I barely survived sitting through Semi 1, let’s hope this bunch manages to bring me back to life.
Bulgaria – Dara – Bangaranga
Immediate yes. This makes me go BANGERANG, Hook ’91 style. Love the tempo changes for once, especially the parts with a folksy touch, as the variety works here to make it all digestible. A lot of style and not a lot of substance, but at least it’s got a firm direction. Love it. No clue how Eurovision will react to this though. The opening slot should work to its advantage, so a careful qualifier.
Azerbaijan – Jiva – Just Go
OK, a whole different vibe. Could work after Bulgaria. Can she pull this off live? Gosh, I’d have never pegged me liking a piano ballad circa ’26, but there we go (no pun intended). Maybe I was too traumatized by semi 1, don’t know. Oh, sudden switch to Azerbaijani at the end, nice. Is this a tad too old fashioned though? Borderline Q for now.
Romania – Alexandra Capitanescu – Choke Me
Another jump in style, wowza. Instant Gaga vibes with the talky bits and vocal touches. Some Rammstein influences as well there. I’m liking that combo. Upgrade that to LOVE. The title is quite daring, much as the PR team is trying to put a spin on it. But if she can sell this live, I can see it doing rather well. Probable qualifier, this. Gosh, this semi is already trampling all over the first one.
Luxembourg – Eva Marija – Mother Nature
Oh, scratch that last sentence. What in the Woodstock is this? Peace, love and pass me the bucket. Those overly present drums are doing my head in. Good intentions, bad aftertaste. I get that this kind of sugary fluff can get away with quite a bit at Eurovision, so this could land anywhere and qualify. But for me: merci, non merci.
Czechia – Daniel Zizka – Crossroads
Relying heavily on strong vocals and I’m sure if those land this will come across VERY well. It is however not the easiest song, it’s a slow burn with only one small hook. So even though it feels somewhat Arcade-esque, it doesn’t really have to same potential to really stick its landing. I’ll be happily proven wrong though. A careful Q for now.
France – Monroe – Regarde!
OK, those opening bars leave nothing to the imagination: French Drama shall be served. Oh, opera infusion! Yeah, they’re going for it aren’t they. Excusez-moi, this girl is only 17? Mais non! Très impressionant. Hm, another one with one too many sudden tempo switches, but in this operatic setting I somewhat get it. This does feel more like an elaborate style exercise than an actual song. Could go big though. Top 10 on Saturday for sure.
Armenia – Simon – Paloma Rumba
Ok dude, take a chill pill. They’re just throwing everything at it here: rumba, rock and roaring fiddle. Can’t really rumba to this, can ya? This is very much in the vein of their ’25 entry and the Manosphere vibes are just a bit too tangible for my liking. It also sounds like a generic Wii Dance Game number. No clue how this will do.
Switzerland – Veronica Fusaro – Alice
I’ve had Veronica’s “If not for you” in my Temporary Obsession playlist for a while, so I was sad that she didn’t pick that one. “Alice” is a lovely choice though. Lovely enough to showcase yourself as an artist anyway. It’s got a great twang to it, for sure. But this probably won’t set the scoreboard on fire. I’d sure love it for her if I’m wrong.
Cyprus – Antigoni – Jalla
Party! Could have done with a bit more beats and scrapping at least one tempo change. But: party! Also: tsifteteli! OPA!
Austria – Cosmo – Tanzschein
The Roop and Alf Poier had a baby and tbh I didn’t think I needed that in my life but here we are. I’ve heard snippets of a live version of this. Ominous. Totally hopeless for Eurovision I’m afraid, but adding this to my Temporary Obsession playlist anyway.
Latvia – Atvara – Ena
Oh, another ballad – semi 1 wishes! This one is beautiful if a tad uneventful and I just can’t with the drums in the chorus – maybe it’s just the recent Luxembourg trauma talking, but still. I’d rather have Azerbaijan than this.
