappointing. But overall, the song was so pretty.
13. Albania with “Nân” by Alis – this one was very powerful and lovely
14. Malta with “Bella” by Aidan – I cannot stand this one. Absolutely nothing did it for me about this. His curls were nice…..
15. Norway with “Ya Ya Ya” by Jonas Lovv – I loved the crazy funkiness of this one. It was a great closer.

We also got to see a sneak peak at Austria, France, and the UK. Austria’s was SO FUN. France was, actually incredible, but another opera singer…. The UK’s was dumb, but funny, and a little good.

My favorites from Round 2 were Romania, Norway, and Denmark. I quite liked Australia, Ukraine, and Albania as well.

And now for the ten who would make it to perform again at the Grand Final, in their placements, with points:

1. Bulgaria with “Bangaranga” by Dara with 278 points; 184 from the public, 94 from juries
2. Romania with “Choke Me” by Alexandra Căpitănescu with 234 points; 147 from the public, 87 from the juries
3. Australia with “Eclipse” by Delta Goodrem with 222 points; 85 from the public, 137 from the juries
4. Norway with “Ya Ya Ya” by Jonas Lovv with 206 points; 97 from the public, 109 from the juries
5. Denmark with “Før Vi Går Hjem” by Søren Torpegaard Lund with 199 points; with 75 from the public, and 124 from the juries
6. Ukraine with “Ridnym” by Leléka with 174 points; with 99 from the public, and 75 from the juries
7. Albania with “Nân” by Alis with 158 points; with 113 from the public, and 45 from the juries
8. Malta with “Bella” by Aidan with 143 points; with 49 from the public, and 84 from the juries
9. Czechia with “Crossroads” by Daniel Žižka with 142 points; with 34 from the public, and 108 from the juries
10. Cyprus with “Jalla” by Antigoni with 122 points; with 75 from the public, and 47 from the juries

The non-qualifiers were Switzerland with 108 points, Luxembourg with 60 points, Latvia with 49 points, Armenia with 49 points, and Azerbaijan with two points – somehow worse than Georgia.

Which finally brings us to…..

THE GRAND FINAL

The running order was announced and, as usual, gave a good fill of musical-style-whiplash.

1. Denmark with “Før Vi Går Hjem” by Søren Torpegaard Lund – He started the show off With. A. Bang.
2. Germany with “Fire” by Sarah Engels – This was…. pretty dull in my mind.
3. Bathroom break 🙃
4. Belgium with “Dancing On The Ice” by Essyla – This was still just as boring as the last time we saw it.
5. Albania with “Nân” by Alis – No new thoughts.
6. Greece with “Ferto” by Akylas – No new thoughts.
7. Ukraine with “Ridnym” by Leléka – She hit the high note this time!
8. Australia with “Eclipse” by Delta Goodrem – No new thoughts.
9. Serbia with “Kraj Mene” by Lavina – I still melted just as hard for this.
10. Malta with “Bella” by Aidan – No new thoughts.
11. Czechia with “Crossroads” by Daniel Žižka – No new thoughts.
12. Bulgaria with “Bangaranga” by Dara – By the time she was on, I had seen the updated YouTube thumbnail so had a sneaking suspicion she won so I feel like I enjoyed her performance with more vigor.
13. Croatia with “Andromeda” by Lelek – No new thoughts.
14. United Kingdom with “Eins, Zwei, Drei” by Look Mum No Computer – This was actually really fun, and I don’t feel like he deserved 0 public votes lol
15. France with “Regarde” by Monroe – No new thoughts.
16. Moldova with “Viva, Moldova” by Satoshi – No new thoughts.
17. Finland with “Liekinheitin” by Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen – No new thoughts.
18. Poland with “Pray” by Alicja – No new thoughts.
19. Lithuania with “Sólo Quiero Más” by Lion Ceccah – No new thoughts.
20. Sweden with “My System” by Felicia – No new thoughts.
21. Cyprus with “Jalla” by Antigoni – My favorite comment was someone saying “Oh look, someone taught Antigoni how to sing in 48 hours…”
22. Italy with “Per Sempre Sì” by Sal Da Vinci – No new thoughts.
23. Norway with “Ya Ya Ya” by Jonas Lovv – No new thoughts.
24. Romania with “Choke Me” by Alexandra Căpitănescu – Chills babes.
25. Austria with “Tanzschein” by Cosmó – No new thoughts.

