The countdown to Eurovision 2025 has begun, and the first semi-final promises a rollercoaster of musical styles, cultural exchanges, and surprising performances. As 15 countries vie for just 10 qualifying spots, clear frontrunners and dark horses are emerging from an eclectic lineup.
Sweden breaks tradition by sending their first Swedish-language entry in years with "Bada Badu Bastu" – ironically performed by Norwegians. This sauna-themed anthem with its infectious choreography has fans worldwide attempting to master the dance routine. Yet history suggests the Eurovision jury may once again prevent a quirky crowd-pleaser from claiming the ultimate prize, despite overwhelming public support.
The night opens with Iceland's Vibroa, twins delivering an unexpected sea shanty pop fusion that sets a high bar from the start. Estonia follows with "Espresso Macchiato," a coffee-themed bop that curiously out-Italians Italy itself, while San Marino continues this theme with "Tutta l'Italiana," a love letter to all things Italian that somehow captures Italian spirit more authentically than Italy's own entry. This curious trend of countries channeling other nations' cultural identities better than the originating countries themselves runs throughout the competition.
The Netherlands' Claude with "C'est la vie" emerges as the first serious contender for the overall crown. This emotionally stirring ballad effortlessly blends French and English lyrics, beginning with soft piano notes before building into something truly special. Its beautiful composition and heartfelt delivery make it a potential winner, exemplifying the best of what Eurovision can offer: unexpected brilliance from unexpected places.
Have you made your predictions yet? Will the twerking goths of Poland survive questionable vocal performances? Can Ukraine's cult-like "Bird of Prey" stand out enough to qualify? Watch the live performances to see if my predictions come true, and join me soon for analysis of semi-final two!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Bonjour.
Guten Tag, privet.
Hello and welcome back to theDeux Poids podcast.
As I sit here in my little cave,I am very much aware we are
only hours away from the firstsemi-final of Eurovision 2025.
Now, I have to admit, the firstsemifinal is not the strongest.
(00:28):
Just off the top of my head, oh, there are 15 countries
standing up going for the vote.
(00:48):
Of those, 10 will go through.
I honestly I think there'sabout seven that I think will
automatically qualify.
I think there are about threespots that are up for grab.
Really, it's just all going tocome down.
We're not sure what's going tohappen.
Now, of course, all of thisinformation.
I haven't looked at any of therehearsals.
(01:09):
I like to go in blind.
I like to be surprised, I likethat little bit of shock when I
see it live.
I want it all on the line.
So this is going essentiallyjust on the official recordings
and I have watched the previewvideos.
So I think who think?
(01:30):
So I would say who isdefinitely going through?
Just off the top of my headthis year, it's going to be
Iceland, estonia, Ukraine,sweden, obviously San Marino,
albania and Netherlands.
That's seven.
Who's going to round up the topthree?
Let's have a quick look Now foreveryone out there who doesn't
(02:00):
want any spoilers?
Look, who doesn't want anyspoilers?
Look, we are going to touchlightly on the song, so we're
not going into massive detail.
You may get a comment.
That may just be ah, there's anangry Cher.
If you're happy with that,listen.
(02:21):
If you don't want to hear aword, if you don't want to hear
that Sher's going to be thereangry, indifferent or otherwise,
turn away now.
Turn your ears away First, offthe bat.
(02:49):
And I think Eurovision couldn'thave picked off a better way to
start Eurovision 2025, becauseyou know what they're starting
it off.
They're starting it off withthe Jedward twins.
Well, the Icelandic version,roa, is the song.
(03:12):
That's how I'm going topronounce it.
The lads are called Vibroa.
Oh, my Lord, okay.
So picture two Icelandicfellows looking very reminiscent
of Jedward.
What are you expecting them tosing?
If you said a good,old-fashioned she shanty, you'd
(03:35):
be a liar.
But this is exactly what it isMeet pop meets a she shanty.
This shouldn't work.
But you know what?
It's catchy, it's fun.
This one is going straightthrough.
Well-played Iceland, thank youum foreign?
(05:42):
That is going to be followed upby Poland, justyna Stekiauza
with Gaja.
Ah, it seems Poland.
Well, we all know it has phases.
It has milkmaid phase, it hasangry rock phase.
This is their twerking gothphase.
(06:05):
I'm not quite sure how todescribe it other than a dance
pop version of the Smiths in2025.
(06:29):
Look with the live performancesthat I have seen of this before
.
Unfortunately, there has beensome very questionable vocal
performances that, as much as Ilove a twerking goth and you
think, straight away, thisbefore.
Unfortunately, there has beensome very questionable vocal
performances that, oh, as muchas I love a twerking goth and
you think, straight away, that'sgoing to go through.
(06:50):
This is all going to come downto the vocal performance on the
night.
I'm just not sure if she canpull it off live.
If she can, you know what itmight scrape through.
Like I said, we're looking forthree to round out the drop 10.
We'll see how it goes.
(07:26):
Three minutes later, you aregoing to be begging for the
twerking goths to come backbecause Slovenia has sent Kaiman
with his song.
How Much Time Do we have Left?
And if you think that soundsdepressing, you are 100% spot.
The preview video is him for alot of it nude, with some poor
(07:48):
lady who has just found outshe's had cancer, and the song
is pretty much him lamenting howmuch time do we have left
together?
Wow, way to bring down theparty mood at Eurovision.
I'm not sure if the stageproduction is just going to be
(08:14):
him and someone else nude forthe three minutes.
Honestly, this wouldn't even beenough to make this an
interesting and interestingstage performance.
I feel for you.
I feel for your situation.
This one is just not grabbingme.
(08:36):
I'd say this is a great time togo to the bathroom, but we're
only song three.
Don't break the seal yet.
You know what it's like Onceyou pee.
You're not going to stop peeing.
Don't break it yet, as much asyou attempted force yourself to
(08:58):
stay strong.
It's going to be a long threeminutes but trust me, it is
going to pay off.
With the next song we have TommyCash representing Estonia with
Espresso Macchiato.
(09:19):
That's right.
If you thought you know whatEurovision needs a long-haired
barista singing about coffeethen woo, we have the song and
the performance for you.
Curiously, this is the secondsong of the night where Italy is
going to be out Italian'd byother countries, both Estonia
(09:42):
and wait for it.
San Marino this year year we'llget to it are gonna be laying
down the Italian thicknessharder than Manuscan.
(10:07):
Spread their sexy legs of Italyall across the globe.
It's random.
I don't know why this is a song.
I also don't know why it's soinfectious, but it is that one
straight through.
But it is that one straightthrough.
(10:32):
It's really interesting howthey've set up this first
semi-final.
It's really high, low, high,low.
It's almost like good bad, goodbad, or rock soft ballad, rock
soft ballad, pop ballad.
I'm not sure if that works, asopposed to having a period.
(10:52):
Obviously you don't want halfan hour of straight ballads.
But do we want to go up down,up, down, up down?
We'll find out on the night,because, believe me, we'll find
out on the night, because,believe me, I'm not sure my
heart can take it.
Next on the list we have UkraineZip-A-Blast with Bird of Prey.
(11:17):
Woo-hoo, p-r-a-y, not theP-R-E-Y, we're not getting
political, it's the Bird of Preprey.
You know what?
The only way that I candescribe this is being seduced
into a cult in the 1970s.
(11:37):
This is a very unusual trackthat Ukraine has taken.
It's something that we reallyhaven't seen from them before.
But you know what?
I actually kind of like it.
It's a little bit, it's arefreshing.
(11:57):
Is it their greatest?
No, is it going to win?
No, I don't know.
I'm hoping this will go through, as it will stand out as
something a little bit differenton the night.
I don't know.
It's cute, it's lovely, butit's 100%.
(12:21):
You always ask how do thesepeople get out?
You always think to yourselfhow do these people end up in a
cult?
Honestly, I think 100%.
It's like this.
I think the world, after a fewcocktails, is going to be lured
into the back of Ukraine's vanwith this one.
(12:45):
Oh, speaking of highs,undoubtedly what is going to be
the absolute high of the firstevening let's bring in Sweden.
Kaj is bearing their song Badabadu bastu.
This is the first time Swedenhas sent a song to Eurovision in
Swedish for a gazillion,hundred thousand years.
(13:08):
You know what makes it evenweirder?
This is the first song sent bySweden, sung in Swedish, in a
gazillion years.
And who's doing it?
Norwegians.
That's right.
That's what it took to getSwedish language back at
Eurovision.
It took Norway.
Honestly, I think Norway iskicking themselves that they
(13:41):
don't have this songrepresenting them.
I don't know.
Kaj live, perform, work inSweden and apparently they do a
lot of sauntering, write aboutwhat you know they say.
(14:09):
Well, sweden has taken it andrun with it as they present a
three-minute song about sauna,three-minute song about Sona,
and not in that weird creepy.
I felt kind of pervy watchingit Olly Alexander way, where
eight men were rolling around ona very dirty gymnasium floor.
(14:30):
To be honest, I think that'sone of the main reasons the Olly
Alexander performance didn'twork.
You could clearly see thatbathroom floor was very dirty
and everyone was just like ew,ew, ew, there's poo particles,
ew, there's soiled socks.
If it was a lovely queen, if itwas a lovely queen, if it was a
(14:59):
lovely, clean Swedish sauna, Ithink it would have had a better
result.
Oh, this song has the worlda-flapping.
Everyone loves this.
It's so ridiculously catchy.
It's even got the choreographeddance routine.
This is 100% the year of thequirky song.
(15:27):
It is the judges' ultimatenightmare.
Now, as much as there are a lotof people who want Sweden to
win, it's like have you neverbeen to Eurovision 2025?
