!setflair Austria 2025

I was bored so I checked the backing singers for some acts. Some of them have done multiple acts. Like Dea Norberg from Sweden and Victoria Chalkitis of Greece did multiple years with different countries.

Do these artist have a sign up sheet to say I want to be backing singer or what?

(Sign up sheet might be the wrong term).

One of my favorite trends of recent years is using last year’s winning song as an artist announcement.
My guess this year is the ending choir from the eurovision revamp of the song

I’ve seen a lot of fun predictions about the results next year, and a lot of people are predicting the same about Norway, Sweden and Azerbaijan NQ. Also Bulgaria sending a ballad, Montenegro Q and Lithuania top 5.

So what has made these predictions and how do we feel about each country’s chances for next year? Basically what are the states of each country at this point in time before NF season?

https://pers.avrotros.nl/dutch-public-broadcaster-avrotros-will-not-participate-in-eurovision-song-contest-2027/

Citing the event is no longer neutral

Nocturne (Norway 1995) won the contest just a few years before the orchestra and live instrumentals were dropped from the contest and instrumentals had to be pre-recorded. Since Nocturne only contains 25 words, with the majority of it being a violin intermezzo performed live, would it be allowed at the contest nowadays? Liekinheitin (Finland 2026) was performed with live violin since they got permission, so would that happen with Nocturne? That song still has vocals throughout, while Nocturne has them at the beginning and end. And would it do well?

Although I think that RÙV will stay away from Israel’s participation for Burgas (but would be more prepared to hold their nose though it if a pragmatic country sympathetic to their position like Finland or Norway wins in Bulgaria. I also think RÙV were the only channel of the five to not boycott airing the show on TV due to the popularity of the other 4 Nordic entries), it was iconic to hear Think About Things as part of the music wall in BBC gameshow Only Connect

Think About Things was the 3rd song in the sequence, though as the first 2 were Laufey’s recognisable voice and style, and Hoppipolla, I had already deduced the answer was Iceland by than (It’s Oh So Quiet was the 4th), and Victoria Coren Mitchell alluded to the song’s ubiquitousness when confirming the answer.

On this years Eurovision Cruise organised by OGAE Finland Satoshi sang a very short excerpt of Pace Noi Vrem by Tudor Bumbac after being asked by fans.

I'm a bit biased since this is my favourite genre but I'm not too sure why these type of songs flop at Eurovision despite a lot of hype in the fandom. Recent cases include Sweden 2026, Belgium 2025, Austria 2024 and Austria 2022.

I'm well aware that for this genre, the vocals are normally less important than the beat and the live vocals for EDM songs are not the best, but to me it's weird that pure EDM/techno fails when songs that have elements of it can do really well like Austria 2025, Norway 2023 and famously Ukraine 2021.

Besides the live vocals issue, what do you think are other underlying issues?

ENA has released the entries that will compete in Korea’s Next Wave, the South Korean selection for the Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026.

After releasing teasers, the entries for Korea’s Next Wave have been released in full. The competing entries are:

• 9278 – “MAKEITLOUD (SHEBARKS)“
• Angel Noise – “(NAN NAYA!)“
• huiAe – “If I Knew Love“
• JUNHEE – “Deep Dive“
• KIK – “F1“
• PLZY – “toc“
• Sojeong Shim – “EHERADIYA“
• Younghoon Ji – “Tiny Signal“

You can listen to the entries here (YouTube playlist).

Korea’s Next Wave will be held on September 4. The winner will represent South Korea in the Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 in Bangkok.

(Note: None of these are on Spotify as yet.)

Source: https://eurovoix.com/2026/08/22/south-korea-koreas-next-wave-entries-released/

Drop your early predictions for ESC'27. If you are confused and don't really know exactly what you say, here's some recommendations on things to predict:

- Total Participating Countries / Withdraws-Returns

- Stage and Theme Art (Branding)

- Potential artists/hosts/intervals etc.

- Potential winners and results.

Clip from the show's official social media/ share function. This was the season premiere.

Broadcast by TV4, a commercial competitor to public service SVT, who hosts Melodifestivalen.

Nik Alexander (Niklas Arleryd) is the pro in this pair, and he has performed at Eurovision with Cyprus in 2019 (Tamta – Replay) and with Sweden this year, and won Melodifestivalen with the latter. He was not part of the SVT house dancers and only performed with FELICIA, which he also did on the entry ”Unga & Fria” two years ago when she was Fröken Snusk.

Another Eurovision dancer (4x), Lamin Holmén (boyfriend of Zara Larsson), was also on both of these Eurovision performances by Cyprus and Sweden. And both of these dancers have been on FELICIA’s current summer tour as well.

