Round 2! Let’s take a look at Käärijä (Finland), Reiley (Denmark), Teya & Salena (Austria), Wild Youth (Ireland), Noa Kirel (Israel), and Mae Muller (United Kingdom). These songs couldn’t be any more different from each other. How fun!
Lyrics: I’m better now, I burned the bridge
How do people write the most profound lyrics and still make it catchy? Teya & Salena managed to write a song about how criminally underpaid songwriters are and disguised it as a happy dance song. Pay these girls for their hard work, please! But you know who else wrote a song? Mae Muller, that’s who. She might be my new frontrunner for the contest. Based on the title of the song, I thought it was gonna be really corny, but she totally spun the song in a fun direction. While we’re on the topic of titles, let’s talk about “Unicorn” by Noa Kirel. It bothers me that she just said “I’m a unicorn” and didn’t elaborate. I know it’s implied that unicorns are special and beautiful, but I feel like there was a missed opportunity to extend the metaphor. But hey, I wanna see her dance.
Music: Is this what it feels like to be in a mosh pit?
I remember watching a video of Käärijä after he had won UMK 2023. He was still wearing his intimidating costume but his voice was very kind. It was kinda funny and endearing to see. But it also makes sense why I got major whiplash listening to “Cha Cha Cha.” First I was assaulted by the buzzing synth and the aggressive rapping, but then the song turns into a dance party halfway through? He will be a crowd favourite, I just know it!
Vocals: I’m not scared to love you
Listening to Denmark’s entry reminded me of Troye Sivan’s music. It feels like something I would happily listen to on my commute. Sadly, it doesn’t really sound like a winner for the Eurovision Song Contest. I usually expect songs with more of a spectacle to take home the trophy. “Breaking My Heart” just doesn’t feel “competitive” enough, as much as I love it. I feel like “We Are One” by Wild Youth has the opposite problem to this. I personally found the song to be a bit corny, but I bet it will sound amazing live, like “Hope” by Stefan. Best of luck to both songs, though!
Check out all of the entries reviewed here: