Predicting the winner just for fun! (some songs are cut down more than I would like due to copyright) Timestamps and final rankings are below! I know there may be some strong opinions about the contest so please be kind to each other! Timestamps: Intro Albania - 0:15 Armenia - 1:06 Australia - 2:10 Austria - 3:04 Azerbaijan - 4:06 Belgium - 5:02 Croatia - 6:25 Cyprus - 8:00 Czechia - 8:48 Denmark - 9:33 Estonia - 10:11 Finland - 11:23 France - 12:54 Georgia - 14:40 Germany - 15:32 Greece - 16:49 Iceland - 17:46 Ireland - 18:32 Israel - 19:44 Italy - 20:27 Latvia - 21:20 Lithuania - 22:46 Luxembourg - 23:31 Malta - 24:41 Moldova - 25:43 Netherlands - 26:38 Norway - 28:05 Poland - 29:11 Portugal - 30:04 San Marino - 31:00 Serbia - 31:55 Slovenia - 33:04 Spain - 33:42 Sweden - 34:33 Switzerland - 35:58 Ukraine - 37:37 United Kingdom - 38:46 Final thoughts - 40:00 My Predictions: France 9.5 Croatia 9 Finland 8.6 Austria 8.5 Belgium 8.5 Switzerland 8.5 Estonia 8.4 Germany 8.3 Latvia 8.2 Malta 8 United Kingdom 8 Norway 7.8 Israel 7.7 Portugal 7.7 Netherlands 7.6 Ukraine 7.6 Australia 7.5 Italy 7.5 Ireland 7.4 Sweden 7.4 Denmark 7.3 Luxembourg 7.3 San Marino 7.3 Armenia 7 Cyprus 7 Georgia 7 Poland 7 Slovenia 7 Lithuania 6.9 Czechia 6.8 Greece 6.8 Serbia 6.8 Albania 6.5 Azerbaijan 6.5 Iceland 6.5 Spain 6.5 Moldova 6.2
Azerbaijan song is good, Slovenia I like too (interesting lyrics based on historical figure), she did a good unplugged version. The Serbian song for me is a classic ballad. The French song is well sung but the melody doesn't feel fresh to me.
Slimane is massive in France. He won The Voice France 2016, robbing all french hearts from the blind audition onwards. Since then, he has released 4 albums: they all monopolized the #1 seat in french charts. All his concerts in the biggest venues are booked immediately. He is known to be a very skilled vocalist, with an impressive range and a unique tone. But first and foremost an emotional powerhouse that always delivers perfectly live. He can sing acapella in front of large venues and is not shy to perform on the biggest scenes: he sang Mon Amour for new year's eve on the Champs-Elysées, in front of more than 1 million people. He is also an amazing songwriter: he composed and wrote most of his own songs, and also has produced songs for the greatests of the french music scen (Amel Bent, Kendji Girac, Florent Pagny, Vitaa, ….) Up to, recently, the great Lara Fabian: he is co-creating and co-composing her latest album with her, she just released the first song "Ta Peine" (Your Sorrow), with a music video recorded on a sicilian beach, close from her home.
What a pleasant surprise seeing you react to Eurovision. There's a lot of 90s inspired tunes this year, and it's considered by fans to be a much more open year than usual in terms of who will win. As someone who follows the contest closely, I can share some information: - Australia's act Electric Fields was the runner-up in the Australian national final in 2019, and was popular with the fans. They were internally selected this time. - The UK will be in the grand final along with France, Germany, Spain and Italy ("the Big 5") whom are automatically qualified because they pay the most money to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Sweden is of course also pre-qualified as the host nation. One thing that is new this year is that these acts will perform in the semi finals. - You are right about the UK not doing well at the contest, at least in recent years. The UK has 5 victories under its belt and holds the record for most second places by far. However, since 2000 it has gone downhill for them, with very few exceptions; the most notable being Sam Ryder coming 2nd in 2022 with "Space Man". This means the UK has been the runner-up a total of 16 times! - ESC is well-known for often featuring members of the LGBTQ community, but this year we have 2 performers who identify as non-binary, which is quite unusual (namely Ireland's Bambie Thug and Switzerland's Nemo). - The Denmark video you reacted to used the studio vocals (she sang live in the Danish final of course, but it was overdubbed due to technical issues). That's why it sounds so clean. - As you can imagine, Israel's participation has been very controversial after the bloodshed in Gaza. Iceland would have withdrawn if the winner of their national selection chose to boycott, but in the end that did not happen. In addition, there was a Palestinian artist named Bashar Murad competing to represent Iceland, but he lost out to Hera Bjork in the end. Israel themselves threatened to withdraw if the EBU would not accept their song "October Rain" (an obvious reference to the Hamas attack on October 7). The EBU demanded that the title and lyrics be changed, and the Israeli broadcaster eventually agreed to do so after their second song submission got denied. "Hurricane" is thus the rewritten version of "October Rain". - Norway (my country) sent a song in Norwegian for the first time since 2006, leaving Sweden as the only Nordic country to not sing in their native language since 1998. Furthermore, Sweden's act Marcus & Martinus are actually Norwegian. The lyrics of "Ulveham" (wolf pelt) is based on a medieval ballad, and tells the story of a young maiden, who is transformed into a needle, a knife, and then a sword by her evil stepmother. However, the people continue to appreciate her throughout all of her transformations, angering her stepmother. Therefore, to punish her even further, the stepmother transforms her into a wolf. It ends with the stepmother, pregnant with a child, being pounced on by the wolf. To lift the curse, the wolf drinks her stepmother's blood, which contains the blood of her unborn half-brother. Meanwhile, the chorus of the song is a vocalization of a herding call traditionally used to summon livestock. - As I'm typing, the community ranking in the Eurovision Scoreboard app shows Italy leading, followed by Switzerland, Croatia, Greece, Belgium, Netherlands, Lithuania, Ukraine, Austria and Norway. Moldova is ranked last. - Likewise, the betting odds currently predicts Switzerland winning, followed by Croatia, Italy, Netherlands, Ukraine, Belgium and France. - You gave Germany a high score, but the general consensus among the fandom is that, yes, he's a good singer, but the song is too average/mediocre to stand out. Iceland has been described the same way. With that said, the fandom has been wrong before.
