Yesterday I finished reviewing the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 (semifinals, final), the most recent contest as of this writing, which means I’ve finally finished my project of reviewing every single Eurovision song, along with the production of every contest. As always, it feels so goddamn great to finish a project. I’m especially pleased with the speed at which I finished this project: it took me only a year and five months in total! And I didn’t go on any ultra-long breaks; the longest was between my 1985 and 1986 reviews, because I went on a trip to Germany and then made a video about part of the trip.

I had so much fun making all these blog posts and I’m really glad I got an audience of commenters here, unlike so many of my prior blog projects. I’m especially flattered I inspired a few other people to write their own Eurovision blogs. I love reading people’s reviews of prior Eurovision years and I’ll be real, I can never get enough of them. They make for such great reading material, whether I’m bored out of my mind or just want to chill out and read people be right about some songs and completely wrong about others. And especially when people defend a song that I never gave much thought.

In this post I’ll list some overall records throughout my Eurovision journey, then list 20 songs that I consider to be hidden gems, and finally give some shoutouts to my commenters.

Overall records

Best entry of all time: Dancing Lasha Tumbai, Ukraine 2007. It’s pretty much the song that got me into Eurovision and to me, it’s still the number one song that defines the contest. No other Eurovision song is simultaneously this goofy and this much of a fantastic piece of music.

Best entry of the 20th century: La dolce vita, Finland 1989. Even though “Ding-a-Dong” will always hold a special place in my heart, I think this is now the best entry of 20th century Eurovision. I can’t get over how amazingly well-composed this is, and where else but Eurovision would you hear a salsa song in Finnish that’s this much of a banger?

Worst entry of all time: ¿Quién maneja mi barca?, Spain 1983. It’s one of very few Eurovision songs that genuinely hurts my ears and is the complete opposite of fun to listen to, sorry to anyone who likes it.

Most robbed non-qualifier: Työlki ellää, Finland 2010. I absolutely adore this piece of Finnish folk music, it has lovely happy vocals and great melodies to sing along to. Even though it was the juries’ fault that this didn’t qualify and the semifinals are now televote-only, I think the fact that ethno-bops qualify so much more easily these days proves that viewers these days are getting more appreciative of unfamiliar cultures.

Best Eurovision year of all time: Rotterdam 2021. This year just did absolutely everything right: spectacular songs, wowing production, welcoming hosts, positive atmosphere, and some clever production tricks to make it less obvious this was filmed during COVID.

Best Eurovision year of the 20th century: Oslo 1996. It has a fun quirky presentation style that feels forward-thinking in the most 1990’s way, and a great lineup of songs that really feels like there’s something for everyone.

Best postcards: Liverpool 2023. See this post for a full ranking of all of them; I explain why these are my favorites.

Best interval act: Riverdance, from Dublin 1994. It’s an obvious choice, but the act is iconic for good reason.

Longest blog post: Cookie Fonster Reviews Eurovision 2021 (Final): A Native-Language Top Three, at 14,300 words (at least in my Word document). Fitting for my favorite ever year!

Longest song review: Europapa (Netherlands 2024), clocking in at 2921 words. I wanted that to be my longest review in my entire blog because it just had so much to analyze and rant about, but I’m still surprised at how long it ended up! The top 10 longest are as follows:

1. Europapa (Netherlands 2024), 2921 words
2. Tout l’univers (Switzerland 2021), 1570 words
3. Guildo hat euch lieb! (Germany 1998), 1306 words
4. Hard Rock Hallelujah (Finland 2006), 1236 words
5. Cha Cha Cha (Finland 2023), 1213 words
6. The Code (Switzerland 2024), 1133 words
7. Dancing Lasha Tumbai (Ukraine 2007), 1116 words
8. Calm After the Storm (Netherlands 2014), 1101 words
9. Rim Tim Tagi Dim (Croatia 2024), 1087 words
10. Russian Woman (Russia 2021), 1057 words

Lots of recency bias in this list; that’s because whenever I make a blog post series, the later posts are always way more detailed than the early ones.

My list of 20 hidden gems

Note that this list is by no means exhaustive—there are many songs I could’ve put in here but chose not to. I wanted to keep this focused on songs that not enough fans talk about and put in a few songs that even I didn’t give enough attention, but I also couldn’t help including a few biased picks. My rules were to put in no more than one song per year, and no songs that entered the top three (with one exception in the grayscale years). This means “C’est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison” doesn’t make the cut, sorry!

