Eurovangelists

The Eurovision 2026 national finals are about to hit us like a tidal wave, but not quite yet - for now, it's the gentle rain of Luxembourg's eight-song national final, and its excellent lineup of interval acts and guests. It's nice to have the time to discuss a pretty fun show, as things will get much trickier next month! Jeremy dreams of a physicist-pop star girlfriend, Dimitry spots another Ryba...

The Eurovision 2026 national final season is upon us, at last! Moldova's Selecția Națională 2026 and Malta's MESC 2026 were this past Saturday, at a combined NINE hours of programming across the two finals. One mostly earned the run time, and one... not so much. Jeremy finds one Moldovan entry Simply Irresistible, Dimitry starts a feud with multiple podcasts, and Oscar's backing mom songs again th...

It's our last week before the avalanche of Eurovision 2026 national finals begins and doesn't stop for almost two months, so we've got another batch of sneak peeks of upcoming shows, plus a listener postcard about the important issue of voting in 2026. Jeremy likes the look of some of these men with accordions, Dimitry's hero might just show up to save the day, and Oscar's villain origin story beg...

Some said hitting the triple digit mark couldn't be done, but the Eurovangelists have talked ESC a HUNDRED times! We celebrate by doing our favorite thing: talking about Eurovision, and taking a look at the many national finals that await us in 2026. Jeremy's aged out of A-Teenagerhood, Dimitry's favorite is a little inappropriate, and Oscar makes a called shot for where his favorite will come fro...

Happy New Year, and happy new national final season! We've got two quality national finals to talk about, and lots of great songs to add to our playlists. Plus, one of Dimitry's all-time faves shows up as an interval act, and another one shows up twice. Jeremy can't take the tease of Zjerm, Dimitry's a certified Adio-phile, and Oscar goes to bat for his weird pop girlies from both countries. Watch...

We've had the good fortune this year to enjoy the support of fans like you, so we've decided to share a little bit of the wealth of content that our MaxFun backers get and put together this present for everyone. It's the very first episode of But Enough About Eurovision Already from April, our pop culture chat about anything non-Eurovision, and the very first episode of Dimitry's interview show Eu...

It's Christmastime, so that means it's time for an episode better known as Hark, The Icelandic Angels Sing! Iceland’s Christmas Covers of Pop Songs: Let Them Ring; The Bridge That Unites Italy and Iceland (Sweden Sometimes Too) Or, Laura Branigan Is The Grinch. We're joined by fellow MaxFun host Alex Schmidt of Secretly Incredibly Fascinating to investigate this certainly very curious phenomenon....

The European Broadcasting Union held their Winter General Assembly with two consequential votes promised, and somehow, only one vote happened. We discuss the countries that are returning for Eurovision 2026, the countries who have dropped out as a response to the vote, and what exactly happened with regards to this year's General Assembly. This week's companion playlist: https://open.spotify.com/p...

We've talked a lot about Lordi and their 2006 win in Athens, and with the 20th anniversary rapidly approaching next year, we wanted our listeners to be up on one of the best contests of the otherwise not-so-great '00s era. And who better to join us in Athens than Greek pop expert and comedian Mano Agapion to talk about all the high and lowlights of the Grand Final? Jeremy taps the sign with his on...

This week we're talking about artists from indigenous European artists from Spain, Australia and Scandinavia, and who better to join us than the hilarious comedian Jana Schmieding of Rutherford Falls & Reservation Dogs? Jana and the boys talk about the intersection of Eurovision with the many indigenous peoples of Europe, and listen to some great songs. Jeremy's still salty about 2024, Dimitry sha...

With the release of some great collabs between some of this year's (and past year's) Eurovision faves, it's time to take a look at a whole bunch of recent songs by pairs of ESC artists. They might be from the same country, they might be from the same year, or they might have even collaborated before their dreams of holding the glass trophy had even entered their minds, but all the songs are good f...

In honor of our Silver Signal Award, we're bringing back Silver Medal Superstars, a tribute to all the great second place entries in Eurovision that don't get nearly as much love as the winners. For this look back, we're joined by Eurovangelists fan and DJ Cecily Herzig of Connections with Cecily, a great music show on Royalton Community Radio in Vermont. Jeremy's finding the New Seekers everywher...

