Eurovangelists

We're more than two months post-Eurovision 2025, and it's easy to fall in to an off-season funk over not having any new songs to discuss. Except the artists from this year's Eurovision have been releasing tons of songs, so Barbara and Maria of the Eurovisionphiles have teamed up with the Eurovangelists to take a listen and pick our favorites. Jeremy still loves a witch, Dimitry has a preferred sty...

It's July (or Dzuli), so it's time for a summer playlist courtesy of the Eurovision Song Contest's songbook. The Eurovangelists are joined by world traveler Garrett Palm of Agents of Travel to talk about the breeziest songs in ESC history as picked by your hosts and put together the ideal poolside playlist. Jeremy warns against nachos abroad, Dimitry reveals a secret superstar, Garrett wonders if...

We're going back to Switzerland to go back to the very beginning of Eurovision itself! Special guest Bridger Winegar (Corporate, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Jimmy Kimmel Live!) joins us for the Eurovision Grand Prix of 1956, and the many precedents that are set almost 70 years ago that still persist to this day. Jeremy's like this every night, Dimitry can't take all the birds, Bridger has had enoug...

You can't spell Eurovision OR television without vision, so we're taking a look at a few instances of Eurovision appearing on popular TV shows, and popular Eurovision artists appearing in TV commercials. Some showcase the contest better than others, but a universal truth is if you want to parody Eurovision, you've got to use nonsense. Jeremy hears a Who, Dimitry is a pony no more, and Oscar thinks...

Eurovision threw itself a 50th birthday party, and it's now the 20th anniversary of that party! Don't overthink it: just enjoy our discussion of what the Contest was all about back in 2005 and who reigns supreme as the greatest ESC song of all time. Jeremy's talking 'bout his generations, Dimitry demands respect for Everybody, and Oscar's a little over the whole Napoleon thing. Watch Congratulatio...

In honor of the unjust non-qualification of Red Sebastian at Semi-Final 1 this year, we're taking a look back at some of the songs that make us say, "How did this not qualify?" We get into a little Eurovision history as well as highlighting songs that if not for some twist of fate, might have made it to the big show. Jeremy starts to worry he might have aged out of catsuits, Dimitry reps for his b...

Happy Juneteenth! The show welcomes back Sequoia Holmes of Black People Love Paramore and the Daily Dirty to listen to more Black artists from Eurovision's past, adding on to the series we began last summer. Jeremy's loving that Pip style, Sequoia is a girl-group girlie, and Dimitry's thinking about curly hair... or not. Last year's Juneteenth episode: https://maximumfun.org/episodes/eurovangelist...

As a reward from this year's MaxFunDrive, we're releasing our bonus episode from last year's MFD: our review of the songs from 2020, the Eurovision That Wasn't! We're joined by Jordan Morris of Free With Ads & Jordan Jesse Go to talk our favorites and least favorites that never got the chance to compete thanks to the pandemic. Jeremy refuses to say yes, Dimitry gives us the history of the Mamas, J...

We're still recovering from the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, but we made a lot of great memories in Basel! So many that we thought the city itself deserved its own episode, so here it is: all of the great places and people we saw or met in the nexus of France, Germany and Switzerland. Jeremy can't get enough breakfast panna cotta, Dimitry is healed by soup & risotto, and Oscar's eyes are one of a...

ESC 2025 is now firmly in the history books, but who wins the coveted Euro Neuro Award for Biggest Disconnect Between Staging and Song? That's a question only the Eurovangies can answer, as the Eurovangelists award a number of songs in a wide variety of categories both serious and not. Jeremy's happy with the number of accordions this year, Dimitry does everything he can to not smash the Albania b...

Our time in Switzerland is over, and a new Eurovision winner has hoisted the glass microphone! We talk through all performances from the Eurovision 2025 Grand Final and those that didn't make it from Semi 2, as well as break down the voting from this year's contest. Jeremy votes in Eurovision for the first time ever, Dimitry finally gets the better of Stefan Raab, and Oscar celebrates JJ, wasted l...

We've crossed the pond and made our way to the intersection of France, Germany and Switzerland to bring you all the latest straight from Eurovision 2025, and oh boy is there plenty bring you from Semi-Final 1. There were huge glow-ups, a glow-down, potential new front-runners - everything you could hope for from the "easy" Semi-Final. Jeremy takes a nibble of a dangerous dessert, Dimitry awards a...

We are at last joined by perhaps the most illustrious guest in the American Eurovision firmament, the co-host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour and Eurovision fan extraordinaire Glen Weldon. We take a look at both Eurovision 2025 semis and predict who will move forward and who will not, and who could take it all at the Grand Final. Jeremy joins a chant for happiness, Dimitry might get another chance...

