It’s a the first of two very busy Saturdays with no fewer than four national finals all in one evening (plus semi-finals in Sweden and Portugal), and there was also the German national final last night (meaning all big 5 countries now have their entries for Eurovision). I missed the German final and wasn’t able to do a preview (the songs only got released the day before) but suffice to say the fandom favourite didn’t win!
So today’s preview is a bit of a quick canter with so many finals and so many songs – I’ve stuck to showing the favourites or entries of interest.
Denmark: Dansk Melodi Grand Prix
Ten songs in the final, and with no semi-finals or heats, we won’t know what the live vocals are like until the show. General consensus is that it’s a set of safe, bland songs, but you can decide for yourself tonight! The DMGP final starts at 7pm UK time.
Leonora – “Love Is Forever”
This is currently the favourite in the betting, though I’m not sure it quite connects with me. There’s a hint of Lily Allen here with some French language thrown in part way through…
Julie & Nina – “League of Light”
Running second in the betting, and my preferred option of the two front runners in the odds, is this pleasant duet from two female singers from Greenland. If this were to win, it would be the first time Greenlandic had been performed on the Eurovision stage.
Hungary: A Dal
While Denmark has just the one show, Hungary takes a longer road with its well established national selection, A Dal. There are two former Eurovision artists in the 8 strong final, both who achieved top 10 finishes. Based on how the jury votes have gone so far then only one of those two former entrants are likely to go back to the contest. A Dal begins at 6.30pm UK time.
Pápai Joci – “Az én apám”
Joci scored a surprising top 10 place at Eurovision just two years ago and he’s in with a good shout of going again. I don’t think this is as strong as that 2016 entry but could still take him to Tel Aviv.
Acoustic Planet – “Nyári zápor”
I know very little about this one, aside to say this got the best marks from the jury across both semi-finals, and with a good public vote as well, I think this has to be counted among the favourites to win A Dal and represent Hungary.
Lithuania: Eurovizijos Atranka
Lithuania probably has one of the longest of all the national selections but we finally get to see who will be representing the last of the Baltic countries to choose their entry. It’s looking like a two horse race, but I’ve said that before and someone else has gone on to win… The Eurovizijos Atranka final kicks off at 7pm UK time.
Jurijus – “Run With The Lions”
With top marks from the jury in his semi-final, and getting the biggest televote out of either semi-final, this looks to be the one to beat. Whether it will be the song to bring Lithuania success is another matter, it’s a slowish tempo male solo in a contest which has got quite a few of those already.
Monika Marija – “Light On”
So a little bit of controversy with this one as Monika managed to qualify with two different songs in the final but chose to withdraw one of them so that her fan base wasn’t split between the two songs. Some might feel that they wasted their money voting for the other song, but regardless if that has an impact, this was the better song to choose as it scored top marks with jury and televote in its semi-final (though Jurijus got a bigger televote in the other semi-final).
Ukraine: Vidbir
It’s been a great relief that rumours of financial problems earlier this season have not been borne out and Ukraine is serving up a suitably electic mix in their final. 6 acts have made it to the final after the semis, and while the fan favourite is also the betting favourite, it’s all to play for as several of the songs could well win. And while Denmark’s national final comes across as safe and bland, Ukraine’s is anything but! The Vidbir final begins at 5pm UK time.
MARUV – Siren song
A massive fan favourite, this also feels classic Ukraine, with its crazy and provocative performance combined with a catchy pop tune.
Freedom Jazz – “Cupidon”
Hard to pick out what the biggest rival to MARUV might be, but based on televoting results in the semis, it’s this electro cabaret/jazz number – once again, no playing safe from Ukraine!
A lot of finals and songs, and all overlapping in when they are being broadcast. Good luck in trying to keep up with everything this evening!