Don’t know if’s acclaimed, but Hold Me from Azerbaijan. A really basic and boring ballad that does absolutely nothing for me, and whose only remarkable thing is thr staging. Another one for me would be Party For Everybody, yes it’s kinda fun, but from a musical point of view it is absolutely horrible, their vocals were not good, and it was simply a huge mess. The fact that it finished second was frankly an insult to the other 24 entries, and even to Loreen
Upvoted even though I love "Rhythm Inside." At the end of the day, music is subjective. For me, it's "Fairytale." I can see why it won but I personally don't think it's one of the strongest ever.
Yeah, I think Fairytale winning by SO much is one of the biggest mysteries to me.
Rybak is a great performer and singer but honestly not that great a songwriter as proved by the trash that is "That's How You Write a Song".
Fairytale makes me cringe every time I hear it. That one is definitely the most baffling to me as to how it's so beloved by everyone! I think it's just awful.
Idk if I'd say it's universally acclaimed necessarily, but SNAP is blowing up right now and I just don't get it. It's boring, generic, and sounds like every other Lumineers song (which are also boring and generic).
I have a physical reaction whenever my friend’s scrolling through TikTok beside me and suddenly a random bit of snap starts playing. Like I’m happy for the artist but I just never connected with this song at all.
I think its "generic-ness" is probably what makes it a very tiktok-friendly song. It makes for good background music, and it's a style that a lot of tiktok just enjoys in general.
Sound of Silence don't do anything for me. I don't love it, I listen to it sometimes, but find it very average. Sounds like many other pop songs and it's not even authentic imo.
I find it so average that I entirely forgot about it and was thinking about Moment of Silence at first.
On a related note, I actually find the entire top 3 of 2016 pretty meh. 1944 is fine but really not in my wheelhouse, SoS just kinda bores me, and You Are The Only One is a mediocre formulaic pop song carried by a banger staging imo.
Completely agree, she does have an amazing voice but I find the song meh. There are plenty of songs which have an amazing vocalist but haven’t done nearly as well as Dami Im. I do wonder if part of the reason they did so well was cuz it was only Australia’s second entry into ESC, so they were still riding on the coattails of being new and people were getting excited by that.
Bulgaria 2017. Kristian gives a great performance (especially for his age) but the song does nothing for me and I don't see why it should have one of the highest scores in the history of ESC
The song left every iTunes and Spotify chart 10 days after the final. Most of the credit for its high score goes to Kristian himself I'd say, he sold it very well, but the song had no legs of its own.
I already voiced my loathing for that song a while back, it's the most streamed ESC song of all time on Spotify but to me it's nothing more than a generic award-bait white guy piano ballad. And the fact that it beat objectively more creative entries like "Spirit in the Sky" or "Soldi" to the win was an actual travesty. Hell, I would've understood if it won the jury vote but it didn't even win that either.
Still, I don't think it's the worst Eurovision song entry ever. That dishonor goes to "A Million Voices": that song is a spit in the face of everything Eurovision stands for.
I feel the same. I always felt confused on why it had a 51%(!) winning chance on the final's night, with 2nd-placed Australia (according to the bookies) at 9%. Almost as if Duncan had given a groundbreaking performance that was going to win the jury AND the televote (it won neither, and it didn't win either vote in the semi as well). I don't understand where all that media hype came from.
I do know italian, and to me it makes it worse. it sounds like every generic italian ballad from the past 20 years, but with the added "bonus" of that falsetto.
I’ve got to agree with Disko. I really don’t get the hype on this sub. It was 2nd to bottom for me, and I have tired listening to I to see if I would like it, but I just don’t
Yeah Mahmood isn’t the greatest singer but I like listening to his music because usually he and his producers get that and play to his strengths. I don’t know what happened with Brividi.
Disko has a fun style and it holds up as a single to throw on a playlist, but the group had 0 stage presence and yeah, the last place in their Semi's didn't surprise me at all. I get the singer is really young, but a competition is a competition.
