The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews

From "Waterloo" to "Tattoo", Sweden has been a dominant force in the Eurovision Song Contest for more than 50 years, winning the competition seven times. We dive into the ESC history of next year's host country. Welcome to Sweden Summary Sweden: A Land of Contrasts (2:23) Sweden's Overall Record at Eurovision (4:19) The "Waterloo" Era (8:13) The "Digaloo" Era (13:36) The Carola Era (16:33) The Cha...

We say farewell to our host nations by discussing one area where Ukraine and the United Kingdom overlap: iconic runner-up entries. But what does "iconic" mean for Eurovision entries? Using data from the annual ESC Top 250 countdown, we construct a rubric to identify songs from across the decades that could be part of a Eurovision Hall of Fame. In this episode, we highlight the entries that finishe...

With one month to go until Eurovision New Year and next year's host city and dates announced, it's been a fairly quiet month for the Contest. We check in with some of the national selection processes that are already casting for the upcoming season. Drought Summary Malmö, Sweden will host Eurovision 2024 (1:03) Norway Suggests Jury Changes (6:09) Patreon, Social Media, Guest Spots (8:48) Luxembour...

Finland went all out in supporting their Eurovision entry "Cha Cha Cha" in ways that continue to reverberate weeks after the contest. We spoke with University of Helsinki researcher Zoë Jay and UMK associate producer/"Cha Cha Cha" dancer Matti Myllyaho about Finland's Eurovision 2023 experience. Zoë Jay Dr Zoë Jay is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki and the Centre of Excell...

2020 was a dark time for live music. It also marked the first time in the Eurovision Song Contest’s 65-year history where the competition was canceled. Rather than letting the lights go down in Rotterdam, Eurovision’s fan community and the European Broadcasting Union found new ways to celebrate the contest’s artists with at-home concerts, fan-driven countdowns, AI analysis of song content, and int...

Sweden's host city selection process for Eurovision 2024 has been bopping along while everyone is out of office for summer vacation. We get caught up with our mailbag and some of the headlines from the last month. News Cruise Summary Mailbag: Jemini v Gemini Edition (1:10) Sweden Closes Bids for Eurovision Host City (2:43) Eurowhat AV Club (7:48) 2024 National Finals Taking Shape (9:06) Theodor An...

How does a songwriter interface with the Eurovision experience? "Blood and Glitter" co-writer Anthony J. Brown joins us to discuss his involvement with Lord of the Lost and Germany's 2023 Eurovision entry. Lyrical Vocabulary Summary How did "Blood and Glitter" come about? (1:23) On the Way to Eurovision (10:01) What was your Grand Final experience? (13:31) The Scoreboard (20:19) Subscribe The Euro...

Ben has returned from his Eurovision debut in Liverpool, both as an audience member and as part of the in-person press team. He shares stories from his jam-packed trip. Debut Summary Eurovision Expectations (1:19) The Turquoise Carpet and National Lottery Show (4:55) Eurovision Dress Rehearsals and Semi Finals (8:35) The Eurovision Grand Final (18:25) The Sauna Truck (24:00) The EuroVillage (27:00...

While Ben recovers from Liverpool's Party of the Century, special guest Trip Payne stops by to chat about the 2023 Eurovision Grand Final and the battle between Sweden and Finland. Stockholm Syndrome Summary Eurovision Listening Project (2:35) How was the Grand Final as a show? (5:22) Diving into the Grand Final results (7:06) Semi-Finals Data Drop (19:20) Looking ahead to 2024 (23:45) Subscribe T...

Will Finland "Cha Cha Cha" to victory? Will Sweden's Loreen get a "Tattoo" to celebrate a win? Could Ukraine's "Heart of Steel" beat the competition? We recap the Eurovision 2023 Semi-Finals and make our picks for what we think will happen at the Grand Final in Liverpool. Eurovision 2023 Grand Final Preview Summary Semi-Final 1 Recap (2:11) Semi-Final 2 Recap (10:06) Grand Final Preview (18:40) Su...

Ben and Mike met up in person to make their picks on what they think will qualify from the Eurovision 2023 semi-finals. Then we saw rehearsals. Experience both the before and after as we make our best guesses for Tuesday and Thursday. Internet People Summary Making predictions: pre-rehearsals (2:00) Semi-Final 1 Predictions (4:57) Semi-Final 2 Predictions (10:57) SPOILER WARNING: Making Adjustment...

Maura Johnston joins us as we wrestle with the Eurovision 2023 set of auto-qualifiers. Will Ukraine pull the double? Will the UK and Spain continue their glowups? Will we be going back to Italy? Will Germany get out of the basement? Is France gonna France? Controlled Grandiosity Summary France — La Zarra — "Évidemment" (2:16) Germany — Lord of the Lost — "Blood and Glitter" (6:43) Italy — Marco Me...

When (inciting incident), (hero) struggles against (antagonistic force) in order to (goal) before (stakes are lost). ... Her? Summary San Marino - Piqued Jacks - "Like an Animal" (4:32) Austria - Teya and Salena - "Who the Hell is Edgar?" (12:06) Albania - Albina & Familja Kelmendi - "Duje" (18:54) Lithuania - Monika Linkyté - "Stay" (25:18) Australia - Voyager - "Promise" (32:26) Final Though...

