Junior Eurovision 2025: Recap & Review

I have followed the Junior Eurovision Song Contest intermittently since 2018. Back then, I had only just become a die-hard Eurovision fan, and was a similar age to many of the competing artists. Over the years, I’ve had varying levels of engagement with the contest, from actively following the build-up in 2019 to taking no notice at all in 2024. The participation of the UK in Junior Eurovision piqued my interest in 2022, and I paid the competition a bit more attention during our short-lived return – even watching the contest live in 2023 whilst revising for an exam the next morning!

This year, I decided to approach the contest blind. The general chaos of life meant that I hadn’t had much time to listen to all of the competing entries beforehand, and I also thought it would be a new and interesting experience to share only my first impressions. I watched the show live on YouTube, accompanied by my younger sister, who is much more musically gifted than I am – and certainly doesn’t shy away from sharing her opinions! The following is a summary of our thoughts on this year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest, presented for your interest and consideration.

Firstly, I would like to say that I think GPB, the Georgian national broadcaster and this year’s host broadcaster, didn’t do badly at all with this production. Of course, holding the contest in the Gymnastic Hall of Olympic City rather than the much larger Olympic Palace wasn’t ideal, and I think it was a shame not to have any accredited press, but on the whole I thought the show was well put together. The (competent yet slightly wooden) hosts for the afternoon were David Aladashvili, a TV presenter who also fronts Georgia’s national selection Ranina, and journalist Liza Tsiklauri.

The opening act was a nice celebration of music and dance, with lots of young talent being showcased (“Is he eating a sausage?”, my sister asked when a boy popped up on screen playing the flute). Junior Eurovision does, in a lot of ways, remind me of Eurovision (senior Eurovision?) before it became the spectacle we know today, and this relatively understated performance is the sort of thing that I’d like to see at the adult contest. We then had one of my favourite Eurovision traditions in the form of the flag parade, introducing us to all eighteen contestants before the show proper began.

 

Malta: Eliza Borg – “I Believe”

I felt a bit sorry for Malta having to open the show, because I think this song could have stood out a lot more had it been performed later on. However, Eliza and her troupe delivered a confident performance with a couple of great vocal moments, particularly at the end. Starting the song ‘in bed’ was a clever idea, but I wasn’t convinced by the words appearing on screen and thought Eliza was almost being drowned out by the backing vocal at a couple of points. There also seemed to be an issue with a camera at one point which took me out of the moment briefly. Eliza did well to open the show with this performance, but I feared it wouldn’t be remembered by the end of the evening, and sadly I was correct.

 

Azerbaijan: Yağmur – “Miau Miau”

Another confident performance that I feel was hampered by having to perform so early on. “Miau Miau” is annoyingly catchy, and Yağmur’s delivery was energetic and polished without compromising the quality of the vocal, which was largely good. I thought the dancers did well to bring the power that the song needed without looking messy, and really added to the performance. The staging was better than anything we’ve seen from Azerbaijan at ‘big’ Eurovision over the last few years (my sister particularly enjoyed the cat guitar), and I would say warranted a better position than the song ended up with.

 

Croatia: Marino Vrgoč – “Snovi”

Firstly, how nice to see Croatia participating at Junior Eurovision for the first time since 2014! Given that they finished last on that occasion, the bar for Marino to clear was low, and clear it he most certainly did. Despite clearly being quite nervous at the start of the performance, he performed “Snovi” very well, with genuinely powerful vocals, and snow – which is never a bad thing! The song itself is lovely, and I enjoyed the change of pace towards the end. This was one of my favourite performances of the show, and I thought it was a shame that it never really seemed to get going properly during the voting.

 

San Marino: Martina Crv – “Beyond the Stars”

This was a catchy song from Junior Eurovision’s smallest nation, and Martina performed it well. Whilst her stage presence was generally good, both my sister and I thought she would have benefitted from a bit more direction as she occasionally looked a bit lost. The song isn’t anything revolutionary, but it was the only one of its kind in this line-up, and did well to lean into its genre, because I think that was the main strength of this package. At the time, I thought it probably wouldn’t challenge, but it was nice to see the song do so well with the televote, and earn San Marino its first top-ten finish in any Eurovision event!

 

Armenia: Albert – “Brave Heart”

Armenia are a Junior Eurovision powerhouse, and this year was no exception. This was a good song, and Albert’s vocals were strong to match. I thought it was also staged very well, with the stage all in black and white save for Albert’s yellow scarf, and the trees surrounding Albert helped to keep the performance from feeling too chaotic. As this song was being performed, I wrote that I wouldn’t be surprised if it did quite well, but I must confess that I’ve just had to go back and listen to it again in order to remember it! I think my feeling remains the same: I’m not surprised Albert did well, and he clearly managed to capture my attention at the crucial moment.

