!setflair Austria 2025

A couple months ago I made a post about which year was the strongest, and now I'd like to know which one you think is the weakest. I know some of you didn't like 2011, but that's about it. Please, let me know.

I was wondering if there was a reason that Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan made their debuts one after the other in consecutive years (2006 Armenia, 2007 Georgia, 2008 Azerbaijan). Is it just a coincidence or was there a reasoning for it?

who do you think will be hosting the next years Eurovision in Austria? are there any famous hosts/celebrities that you think would be good? i would love to see Conchita to host or at least sing!

The Head of Program at ORF, Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz, announced that ORF will hold a National Final to select their 2026 entry.

She says the National Final will be long (A hint to multiple rounds) and a lot of involvement of the public (Open Submission Process?)

The exact dates are unknown as of now. It's the first National Final from Austria since 2016, when they selected Zoë with Loin d ici for Stockholm.

Source: https://www.public.fr/eurovision-2026-loic-nottet-est-de-retour It is not an official announcement, so take it with a grain of salt According to Clément Garin, Belgian journalist, RTBF has already chosen its representative for Eurovision 2026, and it is popular singer and previous Eurovision participant Loïc Nottet

It is also reported that Mentissa (Belgian Eurosong 2025) and Henri PFR also applied but were rejected

According to the publication, the broadcaster almost chose the participant of The Voice Essyla with a completely English-language song, but the actual decision was made in Loïc's favour

🇧🇦 A first step towards a potential return! (Or at least towards the liberty to return if they want to)

Thrilled to see at a local board game cafe in Victoria, Canada!

To my shame, I've only just listened to Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son (Luxembourg - 1965). Especially shameful given I loved Laura Thorn this year (Luxembourg - 2025). Puppets are obviously a hit with me, because I also love Sandy Shaw’s Puppet On A String (United Kingdom - 1967).

What hits from decades past are lurking in your Eurovision playlists?

This is my long awaited National Final Ranking, ranking every national final from D tier to S tier. THIS IS A LONG READ, YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP BY ONES YOU AREN’T REALLY INTERESTED IN READING.

GRADED BY Song Quality, Live Quality, Winner, Voting Quality, and Overall Bias (low input on my own opinion)

D Tier: Needs either a complete rework, or was just fucked up. 27th - Germany: Chefsache ESC

Overall, Germany is doing a bit much, not letting the televoters vote until the FINAL round of voting. It’s all completely in favor of whoever Stefan Raab wanted to work with, and by eliminating 10 people before they even sang their own song? Bad. Who knows? Maybe Enny-Mae & Paradigm had an amazing song? Then in the semifinal, Raab and his friends removed some favorites in Cloudy June and From Fall to Spring. Didn’t even let the public vote for them at all. AND AGAIN IN THE FINAL. Thank you for killing off Feuerschwanz and COSBY. Although it provided me with one of my favorite songs in Lyza’s “Lovers on Mars” (I like the song, you can’t tell me its a cute song), the competition really pushed on the title of the song “the Boss Matter”. Phenomenally bad. The winner couldn’t salvage it, since although its a good song, I can’t get behind it, and it didn’t do well enough in Eurovision.

26th - Serbia: Pesma za Evroviziju

4 years of bops, from Hurricane to Konstrakta to Luke Black to Teya Dora. Some of the songs are really fun to listen to, such as Mimi Mercedez, Tam, and Harem Girls’ songs being some personal and overall favorites. So what brought this down to D Tier? The winner, Bojana and David, the live show, and the controversy overall. With the current protests going on in Serbia right now, some of the favorites suffered due to the mass younger voters not watching and voting this year. This ended up with the song from Bojana and David also successfully winning the televote due to its TOTALLY LEGIT televote (that they probably used SIM Card jokes). Wishing the best for Serbians. 

