The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews - Episodes Tagged with “Ireland”

Episode 297: Icy Reception

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Iceland's television broadcaster RUV turns 60 this year and 2026 is also their 40th anniversary of entering Eurovision. We take a look at why it took 20 years for Iceland to join the party, how the country helped push the Contest into a more modern mode, and why they won't be in Vienna this year.

Icy Reception Summary

History of Iceland Speedrun Any% (4:51)
1986: Iceland Joins Eurovision (19:38)
Iceland's First Decade at Eurovision (27:03)
Pall Oskar / Paul Oscar (29:30)

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Episode 296: All Kinds of Everything

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Boycotts, jury overhauls, technological shifts, major protests, religious and political violence, hot pants... Ireland had a lot to deal with when it hosted Eurovision for the first time in 1971.

All Kinds of Everything Summary

Ireland at Eurovision (0:39)
The State of Eurovison 1970-1971 (4:33)
RTE presenting Eurovision in Color (13:53)
Protests and Politics (22:29)
Wrapping Up (35:43)

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Episode 294: Radio Friendly

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0600

The semi-final era has not been kind to Poland. Though the country has done okay at Eurovision the last few years, they haven’t reached the heights of their debut entry in 1994. We’ll be doing a deep dive on what worked 30+ years ago and identify where Poland may secretly have its finger on the pulse of what does well at the Contest.

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Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email or reach out on Bluesky @eurowhat.bsky.social.

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Episode 285: Kerflooey

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0600

With the passage of the EBU's new Eurovision rules, Israel will be in Vienna while the Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, and Iceland have withdrawn from the Contest. We’ll be discussing the fallout from the decision and figuring out how we’ll be navigating 2026...

Kerflooey Summary

What happened at the EBU General Assembly Meeting (1:11)
What is happening after the Eurovision vote? (19:16)
What will be happening? (26:59)

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Episode 284: "Joke" Entries

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Over-the-top costumes, silly phrases twisted to make catchy hooks, and a backdrop that is not always taken seriously can cause a lot of Eurovision hopefuls to be lumped (or perhaps dismissed) into the category of “joke entries.” We’ll explore some examples and try to “get it” in terms of what might be happening under the hood of these songs. Chris Molanphy from Slate’s Hit Parade will join us to help with analyzing the novelty of Eurovision entries.

"Joke" Entries Summary

What is a novelty song? (1:19)
Does "Europop" automatically mean "novelty"? (7:04)
Eurovision Joke (or Novelty?) Entries (10:04)
When Eurovision hits the Hot 100 (18:57)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email or reach out on Bluesky @eurowhat.bsky.social.

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Special Guest: Chris Molanphy.

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Episode 280: Weird Little Dudes

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Käärijä, Joost, Baby Lasagana, Tommy Cash... we've used the term "Weird Little Dudes" to describe these contestants from the last few editions of Eurovision. Something else they have in common: all were favorites to win and did extremely well in the televote. We attempt to define the term and try to identify what other Eurovision contestants may fall into this category.

Weird Little Dudes Summary

Where did the term "Weird Little Dude" come from? (1:20)
Pop Quiz: Is this act a Weird Little Dude? (3:06)
Dude (5:45)
Little (9:37)
Weird (18:16)
Are "Weird Little Dudes" actually a thing? (33:22)
Which countries are more likely to have WLDs at Eurovision? (38:28)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

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Episode 277: Nice

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0500

As we wrap up our 8th season and Eurovision's 69th (nice) edition, we take a rapid fire tour of the Contest up to this point while trying to find something nice or interesting to say about each year. Content warning: goofiness.

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email or reach out on Bluesky @eurowhat.bsky.social.

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Eurovision Podcast Podcrawl

What is the Eurovision Podcrawl? It's where the Eurovision podcast community picks a topic ("a year when a country first hosted Eurovision") and we all publish our episodes in our own styles. At the end of an episode, we'll point to the podcast with the next episode, and so on, through the summer! Here's the crawl:

ESC Insight: France 1959
Wind Machine Podcast: Austria 1967
The EuroWhat? Podcast: Yugoslavia 1990
Niall Points: Latvia 2003
12 Points from America: Belgium 1987
That Eurovision Site: Denmark 1964
Douze Points: Azerbaijan 2012 (week of September 8)

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Episode 274: Yugoslavia 1990

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0500

1990 was the European Year of Tourism. The map of Europe was also changing, as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the movement toward what would become the European Union started to redefine the concept of borders. We’ll be taking a look at how the 1990 Contest in Yugoslavia reflected this new era in Europe, as well as how the 2025 Contest mirrors those reflections 35 years later.

Yugoslavia 1990 Summary

#EurovisionAgain, again (1:55)
A Brief History of Mascots and Postcards (4:14)
The European Year of Tourism (10:20)
How Yugoslavia Handled Tourism (15:21)
Yugoslavia at Eurovision (18:53)
The Year between Lausanne and Zagreb (22:47)
The 1990 Eurovision Song Contest (28:12)
After the Year(s) of Tourism (43:43)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email or reach out on Bluesky @eurowhat.bsky.social.

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Eurovision Podcast Podcrawl

ESC Insight: France 1959
Wind Machine Podcast: Austria 1967
The EuroWhat? Podcast: Yugoslavia 1990 (hey, that's this one!)
Niall Points: Latvia 2003 (week of July 28)
12 Points from America: Belgium 1987 (week of August 11)
That Eurovision Site: Denmark 1964 (week of August 25)
Douze Points: Azerbaijan 2012 (week of September 8)

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Episode 268: Eurovision 2025 Semi-Final Preview

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Mon, 12 May 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Eurovision Week for 2025 is upon us as well as the 37 artists gathered in Basel. We get caught up on the news leading up to this week before discussing the rehearsals and our predictions for who will advance to Saturday's Grand Final.

Eurovision 2025 Semi-Final Preview Summary

Lumo stuns in Basel debut (0:48)
Eurovision Artist Support Measures (2:38)
Ongoing Issues: Flag Policy 2025 and Israel's Participation (6:01)
Semi-Final Format Changes (10:48)
Where to watch Eurovision 2025 (16:13)
Eurovision Semi-Final 1 Predictions (POTENTIAL SPOILERS) (18:27)
Eurovision Semi-Final 2 Predictions (POTENTIAL SPOILERS) (32:24)

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Basel 2025

Keep up with Eurovision selection season on our Basel 2025 page! We have a calendar with links to livestreams, details about entries as their selected, plus our Spotify playlists with every song we can find that is trying to get the Eurovision stage.

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Episode 264: Polyethylene

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Music journalist Fred Bronson returns to start our conversations about Eurovision 2025 Semi-Final 2. We discuss Montenegro, Luxembourg, Greece, Czechia, and Ireland, plus some delightful stories about long distance friendships and phone calls.

Fred Bronson

Fred Bronson is the author of seven books: Rockin' the Kremlin with David Junk, The Jacksons Legacy (with the Jacksons), Dick Clark’s American Bandstand (with Dick Clark), The Sound of Music Family Scrapbook, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Billboard’s Hottest Hot 100 Hits and The Billboard Book of Number One Rhythm & Blues Hits (with Adam White).

Bronson has written the annual television specials The American Music Awards and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. His other credits include two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and an episode of the animated Star Trek series.

