MONTENEGRO 2026

The Montenegrin act and song was chosen on 21st December through the national final "Montesong". A winner was declared after adding equally weighted jury and public points. Going to Vienna is Tamara Živković with the song "Nova zora" (New Dawn)

This entry exercises a good mix of modern pop tropes, Balkan spirit and choral chanting. Tamara's song relays the idea of turning over a new leaf, starting over again or putting a full stop after bad times. Tamara, and her backing dancers, are dressed in black outfits with bondage buckle overlays. The choreography is rather repetitive - mirroring the stuttering beats - and mostly quite gestural. This keeps the visual energetic but also keeps Tamara's breath in check when she needs to sing. The background, albeit very simple, turns during the span of the song black to red then ending in blue. Added to this this are the occasional overlay of symbols and the name of the song.  Her ensemble also mimes along with the chanting and creates more drama and emotion on the screen through their facial expressions. It seems to be leaning into the some of the themes from entries such as "Wasted Love", "Poison Cake" and "Gaia".

The lack of atmosphere in the room doesn't help nor hinder the live performance although Tamara & Co. work well to create enough theatrics to keep the viewer interested. Her voice carries well but will be under much more scrutiny during the contest. I enjoy the sound of the language which seems to lend itself to the theatrical essence. This entry has a good starting point but I feel a lot needs to be worked on to make this something that will stand out and be worthy of votes in May.

ARTIST - Tamara Živković

SONG - Nova zora

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Boris Subotić

ALBANIA 2026

The Albanian act and song was chosen on 21st December through the 64th edition of their annual song contest "Festivali i Këngës". The selection of their Eurovision representative was made through a combination of jury and televoting. Going to Vienna will be Alis with the song "Nân" (Mother)

The song, staging and camera work leans into the dramatic; balancing somewhere between a melancholic Balkan ballad and a dark operatic aria. The song’s theme relays the conflicting emotions of a mother who is saying goodbye to her child(ren) leaving the family home. Alis’ outfit gives off a “steampunk pallbearer” vibe yet the addition of dark sunglasses seems not to stop his charisma and emotion coming through the screen. Throughout the song he holds a pocket watch on a chain which he nudges towards the audience at times. The spiralling not-so-steadycam work emphasises the themes of abandonment, desertion and loneliness but this also makes Alis the centre of the song allowing his strength - and the songs power - to shine. As a negative, the dark aura on screen makes Alis hard to pick out but changes can easily be made to rectify this. Alis has a powerhouse of a vocal and this song brings to the fore his dexterity to show strength and fragility simultaneously without an exaggerated physicality.

The local crowd is audibly and visibly gung-ho for this song, which was the pre-show favourite before the festival began. Something this dramatic and artistic is bound to do well with the Albanian diaspora at home and with any vocal technicians in the jury. There will need to be some editing to the song length – but not too much – and to the visual notes of the production. This is a very competent entry, encompassing an ethnic energy and anthemic chorus, and should do well when May comes. 

ARTIST - Alis
SONG - Nân
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Erjet Barbullushi, Desara Gjini, Alis Kallaçi

Eurovision 2026

Good day and a very festive hello to one and all reading this post.

Although I am feeling rather festive, it has not been the happiest of times for Eurovision fans and followers. Some saw the writing on the wall in May 2024 as mismanagement, poor organisation and political vote escalation soured the fandom's enjoyment. I won't over-repeat or regurgitate what has happened in EBU Ivory Towers since JJ's welcome win in May, but needless to say the lack of action from management and the statements regarding what they describe as 'events' have been out-of-touch and frankly spineless. Former ESC contestants and winners distancing themselves from the contest and high-profile countries boycotting the show makes one wonder who the contest is really for and what the powers-that-be regard as the integral heart of the show.

With a smattering of national finals occurring in 2025, I needed to decide what to do with this blog. Many Eurovision websites have decided to give this year a miss; some prominent followers have taken up alternative projects and pursued new things in the long term: others have severed ties completely. I feel so very very sad and empty. It is wrong that a creation founded on bringing people together now makes people feel they cannot be associated with the show and decisions (by people who really should know better) are pulling the community apart. ESC has been a part of my life since forever and on a purely selfish level, I just can't let go that easily. I have found it a wonderful platform to keep in touch with all our favourite (and not so favourite) television channels as well as discovering and rediscovering names in the 'local' music scenes. Yes, changes have been made to the Eurovision semis/final production AND to the voting procedures but part of me feels it won't be enough.