The jury is going to shut thisdown.
The jury will never let anovelty song win Eurovision.
We've seen it how many years ina row.
(15:47):
Courage.
Finland, you should have wonCha cha, cha, cha, cha, cha cha
jewelry.
Shut it down.
Baby lasagna should have wonJewelry shut it down.
I honestly think this year thejury is going to shut down all
(16:08):
of the novelty acts.
They're going to put all theireffort into just Nick Sneh on
the party, and I think thewinner this year is going to be
a song more that offends thejury the least and offends the
public the least.
(16:28):
It's not going to be what wewant, it's going to be what we
get.
Thank you.
(17:03):
After that, absolute highEurovision had decided to slip
in Portugal, napa, with theirsong Desilicado.
Nope, nope.
Believe me, it's kind of good.
Any song that was followingafter Sweden was not going to
have a chance.
So this is probably a goodopportunity to sit a bit of a in
(17:24):
under the radar.
Thank you.
(18:12):
Honestly, I just find this to bea beige performance song and if
it's anything from what I'veseen in the preview videos, it
is going to be a brown, beige,matching pinstripe two-piece
outfit of a song, but this isprobably the best place for it
(18:38):
to go.
Like I said, this is a greattime to refill all of your
drinks, because you've eithershot them all down or you've
been so busy doing the dance.
Your alcohol, your drinks areflying everywhere.
You're a bit knackered.
You didn't realize how out ofshape you were when you tried to
dance routine for three minutesand you're like, oh, is this it
(18:59):
?
Is this the end?
Am I having a stroke?
You know what?
Do it through the Portugal song.
This is probably the best timeto do it.
Well played.
(19:19):
After that, we have Norwaydisappointing us again by not
sending Kano.
I don't care, they weren'tcompeting this year.
They shouldn't have to justsend them.
Instead, they've said Kyle,alessandro with a lighter, I'm
gonna be my own lighter.
Oh bless, lighter, oh bless.
He's like 12.
He's finding self-empowering.
(19:41):
This is great.
You go, little fella, don't letthe world shove you down.
(20:09):
I don't particularly like thissong, but you know what?
I think it's a good littlemessage Be strong, don't let
people put you down.
Be your own damn light in theworld.
And you know what?
We're going to try and roundout the top 10 and maybe I'll
put it there on the possibilitylist.
After this, we have Belgium RedSebastian with strobe lights.
(20:31):
You know what I got.
To be honest, I think this songis about 25 years too late.
There was a time when peoplewere house party dancing with
strobe lights and big industrialelevators.
I think, thankfully, that timehas passed.
This one's a bit of a.
It's not offensive, it's notbad, it's just like it's not
(20:59):
giving me a seizure but it's notbringing me to life.
Thank you.
(22:33):
Following that will beAzerbaijan with Mama Gama with
Run With you.
Look, the first thing I'm goingto say is, when this song
begins and he starts singing,your first thought is going to
be that is not the note I wouldhave predicted this was going to
be in.
Uh, look, this is a bit in themiddle for me.
(23:03):
I kind of.
I think it's lucky, because Igo into Eurovision wanting to
like all the songs.
It's not offensive, uh, butit's nothing spectacular.
I think it actually benefits,though after following strobe
lights, it has a catchier beat.
So I think the running orderwill help push it through to the
(23:31):
next round.
But as soon as we get to thegrand final it's just going to
be lost by much superior songs,like our next act, gabriponte
(24:00):
with Tutta l'Italiana.
It is a love note to Italy andall things Italian Pasta, coffee
, nunnas, sent by San Marino.
What, again, second song of thenight out, italian, italy.
And my word, once we get to theItaly song, you will not
(24:24):
understand why, out of all thesongs, let alone the two songs
that are praising and lovingeverything Italian and are
remarkable, catchy, why Italywent with the absolute burn.
That is the act they're sending.
(24:45):
The world will never know.
Meanwhile, san Marino, it'sgoing to go through, obviously,
italy, it's a catchyuce poir,it's a catchy, fun little number
.
It's everything that I want atEurovision and it makes me think
(25:06):
of pasta and yum, yum, yum, yumyum.
This is going to be followed upby a very angry looking shirt
(25:40):
Albania, skoda, elektronika withgerm.
She's probably angry becauseshe doesn't realize why the song
(26:01):
.
It's not a bad song, it'sactually.
There's bits of it that arereally quite good.
There are some questionablechoices in it, like the white
guy in the do-rag I don't knowwhat that is about, but anything
(26:22):
that gives us a taste of Cher,you know, is going straight
through to the next round atEurovision.
Speaking of going through to thenext round, let's talk about
the Netherlands.
They've sent Claude C'est lavie.
C'est la vie Again.
(26:52):
This is another example of theFrench being out-Frenched by
another country.
This seems to be a real thinglately.
