Eurovision 2025 notes + observations

 

Popera triumphs again!!

Some thoughts on the show in general and notes made while watching about each song. Last year’s winner was the first time my favourite song in the Final actually won though with Nemo singing opera while spinning on top of a metal dias and referencing ammonites how could it not win? Plus they hitch hiked to the event!! It sort of makes up for `Cha Cha Cha` not winning in 2023 which as we all know it should have done. So maybe I’m getting better at predicting these. The overall standard this year is higher than average and I genuinely could not even hazard a guess as to who would win though i had my faves. 

We’re in Basel which Graham Norton memorably describes as “the Harrogate of Switzerland”. The opening is quite characterful with an opening sketch about the arrival of the trophy with Mission Impossible vibes and an in joke involving Nemo, They then kick things off in a full length dress which obviously makes it impossible for him to spin around on anything or even move. It’s a shortened version of a great song followed by the flag parade which moves at a pace that is speedier than the Olympics one,. The stage is giant sized and seems to get larger every year.

So, then, the songs..

 1. Norway | Kyle Alessandro – Lighter “I’m my own lighter” sings Kyle looking rather like Torye Sivan as he cavorts around an alien planet wearing some chain mail. What this song has though is just the right balance between being epic and catchiness with some great staging including plenty of fire. Great start.

 2. Luxembourg | Laura Thorn – La Poupée Monte Le Son Innovative staging backs a song that seems to remind me of lots of other songs at once. Its definitely catchy but perhaps not as memorable as the cartoonish  backdrop. And as we’re always reminded no-one who performs second in the final has ever won.

 3. Estonia | Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato There’s a whiff of Abba in the melodies here but this is quite a silly song performed optimistically in front of the Winner’s Café. One of those songs that might  do well  especially as the dance routine with the security guards is fun. And its about a coffee which we can all relate to. Not sure whether Italian viewers approve of the ItLIn cliches.

4. Israel | Yuval Raphael – New Day Will Rise Singing through any audience heckling Yuval helms this wordy optimistic song partly in English and partly in Israeli while climbing a spangly staircase. There seems to be a nature theme this year, this is one of several songs using elements, in this case water, in the staging. It feels like she wins the crowd over with the power of the song plus that old favourite - a waterfall of fireworks. This could be a James Bond theme.

5. Lithuania | Katarsis – Tavo Akys Katatis seem to have travelled from the early Nineties and have a singer with those indie curtains hair style and a post grunge song. Back in the days of Smashing Pumpkins this would be a hit but it seems bit out of place here and the wind machine blows those curtains everywhere and blows rather a lot in ”those eyes” which is what the song title means.

 6. Spain | Melody – ESA DIVA Opening with castanets and Spanish guitar this couldn’t be from anywhere else. Melody has loads of charisma, a powerful voice and the song owns a banging chorus so must be a potential winner. Though in the lineage of dance music it retains just enough Spanish character. For me too this is the best chorus of the night!

 7. Ukraine | Ziferblat – Bird of Pray Quite a stormer with a decent chorus this feels like three songs joined together but does have a Seventies feel to it and indeed the stage outfits of the band hark back to that era. It builds to quite a crescendo and a lovely image of a bird’s wings at the end but I’m not sure it all holds together quite well enough.

8. United Kingdom | Remember Monday – What The Hell Just Happened? Our entry is something of an outlier seeming like a song from a stage musical. The performance is feisty enough and after a couple of years of failed vocals the UK at least have decent microphones. Good thing as the vocal harmonies are strong. Yet the song stops and starts too much and the physical staging around a crashed chandelier seems a bit low key compared to the ambition of many of the other performances.  On the other hand it is grower the more you hear it.

 9. Austria | JJ – Wasted Love  A ballad with some innovative monochrome staging with JJ is standing on a sailing boat. This does seem to be two songs, partly sung in English with an operatic feel that gives it an epic quality. The water effects on the screen behind are excellent. Though the song starts slow and quiet it breaks into techno at the end and creates a furious momentum as lighthouses rise. Quite sensational in fact, probably my second favourite after Spain.

10. Iceland | VÆB – RÓA Boyband vibes aplenty with the identically dressed in silver twosome plus their dancers. A lot of effort has gone into the moves and there is once again a nautical theme to the visuals, a common thing this evening. Only problem is that while the chorus is memorable the verse isn’t. A violin motif does add a little extra character though. Second act in a row whose staging includes a lighthouse!

 11. Latvia | Tautumeitas – Bur Man Laimi Harmonies over percussive rhythms this is quite interesting even if the girls appear to be wearing clothes made of plastic bags. It sounds a bit like something from The Lion King and has excellent staging but the hook is a bit repetitive.. The moment when they appear to grow tails makes the crowd cheer!