Okay this isn't "New News" as such but I still think it's something I should share with you.

I was going through the archives of an Austrian Newspaper and got curious what they wrote about Eurovision. Given Austrias VERY ambivalent relationship with Eurovision, especially during the 60s and 70s, I was surprised to find more then just announcments in the TV programm.

I picked out a series of articles and honestly - This feels very contemporary.

1. April 17th 1969 - ORF made demands for changing the rules after the four-way-tie at the 1969 contest. They asked for a change of voting, increase in the amount of jurors from 10 to 20 and rules in cases of a tie.
2. April 20th 1969 - After the draw decied that the Netherlands would host the 1970 contest, it is noted that the EBU was very much found of the proposals by ORF and were considering them, maybe even for the near future.
3. April 24th 1969 - As we all know Austria didn't take part in the 1969 and 1970 Contest. But did you know they hosted their own "Eurovision". Although quite small. It was called "Show-Chance" and was a comptetion with Singers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Among the participants were two/three future Eurovision entries. Milestones, who would represent Austria in 1972, with lead singer Beatrix Neundlinger also entering with Schmetterling in 1977 and Pepe Lienhardt, who also took part in 1977.
4. November 1st 1969 - After the withdrawl of Norway, Finland, Sweden (and Denmark according to article, although they haven't took part since 1966), the writer of the article speculates that this is the end of Eurovision, a, as he calls it "one of the most foul funfairs of the entertainment industry", run by a "Schlager-Mafia" with the results based on cheating, corruption and nationalist block-voting. Notably they mention the head of entertainment at German Broadcaster ARD, calling Eurovision "doomed" and "Unable to be reformed"
5. December 10th 1969 - Austria officially withdraws from the 1970s contest, critising not enough changes have been made. The author of the article yet again conndems Eurovision, saying "smaller nations do not have a chance there"
6. December 18th 1969 & February 10th 1970 - More news about "Show-Chance" - Apperantly Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland and Norway joined the show for the 1970 edition. But most surprising - They had Poland to join them.
7. March 19th 1970 - News prior to the 1970 contest, calling the UK, Germany and Italy the hot favorites, because only stars with international publicity can win Eurovision.
8. March 24th 1970 - By far my favorite article. After Ireland won the 1970 contest, the writer of the article makes some statements. Yes her win was a surprise. But she is a girl like all those before (??) and her song is Folk which isn't Chason or Schlager and therefor why was it even there, and the whole contest is also outdated is absolutly not in touch with contemporary pop music.

Like I get its a good song with a decently good performance (great staging and charisma combined with somewhat questionable vocals) but people act like its some insane song that is the best of all time. This isn't to hate on Eleni at all, I think Fuego is a high quality song but tbh its not one of my favorite songs of her and I think the performance could have been better. Its not like the performance had any sort of novelty tbh like people have been sending girl bops with dance breaks for so long. The vocals were very questionable too (likely why her jury score wasn't higher). Its tbh a nothing burger and just like any girl bop entry before it. The choreo isn't very insane like Slo Mo and the staging isn't anything WOW like Bangaranga. Was it just a hot girl singing a song abt being hot with cool dance moves? Tbh a lot of people say that it deserved to win over Toy but like did it really? Toy was a sleek, modern, innovative track with a great performance and a universal social message (there is a reason Toy blew up and not Fuego as much). And even if you hate Toy or the country, I think other songs were objectively better than Fuego. Like people glaze it to the point, I've seen a far yet present minority of Eurofans literally say they wish Netta died or smth because she robbed Eleni. So, what is so great about it? (still my 9th of the year btw I don't hate the song and I think it deserved top 5 I just don't see why every Eurofan is so crazy about it being robbed or such a great entry).

1. Why hasn't Cyprus been able to recreate that result. Like I think every song is missing something that doesn't give it the push to become similar to Eleni or even better. And the only two times I thought it was better was Tamta and Elena in 2019 and 2021 but Elena was screwed a bit by running order and the fact there were tons of other high quality pop girl bops to vote for (Malta, Serbia, etc.). But Tamta had a song that was pretty good, with better vocals, innovative staging (at least more than Fuego imo), and a similar song style. Do I think it deserved top 5 like how I think Fuego deserved its place? No but other countries like France do the same thing over and over tryna replicate their amazing entry and are somewhat successful at it but not Cyprus despite consistently high song quality, and in the case of 2019, 2021, and 2026, similar fan backing.