Let's not forget 2002, whenMonica from Lithuania, with, was
(27:39):
Frenchier than the French hadbeen in 10 years.
When I listen to all of thesesongs, I actually listen to them
in the running order of thesemi-finals.
This is the first song of thenight that genuinely strikes me
(28:09):
as a song that has the potentialto win the Eurovision Song
Contest.
Is it perfect?
No.
Is it one of the greatest?
No.
But when you listen to it forthe first time, oh, chills.
He has such a lovely voice.
I really hope this translatesto the live production.
(28:31):
C'est la vie, it's just abeautiful song and it has one of
those beautiful, just selfexpressions of love, life,
liberty.
This song 100%.
(29:08):
It goes up, it goes down.
So it's in French, it's inEnglish.
(29:39):
It starts off with just thisvery faint caressing of a few
piano nights.
It's soft, it's heartbreaking,it's love.
But then it takes us on ajourney Growth, live, love.
Oh, can you tell, I really likethis one.
(30:00):
Oh, especially the beginningbit.
(30:38):
It gives you chills, it canreduce you to tears.
Beautiful combination betweenFrench and English.
And then, boom, we drop alittle dance beat.
(31:21):
The only thing I do worry aboutis in the preview film for this
song there is some very weird,awkward, inappropriate people
dancing in a bathroom.
What is it with dancing inbathrooms?
Am I just hanging out in thewrong bathrooms?
Am I living a sheltered life?
Honestly, I hate publicbathrooms.
(31:41):
They are the absolute worst.
You know what?
I have been out, seen a publicbathroom and just went.
You know what?
I've just gone home.
I have just gone home ratherthan use that bathroom.
So I don't know, maybe I'm theone, maybe I'm missing out.
Let me know if you've ever hada dance party in that bathroom.
So I don't know, maybe I'm theone, maybe I'm missing out.
Let me know if you've ever hada dance party in a bathroom.
(32:37):
I also think this is going to beone of these songs that is
going to end up randomly, justout of the blue, sometime in the
future, going to go viral onTikTok.
People are going to pick thisup for the beautiful la la la.
And of course, all of this isnot hurt by the fact that it is
(33:16):
being sung by a very handsomeman.
So let's just lock this.
One in Netherlands is takingFrance to the grand final.
(33:54):
And you know what, when it comesto love, relationships,
breakdowns, life, there areeither two ways that you can
embrace it.
You can either say c'est la vie, it happens, we lived, we loved
, we learn, we move on.
Or you go the darker route.
You embrace the dark side,grace, the dark side.
(34:15):
This is what Croatia has done.
This is the other side, theother relationship Breakdown
reaction.
They are sending Marko Bozniakwith poison cake, thank you.
(34:42):
And honestly, in the film helooks like very moody Anakin
(35:02):
Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith.
God damn it, marko.
You were supposed to bringorder to the Eurovision, not
(36:32):
destroy it.
Look, I'm not a fan of this one.
It's just got a bit of a moodyincel on the internet screaming
at people.
Vibe, I can't get laid, butit's your fault.
Look, I'm certainly not sayinghe's an incel.
He's an attractive young man.
At Eurovision he's getting morecake than any of us.
(36:58):
But I'm just going to suggestif you want people to eat your
cake, maybe don't tell them it'spoisoned.
I mean, certainly, if your cakeis poisoned, be very upfront.
Don't serve people cake that'spoisoned and not tell them oh,
(37:21):
that is shameful, hateful,disrespectful and I'm pretty
sure you could be sued.
And if you think your cake ispoisoned, please see a physician
immediately.
So once again, we very much.
We've seen the highs, we'veseen the low.
(37:41):
How is semifinal one going toround out?
It is going to rip out withCyprus, theo Evan with shh.
Thank you.
(38:56):
This is a very interesting song.
Again, when this starts, youare not predicting the note at
which it starts.
I don't dislike it, but I don'tlike it, but it has some catchy
parts, but it has some verygrating parts.
The video is very weird.
(39:16):
He's running through a corridor, inception style.
You know the room is spinningaround.
Oh, what do we do?
How do we fight in zero gravity?
He goes through the mysterydoor, comes out in a world
populated by a million KanyeWests Again.
(39:54):
When did the late-night raveindustrial elevator in the 2000s
come back into season?
That seems to be the vibe ofthe night.
Ugh into season.
That seems to be the vibe ofthe night.
Look, I think this one is goingto be sort of largely
(40:16):
forgettable.
It's a little bit too late.
I think people would havealready picked out their winners
at this stage.
Okay, just going on thepre-recordings of the song and
the video, I guess I have topick my top 10 of who I'm going
to predict.
Obviously, 90% of everything isthe live performance, so this
(40:39):
could completely change tonightonce we see what they have.
But this is my prediction we'regoing to tick it off out of 10.
We're going to see how we do,but this is my prediction we're
going to tick it off out of 10.
We're going to see how we do.
