DISCLAIMER: this is not my actual top 26, this is the top 26 of my personal top 10 of each semi-final and the automatic qualifiers. the semi NQ'ers can be seen in my other blogs.
so with that, let's ride! #eurovision
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26. France - Tom Leeb - The Best In Me
41/41
Has a song ever made you fall asleep? Bc this one did that to me. Urgh. He's a nice singer, but this song has zero redeeming qualities to me.
25. Spain - Blas Canto - Universo.
40/41
I feel like I've heard this before and it's not that endearing. Sorry, Spain, but he does have a great voice. Maybe he'll send something better next year.
24. Germany - Ben Dolic - Violent Thing
33/41
Oops! This isn't my kind of thing. It's a pop song with a male vocal, and even then the male vocal isn't that great to me. It doesn't do much.
23. United Kingdom - James Newman - My Last Breath
31/41
The UK really gave us as much hype as they did for this entry and then gave us a watered-down version of any "gospel" male song from the past few years. He's a nice vocalist, though, so it's a shame.
22. Italy - Diodato - Fai Rumore
30/41
I'm a sucker for a ballad but there's something about this I can't get my head around to be able to listen to. It's a nice ballad but it doesn't do much for me. I kinda wish it did, though.
I like this entry. I think it's beautiful and he has a nice voice. However, outside of that, it doesn't do anything else for me.
at this point, my top 20 aligns with the top 20 here so i'm going to stop the /41 ranks.
20. San Marino - Senhit - Freaky
I like this. I think the other song she had to choose from was much better, but alas. I think it's funky and Senhit performs it well. But there's not much else.
19. Azerbaijan - Samira - Cleopatra
And the award for most hilarious song process goes to this one. I am FLOORED that this was rejected by Azerbaijan, claimed for Senhit, and then Azerbaijan said "WAIT NO". The straight/gay/bi or whatever lyric is ironic considering its coming from this country. But I do enjoy the song. It has a nice beat. Senhit's version that leaked is better though lol.
18. Ireland - Lesley Roy - Story Of My Life
The early 2010's called and I am here to take said call. I really like the vibe this song has and it's "acceptance" message. This is what happens when a person in the LGBTQ+ community makes a song with an acceptance message and does it RIGHT. (take notes, writers of cleopatra and taylor swift!)
17. Australia - Montaigne - Don't Break Me
It's a nice pop song. After seeing her performance concept on Twitter, I could see this going up a few spots. However, Montaigne could do SO MUCH BETTER. This song suffers from being written by the same two writers who have written most of Australia's entries in the past years. Sound of Silence was nice and was saved by Dami Im's talent. Don't Come Easy sucked ass. We Got Love was okay. This is the best of the DNA songs in my opinion, but still.
16. Israel - Eden Alene - Feker Libi
The beginning is such a SERVE. I love the use of the kalimba in this song and the multiple languages. However, outside of these things, it's dated. It's listenable, but it's still dated to me.
15. Albania - Arilena Ara - Fall From The Sky
Well. Shaj was literally nautical miles better than this, but this is what Arilena gave us. I don't particularly like the production on this revamp. It's a bit muffled to me? Her vocals do shine through, and I think that this could have even potentially flopped live. This is also a big "fuck you" to the juror that tanked Me Tana for not having an Albanian sound just for the FiK winner to make it an English pop ballad.
14. Malta - Destiny - All Of My Love
Destiny can SANG. I think she carries this song to this position based on that alone. The song isn't my taste, but it's still nice to listen to. I hope her return next year means a SERVE.
13. Poland - Alicija Szemplinska - Empires
I am a sucker for a bond ballad. Alicija is such a good singer and this is a very good ballad to me. It has a nice build and it's a song I'd personally perform. Honestly, most of these after this point are.
12. Armenia - Athena Manoukian - Chains On You
This song is a mess. In the best way possible. At first, I didn't particularly like it. The revamp came and I liked it a bit more. And then my brain started going "CHAINS AWN CHAINS AWN YEW IMMA PUT EM BOY CHAINS AWN CHAINS AWN YEW" and the rest is history. Not ashamed, but not proud of this.
11. Greece - Stefania - Superg!rl
COLOSSAL serve. Stefania did NOT disappoint and I KNOW she's not going to disappoint next year on her return. I love the Greek touch this song has.
10. The Netherlands - Jeangu Macrooy - Grow
Every year, there is a song in the contest that makes me sob uncontrollably for different reasons. In 2017, we had Amar Pelos Dois. In 2018, we had When We're Old In 2019, we had Limits. This year, we have Grow. This self-reflective "grow" song (songs that build to a point and end), builds in such a way that is heartfelt and does everything right. I am ELATED Jeangu is returning next year. I hope it's as good as this, though.
9. Portugal - Elisa - Medo De Sentir
This is so damn beautiful. As I have established, I am a sucker for a ballad, especially a ballad sung by a woman. I love the Portuguese language on top of this, and together it makes a very beautiful entry.
8. Belgium - Hooverphonic - Release Me
It's too bad that some of the members of this band (that aren't the singer) kinda suck as people, AND they dont like this song that much. This is a beautiful song and it's instrumentation helps lead this song to where it's going. This is another song I'd perform.
7. Slovenia - Ana Soklic - Voda
VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Holy fucking shit, can you say UNDERRATED? This song is so fucking amazing, and Ana is an amazing singer. The production of this song is DELICIOUS. The beats with the orchestration, the water droplet sounds scattered around the song. I'm SO GLAD she's returning.
6. Bulgaria - Victoria - Tears Getting Sober.
Before you contemplate, yes, I do like Billie Eilish's music. I'm A SUCKER for an orchestral piece. It's ethereal, pretty, great lyrics, and that clarinet at the end just seals the deal for me. <3
5. Moldova - Natalia Gordienko - Prison
FUCKING SUE ME. I LOVE the percussion in this song. It does sound dated, but the production is just so good that I can't not love it. It's cheesy as hell, but I like it and thats what counts here!
4. Romania - Roxen - Alcohol You
Yeah. It's another ballad. Sure, some of the lyrics are less than stellar, but the production is great and Roxen's voice is AMAZING.
3. Norway - Ulrikke - Attention
And the award for the best ballad and vocals of the year goes to Ulrikke. Everything about this is just DELICIOUS. Her voice, the production, the instrumentation, the performance. I'm OBSESSED.
2. Ukraine - Go-A - Solovey
UKRAINABOOS RISE UP. I love the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian folk music, so it only seems correct that this is here. It's an absolute BOP and it survived revamps that could have taken away from the song itself. This is a CLASSIC and I'm glad they're returning for 2021.
1. Latvia - God Herself - Still Breathing
CHAOTIC BOP. Imagining this song with SOPHIE or A.G. Cook production has me feeling a type of way. She's a performer. This is such a fucking delicious song. The drop is KILLER, the production is AMAZING, the overall package is just a delicious treat and again, the drop is just the cherry on top. I'm SO FUCKING HAPPY she's returning for 2021. I can't wait to see what she offers next year.
