Members Huntress Posted February 18 Members Share Posted February 18 (edited) I noticed there's no topic for this legendary event yet @OzFrog Please register in order to view this content Following Sweden's Loreen winning the 2023 Contest with the song "Tattoo", the 68th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Malmö, Sweden, with the Grand Final taking place 11 May 2024. 37 countries will take part, with Romania being the only country not returning from last year's edition. In turn, Luxembourg returns to the Contest after having been absent for 31 years. They last participated in 1993. Several countries have already selected their entries via national finals or internal selections. Semi Final 1 (7 May 2024): Australia Azerbaijan Croatia Cyprus Finland Iceland Ireland Luxembourg Lithuania Moldova Poland Portugal Serbia Slovenia Ukraine Semi Final 2 (9 May 2024): Albania Armenia Austria Belgium Czechia Denmark Estonia Georgia Greece Israel Latvia Malta Netherlands Norway San Marino Switzerland Automatic Finalists (11 May 2024): France Germany Italy Spain Sweden (host country) United Kingdom + 10 qualifiers from Semi Final 1 + 10 qualifiers from Semi Final 2 Albania 2024: Besa / "Zemrën n'dorë" Language: Albanian Czechia 2024: Aiko / "Pedestal" Language: English Denmark 2024: Saba / "Sand" Language: English Estonia 2024: 5miinust and Puuluup / "(Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi" Language: Estonian Finland 2024: Windows95man / "No Rules!" Language: English France 2024: Slimane / "Mon amour" Language: French Germany 2024: Isaak / "Always on the Run" Language: English Ireland 2024: Bambie Thug / "Doomsday Blue" Language: English Italy 2024: Angelina Mango / "La noia" Language: Italian Latvia 2024: Dons / "Hollow" Language: English Lithuania 2024: Silvester Belt / "Luktelk" Language: Lithuanian Luxembourg 2024: Tali / "Fighter" Language: French / English Malta 2024: Sarah Bonnici / "Loop" Language: English Moldova 2024: Natalia Barbu / "In the Middle" Language: English Norway 2024: Gåte / "Ulveham" Language: Norwegian Slovenia 2024: Raiven / "Veronika" Language: Slovene Spain 2024: Nebulossa / "Zorra" Language: Spanish Ukraine 2024: Jerry Heil & Alyona Alyona / "Theresa + Maria" Language: Ukrainian / English Edited February 20 by Huntress 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manny Posted February 18 Members Share Posted February 18 Loving Italy! My favorite so far!! I also enjoy France and Slovenia. As for who I dislike, it would Finland... I was all for Sara Siipola to win, but then we have... this... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members I Am A Swede Posted February 18 Members Share Posted February 18 I'm sure no one will be surprised if the name ABBA is mentioned once or twice during this year's contest.....it being 50 years since "Waterloo". Please register in order to view this content But for me the big story of the year is the return of Luxembourg!! One of the original participants and the country that has given us Eurovision-classics like "Poupée de cire, poupée de son", "L'amour est bleu" and "Après toi"! I don't expect songs of that calibre again, but it's good to have them back. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manny Posted February 18 Members Share Posted February 18 I am looking forward to the ABBA mentions haha I live in Luxembourg for the past 10 years and I am super excited that Luxembourg is back!! I went to the Luxembourg Song Contest few weeks back and it was so awesome. Production was really good and it was a great show. Songs were a bit too generic, but okay. I hope Tali qualifies. It will suck if on their first year back, Luxembourg doesn't make the finals haha 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Huntress Posted February 20 Author Members Share Posted February 20 Two more entries: Belgium 2024: Mustii / "Before the Party's Over" Language: English Poland 2024: LUNA / "The Tower" Language: English 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manny Posted February 20 Members Share Posted February 20 Poland's entry is okay, but it is a pretty generic pop song. And even though I like it, I worry that it won't stand out. There are several generic pop songs this year with Denmark, Malta, Luxembourg and Germany. And apparently Cyprus, Georgia and Switzerland will send girl pop as well. So Poland will not stand out, I don't think. Luxembourg has the edge (imo) for being at least in French, while the rest are in English. Only way is to have a strong distinct visual on the stage that will pop out and make it memorable. Belgium is quite nice. I enjoy listening to it. The only issue I have is that once it finally reaches the climax, he keeps repeating the same thing over and over in the same tone and same way, so it gets annoying to me a bit. Otherwise I like the song. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Huntress Posted March 1 Author Members Share Posted March 1 More entries: Croatia 2024: Baby Lasagna / "Rim Tim Tagi Dim" Language: English Cyprus 2024: Silia Kapsis / "Liar" Language: English The Netherlands 2024: Joost Klein / "Europapa" Language: Dutch San Marino 2024: Megara / "11:11" Language: Spanish Switzerland 2024: Nemo / "The Code" Language: English United Kingdom 2024: Olly Alexander / "Dizzy" Language: English 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manny Posted March 3 Members Share Posted March 3 Croatia - my country, I am very happy with our song this year. And seems like others like it too, as it is currently 1st in the betting odds to win Please register in order to view this content Even if we don't win (Switzerland I think might come for us, if done well live), I hope we make top 5 (or top 3 even).. We haven't been in top 5 since 1999 and we have never been top 3. So I hope for a good result. Cyprus - a typical pop song, sounds like something Britney would do in the 00s. I kind of like it, but there is so much competition on this genre this year, and Cyprus is in the first half of the first semi, so I worry if they can qualify. Maybe if she does a great show and has good dancing. Netherlands - it is really not my cup of tea. I get that it is supposed to have a nice message and all, but it is in Dutch, so I don't think the message will get through to people. San Marino - I didn't like Megara last year when they competed at Benidorm fest and I don't really like it this year either. But this year they don't have much competition in this genre, so maybe they can qualify. Also Spain is voting in their semi, so they might get votes from them. Switzerland - so great! I really like it. The changes in genres, from musical theater to opera to rap to drum and base and pop.. wow! The music video is awesome, so I wonder what they will do with the staging. If this sounds awesome live on stage, this will be a contender to win. UK - ah.. UK... again a basic pop song. I know that this is supposed to be the "British sound" and from what I see, all the Brits seems to be super happy with this. But this is so safe and generic. Olly has a nice voice and I hope he does a good staging, because that can make the song a bit more memorable. The song is nice and very radio friendly, I even listen to it. But I don't think this will make people to vote for it among 25 other songs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members I Am A Swede Posted March 3 Members Share Posted March 3 Isn't that usually the case with the UK though? They rarely have anything really bad (well, except Jemini of course, because that was.....yikes!) but their songs are so bland and boring. And if there is one thing you don't want to be in the ESC it's boring. Even the horrible songs find their fans, but if you're boring..... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manny Posted March 3 Members Share Posted March 3 Oh most definitely Please register in order to view this content I fully agree with all your points. It's just that I think people expected a lot from the UK this year, since it was announced that Olly Alexander would represent them. Even though this song is exactly something you'd hear from him. So not sure what everyone expected... maybe because he is such a huge fan of ESC, so maybe people expected something more ESC suitable (or at least maybe I did). Also, to be fair, I am not sure that many people will recognize Olly as someone who sang with Years&Years, but the fandom seems to think his name is so recognizable. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members I Am A Swede Posted March 9 Members Share Posted March 9 The Swedish final took place tonight, and this will be our entry this year. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Huntress Posted March 10 Author Members Share Posted March 10 The UK has the same problem as Germany (my country): Both countries usually pick contemporary songs which are radio-friendly, but their staging is often bland and forgettable. In the past 10 years, Germany has only had one entry that finished higher than 18th place (including 4 last places!), and the UK hasn't fared much better. And some more entries ... this year's field is nearly complete. We're still waiting for the songs from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Israel. Hera Björk won Iceland's national final with the song "Scared of Heights" but it's unclear if she will compete in Stockholm following some drama. Australia 2024: Electric Fields / "One Milkali (One Blood)" Language: English Austria 2024: Kaleen / "We Will Rave" Language: English Greece 2024: Marina Satti / "Zari" Language: Greek / English Portugal 2024: Iolanda / "Grito" Language: Portuguese Serbia 2024: Teya Dora / "Ramonda" Language: Serbian 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manny Posted March 13 Members Share Posted March 13 (edited) This was the first year I watched Melodifestivalen finals. And my God, you Swedes know how to produce a show. Wow! It was amazing! And the gigantic arena, filled with people! Jeez, it was huge! And even though most songs were just generic pop songs, you elevate them so much with staging. Like the winners... I heard the song beforehand, with just