Thank you so much for all this information! I understand the many different feelings surrounding the contest and certain entries this year. You shared a lot of information that I didn't know, thankyou! Italy is in the lead? wow, so interesting!
@@CallMeCaroline Yeah, in the scoreboard app, while Switzerland is leading the betting odds (a very recent development btw - Croatia was the odds favourite for a while).
I liked the 2006 entry and I like this one. But I've also liked some in English such as Subwoolfer recently and the extremely underrated Icebreaker from a few years ago. The Israeli song got rewritten in a few parts. All those involved in the song have said it's still on the same subject, as is the music video. The reason the EBU went along with it could be that the sponsor Moroccan Oil is an Israeli company. Several entries have spoken out about this whole affair. For what it's worth I don't like the music anyway, it's quite dirge-like in it's pleading even if you don't think it's manipulating. I'd take the Serbian song over it easily.
@@CallMeCaroline Italy is popular every year, Sanremo (preselection) has a huge reputation being older than Eurovision. However like Sweden I think they get overrated most of the time.
Fun! I let the whole video play as I cleaned! I don't know which I'd pick, but it actually made me go on a Eurovision kick and played some older years' shows. Very cool! And I loved how proud you were when Australia's song came up! That was adorable, if you don't mind me saying so! It made me happy for you!
That was fun to watch, thank you! There are a lot of really interesting contestants this year. I never know who will actually win, my personal faves are Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Italy and Armenia.
Thank you for such a refreshing reaction. I know it's already been said but there are five countries known as The Big Five who get an automatic place into the finals. In addition the winning country of each year receives an automatic pass into the finals for this years contest namely Sweden. So out of 37 countries 6 places are already taken for the final from said countries. As there are only 26 places for the final it leaves only 20 places available to be filled. So in essence 31 countries competing for 20 places. So no doubt there will be surprises and shocks as to who gets through, but that's Eurovision for you I guess.
The Croatian entry is insane, I absolutely love it! This is what Eurovision is all about. I want it top 3 at the very least, especially when the beat comes in, good lord! 😄Though I have to stick with Finland for the win, cause of my Finnish friends and how many times I've been there. Windows95 Man!! 🤣btw I'm blown away that you went through EVERY song. and the UK surprised you, well we often do! 😅Our last few entries have been way better than the sh*tshow of the past.
I don't think it's just about who wins. And if it was only about a formula for Eurovision there would be no variety. For the show as a whole you need different styles. And really I just care about what I like rather than what most may like in a consensus vote. Sometimes dirisive songs can be among the more fun even. I love the Baby Lasagna song, but the video outro is not part of the song like you thought. Same for the Bambi Thug video outro.
@caroline It’s so interesting to hear your take because it’s a good reminder to someone like me who at this point heard each songs dozens of times), that the first listen is crucial for being able to win (usually, not always). But it definitely help a song makes it into the top 10. Other songs with a super strong staging also do well. And usually if the performer is absolutely stunningly beautiful, they do well too (even bad songs have needed in top 10, top 15 over the years). I do agree that being able to sing along helps a lot. But not always a must. Looking at your list, it’s fairly similar to the odds and the herbal consensus. Perhaps not in the exact order, but generally speaking , the ones at the bottom are indeed the ones struggling and the ones in your top 10 are indeed the ones vying for the prize. 4 notables exceptions are Germany, Estonia, Latvia, who are very low in people’s minds (I am unsure if Estonia and Latvia will qualify, not likely), plus Finland, which is an odd duck this year in the sense that I expect people to have strong reactions to it - it will either be very loved by the televote, or it will fo poorly and maybe even not qualify (??? I think it still will). I think France is the real dark horse this year. I think it will rank super high by the juries (unless they take off points for the lyrics - if you speak French you realize they are at grade school level). The big question is how will the home viewers respond to it. It might do very well and end up as #3 or #4. Or it might be in the top #10. If the audience don’t warm up to it, it will be #20 or so. When it comes to the Israeli song, you’re correct that the politics will affect it immensely ( I personally find that a shame, people should focus on the music). For this reason, it might have challenges qualifying. If it manages to qualify, it will likely receive some 7, 8,10,12 from some juries, but completely left out from many juries. So I expect it to end up around #20. Which is a shame because it’s a well written song, and a strong vocal. Lastly, let’s look at all the songs that have a chance to stand out this year. They fall into a few categories: 1. Songs that are beloved (or at least well liked) from the first listen: •Croatia •Ukraine •Italy •Belgium (only if the vocals are good) •Lithuania •France •UK •Netherlands (not my personal cup of tea but it’s catchy and engages people) •Belgium (the build up comes a bit late, but it’s a powerful ending) 2. Songs that are expected to have a different, unique or strong performance or staging: •Croatia •Netherlands •Sweden •Finland •Norway •Switzerland (potentially) •Belgium (potentially) •Greece (potentially) •UK (potentially) 3. Power ballads that truly build up: •France •Israel 4. Songs that are expected to do well with juries AND well (or at least pretty well) in the televote: •Italy •Ukraine •Switzerland •Croatia •France •Belgium (if vocals are good) •Netherlands (if juries actually appreciate it - Joost Klein is a known name) So if you check which songs cross several categories for getting points, you get (well, I get anyway) to the following conclusion: Songs fighting for the top 5 (and this year’s winner!) are certain to come from these contenders (in Alphabetical order): •Croatia •France •Italy •Netherlands •Switzerland •Ukraine •and maybe Belgium - but only if vocals and staging are incredible) Then, rounding out the top ten will be the following: (in alphabetical order): •Lithuania •Norway •Sweden •According to what I said earlier, Finland should be listed here, but I just don’t think it will be in the top 10…. If UK does super well with its staging and the jury, it might be able to sneak into the top 10. But mostly likely just top 15. I wanted to add one last comment about Austria. A lot of people absolutely love the song. If by some miracle it does well with the juries, it might crack the top 10. But I doubt it. Maybe top 15. Let’s see if these predictions come true. ❤❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜
Caroline thanks for making this about music and music alone, which is how it should be on a channel that's about all things music. We all needs safe and enjoyable places to retreat to from the world sometimes. I was actually in Israel when the Eurovision was held there five years ago, and drove past the concert hall on the evening that it was held. I didn't attend as I was there for unrelated reasons, but it was a pretty huge event at the time and basically everyone watched it on TV. A cousin of mine flew in from the US just to attend it and another cousin sold concessions outside. Never been a huge fan myself but it's not really a big deal in the US, but it's fun and the important thing is that people enjoy it and that it remains above and apart from all the other things going on. And for the record, I didn't particularly care for the song and performance that won it for Israel the previous year. Not because of politics or all that other stuff. Just not my thing. What did you think of it, since you're a pretty big Eurovision fan? I seem to recall that it was some sort of chicken dance type thing. As you say, it's ok to not like a particular song! It was kind of entertaining though, visually, and they put a lot of effort into it.