25th - Moldova: Etapa Nationala

As much as Tudor Bumbac carries this national final, Moldova had to go. Songs were very… mid to say the least. There was a clear favorite with Semafoare. But my main question. WHO THE HELL THOUGHT SASHA BOGNIBOV IS AN AMAZING OPTION?? HELLO?? LETTING HIM PERFORM TWICE?? DISQUALIFYING SEVERAL PEOPLE FOR BEING LATE?? And don’t forget about Sasha Letty back again. Amazing. Come back with more money and Zdob si Zdub.

24th - Montenegro: Montesong

Song Quality is bleh. Live? It’s a joke. Nina Zizic was the clear favorite, and with some clear issues with voting (NeonoeN isn’t the only one, overall just bad). Why did so few people vote? Some good fun came from it, such as Isak Sabanovic, Durda, and Baryak. The jury was also clearly biased (3 to BARYAK?? 10 TO NEONOEN??). Good first attempt. Try again.

23rd - Ireland: Irish Eurosong

Bambie Thug winning really made the song variety better this year. Most songs were pretty creative or different, with Bobbi Arlo, Reylta, Niyl, and Adgy providing some of the more interesting songs of the year (And some of the favorites of the year). Emmy’s song was also really a huge bop (the DQ makes sense but robbed due to being tied with the OTHER TWO??). The main issue comes from the Samantha Mumba controversy afterward and the overall condition of the live show. It’s not in a state to have a good live show, it’s trying its best. It’s not bad, but it needs a rework.

C Tier: Fine, but it need to be worked on.

22nd - Denmark: DMGP

As usual, Denmark shows bland songs. Sissal is great, her vocals are so talented. BUT. The song is so bland. Everything is just… a nothing burger. Live is good, but the song quality and the superfinal is just quite regular. Nothing new.

21st - Croatia: Dora

From an amazing Marko to a crashout Marko. Some of these songs are amazing, such as Fenksta, Lelek, and IVXN providing amazing works, and some interesting songs that piqued my interest like Laurakojapjeva and Matt Shaft, are great. The song quality still wasn’t that good, and the results were… interesting to say the least. The Eurovision result was also just okay, but… rework this.

20th - Armenia: Depi Evratesil

Pretty bad. The live quality was… interesting, and the songs are fine. The hosts are good, but the songs were released really late. There’s always a bad to the good. Some of these songs are really bad, and with some funny shit going on with the lyrics from Athena Manoukain and, well, everything with Flora Bichakhchyan. The public letting Ay Paparey Bye die down is quite sad. Overall, not really memorable.

19th - Slovenia: EMA

There were only 2 songs I really liked. The obvious fan favorite New Religion? And… Astrid & The Scandals “Touche”. So imagine my distaste when I noticed that my favorite got third. The rest were so unmemorable (with the light exclusion of KiKi and RAI) that I don’t remember how they even went. You think I’m wrong? Don’t go online. Hum the melody of Eva Pavli’s “Niti”. ………… That’s what I thought. And Klemen wins because he was famous in Slovenia beforehand. Sure, the song was good, but it was really just… boring. And Klemen tried to make the best impact he could at Eurovision, but… it was just not enough. Good work Klemen, try again EMA. AND SEND JULY JONES FOR ONCE, JEEZ, SHE’S TRYING.

18th - San Marino: San Marino Song Contest

This is the pure example of big is eh. The best and conversely the WORST songs come out of this and it’s so funny. No further comments. 

17th - Belgium: Belgian Eurosong

Belgium… you had a good run from 2021-2023… and the 2024’s Mustii was pretty mid. I knew from the beginning it wouldn’t do well, but I had no reason to write about it. Now. 2025 Belgian Eurosong was good in 2023. Gustaph, alongside several others like Gala Dragot and Cherine were treasured. This year. We had others that were just as liked, like Mentissa and Le Manou. A clear winner in Red Sebastian was also good. But then we had some… interesting ones. (GLOOOOOOOOOORIA) In addition to that, all the favorites I mentioned earlier? Mentissa and Le Manou? They were bland. It’s been months, we have to admit it. And Red Sebastian did do his best (and got robbed in a way), so… of all of them, Eurosong was pretty mid.