For SiriusXM Radio, he has interviewed Paul McCartney, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus from ABBA and created "Smokey's Place," a series for Smokey Robinson's Smokey's Soul Town channel where the legendary artist recalls his Motown memories and plays Motown favorites.

He is a long-term contributor to Billboard, covering the Eurovision Song Contest and American Idol among many other topics.

Polyethylene Summary

Montenegro - Nina Žižić - "Dobrodošli" (3:48)
Luxembourg - Laura Thorn - "La Poupée Monte Le Son" (10:54)
Greece - Klavdia - "Asteromata" (22:34)
Czechia - ADONXS - "Kiss Kiss Goodbye" (28:37)
Ireland - EMMY - "Laika Party" (34:41)
Final Thoughts (41:38)

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Basel 2025

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Special Guest: Fred Bronson.

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Episode 255: ('Singing')

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0600

It's the biggest weekend of Eurovision 2025 so far with Ireland, Ukraine, Finland, Latvia, and Malta making picks while several other countries' processes continued. Do-re-mi-fa-serving exhausted, but we shall persevere!

('Singing') Summary

Mid-week drops: Azerbaijan's Mamagama and Czechia's "Kiss Kiss Goodbye" (2:25)
Ireland accepts invitation to Emmy's "Laika Party" (6:15)
Erika Vikman wins Finland's UMK with "Ich Komme" (15:43)
Ziferblat's "Bird of Pray" will represent Ukraine (21:44)
Latvia's Supernova names "Bur man laimi" by Tautumeitas (25:47)
Malta will be serving "KANT" by Miriana Conte (27:58)
Denmark's DMGP and Armenia's Depi Evratesil announce contestants (34:42)
Qualifying starts in Iceland, continues in Sweden and Lithuania (36:36)
Coming up: Italy's Sanremo, Poland, Germany, Estonia, and the biggest weekend of 2025 (47:17)

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Basel 2025

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Episode 254: Super

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Eurovision started to get structure this week thanks to the semi-final allocation draw, the first wave of ticket sales, and selections from Greece, Slovenia, Belgium, and Spain. Sweden kicked off Melfest, Lithuania got competitive, and Latvia picked finalists. This was the easy Super Saturday...

Super Summary

Eurovision Semi-Final Allocation and Ticket Sales (1:18)
Artist Announcements: Austria's JJ and France's Louane (8:45)
Klavdia's "Asteromata" wins Greece's national final (11:16)
Slovenia: Klemen wins EMA with "How Much Time Do We Have Left?" (15:50)
Red Sebastian and "Strobe Lights" win Belgium's Eurosong (21:57)
"Esa Diva": Melody wins Spain's Benidorm Fest (25:04)
Sweden's Melfest 2025 Begins (30:04)
Latvia's Supernova Semi-Final (35:44)
Lithuania's Eurovizija.LT Heat 4 (40:45)
San Marino Names ALLLL the Semi-Finalists (43:57)
Coming up: Super Saturday 2 (46:03)

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Basel 2025

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Recreating ALL Eurovision Winners (2000-2025) | The Ultimate Eurovision Challenge by Klemen Slakonja - YouTube

Episode 253: Vox Lux

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Luxembourg selected their Eurovision representative at the end of a surprisingly busy week. Moldova has withdrawn, several countries released potential songs, and Finland's UMK faces a significant shakeup.

Vox Lux Summary

🫢 Shakeups: Moldova out; Finland's UMK DQ's One Morning Left (1:15)
🇱🇺 Luxembourg chooses Laura Thorn's "La Poupée Monte Le Son" (4:55)
🎧 Song Drops: Portugal, Ukraine, Ireland, Norway, Belgium (14:59)
🇱🇹 Lithuania's Eurovizija.LT Tiebreaker (20:00)
🤹 This Week: Semi-Final Allocation, Tickets, Super Saturday 1 of 3 (25:14)

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Basel 2025

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Episode 252: Process

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

It's another hopping Eurovision 2025 setup week with another wave of potential songs, information about Basel, the ESC hosts, ticket sales, plus auditions and previews from Moldova and Belgium.

Process Summary

📢 Announcements: Mascots, ArenaPlus, and the Eurovision Hosts (1:03)
🎟️ Next in Logistics: Semi-Final Allocation and Eurovision Tickets (3:44)
💿 National Final Songs and Artists: Poland, Norway, Ukraine, Iceland (6:17)
🇲🇩 Moldova Etapa Nationala Auditions (11:30)
🇱🇹 Lithuania's Eurovizija.LT Second Heat (13:24)
🇧🇪 Belgium's Eurosong Preview: LEEZ, Le Manou, Lenn, Grace (14:43)
🗓️ Coming Up: Songs from Portugal, Slovenia, and Serbia plus the Luxembourg Song Contest (20:07)

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Basel 2025

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Episode 250: Loaded with Energy

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Before 2025 gets into full swing, we catch up on Eurovision news from the end of 2024. We have designs! We have fonts! We have an entry where we're not not saying Tirana 2026! Plus, we go deep on the results from the ESC 250 Countdown.

Loaded with Energy Summary

💕Unity. Shapes. Love. Branding. (0:55)
🇦🇱 Albania selects "Zjerm" by Shkodra Elektronike (12:36)
🇳🇱 Netherlands selects Claude as their act for Basel (21:41)
📰 Other Process Updates: Ukraine, San Marino, Ireland, Iceland, Moldova (23:23)
🥳 Results from the 2024 ESC 250 (29:11)
📺 This week: 🇪🇪 Eesti Laul Wildcard, 🇫🇮 UMK Artists and Songs, 🇭🇷 Dora Songs, 🇱🇹 Eurovizija.lt (41:43)

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Episode 249: Pew Pew Pew

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0600

As we head into 2025, we jump back 25 years to watch the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest. How has the competition, fashion, and pop music changed in the last quarter-century(!)?

Pew Pew Pew Summary

🗓️ In the Year 2000... (3:17)
⛳️ Part I: Israel, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Estonia, France, Romania (7:07)
🎤 Part II: Malta, Norway, Russia, Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland (17:30)
🪽 Part III: Spain, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Croatia, Sweden, FYR Macedonia (27:49)
🌟 Part IV: Finland, Latvia, Turkey, Ireland, Austria (41:34)
🔢 Part V: The Results (51:12)

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Episode 245: Avalanche

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0600

It's been a couple months since we last checked in on Eurovision news… hoo boy there's a lot to get caught up on. We have elections, new heads of delegations, and info about way too many national selections.

Avalanche Summary

💊 Exotic Switzerland: Funding Referendum, Novartis Sponsorship (1:41)
🇳🇱 Is Everyone (Netherlands?) Still Mad at the EBU? (6:31)
🔴 Coming up on the podcast: Iceland Airwaves and Rockin' the Kremlin (12:16)
🎓 New Heads of Delegations for 2025 (14:42)
📆 National Selection Updates (Vague) (21:50)
🏆 National Final Updates (Specific) (25:47)
⏳ Who are we waiting on? (34:36)

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Episode 238: Vacay

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0500

It's the Geneva Convention vs Basel Exposition for the chance to host Eurovision in 2025. Meanwhile, the production team has been announced and a new job for ESC Director is available if you wanna work with Martin. We go over July 2024 Eurovision headlines in this episode.