Denmark – Soren Torpegaard Lund – For Vi Gar Hjem
Saw this one get selected and for the second year in a row I’m applauding Denmark – let it be noted. The combo of act and song really works, but in this ‘audio only’ preview it needs some time heat up. The build-up to the chorus is just a smidge on the thin side. But the pay-off is awesome and the exploding ending really works. Strong contender, even if I don’t see it winning (yet).
Australia – Delta Goodrem – Eclipse
Another big name from Down Under, huzzah! I confess I’m not really familiar with miss Goodrem however. But she seems to deliver what everyone was expecting of her: a proper pop song that melts perfectly into the Eurovision universe. Not exactly my cup of tea and it’s nothing earth shattering but it is a neatly prepared and complete package. Now all we need is a stellar performance and we could be heading to the other side of the globe.
Ukraine – Ridnym – Leleka
Oh my, this is Luxembourg all over again – help. Less sugary and more dramatic, but it leaves me reaching for the ffwd button equally as hard. Pity I’ll have to sit through this twice as it’ll probably Q.
United Kingdom – Look Mum No Computer – Eins, Zwei, Drei
Oh, another one I know from my streaming platform algorithm. Look Mum No Computer sounds very much like Blur here, but catapulted to the 21st century, and I’m all for it. Not here for the counting in German though, feels cheap and too much of low hanging fruit for an artist that I know has great ideas. But it’s accessible I guess, so I’ll allow it. This is such fun and a really great change in pace for UK at Eurovision. They clearly gave fuck all in the good way for once, I do hope it pays off.
Albania – Alis – Nan
The drama, the drama! Albania, what are you doing to me? For the second year in a row! Will you bring live backing vocals on stage? Please say yes! This sounds like it could have been the soundtrack to the Moria scene in LOTR. I’ve been waiting for a song to really slap me in the face and honey this is a SLAP. Worth waiting 32 songs for. And yes, I’m aware there are a lot of drums in this one as well, but they work here – part of the whole, not some artificial use to infuse drama. My clear number one, unless Malta and Norway have something else to say.
Malta – Aidan – Bella
Hahaha, having this up after Albania is some genius line-up wizardry by the producers. Oh, the James Bond chorus ruins the Amelie-vibes of the verses ever so slightly. But this is cute. What? I’m liking Malta? This edition really is topsy-turvy.
Norway – Jonas Lovv – Ya Ya Ya
Saw this one getting selected as well. I don’t get how this is not one of the hot favourites to win. The song feels like a real crowd pleaser and the performance is really ace. This is a dangerous outsider for victory, from where I’m sitting.
Preferences & Predictions
Ok, so we have to pick another five entries to leave behind. As difficult as semi 1, but in the opposite direction: I only wanted to pick a handful there, and here we’re spoilt for choice. First instincts say Switzerland, Luxembourg, Armenia, Latvia…and then it would make sense to pick one extra from the second half…and since Ukraine is in, I’m sadly gonna have to say Malta.
It’s a VERY difficult year to predict though, the song standard is pretty all over the place and, dare I say, low. Not a lot of winning ambition, it seems. I wonder why. The only contenders I see for now would have to be (in order) Australia, Denmark, Norway and possibly Finland. I’ll throw France in there for good measure. No way all five of them will make top 5 as there’s thàt country to take into account of course. Pass me the bucket again.
Who do you think will win? And who do you want to win? Here’s my provisional personal top ten:
1 point: Switzerland
2 points: United Kingdom
3 points: Austria
4 points: Norway
5 points: Denmark
6 points: San Marino
7 points: Bulgaria
8 points: Montenegro
10 points: Romania
12 points: Albania
I’ve showed you mine, now show me yours!
Dimivision 
As usual it looks like we’re fairly aligned with the odd headscratcher (Romania?!). FWIW I don’t think most of my Top 10 is going to do well. I anticipate Italy’s worst result since their comeback, possibly ever, Estonia’s studio sounds great but probably won’t translate live, ditto Austria. Agree on Portugal sneaking a Top 5 if everything lands though. Glad you like the UK, there’s a lot of naysaying over here sadly because of the lack of promo, but I also think that could work in its favour – the element of surprise is important.