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 

SAN MARINO 2025

The Sammarinese entry was chosen on March 8th during the show "San Marino Song Contest". Leading up to the final there had been months of open auditions which lead to a number of semi-finals. Those that qualified joined the pre-selected big acts in the final. As ever, the winner was selected via a jury. Going to Basel is Gabry Ponte with the song "Tutta l'Italia" (All of Italy)

Gabriele "Gabry" Ponte is from Torino and came to worldwide prominence as part of the group Eiffel 65. He was the main producer of their biggest hit "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" selling over 8 million copies and their debut album "Europop" sold 4 million copies. In the year 2000, they won the European Music Award as the "Best Italian Artist In The World". As well as his work with the group Ponte also produced and remixed for other acts. In 2005 he left Eiffel 65 to concentrate on solo work and go give him time with his Dance and Love. He has remained very active over the past 15 years working with acts as diverse as Pitbull, Prezioso, Aloe Blacc and LUM!X. With the latter, he was a co-writer and producer of "Halo" which was the Austrian Eurovision entry in 2022. "Tutta l'Italia" was used as the theme music for the 2025 Sanremo Music Festival before being picked up for the San Marino preselection.

Gabry is stood dressed in white behind his mixing desk in the middle of the stage. Either side of him are two male singers, dressed in top hat, black jacket, white scarf and silvery blindfolds. There are also two female contemporary/folk dancers and a male percussionist playing a hand drum. The background is primarily green, white and red and displays the name of the song in a graffiti like way. Although Gabry is not the singer, he mimes and dances along with the song and does so good interpretive gestures to go along with the lyrics which touch on Italian culture an lifestyle. The song's structure is rather simple with a quite lengthy verse then pre-chorus and chorus although in some of the instrumental parts there is some football-esque chanting.

I have added at the bottom of this review the performance from the final night of Sanremo, showing an alternate staging .The vocalist on the recording, and at Sanremo, is Andrea Bonomo,. He is also a co-writer but was not on stage during the national final. It is possible the stage show was put together in a rush so there may have been issues getting personnel together. There needs to be more engagement between all of those on stage and the audience - the mood in the hall (which will be very positive) needs to be just as enthusiastic on stage. The singer - or singers - need to show energy and personality more like video from Sanremo and less like the national final. On the other hand, the static nature of the singers made the camera focus in on Gabry who is the name of the act after all, which is also a fair and understandable production decision. I liked the dancers' choreography, mixing tarantella with a more contemporary style, but didn't have enough of a visual impact. The song is catchy and the guaranteed crowd participation will transmit down the camera lens. The only thing is - it is not a bit odd that a song that repeats 'Italy' is representing San Marino? If they get to the final, how will it be made clear to vote for San Marino and not for Italy? Only time will tell...

ARTIST - Gabry Ponte

SONG - Tutta l'Italia

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Andrea Bonomo, Gabry Ponte, Edwyn Roberts

SWEDEN 2025

The Swedish song and act were selected on March 8th via their long-standing and popular national final "Melodifestivalen". There were 5 semi-finals prior to the final where two songs qualified from each, then a second chance vote making a final of 12 songs. The voting was in two halves; firstly an international jury vote then a public vote from either pone voting or app voting, the latter of which is segmented into age groupings.  Going to Basel is the group KAJ with the song "Bara bada bastu" (Just take a sauna)

The name KAJ comes from the names of its three members - Kevin Holmström, Axel Åhman, and Jakob Norrgård. The trio are from Vörå which is a Swedish speaking part of Finland. After becoming acquainted through various sporting clubs they became close friends when they attended the same school, and formed the trio in 2009. The band performs in a variant of Ostrobothnian Swedish which many Swedes find hard to understand. Their music spans multiple genres often with a humorous and satirical edge. Over the 15 years they have been together they have six studio albums, a live album and 9 singles. On its release, "Bara Bada Bastu" got to number 1 in both Sweden and Finland - their only charting single in either nation. In addition they have toured Sweden and Finland three times and have also written and performed two musicals.