Hi Caroline just a heads up that on BB2 this evening (8:35 GMT) they are marking the 50 years of ABBA winning at Eurovision with 5 programmes, I’m sure you have seen them all but I think ‘More ABBA at the BBC’ might be a new dive into the archives. The other programmes include ‘When ABBA came to Britain’ ‘ABBA at the BBC’ and ‘ABBA in Switzerland’ and ‘The Joy of ABBA I’m sure all are available online somewhere. 👍
I also wasn't really into the dutch one, other than it was quirky and catchy. Then I looked at the translated lyrics/subtitles and heard the backstory, now it's my second favourite. The impact of the unity and humanity message is surprising to hear in such a poppy euro dance song.
This gives us a genuine look at the ranking when people listen to the song for the first time. Most viewers are only going to hear it for the first time on the night, so this could well truly be the outcome. The odds say Switzerland is going to win, but the margins between each entry are so small that it can go anyway.
Just discovered you and have been binging on your reactions-- great combination of insight and honest reaction. Thanks! You're the perfect person to introduce me to Europe's best new artists/songs. Especially liked Tali's and Iolanda's sound-- added to my playlist! In general, though, I long for the Autotune era to end-- after enjoying the sliding harmonies of the Beatles, the bent guitar pitches and blues touches of Led Zeppelin, the idiosyncratic "out-of-tuneness" of Alabama Shakes or The Rolling Stones... it makes the buzzy autotuned voices sound flat and dead to me. Does Autotune bother you?
Hi, I really liked and enjoyed your video but, let me say that there are six countries which are Spain, Uk, Germany, Italy, France and last year´s winner that get to the final directly. By the way, for Spain you chose the official video but the live performance is way much better. Thank you.
The UK being in a disaster in the Eurovision didn't really start until the 2000's we where very rarely outside the top ten until then racking up a fair number of 1st to 4th places, I think we might still have the record for the most second places.
RAMONDA the song certainly sounds victorious putting it in a cliché has no logic because it stands out from all the compositions by itself. listen to it in the acoustic version so it is clear
Oh yes, I thought Windows was the worst song of the finals. Still the performance was good and the others were struggling. Still, Italians underrated. Croatia, Italy and the Swiss. Of course I love Estonia or Ireland. Kalle from Finland
Caroline almost predicted the winner - she gave the eventual winner, Switzerland, a score of 8.5 which was a tie for fourth place on her list. But she got it right for the second place winner!! Croatia was second also in her rankings! She did not do well with third place as Ukraine was in the middle of her rankings. But predicting correctly the second place winner is awesome!
My winner is France as well! His live vocals are out of this world. Totally agree, especially in a year full of fun and quirky songs France really pops out
You should check out the Ukrainian Rock band called “The SiXsters” new song “Feels” (rock ) or a ballad. “I Stare at You”. Songs are in English. They’re in Germany now for obvious reasons. They Rock they have Eurovision in their sights.
Sorey but givvimg serbia 6.8 is a crime. Its one of the fan favourites predicted ro do extremly well with jurys. Its obvies the western basic generic taste you havez only liking generic up beat songs and screaming vocals. Disgusting and terible
Ok. İt is just your opinion and we have to respect it. But i see that the lowest points in the ranking it is between 6.5/10. according to this assessment, these songs are automatically disqualified from the final night. I hope you are much wrong, especially for Greece and Albanian song. They look stunning. İMO your musical taste does not reach more than 6.5/10.
Both Zorra and La Noia are excellent examples of how staging changes everything. Both these acts are super engaging live, but on record they sound average.
My rankings are quite different. I would give Italy and Israel 10/10. Belgium, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg 9/10. Austria is soooo overrated for being a very basic Eurodance song.
It feels like this contest is becoming who is more controversial rather then whos most talented singer or whats the most beatiful song. Just like with the most things lately we produce meaningless garbage and ppl pretend to like it.
Im Polish. And I am disappointed 😅. 2 years ago we had a good performance. A year ago it was just sytaight up bad and i have mixed feelings for this year...🤍❤️
Hey Caroline, I'm Israeli and just wanted to thank you for reacting to our song, and not letting the situation affect your opinion of the song. Am Israel Chai 🇮🇱❤️ P.S. wondering how long will it take for someone to comment something mean and inappropriate 😃 Edit: it took 25 mins 😆
@@KingRich616 tell me how? By giving full equal rights to 2 miliion arabs? By acting according to international law and getting humanitarian aid to gaza?
They know more British TV, early on from the 80s they often broadcast the BBC's transmission of the contest. Eventually from the early 2000s they did their own commentary.
My prediction is that Slovakia, Monaco, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Turkey, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Romania will not win the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest.