Il est là (France 1956 #2): Let’s start with something from the first ever contest. People watching every Eurovision contest tend to latch onto “Ne crois pas” (a great mischievous-sounding song, don’t get me wrong) but don’t give enough love to its sibling song, “Il est là”! It’s such a perfect old-timey movie song that tells the perfect story of a woman being unable to avoid seeing her love interest wherever she goes, and it’s tense and mischievous in the best way. Definitely worth a listen!

Intet er nytt under solen (Norway 1966): I wish Eurovision would more often award the most innovative song of the contest with victory, but alas, the juries are too obsessed with rewarding normal formulaic songs. This song got third place in 1966 but in retrospect, it totally should’ve won. It’s got a beautiful deep voice, masterful guitar playing in a 5/4 time signature, and a lovely orchestration that complements her guitar work well. I can’t believe I didn’t originally choose it as my winner of the year.

Keep Me Warm (Finland 1974): No one ever talks about the opening entry of the year where ABBA won, which is a shame because I find it very pretty. It’s a woman on piano singing to her love interest which sounds the perfect mix of heartfelt and uncertain, and it’s extremely 1970’s. And it has so many interesting chords too!

Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein (Germany 1975): Fans these days give this song quite a bit of attention, but I will just never understand why this got third last place! It’s an uplifting German-sounding schlager with a simple message about songs connecting people, yet it somehow manages to not sound clichéd and tired at all unlike so many of Ralph Siegel’s entries. It makes me feel all warm inside, almost as if I got transported to my mom’s childhood, and it’s the kind of entry I wish my country sent more of.

Sobe, sobe, balão sobe (Portugal 1979): Did I say underrated yet? Because my god, this is so criminally underrated! It’s a fun groovy disco song with a strong but not overdramatic voice, and some excellent push and pull in the rhythm. I admit I don’t give that song enough attention myself, because it’s in the same year as the best ever German entry, “Dschinghis Khan”.

Hani? (Turkey 1982): Another secret favorite of mine I don’t talk about much. This has a great pumping beat, piercing string riffs, and a really cool alternation between the instrumental and vocals that always gets me hyped. It’s not fair that the juries were this cruel to Turkey in the 20th century, so I’m glad they got a miraculous third place in 1997 that allowed them to see the light—“Dinle” is a well-deserved fan favorite to this day!

Eläköön elämä (Finland 1985): I was originally going to include “La dolce vita” in this list but then decided to put it elsewhere in this blog post, so I’ve put in a different Finnish entry from the same era. This is pumping and rousing and has rock elements in the most Finnish way, as well as the most 1980’s way. Also, it has awesome vocal harmonies. Finland is another country the juries were cruel to for the longest time!

Alle mine tankar (Norway 1993): Such a sweet and delicate song with the perfect buildup and the softest, most fragile voice that really elevates the song. And plus, it’s got the most haunting combination of acoustic guitar and violin I’ve ever heard. I keep forgetting it exists and I need to stop forgetting!

Vechny strannik (Russia 1994): Russia’s debut entry has grown on me. I love the contrast between the verses which sound like groovy Soviet city pop, and the choruses which are like a power ballad more accessible to western European ears. It’s so perfect for a country whose musical scene looks different from the rest of Europe and never got to enter the contest till 1994.

Prisluhni mi (Slovenia 1995): I’m normally not a fan of romantic power ballads, but I’ve given this one enough of a chance that it now tugs directly at my heart. It has such amazing buildup and a lovely romantic atmosphere, plus some great musical touches to make it shine. This includes the string riffs that complement the chorus, the gorgeous minor and major seventh chords, and the lovely electric piano that plays high notes during the chorus. It helps that 1995 had one of the best orchestras in Eurovision history. I also love the slowdown ending because it lets me process how full of depth the song really is.

Sentiments songes (France 1997): This grew on me so much that it replaced “Dinle” as my winner of 1997. It’s an absolutely lovely listen with an intriguing atmosphere, lovely strings and guitar, and a quirky expressive singer. I get more moved by this the more I listen to it, and I’m always wowed by the slowdown ending for the same reasons as “Prisluhni mi”.

Make My Day (North Macedonia 2005): Although this is far from my favorite of Eurovision 2005, which is one of my favorite years of all time, I have to say it has really grown on me. It’s a simple 2000’s dancey song with a few ethnic elements and it really does lift my mood whenever I listen to it. One of the best songs to turn off my brain to and have a good time.

