IRELAND
Ireland's RTE staged its final, also called Eurosong in RTE One's late night program The Late Late Show. Six entries competed and decided by a mixture of an international jury, national jury, and the televote...
"Too Good for Your Love" - Adgy. This entry got some buzz with online Eurofans and indeed it placed 3rd with the international jury. However, it placed 5th with both the national jury and the televote, and hence it finished a mediocre 5th overall.
"Hawaii".- Public Image Ltd. This is probably one of the most shocking entries in national final season, as this band already had a high profile in the 1980s especially with its frontman, John Lydon, being legendary as the frontman of iconic British punk band The Sex Pistols. So what is he doing competing here? Basically to showcase his ode to his longtime wife, who is stricken with Alzheimer's. To be honest, I found the live performance very amateurish, so I wonder if the 4th place finish was because of the backstory and the pedigree instead of actual performance merit?
"Down in the Rain" - K Muni & ND. This mellow R&B/rap ditty didn't fare well among Eurofans and the international jury, as it placed 5th in the latter. But it somehow struck a chord with the national jury and televote as it placed there, and hence finished 3rd overall.
"Midnight Summer Night".- CONNOLLY. Many Eurofans including myself would've preferred that this moody pop entry to be the winner, and the international jury would've agreed as it ranked 1st there, but the eventual winner won the national jury and televate and thus by a slim margin prevailed over this entry.
NORWAY
As is customary, Norway's NRK staged its annual Melodi Grand Prix (MGP). This time they have 21 semifinalists competing over 3 heats, with the Top 3 of each heat advancing to the final. While in previous years the final would feature a "golden" superfinal stage where two to four finalists would have a showdown but this time there is no such extra round and the combined jury and televote points determine the rankings and the winner.
Three Eurovision veterans were eliminated in the heats.
"Tårer i Paradis [Tears in paradise]" - Kate Gulbrandsen. She represented Norway in 1987 with "Mitt liv [My life]". She still proves to be a strong vocalist even after over 35 years with this ballad, though it doesn't stand a chance with the more current-sounding entries in this batch.
"Someday".- Stig van Eijk. Stig represented Norway in 1999 with a slick boyband-style pop ditty, "Living My Life Without You" He now shifted his style to reggae--not really that impactful
"Freaky for the Weekend".- Byron Williams, Jr. + JOWST., JOWST made the Top 10 in Eurovision back in 2017 with "Grab the Moment". His collaboration with Byron Williams Jr. is a danceable R&B jam but admittedly not a major standout so even if it's a likeable listen it failed to make impact like other entries out there.
There were two other entries that caught the fancy of some Eurofans, but somehow fell short of advancing to the final. Both competed in the third heat.
"Triumph" - Akuvi. This is a sassy reggae-tinged pop number, which is such a shame as this is a fun, quality entry.
"Freya" - Maria Celin. This was competing in the same bracket as Akuvi, and it was hyped that this was the biggest rival to the eventual winner as it fuses modern electro-pop with epic Viking sounds. Maybe the fact that she wasn't as pitch-perfect hampered her chances of making the final, and hence became a shock boot.
The results of the finals proved to be very interesting, especially if you review the breakdown of the ranking contrast between the international jury and televote.
"Geronimo" - Umami Tsunami. Even if it didn't finish last in either jury or televote, this boyband trio finished last in the final at 9th place. It finished 7th with the jury and a tie for 6th in televote.
"Prohibition" - Swing'It. This old-fashioned 1920s-style number finished last with the jury in the final, but was saved by placing 3rd with the televote.
"Love Again" - Skrellex. This drag artist may have placed 8th with the jury but she placed 4th with the televote, emerging with a 7th place overall finish.
"Not Meant to Be" - Eline Thorp. This rock-tinged electro-pop number finished a respectable 5th with the jury, but was last in televote, so she finished 6th overall.
"Ekko inni meg [Echo inside me]" - Jone. Despite placing 6th in both jury and televote, this sea shanty-inspired pop ditty finished 5th overall.
"Love You in a Dream" - Elsie Bay. She previously made Top Four last year with the classical ballad "Death of Us", and she has a similar showing this year with this quality waltzing ballad. She placed 4th overall with a 4th place ranking with jury and 5th place with televote..
"Masterpiece" - Alle Pettersen. This ballad turned out to be a jury darling as it ranked 2nd with them and hence managed to finish 3rd overall despite finishing 8th with the televoting public.
"Honestly" - Ulrikke Brandstorp. She won MGP back at 2020 with "Attention" but we all know that contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She almost got a ticket for another Eurovision go-round as she was a strong 2nd in televote, though admittedly she wasbeaten by Alle Pettersen above with the jury.
Now, a highlight of the MGP grand final was last year's champion Subwoolfer finally unmasking themselves as singers Ben Adams (A1) and Gaute Ormåsen.while performing a medley of "Give that Wolf a Banana" and their new single "Worst-Kept Secret".
SPAIN
Like last year, Spain's TVE held Benidorm Fest to select its Eurovision entry. This year's format is having 18 entries in two semifinal heats, with the Top Four of each heat advancing to the final.
"Uff!" - E'Femme. This was an early favorite amongst Eurofans, but it seems that despite the high energy performance, some pitch issues caused this to finish 8th in their heat.
There was one Eurovision alumni who was aiming for a 2nd go-round and this is:
"Desde que tú estás [Since you are]" - Alfred Garcia, He represented the country in 2018 with Amaya and their contrived love pairing with "Tu cancion [Your song]". He came back with another ballad, this time with a slight rock tinge.. He only placed 5th in his heat, missing the finals by a few slivers.
Now, let's discuss the standouts among the eight finalists.
"Arcadia" - Megara. This is a popular hard rock entry. Though they were pipped by Alice Wonder's "Yo quisieria [I would]" with the expert jury, that entry's weak showing (last with demoscopic jury and 7th with televote) while this entry secured a strong 4th in both demoscopic jury and televote helped secure this band this finish.
"Nochentera [Nocturne]".- Vicco. This 1980s style pop ditty topped the demoscopic jury and was a solid 3rd in the expert jury and televote, so she finished 3rd overall.
"Quiero arder [I want to burn]".- Agoney. Imagine Adam Lambert singing in Spanish a song that seems a fusion of Israel's Michael Ben David's "I.M." (2022) and Ukraine's Maruv's "Siren Song" (2019--withdrawn) and you get this sassy electro-pop ditty. It was 3rd with the demoscopic jury and 2nd with both the expert jury and televote so it secured its runner-up finish behind the eventual winner.
CZECHIA
Czechia's broadcaster Česká televize (ČT) decided to have both the Czech public and international audience vote for the representative among five entries via ESCZ 2023. There were five entries in contention and the vote was conducted online.
"Flood" - Maella. This song might confuse listeners if this is a ballad or an uptempo pop tune, and with a less-than-pitch-perfect live performance, made it te entry that finished dead last in this group.
"Happy" - Markéta Irglová, This lady is most famous for her appearance in the film Once and the Oscar-winning ballad from that movie, "Falling Slowly", She entered Iceland's national selection last year and failed to advance to the finals then, and now she's back competing at home soil. Unfortunately the song lacks impact, and hence she placed 4th in this group.
"Introvert Party Club".- Rodan. This is an engaging pop song that segued from acoustic pop to modern dance pop. Its a very competitive 3rd placer.
"Ghosting" - Pam Rabbit. If it weren't for the formidable eventual winner, this sassy pop entry would've.been a worthwhile choice for Liverpool.
COMING UP: ESTONIA, LATVIA, DENMARK, and ROMANIA
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