-Caroline, don't let it drive you crazy, it's your taste and your decision. I think some people only look at the country and don't listen. My ranking is also a bit different, because I'm a Zorra ;-) 1. Spain 🇪🇸 2. Netherlands 🇳🇱 3. Switzerland 🇨🇭 4 . Belgium 🇧🇪 5. Estonia 🇪🇪 6. Serbia 🇷🇸 7. Lithuania 🇱🇹 8. Croatia 🇭🇷 9. Latvia 🇱🇻 10. Germany 🇩🇪 11. France 🇫🇷 12. Finland 🇫🇮 13. Italy 🇮🇹 . 14. Ukraine 🇺🇦 15 .Israel 🇮🇱 16. Armenia 🇦🇲 17. Sweden 🇸🇪 18. United Kingdom 🇬🇧 19. Greece 🇬🇷 20 . Austria 🇦🇹 21. Australia : 🇦🇺 22. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿) 23. Georgia 🇬🇪 24. Portugal 🇵🇹 25. Cyprus 🇨🇾 26. Slovenia 🇸🇮 27. Norway 🇧🇻 28. Island 🇮🇸 29. Moldova 🇲🇩 30. Poland 🇵🇱 31. Luxembourg 🇱🇺 32. Denmark 🇩🇰 33. San Marino 🇸🇲 34. Czechia 🇨🇿 35. Malta 🇲🇹 36. Albania 🇦🇱 37. Ireland 🇮🇪
As is the case for anything like this, differences in opinion will occur, but I really enjoyed your reaction and rankings! My personal top 10: 1. Switzerland 2. Armenia 3. Netherlands 4. Georgia 5. Estonia 6. France 7. Luxembourg 8. Italy 9. Belgium 10. Croatia
my top 10 : 1) Italy (by far from the rest, already a eurovision classic) - 11/10 2) Norway - 9/10 (one word, epic) 3) France - 8.5/10 (the voice of ESC 24) 4) Greece - 8.5/10 (innovative & authentic) 5) Armenia - 8/10 (pure ethnic fun) 6) Switzerland - 8/10 (very good vocals) 7) Belgium - 8/10 (clever built-up) 8) Croatia - 7.5/10 (very energetic) 9) Israel - 7.5/10 (great melody) 10) Estonia - 7.5/10 (best beat of ESC 24) Rest of the songs have score 7 and below for me
France song is just a copy of Italian entries in the last two years: they have seen it worked out very well for us and they have decided to give the endless boring male ballad a go! Sorry but the results is quite meh, he sounds like the discount version of Marco Mengoni from 2023 Italian entry…and it simply doesn’t win the comparison! Sorry but France won’t make it, there are too much far better songs for the win!
Sorry...Albania and Latvia were the only ones even close to being listenable. Everything is just SOOOO synth heavy, over produced, lots of processed vocals ...and does everything have to be DANCEable?? There was like 1 ballad. Very few actual instruments that I could determine. If a band came out with a guitar, bass, drums, organ/piano and no laser-light show I would award them as the winner even if the song wasn't any good. I would cancel Eurovision contest 2025 and make everyone sit at home for a year and think about what they did.
Me too. I never listen to this these days. I mean after the great songwriters of the past and singers like Streisand , Aretha Franklin , Shirley Bassey , Brenda Lee , Patsy Cline , Sam Cooke , Diana Ross , Tony Bennett etc etc etc why bother. It's so samey and of no substance, Tis a shame cause Arianna , Celine Dion and others can truly sing! 🐨
@@johnbyrnes7912 True. There was so much unbelievably fantastic music made between the 1950s and 1990s that if you’ve never listened to much or all of it you could spend your life experiencing so much top quality music. Then when you try to listen to modern stuff it doesn’t even come close. Modern music is complete rubbish. The exception being Greta Van Fleet.
@@joe6096 There is still good music being made. It's just not being served up on a platter like it was when you were younger. You have to dig for it now.
Giving 6.8 to Greece shows us that you only classify music for how many beats per minute it has, not for the for the originality it has or the quality it shows. Just for this, I won't see your video any further. Ciao ... teenage tastes are not my cup of tea, sorry ...
Predicting the winner just for fun! (some songs are cut down more than I would like due to copyright) Timestamps and final rankings are below! I know there may be some strong opinions about the contest so please be kind to each other!
Timestamps:
Intro
Albania - 0:15
Armenia - 1:06
Australia - 2:10
Austria - 3:04
Azerbaijan - 4:06
Belgium - 5:02
Croatia - 6:25
Cyprus - 8:00
Czechia - 8:48
Denmark - 9:33
Estonia - 10:11
Finland - 11:23
France - 12:54
Georgia - 14:40
Germany - 15:32
Greece - 16:49
Iceland - 17:46
Ireland - 18:32
Israel - 19:44
Italy - 20:27
Latvia - 21:20
Lithuania - 22:46
Luxembourg - 23:31
Malta - 24:41
Moldova - 25:43
Netherlands - 26:38
Norway - 28:05
Poland - 29:11
Portugal - 30:04
San Marino - 31:00
Serbia - 31:55
Slovenia - 33:04
Spain - 33:42
Sweden - 34:33
Switzerland - 35:58
Ukraine - 37:37
United Kingdom - 38:46
Final thoughts - 40:00
My Predictions:
France 9.5
Croatia 9
Finland 8.6
Austria 8.5
Belgium 8.5
Switzerland 8.5
Estonia 8.4
Germany 8.3
Latvia 8.2
Malta 8
United Kingdom 8
Norway 7.8
Israel 7.7
Portugal 7.7
Netherlands 7.6
Ukraine 7.6
Australia 7.5
Italy 7.5
Ireland 7.4
Sweden 7.4
Denmark 7.3
Luxembourg 7.3
San Marino 7.3
Armenia 7
Cyprus 7
Georgia 7
Poland 7
Slovenia 7
Lithuania 6.9
Czechia 6.8
Greece 6.8
Serbia 6.8
Albania 6.5
Azerbaijan 6.5
Iceland 6.5
Spain 6.5
Moldova 6.2
Azerbaijan song is good, Slovenia I like too (interesting lyrics based on historical figure), she did a good unplugged version. The Serbian song for me is a classic ballad.
The French song is well sung but the melody doesn't feel fresh to me.
@@joebloggs396Agree,Azerbaijan is so underrated
Thanks Meow Croatia
Caroline 😻 meow from 🇧🇦
BL🇭🇷
Thank you, that was fun, you're always so fun and delightful in every reaction.
Slimane is massive in France.
He won The Voice France 2016, robbing all french hearts from the blind audition onwards.
Since then, he has released 4 albums: they all monopolized the #1 seat in french charts.
All his concerts in the biggest venues are booked immediately.
He is known to be a very skilled vocalist, with an impressive range and a unique tone. But first and foremost an emotional powerhouse that always delivers perfectly live. He can sing acapella in front of large venues and is not shy to perform on the biggest scenes: he sang Mon Amour for new year's eve on the Champs-Elysées, in front of more than 1 million people.