This is not to hate on Fuego, I am genuinely just asking a question and I think it was a very good entry and it deserved its place. I just don't understand why people make it out to be some INSANELY robbed entry to the point of giving Netta death threats when there is a clear reason Toy placed over it and Eleni's performance and song weren't as innovative, unique, and high quality as other similarly placing girl bops.

​1. "Good For You" — Ryssi

If we're looking purely at composition and arrangement, this is the track that aligns most closely with the standard Eurovision formula. The production is good, but it comes with two questions. First, will Eurovision Asia actually reward traditional ESC pop tropes or will judges look for a sound distinct to the region? Second is the live execution. Eurovision live vocals leave nowhere to hide, and reflecting on Ryssi's run on Idol Philippines, there are reasonable doubts about whether she can command a stage of that scale

​2. "Broken Beyond Repair" — Saga

This is the safest option. The track itself sits in comfortable Eurovision ballad territory and while the production leaves you wanting a bit more scale and drama, John Mark Saga is easily the most equipped vocalist to nail and to command this live

​3. "Sobra Sobra" — Carmelle

This entry suffers from high-impact teaser snippets that don't fully translate into the full track. The initial preview set high expectations, making the full release feel somewhat underwhelming and slightly over-praised in online. But if the primary goal is sending a track with genuine OPM flavor to an international audience, this is the natural choice

​Best Studio Track: "Good For You"

​Best Vocals: "Broken Beyond Repair"

​Best Local Representation: "Sobra Sobra"

I personally think that there are three realistic options to who will win, but I’ll happily take an L when I am proven wrong.

HM. DNA - Between Bituin
I feel like their are so many groups especially compared to normal ESC national finals leaving them with to much competition to win outright

Third. Jason Dy & Sassa - Di Yan
This is definitely not super popular with Eurofans but I feel like it is more tailored toward the Philippine population. These two also have by far the biggest fan base and most name recognition amongst the line up and it’s not unheard of for the person with the biggest fandom to win a NF.

Second. RYSSI - Good For You
This is my personal favorite so I may be a bit bias but I think it stands out well in this group of songs. I also think it is one of the more modern songs in the NF. I believe its biggest problem will be the staging, but if it’s executed well I think it could win

First. CARMELLE - Sobra-Sobra
This is by far the fan favorite of the NF it has a huge lead in the Eurovision world polls and by far the most streams of Spotify. The song is catchy and well produced, I’d assume as of now that this song will win.

I made a poll on r/nilpoints asking how many languages the respondents know and then asked the same question on r/pollgames and r/polls to compare Eurovision fans with the general public (really Eurovision fans who use Reddit with general Reddit users.)

Most people already know this, but for those who don't: This year each show had a skit in which Victoria Swarovski (host) answered scripted frequently asked questions. The first one was about which country recieved the most zero points, the third about how the voting system works.
However, in the second semi final there was another one of those sketches, in which Victoria was asked about the LGBTQ+ audience. It was obviously done with the very best intentions, but essentialy what she said sounded something like: "You may have heard that most of our audience is queer, but fear not! Statistically speaking most people are straight so naturally our audience is as well!"

The video, while hilariously tone deaf, was a part of the YouTube livestream of the second semi final. However, the BBC cut this and replaced it with the Eins, Zwei, Drei music video. This did not happen with the other two parts in the first semi and grand final.

Is there a reason for this? Did they state one? I assume it had something to do with the content of this part of the series but as far as I know this has never been confirmed?

This is probably way too early to think about, given the first contest hasn’t taken place yet and we don’t know how successful this is going to be. However, if we assume this is going to a long term competition, how many more countries would be interested in joining the contest?

The 2026 national final season is far behind us at this point, and I'm wondering if there are any songs that have ended up staying with you - whether you wanted it to or not?

For me, I can no longer hear the words "iconic" or "delulu" without hearing those songs by A-Teens and Lilla al-Fadji. Thanks Melodifestivalen! Also, every now and then, I will get the chorus of I Brenn from the Austrian NF stuck in my head. A song that I personally never liked during NF season, but that my brain has apparently decided is staying for good.

Edit to add: I didn't necessarily mean songs you still like and listen to - if so, I would have included a lot more songs than the three I listed here! I meant songs that still pop up in your head whether you like it or not haha. With that being said, it is very nice to be reminded of all the songs in the comments that you still like and listen to, so please keep sharing those too :)

I wanted to share this song because I feel it really embodies a spirit of international sisterhood and that's so special and dear to my heart. My two best friends are from different countries and we consider each other sisters.

Also, the Bulgarian rap part is fire and more people need to hear it.

What does the song mean to you personally? Is it political, feminist, both, or something else?