 

Ukraine: Sofiia Nersesian – “Motanka”

There was much excitement during this performance as it turned out that my sister knew the dance routine from TikTok. She did, however, later declare the song to be “not as good as the other ones” and the singer “a bit shouty” – I wondered if this was down to the style of music. I enjoyed Ukraine’s package, particularly the traditional dress and ethnic elements of the song, and I thought Sofiia gave a very energetic performance. She possibly seemed a little bit out of breath on a couple of occasions, but this is a catchy song that deserved to do well.

 

We then had the slightly excruciating ‘emoji challenge’ from our hosts whilst I tried to explain to my sister the necessity of advert breaks – quite confusing as we weren’t watching any adverts at the time. “Oh, David”, says Liza – and I can only agree…

 

Ireland: Lottie O’Driscoll Murray – “Rúin”

I haven’t looked up all the singers to corroborate this, but I got the impression that Lottie was one of the older performers in this year’s line-up, and the song certainly felt more mature than everything that had come before it. “Rúin” is a lovely song, and it’s always great to hear the Irish language (very sad that we won’t hear it at the main contest for the foreseeable future). Lottie’s vocals were absolutely fantastic, and I really must commend Ireland because I think they got everything right here. I wrote at the time “I hope it does well” – and I’m ever so disappointed that, for whatever reason, it didn’t seem to connect with the wider audience.

 

Netherlands: Meadow – “Freeze”

“I like this one”, my sister and I said to each other approximately five seconds after Meadow took to the stage. This was probably one of the most memorable songs in the competition in that it was still stuck in my head by the end of the show. It was current and very catchy indeed, with a polished performance to boot. The dance break wasn’t the finest I’ve ever seen, and it felt a little bit shoehorned in (see Adonxs from Czechia this year); I’m hoping 2026 will bring an end to this trend. Nonetheless, I thought this was one of the best packages of the lot, and was disappointed to see it end up mid-table. The Netherlands will be missed in Vienna.

 

Poland: Marianna Kłos – “Brightest Light”

Again, I haven’t checked the ages of any of the singers, but Marianna seemed to be particularly young, an impression that I don’t think was helped by the unusual dress prop she was stationed within (that I must say reminded me a bit of Julia Samoylova). I wasn’t overly keen on the whispering at the start, but this was a nice song, though not among the all-time great Polish Junior Eurovision entries. Marianna delivered some fantastic vocals at the end of the song, and the light in her hand was a nice addition to the performance, though possibly a little bit on the nose.

 

North Macedonia: Nela Mančeska – “Miracle”

I think it’s interesting that since their departure from the main competition, North Macedonia continues to participate in Junior Eurovision – it does give me hope that the country will return sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I have a great deal to say about this particular entry. The song is pleasant though unremarkable, but performed very well by Nela, who has an excellent vocal capacity. I also appreciated the simplicity of the performance against the noisy chaos of the rest of the show. My sister heard Nela singing “I am a miracle” over and over again in the chorus and thought she was being quite narcissistic!

 

Montenegro: Asja Džogović – “I tužna i srećna priča”

Montenegro is another country returning to Junior Eurovision after an absence, and again this is a reason to be optimistic about their continued participation in all Eurovision events. This song, with its wordy title, is another that can be summed up as ‘nice but not remarkable’ – I wondered as it was being performed if it would get lost in the crowd and unfortunately it did seem to, though I don’t think it was helped by performing in this particular section of the show, which was generally a bit more downbeat. Asja’s vocals, were, however, very good, and I’m not entirely sure of the song’s meaning but the message “to all orphaned children” at the end of the song was a nice touch.

 

Italy: Leonardo Giovannangeli – “Rockstar”

Could that name be any more Italian if it tried? My sister was quick to notice the similarity to Käärijä with Leonardo performing on a box that seemed to be dangerously high up, and created a couple of bizarre moments as his dancers were much lower. Unfortunately, this was another entry neither of us thought was hugely notable, and I was particularly unconvinced by the rap section – if that is what it was. However, Leonardo’s stage presence was very good; he performed the song with exactly the right amount of “rockstar” confidence to help the audience to remember the performance.

 

“It’s like a sitcom”, said my sister as David and Liza treated us to yet another awkward exchange.

 

Portugal: Inês Gonçalves – “Para onde vai o amor?”