 

The song plays on the Finnish love of the sauna and, although in their Swedish dialect has the odd phrases in Finnish and namechecking other Finnish cultural touchstones. The song is also tied together with the short accordion earworm that comes in the instrumental parts. The song progresses as a verse, pre chorus and chorus and runs through this twice. There is then a bridge where the title is repeated before a final chorus - with a key change. As the song ends the title is repeated again and again. During the song the trio are dressed formally in suit jackets, trousers, ties and formal shoes. They are joined by four dancers who start off dressed in check shirts and hats but end up dressed - or should that be undressed - in bucket hats and carefully wrapped towels. The setting of the song changes half way through from an outdoor setting with the trio cooking sausages around a fire to being inside the sauna. In addition there is quite an simple but involved dance routine during the chorus.

On paper this shouldn't work. This walks that fine tightrope between fun & light-hearted with songwriting skill & performance ability without being ‘a joke’. The trio have honed this craft for well over a decade, and you can tell. They know how to work the crowd,  how to sell the song and how far to push the boundaries. This song is really fun but when it is twinned with a catchy tune, memorable lyrics, a well thought through stage show and a confident performance all makes for something really appealing. If feels very approachable and personable and appears to go way beyond its language barriers The last time a Swedish entry was in Swedish was 1998, and the last time Swedish appeared at Eurovision at all was in 2012 which was ironically, the Finnish entry of that year. At a time when the world seems a little bleak, gloomy and serious, maybe we all need a little bit of sauna in our lives...

ARTIST - KAJ

SONG - Bara bada bastu

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - A Åhman, K Holmström, J Norrgård, R Skowronski, K Strandberg, A Wrethov

UNITED KINGDOM 2025

The UK song and act were officially revealed on March 7th with the song's airing on BBC Radio 2,the  music video release on youtube and the track release on streaming platforms. Earlier in the year the BBC announced that the entry had been chosen but the song would be revealed at a later date. Going to Basel is Remember Monday with the song "What the hell just happened?" 

Remember Monday is made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele who are from Surrey in the south of England. In 2019 they performed on The Voice UK getting a 4 chair turn in their audition. After choosing Jennifer Hudson as their mentor, they won their battle round but were eliminated in the knockouts. During the pandemic, they posted acapella covers on TikTok, many of which became single releases, and accellerated their strong social media following. Last year they played the BBC Radio 2 stage at C2C Festival and performed a live session backstage with Bob Harris. Since their first song release in 2019, they have released twelve singles and two albums. Individually they also have a wealth of musical theatre experiences from Mary Poppins to Les Miserables, from The Phantom of the Opera to Matilda. The majority of their output is described as country-pop.

The video takes place in a grand house which has been used for a party. The 3 members are dressed rather similarly, in modern riffs on recency clothing in beige, cream, pinky tones. The outfits are complimented with expensive looking accessories such as fur (hopefully fake!) coats and jewellery. The girls connect well and the video narrative  - and song lyric -  gives the video a light-hearted and comedic edge. The song runs through three lots of verse and chorus however the first verse acts as an intro while the last chorus is a cappella and acts like a finale. There are many gear changes with the chorus being anthemic with long notes holds and vocal riffs, while the verses have a strong beat and is more wordy. The verses tend to be sang a person at a time, sometimes just taking a line at a time, while the chorus is where the trio sing together and in harmony.

There is a lot going on in this song. It is in a similar vein to "The Code" and "Cha Cha Cha" with multiple tones, timing changes and tempos used to create friction, grab attention and to make the watcher/listener stay interested. There is an underlying influence from musical theatre - notably SIX - focusing on story telling, vocal technique and harmonies. It could be a high risk strategy because if they get it wrong on the night(s) the vote will evaporate. The song's structure is enticing the juries who I feel will give this votes if they nail these elements. However, the televote may be more of a battle. Personally I find the song's stop-start nature jarring and the lack of flow stops me enjoying it. The song by itself doesn't work, which won't be good for radio play, but could be memorable for Eurovision if the show is good. This song is not for me but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its merits or appeal elsewhere. One question I can't wait to find out the answer to is -  in a song full of bits which bit will they use for the vote recap?

