The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews

No news is good news. This news is bad news. Eurovision 2020 has been canceled. Now what? Links Rob Holley's thread about why this decision is correct (Twitter) Ticket information (in Dutch, but Google Translate should help you out) (Songfestival.nl) Help out Songfestival.be with a fan event (Twitter)

We finish up our initial evaluations of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest entries with the last nine songs to drop in March. WHY ARE WE YELLING? Summary Coronavirus vs. Eurovision (1:44) Does Austria's song make us feel "Alive"? (6:22) Ireland's "Story of My Life" splits opinions (10:21) Are we "Running" to or from Cyprus? Or the mall? (15:13) Should Bulgaria's "Tears Getting Sober" be the favorite...

We made it through the end of Eurovision Selection Season! Well, the competitions in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Portugal, at least. This is Fine Summary Eurovision in the Wild: Geeky Podcasters Edition (1:07) Coronavirus shenanigans (2:48) Georgia's Tornike Kipiani tells Western Europe to "Take Me As I Am" (5:30) Eden represents Israel and Ethiopia with "Feker Libi" (8:46) Netherlands adds to t...

Somehow we managed to be verbal after mainlining hours upon hours of Eurovision content this past weekend. It's Songageddon 2020! Songageddon 2020 Summary Thursday (1:35) United Kingdom drops James Newman's "My Last Breath" ( with special guest Helen Groothuis ) Germany has a "Violent Thing" with Ben Dolic Azerbaijan announces Samira Efendi Friday (13:09) Belarus chooses VAL's "Da Vidna / Да вiдна...

We're in the eye of the Eurovision Selection Season storm thanks to a light TV schedule this weekend. Time to practice the "I'm a Little Tempest in a Teapot" dance! Remedial Dance Party Summary Ukraine's Go_A wins VidBir with "Solovey" (1:54) Slovenia's Ana Soklič wins EMA with "Voda" (7:05) Sweden's Melfest Heat 4 in Malmö (12:52) Portugal's Festival da Cançao Semi-Final 1 (23:13) Poland's Alicja...

The Eurovision 2020 songlist has hit double digits after this past weekend as we encounter internal selections and national final results. Anarchy in the NRK Summary Armenia's Depi Evratesil (2:09) Lithuania's Pabandom is Naujo Final (6:32) Norway's NRK Melodi Grand Prix Final (11:27) Sweden's Melodifestivalen Heat 3 (21:01) Iceland's Songvakeppnin Semi-Final 2 (24:49) France releases Tom Leeb's "...

Saturday proved to be a marathon as Australia, Latvia, and Italy chose their Eurovision entries and a whole bunch of other countries made progress. Sanremo LXX (Long, Xtra Xtra) Summary Eurovision in the Wild: Oscars 2020 Edition (1:43) Israel selects Eden Alene (7:00) Australia Decides on Montaigne (8:36) Latvia chooses Samanta Tina (13:47) Malta's X Factor belongs to Destiny (21:06) Italy's Sanr...

It's time to update your Eurovision Top 2 videos as Czech Republic makes their choice and Australia, Italy, and Latvia get ready to make theirs. Austvia Superdecides Summary Semi-Final Allocation for Realsies This Time (1:40) Eurovision Ticket Sales (5:15) Spain releases Blas Cantó's "Universo" (8:28) Czech Republic chooses Benny Cristo's "Kemama" (10:12) Greece selects Stefania (14:16) Weekend Re...

Czech Republic came to play, y'all. We do a deep dive on this year's Eurovision selection entries and check in with news across Europe as we wait for the semi final draw. Semi Final Allocation Czech In Summary Semi Final Allocation (0:48) Finland's UMK Entries' Slow Drip (6:11) Czech Republic's Seven Songs for Eurovision (8:38) Denmark and Belarus Narrow Down Their Fields (25:51) Norway's Melodi G...

We have an avalanche of Eurovision news this week, including two new artist selections, a bunch of songs, and Billie Eilish? Boys! Summary Martin Österdahl named Eurovision Executive Supervisor (1:25) Jon Ola Sand discusses the US at Eurovision (3:24) Artist announcements: Tom Leeb for France, Vasil Garvanliev for North Macedonia (6:35) Song drops: Portugal , Iceland , Czech Republic , Denmark , M...

Eurovision Selection Season 2020 begins in earnest with Norway's revamped Melodi Grand Prix and Lithuania's fashion makeover. DRIP in a Box Summary Jeangu Macrooy will represent the Netherlands (1:10) Norway's Melodi Grand Prix Heat 1 (3:40) Lithuania's Pabandom iš naujo! Heat 1 (9:23) Serbia announces its contestants (14:33) Czech Republic announces their artists (16:25) This week: Portugal, Latv...

We're barely a week into 2020 and we already have Eurovision drama up to our ears (HI ALBANIA!). We get caught up on the news from over the holidays in this episode. Sticks Nix FiK Picks Summary Albania's Fesitvali i Këngës chooses Arilena Ara's "Shaj" (1:51) Georgia Idol chooses Tornike Kiniapi (13:34) Australia Decides fills its roster (16:39) Selection process news: Italy, Netherlands, North Ma...