Vacay Summary

Geneva vs Basel (1:22)
Eurovision 2025 Staff Updates (6:22)
Patreon Summer of Celine Book Club (10:48)
22 Countries for Eurovision 2025 So Far (13:48)

Photo by Peter Conlan on Unsplash

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Malmö 2024

Stay up to date on everything happening in the leadup to the Eurovision Song Contest on our page dedicated to Malmö 2024. You can keep tabs on the countries, artists, and songs, set your laundry folding schedule with our EuroWhat's On calendar, and futz with your Spotify algorithm with our Selection Season playlist!

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Episode 232: Broke

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 14 May 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Somehow we made it through the other side of the 2024 Eurovision Grand Final in one piece. Things that didn't: the Netherlands, Nemo's trophy, and possibly the EBU? We examine the immediate aftermath of Saturday's show from Malmö.

Broke Summary

Netherlands Disqualified from Eurovision (0:59)
The Actual Grand Final (6:53)
Eurovision Results Data Dive (10:07)
Looking Toward Eurovision 2025 (17:49)

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Malmö 2024

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Episode 231: Poop Chaos

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Fri, 10 May 2024 11:00:00 -0500

In our Eurovision 2024 Grand Final Preview, we discuss the results of the two semi-finals in Malmö, make some predictions on what may happen on Saturday, and scratch why Sweden's hosting has been itching us this week.

This episode was recorded at 7pm US Eastern Time on Thursday, May 9.

Poop Chaos Summary

Corrections: Robyn Edition (0:52)
Eurovision Semi-Final 1 in Review (2:32)
Eurovision Semi-Final 2 in Review (10:46)
Grand Final Preview (27:10)

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Malmö 2024

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Episode 230: Designated Perceived Nudity Corner

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Mon, 06 May 2024 00:00:00 -0500

It's Eurovision Week! After we get caught up on Contest news, we make our predictions on which acts will advance to Saturday's Grand Final. Will there be heartbreak in Malmö?

Designated Perceived Nudity Corner Summary

Eurovision News: Peacock, Producer's Choice, Flags (1:19)
Eurovision Semi-Final 1 Predictions (13:01)
Eurovision Semi-Final 2 Predictions (25:52)

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Malmö 2024

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Episode 223: Encarta

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0500

We kick off Eurovision 2024 Review Season with our special guest Sam Gavin! We discuss the entries from Slovenia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Ukraine, and Finland as well as reminisce about My Neighbor Totoro, pre-internet software, and cringe content from back in the day.

Encarta Summary

Welcome, Sam Gavin! (0:46)
🇸🇮 Slovenia - Raiven - "Veronika" 🧝‍♀️ (3:59)
🇮🇪 Ireland - Bambie Thug - "Doomsday Blue" 😱 (11:04)
🇱🇺 Luxembourg - Tali - "Fighter" 🤺 (19:01)
🇺🇦 Ukraine - alyona alyona & Jerry Heil - "Teresa & Maria" 📿 (23:58)
🇫🇮 Finland - Windows95Man - "No Rules!" 🚫 (32:44)
Final Thoughts (46:07)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email or reach out on Bluesky @eurowhat.bsky.social.

Malmö 2024

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Special Guest: Sam Gavin.

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Episode 216: Squiggle Line Mouth Face

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Eurovision season clicks into second gear this week with Ireland and Luxembourg making selections, Norway setting its final field, Lithuania's holding its third heat, and Malta, Spain, and Ukraine getting ready to decide. How will The Draw shake up things in Malmö?

Squiggle Line Mouth Face Summary

Romania won't be part of The Draw (1:15)
Ireland chooses Bambie Thug's "Doomsday Blue" (3:17)
Tali will be Luxembourg's "Fighter" in Malmö (10:56)
Iceland announces its intentions (20:44)
Norway sets its final field for NRK MGP (24:47)
Lithuania's Third Heat for Eurovizija.LT (31:45)
This week: Malta, Spain's Benidorm Fest, Ukraine's VidBir (34:57)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

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Malmö 2024

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The CA of SRTv did not approve the participation in Eurovision 2024 | TVR.RO

Episode 215: That's SLO Raiven

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Eurovision calmed down a bit this week with qualifying heats from Lithuania and Norway plus the semi-final for Estonia's Eesti Laul. Slovenia turned up the drama with Raiven's "Veronika" and Austria announced their artist for Malmö. Be warned: this is the last bit of calm until March...

That's SLO Raiven Summary

Raiven's "Veronika" debuts for Slovenia (1:02)
Austria announces Kaleen for Malmö (3:40)
Portugal and Germany release National Final details (5:29)
Eesti Laul Semi-final (9:16)
NRK MGP Heat 2 (12:05)
Eurovizija.lt Heat 2 (20:49)
This week: Romania, Denmark, Serbia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, and The Draw (25:34)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

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Malmö 2024

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Episode 214: Floodgates

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

The search for the next Eurovision winner began officially this week, with Moldova holding auditions, Norway kicking off NRK MGP, and Lithuania launching its new process Eurovizija.lt. Georgia announced their artist, and everybody had to issue a press release the week that Mike is home alone 😱

Floodgates Summary

Georgia announces Nutsa for Malmö (1:33)
Video links for The Draw, Semis, and Grand Final are live (3:44)
Cyprus and Belgium release some song details (4:31)
Songs revealed for Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, Ukraine, Latvia (5:48)
Moldova's Etapa Nationala Auditions (11:40)
Norway's NRK MGP 2024 Begins (13:15)
Lithuania launches Eurovizija.lt (16:28)
This week: Slovenia, Estonia, Austria, Germany, and Portugal (19:26)

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Malmö 2024

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Be part of the chorus of Mustii's song which will represent Belgium at Eurovision 2024 - rtbf.be

Episode 213: Trickle

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Eurovision 2024 barely took a break for the holidays! We get caught up on Albania's Festivali i Këngës, the results of the ESC 250 Countdown, and look forward to Moldova, Norway, and Lithuania this coming weekend.

Trickle Summary

Albania chooses Besa and "Zemren n'dore" (0:46)
The Eurovision 2024 Stage Concept (5:31)
Eurovision announces The Draw and a new sponsor (7:04)
"Cha Cha Cha" wins the ESC250 Countdown (10:07)
National Selection updates: Ukraine, Serbia, Ireland, Croatia, Finland (19:01)
TV This Week: Norway's NRK MGP, Moldova's Auditions, Lithuania's Eurovizija.LT (23:21)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

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Malmö 2024

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Episode 210: Wilderness

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0600

Ireland Gut Rehab

We welcome back Alex McMillan to discuss the state of Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest selections and reflect on the nation's historical successes and recent failures. Is Eurosong on the Late Late Show the best selection method? Is Ireland stuck in the nostalgia for their dominance in the 90s? What risks can the delegation take to make a splash in Malmö?

Alex McMillan

Alex is a game designer, question setter, and American Song Contest apologist, best known for their work on Only Connect. They’ve worked on a range of game shows in both the UK and US, and when they’re not doing that they can be found writing articles for Hard Drive or performing stand-up as Céilí Rae Minogue. They have been watching Eurovision for the last 20 years and attended their first contest in person in 2023.