ARTIST - Remember Monday

SONG - What the hell just happened?

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - J Aagaard, S Brennan, L Byrne, T Hollings,  H-A Hull, K Kamara, C Steele, T Stengaard 

CZECHIA 2025

The Czech song was revealed on March 7th with the song being released on streaming platforms and official video premiere later that same afternoon. December 2024, ČT (the Czech broadcaster) announced their singer but that the song would be revealed in March. However, an acoustic version of the song was presented during the first semi of the Maltese Eurovision Song Contest show. Going to Basel is Adonxs with the song "Kiss Kiss Goodbye".

Adam Pavlovčin, the real name of Adonxs (pronounced Adonis) was raised in Senica, Slovakia. He took up dancing and singing at an early age; joining a junior dance crew, taking singing lessons and learning  to play the piano. However he stopped singing in his teens and concentrating on dancing, wining the Slovak street dance championships five times in junior and adult categories. He studied at BIMM in London where he gained a degree in Songwriting and Creative Musicianship. His big breakthrough was in 2021 after winning "SuperStar" ,the joint Czech-Slovak version of Idols and became the first openly queer winner of the show. His music style shifts from pop, rock, folk, alternative and synth although his lyrics often focus on love, heartache and loneliness. 

The video has Adonxs as bit of a human guinea pig, with scientists attempting to make him time travel. We see him in press conferences, undergoing physical tests and having therapy sessions all while being hooked up to various machines and drips. The colour palette is very muted and not at all colourful possibly alluding that the narrative is serious, sombre and a little bleak. The song starts with the first verse which has quite a slow beat but the lyrics can come quick and fast. The pre-chorus is a brief pause before the anthemic chorus comes in. This procedure is followed up again albeit with a shorter chorus. Then, surprisingly, comes a rather up-tempo dance break when he and some of the laboratory staff do a co-ordinated dance routine which lasts less than twenty seconds before reverting to the pre-chorus and then the title repeats over again before one final chorus to the end.

As a moody Viennese waltz ballad this is not bad. The backing track has gospel tones as well as a muted feel in the instrumentation. Adonxs vocal is high in the mix: breathy and intimate in the verses and more expressive in the chorus. The visuals, although well made, has a confusing narrative. It's certainly not the videol one was expecting and neither do I anticipate the video to be incorporated in the stage show. After the song's release, most of the discourse was about that dance break. Adonxs is an accomplished dancer and his performance in the video is polished however that instrumental and that chorography does not belong in that song. The dance break could've implemented the start of a faster tempoed section to finish but this was not the case. At the Maltese NF his acoustic version - just him at the piano - did not feel much different to this in retrospect. The future of this song may well hinge on the stage show and presentation because its identity right now is too mixed to judge.

ARTIST - Adonxs

SONG - Kiss Kiss Goodbye

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - L Calvo, M Charvátová, I Coulon, R Janeček, A Lopes da Silva, G Masters-Clark, A Pavlovčin  

AUSTRIA 2025

The Austrian song was revealed on March 6th with the song and video release on the Eurovision official youtube channels. Earlier in the year, ORF (the Austrian broadcaster) announced their singer had been chosen but the song would be not be revealed until March. Going to Basel is JJ with the song "Wasted Love" 

Johannes Pietsch - aka JJ - was born to an Austrian father and Filipino mother. He was born in Vienna, grew up in Dubai but the family then returned to Vienna in 2016. As well as German he speaks Tagalog, French and English. He auditioned for the successful talent show "Starmania" getting to the final 12 and in 2020 he was a contestant on The Voice UK getting to the knockouts round. Currently, he attends the Music and Arts University in Vienna  Although he has an operatic education and background, he enjoys mixing this with pop, especially as he is a countertenor and has wider upper range. This entry is his first single release proper.

