We’ve had tons of songs confirmed for Eurovision 2024 over the course of this month and we have quite a few more to go! In my previous predictions post, only six entries were released; now the number is 20. I have 14 songs to recap in this post, so I’ll use numbers to make sure I don’t forget any.

I already made a post about Germany’s song (1). I’m so jealous of all those other countries that are sending native language songs this year, especially our fellow Germanic country of Norway. I’m getting spoiled with all those native language songs, but at the same time I feel so left out! Maybe if a native language song wins the contest in 2024, then Germany will be forced to accept that non-English songs are cool again. Because they are cool again! We are living in a time where more and more people are listening to music that isn’t in their native language or English. Even here in the US, Spanish-language music is experiencing a surge in popularity.

I was excited for other countries to imitate the success of “Cha Cha Cha” and send danceable electronic songs in their native languages, and two countries did exactly that: Estonia (2) and Lithuania (3). Both their songs are totally up my street and I’m confident they will do well. These are exactly the kind of songs I wish Germany sent this year, instead of boring radio pop.

Latvia (4) didn’t follow the trend of the other two Baltic states and went for a power ballad in English (though it does have a Latvian version). It’s not as much to my taste as the other Baltics, but it’s well-composed and I hope it breaks Latvia’s non-qualification streak. Speaking of which, I badly want Ireland to qualify this year. “Doomsday Blue” is their best entry in ages! It’s full of personality and much better suited to Eurovision than anything they’ve sent the past few years. I’m rooting for you, Bambie Thug!

Let’s discuss the rest of the Big Five. I didn’t say much about France in my last post, but now that more songs have been confirmed, I’m confident they made a strong choice this year. It’s slower-paced but powerfully sung, so it’ll stand out against the dance songs. I’m not sure how well Spain (5) will do—as we saw from songs like “Øve os på hinanden” and “The Ride”, Eurovision fans aren’t too receptive to this pumpy 80’s inspired pop. Still, their song has a passionate fanbase and distinctive personality. Italy (6) is sending a song that’s Italian in a fresh way, and finally sending a woman again. I have no doubts she will do well.

And now for Norway (7)… hot DAMN, THEIR SONG IS SO FUCKING AWESOME!!! As I said in my 2006 final review: I had a hunch they would bring one of the best entries in 2024 and I was right. But I’m so surprised they sent a native language song! I’m not sure if I like it more than Luxembourg’s boppy bop but I think it has the potential to win. Speaking of winner potential, I still think Ukraine (8) is most likely to win. Their song combines what worked in their last two winners (“1944” and “Stefania”) and is very powerful and dramatic. I just hope that if Ukraine wins this year, the country will be safe enough to host in 2025.

God dammit, the more I write about all the confirmed songs for 2024, the more jealous I get because Germany’s song is so disappointing. But at least we’re not alone in sending radio pop that sounds like it could belong to any country—I don’t think Denmark (9) will break their non-qualification streak with their repetitive radio pop song. Poland (10) and Moldova (11) probably won’t qualify either: they’re just regular electronic songs, not competitive or distinct enough. Maybe Moldova could save their song with good enough staging.

I didn’t say anything about Czechia and Slovenia previously except that their songs don’t do much to me, and unfortunately that’s still true. The Czech entry sounds like a first draft and Slovenia sent one of those songs that had a lot of effort put into it but doesn’t make me feel anything.

Malta (12) is a “SloMo” copycat, but that’s exactly why I think it’ll safely reach the finals. It makes sense for Malta to send a genre that’ll safely qualify, because they didn’t qualify for the last two years. Belgium (13) finally released their song after being the first country to select their artist. It’s a regular good song, but I admit it’s not that easy to remember how it sounds.

Finally we arrive at Finland (14), the runner-up of 2023. Their song is televote bait through and through, but as we saw in the national final results, it’s also jury repellent. I was hoping Finland’s entry would appeal to both halves of the voting, or that they’d continue the momentum of native language songs, but on the other hand this kind of hectic dance song fits Eurovision like a glove. I don’t think I can provide a full verdict on this song till I see it live from the Malmö Arena.

Oh yeah, that’s right. I’ll be in the Malmö Arena during the evening rehearsal of semifinal 1. I’m particularly excited to see Ireland, Lithuania, and Luxembourg live. I’m looking at the lineup of songs for the semifinal and I am so excited I could just burst.

We have 17 songs left for this contest—16 if Israel withdraws, which I frankly hope they do because their presence has caused so much drama. That means I’ll make two more unorganized predictions posts, the first in early March and the second when all songs are confirmed.

We’re well into national final season now—six countries have released their songs so far and many more national selections are underway!

Holy fuck, holy FUCK, Luxembourg’s song this year is a total bop and I’m excited to see it on the Eurovision stage!!! It’s the first song revealed that truly clicks with me, but France and Ireland chose respectable efforts too. I love that France won’t be alone in sending a song en français this year. It means that France’s song won’t feel like the “token song in French” this year, as so often happens in modern Eurovision. As much as I complain that France cares too much about their language compared to other Eurovision countries, the truth is that I adore the French language.

Thank heavens Ireland didn’t choose that godawful boyband song from their national final. I’m not sure if “Doomsday Blue” has qualifier energy, but it was the best choice of the six. It’s got a nice varied pace and a mix of harsh and peaceful sections, unlike “Go Tobann” which is full-blast hectic.

As for the other three confirmed songs, Albania is disappointingly similar to their previous few entries and Czechia and Slovenia just don’t do much for me. Maybe a revamp could bring more life into some of them, but inevitably you won’t root for every single entry in Eurovision.

My dream 2024 German entry would be a German counterpart to “Cha Cha Cha” that hypes up the audience, but we sure as hell aren’t getting that. I wish I could say I’m rooting for one of the two German-language songs in Das Deutsche Finale, but from snippets I’ve heard of each of them, “Oh Boy” intrigues me by far the most. It’s total jury bait and will probably instill hope among German fans, but I still really fucking want Germany to embrace their own language again. Why is NDR still obsessed with the idea that radio-friendly pop does well in Eurovision, and so repulsed from German-language music? It’s about time a different German broadcaster takes on the contest.

I haven’t followed much of the other national finals, but I’d be excited if “Damdiggida” by Keiino represents Norway. Their song is infectious and full of personality, very Norwegian-sounding. It would be a fierce competitor especially for the televote. If they make it to Eurovision, I hope the juries give them more respect this year.

Out of the internally selected artists, I’m most excited for Marina Satti—she seems intent on sending a song that’s true to herself and should curtail the Swedification of Greece. The Netherlands and UK both made strong choices and I hope they deliver on stage. I’m happy the Netherlands has been embracing their language lately, but it makes my eye twitch that Germany can’t do the same.

I might make another post about my hopes for Eurovision 2024 at the end of February, we’ll see. But don’t expect anything too in-depth until I get to 2024 in my review series. Suffice to say, I have a lot to look forward to in my Eurovision trip.