The oddsmakers’ favorite turned out to be the winner of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. In some ways, the results are what most people were expecting. I got seven of the Top 10 correct, and the ones who made it that I didn’t get were in my revised “Bubbling Under” list. Still, there was room for a shocker or two.
For shocking final outcomes, let’s talk about FRANCE (Alvan & Ahez). Many fans (including myself) thought they should’ve figured in the Top 10, at the very least. But they ended up second to last, with a measly 17 points. They were severely marked down by the juries, and based on points, finished 19th in the televote. Was there possibly a Ryan Dolan Conundrum*1 at play here? I’ll discuss that further in a full-blown scoring analysis within next week. For those Spanish fans that were at an uproar when their favorite Tanxugueiras was marked down by the juries and thus prevented from becoming SPAIN’s entry to this contest, I have a feeling they will encounter a similar fate if they were sent instead of the eventual Benidorm Fest winner. But look much later on where SPAIN actually fared…
*1 So named after Ireland’s 2013 entry, who finished last in the final but based on actual average ranking actually wasn’t in last place.
Less surprising is the last place finish of GERMANY (Malik Harris). Fortunately it got some televote support and garnered 6 points, avoiding the double-nil points suffered by last year’s last-placer, UNITED KNGDOM 2021 (James Newman). Its 6 televote points allowed it to finish in 20th place in the televote, so could there have been a Ryan Dolan scenario for this country at play, too?
Ranking below FRANCE and GERMANY in the televote are some that are deemed as “jury darlings”: AUSTRALIA (Sheldon Riley – 9th with juries), AZERBAIJAN (Nadire Rustamli – 10th), BELGIUM (Jeremie Makiese – 13th), and SWITZERLAND (Marius Bear – 12th). The countries each earned less than 5 points, with SWITZERLAND having the dubious distinction of earning the dreaded nil televote points.
I expected NETHERLANDS (S10) and POLAND (Ochman) to be Top 10 finishers but they fell a bit short, finishing 11th and 12th respectively. Their showings were still strong but I was expecting a bit more support than what they received. NETHERLANDS was expectedly strong with the juries, placing 8th, but its 14th place standing in the televote made it drop out of the Top 10 and end up just knocking on its door. POLAND, meanwhile, was surprisingly weak with juries by placing 15th, and though its televote standing (9th) helped shore up its fortunes, I thought this will garner a lot more points than it did.
SERBIA (Konstrakta) and MOLDOVA (Zdob si Zdub & Fratii Advahov)’s Top 10 standings were fueled by televote. SERBIA actually placed a respectable 11th with the juries, but the points it amassed while figuring 4th in the televote helped it shoot to 5th place overall, its best showing since 2012. MOLDOVA was obviously marked down by the juries as it only placed 20th, but a groundswell of popular support (and palpable energy from the live audience) helped it garner 2nd place in televote and soared to 7th overall, behind its 2nd best-ever showing*2 in its debut by…the same primary act. Both are notable for their strong visual presentations–SERBIA with performance art and MOLDOVA with a peppy, joyful, infectious energy and happy shuffling choreography by the band members.
*2 Zdob si Zdub placed 6th in its country’s 2005 debut with “Bonika Bate Doba [Grandma Beats a Drum]“, its best showing until the 3rd place finish in 2017 by Sunstroke Project‘s “Hey Mamma“.
I also know PORTUGAL (MARO) would be a “jury darling”, but I didn’t realize the extent until we witness that it finished 5th with the juries. It managed to maintain its Top 10 overall showing even after placing 15th with the televote because of the relatively large number of jury points it amassed.
I was expecting ITALY (Mahmood & Blanco) to make a play for the Top Three, but admittedly their stage performance was imperfect (many noted Blanco’s voice was not in tip-top condition) and that made them drift a bit downward to a 6th place overall finish. Still, this country’s status as a powerhouse Big Five country remains intact.
Well, SWEDEN (Cornelia Jakobs) expectedly was very strong with the juries, placing 2nd. Unlike in the previous three contests where it’s weak in the televote, it did amass a significant number of points, but only enough to be 6th in televote and hence 4th overall.
It’s nice to see two erstwhile Big Five bottom-feeders SPAIN (Chanel) and UNITED KINGDOM (Sam Ryder) finally roaring back to life and finishing in the Top Three. SPAIN is consistently 3rd in all metrics, while the UNITED KINGDOM won the juries and placed 5th in the televote, garnering enough points to finish 2nd overall. The last time these two countries enjoyed placements this high was in the 1990s.*3 I hope this isn’t a fluke and we’ll see these two countries in strong fighting form in future editions of this contest. Both are worthy of their high finishes as they delivered the perfect balance of song quality, vocal talent, and strong visual presentation.
*3 SPAIN last saw a Top Three placement in 1995, with Anabel Conde‘s “Vuelve Conmigo“, while the UK last saw a 1st runner-up finish in 1998 with Imaani‘s “Where Are You?“. This is the UK’s 16th 1st runner-up finish.
UKRAINE (Kalush Orchestra) dominated the televote, garnering douze (12) points from 28 of the 39 countries voting for it. Some might say it’s sympathy for enduring Russia’s invasion and for them fighting back but we also have to note that they also have a quality song that actually grows on you after every listen and the visual presentation was also top-notch. So it’s no surprise the juries scored them well enough to rank 4th. I was hoping that they won’t win because of their current situation that could prevent them from being able to host next year, but I don’t begrudge their win as they prove to be compelling and deserve to be rewarded with this victory.
Because of the situation in the victor’s country, preparations for next year’s contest are still up in the air. Figuring out who could step in its place is also uncertain, though likely it might go to the runner-up, UNITED KINGDOM. There is also drama unfolding as the EBU replaced jury votes from six countries to a composite because of observed “irregular” results from the 2nd semifinal. I’ll be touching more on that as I’ll do a fuller review with some in-depth analysis (and hypothetical scenario if the 2013-2015 scoring system was still in place) on how these countries performed.
JUST ME!
JOSEPH