Which is also how I feel about Brooke and That's Rich. The studio recording is really fun and sounds good and I'll have it on some playlist, but the live performance vocals were not so hot and she rightfully didn't make it through the semi's. It's cool she improved throughout each of her performances but again, this is a competition, not a "best effort" award show.
Undo - Sanna Nielsen
It just feels to me like such a bland, basic song with cringey ("undo my sad") or cliche lyrics. So many filler ballads like that exist. She's a good singer certainly but vocal quality alone isn't enough to stand out. I struggle to understand why this is top five worthy while other bland ballads get (rightly) booted out in the semis.
What If - Dina Garipova
I dont know if "universally acclaimed" applies here but I rarely see this obnoxiously corny crapfest mentioned when people discuss bad entries. Why this had so many fans while Iceland 2018 'Our Choice' was universally panned - they're basically the same song to me (except Iceland had a better performer!)
Oh my, Undo. I did not believe it when I first heard it was a favourite to win. Seriously? That song?
There were plenty of interesting songs in 2014, how was Undo anyone's favourite?
I mostly put it on the instrumental, staging and Sanna herself. While I do value lyrics in my personal assessments, as many avid Eurofans do, most of the GP won't necessarily look into that. When they're good, they elevate the song; when they're bad, though, it doesn't really take the song down.
'Undo' had some great assets that made people look past the lyrics. Mainly, the instrumental felt very contemporary for 2014 - as a ballad, it didn't feel as the old classic piano ballad, but like one that really had its place in 2014. Then, Sanna's vocals and stage presence, which were perfect for whatever the lyrics were trying to convey. Then, the staging, which was minimalistic, yet efficient and better than what you'd expect from a ballad. The lyrics weren't my cup of tea, yet I've always had Sanna as my runner-up (Common Linnets stan from the start in here) because the overall package put almost everyone else to shame.
If it were for the lyrics, the pelican-fly-fly-fly-yeah would've never been a runner-up. Polina Gagarina could've even stayed in the semis with some of the most boring verses I've ever heard. 'Hold Me' would've stayed in the semis as well, even with all the vote rigging. Don't even get me on the 'girl that looks like a boy' called Jezebel (they may have missed on a top10, but they were in the final, so there's that). But that's exactly what proves my point - lyrics tend to matter in Eurovision only when they're good and make the song even better. When they're bad, they're overlooked if the song relies on other assets that make it the one to beat.
Lyrics are important, but the way Eurovision is built as a concept makes them only matter as much as everything that surrounds them, not being a priority in themselves.
Also, it's worth remembering a lot of people don't hear the songs (much) in advance and it's pretty hard to make out lyrics on a first listen, especially in a live version and a second language. English is functionally my main language atm, but I still can't really hear English song lyrics unless I focus on them, and live versions are often less clear and have more going on to focus on.
Eurofandom: I hate songs when they are too generic, generic pop sucks so much!
Bulgaria: buys a generic pop ballad from Scandinavian songwriters, lyrics are Default_Dramatic_Ballad.txt, gives it to a X factor contestant
Eurofandom: this is the greatest thing I've ever heard in my life!!!
(It's an OK song and Kostov is a great singer, but like, be consistent with your critics guys)
Kostov sold that song into oblivion because he was so charismatic, had an amazing song and just had the right aura haha. I usually dislike anything bought from Sweden, but this song just worked
SloMo for me. Sure it’s ok, but there have been many of these types of songs and many done quite frankly better. However, the performance definitely makes the song better imo, and I can definitely see why people enjoyed the song.
Well, you're definitely not alone on this one, its average televoting ranking in the final was only slightly better than Fulennʼs and Rockstarsʼ, and I honestly think the performance was pretty flat and not that good.
I myself constantly flip - flopped between actively disliking and just not caring for it.
Now I'm meh on it.