Wilderness Summary

Welcome back, Alex McMillan! (1:10)
Ireland Since the '90s at Eurovision (5:30)
The Late Late Show Problem (13:40)
Finding the Irish Sound (19:15)
How to Tweak Ireland's Selection Method (25:07)
Who Should Represent Ireland at Eurovision? (29:44)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

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Special Guest: Alex McMillan.

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Episode 209: Millstreet

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0600

It's been 30 years since a small town in Ireland took on the challenge of hosting Eurovision while the concept of Europe was undergoing a transformation. We look back at Millstreet 1993, the accommodation of several new countries wanting to join the party, and... the Bartman?

Millstreet Summary

The Journey to the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest (1:14)
A Tour of Millstreet (4:58)
A Tour of Europe in 1993 (8:16)
The Eurovision 1993 Contestants and Their Performances (12:55)
Reflections on the Contest and Its Impact (34:02)

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Episode 207: Aline!

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Discussing Valérie Lemercier's "freely-inspired" Celine Dion biopic — What do you do if your pop culture idol doesn't sign off on you making a biopic about them? Change their name, tweak some of the facts, and play all the roles so you can make a movie like Aline! We have A LOT of questions about the film:

Aline! Summary

EuroWhat AV Club: Aline! (3:53)
🎥 What is Aline? (6:14)
🎤 What is your relationship with Celine Dion? (7:55)
😲 At what point in the movie did you go “Uhhhhh, what?!” (14:13)
🔎 What is Aline actually about? (17:36)
🎶 How was Eurovision depicted in Aline? (23:53)
🤔 Who is this movie for? (26:12)
⚖️ Would you recommend Aline? (31:58)

Join the EuroWhat AV Club!

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Episode 194: Internet People

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Mon, 08 May 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Ben and Mike met up in person to make their picks on what they think will qualify from the Eurovision 2023 semi-finals. Then we saw rehearsals. Experience both the before and after as we make our best guesses for Tuesday and Thursday.

Internet People Summary

Making predictions: pre-rehearsals (2:00)
Semi-Final 1 Predictions (4:57)
Semi-Final 2 Predictions (10:57)
SPOILER WARNING: Making Adjustments (20:34)
Semi-Final 1 Prediction Adjustments (20:49)
Semi-Final 2 Prediction Adjustments (28:14)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

Keep tabs on everything happening with Eurovision 2023 on our website at eurowhat.com/2023

Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email, reach out on Twitter @eurowhat, or give us a toot on Mastodon.

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Episode 187: Nostradamus Type Whatever

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0500

We welcome back Justin Ladia as we begin our Eurovision 2023 review series. Starting in the first half of the first semi-final, we discuss Croatia, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, and Norway. Spoiler: it gets weird almost instantly.

Nostradamus Type Whatever Summary

Croatia - Let 3 - "Mama ŠČ" (1:44)
Ireland - Wild Youth - "We Are One" (11:05)
Latvia - Sudden Lights - "Aijā" (17:44)
Malta - The Busker - "Dance (Our Own Party)" (24:20)
Norway - Alessandra Mele - "Queen of Kings" (31:17)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

Keep tabs on everything happening with Eurovision 2023 on our website at eurowhat.com/2023

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Special Guest: Justin Ladia.

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Episode 181: Peanut Butter Yelly Time

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0600

This weekend was a practice run for Eurovision Super Saturday as Ireland, Norway, and Spain made their selections and Slovenia shared their song. Sweden and Latvia also kicked off their processes as we get ready for a deluge of entries for Liverpool.

Peanut Butter Yelly Time Summary

Semi-Final Allocation (1:08)
Wild Youth wins Ireland's Eurosong with "We Are One" (4:44)
Slovenia's Joker Out debuts "Carpe Diem" (13:15)
Alessandra will represent Norway with "Queen of Kings" (15:23)
Blanca Paloma's "EAEA" wins Benidorm Fest (20:22)
Czech Republic held its first live TV final in 15 years (25:49)
Artist Selctions from Greece, Austria, Armenia, and Georgia (27:48)
Malta moves forward in MESC (33:42)
Lithuania's Pabandom is Naujo goes into Semi Finals (36:18)
Latvia's Supernova begins (39:47)
Sweden's Melfest 2023 Begins (43:29)
Super Saturday 2023: Italy, Estonia, Croatia, Denmark, Romania (47:47)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

Keep tabs on everything happening with selection season for Eurovision 2023 including a calendar and playlists on our website at eurowhat.com/2023

Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email, reach out on Twitter @eurowhat, or give us a toot on Mastodon.

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Episode 180: Click... Click... Click...

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0600

After recapping the last (not so) quiet weekend of Eurovision Selection Season, we set our sights on finals, semi-finals, and song reveals all over Europe next weekend. Strap in: It's February, y'all.

Click... Click... Click... Summary

Germany announces acts for Unser Lied für Liverpool (1:22)
Moldova holds auditions for Etapa Nationala (2:42)
Norway finalizes the MGP lineup (5:36)
Lithuania's Pabandom is Naujo wraps its quarter finals (11:34)
Song drops: Portugal and Iceland (14:53)
Tuesday: Semi-final Allocation and Spain's Benidorm Festival (17:22)
Thursday: Serbia Song Drop and the Voice of Georgia (20:20)
Friday: Malta's continued MESC-ness, Ireland Chooses its Eurosong (22:21)
Saturday: Slovenia reveals "Carpe Diem", Sweden's Melfest, Latvia's Supernova (26:30)
Cosa Sta Facendo Maneskin: Grammy Awards Edition (28:39)
We Didn't Forget About the Czech Republic (30:10)

Cover art image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

Keep tabs on everything happening with selection season for Eurovision 2023 including a calendar and playlists on our website at eurowhat.com/2023

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Episode 178: Eurosongs

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0600

Ryan Brazell stops by to discuss the first big weekend of Eurovision 2023 selection season. Belgium makes its pick, France announced their artist, and many processes have started to take shape.

Eurosongs Summary

Belgium's Eurosong picks Gustaph's "Because of You" (3:48)
France Goes Internal and Chooses La Zarra (11:12)
Johnny Rotten Could Represent Ireland (13:12)
Estonia's Eesti Laul Semi-Finals (15:56)
Malta's MESC Has Begun (18:13)
Norway's MGP Holds its First Semi-Final (21:27)
Coming Up: Finland's UMK Entries, Denmark and Portugal Song Drops, Lithuania's Pabandom is Naujo (27:14)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

Keep tabs on everything happening with selection season for Eurovision 2023 including a calendar and playlists on our website at eurowhat.com/2023

Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email, reach out on Twitter @eurowhat, or give us a toot on Mastodon.

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Episode 161: Trivial Pursuits

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Professional TV quiz writer Alex McMillan joins us to talk about how to write tantalizing Eurovision trivia. We also learn about some of the differences between UK and US game show writing.

Trivial Pursuits Summary

News: Russia suspended (for realsies), Kalush Orchestra sells trophy, Cyprus using All Together Now (1:21)
Eurovision Learned League 1DS (4:43)
Welcome, Alex McMillan! (7:22)
How does one become a quiz show writer? (12:18)
How do you distill a body of knowledge into something manageable? (18:01)
Differences in UK Quiz Writing and US Quiz Writing (26:25)
What is the distinction between Trivia and Minutia? (31:49)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. You can find a service to subscribe to the show here.