To cut a long story short, I will be reviewing the selected Eurovision songs in 2026 albeit in a condensed form. Similarly, the podcast reviews format will be rejigged anyway depending on the amount of countries that decide to actually appear in May. 

With all that said, our ALBUMBLE podcast will continue as ever with the odd Eurovision influence every so often. 

Enjoy the ESC250 on NYE and I'll be writing the first reviews, right here, in January.

https://www.instagram.com/things.anngrace/

FARTY OR PARTY 2025

It's the wrong time of year to be judging Eurovision songs (although national final season is already in full swing) but it *is* the right time for looking at this year's Junior Eurovision offerings!!!

This year's JESC is being held in Georgia after they won the title (again) in 2024 and were given first refusal of hosting. A few countries have withdrawn but a few have also re-joined giving us a reasonable show of 18 songs. Although the songs showcase a range of genres and singing styles, the cast list (bar Cyprus) contains solo singers which is disappointing. This may reflect the state of the music scene and the proliferation of solo acts over groups as well as indicating the strictness of personnel and monetary budgets delegations have to spend on the project.

By the time we started this podcast project, the running order had been set so we used this official order to structure our reviews rather than a random pick from a hat. Then at the end of the final episode, we judge which of the four heat winners is our Winner of Winners!

Episode 1)

1 Malta - Eliza Borg "I Believe"

2 Azerbaijan - Yağmur "Miau miau"

3 Croatia - Marino Vrgoč "Snovi"

4 San Marino - Martina Crv "Beyond the Stars"

https://albumble.podbean.com/e/farty-or-party-2025-ep1/

Episode 2)

5 Armenia - Albert    "Brave Heart"

6 Ukraine - Sofiia Nersesian    "Motanka"

7 Ireland - Lottie O'Driscoll Murray    "Rúin"

8 Netherlands - Meadow    "Freeze"

9 Poland - Marianna Kłos    "Brightest Light"

https://albumble.podbean.com/e/farty-or-party-2025-ep2/

Episode 3)

10     North Macedonia - Nela Mančeska   "Miracle"

11     Montenegro - Asja Džogović   "I tužna i srećna priča"

12     Italy - Leonardo Giovanangeli   "Rockstar"

13     Portugal - Inês Gonçalves   "Para onde vai o amor?"

14     Spain - Gonzalo Pinillos   "Érase una vez (Once Upon a Time)" https://albumble.podbean.com/e/farty-or-party-2025-ep3/ 

Episode 4)

15 Georgia - Anita Abgariani   "Shine Like a Star"

16 Cyprus - Rafaella & Christos   "Away"

17 France - Lou Deleuze   "Ce monde"

18 Albania - Kroni Pula   "Fruta perime"

https://albumble.podbean.com/e/farty-or-party-2025-ep4/ 

ESC Armchair @ BBC Bristol!

 Ann appeared as a telephone guest for a quick 10 minute chat before the grand final

Enjoy !

You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details/bbcbristol-escarmchair-1005

Ann was also on the Sunday after the grand final to talk about all the fall out !!!

You can download or listen to it here https://archive.org/details//BBCBristol-1805

SOA 2025

It's that time again!!! Six episodes of us trying to make sense of Eurovision 2025

We roll back the clock to this time last year and try to pick up the pieces - yes it's been a year but yes IT STILL HURTS!!!! In the intro, we look at some of the tropes and memes we have to look forward to as well as some of the underlying themes this year's bunch seem to subscribe to and which countries are in our bad books... We review *most* of this year's songs and give them a score from Parasite to Meteorite!

The winner of each podcast will go through to the 'Champions of Champions'  round to see what our favourite of the year is AND if we really think it has any chance of winning! (almost certainly not)

You can also play the shows directly from this blogpost OR you stream/download the shows from your podcast place of choice - including Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, Apple and many many more! If you can, please subscribe to the feed or share the links on your social media, as this will help more people find the Eurovision review podcasts. Remember, once Eurovision is over we will be back with the normal feed so why not explore as the rest of the ALBUMBLE back catalogue while you wait....? There is some Eurovision/adjacent music in there too!!! https://albumble.podbean.com/