He is also an amazing songwriter: he composed and wrote most of his own songs, and also has produced songs for the greatests of the french music scen (Amel Bent, Kendji Girac, Florent Pagny, Vitaa, ….)
Up to, recently, the great Lara Fabian: he is co-creating and co-composing her latest album with her, she just released the first song "Ta Peine" (Your Sorrow), with a music video recorded on a sicilian beach, close from her home.
Very impressive.
Take a shot every time caroline mentions whether or not a song 'builds'.
And every time I say I think it’ll make the grand final…😂
Or when she says she thinks the crowd will love it
@@CallMeCaroline Germany, Italy, France, UK and Spain always make the grand final btw...
What a pleasant surprise seeing you react to Eurovision. There's a lot of 90s inspired tunes this year, and it's considered by fans to be a much more open year than usual in terms of who will win. As someone who follows the contest closely, I can share some information:
- Australia's act Electric Fields was the runner-up in the Australian national final in 2019, and was popular with the fans. They were internally selected this time.
- The UK will be in the grand final along with France, Germany, Spain and Italy ("the Big 5") whom are automatically qualified because they pay the most money to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Sweden is of course also pre-qualified as the host nation. One thing that is new this year is that these acts will perform in the semi finals.
- You are right about the UK not doing well at the contest, at least in recent years. The UK has 5 victories under its belt and holds the record for most second places by far. However, since 2000 it has gone downhill for them, with very few exceptions; the most notable being Sam Ryder coming 2nd in 2022 with "Space Man". This means the UK has been the runner-up a total of 16 times!
- ESC is well-known for often featuring members of the LGBTQ community, but this year we have 2 performers who identify as non-binary, which is quite unusual (namely Ireland's Bambie Thug and Switzerland's Nemo).
- The Denmark video you reacted to used the studio vocals (she sang live in the Danish final of course, but it was overdubbed due to technical issues). That's why it sounds so clean.
- As you can imagine, Israel's participation has been very controversial after the bloodshed in Gaza. Iceland would have withdrawn if the winner of their national selection chose to boycott, but in the end that did not happen. In addition, there was a Palestinian artist named Bashar Murad competing to represent Iceland, but he lost out to Hera Bjork in the end. Israel themselves threatened to withdraw if the EBU would not accept their song "October Rain" (an obvious reference to the Hamas attack on October 7). The EBU demanded that the title and lyrics be changed, and the Israeli broadcaster eventually agreed to do so after their second song submission got denied. "Hurricane" is thus the rewritten version of "October Rain".
- Norway (my country) sent a song in Norwegian for the first time since 2006, leaving Sweden as the only Nordic country to not sing in their native language since 1998. Furthermore, Sweden's act Marcus & Martinus are actually Norwegian. The lyrics of "Ulveham" (wolf pelt) is based on a medieval ballad, and tells the story of a young maiden, who is transformed into a needle, a knife, and then a sword by her evil stepmother. However, the people continue to appreciate her throughout all of her transformations, angering her stepmother. Therefore, to punish her even further, the stepmother transforms her into a wolf. It ends with the stepmother, pregnant with a child, being pounced on by the wolf. To lift the curse, the wolf drinks her stepmother's blood, which contains the blood of her unborn half-brother. Meanwhile, the chorus of the song is a vocalization of a herding call traditionally used to summon livestock.
- As I'm typing, the community ranking in the Eurovision Scoreboard app shows Italy leading, followed by Switzerland, Croatia, Greece, Belgium, Netherlands, Lithuania, Ukraine, Austria and Norway. Moldova is ranked last.
- Likewise, the betting odds currently predicts Switzerland winning, followed by Croatia, Italy, Netherlands, Ukraine, Belgium and France.
- You gave Germany a high score, but the general consensus among the fandom is that, yes, he's a good singer, but the song is too average/mediocre to stand out. Iceland has been described the same way. With that said, the fandom has been wrong before.
Thank you so much for all this information! I understand the many different feelings surrounding the contest and certain entries this year. You shared a lot of information that I didn't know, thankyou!
Italy is in the lead? wow, so interesting!
@@CallMeCaroline Yeah, in the scoreboard app, while Switzerland is leading the betting odds (a very recent development btw - Croatia was the odds favourite for a while).
I really enjoyed Switzerland! and I still think Croatia will do really well
I liked the 2006 entry and I like this one. But I've also liked some in English such as Subwoolfer recently and the extremely underrated Icebreaker from a few years ago.
The Israeli song got rewritten in a few parts. All those involved in the song have said it's still on the same subject, as is the music video. The reason the EBU went along with it could be that the sponsor Moroccan Oil is an Israeli company. Several entries have spoken out about this whole affair.
For what it's worth I don't like the music anyway, it's quite dirge-like in it's pleading even if you don't think it's manipulating. I'd take the Serbian song over it easily.
@@CallMeCaroline Italy is popular every year, Sanremo (preselection) has a huge reputation being older than Eurovision. However like Sweden I think they get overrated most of the time.
Fun! I let the whole video play as I cleaned! I don't know which I'd pick, but it actually made me go on a Eurovision kick and played some older years' shows. Very cool! And I loved how proud you were when Australia's song came up! That was adorable, if you don't mind me saying so! It made me happy for you!
cannot wait for Eurovision this year,
I love going in blind for the final so i'll come back to this video afterwards and see how it holds up!
I'm so excited for it too! I usually go in blind as well so I totally get it!
Not the semi finals? :(
That was fun to watch, thank you! There are a lot of really interesting contestants this year. I never know who will actually win, my personal faves are Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Italy and Armenia.
Thank you for such a refreshing reaction. I know it's already been said but there are five countries known as The Big Five who get an automatic place into the finals. In addition the winning country of each year receives an automatic pass into the finals for this years contest namely Sweden. So out of 37 countries 6 places are already taken for the final from said countries. As there are only 26 places for the final it leaves only 20 places available to be filled. So in essence 31 countries competing for 20 places. So no doubt there will be surprises and shocks as to who gets through, but that's Eurovision for you I guess.