I've picked to go throughIceland, estonia, ukraine,
sweden, san Marino, albania,netherlands, poland, norway and
(41:10):
Azerbaijan.
It's so exciting.
Like I said, I deliberatelyhaven't watched hints of the
stage production because I liketo get that in person.
You only get to get it once andI want to savour it.
Ah, will the song you gothrough?
Will the song you love gothrough tonight?
Ah, c'est la vie.
It goes up, it goes down, wedon't know.
I've also recorded a reactionvideo to the songs of Eurovision
(41:46):
, semi-final one.
I haven't tried this before.
I'm trying something new.
Be gentle.
So go have a look at that Also.
It will be good to have a lookafter we see the stage
production and see if thisranking of the songs still holds
up.
Coming very soon, we're goingto have a quick dive into
(42:10):
semi-final two.
It's so nerve-wracking.
See you at the stage.
Bonjour.
Guten Tag, privet.
Hello and welcome back to theDeux Poids podcast.
As I sit here in my little cave,I am very much aware we are
only hours away from the firstsemi-final of Eurovision 2025.
Now, I have to admit, the firstsemifinal is not the strongest.
(00:28):
Just off the top of my head, oh, there are 15 countries
standing up going for the vote.
(00:48):
Of those, 10 will go through.
I honestly I think there'sabout seven that I think will
automatically qualify.
I think there are about threespots that are up for grab.
Really, it's just all going tocome down.
We're not sure what's going tohappen.
Now, of course, all of thisinformation.
I haven't looked at any of therehearsals.
(01:09):
I like to go in blind.
I like to be surprised, I likethat little bit of shock when I
see it live.
I want it all on the line.
So this is going essentiallyjust on the official recordings
and I have watched the previewvideos.
So I think who think?
(01:30):
So I would say who isdefinitely going through?
Just off the top of my headthis year, it's going to be
Iceland, estonia, Ukraine,sweden, obviously San Marino,
albania and Netherlands.
That's seven.
Who's going to round up the topthree?
Let's have a quick look Now foreveryone out there who doesn't
(02:00):
want any spoilers?
Look, who doesn't want anyspoilers?
Look, we are going to touchlightly on the song, so we're
not going into massive detail.
You may get a comment.
That may just be ah, there's anangry Cher.
If you're happy with that,listen.
(02:21):
If you don't want to hear aword, if you don't want to hear
that Sher's going to be thereangry, indifferent or otherwise,
turn away now.
Turn your ears away First, offthe bat.
(02:49):
And I think Eurovision couldn'thave picked off a better way to
start Eurovision 2025, becauseyou know what they're starting
it off.
They're starting it off withthe Jedward twins.
Well, the Icelandic version,roa, is the song.
(03:12):
That's how I'm going topronounce it.
The lads are called Vibroa.
Oh, my Lord, okay.
So picture two Icelandicfellows looking very reminiscent
of Jedward.
What are you expecting them tosing?
If you said a good,old-fashioned she shanty, you'd
(03:35):
be a liar.
But this is exactly what it isMeet pop meets a she shanty.
This shouldn't work.
But you know what?
It's catchy, it's fun.
This one is going straightthrough.
Well-played Iceland, thank youum foreign?
(05:42):
That is going to be followed upby Poland, justyna Stekiauza
with Gaja.
Ah, it seems Poland.
Well, we all know it has phases.
It has milkmaid phase, it hasangry rock phase.
This is their twerking gothphase.
(06:05):
I'm not quite sure how todescribe it other than a dance
pop version of the Smiths in2025.
(06:29):
Look with the live performancesthat I have seen of this before
.
Unfortunately, there has beensome very questionable vocal
performances that, as much as Ilove a twerking goth and you
think, straight away, thisbefore.
Unfortunately, there has beensome very questionable vocal
performances that, oh, as muchas I love a twerking goth and
you think, straight away, that'sgoing to go through.
(06:50):
This is all going to come downto the vocal performance on the
night.
I'm just not sure if she canpull it off live.
If she can, you know what itmight scrape through.
Like I said, we're looking forthree to round out the drop 10.
We'll see how it goes.
(07:26):
Three minutes later, you aregoing to be begging for the
twerking goths to come backbecause Slovenia has sent Kaiman
with his song.
How Much Time Do we have Left?
And if you think that soundsdepressing, you are 100% spot.
The preview video is him for alot of it nude, with some poor
(07:48):
lady who has just found outshe's had cancer, and the song
is pretty much him lamenting howmuch time do we have left
together?
Wow, way to bring down theparty mood at Eurovision.
I'm not sure if the stageproduction is just going to be
(08:14):
him and someone else nude forthe three minutes.
Honestly, this wouldn't even beenough to make this an
interesting and interestingstage performance.
I feel for you.
I feel for your situation.
This one is just not grabbingme.
(08:36):
I'd say this is a great time togo to the bathroom, but we're
only song three.
Don't break the seal yet.