You can find and follow ALBUMBLE on twitter https://x.com/albumble 

Ann is contactable on Blue Sky anngrace.bsky.social and Instagram things.anngrace/

EPISODE ONE: HOLDEN'S CAULDRON

Azerbaijan, Belgium, Estonia, Poland & Switzerland 

Marmite

Those buildings looked frankly dirty

Whatever they are dancing to - isn't that song

No need for a violin

"That's what we do well"

EPISODE TWO: SWEEP FOR ESC 2026

Armenia, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia & Norway

"Swashbuckle" graphics

A fan of Blue Peter

Enya... on drugs

Shoving fags in his face

A niche to carve out

The Quantum Leap Soundtrack 

EPISODE THREE: AN EXPLANATION OF URINAL CAKES

Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Sweden & United Kingdom

A till from the Grace Brothers

They can no longer afford trousers

Is there a culture of Panto...?

Dear Finland - your problem

Do Polish people want to watch things about Henry VIII?

Normal Collier processing

EPISODE FOUR: DANCERS AND CYCLISTS CAN'T SING

Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal & Slovenia

Ammonite contempowaft
Greater than the sum of its parts
If Duncan Lawrence could write a song
Clean Bandit from Temu
It doesn’t have a leg to stand on… unfortunately
“Three riddles have I !”

EPISODE FIVE: THE YEAR OF THE PLINTH

Albania, France, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands & Serbia

He does all the film voiceovers
It's good - but it's not right
Under the auspices of Dr Evil
When are Liechtenstein doing Eurovision?
This was everything from Novelty Island - except for Graham Lister
A rollover vote...?

EPISODE SIX: MONOGRAMMED COMMODE

Australia, Ireland, Montenegro, San Marino, Spain & Ukraine

Not even Blümchen...

A performance they believe in

Just wish it went somewhere

Never knew Jimbo and the Jet Set were so popular

It *should* be a shoo-in

Not serving subtlety

In this final show, once we have our final show winner, we look at all six heat winners and try to decide who is our "champion of champions" who surely - almost definitely - will not be winning in Eurovision this year. What we tend to like and what Europe tends to like is becoming more and more mutually exclusive.

We hope you have enjoyed this Eurovision specials. We will be back bright-eyed and bushy tailed with the regular bi-monthly ALBUMBLE shows in June by reviewing Ann's choice of "Headquarters" by The Monkees ! 

Why not explore as the rest of the ALBUMBLE back catalogue while you wait...? Search for ALBUMBLE on your podcast player of choice including Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, Apple and many many more which there are links to via the main page

https://albumble.podbean.com/

FRANCE 2025

The French song was unveiled on March 15th with a live performance of the song during the half-time of the France V Scotland Six Nations rugby match at the Stade de France in Paris. January 2025, France Télévisions, announced their selected representative and the track would be released at a later date. Going to Basel is Louane with the song "maman" (mum)

Louane's real name is Anne Peichert; she is 29 years old and from the Pas-de-Calais region of France. Her first foray into talent shows was in 2009 when she took part in the second season of the show L'École des stars on the D8 channel. Four years later she was persuaded by Bruno Berberes to enter "The Voice: La Plus Belle Voix". Sadly her father died during the filming for the show but vowed to continue in his honour and got all the way to the semi-finals. A year later, her mother also died. She was spotted during The Voice by Éric Lartigau, who cast her in the lead role in his film "La Famille Bélier" which required her to learn sign language. She then won the César and Lumière Awards for Most Promising Actress for this role. Since then she has also participated in a number of film and TV roles as well as dubbing animated films such as Trolls and The Incredibles. In total, Louane has released 5 studio albums, 19 singles and 5 concert tours. Her music spans all the realms of French Pop from dance to chanson.

After an elongated introduction and set up to the show the song proper starts quite quickly with a rather long verse which goes straight into the chorus which repeats the title several times at the end. The second verse is a little shorter but this is followed by two renditions of the chorus, both with extended endings. The song finishes with a shortened chorus and a child's voice in the background saying 'maman'. Louane is wearing a long sleeved black dress studded with crystals which gently glitters. The Stadium is mostly in darkness with the lights of the crowd visible all around - a sight probably to be seen in the competition itself.