Last year, we shared three top ten lists, so this year, we had to share FOUR top ten lists, as we are once again joined by Dr. Ella Hubber of Let's Learn Everything on the MaximumFun network. We answer a listener postcard and dive deep on the songs that are sticking with us from Eurovision 2025. Jeremy wants to run with you, Dimitry urges everyone to listen to the lyrics, Oscar has a battle for hi...

We've got a returning guest this week in ESC Youtuber & TikToker Worldvishawn, but this time he's here as a songwriter of "Stormchaser," the incredible track by Icelandic artist Birgo from Söngvakeppnin 2025. We talk with the two about how they become collaborators and the months-long process of writing the song, submitting it to Iceland's national final, shooting the video and performing in Söngv...

All of this year's official music videos are out, so the Eurovangelists have enlisted pop culture aficionado Dave Holmes (Troubled Waters, Who Killed The Video Star, MTV) to weigh in on which videos from Eurovision 2025's crop of entrants are Top 10, and which videos are not gonna see much air time. We also talk about who might take it all in this year that feels more wide open than in years past....

Before we go to Switzerland for Eurovision 2025, we've got to go back to the last time they won: 1988, in Dublin Ireland. The Eurovangelists dive into a VERY 80s ESC with special guest Danielle Radford of MaxFun's Tights and Fights, and is there ever a bounty of Irish postcards and oversized shoulder pads to enjoy. Jeremy is bored to tears by his countrymen, Dimitry sees one of his all-time faves,...

You can't talk about Switzerland in Eurovision without going back to the very first year of the ESC: 1956. This week we're talking about the winner of that first contest, Lys Assia, and her long history with the contest with our special returning guest, Tobias Larsson of the Eurovision deep dive blog, Tobson och alla bidragen ( https://allaeurovisionsbidrag.blogspot.com/ ). Jeremy finds The Simpso...

We've mentioned pre-parties on the show before, but what are they exactly? This week, we're joined by Eurovision fan and organizer of the MancHagen pre-party, James Penrose, who tells us everything we need to know about the history of pre-parties, how they get started, and maybe a detail or two about MancHagen. Jeremy worries over an American in Manchester, Dimitry covets a vintage cassette, James...

It's the MaxFunDrive, so we had to bring back our fellow MaxFun host and first ever guest (and first ever returning guest), Dr. Ella Hubber of Let's Learn Everything! We take a listen to EIGHT internal selections from all over the continent, and once more get authentic British despair at the state of this year's entry. Jeremy wishes he was in the booth, Dimitry catches Cyprus in a lie, Ella's hear...

It's the MaxFunDrive, and the rewards for supporting Eurovangelists are considerable! A whole episode about the futuristic, Biblical, rock 'n' roll movie musical The Apple with Alonso Duralde (Maximum Film!, Breakfast All Day, Linoleum Knife, Deck the Hallmark) is available NOW for anyone who joins or upgrades their MaxFun membership. Take a listen! Help support this show and unlock bonus content!...

It’s not MaxFunDrive without a wild kickoff spectacular! Former real-life VJ and host of MTV's Spring Break 1999, Dave Holmes, takes your favorite MaxFun hosts through some wacky ‘90s- and Spring Break-themed mini games!! Here's the playlist promised by Eurovangelists. (You're welcome!) https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Vu3LZN6bp8G3aZu1KkeKO Featuring: Dave Holmes, Jeremy Bent, Oscar Montoya, Dim...

We've finally reached the end of the national final season of this year's ESC, but not without a Super Saturday sized helping of drama! We've got our takes on Croatia's Dora, San Marino's San Marino Song Contest, Portugal's Festival de Cancao and Sweden's Melodifestivalen, and not all of them turned out quite how people expected. Jeremy's ready to have his life destroyed, Dimitry longs for a littl...

The Eurovision 2025 national finals keep right on rolling as we discuss Serbia's Pesma za Evroviziju, Denmark's Melodi Grand Prix, and Germany's Chefsache 2025. On top of that, we take a listen to the internal selections from Australia and the Netherlands and see what we think about their chances this year. Jeremy slanders Dimitry's good name, Dimitry has a bone to pick with Stefan Raab, and Oscar...

At last, a break from the incessant Eurovision national finals of early February: just Armenia's Depi Evratesil and Iceland's Songvakeppnin this week, along with Azerbaijan's internal selection and revisiting Lucio Corsi from Italy, now that Olly's turned down the offer to go to the grand final. There are plenty of Eurovision 2025 songs left to come, but we also wonder: what's the theme of this ye...