You know what it's like Onceyou pee.
You're not going to stop peeing.
Don't break it yet, as much asyou attempted force yourself to
(08:58):
stay strong.
It's going to be a long threeminutes but trust me, it is
going to pay off.
With the next song we have TommyCash representing Estonia with
Espresso Macchiato.
(09:19):
That's right.
If you thought you know whatEurovision needs a long-haired
barista singing about coffeethen woo, we have the song and
the performance for you.
Curiously, this is the secondsong of the night where Italy is
going to be out Italian'd byother countries, both Estonia
(09:42):
and wait for it.
San Marino this year year we'llget to it are gonna be laying
down the Italian thicknessharder than Manuscan.
(10:07):
Spread their sexy legs of Italyall across the globe.
It's random.
I don't know why this is a song.
I also don't know why it's soinfectious, but it is that one
straight through.
But it is that one straightthrough.
(10:32):
It's really interesting howthey've set up this first
semi-final.
It's really high, low, high,low.
It's almost like good bad, goodbad, or rock soft ballad, rock
soft ballad, pop ballad.
I'm not sure if that works, asopposed to having a period.
(10:52):
Obviously you don't want halfan hour of straight ballads.
But do we want to go up down,up, down, up down?
We'll find out on the night,because, believe me, we'll find
out on the night, because,believe me, I'm not sure my
heart can take it.
Next on the list we have UkraineZip-A-Blast with Bird of Prey.
(11:17):
Woo-hoo, p-r-a-y, not theP-R-E-Y, we're not getting
political, it's the Bird of Preprey.
You know what?
The only way that I candescribe this is being seduced
into a cult in the 1970s.
(11:37):
This is a very unusual trackthat Ukraine has taken.
It's something that we reallyhaven't seen from them before.
But you know what?
I actually kind of like it.
It's a little bit, it's arefreshing.
(11:57):
Is it their greatest?
No, is it going to win?
No, I don't know.
I'm hoping this will go through, as it will stand out as
something a little bit differenton the night.
I don't know.
It's cute, it's lovely, butit's 100%.
(12:21):
You always ask how do thesepeople get out?
You always think to yourselfhow do these people end up in a
cult?
Honestly, I think 100%.
It's like this.
I think the world, after a fewcocktails, is going to be lured
into the back of Ukraine's vanwith this one.
(12:45):
Oh, speaking of highs,undoubtedly what is going to be
the absolute high of the firstevening let's bring in Sweden.
Kaj is bearing their song Badabadu bastu.
This is the first time Swedenhas sent a song to Eurovision in
Swedish for a gazillion,hundred thousand years.
(13:08):
You know what makes it evenweirder?
This is the first song sent bySweden, sung in Swedish, in a
gazillion years.
And who's doing it?
Norwegians.
That's right.
That's what it took to getSwedish language back at
Eurovision.
It took Norway.
Honestly, I think Norway iskicking themselves that they
(13:41):
don't have this songrepresenting them.
I don't know.
Kaj live, perform, work inSweden and apparently they do a
lot of sauntering, write aboutwhat you know they say.
(14:09):
Well, sweden has taken it andrun with it as they present a
three-minute song about sauna,three-minute song about Sona,
and not in that weird creepy.
I felt kind of pervy watchingit Olly Alexander way, where
eight men were rolling around ona very dirty gymnasium floor.
(14:30):
To be honest, I think that'sone of the main reasons the Olly
Alexander performance didn'twork.
You could clearly see thatbathroom floor was very dirty
and everyone was just like ew,ew, ew, there's poo particles,
ew, there's soiled socks.
If it was a lovely queen, if itwas a lovely queen, if it was a
(14:59):
lovely, clean Swedish sauna, Ithink it would have had a better
result.
Oh, this song has the worlda-flapping.
Everyone loves this.
It's so ridiculously catchy.
It's even got the choreographeddance routine.
This is 100% the year of thequirky song.
(15:27):
It is the judges' ultimatenightmare.
Now, as much as there are a lotof people who want Sweden to
win, it's like have you neverbeen to Eurovision 2025?
The jury is going to shut thisdown.
The jury will never let anovelty song win Eurovision.
We've seen it how many years ina row.
(15:47):
Courage.
Finland, you should have wonCha cha, cha, cha, cha, cha cha
jewelry.
Shut it down.
Baby lasagna should have wonJewelry shut it down.
I honestly think this year thejury is going to shut down all
(16:08):
of the novelty acts.
They're going to put all theireffort into just Nick Sneh on
the party, and I think thewinner this year is going to be
a song more that offends thejury the least and offends the
public the least.
(16:28):
It's not going to be what wewant, it's going to be what we
get.
Thank you.
(17:03):
After that, absolute highEurovision had decided to slip
in Portugal, napa, with theirsong Desilicado.
Nope, nope.
Believe me, it's kind of good.
Any song that was followingafter Sweden was not going to
have a chance.
