Anyway I've had a couple of listens, definitely need more before the final points shuffle.
1 Greenland - Liz - Last Call (After Party Mix) – Well it’s fine but out of a field of 30+ songs? Hmm. Nice enough but flat dance pop is not quite the ticket here. It’ll do, but it really won’t.
2 Cayman Islands - Marcus and Martinus - Make You Believe In Love – Of course this is equally as generic but generic is fine if there’s a satisfactory hook. This is pretty decent basic pop, and that’s with boy voices. I care not for the video or their ages, sometimes visuals are just not advisable.
3 Cornwall - LEON – Falling – Reasonable lightweight fluff that wants to soar but doesn’t quite get there. S’alright though. I really want to love this more than I do but it kind of tails off..
4 United Arab Emirates - Clare Laffut feat. Yseult – Nudes – a bit of a groove but after one minute the foreplay gets a bit old despite some late flourishes to keep me tickled.
5 Croatia - Beast in Black - Sweet True Lies –
6 Saint Kitts and Nevis - Cosima - Close To You (Moonlighting) – Presumably a mistake
7 British Indian Ocean Territory - Stockholm Noir feat. Ofelia - Boy Like A Girl – Eternally wistful in that it never leaves that state after luring you in. The thing is said state is quite pleasant really. Do we NEED to go anywhere? Actually after two minutes we really do..
8 Tunisia - Scandal'Us – History – of course I enjoy its jiggling 2001 style squelches and beats but it doesn’t strike me as top tier turn of the century gold if you’re going there.
9 Belize - Macy Rodman - She Will Be A Relic One Day – I’m probably in the wrong frame of mind but I’m frightened and it hurts. Actually it’s really unpleasant.
10 Faroe islands - Natassa Bofiliou - Oi Meres Tou Fotos – No idea love but jaunty melancholy springs to mind. Bit bland though. Almost like the lemon scented Dettol to clean up the rabid dog attack of a song preceding it.
11 Portugal - Kosheen – Waste – oh Kosheen. A solid effort but not your finest. Thanks for turning up though. There isn’t much better on its album to be fair.
12 Finland - Gareth Emery feat. Bo Bruce – U – If this was judged true Eurovision style on a first impression status then I imagine this faceless trance number to be right up there. But since we simply must cross examine everything, it’s emptiness is clear especially with the horrible pacing. Jump straight to that final chorus where finally it seems to know what it’s doing.
13 Iran - Dana International - Fata Morgana – I did not know it. I don’t know how much I need to know it beyond 2 minutes but I’ll take it. Reliable 90s banger.
14 Belgium - Yasmine Hamdan – Nediya – Enticing
15 Chile - Deep Dish - Say Hello – oh what a mournful joy. I remember this and I remember the year it came out where I was pretty much in a terrible place so combined it truly THRUMS my heart. It does verge on flatlining but just about gets away with it.
16 Liechtenstein - Twinnie - Type of Girl – Decent bubbly pop song. Completely faceless and not much more to say about it however it is most welcome among this lot.
17 Namibia - S.O.A.P. - Live Forever – There was a time when so many fabulous pop songs managed a weird combination of 90s dance elements and latin stylings with a layer of overwhelming sadness and nostalgia all with a pure pop melody. I’m not saying this ticks all those boxes in a perfect way, but it definitely ticks them.
18 Slovenia - Greyson Chance - seasons nineteen – No
19 Sweden - Paradisio – Bailando – I really don’t care for this as much as it begs me to. Sweden should be worried about qualifying if there was any sense here (or any qualifying). But it’s Sweden, not Anna Bergendahl, so of course it will do well. Can’t wait for the jury bias arguments again. Oh fuck it, it’s quite fun really and now it’s STUCK with me.
20 Cuba - Style of Eye feat. Soso – Kids – oh this has so many wonderful elements but a bit of editing wouldn’t go amiss. I’m certain I know this, or maybe that’s 20 other similar songs. As dance bangers go this one does it better than several efforts thus far though so job done.
21 England - Bassekou Kouyate - Musow Fanga – I’m not saying I like it but under the circumstances it’s a tonic.
22 Puerto Rico - Jennifer Paige - To the Madness – there are moments here that are so fucking perfect and gorgeous but it’s surrounded by the clip clopping hooves of plodding. Still quite lovely overall.
23 American Samoa - Cherona - Rigga Ding Dong Song – It has its place and that’s not necessarily a hateful one.
24 Mexico - Benee – Supalonely – I imagine it’s what some might call a “hot summer jam”. That’s a hideous term and this is only marginally better.
25 Sri Lanka - Francesca Michellin, Charlie Charles – Cheyenne – oh now here’s a game changer. Well probably not but it really is quite lovely. FLOWING (on a beautiful Italian breeze).
26 Swaziland - Kelly Oliver – Jericho – I’ve just set fire to my head. The pain is agony, I’ll be horribly scarred if not dead, but at least I’m distracted from listening to this monster.
27 Vatican City State - ionnalee – SAMARITAN – nowhere as good as it needs to be, it never quite takes off does it.
28 North Korea - Tessa Violet - I Like (the Idea) of You – I feel this will hinge on her performance on the night and the choreo, but I trust North Korea to go hard here for their debut.
29 Libya - Soraya Arnelas – Twilight – oh god bless whoever chucked this crap in. Cheap gay fast food. I’ll take a box meal thanks and sick it up later, full of regret.
30 Nepal - Barbara - Ma plus belle historie d'amour – makes you want to tip toe around doing fabulous French things whatever they are before stopping yourself and turning it off when you realize you don't know where you're going with this and neither does she.
31 Uzbekistan - J SOUL BROTHERS III - R.Y.U.S.E.I – yeah it's alright but I've really had enough now.
That doesn't make any sense.