The Croatian entry is insane, I absolutely love it! This is what Eurovision is all about. I want it top 3 at the very least, especially when the beat comes in, good lord! 😄Though I have to stick with Finland for the win, cause of my Finnish friends and how many times I've been there. Windows95 Man!! 🤣btw I'm blown away that you went through EVERY song. and the UK surprised you, well we often do! 😅Our last few entries have been way better than the sh*tshow of the past.
Your work is meticulous, congratulations
I don't think it's just about who wins. And if it was only about a formula for Eurovision there would be no variety. For the show as a whole you need different styles.
And really I just care about what I like rather than what most may like in a consensus vote. Sometimes dirisive songs can be among the more fun even.
I love the Baby Lasagna song, but the video outro is not part of the song like you thought. Same for the Bambi Thug video outro.
@caroline
It’s so interesting to hear your take because it’s a good reminder to someone like me who at this point heard each songs dozens of times), that the first listen is crucial for being able to win (usually, not always). But it definitely help a song makes it into the top 10. Other songs with a super strong staging also do well. And usually if the performer is absolutely stunningly beautiful, they do well too (even bad songs have needed in top 10, top 15 over the years). I do agree that being able to sing along helps a lot. But not always a must.
Looking at your list, it’s fairly similar to the odds and the herbal consensus. Perhaps not in the exact order, but generally speaking , the ones at the bottom are indeed the ones struggling and the ones in your top 10 are indeed the ones vying for the prize.
4 notables exceptions are Germany, Estonia, Latvia, who are very low in people’s minds (I am unsure if Estonia and Latvia will qualify, not likely), plus Finland, which is an odd duck this year in the sense that I expect people to have strong reactions to it - it will either be very loved by the televote, or it will fo poorly and maybe even not qualify (??? I think it still will).
I think France is the real dark horse this year. I think it will rank super high by the juries (unless they take off points for the lyrics - if you speak French you realize they are at grade school level). The big question is how will the home viewers respond to it. It might do very well and end up as #3 or #4. Or it might be in the top #10. If the audience don’t warm up to it, it will be #20 or so.
When it comes to the Israeli song, you’re correct that the politics will affect it immensely ( I personally find that a shame, people should focus on the music). For this reason, it might have challenges qualifying. If it manages to qualify, it will likely receive some 7, 8,10,12 from some juries, but completely left out from many juries. So I expect it to end up around #20. Which is a shame because it’s a well written song, and a strong vocal.
Lastly, let’s look at all the songs that have a chance to stand out this year. They fall into a few categories:
1. Songs that are beloved (or at least well liked) from the first listen:
•Croatia
•Ukraine
•Italy
•Belgium (only if the vocals are good)
•Lithuania
•France
•UK
•Netherlands (not my personal cup of tea but it’s catchy and engages people)
•Belgium (the build up comes a bit late, but it’s a powerful ending)
2. Songs that are expected to have a different, unique or strong performance or staging:
•Croatia
•Netherlands
•Sweden
•Finland
•Norway
•Switzerland (potentially)
•Belgium (potentially)
•Greece (potentially)
•UK (potentially)
3. Power ballads that truly build up:
•France
•Israel
4. Songs that are expected to do well with juries AND well (or at least pretty well) in the televote:
•Italy
•Ukraine
•Switzerland
•Croatia
•France
•Belgium (if vocals are good)
•Netherlands (if juries actually appreciate it - Joost Klein is a known name)
So if you check which songs cross several categories for getting points, you get (well, I get anyway) to the following conclusion:
Songs fighting for the top 5 (and this year’s winner!) are certain to come from these contenders (in Alphabetical order):
•Croatia
•France
•Italy
•Netherlands
•Switzerland
•Ukraine
•and maybe Belgium - but only if vocals and staging are incredible)
Then, rounding out the top ten will be the following: (in alphabetical order):
•Lithuania
•Norway
•Sweden
•According to what I said earlier, Finland should be listed here, but I just don’t think it will be in the top 10….
If UK does super well with its staging and the jury, it might be able to sneak into the top 10. But mostly likely just top 15.
I wanted to add one last comment about Austria. A lot of people absolutely love the song. If by some miracle it does well with the juries, it might crack the top 10. But I doubt it. Maybe top 15.
Let’s see if these predictions come true.
❤❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜
Caroline thanks for making this about music and music alone, which is how it should be on a channel that's about all things music. We all needs safe and enjoyable places to retreat to from the world sometimes.
I was actually in Israel when the Eurovision was held there five years ago, and drove past the concert hall on the evening that it was held. I didn't attend as I was there for unrelated reasons, but it was a pretty huge event at the time and basically everyone watched it on TV.
A cousin of mine flew in from the US just to attend it and another cousin sold concessions outside. Never been a huge fan myself but it's not really a big deal in the US, but it's fun and the important thing is that people enjoy it and that it remains above and apart from all the other things going on.
And for the record, I didn't particularly care for the song and performance that won it for Israel the previous year. Not because of politics or all that other stuff. Just not my thing. What did you think of it, since you're a pretty big Eurovision fan? I seem to recall that it was some sort of chicken dance type thing. As you say, it's ok to not like a particular song! It was kind of entertaining though, visually, and they put a lot of effort into it.
Like your honest reaction ❤
Yeas!!! We have same top 2. Croatia and France. ❤❤❤
My Top 5:
Switzerland 🇨🇭
Italy 🇮🇹
Luxembourg 🇱🇺
Austria 🇦🇹
Georgia 🇬🇪
Hi Caroline just a heads up that on BB2 this evening (8:35 GMT) they are marking the 50 years of ABBA winning at Eurovision with 5 programmes, I’m sure you have seen them all but I think ‘More ABBA at the BBC’ might be a new dive into the archives. The other programmes include ‘When ABBA came to Britain’ ‘ABBA at the BBC’ and ‘ABBA in Switzerland’ and ‘The Joy of ABBA I’m sure all are available online somewhere. 👍
Croatia is my absolute favourite! They HAVE to win!!
Meow, cat, please meow back - croatia one of my favs
I also wasn't really into the dutch one, other than it was quirky and catchy. Then I looked at the translated lyrics/subtitles and heard the backstory, now it's my second favourite. The impact of the unity and humanity message is surprising to hear in such a poppy euro dance song.
