Eurovision qualifiers 2025

The most wonderful time of the year, part one.

So I’ve been doing these wee previews for a while and there’s always a faint sense, tickling in my head, that the Eurovision a person sees in Eurovision week isn’t necessarily the whole of the thing. Because of course most countries have qualifying competitions. Last year, I listened to a few of the competitions and Nahaba‘s “GLASSS” was such a banger. And yet didn’t qualify for Ukraine.

Buoyed by this, I thought I’d go whole hog this year and see what the other competitions had to offer. That playlist runs to 454 videos, and I’m pretty sure I’ve missed a few along the way. It’s here if you’re interested:

So anyway, this is going to be a whistle-stop tour through the national selections for those countries that did one. A few notable exceptions in that a few countries don’t have such things — which at least saved me the inevitable turgidity of the UK selection process.

A lot to get through, so this is going to be a bit bullet-pointy. But the Internet gave us all 5G ADHD, so you’ll be grand I’m sure. I’m going to ignore the actual winners of the competitions because I’ll cover them in the next Euro review.

You may ask ‘why?’ The answer is basically that Eurovision the competition proper has gotten very professional. Which makes for some killer music, but it also misses all the admirable tat and shite of Eurovision — which lives on in the national selections.

Albania

Best non-winning song was probably Vesa Smolica‘s “Lutem”. It’s a little bit ‘drum n bass for car advert‘, but it whips along at a fair crack. Albania in general seems to enjoy dramatic mid-tempo numbers. Ardit Çuni‘s “Amane” has a decent duduk breakdown, but it’s a bit obviously-Eurovision for me otherwise. I get the impression that ’80s power rock never went away in Albania, for Eurovision crowds anyway.

Nothing shoddy from the Albanian selections but also a strong sense that the songs are picked for their appeal to (the nearest equivalent of) BBC Radio 2 parents. Though having said that, there’s very few songs that aren’t shot through with local instruments and styles, and most aren’t in English. Some very excellent singers — Mihallaq Andrea and Klea Dina both do a fine line is studied vibratos. Probably the song that least flicked my switches was “Rreziko” by Frensi Revania. Very reflective of my low tolerance for Harvester funk.

Belgium

Belgium feels a lot less ‘regional’ — which frankly I’m against. A small disappointment insofar as Grace‘s “Pull Up”, which is this year’s most “Fuego” song (Cyprus 2018), didn’t get through. Le Manou‘s “Filla à Papa” (I don’t know why young people all shout their names now) — is probably the best non-qualifier.

A couple of songs in French. Nothing that absolutely honks, but also nothing that speaks about Belgian culture in particular — this could be pop music from anywhere, by and large. “Strobe Lights” by Red Sebastian  is probably the rightful winner though — more on that when I do the full review, but a sneak preview: decently gay.

Croatia

Fenksta‘s “Extra” is the first showing of late-’90s style rapping which is presumably very 2025 Croatia. A few sightings of local culture — IVXN‘s “Monopol” in Croatian and adds local instruments to a pretty predictable song with a hot boy. Laurakojapjeva‘s “NPC” is probably the best song of the competition (and also the best of two songs called “NPC” this year) and she gets points for not shouting her name — bouncy pop deely which is somewhere in the region of donk-lite europop.

Marko Škugor‘s “Šta Do Boga Molim Ja” is one for the Croat mums and one of those slow torch songs that hits the spot nicely and very Croatianly. Martha May hits poppers o’clock with “Running To The Light”. Nipplepeople let down their excellent name with a song that’s alrightly forgettable electro business.

“Daj Daj” from Ogenj is very much in the vein of last year‘s runner-up “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”, so probably for the best it didn’t win. A band called Swingers doing a dogshit pastiche of swing music has the virtue of not being electro swing, which is a bit like saying cancer isn’t decapitation.

Estonia

Much like a lot of fancy Europe, there’s a lot of English-language pop that doesn’t necessarily say anything specifically Estonian. Some of it is passable (Elysa‘s “The Last To Know”), some of it pretty nice in a pretty-boy-pop way (Janek‘s “Frozen”). Probably the best of the non-qualifiers is An-Marlen with “Külm”, which is basically a trance number with Finnish lyrics, but it’s distinctly poppers o’clock and has the heft of some lovely slapping testicles.