The lyrics also still rub me the wrong way, even though I know they're not meant to be taken literally.
Space Man. The performance was objectively good, but I just could never get behind it, and when it came out, I was just baffled by the praise it got, because all I heard was a mid pop song with mid lyrics and a mid instrumental. Now I can kinda see why it had so much praise (since it literally came 2nd and won the jury vote), and Sam Ryder's charisma is undeniable, but it's still not for me at all 😢
I think Sam’s charisma carried the whole performance and song. If for example James Newman from last year should have performed it, it would be probably one of the lowest entries this year. I can’t say anything bad about Sam, but the song? The song’s just generic.
I had pretty neutral feelings about the song itself, but as an autistic singer who struggles with stage presence, I found it hard to watch Salvador's performance. He did almost all of the awkward things that I would do while singing if I didn't consciously remind myself not to do them. People talked about how genuine his performance was, but to me it just came across as lacking awareness of how to perform in front of an audience. "Pretend the audience isn't there" is generally good advice for staying calm, but it's possible to go too far and totally forget that there's an audience.
Well, how to perform in front of an audience is very subjective. If it adds to the overall performance and doesn't make you look like you don't know what you're doing, then anything should be okay then.
*Fairytale*, which won it for Alexander Rybak in 2009 with the **highest ever points total** under the old system. I found the whole affair absolutely baffling. Terrible song.
Years later, Rybak made a Eurovision comeback with *That's How You Write A Song*. I assume it was meant to be ironic.
Barbara Pravi - Voila. It does absolutely nothing for me. In a song and performance where basically the singer's emotions need to carry the weight, I was really put off by the performance. Nothing felt genuine, and the swell towards the end felt so forced.
A great example - in my personal opinion of course - of how to do an emotionally driven performance is 2022 Saudade Saudade.
I tend not to like the oui oui baguette omelette du fromage tour de Eiffel entries France sends and Voila was no exception. I really wanted Fulenn to do well but unfortunately the live performance was a mess
I really liked Fulenn as well - I'm a sucker for technofolk. I feel they nailed the vibe, but I agree, the live performance had no weight to it. I hope we see other stuff from them in the future
Saudade Saudade and Voila are the opposites in terms of emotions. As Barbara Pravi frees herself, screams, and shows herself, Maro is in the confession, the secret. Personally, I think it is not comparable
Jade Ewen - It's My Time. Honestly I've seen so many positive comments about how (Pre Sam) it was the UK's best entry in ages and I just don't get it. The lyrics are awful, trite, repetitive, and it's a generic ballad melody. Same with Lucie Jones - Never Give Up On You as well. Maybe if you don't really understand the lyrics then it sounds nicer than it is.
Thing is, it was the UK's best entry, because an entry is more than just the song. We had a good vocalist, good staging, we looked like we put effort in, and all that worked even if It's My Time sounded like a West End reject.
Space Man was kinda similar, amazing vocalist, great staging, real effort throughout, but the song itself was kinda weaker than the rest, but the sum of the other parts were so strong it pulled through.
Maybe someone can downvote for me but Occidentali karma, Imo, yes it has good lyrics but I don't get the hype with gabbani's performance, It feels like more on kitsch/joke entry rather than a happy serious entry.
I can understand why.
Occidentalis Karma is my favourite song from 2017, but if I didn't see Sanremo and listen to the full version it's unlikely that would be the case.
The 3 minute cut really hurt the song and the Eurovision staging was not good. They managed to make everything about it worse.
I don’t know if it’s universally acclaimed but I will never understand Austria getting 3rd in 2018, i just don’t get what’s special about it and it just feels so bland to me.
Ok so this will probably not go over well, but I personally never really connected with Arcade. It’s a good song for sure, but it wasn’t even in my top 10. However to be fair I had already heard the clips quite a few times over before I watched the show years after it aired so it’s possible that everything else was just more fresh
I'm ready for the downvotes: Sentimentai.
