By Matthew Iveson
Greetings Everyone! Welcome to the most exciting time of the year, the Eurovision song contest 2023! If you didn’t quite release just yet, this year is an extra special one, as the United Kingdom get to host the contest in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine. In this article, I will be discussing which songs (in my humble opinion) have the best chance of winning the contest.
7. Czechia: Vesna – My Sister’s Crown
Czechia’s entry for Eurovision 2023 is an anthemic, inspirational and powerful song about sisterhood and its importance. However, this is just the surface meaning. When you look at the visuals, and the song’s lyrics divided into four languages, you release there are many different meanings, one of those being sisterhood between countries, with the lyrics like ‘we stand for you’ representing how they support Ukraine. In addition, it combines genres of pop, rap and folk with heavenly harmonies to create an auditory feast.
6. Serbia: Luke Black - Samo mi se Spava
Luke’s song discusses themes of anxiety in the world from after the 2020 global pandemic, but also goes deeper by saying the anxiety stems from greater issues such as war and destruction. He just wants to ‘sleep forever’ in order to not witness these terrible things, but recognises action must be taken to stop global tragedy, which means facing the horrors. It’s presented in an electronic, dark-pop vibe with videogame visuals to represent that the world is not a game, but something bigger to everyone. This song’s atmospheric soundscape, strong beat and thought-provoking message should allow it to score highly with both the jury and televote.
5. Austria: Teya and Selena – Who the hell is Edgar?
This song is fun, quirky and most importantly, a bop! It has an earworm of a hook, as well as a whole lot of attitude and personality from the sassy duo Teya and Selena. The song references many current topics such as song writers not getting credit and the tragedy streaming has become for artists. These topics show that fun songs can have deep messages.
4. Spain: Blanca Paloma – EAEA
Mysterious, enchanting and spectacular are all words to describe Blanca Paloma’s song, ‘EAEA’. The song is entirely in Spanish, which adds authenticity in buckets to this package. As a song alone it is not amazing, however when paired with its epic staging, it becomes magic, creating the most traditional and stunning performances of the year which draws the viewer in for the full three minutes and leaves you spellbound. This entry is a serious contender, especially with how the jury appreciates outstanding vocals and a completely original song.
3. Israel: Noa Kirel – Unicorn
‘Noa’s a star!’, are the three words I declared after watching her music video for ‘Unicorn’ for the first time. It’s a pop ballad, dance music and K-pop all mixed into one. It’s a song that continues to build until the climax, and the end has a stellar dance break. The lyrics are about having to stand out from the crowd, alone, but to keep on shining and never give up (just like a unicorn). This entry has the potential to become a massive audience hit and go viral globally due to its accessibility to many audiences, and also because the staging is something to look out for.
2. Finland: Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha
Only two words can describe this song, as described by Käärijä himself, it’s ‘crazy party’, because this song is all about the Eurovision party. It’s a song about the different stages of going on a night out which progresses into fun and bliss, both feelings reflected in the middle-eighth, which turns full pop anthem. His trademark neon green spiky costume perfectly encapsulates his quirky personality as well as reflecting the nature of the song itself. This could win Eurovision with a landslide public vote such as with Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine last year, but will it get the jury support?
1. Sweden: Loreen - Tattoo
A legend returns… That’s right the winner of Eurovision 2012, the great Loreen, is competing again this year with her stellar song ‘Tattoo’. This is a pop ballad fuelled by emotional vocals and precise choreography, paired with a costume that brings elements of the 2022 film ‘Dune’ and New York fashion week together. The song describes how Loreen will do anything possible to get back with her true love and how she feels stuck on them ‘like a tattoo’. This is a serious contender to win with both jury and televote support and is definitely one to watch.
This brings me to the end of my list of possible Eurovision winners, however there are many other songs that could potentially win as the contest is all to play for, right up until the winner is crowned!