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Become a Patron! Patrons get access to our bonus podcast Just ASCing Questions.

Cover Photo: Sean Benesh on Unsplash

Special Guest: Alex McMillan.

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Episode 159: Long Time, First Time

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 24 May 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Bradley Dalton-Oates joins us for a deep dive of the full Eurovision experience as a first-time attendee. Did Turin do a good job of promoting brand Italy?

Long Time, First Time Summary

How to watch Eurovision in Turin (1:13)
How did the rehearsal shows compare to the Grand Final live show? (10:41)
What did you think of the second semifinal? (14:27)
What was your semifinal one experience? (23:00)
The Rainbow of Death: Brand Italy (31:44)
What about the United Kingdom Eurovision experience? (43:35)
What is the status of the Big Five in 2022? (49:11)
Final Shout Outs (53:26)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. You can find a service to subscribe to the show here.

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Special Guest: Bradley Dalton-Oates.

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Episode 156: Bubblicious - Eurovision 2022 Semi-Final Preview

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Sun, 08 May 2022 00:00:00 -0500

We make our picks for who we think will advance from this week's Eurovision Semi-Finals. These predictions were made before rehearsals, but surely they're still accurate?

Bubblicious Summary

Eurovision Week 2022 (1:42)
Our Semi-Final 1 Picks (6:55)
Our Semi-Final 2 Picks (19:56)

Eurovision 2022 Review Series

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. When you subscribe, please rate and review us. We welcome your feedback and the ratings will help other Eurovision fans find us.

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Episode 153: Americana?

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 00:00:00 -0500

The middle of the second semi-final for Eurovision 2022 is all over the map, but seems to have a lot of Americana vibes? Bre Booker returns to help us sort through the randomness.

Americana? Summary

San Marino - Achille Lauro - "Stripper" (1:46)
Australia - Sheldon Riley - "Not the Same" (8:24)
Cyprus - Andromache - "Ela" (14:28)
Ireland - Brooke Scullion - "That's Rich" (21:30)
North Macedonia - Andrea - "Circles" (28:56)
Estonia - STEFAN - "Hope" (34:27)

Eurovision 2022 Review Series

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. When you subscribe, please rate and review us. We welcome your feedback and the ratings will help other Eurovision fans find us.

Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email or find us on Twitter @eurowhat.

Special Guest: Bre B..

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Episode 143: Oops! All Screens!

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 00:00:00 -0600

North Macedonia, Ireland, Israel, and Italy have determined their songs for Turin, and that was only about 1/3 of Eurovision Super Saturday number 1 for the 2022 season. We recap this weekend's non-stop content stream.

Oops! All Screens! Summary

Eurovision 2022 Hosts (1:22)
North Macedonia runs "Circles" around Andrea (3:50)
Brooke representing Ireland? "That's Rich" (6:02)
Michael Ben David wins X Factor Israel with "I.M." (12:08)
Cosa Sta Facendo Maneskin? Italy Picks "Brividi" Edition (15:52)
Super Saturday: Melfest, EMA, Supernova, Selecrtia Nationala (21:23)
This week: Song drops, NRK MGP, Pabandom is Naujo, Eesti Laul, VidBir, Una Voce Per San Marino (31:48)

Spotify Playlists

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. When you subscribe, please rate and review us. We welcome your feedback and the ratings will help other Eurovision fans find us.

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Episode 142: Convoluted

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 07:15:00 -0600

Moldova made a surprise internal selection and Spain made its Eurovision selection at last week's Benidorm Festival. We discuss these songs and look ahead to the first Super Saturday of 2022!

Convoluted Summary

Zdob si Zdub will represent Moldova again (1:15)
Spain choose Chanel's "SloMo" at Benidorm Fest (4:14)
Pabandom and MGP (8:48)
Cosa sta facendo Måneskin? Sanremo Edition (16:49)
Midweek Selections: Eesti Laul, North Macedonia, Ireland (17:48)
Super Saturday: Iceland, Melfest, Israel, EMA, Supernova (20:45)

Spotify Playlists

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. When you subscribe, please rate and review us. We welcome your feedback and the ratings will help other Eurovision fans find us.

Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email or find us on Twitter @eurowhat.

Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews

Episode 133: Metaverse

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 00:00:00 -0500

Does breaking the fourth wall work at Eurovision? Ben takes us through a collection of songs that try to go meta.

Metaverse Summary

News (1:16)
Eurovision Again: 2012 (10:23)
When Eurovision Goes Meta (15:16)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. When you subscribe, please rate and review us. We welcome your feedback and the ratings will help other Eurovision fans find us.

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Episode 131: Viña del Mar

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 00:00:00 -0500

We continue our series of music competitions with Eurovision connections by visiting Chile's Viña del Mar International Song Festival.

Viña del Mar Summary

Eurovision Again: 1968 (1:07)
Belgium Selects (3:29)
What is the Viña del Mar Festival? (6:41)
El Monstruo (16:16)
Xuxa vs El Monstruo (19:56)
Enrique Iglesias and Paolo Meneguzzi vs El Monstruo (31:20)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. When you subscribe, please rate and review us. We welcome your feedback and the ratings will help other Eurovision fans find us.

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Episode 122: Revised Head Canon

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 25 May 2021 11:00:00 -0500

Ryan's back! We help to provide a revised head canon to fill the gap between 2018 and 2021 and review this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

Revised Head Canon Summary

Welcome back, Ryan!
Grand Final Thoughts and Stats (8:12)
Semi-Final 1 Stats (16:42)
Semi-Final 2 Stats (23:58)
Final Thoughts (35:37)

Episode 120: Eurovision 2021 Semi-Final Preview

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Sun, 16 May 2021 23:00:00 -0500

The Eurovision 2021 Semi-Final Spectacular is here! We make our picks for the 20 songs we think will qualify for the Grand Final in Rotterdam.

Eurovision 2021 Semi-Final Preview Summary

News
- The American Song Contest
- Where Can I Watch the Eurovision Song Contest in the US?
- Rehearsals: Covid Incidents (No Spoilers)
Semi-Final 1 Predictions (6:36)
Semi-Final 2 Predictions (15:25)

Episode 113: Container Ship of Love

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 11:00:00 -0500

A container ship of 40 39 songs heads to Rotterdam for Eurovision 2021! Chris King joins us to discuss entries from Australia, Ireland, Lithuania, North Macedonia, and Russia.

Container Ship of Love Summary

News (1:04)
- We have a Patreon now!
- Belarus out
- Rock the Roof
- Eurovision Spain Online PreParty April 24

Welcome back, Chris King! (6:26)
- @ckingsc on Twitter

Eurovision 2021 Semi-Final 1 Part 1
- Australia - Montaigne - "Technicolour" (7:27)
  - "metal peach embodies technicolour" (Twitter)
- Ireland - Lesley Roy - "Maps" (15:36)
  - PopDirt's Lesley Roy archive circa 2009 (PopDirt)
- Lithuania - The ROOP - "Discoteque" (21:10)
  - Yo Gabba Gabba dancing with Mya (YouTube)
- North Macedonia - Vasil - "Here I Stand" (27:36)
  - Honeyland trailer (YouTube)
- Russia - Manizha - "Russian Woman" (33:12)
  - Russia's Tajik-born Eurovision star on the abuse she's received (BBC)

Episode 109: Eye of the Hurricane

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 11:00:00 -0600

It's the calm before a hurricane of Eurovision entries washes ashore for 2021. We give Cyprus, Germany, Ireland, and Slovenia a first listen.