Yet another white outfit! And a stage show that seemed to largely consist of some big plastic sheets that looked like they could have been wrapping everyone else’s props. Songs like this suffer when the audience (and, in this case, me) only hear them once before having to cast their votes. At the time, I didn’t think too much to this performance; I thought Inês’ vocals were good and that the package was polished but might fail to stand out by the end of the show – I even went so far as to write down “a bit dull”! In retrospect, that seems a bit harsh, and having listened to the song again, I am appreciating it a bit more, but for me, it wasn’t as immediate as I wanted it to be.

 

Spain: Gonzalo Pinillos – “Érase una vez (Once Upon a Time)”

This song got off on the wrong foot with me, as nothing quite seemed to match up at the start of the performance. We had a very energetic dance, and Gonzalo seemed quite upbeat, but the song itself was a bit more reflective. However, it picked up a bit and definitely improved as it went on. As a bibliophile, I was a big fan of the message “everything is possible when you read” (even if it did make the song sound like some sort of World Book Day anthem) though I’m not sure I needed it shouted at me quite so many times. That being said, I must congratulate Gonzalo for his enthusiasm, and I was glad that his performance was recognised by the juries.

 

Georgia: Anita Abgariani – “Shine Like a Star”

Confusion ensued again in our house when I passed on this song’s title to my sister, who replied incredulously “Shine like pasta?!”. The home entry got a huge cheer from the audience at the start of the song – in fact, I think it was the first time I’d heard anything from the crowd all afternoon. My first impression of this song was a little bit mixed, and I couldn’t decide initially whether I liked it or not, though I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Anita’s vocals are very powerful, but bordered on screechy in places and I had to separate my opinions of the song from the rapturous reception the arena gave it. However, I did like this performance overall, and having listened to the song afterwards, I think it deserved the result it got.

 

Cyprus: Rafaella and Christos – “Away”

The only duet of the evening, I must say that Rafaella and Christos seemed a bit mismatched. Rafaella has an impressive musical theatre background, whilst Christos’ skills seem to lie primarily in playing the drums. Unfortunately, I think this disparity was clear during their performance. I saw one particularly harsh comparison to Jemini, and I don’t think it was quite that bad, but – as my sister so bluntly pointed out – the chemistry was certainly lacking, and Christos’ vocal performance left a bit to be desired. It was a nice song though, and definitely picked up towards the end, so absolutely not all bad.

 

France: Lou Deleuze – “Ce monde”

France just seem to get Junior Eurovision. They have once again found the magic formula, and this package was by far the best of the competition in song, performance and staging. It reminded both me and my sister of Barbara Pravi’s “Voilà”, particularly in the way the performance was filmed and Lou’s very expressive arms. The song is beautifully written and so exquisitely crafted; and Lou performed it perfectly, with great vocals throughout. At times, this didn’t even look like a live performance, and I mean that in the best way possible. Did the running order help? Possibly, but when all is said and done there could have been no other winner tonight.

 

Albania: Kroni Pula – “Fruta perime”

I have often thought Albania have been a bit unlucky at Junior Eurovision, but thankfully they seem to have cracked it a bit more over the last few years, and are now regularly inside the top ten. This was another very energetic performance to close out the show, with a catchy song to boot. Kroni’s ensemble did well, though I wasn’t a fan of some of the actions which seemed a bit odd. I suppose that’s the fault of the choreography rather than the performers. I also didn’t particularly like some of the moments in the song that seemed a bit shouty – it didn’t seem to flow very well, but I must commend the young talent regardless.

 

I thought GPB pitched the interval act exactly right. Not too long, and not too much filler (I was particularly unimpressed with the hosts by this point), but exactly the acts the audience wanted to see. Whilst it was nice to see Bzikebi performing together again, I wasn’t a huge fan of the song they gave us, and neither were the singers in the green room, who seemed by and large quite uninterested when the camera came to them. It was at this point that my sister left me by myself to go to a cheese and wine party (!)

Much like Bzikebi, it was nice to see Candy all together, and good to see Iru back on (a) Eurovision stage, but I was less convinced by their song. The common song is, in my opinion, another great tradition and one that could only work at the junior contest – it is possibly slightly too twee even for Eurovision. I think we’ve heard better common songs over the years, but it’s always nice to see everybody performing together. I was very impressed with the standard of songs this year, and think this was a particularly talented cohort.

Before my sister went off gallivanting, we both cast our allotted three votes: I voted for France, Ireland and Croatia (giving honourable mentions to the Netherlands and Azerbaijan), whilst she voted for France, Spain and the Netherlands (with honourable mentions for Ireland, Ukraine and Azerbaijan). France was, for both of us, the best of the night, though Ireland came a close second for me. We both thought the standard of songs was quite good overall, and that there were quite a few strong vocalists in this year’s line-up.