 12. Netherlands | Claude – C’est La Vie Simple staging allows us to focus on Claude’s expressive voice in what is a simple but catchy song. Not sure how well this projects in the massive arena but the chorus is memorable enough to hit and the performance is heartfelt.

 13. Finland | Erika Vikman – ICH KOMME This has `Cha Cha Cha` vibes  with a little `Funky Town` motif. It’s a foot stomper audience participation entry with relatively straightforward staging bathing everywhere in white lights contrasting with her black leather. When she ascends on top of a giant microphone spitting sparks at the end it’s a show stopper.

 14. Italy | Lucio Corsi | Volevo Essere Un Duro Lucio starts at a ridiculously long piano sporting threads borrowed from early 70s Roxy Music, The song itself would sit easily in the charts of that period even if his bandmate seems to be from twenty years later. The lyrics are helpfully translated to English; the only artist this happens for so we learn that “moons without craters are rip offs” apparently.

 15. Poland | Justyna Steczkowska – GAJA More water and fire in the background as Justyna exercises her considerable vocal prowess over an interesting arrangement and choral backing vocals. Somehow the Mad Max costumery and generic dance moves don’t quite go with the anthemic song though when a dragon turns up that makes more sense! It’s an energetic performance though and the song seemed to go down very well with the live audience.

16. Germany | Abor & Tynna – Baller An electric cello makes little difference to a standard modern song with a wordy verse. Some “la, la, la, la’s”  and lots of smoke are not enough to lift this for me. The singer seems to be having fun though.

 17. Greece | Klavdia – Asteromáta Klavdia channels 70s legend Nana Mouskouri’s trademark specs as she starts this slowburn song alone though as the lights go up we see her standing on some sort of jetty. The giant screen works its magic again with plenty of fire  but the song menders too much to be memorable. The visuals are more interesting though she does change her dress to white at the end which surprises the audience.

 18. Armenia | PARG – SURVIVOR  Parg seems to be angry about something but his growling vocal over an industrial rock sound underwhelms at first though it does have a catchy chorus. He does a lot of running on a conveyor belt during this crowd rouser that the audience do enjoy.

 19. Switzerland | Zoë Më – Voyage No spinning top or ammonites for the Swiss this year as Zoe starts off quietly with a low key song that is lovely but maybe a little too lovely for this arena. For most of the song its just her singing though maybe this will be a welcome contrast. Even when the song builds the lighting comes from the audience. It shows that emotion doesn’t always mean big and bold gestures. The song and performance , shot with one camera, is a quiet triumph and my third favourite of the night. 

20. Malta | Miriana Conte – SERVING Miriana is channelling Lady Gaga here with big costumes, emerging from a giant pair of lips and giving a lot of energy. It has a great chorus and she brings personality and a strong voice.

 21. Portugal | NAPA – Deslocado A somewhat forgettable soft rock song that doesn’t feel up to the scale of the occasion and I’d peg it as the evening’s least impressive song which tails off accordingly.

 22. Denmark | Sissal – Hallucination This is ok but sounds like a lesser version of other songs both tonight and that we’ve heard in previous years. Again there’s a Lady Gaga influence and a bit of Loreen in there too so its not original or catchy enough but there’s some good curtainography.

23. Sweden | KAJ – Bara Bada Bastu Accordions, wood, an open fire, a big sausage and rather catchy. There’s even logging and chorus is a banger. I kept hoping nobody caught fire with all those flames and wood. The sort of song people say no longer wins Eurovision but it was the bookie’s favourite before the show.

 24. France | Louane – maman Superb yet subtle staging involving sand backs up this dramatic song which Louane sings with passion and feeling backed by staccato strings and orchestral flourishes.

 25. San Marino | Gabry Ponte – Tutta L’Italia Scores for having a gum chewing Greek sculpture on the screen and splicing accordion with dance beats but the song is lacking apart from a singalong section. Another song taking the rise out of Italians- what have they done.

 26. Albania | Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm Interesting sound and look here, this is one of those songs that can sometimes capture peoples affections. The backing track is epic yet warm and the overall orange look of the stage different from a lot of the other contestants. A spoken word section from someone who looks like an officer of the Empire in Star Wars is unexpected too. Maybe too complex to do well but a good one to end on.

There's always plenty of interval acts whose variable offerings either add to the occasion or give you a chance to brew a cup of coca or something. This year there's some former Swiss entrants reprising their songs. This really underlines how the type of song at the event has evolved over the years. Then its two popular songs that didn't win Baby Lasagne and Karja performing together and joining each other's songs, a strong idea they should try every year. Nemo' performed their new song, very different to `The Code` and making full use of their operatic vocals. Its a dramatic, compelling performance.

The results of course go on forever but the jury winners are Austria and just before I post the overall winner taking into account the public vote turns out to be Austria as well!! So for the second year a song with an operatic aspect triumphs. Is this the birth of Popera??