Without Your Love (Armenia 2006): When people think of Armenia in Eurovision, their first thought tends to be the ethno-bops “Qélé Qéle” (2008) and “Jan Jan” (2009), but I actually think their debut entry is better than both! It’s an absolute blast to listen to and I’m always wowed by all the pumping energy and ethnic touches, especially in the bridge with the bagpipe-sounding instrument. Plus, it has one of the best key changes in Eurovision history!

Čaroban (Serbia 2011): Another one of my niche favorites that most fans don’t care about! This has the coolest groovy city pop chords and is three minutes of nothing but good vibes. It always manages to lift my mood and is a bright spot in one of the weakest years of modern Eurovision.

Samo shampioni (Bulgaria 2013): Elitsa and Stoyan’s first entry “Water” is quite a fan favorite that has really grown on me, but it’s such a shame no one talks about their second entry—I think it’s even better! It’s more melodious and varied than “Water” and comes off to me almost like a Bulgarian version of “Shum”, which is a gigantic fan favorite. And the bridge section with the dubstep and shift into major key is a whole extra layer of awesome.

Here for You (Slovenia 2015): I’m not a big fan of the 2015 contest and it doesn’t have any songs I truly adore, but this has been a sneaky grower. It has an awesome violin melody, some cool piano riffs before each verse, a nice pumping beat, and sweet lyrics. All of these factors mean I can forgive the weird nasal singing.

Where I Am (Denmark 2017): Sometimes a song just needs some exceptionally well-done synth production to win me over. It’s so simple yet it’s really grown on me, and I still love her elegant red dress. I almost wish more contestants had fashion sense as good as hers, but where’s the fun in Eurovision if you can’t snark about the abominable outfits?

Funny Girl (Latvia 2018): I’ve actually become a fan of Laura Rizzotto thanks to this song, which is proof that it’s doing something right! Either that, or it’s proof that she is unreasonably cute. Her style of music is romantic songs that are dreamy, moody, or often a mix of both. Her lyrics are informal and down-to-earth, told from the perspective from an ordinary lady who has tons of romantic dreams. Most of her songs are in English, but she has a few in Portuguese (she grew up in Brazil after all) and at least one in Spanish. She doesn’t have any in Latvian as far as I know.

“Funny Girl” is a good example of Laura’s musical style, since it tells a story of a woman who never told her love interest how she feels, and now he’s fallen for someone else—a topic that you more often hear men singing about, which makes this song really special. It’s got a really cool style of instrumentation that feels minimalist, but never like it’s lacking something. I love the string riffs and the camera shots during the low “dun dun dun” notes. I especially adore the bridge section with the drum beat and her increasing desperation to win her crush back; she promises her crush that she can be everything he’s ever dreamed of. The bridge has some interesting harmonies in the studio version, but I actually prefer the bridge sung live without harmonies, because it’s the lyrical climax of the song and it sounds more personal that way. Some people think Laura Rizzotto needed backing dancers, and they’re completely wrong. She commands the stage entirely on her own. And plus, it wouldn’t make sense for others to be with her on stage, since this is about her feeling all alone now that her crush has found a special someone.

“Romcom” is Laura’s newest single as of this writing, and it’s a good example of her dreamy type of song. It captures the mood of falling in love with someone she can hardly believe is real, as if her crush came right out of her favorite romcom. “Bonjour” is one of my favorite songs of hers: it’s dreamy with a tinge of longing and is about her desire to reconnect with a man she fell in love with in Paris. It’s happy and melancholy at the same time and it has guitars that evoke Brazilian bossa nova, so it’s a very “Laura Rizzotto” song. It’s exactly the kind of moody but not dreary music that plucks at my heart. If you want some full-out bossa nova, look at “Papaya” which is in a mix of English and Spanish, or its Portuguese version—she’s fluent in all three languages, and knows a modest amount of Latvian. Compared to the last two songs I linked, this one is simpler and more fluffy, and I mean that in a good way.

My personal favorite Laura Rizzotto song is “Symptoms”. It’s about her slowly recovering from a disastrous relationship and washing all the symptoms of her nasty ex out of her mind. It’s a great melancholy guitar song that doesn’t sound overly sadgirly, but rather has a tinge of hope and comes off like it’s really improving her life to move on from her old love. I absolutely love this song and it’s the perfect example of her musical style. It’s got a ton of Brazilian elements, it has moving lyrics about saying goodbye to an asshole you used to love, and it always hits me in the feels without making me too sad.