Finally, before the voting, we had an awkward interview with last year’s winner Andria, who told all of this year’s contestants to enjoy themselves and that they are all winners. Then David chipped in with the helpful advice “If your song does not get points, it does not mean the juries did not like you”. To give him his flowers, I thought David chaired the voting process very well, it’s tricky in the context of young people and I think we’ve had worse presenters at the main Eurovision. Interestingly, there was no appearance from new Executive Supervisor Gert Kark…

The jury voting was largely dominated by France, who went into an early lead which was never overturned, and received six sets of 12 points. Again, I think this was hugely well-deserved and testament to Lou’s amazing performance. Other interesting moments included Azerbaijan giving points to Armenia for the first time ever at any Eurovision event, and much hysteria in the arena whenever Georgia, who finished second with the juries, received 12 points. David made a couple of tongue-in-cheek remarks about “neighbours helping each other out”, which I enjoyed.

It was nice to see Malta get some recognition from the juries, as I had been concerned about them performing so early on, however I thought Azerbaijan, Croatia and (particularly) Ireland were all a bit underrated. How “Rúin” only scored three points from the so-called professionals is honestly beyond me. The top three of France, Georgia and Armenia was giving me flashbacks to Junior Eurovision 2022, and I only wished we could have seen Ireland replicating the success they earned that year with the incredible Sophie Lennon.

I was impressed when David said that votes had been received from 188 countries – I’d be very interested to see the full breakdown! Again, it was nice to see San Marino do so well, though I thought the Netherlands deserved more. I also thought Marino from Croatia looked very cute clapping politely in the middle of the chaotic Albanian girls. Ukraine also got a huge televote score, and deservedly so. “All of them are incomparable”, says David, and I really do echo the sentiment that every single one of these contestants has done very well to get to this point.

There was a huge noise in the arena whilst we waited to hear Georgia’s televote score, but in the end it was France’s to lose, and “Ce monde” won convincingly, with the largest margin over second place ever seen at Junior Eurovision. Chaos then appeared to ensue for a few moments, with David and Liza speaking over each other, before Lou was manhandled to the stage by a crew member and we were told to “look at how happy she is” – unfortunately, all we could see at that point was a close-up of the final scoreboard. I also thought it was unusual that Andria wasn’t there to present Lou with the trophy, particularly as we’d seen him earlier in the show.

To conclude, I would like to congratulate each and every one of this year’s contestants, and particularly Lou Deleuze from France, who really was the best of the bunch. I would also like to congratulate GPB for putting on a great show. This year’s contest felt like Junior Eurovision went back to its roots a bit, rather than trying to become a mini-version of its adult counterpart. I remember feeling especially in 2023 that the contest seemed to be turning into more of a TV spectacle than an opportunity for young people to celebrate music, which was what I was glad to see this year.

This year, we saw the contestants in the green room without their delegations (again, how I remember it being in the late 2010s) which did create some lovely moments of friendship and solidarity between the artists but I do always feel a bit sorry for the solo artists, particularly when there is a language barrier between them and the other contestants. I wonder if there is some sort of happy medium where anybody without backing dancers to keep them company can bring a friend or two to chat with during the voting?

Finally, the voting. Personally, I don’t think the way the online vote currently functions in Junior Eurovision is fit for purpose. This year, thirteen out of eighteen contestants scored within 20 points of each other. This effectively means that the jury votes carry more weight as the points given out by the online vote (awarded proportionally) are unable to effectively differentiate between songs. Now we have introduced the Rest of the World vote in the main contest, maybe this is another thing we could carry over to Junior Eurovision and allow the televote to be more useful.

Those are all discussions for another time, another year… thank you Junior Eurovision 2025!

Final Results:

1. France – 248 points (152 + 96)
2. Ukraine – 177 points (79 + 98)
3. Georgia – 176 points (121 + 55)
4. Armenia – 175 points (117 + 58)
5. Spain – 152 points (98 + 54)
6. Albania – 145 points (60 + 85)
7. North Macedonia – 141 points (92 + 49)
8. Poland – 139 points (72 + 67)
9. San Marino – 125 points (38 + 87)
10. Netherlands – 93 points (47 + 46)
11. Malta – 92 points (54 + 38)
12. Italy – 73 points (26 + 47)
13. Portugal – 73 points (32 + 41)
14. Croatia – 70 points (28 + 42)
15. Azerbaijan – 66 points (12 + 54)
16. Cyprus – 50 points (3 + 47)
17. Montenegro – 49 points (10 + 39)
18. Ireland – 44 points (3 + 41)