This gives us a genuine look at the ranking when people listen to the song for the first time. Most viewers are only going to hear it for the first time on the night, so this could well truly be the outcome. The odds say Switzerland is going to win, but the margins between each entry are so small that it can go anyway.
Tele vote no one really knows and so many good songs this year up ireland
Just discovered you and have been binging on your reactions-- great combination of insight and honest reaction. Thanks! You're the perfect person to introduce me to Europe's best new artists/songs. Especially liked Tali's and Iolanda's sound-- added to my playlist! In general, though, I long for the Autotune era to end-- after enjoying the sliding harmonies of the Beatles, the bent guitar pitches and blues touches of Led Zeppelin, the idiosyncratic "out-of-tuneness" of Alabama Shakes or The Rolling Stones... it makes the buzzy autotuned voices sound flat and dead to me. Does Autotune bother you?
Hi, I really liked and enjoyed your video but, let me say that there are six countries which are Spain, Uk, Germany, Italy, France and last year´s winner that get to the final directly. By the way, for Spain you chose the official video but the live performance is way much better. Thank you.
The UK being in a disaster in the Eurovision didn't really start until the 2000's we where very rarely outside the top ten until then racking up a fair number of 1st to 4th places, I think we might still
have the record for the most second places.
I like that we have 3 new languages represented this year from Norway, Azebaijan and Australia, New as in never been represented before in ESC!
Merciiiii
France is my winner as well! Followed by Switzerland, Italy, Lithuania and Neatherlands 😁Hi from Sweden!
I looove the way you react!!
RAMONDA
the song certainly sounds victorious
putting it in a cliché has no logic because it stands out from all the compositions by itself.
listen to it in the acoustic version
so it is clear
Thank you so much from Malta 🇲🇹 ❤
Giving 7 to Georgia and 7.5 to Italy while giving 8.6 to Finland is a crime!!!
Oh yes, I thought Windows was the worst song of the finals. Still the performance was good and the others were struggling. Still, Italians underrated. Croatia, Italy and the Swiss. Of course I love Estonia or Ireland. Kalle from Finland
lol what?! That happens in this video? That's a bold move 😂😅🥲
Agree not in same class as Greece or Italy.
But teenagers might like Finland with a silly man in underpants and give it some votes. 😢
Caroline almost predicted the winner - she gave the eventual winner, Switzerland, a score of 8.5 which was a tie for fourth place on her list. But she got it right for the second place winner!! Croatia was second also in her rankings! She did not do well with third place as Ukraine was in the middle of her rankings. But predicting correctly the second place winner is awesome!
Caroline have you ever written a song that you think could have a chance of getting in to Eurovision or you think is suitable for the contest
My winner is France as well! His live vocals are out of this world. Totally agree, especially in a year full of fun and quirky songs France really pops out
Didn't Abba win Eurovision one year? Just asking. =P
I think I may have heard of them before? Did they go on to have a good career? 😜heheheheheh
Yes with the song Waterloo
Hum Interesting. Good songs. 👏👏👏👏💌
You should check out the Ukrainian Rock band called “The SiXsters” new song “Feels” (rock ) or a ballad. “I Stare at You”. Songs are in English. They’re in Germany now for obvious reasons. They Rock they have Eurovision in their sights.
When we'll have the reactions to Real Love, Free As A Bird and Now And Then by The Beatles? 🥺🙏🏻
Sorey but givvimg serbia 6.8 is a crime. Its one of the fan favourites predicted ro do extremly well with jurys. Its obvies the western basic generic taste you havez only liking generic up beat songs and screaming vocals. Disgusting and terible
Sorry*
giving*
Serbia*
It's*
to*
extremely*
It's* (x2)
obvious*
have*
upbeat*
terrible*
Ok. İt is just your opinion and we have to respect it. But i see that the lowest points in the ranking it is between 6.5/10. according to this assessment, these songs are automatically disqualified from the final night. I hope you are much wrong, especially for Greece and Albanian song. They look stunning. İMO your musical taste does not reach more than 6.5/10.
Merci pour la France 🇫🇷💖
Germany was a 10 ❤
Both Zorra and La Noia are excellent examples of how staging changes everything. Both these acts are super engaging live, but on record they sound average.
❤ from 🇱🇻
My rankings are quite different. I would give Italy and Israel 10/10. Belgium, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg 9/10. Austria is soooo overrated for being a very basic Eurodance song.
😻RTTD🐈
It feels like this contest is becoming who is more controversial rather then whos most talented singer or whats the most beatiful song. Just like with the most things lately we produce meaningless garbage and ppl pretend to like it.
Greece was amazing
The UK used to win sometimes. It must be about 30 years since the last one though.
I dislike many of the winners of the event, including that Katrina and the Waves song.
6,8 to Greece?????? CRIME!!!! UNFORTUNETELLY YOU DON'T KNOW from Eurovision
Of course it's a crime. She has no taste at all , lol.
ρε μαθετε να σεβεστε την αποψη του αλλου βλαμμενα
@@drjulietburke ωραια συμπεριφορα και ανατροφη μπραβο!!!
@@drjulietburke περιμενε τη μυνηση τωρα για το βρίσιμο!!!!
@@StergianiPapoutsi-qv2in ελα εβρε με ρε μαννοκαλαμαρα
as a norwegian, I might be bias, but sweden and norway has the best songs lol
Israel's entry is great 👍🏻😃 all my votes go to Eden. Love from The Netherlands 🇳🇱
Billy joel next❤
Im Polish. And I am disappointed 😅. 2 years ago we had a good performance. A year ago it was just sytaight up bad and i have mixed feelings for this year...🤍❤️
My top 5 this year are
1. Switzerland 🇨🇭
2. Italy 🇮🇹
3. Greece 🇬🇷
4. Croatia 🇭🇷
5. Serbia 🇷🇸
Portugal ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Greece 6.8? Hahaha
That’s why Australia should stop competing
Aussies think eurovision is like the 2000s when the weirder the better
Things changed
You dont think Greece is weird?
Agree with you GREECE WINNER ALERT❤❤❤❤❤
@@adamtideman4953 how’s it weird? Cos of the trolling video clip?