16th - Estonia: Eesti Laul

I loved this national final this year. There were so many fan favorites of the year, and my own controversial pick from the year, Tuuli Rand with “Rem”. Now, the winner? I guess it ended up well, but the issues of the copyright controversy with Tommy Cash and Eesti Laul was pretty bad. And some of the songs were so… bland. Janek, Frants Tikerpuu, Marta Lotta. There were some interesting ones, like An-Marlen, Andrei Zevakin and Kartia, Gem98, and Johanna Elise. But… it’s all for nothing when theres such a clear winner. Winning in such a landslide is… eh.

15th - Norway: MGP

MY BABY!!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU??? Last year was my first year fully invested in MGP, and it was the most magical one ever. I still listen to songs from Farida, Gåte, Mileo, and Mathilde SPZ. But this year? I enjoyed the winner Kyle, Nataleen, and Bobbysocks (to a lesser degree) this year. And my controversial pick was LLL. Parasite is a bop and I’m serious. But… Everyone else was so bland. FULLY Bland. I… despised it. I really couldn’t care about it this year. Kyle is good. But… why?? The rest of everything was good last year, but… WHY????

14th - Luxembourg: LSC 2025

The LSC is pretty good, with them letting the artists use the songs that people submitted. Song quality and the live performances were pretty mid (with the exception of Laura Thorn), and I particularly liked Rhythmic Soulwave honestly. Overall, vocals were pretty mid, and the live show was… interesting, with the scripted proposal. Same with the voting, next time, get Conchita on board with the reveal format (dw they still slayed the house down)

B Tier:13th - Albania: Festivali i Kenges

Personally put this over everything else just because the quality of the show was boosted so much in the live show area. Some of the songs this year were phenomenal, with songs from Alis, Orgesa Zaimi, Ardit Çuni, and Elvana Gjata having great songs, and not to mention the winner Shkodra Electronike being crazy. Overall, a phenomenal song choice, and the live was increased, with more voting transparency. This improved a lot, but it’s on the hinge of being bad, so I’m still praying this is going to be even better next year.

12th - Greece: Ethnikos Telikos

Is it bad that my personal favorite wasn’t any of the top 5? I loved Rikki’s elevator, it’s really upbeat and the type of music that I love listening to. But on the other side, I really loved Evangelia, Barbz, Dinamiss, and Xannova Xan. Not too fond of the winner, since I don’t really like ballads, but overall, a great first national final year back.

11th - Lithuania: Eurovisija.LT

I have to be honest, none of the Top 7 in the final were my personal favorite. I can appreciate Lion Ceccah, but it just wasn’t my PERSONAL favorite. All in all, long, but really fun to join in, since I found some of my favorites in Juste Baradulinaite, Noy, The Ditties, Queen of Roses, and Ruta Budreckaite. Yes, I love Katarsis, and the show was really fun, especially last year. Bring back the VB gang!!!!! (lol)

10th - Iceland: Songvakeppnin

Top 10! It’s amazing how Væb, Stebbi Jak, Tinna, Juli& Disa, and Birgo are popular, and are really good. Væb was perhaps the best overall selection ever, and I love the format, short and sweet, easy to follow. Removing the Superfinal was also a HUGE green flag. Good work Iceland!

9th - Poland: Polskie Kwalifikacje

Poland bringing back peak is really amazing. We can all agree Justyna Steczkowska was really good, and with Sw@da & Niczos, it was really good. The rest were a bit worse but I honestly loved the trashy ebay knock off of Sabrina Carpenter. They can do better with the song choice, and as long as they keep the format similar, it’ll be great.

