United by Music

Before you read this post about Eurovision 2026, I encourage you to have a look at my  statement  on this year’s contest. It’s Eurovision time again! It hardly seems like yesterday that we watched JJ take the trophy in Basel, but somehow the first semi-final is already upon us, with fifteen countries set to compete for ten places in Saturday’s final. We will also have exhibition performances from automatic qualifiers Germany and Italy. As was the case last year, the EBU has released various pictures from arena rehearsals and also a thirty-second snippet of each performance, so we have a little taster of what to expect but could still be surprised yet. The following is a short assessment of each competing song’s chances tonight – of course, there is still a lot that I don’t know, so there may be some unwise predictions here, but it’s my best guess as of now. A week or two ago, before rehearsals commenced in Vienna, I published some detailed predictions of the semi-final results...

We're nearly there: Eurovision 2026 is about to kick off in Vienna so it's about time I shared my thoughts on the last of this year's entries. This time, I'm discussing Austria, Bulgaria, Israel, Luxembourg and Sweden. Bulgaria: Dara – “Bangaranga” Bulgaria is one of three countries returning to the Eurovision Song Contest this year. After a string of good results in the late 2010s, the country withdrew from Eurovision in 2023 citing financial concerns. This year, however, Bulgaria is back and held a two-stage national selection to choose its entry. In the first stage of the process, Dara was chosen from a line-up of fifteen prominent artists, and the song “Bangaranga” was then selected over two others. The song is a deliberately chaotic slice of modern Eurovision pop: loud, hyperactive and designed to be an assault on the senses. It blends aggressive electro-pop production with Balkan-inspired imagery and an intentionally anarchic hook. It’s catchy almost by brute forc...

With only a fortnight to go until the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, the songs are becoming more and more familiar by the day. I've reviewed most of this year's entries already (find those here ), and now I am continuing the journey with Australia, Belgium, Finland, Norway and Ukraine. Belgium: Essyla – “Dancing on the Ice” Belgium’s unique system for selecting its Eurovision entries means that this year, Walloon broadcaster RTBF is in charge, having last been at the helm in 2024. Whilst its Flemish counterpart VRT tends to organise a national final, RTBF generally selects its entries internally, and this year is no different, with The Voice Belgique finalist Essyla going forward to represent the country with her song “Dancing on the Ice”. It’s a polished but rather generic slice of contemporary electro-pop. It has clear artistic intent and competent production, but raises concerns in me surrounding memorability and competitive impact. In its studio form, “Dancing on the Ic...

Another week, another batch of Eurovision 2026 song reviews! You can find the previous instalments in this series  here . I really must get on with it if I want to finish discussing this year's entries before the shows themselves, so without any further ado, let's have a look at Czechia, Denmark, Georgia, Serbia and Switzerland. Serbia: Lavina – “Kraj mene” Last year, Serbia earned its worst-ever result at the Eurovision Song Contest. Despite being one of my favourites in the 2025 line-up, Princ failed to qualify for the final with “Mila”, finishing fourteenth out of sixteen in the semi-final. Hoping to do a bit better in Vienna will be Lavina, who are representing Serbia this year with “Kraj mene”. It’s certainly one of the more unconventional entries in this year’s competition, blending progressive metal with a melodramatic emotional core. The song feels ambitious, but I think it’s the sort of package that could be received very differently in different contexts. The studio v...