Bro's saying the whole country should withdraw because of one person's opinion
Finland 8.6 😂
Hey Caroline, I'm Israeli and just wanted to thank you for reacting to our song, and not letting the situation affect your opinion of the song. Am Israel Chai 🇮🇱❤️
P.S. wondering how long will it take for someone to comment something mean and inappropriate 😃
Edit: it took 25 mins 😆
@@KingRich616 tell me how? By giving full equal rights to 2 miliion arabs? By acting according to international law and getting humanitarian aid to gaza?
@@eternalsunshine9010 that's true and it is being investigated. I too want the ones responsible for that to be punished.
maybe Australia is more connected to Europe in some ways because in North America you seldom hear about eurovision
They know more British TV, early on from the 80s they often broadcast the BBC's transmission of the contest. Eventually from the early 2000s they did their own commentary.
My prediction is that Slovakia, Monaco, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Turkey, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Romania will not win the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest.
I think you might be onto something there...
I underestimated how "Euro" Australia is.
England will grand final as there in big 5 good song but up ireland give them a vote
Portugal masterpiece.
Potpuno ti dajem za pravo da budes neznalica..
-Caroline, don't let it drive you crazy, it's your taste and your decision.
I think some people only look at the country and don't listen.
My ranking is also a bit different, because I'm a Zorra ;-)
1. Spain 🇪🇸
2. Netherlands 🇳🇱
3. Switzerland 🇨🇭
4 . Belgium 🇧🇪
5. Estonia 🇪🇪
6. Serbia 🇷🇸
7. Lithuania 🇱🇹
8. Croatia 🇭🇷
9. Latvia 🇱🇻
10. Germany 🇩🇪
11. France 🇫🇷
12. Finland 🇫🇮
13. Italy 🇮🇹 .
14. Ukraine 🇺🇦
15 .Israel 🇮🇱
16. Armenia 🇦🇲
17. Sweden 🇸🇪
18. United Kingdom 🇬🇧
19. Greece 🇬🇷
20 . Austria 🇦🇹
21. Australia : 🇦🇺
22. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿)
23. Georgia 🇬🇪
24. Portugal 🇵🇹
25. Cyprus 🇨🇾
26. Slovenia 🇸🇮
27. Norway 🇧🇻
28. Island 🇮🇸
29. Moldova 🇲🇩
30. Poland 🇵🇱
31. Luxembourg 🇱🇺
32. Denmark 🇩🇰
33. San Marino 🇸🇲
34. Czechia 🇨🇿
35. Malta 🇲🇹
36. Albania 🇦🇱
37. Ireland 🇮🇪
so you have polish genes? were you born in poland or australia? i love poland. been there many times. i dont live far away. im from norway.
🙏🇬🇷💪🎲🤞
portugal 2017 won and it didn’t build at all
Love you, never rate again 💜💜💜
As is the case for anything like this, differences in opinion will occur, but I really enjoyed your reaction and rankings!
My personal top 10:
1. Switzerland
2. Armenia
3. Netherlands
4. Georgia
5. Estonia
6. France
7. Luxembourg
8. Italy
9. Belgium
10. Croatia
Obviosuly not judging on talent lol
I totally disagree your opinions !
my top 10 :
1) Italy (by far from the rest, already a eurovision classic) - 11/10
2) Norway - 9/10 (one word, epic)
3) France - 8.5/10 (the voice of ESC 24)
4) Greece - 8.5/10 (innovative & authentic)
5) Armenia - 8/10 (pure ethnic fun)
6) Switzerland - 8/10 (very good vocals)
7) Belgium - 8/10 (clever built-up)
8) Croatia - 7.5/10 (very energetic)
9) Israel - 7.5/10 (great melody)
10) Estonia - 7.5/10 (best beat of ESC 24)
Rest of the songs have score 7 and below for me
Армянский песня плагиат разве это не балканский песня?
Amazed anyone reacting to ALL Eurovision and coming across as a 'fan' does not know that certain countries get straight through to the final.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
France song is just a copy of Italian entries in the last two years: they have seen it worked out very well for us and they have decided to give the endless boring male ballad a go! Sorry but the results is quite meh, he sounds like the discount version of Marco Mengoni from 2023 Italian entry…and it simply doesn’t win the comparison! Sorry but France won’t make it, there are too much far better songs for the win!
Your reaction ist 0 i dont feel your reaction sorry just 0
Sorry...Albania and Latvia were the only ones even close to being listenable. Everything is just SOOOO synth heavy, over produced, lots of processed vocals ...and does everything have to be DANCEable?? There was like 1 ballad. Very few actual instruments that I could determine. If a band came out with a guitar, bass, drums, organ/piano and no laser-light show I would award them as the winner even if the song wasn't any good. I would cancel Eurovision contest 2025 and make everyone sit at home for a year and think about what they did.
Sorry Caroline, I’m waiting for you to continue on the Led Zeppelin journey.
good for you
Me too. I never listen to this these days. I mean after the great songwriters of the past and singers like Streisand , Aretha Franklin , Shirley Bassey , Brenda Lee , Patsy Cline , Sam Cooke , Diana Ross , Tony Bennett etc etc etc why bother. It's so samey and of no substance, Tis a shame cause Arianna , Celine Dion and others can truly sing! 🐨
@@johnbyrnes7912 True. There was so much unbelievably fantastic music made between the 1950s and 1990s that if you’ve never listened to much or all of it you could spend your life experiencing so much top quality music. Then when you try to listen to modern stuff it doesn’t even come close. Modern music is complete rubbish. The exception being Greta Van Fleet.
Just chill. Led Zeppelin was around for more than 50 years by now. Led will be there tomorrow 👍😉😄
@@joe6096 There is still good music being made. It's just not being served up on a platter like it was when you were younger. You have to dig for it now.
Wait why are you not ranking these based on how much you like them? Instead ranking them by how much you think others will like them??
Being ethnic is not being weird ... don't make any confusion with that
Giving 6.8 to Greece shows us that you only classify music for how many beats per minute it has, not for the for the originality it has or the quality it shows. Just for this, I won't see your video any further. Ciao ... teenage tastes are not my cup of tea, sorry ...