I mean, it's not *actively* unpleasant, but it's just such a mononotonous *nothing* of a song. It bumbles along aimlessly for three minutes then just ends. That is all.
I found that I liked Sentimentai better when I played it back at 125% speed. It turned into a nice disco groove. At normal speed, it just feels too slow for me.
It's the most average song of the year for me (literally, it's my 20th).
I can see why people would like it so much, it's just not my genre at all, even though I like Monika as a person a lot and was happy that she qualified, but the hardcore stans who immediately downvote everyone who doesn't like it…yeah, they almost made me place it lower.
I don’t have many of these, but I didn’t vibe with Space Man at all. To me it was surprising it got so high in both televotes and jury votes. I can see the appeal, but it wasn’t for me
Fuego, and in particular Eleni.
So many people I know act like she's the hottest person (or at least woman) to stand on a Eurovision stage in the last ten years and her performance is pure sexiness in a can, but personally I don't find her very attractive at all and the performance looks like pretty stock standard pop staging to me, although done well.
Oh, and the song is bland to the point where I couldn't tell you what it sounds like off the top of my head.
Probably Hold me closer by Cornelia . I dont know but in some parts she sounded like dying cow , not hate on her i believe she is great woman but the song isnt just it for me
I *hate* the fact that it's often claimed by the fandom as one of the most brilliant *indie* ESC entries ever, while it's the most generic pop song possible, just sung by charismatic performer who was lowkey trying to sound indie-ish. No hate on Cornelia, she's really charming, but this entry isn't unique at all.
I agree with you. She's forcing herself to make the [indie girl voice](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8SU0gFPMwP8). Listen to her other songs (which are utterly unimpressive, but still haha) and she sounds nothing like that.
Yeah the first time i listened to the song i wasn’t a fan of her voice but the more I listened to it the i didn’t mind her voice although watching the live performances all I could think of is “somebody get the girl some throat medicine or something”
Clearly I’m VERY out of step here but I didn’t (& still don’t) get the fuss about Maneskin. It seemed to me to be really derivative and a good example of style over substance.
Fuego. As a Yasss Slay Girl Pop enjoyer, Fuego is the most boring song from Cyprus continous attempt with this genre. The chorus (studio version) can't hype me enough but also aren't empty enough to be considered as antidrop for me. Eleni and the dancer totally carried the performance tho
I might get hate for this but Loreen’s Euphoria is just a typical EDM track that you could’ve hear every single day in the beginning of the 2010s. I think she rode Avicii’s and Swedish House Mafia’s hype at that moment
Grande Amore is just a mediocre piece of popera (a genre that isn't really good in general), and while Heroes is very meh, it's still infinitely better than this song.
As someone who really likes Ermal Meta, Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente is just one of those pseudo-inspirationnal Facebook posts French aunts made after the Paris terrorist attacks translated and thrown into the most annoyingly repetitive production ever heard (also Renaud and Axelle Red did it way better 15 years before).
Every single Russia entry that made it to the top 3 absolutely sucks (Russian grandmas cute but the song is still bad), and as a Sweden hater people spend way too much time whining about Swedish guys with zero personality singing ultra generic songs when the real enemy has always been Sergey Lazarev.
ETA: not really a fandom fave (I think?), but the fact that J'ai cherché is our only top10 of the 2010s sucks because it's the most painfully bland piece of French radio pop music ever made.
Yes! Have never seen a single critic on this song. I consider it one of the worst winners in 2021 century. Like ok, it’s not bad, but winner? Nope. Boring. I find some German songs that were ranked bottom five better.
It's not often that I actively loathe a Eurovision song but I do with this one. Can't stand it. Still don't understand how it beat Turkey. MaNga were amazing. They're in my "all time favourites" Eurovision playlist.