audio and didn't think much of it. But the staging is WOW! Incredible! I am looking forward to you producing Eurovision again and of course, happy to see Petra host again! Please register in order to view this content You are right. UK and Germany sometimes seem like they have given up. Although, UK recently seems like they have woken up a bit. But you are right, it is still this basic pop, which does not, ironically, pop out among 25 other songs during the final. Germany tried last year with Lord of the Lost, but still ended up last. I wonder if this year, the new rule change will help the Big 5 in general. The fact that they will also perform in the semi finals, giving the audiences to hear their songs twice, just like the others. So maybe the radio friendly generic pop songs will feel different in the finals as some viewers have already heard it and might even remember it and hum along. As for these new crop of songs, I know Austria has a huge hype around it. For me, the song is okay, but nothing like so amazing. I have lived through the 90s and heard this many MANY times lol Maybe if she did a modern spin on the 90s sound (like the trend was to do with the 80s recently). But instead, she really just took 90s eurodance elements and made a song, without really updating it much. Australia... I just don't think anything. I listened to it twice and two be honest, I don't remember it at all. Greece is good, I like the mix of traditional and modern. But the sound of those traditional instruments is not so pleasant for me, which downgrades my enjoyment. Portugal is quite lovely. And out of the other ethnic ballads, I enjoy this one the most. The staging is also quite impactful. Serbia is the other ethnic ballad this year (placed in the same semi final as Portugal). I find this so boring. A lot of people are praising this and I just don't see the magic. haha I have watched the PZE (Serbian national final) and I don't see why this won and why people are loving it so much online. So if it comes to choosing between Portugal and this in semi 1, I really hope Portugal goes through. Since you wrote this, Iceland has confirmed their participation. I love Hera Bjork, loved her previous song that she competed with many years ago. But this ain't it. This is super bland and boring. Armenia, Israel and Georgia have also all come out, and we are now only missing Azerbaijan. Georgia is okay. I expect that live performance will elevate the song. I think they are interesting moments and as someone who wants to see Georgia get back to the Grand Final, I really hope they make it this year (along with Latvia and Ireland!!) Armenia came out today and I only heard it once. It is fine. I love that it is in Armenian. It has this ethnic sound, which is very Balkan, not sure of this is also the sound of Armenia. I am not a fan of this sound, even though I am from the Balkans. lol Also the song is super short, it flies by and I feel like there is not much singing. Now, Israel... I follow a lot of people who comment on Eurovision online and almost everyone has skipped Israel, giving a clear statement on the political situation. I personally like the song, it sounds very nice and her voice is beautiful. However, I don't know why Israel would push to participate this year. They have got to be aware that people will not be happy to see them, they will probably boo at her (just liked the booed those Russian twins in 2014 or Polina Gagarina in 2015, when Russia annexed Crimea). I would not be surprised if they don't qualify to the finals. I would not be surprised if she doesn't get interviews or media space. I feel bad for the girl that she will go through that, but she is going voluntarily into this, so... Edited March 13 by Manny spelling 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Huntress Posted March 14 Author Members Share Posted March 14 I'm sure Germany will end up dead last again this year. Our NF had three better options – Ryk, Marie Reim and Galant – but somehow, the German public always votes for the underdogs. We can only prevent coming last if some other dud (like San Marino, Slovenia, or Malta) qualifies from the semi-finals, but most other countries receive at least a few pity points from their neighbors. Germany usually doesn't, even though we are the country with the most neighbors in Europe Please register in order to view this content This is my current Top 10: France Austria Australia Ukraine Belgium Denmark Norway Netherlands United Kingdom Spain Just missing out: Czechia Cyprus Estonia Sweden Finland 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manny Posted March 17 Members Share Posted March 17 Oh, I do think Germany is really going to be, I wanna say bottom 3 again. The song is too forgettable, and that's the worst sin in Eurovision My top 10: 1. Italy 2. France 3. Switzerland 4. Croatia 5. Lithuania 6. Slovenia 7. Greece 8. Portugal 9. Luxembourg 10. Armenia I am happy we finally have all the songs. Looking forward to the running order which should come out soon. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.