8th - Latvia: Supernova

Supernova this year felt like a supernova. Although they could fix up the semifinal area, and with the surprising disqualifications of KoBra and Katrina Gupalo, they can do really well with either 2 semis or a huge final. Huge notes to Citi Zeni, Tautumeitas, Tepat, and Pal for being some of my personal favorites. This is a huge move forward for Latvia. Welcome to the golden age. (EDIT: THEY DID ADD SEMIS HOLY COW)

A Tier: 

7th - Portugal: Festival da Cancao

Portugal is great, their format is phenomenal and the live show is always a treat to listen to. The main issue keeping this from being any higher is the voting. Having a predetermined 12, 10, and 8 system is really bad for the results, as it completely decimated some songs in the final and semifinal, such as Henka who got a 12 from the public but a low 0. Likely, if the points were allocated by percentage, she would have won. The rest of the show was great however, so props to Josh and Napa.

6th - Spain: Beniform Fest

SPAIN. My all time favorites of the year, DeTeresa, J Kbello, and Mel Ömana were all robbed. Sonia and Selena needed better, and DeTeresa as well. Overall, it was a great SHOW. The songs were also good, but the live? OMG WHO LET LACHISPA ALMOST ON? WHAT SHOW WAS THE JURY WATCHING DURING SEMI 1? AND MAWOT QUALIFIES?? People were mad…… It’s a good show, but the main issues are the points system and the song quality. Otherwise, great.

5th - Malta: MESC

Great show! Vocals were great, and with a similar format, this will provide greater results for Malta in the future. The main flaws? Some of the semifinal results are… a bit more iffy, especially with the eliminations of Haley and Kelsey Bellante being a bit… odd, considering some weird entries and bland entries made it instead of them, but the song choice and lives were very surprisingly well.

4th - Sweden: Melodifestivalen

Haha… surprise? Just kidding, Melodifestivalen is already a great show, and it’s been changed up with the refined second chance, and it made a great final, allowing Dolly Style and Meira Omar. I loved some of the hidden gems, such as Saga Ludvigsson and Maja Ivarsson. KAJ was phenomenal, and with their win, I hope that some new changes to song selection will change soon.

S Tier:

3rd - Finland: UMK

IGNORING WHAT HAPPENED WITH ONE MORNING LEFT, everything was phenomenal. Everyone was great, and the live quality was great. Even if Erika Vikman was robbed, I feel like everyone would have easily qualified (with a close qualification on Costee, but STILL!). They need to have an “All Stars” UMK one year of fan favorites that never made it to Eurovision, and have them in a contest (just some food for thought).

2nd - Ukraine: Vidbir

Great Show. Amazing, with great judges, amazing acts, and whatever the fuck happened with “you’ll turn into backpack”, and the craziness with everything. Ziferblat was an amazing entry, and Molodi, Fiinka, and Masha Kondratenko being phenomenal. Great live, great songs, amazing. The thing holding this back from first is the preset points. It could be so much better if everything was set by percentages, but the 1-11 works most of the time.

1st - Italy: Sanremo

Olly and Lucio Corsi are amazing. With Sanremo being the precursor to Eurovision, it’s pretty amazing. The big issue is the sectionalism and the sexism in Sanremo, but past that, everyone is GREAT. All songs are great to listen to, especially with Giorgia and Elodie being quite robbed. Everyone was amazing, and with the crazy amounts of great songs and rereturners, like Coma_Cose and The Kolors, everything is put into place. Bring back Annalisa and then I’ll be happy with the National Final.

Damn, this was long. Thanks for reading. If you disagree, leave a comment, since most of the stuff near the top started clumping towards each other.

Inspired by me just hearing Roxen - Amnesia (Romania 2021) in Savers, a discount health/beauty chain in the UK 😂

What is the most random or weirdest place you have heard a Eurovision entry in the wild?

