Eurovision Song Contest 2023 - 13th May - Liverpool

[greek_boy]

I've read that there will be no televised / national selection for France, and the French committee will pick on their own like in 2020.
To be confirmed.

omg that's a big change. they wanted to support the national final format and stuck to it for years (excl. 2020). I hope they have a strong song.

[greek_boy]

The Hawaii song is very bad but I wouldn't rule it out from winning the national final... Connelly has a quite different song I must say.

[Thriller]

Not the Public Image Ltd I’ve heard of old! Sounds dull as dishwater unfortunately and certainly no good for ESC.

[heppolo]

Not the Public Image Ltd I’ve heard of old! Sounds dull as dishwater unfortunately and certainly no good for ESC.

There's a sobstory/undertone to it, it's John Lydon's sort of coda/love letter to his wife suffering from Alzheimer's, so that might win them some votes.

[Blondini]

Apparently, so Hep told me - the fan fave in the Irish selection is this - which he calls "Limerick Del Ray":

18 year old called Jennifer Connolly - not that one!
It's really good.

[flopho]

Rumoured UMK (Finland) line-up

• Benjamin Peltonen
• Käärijä
• Keira Lundström
• KUUMAA
• Lxandra
• Portion Boys
• Robin Packalen

Excited for this as last year's was one of my highlights along with Benidorm. I only know Benjamin here who had a cute ghey pop hit on my charts with 'N-Y-T'.

A short summary of the artists:

Spoiler!

Robin is the one everyone is most excited about. He's been rumoured to participate like every year. He has tried to expand outside of Finland for the past couple of years so it's a logical move for him to participate.

Benjamin is a bit similar but more gay. He just won the Finnish version of Dancing with the stars.

Lxandra is relatively unknown in Finland but somewhat popular in Germany where she has started her career.

Portion Boys is our Moldova 2022.

Kuumaa is bit like Younghearted in last year's UMK. Popular Finnish pop.

Käärijä raps about sports. We'll see.

Keira Lundström is only 17 and came to surface in the latest edition of the Voice of Finland. A true wildcard.

[greek_boy]

I am excited about the Finnish national final. They have been serving interesting NF songs since 2020.

Robin seems to be a huge name:

Robin Packalen, previously known by his stage name Robin, is a Finnish singer who started as a teen pop artist. During his career, Packalen's certified albums and singles have sold over 370,000 copies, which makes him one of the 70 best-selling artists of all-time in his country.

How do they manage to get big names every year? Other countries should take notes! The Finnish broadcaster, after a long string of failures, has finally managed to build a successful format and support it... as result, they are rewarded with high viewing rates, NF songs become hits, which also attracts a mix of well-known artists but also talented newcomers who are willing to submit songs and, above all, the recent Finnish ESC entries qualify to the final, which was a struggle for Finland in the past.

[heppolo]

Eurofandom is going absolutely bananas over this Belgium NF submission (Chérine - Ça m'ennuie pas)

[westhammer]

Apparently, so Hep told me - the fan fave in the Irish selection is this - which he calls "Limerick Del Ray":

18 year old called Jennifer Connolly - not that one!
It's really good.

Definitely my favourite too but it needed a stunning key change at the end to elevate it further

[Frederic]

Eurofandom is going absolutely bananas over this Belgium NF submission (Chérine - Ça m'ennuie pas)

I don't like it, to be honest — I much prefer Loredana's submission.

Typical of the Flemish broadcaster to possibly give us our first entry in French since 2005.

[Blondini]

Definitely my favourite too but it needed a stunning key change at the end to elevate it further

well the released version is just a demo so it could well be different on Feb 3rd.

[flopho]

first UMK track released and it's not my thing at all..but it's not awful I guess. Screaming at one of the top comments unironically saying 'That drop is so unique, never heard this at eurovision before'

[flopho]

https://www.bfmtv.com/people/musique...301120428.html

EUROVISION 2023: QUEBEC SINGER LA ZARRA WILL REPRESENT FRANCE AT EUROVISION

France 2 unveiled this Thursday the name of the artist chosen to defend France in Liverpool next May, chosen internally.