Stereo Terror‘s “Prty Till The End Of The World” could’ve been a silly Rammstein-industrial pop nonsense, but they elected not to go with that, which is their decision I guess. Harvester funk of course sticks an oar in with Marta Lotta‘s “Tantsin Veel”. Not sure how I feel about the winner Tommy Cash and his “Kind Of Funny”, but he’s been around ages and has done some pretty large tunes; so presumably that’s tilted the competition in his favour.

Finland

Finland has arguably had something of a kick up the euro-arse with Käärijä‘s second place in 2023. And so their national winner this year is fucking preposterous. More on that in the next review, but if you’re a fan of paper-thin metaphors for orgasm and a woman doused in gloopy fluids, you’re in for a treat. Definitely a case of the right song winning.

Neea River‘s “Nightmare” does a good job of occupying eurotrance bangerland. “Hitaamin Hautaan” from Nelli Matula is a very good, very generic pop song in Finnish. Finland is perhaps towing or toeing the line between local identity and international pop generally, mostly singing in Finnish, mostly songs that you’d recognise from the radio (if you’re old enough to remember them).

Greece

Greece doing the right thing in having mostly Greek nominees. A few slow numbers, but such is the way of national selection. Odyssey‘s “Dinamiss” does a good job of having a drop-heavy chorus over wobbly Greek-y vocalisations. Mercifully, the very Bryan Adams-y “Free Love” by Θάνος Λάμπρου (Thanos Gampiou is my rough Latin transliteration) didn’t make it past the qualifiers because it’s very Bryan Adams-y.

Not a strong field from Greece this year and nothing to top last year’s Rosalía-n banger “Zari” by Marina Satti. “Γη μου” by Κώστας Αγέρης [“Gi Mou” by Kostas Ageris] does a good job of that very Eurovisionly ethnic song with dance bits and (I think) a kemençe, but still not quite piquing my interest. There’s always 2026.

Iceland

Iceland’s tradition for Eurovision is either cardigan indie or BDSM electro, so it’s surprising that mumcore predominates (Flugdrekar‘s “Dagur Sig” is both mumcore and Bryan Adams-y, which is a worrying precedent). There are sightings also of grancore with “Aðeins Lengur” from Bjarni Arason, which is a lovely string-led thing that’s entirely Eurovision 1990s.

Eurometal gets a look in with “Frelsið Mitt” by Stebbi Jak. Not much cop, but Eurovision metal rarely is. “Þrá” from Tinna might be the best of the non-qualifiers — lovely voice, very mumcore, but also enough cardigan indie for my tastes. The winner is probably also the best song though, so Icelanders can sleep easy tonight.

Italy

Italy’s San Remo Festival is the progenitor of Eurovision in general, as I understand it, so there’s a sense that the quality is a jump on many countries. Also, because they’re one of the countries that pays for Eurovision, there’s a bit of an onus to put on a show.

So there’s fair competition for the best non-qualifier here — I’d argue that many are better than the actual qualifier. Angelica Bove‘s “La Nostra Malinconia” is a lovely wee slice of girly pop. Angie‘s “Scorpione” isn’t too far from her near-namesake Angelina Mango who repped Italy in 2024 — a big pop number in the vein of golden era Britney (though obviously it’s all golden with her).

Arianna Rozzo‘s “J’adore” might be in the Charlie XCX wave or something. Definitely a banger. Giin‘s “Tornare Al Mare” is a lush slow-burner, but probably not right for the competition in that it took me a few listens to gel with it. Poppers o’clock gets a look in with Mew‘s “Oh My God” (and an inexplicable dragged-by-the-neck video). Basically, any of these would’ve been great qualifiers, certainly preferable to the actual winner.

Italy is by a large margin the country with the most non-qualifying bangers. Oh, I didn’t mention Vale LP, Lil Jolie ‘s “Dimmi tu Quando Sei Pronto Per Fare l’Amore” — that’s a belter also.