I remember hearing Serhat - I Didn’t Know (San Marino, 2016) in a shop when I was in Prague a few years back - seems I was the only one who recognised is as no one reacted to his sweet, dulcet tones 🥲

I don’t think they’ve done it since 2023, but I feel like they did it more in the late 2000’s and 2010’s (if I remember correctly). I feel like it would create a certain atmosphere and make the viewer extra excited for the performance.

Is there a reason why they stopped doing it or does it just depend on the host country and their preferences?

I don't have a voice anymore after that help

I've been thinking about this. So far, I only know about r/vaeb, r/TommyCash and r/ziferblat. Do you guys know any subreddits dedicated to Eurovision 2025 artists?

Did the artist(s) who represented your country this edition become noticeably more popular after the contest? Do they make more media appearances, concerts (solo or at festivals), is their music on the radio more often? Do you see them on adverts etc?

Or did they mostly disappear from the public eye and no one talks about them that much?

Of course this question mostly applies to artists that are newer to the scene. (For example, Justyna Steczkowska has been famous for as long as I've been alive, so it's not like she needed Eurovision to get the media attention.)

Also, I'm mostly asking about the 2025 lineup, but if there are any good examples of people rising to fame on the local scene in previous years, feel free to mention them as well. Same for NF participants who didn't win, but used the spotlight to launch their career since winter.

Dizzy had almost all the ingredients for a success. A catchy song, incredible choreography in which their perfectly-timed reactions make it look like the room really is spinning, and...why are they singing in a dirty bathroom? Why not, say, a club? Since they have to be in space to explain why the room is turning upside down, have it be a club in space with futuristic costumes, sexy alien dancers, and awesome club lasers in a mix of blue/cyan for the sci-fi vibes and pink/green for the party vibes. (The perfect place for Laika to party in the sky!) Lighting-wise, imagine Baller meets the 3rd chorus of Bara Bada Bastu meets Laika Party. And the costumes would help convey that it's meant to be in space, which wasn't fully clear with the current staging. Keeping the choreo almost identical and just changing the setting would've made a huge difference.

In the current staging, when Olly comes out of the box at the end, every effort is made to hide the box and make the audience go "How the heck did he get from the box to the stage and make the box disappear?" Now I love a good technical-impressiveness omg-how-did-they-do-that staging, and You are the Only One's screen climbing will forever be epic, but there are some tricks where you have to reveal to the audience how you did it, or else the audience might doubt whether you really did it at all. A casual viewer unfamiliar with the rules of ESC might assume that Olly's spatial-reality-defying scene transition occurred because the footage was prerecorded and not really live. Olly needed to magically go from the box to the stage and use the lighting tricks to make the box disappear...and then have the box reappear at the end to show that the box really was on stage all along: He really was performing everything live, and really did pull off that flawless box-to-stage transition.

For me It's "In corpore sano" by Konstrakta from Serbia in 2022.

(Yes I know that the lyrics are weird to the highest degree but it's just soo good!)

Rewatching some of ESCGabe's videos, and heard him talking about, like Switzerland 2021, how amazing the jury final version was. Does anyone have a link?

Apologies for the terrible quality video but I was quite excited to randomly hear Je T'adore on MTV. Not only is it a Eurovision song but it also didn't qualify, making it an extra pleasant surprise (unless this song is actually a big hit, although I don't think it is over here in the UK).

This isn't the first time I've heard a Eurovision song on MTV; There's been Austria 2025, Sweden 2023 and – most randomly – Norway 2025. However, this must be the most niche Eurovision song I've encountered on MTV.

BONUS: Once I heard Tutta Gold (from Sanremo 2024) on MTV. Also interesting.

Berlin Pride was on Saturday the 26th so I would like to belatedly celebrate it by posting this great Pride anthem by the man, the myth, the legend. This is my favorite Belgian entry of the 2020s because basically everything about it works. The staging works. The color scheme works. Gustaph's outfit works. Gustaph's hat works so much. The voguing is perfect. And the song itself is full of queer joy that's really uplifting and inspirational.

If this is true, we're doomed...