The artist who will represent France at Eurovision 2023 is now known. It is the Quebecer La Zarra who will fly to Liverpool to participate in the final of the international tele-hook on May 13, as revealed by France Télévisions this Thursday. We do not know, for the moment, what title she will sing to defend the tricolor flag.

This time, no pre-selection. While, for several years, the choice of the French candidate was almost always the subject of a televised competition during which viewers were asked to vote, La Zarra was chosen internally.

It must be said that this system was not successful for delegation last year. Alvan & Ahez, the group chosen at the end of the tele-hook Eurovision France: C'Est Vous Qui Decidez, had finished 24th in the final – in the penultimate place – on May 14 in Turin.

Interesting, France made some good experiences with Quebec singers at Eurovision

[heppolo]

https://www.bfmtv.com/people/musique...301120428.html

EUROVISION 2023: QUEBEC SINGER LA ZARRA WILL REPRESENT FRANCE AT EUROVISION



Interesting, France made some good experiences with Quebec singers at Eurovision

our very own 175th FSC winner (Dec. 2021).

[flopho]

Will Croatia give us the ethnic bop moment of the year? This together with good staging has some potential for that

[Frederic]

The Belgian entry will be chosen tonight. Seven songs are competing but I'm not getting high hopes. Chérine, Loredana or Gustaph could stand a chance at qualifying in May but all three of them lack stage presence in my opinion.

[heppolo]

The Belgian entry will be chosen tonight. Seven songs are competing but I'm not getting high hopes. Chérine, Loredana or Gustaph could stand a chance at qualifying in May but all three of them lack stage presence in my opinion.

I don't think Chérine lacks stage presence, sometimes it's the other way round - feels like she's trying too much to look quirky on purpose.

[Frederic]

I don't think Chérine lacks stage presence, sometimes it's the other way round - feels like she's trying too much to look quirky on purpose.

Exactly, not what it takes to be a professional performer.

[heppolo]

Exactly, not what it takes to be a professional performer.

we've seen many professionals being so over-the-top it's basically became their thing, I mean, think about the colossal Madonna's Eurovision interval floppage
Cherine certainly needs some experience and maybe the audience also needs to get accustomed to her slightly childish (as her TikToks might suggest) persona.

[Michiel]

Cherine had the best song by a long shot. It stands out and should win hands down. Loredana will get lost in the mix, and so will the others. She has time to work on her stage presence, and to make the act as tight as possible. Any other entry will have no chance.

[Mainshow]

The Belgian entry will be chosen tonight. Seven songs are competing but I'm not getting high hopes. Chérine, Loredana or Gustaph could stand a chance at qualifying in May but all three of them lack stage presence in my opinion.

I´m quite excited about tonight because I somehow disagree with you. I think that Gustaph´s entry is absolutely chanceless... it´s really dated."The Nail" sounded remotely interesting but his entry sounds like an album track of a boyband 25 years ago.
Loredana will definitely get lost in the mix - I agree with Michiel


That said, Chérine´s not my cup of tea but she can definitely get a great result like ZOE from Austria - like finishing Top 10 with the televoting but get robbed by the juries... Her "sweet" performance might be off-putting for some (me included) but strangely, it still works (she also gives me tiny early Meghan Trainor vibes).
Her song might have been a bit old-fashioned as well (the chorus) but it´s also quite Eurovision-esque and if Belgium play their cards right, her song could perform well in Liverpool (like qualifying).

My favourites song in this NF has been "The Carnival" by Ameerah, though - I think it´s really catchy and I will keep my fingers crossed for it to win.

Also, I think that The Starlings could earn a great placing for Belgium. Their entry sounds a bit like "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran at parts and juries will eat this up in May. They still occassionally play Tom Dice´s "Me And My Guitar" on German radio, btw.

To my suprise, you haven´t mentioned Gala Dragot, at least - Her song is not perfect (too short and needs a better built-up) but the overall atmosphere and vibes created by her on stage are mesmerising and she´s been named as a hot favourite (to even finish Top 10 in May) by some fans online (FB groups, ESC forums).
Of course, many comments believe she can even finish last in the semi ... her song is not for everyone but there are quite a big amount of fans who genuinely like it.. Usually, songs which evoke such emotions (hate or love) will pass a semi because they can attract many people to vote for it... As a German fan, I can tell you that radio-friendly pop songs which try to please everyone by being radio-friendly won´t result into receiving points across Europe.
Gala Dragot might be "the underdog" but her song is too unique to be overlooked... especially in May - she will not be lost in the mix like the likes of Gustaph or Loredana (if they miraculously manage to win tonight).