Latvia

I’m guessing that Latvia has a healthy dance scene doing the rounds. Adelina‘s “Electric Love” has a distinctly Michael Jackson sound (good Jackson, mind you), Citi Zēni doing a good pass on poppy trance. Possibly the mark of a smaller nation (geographically) is that they tend towards English, which is true and a shame for Latvia.

There’s a funny sense that Latvia does a lot of grown-up adult pop — even the torch song (Katrīna Gupalo with “Scarlett Challenger”) has breaches of drum n bassisms. There’s a lot of good things here, but nothing outstanding, perhaps. Not sure if the winner is the rightful winner; but I’m not massively fussed by anything on display here. Sorry Latvia.

Lithuania

Lithuania are perhaps a bit different to their neighbours — less a sheen of pop sensible-ness, which unfortunately means that ersatz electro-swing-ish like Black Biceps‘ “Visaip man reik” slips in. Which is not as bad as the The Ditties‘ “Zui Zu Bi” — which is definitely electro-swing and therefore fascism writ large.

Elsewhere, Donata‘s “Empower” is doing a middling job of ’80s-ish torch ballads and Euften‘s “Goodbye Hell” is some dreadful vision of ’80s metal slow numbers without the fun. Spraytan d’n’b makes its appearance in Gebrasy‘s “Whole” and Godo Yorke‘s “Neparodai”. Not sure if it’s much cop, but Hansanova‘s “Leilydo” does an out-of-place job of sounding distinctly Celtic (bodhrans, fiddles and the like).

Joseph June‘s “Ko Man Nesakei” does a grand job of some very acid breakdowns, but the song in the main isn’t all that. It might be that Lit‘s “You`re Not Alone” is the best non-qualifier — I can’t place who her voice reminds me of, but it’s an understated electro pop number and that’s enough for me. Not much to write home about here, which is to say the right song probably won.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg making their long-awaited return — prior to Ireland’s ’90s, they were the leading country for number of wins. The contest has expanded substantially of course. I’m going to stick it out there and say the winner was the best — nothing as shameful as electro swing here, but a lot of what you might expect — soulful pro-women stuff (Rhythmic Soulwave‘s “Stronger”, Rafa Ela with “No Thank You”), the baleful modern ballad (Mäna and “Human Eyes”). Only a wee, list but enough to show that they’ve put some money into the competition.

Malta

So Malta copped some controversy this year for entering a song that features the word ‘cunt’, albeit masked with “it means dance in Maltese”. I’m very here for it, so any other songs are guaranteed to take second place to a decent swear.

Dre’ Curmi‘s “Te Amo” does a decent job of very Eurovision holiday pop. JVF‘s “Festa” is likewise a festively jolly tune. Probably the best non-qualifier is Kantera‘s “Lararatatakee” with the old ‘ethnic’ instruments and contemporary production trick. A deserved winner were it not for my (correct) predilection for the word ‘cunt’.

Krista Šujak‘s “Unheard” is an imperative slice of post-Olivia Rodrigo girly pop. Kristy Spiteri‘s “Heaven Sent” hits that all-important gay disco belter button. Malta always seems to field Harvester funk in my head and while their winner isn’t quite that, Kurt Calleja and Martina Borg have both kept the side up with some limp examples of the form (although perhaps the latter is closer to new jack swing). Stefan Galea‘s “Lablab” does a grand job of flipping up tempos and sounding like the exciting bit in a cyber spy film that’s also a bit gay. A fine old selection from Malta.

Moldova

Poor Moldova actually withdrew this year, citing finances and quality issues and it’s fairly obvious from watching these why that happened. Nevertheless, this is also a national selection full of old Eurovision.

Inexplicable singing and ’80s solos from Rotarelu (with a great AI video). Some excellent homebrew metal from Ludmila. Something really fun in an electro sevdah lineage from Royals ST. Tudor Bumbac … well, it’s an old guy who seems to forget a whole verse of his own song:

A few songs that are very Eurovision, but not in a good way — like the winner, which is a bit of a shame. Moldova has a long history of being a bit mad and this year is no exception. Predein Cristian‘s “Moldavian Dance” does a great job of that electronic production / folk instrumentation game.

For me there’s a sense with quite a lot of it that these are definitely amateur musicians. I’m all in favour of that (except, of course, when they get vilified on an international stage): Vadim Eleni‘s “Mamă, Să Fii” has the quality of a guy who plays his own tunes on acoustics at open mics. It’s a good tune and it’s an unpolished performance, which I’m very up for seeing on the eurostage. Similarly “Alexia” by Y-gaga Band features the guy apparently singing the lyrics off his phone.

It’s a banger, I’d argue, but it’s not professional. Possibly the new national anthem for trans folk is “We Changed Our Gender” by Sasha Bognibov. Nonsense of the best possible kind. By and large the Moldovan entries are on the regular pop side of the fence, but it’s a shame not to see some of the amateur chancers doing their thing.

Montenegro

Back in the realm of the somewhat-professional with Montenegro. Meaning passable Eurometal (Baryak‘s “Dva Srca”), less passable Eurometal (Bend “9” and “Stop War”), quite nice jazz-inflected pop (Đurđa‘s “To Ljubav Je”). A majority of songs in Montenegrin, which is nice. The winner is probably the best of an average lot, but I’m still not that fussed by it. More amateurish nonsense next time please Montenegro.

Poland

Poland’s national selection seems to have a fair amount of professionalism — decently produced videos and that. Chrust‘s “Tempo” has a very designed sense of Lady Gaga-ian dancing. The song isn’t for me, but it’s a proper pop proposition. Poposition, if you will. Though on the other hand, Janusz Radek‘s “In Cosmic Mist” does seem to have a vide of him singing in his bathroom into a phone mic.

Sonia Maselik‘s “Rumours” has a nice ring of a dancey pop number with a big funky chorus. Gothy electro pop makes an appearance with Sw@da x Niczos and their “Lusterka” and is, for my money, better than the winner. Disappointing to note that Poland hasn’t even bothered with any Disco Polo, which is surely the shame of a nation.

Portugal

Portugal tends towards singing in Portugeuse and also keeping a fairly Portugeuse flavour. So we get bagpiped beauty from A Cantadeira‘s “Responso à Mulher”. Something that it’s difficult to imagine winning Eurovision, but definitely sticking to my playlists for this year.

Bluay‘s “Clima” hits those hot boy singing strides of Mahmood from Italy a few years ago. Familia‘s “Capital De Bulgária” does a grand job of sounding like a Portugeuse Pomme (the French pop singer if you don’t know). Diana Vilarinho‘s “Estas Quadras Que Vos Deixo” is a straight-up, uncomplicated Fado-ish number. All the wobbly vibrato.

Henka‘s “I Wanna Destroy You” is in that Linkin Park / Evanescence area which is nice and all, but I could also go without. Jéssica Pina‘s “Calafrio” has a soulful jazz vibe that’s a bit like the Brand New Heavies or those ’90s things. Could be cloying but isn’t. There is quite a bit of smooth and jazzy business here and while much of it is not bad (see Margarida Campelo and “Eu Sei Que O Amor”) it’s not really very Eurovision. Still, well worth an hour or so of your time.

Spain

Portugal’s Iberian neighbours are perhaps a bit more internationalist in output. Carla Friga‘s “Bésame” is a banging slice of dancefloor pop. Chica Sobresalta and “Mala Feminista” gets in on that ever-important feminist mumpop deely. Daniela Blasca‘s “Uh Nana” is somewhere between Beyoncé and Rosalía, which is no bad thing.

Kuve‘s “Loca Xti” is an absolute poppers o’clock trance belter, probably the best non-qualifier here. Though also Lachispa and “Hartita De Llorar”, with all its vim and over-the-top neo-flamenco-isms, is a contender also. Arguably the most Spanish of the entries anyway. Most of the entries are in Spanish so all’s well. Big up Spain.

Ukraine

So part of my inspiration for this was Ukraine’s Nahaba with “Glasss”, which ended up being my favourite song of the year and easy to miss. Nothing this year from Ukraine has topped that, but Ukraine are always worth Euro watching, for my money.