The reveal video, although grand, does not give us much idea as to what might be in store in Basel. The only thing I can fathom is that Louane may be static on stage with musicians around her. The song doesn't lend itself to much action on stage, apart from maybe some contemporary dancers. I have to admire Louane's tenacity, courage and control at being able to sing live in front of such a big, and possibly hostile audience (they were mainly there for the sport, not the Eurovision) as well as the nerve of singing so high in the air. There were some wobbles vocally but I feel that performing like this will make performing at Eurovision a breeze. Her concert experience will be invaluable when it comes to showing experience and stagecraft. The fact she is known across the Francophone world will help get votes from the jury and televote. The song feels like a female version of last year's entry which will give it some memorability. The tune is simple to remember and the repetition of 'maman' means even those with rudimentary French will get the gist. This is a nice ballad with a simplistic core and a pure heart but I wonder, compared with the entries around it, if it leaves the listener a little underwhelmed and wanting more.

ARTIST - Louane
SONG - maman
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Anne Peichert, Tristan Salvati

CYPRUS 2025

The Cypriot song was officially revealed on March 11th with the official video release. Way back in September 2024, the Cypriot delegation announced their internally selected representative and that the chosen track was being finalised and would be released at a later date. Going to Basel is Theo Evan with the song "Shh" 

Evangelos Theodorou (Theo Evan's real name) was born in Nicosia and started singing and dancing early on. He was in the school choir and took part in theatre and talent shows across the island. He studied at The English School in Nicosia and then went to Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied music and performance.  In 2021, he released his debut single "The Wall" and has released another 7 after this in the intervening years. Theo is the first Cypriot-born entrant to compete for Cyprus since 2017. His music is mostly in the genre of Mediterranean pop but he also encompasses harder dance genres, reggaetón and R&B.

The music video contains a mish mash of different themes which hinge on the mystery of pyramids and the secret within. It feels a bit Indiana Jones meets James Bond in a three minute video. The song follows a verse, pre chorus, chorus structure which is run through twice. The verses are syllabic, almost spoken and have a rather odd intonation to them. The pre-chorus has a slight Mediterranean/Middle Eastern sound which acts as a nice bridge between the styles following and preceding it. The chorus has a clearer timbre and uses long notes for the 'hush hush' part of the song and also expands into the higher register. Just after the two minute mark the song breaks down a little before going back to the outro which refers back to the end of the chorus. The instrumentation leans into the electronic and dance music genre, starting off rather mystical and trancey but by the second verse the beat has really kicks in.

This is one of the more "The Code" coded songs we have on this year's playlist. Although Theo does not have the vocal dexterity of Nemo, the fact that the song is made up of definable bits which are produced and sung in a particular fashion and the use of character and instrumentation to create interest and tension makes it feel that way. In a visual capacity I like the staging idea of people running around like assassins; I also like the idea of the pyramids as a mystical entity to keep secrets inside. In addition, having a pyramid on stage to sing on, jump off or run around might be an interesting take on Nemo's spinning top. The chorus is quite catchy but does go on a bit, plus the breakdown in the final minute breaks up the flow too much when there could be something more exciting happening. Personally I find the verses rather odd, in particular the description 'I've got golden locks' is a confusing beginning as you don't know who or what he is referring to. Maybe the riddle with be revealed during his performance? 

ARTIST - Theo Evan
SONG - Shh
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Linda Dale, Dimitris Kontopoulos, Lasse Nymann, Elsa Søllesvik, Elke Tiel

SWITZERLAND 2025

The Swiss song was officially revealed on March 10th with the official video release. A few days earlier, the Swiss delegation announced the act that would be the home performer. Going to Basel is Zoë Më with the song "Voyage" (Journey)

Zoë Alina Kressler is the person behind Zoë Më. She was actually born in Basel but spent most of her life in Fribourg. Here, she studied at La Gustav Academy which is a renowned educational musical establishment. She began writing her own songs at the age of ten and sings and writes in both French and German even though she was not brought up bilingual. Last year, she won the RTS Artiste Radar and SRF 3 Best Talent award and has performed at the world-famous Montreux Jazz Festival. Over the past 7 years she has released twelve singles and two EPs. Her music is best described as Poetic pop and chanson.

