Talk About Tennis 2.0

Well, we are about 1 month from the Eurovision Song Contest, so I figured it's time to post the songs for those who are interested.

I will start with the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom) and last year's winner, Sweden. All of these get automatic entry to the Grand Final on Saturday, May 11.

Eurovision is doing something a little different this year. Each of the Big 5 nations plus Sweden will perform in the semifinals--but no one will be able to vote for them.

Of the Big 5 plus Sweden, Germany, Sweden, and United Kingdom will perform in Semifinal 1. France, Italy, and Spain will perform in Semifinal 2.

So let's get started in the next post!

First up is Germany. This is a live version from the national final.

Here is the entry from the host nation and last year's winner, Sweden. These are twin brothers from Norway. This is live from the Swedish national selection.

Here is the entry from United Kingdom. It's Olly Alexander.

Here is the entry from France. It was the first song announced this year. This is a live version performed in Paris.

Here is the entry from Italy. It has been a long time since Italy sent a woman to represent them. Fun fact: She fell while performing the song on the final night of the competition. No one cared. Sanremo, as always, is a brutally difficult contest to win. But Angelina Mango emerged the winner.

If you put any stock in the Eurovision Bubble, this song is the favorite to win.

And last of the Big 5 + Sweden, we have Spain. FYI, "Zorra" is an extremely derogatory word for women in Spain. Nebulossa is reclaiming it. This is the final live performance from the Benidorm national selection.

Next we have the participants in Semifinal 1 eligible for voting. I will present them in the order they will perform in Semifinal 1. Fifteen countries will perform in Semifinal 1. The top 10--determined exclusively by televote, no juries--will advance to the Grand Final.

First in Semifinal 1 is Cyprus. Fun fact: The singer is 17 years old.

Next in Semifinal 1 will be Serbia. It was a strong national selection. This is Teya Dora's performance live in the national final.

Next is Lithuania. It is sung in Lithuanian. This is also live from the national final.

Next, we have Ireland. The artist is Bambi Thug, and the pronoun is "they". This is a radical and risky departure for Ireland, and I'm here for it.

Fasten your seatbelt.

I'm not posting the live version from the national selection. The sound was awful for everyone. But they can definitely perform this well live.

And here is Ukraine--an early favorite to win. It's currently fourth among the oddsmakers, which will continue to change. This is live from the national selection.

This is the selection from Poland. This was NOT the fan favorite.

This is the entry from Croatia. Until about a week ago, this was the favorite to win with oddsmakers. The artist, Baby Lasagna, was not even originally part of the national selection. He only got into the Dora selection because someone else withdrew. And he won Dora in a landslide. He won more televotes in the final than all other artists COMBINED.

There are good live versions of this, but the music video tells the story behind this song best.