Folk music run through the electro machine is a consistent theme with Ukraine — see Fiїnka’s “Культура” [“Kultura”] and Yagody’s “БрамаЯ” [“BramaYa”] . Probably their best non-qualifier this year is Grisana with “Kohoney”, which is well into the banger tempos, has horse samples and very definitely begs for gogo dancing from boys in hotpants. Goth stylings make an appearance with ДК Енергетик and “Сіль” [DK Enerhetyk, “Sil”]. Arguably all preferable to the faintly limp actual winner, but that’s OK.

Ireland

Last year’s “Bambi Thug” arguably broke the paralysis of Irish selection (and worth saying that non-qualifier Ailsha‘s “Go Tobann”, was pretty lively last year.

So we get sexy electro business from Bobbi Arlo and “Powerplay”. And the eventual winner. Unfortunately, the rest of it is very insurance advert Celticisms or Samantha Mumba (as in literally Samantha Mumba). All passable, but also very Ireland in Eurovision for the last thirty years, which is not a strong look (not least for a country with such a rich musical heritage).

Norway

Another impetus for this review that you’ve doubtless carefully inhaled up to here is that Erika Norwich‘s “My AI” last year was a strong non-qualifying highlight and scored enormous points for me in the competition of abject hardcore-flecked nonsense.

This year we get ’60s pop duo revival act from the ’80s Bobbysocks being pish, which I guess is par for the course. Lots of rousing electro-pop (Nataleen and “The Game”; Ladybug with “Hot As Hell In Paradise”). A smidge of Eurometal (Wig Wam‘s “Human Fire”), which feels normal for Norway. Nothing to write home about, I’d say.

Serbia

Strong sense that there’s a theme of adult pop here. Which is fine, I guess, but I could really do with some nonsense at this point. AltCtrl‘s “Mamurna Jutra” does a fine job of something on that goth / electro-pop border (which describes New Order well in my head). Anton‘s “U Grad” and Jett Vega‘s “Rolerkoster” are both pretty Harvester funk. Bojana x David and their “Šesto čulo” is definitely pointed at the dancefloor and maybe there’s a hint of hurdy gurdy sample in there.

Harem Girls‘ “Aladin” is perhaps not the best song, but the performance is excellently OTT in terms of outfits and makeup. Maja Nikolić and her “Žali Srce Moje” has a very agreeable excess of vocal effects going on over something in that kind of Runrig-by-sevdah thing you sometimes get from the Balkans. Milan Nikolić feat. Caka‘s “Storia Del Amor” is closer to regular sevdah — a lush polka-y accordion-led number.

Best non-qualifier (and better than the actual qualifier) is everyone’s favourite lairy Serb Mimi Mercadez with “Turbo žurka”. Very much the kind of cocksure shouty pop that I can get behind, with Tam and “Durum Durum” a close second place with its dark trance over frame drums waft.

Armenia

Eurovision is always a good time to remind yourself that, despite everyone you know not liking them, U2 are a massive band. Altsight‘s “Dare To Dream” doesn’t sound like U2, but it’s got the spirit of limp rock cack. Anahit Hakobyan, Gasoiia‘s “Wild” doesn’t quite hit with me (despite the duduk sample), but there’s something going on rhythmically that I like. Athena Manoukian and “DaQueenation” does a good job of appealing the ‘slay, queen‘ demographic, which is always Euro-important.

Gevorg Harutyunyan‘s “Hey Man”, despite being a fairly pedestrian song, has some odd quality to the vocals that’s almost worth going back for. I do wonder how much these tunes are reflective of Armenian music in general or if they’re just TV editor-friendly. The eventual winner is alright. The best is the camp stomper “Ay Paparey Bye” from Simon, which you’d hope rings out in Armenia’s many gay clubs.

Denmark

Back into English-singing Europe here, which is a shame. It’s all a bit international pop in flavour, which is nice enough; but I could go for a smidge of Danish. The winner is by a large margin the best, which is a testament to the enduring appeal of trance music versus nice-enough songs for mums.

