!!!DISCLAIMER!!!
This post contains opinions. Many will probably differ from yours. If that will offend you, feel free to go on with your day without reading.
🇦🇱ALBANIA🇦🇱
Elvana Gjata - “Me tana”
I’ve been back and forth between “Me tana” and “Shaj” all season, but overall, Elvana’s fun, radio-friendly bop just has more replay value than Arilena’s more standard power ballad. I can definitely understand why “Shaj” won the Albanian jurors over, but Albania missed out on an entry that could contend for the win.
🇦🇲ARMENIA🇦🇲
Pre-revamp: Vladimir Arzumanyan - “What’s Going On Mama”
Post-revamp: Athena Manoukian - “Chains On You”
In a lackluster final, Vladimir’s performance really stood out from the rest, including the pre-revamp mess that was “Chains On You”. After the recent revamp, however, something about Athena’s ethnic-infused song just really came together for me.
🇦🇺AUSTRALIA🇦🇺
Montaigne - “Don’t Break Me”
Montaigne’s interesting piece of indie-pop made a big splash in the bag of stereotypical radio-safe pop ballads that was Australia Decides 2020. The live performance definitely needed improvement, but the vocal performance and overall package was still strong even with a flawed presentation on the night, which was enough to push it to the top of my list.
🇧🇾BELARUS🇧🇾
Parade of Planets & Platon - “Pour lui”
The fact that this refreshing piece of pop didn’t qualify in the trainwreck that was the Belarussian final is a tragedy. This had everything that minimalist pop needs to succeed at Eurovision, with sleek production and a simple yet interesting melodic line.
🇭🇷CROATIA🇭🇷
Damir Kedzo - “Divlji Vjetre”
A massively underrated song this year. It’s definitely not a winner by any means, but it was definitely in contention for a dark horse qualification this year, despite its placement in the stronger semi.
🇨🇿CZECH REPUBLIC🇨🇿
Karelll - “At Least We Tried”
If I’m being honest, my winner here is essentially “anything but Kemama”. Czechia had an extremely strong national selection this year, and they chose the worst song from it to represent them on an international level. Out of this strong selection, Karelll’s offering stands out to me. The vocal is great and the contemplative tone of the song really resonates with me for some reason.
🇩🇰DENMARK🇩🇰
SamSara - “For You”
How did this not even qualify? With this missing out on the final and “Ville Onske Jeg Havde Kendt Dig” needing a wildcard to even make it through, I seriously have to question the pre-selection. SamSara and Emil really stood out to me in what I thought was a strong selection, but of the two, SamSara’s fun, ethnic pop just barely edges out Emil’s more relaxed, peaceful offering for my top spot.
🇪🇪ESTONIA🇪🇪
Jaagup Tuisk - “Beautiful Lie”
Estonia… you had this beauty and you let it slip away. It’s made even worse by the fact that without the superfinal, Jaagup would have been headed for Rotterdam. “Beautiful Lie” takes all the best parts of “Arcade” and combines them with a stunning music video and an amazing live performance. The Estonian public really fucked it up this year.
🇫🇮FINLAND🇫🇮
Aksel Kankaanranta - “Looking Back”
I really didn’t enjoy much of what UMK had to offer this year, but of the bunch, “Looking Back” was the one I found most tolerable.
🇮🇸ICELAND🇮🇸
Nina - “Echo”
I always knew that this probably wouldn’t win, given Iceland’s love for unique and out-of-the-box entries, but although this may be a safe pop song, that’s part of what I love about it. It doesn’t try too hard to be different, and because of that it hits a nice balance between traditional pop and that Icelandic sound we’ve come to know at Eurovision.
🇮🇱ISRAEL🇮🇱
Eden Alene - All of them
I genuinely can’t pick a favorite here. I might be able to eliminate “Savior in the Sound”, but Israel’s finally found a national selection formula that works. They found an amazing singer, and then gave her four completely different, but equally competitive songs to work with, and the result was amazing. I honestly think that any of these four songs could have done very well at Eurovision for completely different reasons. Please Israel, bring back this format for 2022!
🇮🇹ITALY🇮🇹
Elodie - “Andromeda”
I’ve never followed Sanremo very closely, but this year Elodie really caught my ear. That’s all I really have to say here.
🇱🇻LATVIA🇱🇻
Elizabete Gaite - “For You”
I’m ready for the Samanta Tina stans to attack me. I really enjoyed a lot of Supernova’s entries this year, and “For You” managed to rise to the top. I wish this had qualified, because I think I’d have a better idea of how this would do if I could see how they’d stage it, but as it stands, this was my standout of Supernova.
🇱🇹LITHUANIA🇱🇹
Monique - “Make Me Human”
Lithuania had one of the strongest selections of the year, and my winner changes depending on when you ask me, but right now, it’s Monique. Between this, “If I Leave”, “Alligator”, “Far”, and “Namu dvasias”, Lithuania was set up for success from the start.
🇲🇩MOLDOVA🇲🇩
Pasha Parfeny - “My Wine”
In an abysmal selection, “My Wine”, “Die For You”, and “Wildfires” stand out. Of the three, Pasha sold his song the best live and had the most potential for success in Rotterdam.
🇳🇴NORWAY🇳🇴
Kristen Husoy - “Pray for Me”
My winner for MGP has changed at least 5 times this season, both during and after the final, but I think I’ve finally settled. “Pray for Me” is an interesting song that can’t really be pinned to one genre, but I feel like the best way to describe it is dark country? I don’t know, but whatever it is, this song peaked at the exact right moment and almost went all the way to Rotterdam. Too bad it didn’t.
🇵🇱POLAND🇵🇱
Albert Cerny - “Lucy”
Even though I absolutely love “Empires”, something about “Lucy” really just clicked with me in a way that “Empires” just didn’t match.
🇵🇹PORTUGAL🇵🇹
Elisa - “Medo de Sentir”
I absolutely hated most of the Portuguese selection this year, but from the dumpster fire emerged the only Portuguese entry I’ve ever actually enjoyed.
🇷🇴ROMANIA🇷🇴
Roxen - “Storm”
Romania, like Israel, produced 4 very strong songs with the potential to do well at Eurovision (yes, I said 4), but of the bunch, “Storm” stands out. It’s a fun, empowering anthem about taking control of your own life, which I think we all need right now.
🇷🇸SERBIA🇷🇸
Andrija Jo - “Oci Meduze”
I loved “Hasta la Vista”, but there was just no synergy between the three of them, and “Oci Meduze” showed a lot more staging potential at the final. It’s also just a much more current, interesting song in my opinion.
🇸🇮SLOVENIA🇸🇮
Lina Kuduzovic - “Man Like U”
Everything else from the Slovenian selection sucked and that’s that on that.
🇸🇪SWEDEN🇸🇪
Anna Bergendahl - “Kingdom Come”
Anna took everything that was great about “Ashes to Ashes” (which tied for my Melfest winner last year), turned it up to 11, and added amazingly dynamic staging to tie the whole thing together. If Anna could find a way to bridge the gap and appeal to younger Swedish viewers, she could make some serious waves on her return to Eurovision.
🇺🇦UKRAINE🇺🇦
Elina Ivaschenko - “Get Up”
We already knew Elina could serve some amazing vocals, so seeing her write something like this was just the icing on the cake for me. Absolutely amazing and robbed of a spot in the final.