The music is minimal and orchestral with sweeping violins, pizzicato embellishments and rumbles of the timpani to add tension and emphasis to the track. Zoë starts singing almost immediately with a long but nicely phrased verse. This and the pre chorus are a little wordy, but delivered in a soft way. This leads straight into the chorus which repeats the title of the song several times and has longer held notes. This structure is run through again but with some changes in the phrasing. After the second chorus there is a slight change of pace with the main line of the chorus being repeated over and over again. The tempo slowly accelerates as Zoë sings over a Tango instrumentation. But just as it starts getting faster the music peters out and Zoë brings the song out of a minor key, back into something more positive and returning to the familiar haunts of the chorus, for the last time, almost acappella. The video sees Zoe in a busy street, sometimes in broad daylight sometimes in darkness. There is a strong motif of flowers throughout the visual; this matches some of the lyrics which compares humans to flowers because "they grow better when the are watered".

In Eurovision terms this song reminds me a lot of Victoria's output in 2020/21 for Bulgaria. However I much prefer this Swiss entry to either of those songs, perhaps the French content makes it sound more palatable or that this style of singing seems more suited, or more culturally resonant, to the French language. The sweeping strings and pure instrumentation makes it stand out compared to the more bombastic and in your face entries this year. Her voice is very small, which lends itself to this style of singing and songwriting but it is intriguing to think how they can replicate an intimate vocal arrangement on a live stage. Her demeanour in the video is also slightly refreshing; she does not go overboard facially or gesturally and you focus on what she is singing and how she is singing.  Part of me hopes that the staging will be simplistic with basic lights and little movement. I almost imagine her alone on stage in a spotlight, adding minimal movement in the Tango part with a brightening up of the stage to the end. I expect French speaking televote to engage with this and a similar affect in the jury vote too, not just the French speakers.

ARTIST - Zoë Më

SONG - Voyage

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Zoë Alina Kressler, Emily Middlemas, Tom Oehler

PORTUGAL 2025

The Portuguese song and act were selected on March 8th using their long running national final "Festival da Canção". Prior to the final there were two semis with 6 songs qualifying from each. In the final, the ranking of the televote was added to an equivalent rank of regional juries. This, however, resulted in a tie for first place and the entry with the better televoting score was declared the winner of the competition. Going to Basel is the group NAPA with the song "Deslocado" (Out of place)

NAPA is composed of Francisco Sousa (guitar), João Guilherme Gomes (vocals and guitar), João Rodrigues (drums), Diogo Góis (bass), and João Lourenço Gomes (piano). They formed in 2013 on the island of Madeira under the name "Men on the couch" which is the name they released their first album with. The band changed their name to NAPA in 2023 before the release of their second album which saw them move towards more acoustic and classical instrumentation and use of choirs and more acoustic intonations and collaborations. Last year they undertook a national tour and made a concert film called "Teatro Maria Matos" where the band played in a big band style. Most of their output is in an indie pop style.

On paper this entry feels like a very straightforward but the song is much more complex. The start of the song comes in very quietly with an interesting piano line which almost sounds Japanese. Over the top there are some interesting harmonies before the guitars start up which gives it a loungy Beatles energy. The structure is just verse, chorus, verse chorus although each verse and chorus is slightly different in length than the other and have slight changes in tune and rhythm. The group are dressed very casually in a range of beigey, muted outfits and they are spaced out around the stage giving many of the band members room to move about a bit. The backdrop is full of glowing colours - more vibrant than pastel but dimmer than primary and secondary colours - which gives it a hazy summer feel. The ending kind of gently steers out just like it gently crept in.

The song ended up being a bit of an 'accidental' winner not only because of the tie for first place but also because the jury and televote scores really did not correlate. Even for Portugal this is not really the archetypal Eurovision entry, which could be its strength or its weakness. In a final or semi-final full of busyness, this song could easily fall through the net or could stick out as an idyll of calm in a sea of unpredictability. There is scope for a rethink in terms of the staging, costuming and camera angles to sell the story, which is kind of missed if you don't speak Portuguese. The lyrics are poignant (about missing where you come from and not feeling at home in a big city) and almost provide a sentimental follow up to Baby Lasagne's song last year. It slightly reminds me of Azerbaijan's 2023 entry which was a subtle retro pop song but just didn't go anywhere and ended up forgotten. NAPA's position may well be more effected my other acts doing badly and losing votes than more people voting for them. Unless the whole of the Portuguese diaspora vote for this wholeheartedly in the semi-final I just can't see this getting much further.

ARTIST - NAPA

SONG - Deslocado

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - D Góis, G Gomes,  J Gomes, J Rodrigues, A Santos, F Sousa