There you have it, that was my excuse to write a longer review of “Funny Girl” than what I originally had. And to talk about how much I love Laura Rizzotto’s music.

You (North Macedonia 2020): It’s a travesty that so few fans talk about this song, because I absolutely love it and I wish we could have seen it live on stage in Eurovision 2020. It’s not a hectic in-your-face campy song, but rather it’s a fun boppy danceable tune that makes for great casual listening. I can put this song on the background while doing just about anything and have a great time.

Loco Loco (Serbia 2021): I am unreasonably addicted to this trio girlbop. It feels like these three girls are using telekinesis to fling me through a storm, and I’m overwhelmed but loving every second. It’s an absolute rollercoaster for the ears and I still can’t get over how amazing the key change is. I can’t explain why I love the key change so much, but I will say that I like key changes best when they come after a stripped-down section, which this song does.

(One last note: if you’re wondering why I didn’t list “Az én apám” here, I already wrote a long positive review of it in this post so I’d just be rehashing it.)

Special thanks

Dank je wel to Erica Dakin, whose Reddit post series inspired me to do my own Eurovision reviews, and who in turn started doing a second Eurovision blog post series inspired by mine. Your reviews and comments are hilarious and I’ve never met any other Eurovision fan whose tastes are more similar to mine, or who loves so many of the same songs I do, like “Dschinghis Khan”, “Alcohol Is Free”, “Calm After the Storm”, and so much more. I hope you get to go to Eurovision someday and if you do, I’d love to meet you there!

Дякую to Famicom Guy (Vlad)—it was such a great surprise getting to meet you in Malmö this year, and I look forward to hopefully doing it again in Basel! You leave such elaborate comments going into detail about the Ukrainian entries, and explaining what you love about entries that most fans find forgettable, and I love that. I’ve had lots of fun following your own Eurovision blog and I wish you luck finishing it.

Ευχαριστώ to Ellie Z. for all your insight into Greece’s relationship with Eurovision which seems to be a mix of patriotic passion and frustration. Your remarks are direct and to the point, unafraid to admit when you think a song was godawful or a decision was unfair, and I always would look forward to what you’d have to say on each of my posts.

A second ευχαριστώ to Alexander, my other Greek commenter, for also opening my eyes to the Greeks’ opinions on Eurovision! I love how passionate you guys get about the contest, personally. I wish more countries in Western Europe would view the contest with this much fervor and go nuts when their country sends an entry they love. It warmed my heart when a Greek woman told me in Malmö how much her country loves “Alcohol Is Free”.

Dziękuję to Krisznix (Karina), my newest commenter, for discovering my blog and leaving such elaborate comments! I like how you ended up starting a Eurovision blog right when I was almost done with mine. I’m excited to see where your blog goes from here, especially since you’ll be watching most of these contests for the first ever time like me. I also look forward to finding out what songs you love enough to make artwork out of them.

Thank you to Elda Mengisto, Aijā Nation, and Anthony (Danger), three of my fellow American fans, for making me feel less alone in having this nerdy obsession. I love seeing American fans become obsessed with the contest and provide their own analysis from an external perspective.

Go raibh maith agat to Reddit user macalla_macalla, who only ever left one comment from back when I linked to my reviews on Reddit but it really made my day!

And thank you, teşekkürler, спасибо, tack så mycket, probably other languages I forgot about, to all the miscellaneous commenters on my blog posts and Reddit posts. I’m flattered my blog has gained such a following and I hope to stay in contact with you guys—I already have some of you added on Discord or WhatsApp!

What’s next?

For one thing, I still want to make a bonus post listing every country’s best entry from 1999 to 2024, as well as overall. More bonus post ideas might come to me too, you never know! And I also want to rank every single Eurovision year, some of which I’ve already done on a spreadsheet. The reason I didn’t do so in my reviews (except 2023) is because it usually takes me at least a month or two to get to know a lineup of songs well enough that I’m comfortable ranking them. It’s fun to rank a year months after watching it because I rediscover hidden gems or change my mind on an entry I never thought of. That’s why “Sentiments songes”, “Make My Day”, and “Without Your Love” made it onto my hidden gems list: I’ve already ranked each of those songs’ years.

I won’t get to review Eurovision 2025 until the contest actually happens, so for now I’ll have to get used to having way too much spare time. Only time will tell what crazy project I will subject myself to next!