The song starts almost immediately with a rather long verse then short pre chorus. This is sung in his pop voice which is still quite high. The short chorus that follows tunes into his operatic voice, which sounds extremely impressive, and in addition his diction is clear and audible. We then return with a verse and chorus but this time the verse is short and the chorus is much longer. The music video is rather moody; although not shot in black and white, the lighting and colour palette might suggest otherwise As the lyrics suggest, there is a lot of water based imagery from rain storms to puddles to full blown lakes. I like the way the use of the paper boat alludes scale and size. The song itself  hints are unrequited and unreciprocated love and his vocal tone suggests longing, despair, frustration and resignation. Just after the two minute mark JJ repeats the title of the song several times before a very string dance beat comes in under the singing and his voice starts to cut in and out. At this point in the video he is no longer drowning in the water but floating above people in a grand theatre.

This has a strong audio identity with nothing else leading up to this point feeling quite like this. The song seems to peak at the chorus which, although technically brilliant, are lyrically repetitive. The last 40 seconds or so are captivating although I wonder how this will go down on stage. I imagine the interrupted sound bite would be on the backing tape and JJ singing some other high jinks as another layer on top. The visual is also strong in the video and I can imagine with wind machines, some decent video projections (below & above) and maybe even some pulleys and winches, the video's feel could be replicated in the hall. This all said, there is something about this song that gets memory holed for me. I wish the verses were more memorable because I certainly cannot sing along with the chorus and the verses are too plain to remember. My hope for this entry is that as well as pulling this off vocally, the team also has an innovative or interesting staging to bring out the best of this song.

ARTIST - JJ

SONG - Wasted Love

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Johannes Pietsch, Teodora Špirić, Thomas Thurner

CROATIA 2025

The Croatian entry was chosen on March 2nd through the show "Dora 2025". There were two semi finals of 12 songs, 8 going through to the final from each show. T50% of the score came from the televote  with 25% each coming from a national and international jury. Going to Basel is Marko Bošnjak with "Poison Cake".

Marko Bošnjak is 21 and is originally from Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Marko started out at a young age and at aged 11 won a children's Serbian talent show called "Pinkove Zvezdice" (Pink's Little Stars) singing songs in both English and Serbian. His first attempt at going to Eurovision occurred in 2022 and came second and this gained him his first HR Top 100 entry. He has since competed at the Split Festival, performed at Serbian Pride, took part in Croatia's version of "Your Face Sounds Familiar" and sang at a charity show for Gaza at Zagreb's Klub Močvara. His Eurovision entry is his ninth single release.

Marko is joined on stage by four female dancers. Marko is in a black suit, with pointed shoulders and a cape The overall look is slightly wicked, Dracula-like. The dancers are dressed like evil chefs in their black tops, peplums, trousers and hats. The five of them appear to be in a kitchen as Marko starts the song sitting on a counter top and the dancers pop up through the windows or through the doors that double as fridges and cupboards. The song and performance is full of extremes with Marko able to switch between vengeful, gothic, spurned lover and camp, happy best friend with ease. The lighting and dance moves also changes between these differing emotions. After verse one comes the two-part pre chorus then chorus. The next verse is slightly longer than the first but continues into the pre chorus and chorus. Finally there is a building refrain before the screaming end where the beat also kicks up a gear and the dancing becomes even more frenetic.

This is one of the more curious entries this year. There is no doubt Marko is a star: his vocal ability is clear and his ability to shapeshift between parts is quite extraordinary. The problem is that this is absolutely bonkers - so bonkers it almost doesn't make sense. This leans into the fairy tale narrative of good versus evil, a trope not new in Eurovision terms, however having one person playing all the parts is. In the way Jacques Houdek played two parts through lighting changes, a split costume and vocal changes, Marko does by changes of facial expression, body language and tone of voice. Although I can see how the staging and dancing fits the song, I almost feel it doesn't go OTT enough. The posse of dancers works well but the choreo is too nondescript and needs to hammer home the storyline. The lyrics are a little basic and contains odd turns of phrase. The chorus is extremely one note (and one lyric) and the shouting at the end is rather disconcerting. The balance inside this entry needs recalibrating - better costumes, more stage space and better technical scope will help. If they do that, they might just get away with it.

ARTIST - Marko Bošnjak

SONG - Poison Cake

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Marko Bošnjak, Emma Gale, Filip Majdak, Ben Pyne, Bas Wissink