So this is probably a goodopportunity to sit a bit of a in
(17:24):
under the radar.
Thank you.
(18:12):
Honestly, I just find this to bea beige performance song and if
it's anything from what I'veseen in the preview videos, it
is going to be a brown, beige,matching pinstripe two-piece
outfit of a song, but this isprobably the best place for it
(18:38):
to go.
Like I said, this is a greattime to refill all of your
drinks, because you've eithershot them all down or you've
been so busy doing the dance.
Your alcohol, your drinks areflying everywhere.
You're a bit knackered.
You didn't realize how out ofshape you were when you tried to
dance routine for three minutesand you're like, oh, is this it
(18:59):
?
Is this the end?
Am I having a stroke?
You know what?
Do it through the Portugal song.
This is probably the best timeto do it.
Well played.
(19:19):
After that, we have Norwaydisappointing us again by not
sending Kano.
I don't care, they weren'tcompeting this year.
They shouldn't have to justsend them.
Instead, they've said Kyle,alessandro with a lighter, I'm
gonna be my own lighter.
Oh bless, lighter, oh bless.
He's like 12.
He's finding self-empowering.
(19:41):
This is great.
You go, little fella, don't letthe world shove you down.
(20:09):
I don't particularly like thissong, but you know what?
I think it's a good littlemessage Be strong, don't let
people put you down.
Be your own damn light in theworld.
And you know what?
We're going to try and roundout the top 10 and maybe I'll
put it there on the possibilitylist.
After this, we have Belgium RedSebastian with strobe lights.
(20:31):
You know what I got.
To be honest, I think this songis about 25 years too late.
There was a time when peoplewere house party dancing with
strobe lights and big industrialelevators.
I think, thankfully, that timehas passed.
This one's a bit of a.
It's not offensive, it's notbad, it's just like it's not
(20:59):
giving me a seizure but it's notbringing me to life.
Thank you.
(22:33):
Following that will beAzerbaijan with Mama Gama with
Run With you.
Look, the first thing I'm goingto say is, when this song
begins and he starts singing,your first thought is going to
be that is not the note I wouldhave predicted this was going to
be in.
Uh, look, this is a bit in themiddle for me.
(23:03):
I kind of.
I think it's lucky, because Igo into Eurovision wanting to
like all the songs.
It's not offensive, uh, butit's nothing spectacular.
I think it actually benefits,though after following strobe
lights, it has a catchier beat.
So I think the running orderwill help push it through to the
(23:31):
next round.
But as soon as we get to thegrand final it's just going to
be lost by much superior songs,like our next act, gabriponte
(24:00):
with Tutta l'Italiana.
It is a love note to Italy andall things Italian Pasta, coffee
, nunnas, sent by San Marino.
What, again, second song of thenight out, italian, italy.
And my word, once we get to theItaly song, you will not
(24:24):
understand why, out of all thesongs, let alone the two songs
that are praising and lovingeverything Italian and are
remarkable, catchy, why Italywent with the absolute burn.
That is the act they're sending.
(24:45):
The world will never know.
Meanwhile, san Marino, it'sgoing to go through, obviously,
italy, it's a catchyuce poir,it's a catchy, fun little number
.
It's everything that I want atEurovision and it makes me think
(25:06):
of pasta and yum, yum, yum, yumyum.
This is going to be followed upby a very angry looking shirt
(25:40):
Albania, skoda, elektronika withgerm.
She's probably angry becauseshe doesn't realize why the song
(26:01):
.
It's not a bad song, it'sactually.
There's bits of it that arereally quite good.
There are some questionablechoices in it, like the white
guy in the do-rag I don't knowwhat that is about, but anything
(26:22):
that gives us a taste of Cher,you know, is going straight
through to the next round atEurovision.
Speaking of going through to thenext round, let's talk about
the Netherlands.
They've sent Claude C'est lavie.
C'est la vie Again.
(26:52):
This is another example of theFrench being out-Frenched by
another country.
This seems to be a real thinglately.
Let's not forget 2002, whenMonica from Lithuania, with, was
(27:39):
Frenchier than the French hadbeen in 10 years.
When I listen to all of thesesongs, I actually listen to them
in the running order of thesemi-finals.
This is the first song of thenight that genuinely strikes me
(28:09):
as a song that has the potentialto win the Eurovision Song
Contest.
Is it perfect?
No.
Is it one of the greatest?
No.
But when you listen to it forthe first time, oh, chills.
He has such a lovely voice.
I really hope this translatesto the live production.
(28:31):
C'est la vie, it's just abeautiful song and it has one of
those beautiful, just selfexpressions of love, life,
liberty.
This song 100%.
(29:08):
It goes up, it goes down.
So it's in French, it's inEnglish.
(29:39):
It starts off with just thisvery faint caressing of a few
piano nights.
It's soft, it's heartbreaking,it's love.
