Eurovision 2019 Top 5

Happy Friday! If you are  a fellow European, then you'll probably be aware that it's almost time for the biggest music event across the continent, the Eurovision Song Contest! The final will take place on 18th May, this Saturday, and will host performances from 26 countries, all hoping to be the winner of this years contest. It is being held in Tel Aviv, the second biggest city in Israel, as they won in 2018- yes, there are a few non-European countries that compete :) A lot of people across Europe tune in to watch the grand finale, but not everyone knows about the semi finals, which happen during the week leading up to the contest. Forty-one countries entered for 2019, and six of those go automatically into the final. These six include the host country's song and the songs of what fans called 'The Big 5'- the countries that make the most financial contributions to the ESC: Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Spain. All of the remaining entrants were split amongst two semi final's, seventeen in one and eighteen in the other. Only ten acts make through at the end of each semi final! This always means that us Eurofans might lose some of our most beloved songs T_T The semi finals are very stressful indeed! 

Whenever I've blogged about Eurovision in the past, I've discussed all of my favourite contenders of the year whether they've made it to the final or not, but this time round I chose to wait until the qualifiers were decided, and to talk to you guys about my Top 5 of the lot :) I hope you all enjoy reading, and that I can bring some wonderful new music into your lives! And you should all totally watch the finale, because the ESC is fabulous and is the only contest in the world where you will get such a mix of genres and styles, and multiple cultures and languages coming together ♥ It's AMAZING! 

Norway

KEIINO- 'Spirit in the Sky'

This song has been my absolute favourite entry since all of the participating countries' songs were released, and I was so relieved when they made it through Semi Final 2 yesterday... I literally screamed and managed to scare the dog XD I just love everything about the song! My favourite part has to be the traditional Sami vocals and lyrics, because they are so unique and I am a big fan of traditional/ethnic folk music. I also really like how upbeat the song is, with it being a mix of electropop and dance. It makes me feel so uplifted after I've listened to it! 

One of the singers in Keiino, Alexandra Rotan has an especially lovely and sweet voice, which is another reason why I love this song. The imagery in the official music video and in their staging, of the Northern Lights is very appealing to me, and gives the song an overall magical feel. The song even mentions fairies at one point, so you can bet the fantasy fan in me fell in love with the song because of this, as well as because of the animals in the band's logo. I have even gotten myself some cute little ears to wear in support of Norway, when I go to my best friend's Eurovision party tomorrow! 

Iceland

Hatari- 'Hatrið mun sigra'

This song is another that has been one of my favourites from the moment I heard it; its had to hold 2nd place for me just because of my love for Keiino's song, but it is very close to being joint 1st place to be honest! The genre of the song is right up my street, and is my preferred type of music in general, however we don't usually get much metal/rock/punk songs entering the Eurovision. I have Finland's 2006 entry, 'Hard Rock Hallelujah' by Lordi to thank for kickstarting my love for the contest back when I was in my early teens :) 

This song is so epic! It is a mix of electro-dance music and rock, so it's no surprise that I adore it (I am also a big fan of electro-dance music). The beautiful chorus sang by band member Klemens is so unique-sounding, I don't know how to describe what I think about it... it almost sounds surreal and otherworldly; I don't know if that makes sense but have a listen to see for yourself if you get what I mean XD The verses are very powerful and I love that it is performed in Icelandic. 

As far as the aesthetic goes, Hatari are considered to be rather controversial as they bring BDSM to the stage, and their performance and overall look is very leather/latex/bondage-filled. If you've been a regular reader of my blog for a while, you will likely have seen some of my posts related to my own sexual preferences and being into BDSM, so as you can imagine, Hatari certainly appeals to me, with their style being both kink-orientated and alternative. It's refreshing to see something different entering the contest, especially when it gets so many people talking about taboo topics and I like that Hatari are 'breaking the mould', so to speak! 

Sweden

John Lundvik- 'Too Late For Love'

Every year, my friends & I get together to watch the Swedish National finals for their Eurovision pre-selection, where the country decides who they will send to the finale to represent them. We are usually very invested in the Melodifestivalen shows (the name for the Swedish pre-selection), and watch all six shows! This year my favourite to win for Sweden was John Lundvik and I was thrilled when he won! I am so happy that he made it through the semi final stage and will be performing his beautiful song in Tel Aviv tomorrow night :) 

The song itself is fabulous! The voices of John accompanied by his amazing backing-vocalists, 'The Mamas', are stunning and sound so perfect together! The lyrics of the song have a classic theme, are very relatable and have a feel-good vibe about them! 'Too Late For Love' is another song that makes me feel really happy after listening to it, it is very soulful. I cannot help singing along at the top of my lungs. John himself is also gorgeous ;) I think this song has a very good chance of winning the show tomorrow; it is certainly high up in the odds. 

Switzerland

Luca Hänni- 'She Got Me'

One of the main reasons why I love this song is because of charisma of the singer, Luca Hänni. He has such a cheeky persona, and just comes across on stage like he's got swag :D haha, I never thought I'd use that word in a sentence! But yeah, the way he dances just puts me in the mood to dance myself and makes the song that much more entertaining! The lyrics are upbeat and it is the perfect song to party to, so I can't wait to hear it during the finals at the Eurovision party I'm attending. I guarantee that drunk me will hear it and think that I am the best dancer ever as I attempt to dance along with Luca XD

Spain

Miki- 'La Venda'

This song is just so fun! It instantly makes me want to jump up and down along with Miki and his dancers. It's so energetic and another song that just screams party time!! I really love that it is performed in Spanish, and I wish that all the songs entered were sung in their native language to be honest. The message of the lyrics is wonderful; the title 'La Venda' translates to 'the blindfold' and the song is about removing the blindfold that is prejudice and hate, to find happiness and love for others and yourself. It's a spectacular song and it has that summer-time feel to it, which just spreads joy to all who hear it! 

So those of my Top 5 favourite entries that have qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest this year and will be performing in the final (although Spain is one of the 'Big 5' that I mentioned previously, so they went straight into the final!). They are all brilliant songs and I will be routing for all of them tomorrow, especially Norway, Iceland & Sweden! I thought I'd end my post by letting you guys know the other five songs that make up my Top 10, so that you can go and check those out if you want to :) In order: Chingiz- 'Truth' (Azerbaijan), Duncan Laurence- 'Arcade' (The Netherlands), Lake Malawi- 'Friend of a Friend' (Czech Republic), Sergey Lazarev- 'Scream' (Russia), and Victor Crone- 'Storm' (Estonia). 

I also want to mention another song that was absolutely robbed and didn't qualifier for the finals, and would have definitely been in my Top 5 if it did! And that is Hungary's entry 'Az én apám' by Joci Pápai. It's such a lovely song and Joci, who has performed at the Eurovision finals before, has such a stunning voice, so I can't recommend his music enough :) Let me know guys which was your favourite song that I've featured in today's post; I'd love to hear your opinions!

Thankyou for reading! 

♥ 

Do you watch the Eurovision Song Contest?

If so, do you also watch the Semi Finals? 

What was your favourite song from last year's contest? 


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