Eye of the Hurricane Summary

Song Drops
- Cyprus summons "El Diablo" (1:54)
- Germany says "I Don't Feel Hate" (8:31)
- Ireland opens up its "Maps" (14:49)
- Slovenia: can I get an "Amen"? (17:53)

Weekend Recaps
- Sweden's Melodifestivalen Heat 4 (21:00)
- Portugal's Festival da Canção Semi-Final 2 (24:49)

Coming Up This Week (28:16)
- Tuesday: Italy's 71st Sanremo Music Festival starts
- Thursday: Moldova, Netherlands, and (maybe?) Belarus Drop Songs
- Saturday: Estonia's Eesti Laul Final, Denmark's Melodi Grand Prix, Daði Freyr documentary on Iceland's RUV
- Monday: Russia's surprise national final; Senhit's Freaky Trip to Rotterdam concludes with San Marino's song

Episode 108: Sábado Gigante

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 11:00:00 -0600

Sábado Gigante 2021 ha quedado atrás y estamos listos para discutir un puñado de nuevas canciones de Eurovisión. Eso es todo el español que conocemos.

Sábado Gigante Summary

Song Selection Updates
- Czech Republic releases Benny Cristo's "OMAGA" (1:34)
- James Newman will represent the United Kingdom again (4:09)
- Norway's Melodi Grand Prix Final: TIX wins with "Fallen Angel" (6:08)
- Finland's UMK chooses "Dark Side" by Blind Channel (16:02)
- Blas Cantò will sing "Voy a Quedarme" for Spain (21:59)

Other Super Saturday Happenings
- Estonia's Eesti Laul semi finals cut 24 acts to 12 (23:45)
- Sweden's Melodifestivalen Heat 3 (29:48)
- Portugal's Festival da Cançao Semi 1 (33:36)

Coming Up This Week (37:56)
- Bulgaria launches Victoria's a little dramatic feedback platform
- Serbia's Hurricane will sing "Loco Loco"
- Cyprus releases Elena Tsagkrinou's "El Diablo" Wednesday
- Germany's Jendrik presents his song Thursday
- Ireland's Lesley Roy debuts "MAPS" on Friday
- Slovenia's EMA reveals Ana Soklic's song Saturday

Episode 101: Disco Toilet

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 11:00:00 -0600

From Albania's FiK selection to Senhit's latest disco cover to the results of ESC 250, we discuss a lot of Eurovision news from over the holidays.

Disco Toilet Summary

Anxhela Peristeri wins Albania's Festivali i Këngës with "Karma" (1:41)
Selection season updates (10:10)
- Lithuania, Croatia, and Italy announce contestants
- Belarus is open for submissions
- Serbia's Hurricane and Ireland's Lesley Roy are coming back
- Spain will use a national final for Blas Cantó's song
- Israel announces three songs for Eden Alene
- Slovenia will use EMA to select Ana Soklic's song
- San Marino's Senhit covers Abba's "Waterloo"
- Iceland's Daði needs a choir (Google Drive)

ESC 250 Results and Analysis (25:07)

Episode 95: Six on Stage

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 11:00:00 -0500

Will Howells has created a database called Six on Stage, cataloguing every performer on the Eurovision stage. We chat with him about the project and get caught up on the news.

Six on Stage Summary

How to build a database (1:03)
Watching and re-watching (and re-watching) Eurovision (12:16)
The singers under the stairs (20:36)
News
- 4 plans for Eurovision 2021 (37:06)
- Country updates: Sweden's Melfest schedule, Belarus drops VAL, Dream Team journal (41:36)
- "Congratulations" and happy birthday to Senhit (49:11)
- Hatari's A Song Called Hate premieres (52:18)
- Eurovision in the Wild: America's Got Talent, Just Dance 2021, the People's Choice Awards (53:39)

Links

Special Guest: Will Howells.

Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews

Episode 94: Double Trouble

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 11:00:00 -0500

Ben flies solo again with another audio essay, this time looking into performers who made double, triple, and even quadruple visits to the Eurovision stage.

Double Trouble Summary

Eurovision, Again? (0:55)

Defining a "Lead Artist" (2:00)

Golden Boy (3:17)

The Four-Timers Club (4:25)

Three is a Magic Number (9:04)

CAROLA (11:00)

Close Close Close, but No Cigar (13:07)

Second Time's the Charm (15:36)

Glow-Ups (17:33)

The Direct Opposite of a Glow-Up (20:50)

Failure to Launch (24:58)

Keep That Same Energy (25:56)

What's Another Year? (26:50)

Episode 90: Wine Aunt Energy

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 11:00:00 -0500

We open up our mailbag and a chilled bottle of pinot grigio as we get caught up on Eurovision news from the last month.

Wine Aunt Energy Episode Summary

Mailbag (1:27):
- How to pronounce "Niamh"
- Bucks Fizz boiled sweets
- The worst Halloween candy
- Bruno Toniolli

No, really, are "Husavik" and "Jaja Ding Dong" eligible for Oscars? (6:30)

#EurovisionAgain (13:10)
- Copenhagen 2014
- Jerusalem 1999

Eurovision Back for Good (20:43)

Returning artist updates (24:09)
- Moldova
- Greece
- Israel
- Slovenia
- San Marino

Artists not returning (41:58)
- Croatia
- France
- Italy
- Albania
- Germany

Episode 86: Shine a Light

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 19 May 2020 11:00:00 -0500

The 2020 Eurovision Season comes to an end with Europe: Shine a Light. @dudepoints joins us to reminisce and set the record straight on the Riga Beaver.

Shine a Light Summary

Welcome, @dudepoints! (1:58)
The Riga Beaver and Kozmens (3:16)
Eurovision: The Saga of Fire Song announced by Netflix (12:01)
Eurovision 2020 Tribute Album drops (15:54)
Who "won" Eurovision 2020? (19:59)
Our 2021 Wishlist (42:23)
Europe: Shine a Light Epilogue (47:30)

Episode 84: What is Poptimism?

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 11:00:00 -0500

Music critic Ned Raggett joins us to discuss rockism, poptimism, and why Eurovision songs are worthy of critique.

What is Poptimism? Summary

Welcome, Ned! (1:00)
Newsdesk: Eurostream 2020, Eurovision in Concert, Europe Shine a Light, Blas Cantó duets with Kelly Clarkson (4:32)
What is "poptimism"? (12:36)
Poptimism vs. Rockism (23:56)
The Rise of Eurovision in the US (34:15)

Episode 81: WHY ARE WE YELLING?

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 11:00:00 -0500

We finish up our initial evaluations of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest entries with the last nine songs to drop in March.

WHY ARE WE YELLING? Summary

Coronavirus vs. Eurovision (1:44)
Does Austria's song make us feel "Alive"? (6:22)
Ireland's "Story of My Life" splits opinions (10:21)
Are we "Running" to or from Cyprus? Or the mall? (15:13)
Should Bulgaria's "Tears Getting Sober" be the favorite? (19:09)
What do "YOU" think of North Macedonia's entry? (22:54)
Guess which of us is "FREAKY!" over San Marino's entry (27:03)
Does Malta get "All of My Love"? Some? Any? (35:36)
Does Azerbaijan say gay rights with "Cleopatra"? (40:07)
Russia continues to Russia with "UNO" 44:23

Episode 62: Morocco 1980

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 18:00:00 -0500

Remember that time Morocco competed at the Eurovision Song Contest? We don't since neither of us existed at the time. Let's learn about it together!

Morocco 1980 Summary

RUV fined for Hatari's antics (1:36)
Country count (3:37)
UK and Spain go internal (4:37)
Morocco at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest (8:53)

Episode 47: Eurovision 2019 Semi-Final 2 Part 1: Sorry, Country

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 17:00:00 -0500

We start our exploration of the second semi-final of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest with special guest Lindsey Weber.

Eurovision 2019 Semi-Final 2 Part 1: Sorry, Country Summary

Welcome back, Lindsey Weber! (0:50)
News: Logo drops Eurovision; Full album available; Special Guests (4:54)
Armenia - Srbuk - "Walking Out"
Ireland - Sarah McTernan - "22"
Moldova - Anna Odobescu - "Stay"
Switzerland - Luca Hänni - "She Got Me"
Latvia - Carousel - "That Night"
Romania - Ester Peony - "On a Sunday"

Episode 42: Madness!

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 18:00:00 -0500

The madness of Eurovision Selection Season has come to an end. With 16 songs to discuss, we change up the format to get into competition mode.

Madness! Summary

We Stan Hatari: Öskudagur edition (2:01)
Eurovision Madness Bracket! (4:11)
Round of 16 (6:59)
Round of 8 (20:18)
Final Four (30:22)
The Grand Final (35:06)
VOTE in our Twitter poll

Episode 30: Dustin the Turkey Day

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 02:00:00 -0600

Happy Thanksgiving! We're talking turkey this week and that means either the country or Ireland's Dustin the Turkey. Guess what we chose.

Before we gobble up our main topic of Dustin the Turkey, we check in with how Eurovision planning is going in Tel Aviv. We have our final count of participants—42!—and an indication that tickets for the Contest could be up for grabs next month. We also recommend booking your lodging now if you are planning on going, otherwise you may find yourself camping in the suburbs of Tel Aviv.

Our favorite scrivener Jan Ola Sand is the star of This Week in Boycotts and he is not here for your political shenanigans. He's also most likely not a fan of being in a segment called This Week in Boycotts. Meanwhile on the X Factor UK, Brendan Murray is not a fan of the themes of movies or big bands when it comes to song selections. Will he be a fan of ABBA in next week's semi-final?

Also, Junior Eurovision is a thing.

As for our main topic, we travel back to 2008 when the people of Ireland decided that they should be represented at Eurovision by a somewhat surly puppet named Dustin the Turkey. His song "Irelande Douze Points" may live in infamy, but was it a good Eurovision entry?

Gather the family, scoop up some Irish stew (or goulash if you prefer), and enjoy this week's episode!

Dustin the Turkey Day Summary

42 Countries (1:37)
Eurovision Tickets (3:39)
Hotel Alternatives in Tel Aviv (5:32)
This Week in Boycotts: Jan Ola Sand (7:03)
The Ex-Eurovision Contestant Factor: Movies, Big Bands, and ABBA (8:36)
Junior Eurovision (13:36)
Dustin the Turkey (14:42)

Episode 29: Start Voting Now

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 02:00:00 -0600

How does the voting process work at Eurovision? If you think it's confusing now, the history of voting at the Contest has many surprises.

With mid-term elections happening this week in the US, we wanted to talk about how voting works when the consequences aren't as... consequential. One can dream, right?

Speaking of, we discuss next year's slogan "Dare to Dream" as well as other preparations currently taking place in Tel Aviv. If you're planning on going to the Contest, you may need to pack some Dramamine if you haven't booked your hotel yet.

There is some good news: the stage will be designed by a firm very familiar with Eurovision and other high profile music events, including the X Factor. We check in with how Brendan Murray is doing on the UK edition. ... Um... Dare to Dream...

Finally, we dive into the history of all the different methods used to distribute points at the Eurovision Song Contest. Point pools, age-defined juries, and potential 14-way ties are just some of the quirks that used to be part of the competition. We also explore how ties factor into the festivities.

United States, start learning about Eurovision voting now!

Start Voting Now Summary

Dare to Dream and other preparations (1:22)
The Ex-Eurovision Contestant Factor (8:23)
This week in boycotts (13:10)
Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest (1956-1974) (14:39)
The Usual Way (1975-2015) (20:05)
The Current Method (2016-Present) (25:30)
Tie-Breakers (30:30)

Episode 27: Orchestras, Synthesizers, and Lulu

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 06:00:00 -0500

Orchestras used to be a requirement at the Eurovision Song Contest. In this episode, we take a look at the evolution of live (and "live") music at the competition.

We're getting close to having a final-ish guest list for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest with 40* countries confirming their interest.((Armenia confirmed after we recorded.)) Yes, it's still a Facebook Maybe at this point and there are still three countries who have been invited but haven't responded. RETURN OUR CALLS, MOLDOVA.

After we check in with the Irish boycott situation and Cher's foray into Abba's catalog, we dive into the history of the music of the Eurovision Song Contest. Orchestras used to be a thing for the first 20 years of the competition. Once backing tracks were introduced in the mid-1970s (Hi again, Abba!), it was only a matter of time before Eurovision would catch up with a more modern pop sound. ... I mean, 25 years? We're now 20 years beyond that revolution and we're still encountering new sounds that run afoul of Eurovision's definition of a song. It's beyond fascinating.

Get ready for a teach-in and grab the moment to listen to this episode!

Orchestras, Synthesizers, and Lulu Summary

Eurovision guest list (1:19)
MyHeritage sponsorship (4:31)
Eurovision in Asia not a thing (7:07)
The next stage (9:10)
Gimme gimme gimme Cher's new album (13:19)
This week in boycotts (14:29)
Live music at Eurovision (15:35)

Episode 23: That’s How You AI a Song

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 05:00:00 -0500

We gave a computer more than 300 Eurovision Song Contest entries from the last decade and this is what it gave us. Songwriting might not be so hard after all.

The EuroWhat is back after a surprise hiatus with a jam-packed episode. First, Ben and Mike catch up on a month of random Eurovision sightings. Starbucks? NBC's daytime and nighttime schedule? Johnny Weir's Instagram? Yes, yes, and yaaaaaaaaaas. Have you encountered any Eurovision in the Wild? Let us know! Have a better name than "Eurovision in the Wild"? DEFINITELY let us know.

Then we switch gears to talk about the concept of songwriting. Britcoms have previously tackled this topic, specifically Father Ted's series two episode "A Song for Europe." Surely we could write a song better than "My Lovely Horse," right? I mean, we have just as much musical and songwriting talent as Dougal and Ted...

Nah, let's just have a computer take care of it. In our two-step process (songwriting may not have more than two steps, after all), we compiled the lyrics of more than 300 Eurovision entries and gave them to a bot to develop a predictive keyboard. We were hoping that the bot would spit out next year's winning entry, but the technology isn't quite there yet. But if you are looking for a song title generator, we've got you covered.