It was a good show. All of the performers did really, really well. The hosts, however, were absolutely awful this year. I did not enjoy them in the least. Their costumes were weird – the dude always looked like he was about to go to an 80’s dance aerobics class – their jokes were awkward. It was just… a no for me. Oh, and the interim act of GoJo with a man in a kangaroo costume where they confused Austria with Australia was just… what were they even doing. No one wants that.

And now…. for the finishing order, but in reverse to be fun…

25. United Kingdom with “Eins, Zwei, Drei” by Look Mum No Computer with 1 point; 0 from the public, 1 from the jury (don’t really feel like this was warranted, to be honest…)
26. Austria with “Tanzschein” by Cosmó with 6 points; 5 from the public, 1 from the jury
27. Germany with “Fire” by Sarah Engels with 12 points; 0 from the public, 12 from the jury (Yeeesh, the Curse of Germany & UK live on…)
28. Lithuania with “Sólo Quiero Más” by Lion Ceccah with 22 points; 12 from the public, 10 from the jury
29. Belgium with “Dancing On The Ice” by Essyla with 36 points; 0 from the public, 36 from the jury (people did not like her song…)
30. Sweden with “My System” by Felicia with 51 points; 16 from the public, 35 from the jury
31. Cyprus with “Jalla” by Antigoni with 75 points; 34 from the public, 41 from the jury
32. Malta with “Bella” by Aidan with 89 points; 8 points from the public, and 81 from the jury
33. Serbia with “Kraj Mene” by Lavina with 90 points; 52 from the public, and 38 from the jury (my boos deserved better than down here…)
34. Czechia with “Crossroads” by Daniel Žižka with 113 points; 9 points from the public, 104 from the jury (Eeesh…)
35. Croatia with “Andromeda” by Lelek with 124 points; 71 from the public, 53 from the jury
36. Norway with “Ya Ya Ya” by Jonas Lovv with 134 points; 19 from the public, 115 from the jury
37. Albania with “Nân” by Alis with 145 points; 85 from the public, 60 from the jury
38. Poland with “Pray” by Alicja with 150 points; 17 from the public, 133 from the jury
39. France with “Regarde” by Monroe with 158 points; 14 from the public, 144 from the jury
40. Greece with “Ferto” by Akylas with 220 points; 147 from the public, 73 from the jury
41. Ukraine with “Ridnym” by Leléka with 221 points; 167 from the public, 54 from the jury
42. Moldova with “Viva, Moldova” by Satoshi with 226 points; 183 from the public, 43 from the jury
43. Denmark with “Før Vi Går Hjem” by Søren Torpegaard Lund with 243 points; 78 from the public, 165 from the jury
44. Finland with “Liekinheitin” by Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen with 279 points; with 138 from the public, 141 from the jury (the most even split between votes so far)
45. Italy with “Per Sempre Sì” by Sal Da Vinci with 281 points; 147 from the public, 134 from the jury
46. Australia with “Eclipse” by Delta Goodrem with 287 points; 122 from the public, 165 from the jury
47. Romania with “Choke Me” by Alexandra Căpitănescu with 296 points; 232 from the public, 64 from the jury
48. 🤷‍♀️

And, the winner is……………………………………….

BULGARIA!!!!!!!!

With a whopping 516 total points; 312 from the public, 204 from the jury, Dara of Bulgaria wins Euovision 2026 with “Bangaranga”!! This was the first year in a few where the winner was both the winner of the jury votes AND the public votes!

It was an exciting, if not short – at least for me – Eurovision season and I cannot wait for 2027!

I will leave you with links to my favorite performances, and close out with the winner.