Sorry for the long post but I was really surprised by your post because my favourites clearly are Amareeh, The Starlings and Gala Dragot (and you basically mentioned everyone else).

I think we can agree on Hunter Falls that he would be a safe NQ in May?

+ I just wanted to share that I think that - based on comments online (social media, ESC forums) Chérine might be the overall favourite but also that The Starlings got some postive comments as well as Gala Dragot.

[Mainshow]

Will Croatia give us the ethnic bop moment of the year? This together with good staging has some potential for that

That´s a great Eurovision entry. I think that it needs a slight revamp to polish the chorus but overall, I think it would finally bring Croatia back to the final!

It´s my tied favourite with this song:

#TeamTraktor

[Frederic]

I´m quite excited about tonight because I somehow disagree with you. I think that Gustaph´s entry is absolutely chanceless... it´s really dated."The Nail" sounded remotely interesting but his entry sounds like an album track of a boyband 25 years ago.
Loredana will definitely get lost in the mix - I agree with Michiel


That said, Chérine´s not my cup of tea but she can definitely get a great result like ZOE from Austria - like finishing Top 10 with the televoting but get robbed by the juries... Her "sweet" performance might be off-putting for some (me included) but strangely, it still works (she also gives me tiny early Meghan Trainor vibes).
Her song might have been a bit old-fashioned as well (the chorus) but it´s also quite Eurovision-esque and if Belgium play their cards right, her song could perform well in Liverpool (like qualifying).

My favourites song in this NF has been "The Carnival" by Ameerah, though - I think it´s really catchy and I will keep my fingers crossed for it to win.

Also, I think that The Starlings could earn a great placing for Belgium. Their entry sounds a bit like "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran at parts and juries will eat this up in May. They still occassionally play Tom Dice´s "Me And My Guitar" on German radio, btw.

To my suprise, you haven´t mentioned Gala Dragot, at least - Her song is not perfect (too short and needs a better built-up) but the overall atmosphere and vibes created by her on stage are mesmerising and she´s been named as a hot favourite (to even finish Top 10 in May) by some fans online (FB groups, ESC forums).
Of course, many comments believe she can even finish last in the semi ... her song is not for everyone but there are quite a big amount of fans who genuinely like it.. Usually, songs which evoke such emotions (hate or love) will pass a semi because they can attract many people to vote for it... As a German fan, I can tell you that radio-friendly pop songs which try to please everyone by being radio-friendly won´t result into receiving points across Europe.
Gala Dragot might be "the underdog" but her song is too unique to be overlooked... especially in May - she will not be lost in the mix like the likes of Gustaph or Loredana (if they miraculously manage to win tonight).

Sorry for the long post but I was really surprised by your post because my favourites clearly are Amareeh, The Starlings and Gala Dragot (and you basically mentioned everyone else).

I think we can agree on Hunter Falls that he would be a safe NQ in May?

+ I just wanted to share that I think that - based on comments online (social media, ESC forums) Chérine might be the overall favourite but also that The Starlings got some postive comments as well as Gala Dragot.

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In all seriousness, I like Gala Dragot's entry the least. Rather uneventful and it just isn't my cup of tea. Unlike you, I think it might get lost just because it isn't that instant. Ameerah usually delivers but both songs have failed to live up to my expectations. The Starlings are just trying to rehash The Common Linnets' success IMO.

That being said, generic songs like Loredana's or Gustaph's — not saying I like them — have not always performed badly in recent editions.

At this stage, I'm pretty positive Chérine will be our entry this year though.

Let's just see what happens.

[Michiel]

Cant believe Gustav won. Horrible.

[flopho]

I just listened to it and I don't understand how a song like that can win a national final in 2023 it sounds horribly dated and isn't even particularly catchy. Just straight up ass. How can you go from City Lights, etc to this? It's giving Malta national final 6th place or something.