408 songs competed on the Eurovision stage this decade. 148 did not qualify for the Grand Final. From those, we picked 20 that still hold up. Episode Summary 2019 picks (4:03) 2018 picks (7:39) 2017 picks (11:40) 2016 picks (16:40) 2015 picks (22:07) 2014 picks (28:03) 2013 picks (33:48) 2012 picks (41:56) 2011 picks (46:05) 2010 picks (49:23) Links 70: The Ones That Got Away 2010s Edition playlis...

Ben flies solo this week after getting too caffeinated while prepping for the last Eurowhat of the year. He develops a theory about Eurovision in the last decade and makes an audio essay about it. It involves snacks. Episode Summary How to define a decade (1:48) Pop, with a Folk flourish (4:15) Power ballads! (6:10) The Azerbaijan Pop machine (9:00) Italy returns (11:18) Fuego, Replay, and repetit...

Tickets! Hosts! More selections! Eurovision 2020 is in full swing, but we look back at 2019 pop culture and make a 2020 wish list in this episode. Episode Summary Eurovision tickets on sale... for 20 minutes (1:32) Eurovision Hosts: Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley, Jan Smit (6:26) Austria selects Vincent Bueno (9:38) Albania's Festivali i Këngës takes place this week (12:18) Czech Republic invents...

Hungary's reasons for withdrawing from Eurovision sound similar to Turkey's. What else do the two countries have in common? Hungary for Turkey Summary Eurovision 2020 Logo (1:32) Cyprus announces Sandro Nicolas (4:03) Bulgaria announces VICTORIA (7:07) Sweden announces Melfest lineup (8:39) Australia Decides: Mitch Tambo and iOTA (12:06) Estonia presents its 24 songs (14:50) Internal selections: R...

Our Senior Hatari Correspondent Ben traveled to Reykjavik to check in with the Iceland Airwaves festival and what's going on in the Icelandic music scene. Episode Summary How Many Countries are in Europe? We have an answer! (1:21) National Selection Hopscotch (2:44) Featuring Czech Republic, Estonia, Australia, and more! ESC 250 Voting is open! (7:16) Eurovision in Chicago: Onuka, Il Volo, Flying...

Lebanon was supposed to debut at Eurovision 2005. We examine the unexpected ways international relations impact the Song Contest. Lebanon-starter Summary Open Up 2020 (1:26) Duncan Laurence releases "Love Don't Hate It" (4:02) Mailbag: How to break a tie in 1970 (5:15) How Many Countries are in Europe? (9:02) Eurovision in the Wild: Game Shows , Elton John , Stamps (11:43) Main Topic: Lebanon at t...

We jump back 50 years to that time Eurovision had a four-way tie for first place... and no way to break it. Win Win Win Win Summary How many countries are in Europe? (1:44) Are you the next Jon Ola Sand? (9:05) Update: What WAS that Germany postcard? (12:17) Eurovision 1969: The Big Tie (14:16) Netherlands - Lenny Kuhr - "De Troubadour" (19:35) Spain - Salomé - "Vivo Contando" (22:00) United Kingd...

Who knew that flags—symbols of national identity—could have political implications at the Eurovision Song Contest? Drink! Flags on the Play Summary News (1:48) Flags at the Eurovision Song Contest (12:05) Controversy 1: Israel 2000 (15:21) Controversy 2: United Kingdom 2007 (23:49) Controversy 3: Russia 2015 (33:17) Controversy 4: Armenia 2016 (40:10) Controversy 5: Iceland 2019 (43:49) Subscribe...

Remember that time Morocco competed at the Eurovision Song Contest? We don't since neither of us existed at the time. Let's learn about it together! Morocco 1980 Summary RUV fined for Hatari's antics (1:36) Country count (3:37) UK and Spain go internal (4:37) Morocco at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest (8:53) Links You're Wrong About (Apple Podcasts) This is Sweden Calling by Des Mangan (Amazon)

Happy Eurovision New Year! We're talking about Eurovision 2020's host country the Netherlands and the host city of Rotterdam. It’s Rotterdam! Ahoy! Summary Happy Eurovision New Year! (1:23) The Mailbag (4:58) Prioritization Grids: Random and Normal Fun with our Eurovision Lyrics Generator Eurovision in the Wild: From Russia with Love Edition Please Clap The Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Conte...

With Tel Aviv about to pass the Eurovision hosting baton to Rotterdam or Maastricht, we watch the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest to see what has changed in the last 40 years. Hallelujah Summary Welcome back , Chris King! (1:28) Netflix  Eurovision casting news : Dan Stevens and Demi Lovato (3:04) Host City Announcement Friday (5:43) The 1979 Eurovision Song Contest (7:39) Postcards (11:40) Perf...

Nothing courts Eurovision controversy quite like the juries. We journey back to 1997 when the introduction of the televote made the juries A Thing. 12 Angry Points Summary Mailbag: Big 5 Rehab Redux with Germany and the UK (2:07) Eurovision in the Wild: German chocolate edition (5:00) How Many Cities in the Netherlands? (7:36) Netflix Eurovision update (9:03) A Brief History of Eurovision Juries (...

Helen Groothuis joins us as we finish our Eurovision gut rehab project with France and a United Kingdom intervention. The Big 5 Gut Rehab (France and United Kingdom) Summary Welcome, Helen! (1:55) How many cities in the Netherlands? (3:44) Eurovision on Netflix (6:02) France (11:17) United Kingdom (21:54) Links Helen on Twitter | Blog | YouTube Eurovision in the Wild : Germany's Levina in a Boston...