Susan Rogers from Berklee College of Music and author of This Is What It Sounds Like joins us for a record pull of the middle section of Eurovision Semi-Final 2. How do Iceland, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, and Georgia interact with our listener profiles? Hotel Art Summary This is What it Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You (0:49) Iceland - Diljá - “Power” (5:53) Greece - Victor Verni...

We welcome back Reality Blurred's Andy Dehnart to chat about the first chunk of Eurovision 2023's second semi-final, which has almost too much variety in what the Contest has to offer. Starter Pack Summary Denmark - Reiley - "Breaking My Heart" (1:55) Armenia - Brunette - "Future Lover" (10:40) Romania - Theodor Andrei - "D.G.T. (Off And On)" (19:41) Estonia - ALIKA - "Bridge" (26:35) Belgium - Gu...

We close out our coverage of Eurovision Semi-Final 1 with Allegra Kuney, who has brought her media studies hats for our discussions about Switzerland, Israel, Moldova, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Lv100 Paladin Summary Switzerland - Remo Forrer - "Watergun" (3:48) Israel - Noa Kirel - "Unicorn" (10:07) Moldova - Pasha Parfeni - "Soarele şi luna" (19:12) Sweden - Loreen - "Tattoo" (24:28) The Nethe...

We welcome back Ned Raggett to discuss five more entries from Eurovision Semi-Final 1. How has the running order affected our thoughts on Serbia, Portugal, Azerbaijan, Czechia, and Finland? Capsaicin Summary Serbia - Luke Black - "Samo mi se spava" (1:47) Portugal - Mimicat - "Ai Coração" (9:57) Azerbaijan - TuranTuralX - "Tell Me More" (16:11) Czechia - Vesna - "My Sister's Crown" (24:41) Finland...

We welcome back Justin Ladia as we begin our Eurovision 2023 review series. Starting in the first half of the first semi-final, we discuss Croatia, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, and Norway. Spoiler: it gets weird almost instantly. Nostradamus Type Whatever Summary Croatia - Let 3 - "Mama ŠČ" (1:44) Ireland - Wild Youth - "We Are One" (11:05) Latvia - Sudden Lights - "Aijā" (17:44) Malta - The Busker - "...

The Eurovision 2023 deadline is here, so we have a slew of entries from countries waiting to reveal their songs at the last minute. We also get to chat with David Allwood from the UK to tell us what the vibe is in this year's host country. Spring Back Summary Eurovision Tickets Went Fast (1:12) Switzerland reveals Remo Forrer's "Watergun" (3:28) Austria finally tells us "Who the Hell is Edgar?" (5...

Six more songs enter the Eurovision thunderdome courtesy of the Netherlands, Cyprus, Germany, Moldova, Serbia, and Iceland. We also find out what the finals in Sweden and Portugal will look like. Oh, and tickets are on sale... or at least they were... Raw Boost Energy Summary Eurovision Tickets When/Then (1:18) Mia Nikolai and Dion Cooper will be "Burning Daylight" for the Netherlands (3:42) Cypru...

Have we heard the winner of Eurovision 2023? Finland's selection made a strong case this weekend while Sweden's Loreen debuted her contender at Melfest. San Marino, Poland, and Australia also announced their picks as we get closer to the end of Selection Season. Did the Thing Summary Eurovision Hosts Announced (1:16) Australia makes a "Promise" with Voyager (5:31) Finland's UMK selects Käärijä's "...

We got to catch our breath this weekend with only two Eurovision selections coming through: Lithuania and France. With this break, we check in to see how Selection Season is going and what the back half may have in store. Halftime Summary Monika Linkytė will "Stay" for Lithuania (2:06) France reveals La Zarra's "Évidemment" (7:24) Iceland's Songvakeppnin begins (11:30) Heat 3 for Sweden's Melfest...

We are all googly-eyed after a Saturday with more than 50 hours of Eurovision programming. The good news: we now have 8 more songs heading to Liverpool. Everything Everywhere All at Once Summary Vesna wins ESCZ with "My Sister's Crown" (1:40) Alika will represent Estonia with "Bridges" (4:37) Theodor Andrei's "D.G.T. (Off and On)" wins Romania's Selectia Nationala (7:37) "Breaking My Heart" by Rei...

This weekend was a practice run for Eurovision Super Saturday as Ireland, Norway, and Spain made their selections and Slovenia shared their song. Sweden and Latvia also kicked off their processes as we get ready for a deluge of entries for Liverpool. Peanut Butter Yelly Time Summary Semi-Final Allocation (1:08) Wild Youth wins Ireland's Eurosong with "We Are One" (4:44) Slovenia's Joker Out debuts...

After recapping the last (not so) quiet weekend of Eurovision Selection Season, we set our sights on finals, semi-finals, and song reveals all over Europe next weekend. Strap in: It's February, y'all. Click... Click... Click... Summary Germany announces acts for Unser Lied für Liverpool (1:22) Moldova holds auditions for Etapa Nationala (2:42) Norway finalizes the MGP lineup (5:36) Lithuania's Pab...