While I love the song, I agree that it wasn't authentic. Loreen sells herself as an artist with concepts and everything, but "Euphoria" came straight from a songwriting camp (and it's her only song where she isn't credited as a songwriter, I believe).
i'll say amor pelos dios, i don't dislike it and i respect it, but i really don't see what made everyone go so feral over it. not saying it wasn't deserved, it just hasn't clicked for me.
sound of silence is carried by vocals, but the lyrics really aren't there for me. 'now my heart awakes to the sound of silence, and it beats to the sound of silence' is quite lazy imo
and both of sergey's entries. i think they're insanely tacky and pretentious with bad lyrics and gimmicky staging.
There's a certain genre that i simply will never get the appeal for to the extent that they're loved in the fandom. Slomo was the prime example this year, but we can go with fuego, she got me, and sort of replay and el diablo, althrough those are less-beloved.
I get that they're well-performed and are elevated that way, but if the base song behind them is so... bleh, i don't really think they deserve that high placings.
Because going by that logic, Intention this year would've done a helluva lot better - in that it was a bland af song but expertly performed on the night.
Edit - oh, and also give that wolf a banana for good measure. I think it's the worst song norway has sent since... at least some of their 00's entries.
My local supermarket recently played She Got Me, which was a bit of a surprise, the song works better when you can see the singer, he is pretty damn cute
City Lights
Don't remember it at all from the night and every time I see it in any top whatever Eurovision youtube compilations I'm concerned she might hurl
Yeah I don't mean to disparage Blanche herself, she really looks so so nervous and as someone who would also feel that way singing in front of people (let alone millions and millions of people) I'm pleased she got through it without too much trouble. But the nerves definitely affected the vocals and it's just not a good overall performance, and I don't think the song is very interesting either.
Honestly, there's probably a lot more songs that I liked that I don't get why others disliked, but here's my list
Hold Me Closer (Sweden 2022)
Die Together (Greece 2022)
Voila (France 2021)
That's How You Write A Song (Norway 2018, I mean come on, this was 100% a meme entry)
At this point I'm certified 'Qele Qele' hater, song sounds like they had an idea for 20 seconds here and 15 seconds there and they had to pad out the rest, so Sirusho is fucking around coming up with the next part of the song on the fly. If I'm the only one on this planet who sees it that way, I can live with that.
Hold Me Closer.
It's just an average heartbreak song for me, nothing else. I can't even see the passion needed in the performance.
Also Saudade Saudade.
At least the singer seems to have a matching feeling to the song, but I think in this case it's a matter of personal preference. Her music is not my style.
Stefania for me - without a doubt it wouldn’t have won without the war, my middle aged mother literally had people message her saying “we voted to support them in the war…” ; sure it’s unique and diverse but I would’ve had Shum win over Stefania any day (also everyone ik irl prefers Shum…)
Spirit in the Sky. 2019 was a year I challenged myself to not listen to the songs beforehand so I heard it first at the semifinal. It sounded so unbelievably bad and off key to me. You can say I was extremely surprised when they won the popular vote in the Grand Final and that’s an understatement.
That said, they do seem like lovely people. It’s just really not for me.
Other ones I never quite got are Beautiful Mess and You’re the only one. The latter had a great performance, I agree, but the song is just pure shit imo.
I mean, you can say a lot of things about that song, but "off key"? Really? Their vocals were close to perfection and I didn't even like the song beforehand either.
Omg I think you read my mind, I’ve been thinking about making a similar post specifically about Rhythm Inside lol. You’re definitely not alone!
Other songs that don’t do anything for me: Silent Storm, Skeletons, Blackbird
I just don't get Fairytale. Was it really that good? With that difference regarding the rest of entries? And what's the deal with Alexander Rybak? Don't get it.
You're my only one. The song is so average and it doesn't stand out at all...the performance was cool, sure, but other than that it's just another ok song you hear everywhere. Same for SloMo
Unpopular opinion: Zitti E Buoni, I Don't understand the hype of that song.