It wouldn't be a Halloween episode without an extra spooky guest, so we've got the winner of Season 2 of the Boulet Brothers' Dragula, Biqtch Puddin', on the show to talk all things creepy (both meanings). We take a look at the many songs over the years that aim for the darker side of the contest's fans, and to what degree they succeed or fail. Jeremy's begging for some color, Dimitry makes it cle...

Listen, we all love the Eurovision Classics: Waterloo, Love Shine A Light, etc. But sometimes these songs get a little overexposed, and that's when they need a few years to cool off in the Eurovision Vault. We take a look at a few songs that could use a rest as interval acts or medley choices, and offer up some replacements that might sound a little fresher to the ears of the discerning ESC fan. J...

The UK's 2006 Eurovision entry was a song called "Teenage Life," which placed 19th. But what placed far higher in our hearts is the incredible BBC3 documentary Daz's Eurovision about the man, the myth, the legend, Daz Sampson. It's a veritable Spinal Tap's worth of hilarious moments, bizarre musical connections, and at least one moment where Daz suggests he's as good a songwriter as Paul McCartney...

It's been almost a year since we devoted an episode to listener questions, so we're diving into our stack of postcards and answering questions of all kinds. We talk about Eurovision-related media, Eurovision-related SOCIAL media, and who will be the first to win out of the Iceland/Malta/San Marino trifecta of small but mighty nations. Jeremy defends Arcade but has to be true to his Soldi, Dimitry...

The dreaded second spot in the Grand Final lineup has a lot of lore surrounding it, spoken only in hushed tones by those that fear its power. But it turns out despite not producing any winners in 70 years, it hasn't been all bad for those forced to contend with the supposed "Death Slot." We go way back to find the source of the myth, and look at those that fell to the curse as well as those that o...

Norway's own pop diva Mathilde SPZ joins the Eurovangelists to tell us all about songwriting camps: retreats where aspiring and current Eurovision artists go to brainstorm new songs and produce tracks, some of which become competitors in national finals and even the Grand Final itself. It's a fascinating piece of the modern Eurovision world, so we're glad to have experienced camp participant Mathi...

We're cracking open the Book of Eurovision Records, on loan from the EBU until they catch us with it. It's a deep dive back through the history of the concert as we look at the some of the heights (and depths) achieved by ESC competitors over the years. Jeremy can't handle the fact that Boys Do Cry, Dimitry's talking conlangs, and Oscar finally makes the Eurovision/Shrek connection. This week's co...

Now that we're officially in the 2026 Eurovision season, it's time to revisit the last time Austria hosted the contest: 2015. But we couldn't do it alone - Ross Bryant of Dropout & Push the Roll joins us to cover the show from Aminata to Zelmerlow. Jeremy dreams of Winamp, Dimitry's ears always perk up at good Adio, Ross is tormented by electro-swing, and Oscar thinks we ought to do Tonight Again....

As we approach the 70th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest, it's fun to take a look at how the ESC was viewed just 10 years ago - some songs remain as classic as ever, while some songs aren't nearly as beloved as they once were ( cough_Believe_cough ). But Graham Norton and Petra Mede give us a rollicking 90 minutes of ESC hits, and we ain't complaining. Jeremy finally counts himself as a...

Well, it's been quite a ride, but all good things, and even all mediocre things, must come to an end. Our four week series on the American Song Contest comes to a close, and it's actually got some decent stuff... and also some regrettable stuff too. But that's the ASC in a nutshell, so we talk ways to improve it if they ever attempt something so fool-hardy again. Jeremy cannot and will not feel th...

We finally reach the end of the qualifiers of the American Song Contest, having heard songs from all fifty states, five territories and the District of Columbia, and now it's on to the two weeks of semifinals, where the remaining 22 of the original 56 competitors perform for the 10 spots in the finals. There's also a whole lot more time wasted on weird stuff that feels unnecessary, but that's the...

We dive even deeper into the American Song Contest this week, tackling 23 more songs from all over the United States. Some are good, and some are, well... not as good, but hey, we're just Countryin' the States. Jeremy cannot and will not Feel the Love, Dimitry's a secret fan of a 90s alt-pop icon, and Oscar suggests that it might be best if you Do It Yourself. Watch the episodes of ASC we discuss...

The time has finally come: the Eurovangelists have gone American... American Song Contest, that is! We're spending the month of August covering one of our most requested topics: NBC's 2022 attempt to create an American version of the ESC. We're recapping the entire thing, so listen along to the show that could very well have become an American institution (probably not). Jeremy's got hometown prid...