Germany

Unlike the other funders of Eurovision, Germany seems to enjoy local humour. Feurschwanz‘s “Knighclub” is a medieval-themed dance-metal number and it’d probably get a lot of traction if it’d won. Absolute nonsense. Also nonsense is Cloudy June‘s “If Jesus Saw What We Did Last Night”, a part-metal number with a stock in Christian-baiting.

Unfortunately Germany seems to have two modes — metal and ballads. The respite of dogshit indie with The Great Leslie‘s “These Days” is not respite and is pretty Brexit anthem, in a bad way. I’m into the eventual winner, which is weirdly the only sighting of Germany’s fine dance music heritage.

San Marino

One of those countries that have strong links to a bunch of countries, meaning their competition is a lot larger than you’d imagine. And featuring a lot of Italians, naturally. Besa‘s “Tiki” does a good job of ’80s holiday vibes for the verse and Feugo-isms in the chorus. CuRLi‘s “Juliet” reminds me that there’s a dearth of boybands at Eurovision and also reminds me why that’s a blessing. Not a shining Euroselection, this one.

Slovenia

Slovenia has a smattering of Slovene numbers, which I’m OK with. Perhaps less in the slow ballad, which is nice. Astrid And The Scandals‘ “Touché” sounds like halfway decent dancefloor indie from the last twenty years. Eva Pavli‘s “Niti” has something of the ethnic-ish trip-hop-ish sound that’s been prevalent since about the mid-’90s. July Jones‘s “New Religion” could make a decent crack at support for Lady Gaga if she swings through Ljubljana.

KiKi‘s “O-ou” has a bit of a mannequin-dancing thing going on, which is a shame because it’s a belter of electro business. ZveN‘s “Divja” sounds like a Polish or Ukrainian entry from the early 2000s, all white voice. It closes with some fucking excellent animal voice noises like Sainhkho Namchylak. A real disappointment not to see it in the final.

The actual winner was not as grand as these two, sadly, and it’s a clear example of why something needs to be done, like letting me pick everyone’s entry.

Sweden

Sweden are, by this point, the masters of Europrofessionalism and unfortunately that comes across in the national selection. Adrian Macéus‘s “Vår Första Gång” — cute boy, slow song, yawn. Albin Johnsén feat. Pa and “Upp I Luften” is a generic pop number with some rapping but no real merit. Both of these are in Swedish though, so not terrible.

AmenA‘s “Do Good Be Better” is nice enough and has the merit of the performer wearing a hijab, but is not the song I want. ArvingarnA’s “Ring Baby Ring” is a touch of ’60s revival tosh but it is tosh (see also Schlagerz’s “Don Juan”). Arwin‘s “This Dream Of Mine” might be the peak of non-qualifiers, but that’s probably because it’s most suited to a happy hardcore remix.

Dolly Style‘s “Yihaa” is possibly a bit of Steps-y fun, but I think in the aftermath of Katy Perry space-feminism it’s worth being cynical of something that reminds me of hen-do bellends. Ella Tiritello‘s “Bara Du Är Där” is a lovely wee girly song that’s probably about how boys make her sad. Bonus points for being in Swedish. Fredrik Lundman‘s “The Heart Of A Swedish Cowboy” is worth a gander if only for being an astonishing pastiche of country shot through with very paltry lyrics.

Kaliffa‘s “Salute” is a similarly perplexing mix of cultures, being as it’s a bit holiday pop from a country that’s cold as shit (as I understand it). Linnea Henriksson‘s “Den Känslan” sounds like ’90s pastiches of the ’60s and I’m OK with it for reasons that I shan’t be looking into further. Possibly the shock of the competition is that Måns Zelmerlöw‘s “Revolution” didn’t win, given as he’s a perennial Eurofavourite (“Heroes” won in 2015). Scarlet‘s “Sweet N’ Psycho” is a bit of a surprise insofar as it’s got all the hallmarks of an Icelandic BDSM electro number. Nowt so queer as folk and that.

And that, friends, are all the thoughts I can be dicked with about the non-qualifiers for Eurovision in 2025. Well done if you made it this far. Help yourself to a item from the prize trolley.

-Kev Nickells-