But then it takes us on ajourney Growth, live, love.
Oh, can you tell, I really likethis one.
(30:00):
Oh, especially the beginningbit.
(30:38):
It gives you chills, it canreduce you to tears.
Beautiful combination betweenFrench and English.
And then, boom, we drop alittle dance beat.
(31:21):
The only thing I do worry aboutis in the preview film for this
song there is some very weird,awkward, inappropriate people
dancing in a bathroom.
What is it with dancing inbathrooms?
Am I just hanging out in thewrong bathrooms?
Am I living a sheltered life?
Honestly, I hate publicbathrooms.
(31:41):
They are the absolute worst.
You know what?
I have been out, seen a publicbathroom and just went.
You know what?
I've just gone home.
I have just gone home ratherthan use that bathroom.
So I don't know, maybe I'm theone, maybe I'm missing out.
Let me know if you've ever hada dance party in that bathroom.
So I don't know, maybe I'm theone, maybe I'm missing out.
Let me know if you've ever hada dance party in a bathroom.
(32:37):
I also think this is going to beone of these songs that is
going to end up randomly, justout of the blue, sometime in the
future, going to go viral onTikTok.
People are going to pick thisup for the beautiful la la la.
And of course, all of this isnot hurt by the fact that it is
(33:16):
being sung by a very handsomeman.
So let's just lock this.
One in Netherlands is takingFrance to the grand final.
(33:54):
And you know what, when it comesto love, relationships,
breakdowns, life, there areeither two ways that you can
embrace it.
You can either say c'est la vie, it happens, we lived, we loved
, we learn, we move on.
Or you go the darker route.
You embrace the dark side,grace, the dark side.
(34:15):
This is what Croatia has done.
This is the other side, theother relationship Breakdown
reaction.
They are sending Marko Bozniakwith poison cake, thank you.
(34:42):
And honestly, in the film helooks like very moody Anakin
(35:02):
Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith.
God damn it, marko.
You were supposed to bringorder to the Eurovision, not
(36:32):
destroy it.
Look, I'm not a fan of this one.
It's just got a bit of a moodyincel on the internet screaming
at people.
Vibe, I can't get laid, butit's your fault.
Look, I'm certainly not sayinghe's an incel.
He's an attractive young man.
At Eurovision he's getting morecake than any of us.
(36:58):
But I'm just going to suggestif you want people to eat your
cake, maybe don't tell them it'spoisoned.
I mean, certainly, if your cakeis poisoned, be very upfront.
Don't serve people cake that'spoisoned and not tell them oh,
(37:21):
that is shameful, hateful,disrespectful and I'm pretty
sure you could be sued.
And if you think your cake ispoisoned, please see a physician
immediately.
So once again, we very much.
We've seen the highs, we'veseen the low.
(37:41):
How is semifinal one going toround out?
It is going to rip out withCyprus, theo Evan with shh.
Thank you.
(38:56):
This is a very interesting song.
Again, when this starts, youare not predicting the note at
which it starts.
I don't dislike it, but I don'tlike it, but it has some catchy
parts, but it has some verygrating parts.
The video is very weird.
(39:16):
He's running through a corridor, inception style.
You know the room is spinningaround.
Oh, what do we do?
How do we fight in zero gravity?
He goes through the mysterydoor, comes out in a world
populated by a million KanyeWests Again.
(39:54):
When did the late-night raveindustrial elevator in the 2000s
come back into season?
That seems to be the vibe ofthe night.
Ugh into season.
That seems to be the vibe ofthe night.
Look, I think this one is goingto be sort of largely
(40:16):
forgettable.
It's a little bit too late.
I think people would havealready picked out their winners
at this stage.
Okay, just going on thepre-recordings of the song and
the video, I guess I have topick my top 10 of who I'm going
to predict.
Obviously, 90% of everything isthe live performance, so this
(40:39):
could completely change tonightonce we see what they have.
But this is my prediction we'regoing to tick it off out of 10.
We're going to see how we do,but this is my prediction we're
going to tick it off out of 10.
We're going to see how we do.
I've picked to go throughIceland, estonia, ukraine,
sweden, san Marino, albania,netherlands, poland, norway and
(41:10):
Azerbaijan.
It's so exciting.
Like I said, I deliberatelyhaven't watched hints of the
stage production because I liketo get that in person.
You only get to get it once andI want to savour it.
Ah, will the song you gothrough?
Will the song you love gothrough tonight?
Ah, c'est la vie.
It goes up, it goes down, wedon't know.
I've also recorded a reactionvideo to the songs of Eurovision
(41:46):
, semi-final one.
I haven't tried this before.
I'm trying something new.
Be gentle.
So go have a look at that Also.
It will be good to have a lookafter we see the stage
production and see if thisranking of the songs still holds
up.
Coming very soon, we're goingto have a quick dive into
(42:10):
semi-final two.
It's so nerve-wracking.
See you at the stage.
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