Plug in your headphones and enjoy this week's episode of AI's Got Talent?

That’s How You AI a Song Summary

Eurovision in the Wild (4:19)
Father Ted "A Song for Europe" (13:44)
An Intro to AI and Markov Chains (19:29)
Step 1: Compile It (The List is Really Long) (22:04)
Step 2: We Used Botnik (That's How We Wrote a Song) (25:34)
Eurovision Song Titles (29:23)
Next Week's Episode (33:16)

Songwriting Resources

Eurovision Song Title Keyboard: https://tinyurl.com/EurowhatTitleGenerator
Eurovision Song Lyrics Keyboard: https://tinyurl.com/EurowhatLyricsGenerator
How to Write a Song for the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC Insight)

Episode 20: Bite The Apple

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 05:00:00 -0500

What if the Eurovision Song Contest were a secret plot to take over the world by forcing people to exercise daily to the winning song? On this week's episode, Ben, Mike, and special guest Josh Hehner explore this dystopia(?) in the 1980 film The Apple.

To celebrate his recent birthday, Ben took in a midnight screening of the 1980 not-quite-a-cult classic The Apple. In this movie, a Eurovision-like song contest is the starting point of an Adam-and-Eve-like story involving hippies, bedazzled beards, lyrics lacking subtlety, and a literal deus ex machina. If this sounds baffling, we invited fellow The Apple superfan Josh Hehner to help with bringing some sense to whatever the heck is going on.

Along with talking about the movie, we check in with what really happened in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, which the movie got sorta right? We discuss the practicality of National BIM Hour, surgery scheduling strategy, and how the movie might have predicted OrangeTheory. Finally, we make our picks for which songs from the soundtrack could make viable Eurovision entries and pour one out for the late, great Donna Summer.

Find your shiniest lamé outfit and add this week's EuroWhat to your exercise playlist.

Bite the Apple Summary

Welcome, Josh Hehner! (1:30)
The Apple synopsis (Spoilers, I guess?) (6:01)
The WorldVision Song Contest and the world of The Apple (13:42)
How's the soundtrack? (28:31)
What really happened in 1994? (35:28)
Could The Apple work at Eurovision? (37:48)

The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.

Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email or reach out on Bluesky @eurowhat.bsky.social.

Join the EuroWhat AV Club!

If you would like to help financially support the show, we are hosting the EuroWhat AV Club over on Patreon! We have a slew of bonus episodes with deep dives on Eurovision-adjacent topics.

Special Guest: Josh Hehner.

Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews

Links:

Episode 17: Grand Final Preview

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Sat, 12 May 2018 06:15:00 -0500

The Grand Final of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest takes place Saturday, May 12. That means this is our last chance for wild speculation. We break down what happened at the semi-finals before sharing our hopes and dreams for which countries we want to win.

This week we welcome Barbara Sawhill to the panel to chat about what happened in Tuesday and Thursday's live shows. We discuss just how wrong we were about our semi-final one predictions, particularly why some power house countries failed to advance. Although we did much better predicting the second semi-final, there were still some surprises Thursday.((Including Mike's audio failing to record, so he's sitting out this week.))

Twenty-six countries are left. Who's going to win? It's the most exciting episode of the year as we head toward one of the most exciting Eurovision Grand Final competitions in years.

Special Guest: Barbara Sawhill.

Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews

Episode 12: Bringing the Party

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 05:00:00 -0500

Before the big party in Lisbon next month, we chat about the London Eurovision Party and other pre-festival shindigs. We also finish up talking about the first semi-final, including our hopes and dreams for what we'll see on stage.

Bringing the Party Summary

London Eurovision Party (4:28)
Eurovision Song Contest First Semi-Final Second Half (11:19)

First Semi-Final Running Order

First Half (last week's episode)
North Macedonia - EyeCue - Lost & Found (11:19)
Croatia - Franka - Crazy (19:05)
Austria - Cesár Sampson - Nobody But You (26:14)
Greece - Yianna Terzi - Oneiro Mou (32:40)
Finland - Saara Aalto - Monsters (38:00)
Armenia - Sevak Khanaghyan - Qami (45.42)
Switzerland - ZiBBZ - Stones (51:22)
Ireland - Ryan O'Shaughnessy - Together (57:40)
Cyprus - Eleni Foureira - Fuego (1:05:35)

Episode 8: Melfest Fest

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 05:00:00 -0500

Eurovision's 2018 selection season is approaching the end, which means one thing: Sweden's Melfest! Well, two things: lots of internal selections coming through the pipeline. No matter how you count it, we're in the homestretch!

Melfest Fest Summary

Eurovision hodgepodge
Azerbaijan - Aisel - "X MyHeart" (5:44)
Portugal - Cláudia Pascoal - "O Jardim" (10:42)
Belgium - SENNEK - "A Matter of Time" (14:06)
Croatia - Franka - "Crazy" (19:30)
Australia - Jessica Mauboy - "#WeGotLove" (24:21)
Austria - Cesár Sampson - "Nobody But You" (29:25)
Ireland - Ryan O'Shaughnessy - "Together" (34:07)
Norway - Alexander Rybak - "That's How You Write a Song" (39:29)
Sweden - Benjamin Ingrosso - "Dance You Off" (49:46)

You ‘kay?

The EuroWhat? Podcast — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 08:00:00 -0600

This week, Ben and Mike do a deep dive into the United Kingdom's Eurovision selection process and take a look at why the country has struggled for so long at the Contest. Plus, a roundup of headlines from the last week.

Links

Ryan O'Shaughnessy's US Tour — https://ryanosmusic.com/pages/show-dates

Malta's entry: "Taboo" by Christabelle — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyrC8jJ8eb8

Switzerland's entry: "Stones" by ZiBBZ — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXOlPGnkZFY

The United Kingdom's contestants:

Gwenno "Tir Ha Mor" — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rCeygWexyA

CHVRCHES "Get Out" — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHUKKrcXfJs

Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews

The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews - Episodes Tagged with “Ireland”

Episode 297: Icy Reception

Icy Reception Summary

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Episode 296: All Kinds of Everything

All Kinds of Everything Summary

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Episode 294: Radio Friendly

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Episode 285: Kerflooey

Kerflooey Summary

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Episode 284: "Joke" Entries

"Joke" Entries Summary

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Episode 280: Weird Little Dudes

Weird Little Dudes Summary

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Episode 277: Nice

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Eurovision Podcast Podcrawl

Episode 274: Yugoslavia 1990

Yugoslavia 1990 Summary

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Eurovision Podcast Podcrawl

Episode 268: Eurovision 2025 Semi-Final Preview

Eurovision 2025 Semi-Final Preview Summary

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Basel 2025

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Episode 264: Polyethylene

Fred Bronson

Polyethylene Summary

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Basel 2025

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Episode 255: ('Singing')

('Singing') Summary

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Basel 2025

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Episode 254: Super

Super Summary

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Basel 2025

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Episode 253: Vox Lux

Vox Lux Summary

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Basel 2025

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Episode 252: Process

Process Summary

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Basel 2025

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Episode 250: Loaded with Energy

Loaded with Energy Summary

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Episode 249: Pew Pew Pew

Pew Pew Pew Summary

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Episode 245: Avalanche

Avalanche Summary

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Episode 238: Vacay

Vacay Summary

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