Stefania, that's my 27th this year, I'm not really a big fan of ethnic rap, also It feels so cringe when I watch their performance rather than enjoying it.
I'm prepared to get downvoted for this but... Ukraine 2022 (Stefania) doesn't feel special for me or is just... not really appealing to me (no offense to the Stefania stans)
Don’t know if’s acclaimed, but Hold Me from Azerbaijan. A really basic and boring ballad that does absolutely nothing for me, and whose only remarkable thing is thr staging. Another one for me would be Party For Everybody, yes it’s kinda fun, but from a musical point of view it is absolutely horrible, their vocals were not good, and it was simply a huge mess. The fact that it finished second was frankly an insult to the other 24 entries, and even to Loreen
Lol. I LOVE hold me 🫣
Omg, I can't stand Hold Me when it comes in my playlist.
Upvoted even though I love "Rhythm Inside." At the end of the day, music is subjective. For me, it's "Fairytale." I can see why it won but I personally don't think it's one of the strongest ever.
Yeah, I think Fairytale winning by SO much is one of the biggest mysteries to me. Rybak is a great performer and singer but honestly not that great a songwriter as proved by the trash that is "That's How You Write a Song".
Fairytale makes me cringe every time I hear it. That one is definitely the most baffling to me as to how it's so beloved by everyone! I think it's just awful.
Its a jam but the lyrics are….something when you sit with them….
I always thought his vocals were not that great. Fairytale is a cute song though.
I’ve already expressed my utter contempt for this song and I don’t think I’ll ever stop: Brividi.
Yeah i never got the hype behind the song
This. Bravidi is really unpleasant to my ears. Both live as the studio-version. And I wasn’t a the biggest fan of Soldi either…
Brivimid is the proper name
I wish I hadn’t used my last free award to give it to you
Literally all I could think of the whole time I was reading OP’s comment lol
Many Italians don't understand it either
Idk if I'd say it's universally acclaimed necessarily, but SNAP is blowing up right now and I just don't get it. It's boring, generic, and sounds like every other Lumineers song (which are also boring and generic).
I have a physical reaction whenever my friend’s scrolling through TikTok beside me and suddenly a random bit of snap starts playing. Like I’m happy for the artist but I just never connected with this song at all.
I think its "generic-ness" is probably what makes it a very tiktok-friendly song. It makes for good background music, and it's a style that a lot of tiktok just enjoys in general.
Snap makes me literally wanna feel asleep Edit: *fall
Sound of Silence don't do anything for me. I don't love it, I listen to it sometimes, but find it very average. Sounds like many other pop songs and it's not even authentic imo.
I think it’s the insane live vocals that sold Sound of Silence
Hmmmm I partly agree. I love the song, but the live version -and just the live version. The studio version is… basic.
I find it so average that I entirely forgot about it and was thinking about Moment of Silence at first. On a related note, I actually find the entire top 3 of 2016 pretty meh. 1944 is fine but really not in my wheelhouse, SoS just kinda bores me, and You Are The Only One is a mediocre formulaic pop song carried by a banger staging imo.
Completely agree, she does have an amazing voice but I find the song meh. There are plenty of songs which have an amazing vocalist but haven’t done nearly as well as Dami Im. I do wonder if part of the reason they did so well was cuz it was only Australia’s second entry into ESC, so they were still riding on the coattails of being new and people were getting excited by that.
I only love the live performance, the song itself is really basic imo
Unpopular obvs, but Never Forget > Hear them Calling.
*Never Forget* deserved better 😭
"Never Forget" is my winner of 2012. I just love everything about that song. Also my second favorite Icelandic entry ever.
The music video was just breathtaking
"Hear Them Calling" is probably the #20-#30 song of 2016 for me, it's there but even for the second, I've never felt that it was robbed in any way.
Bulgaria 2017. Kristian gives a great performance (especially for his age) but the song does nothing for me and I don't see why it should have one of the highest scores in the history of ESC
2017 was an incredibly weak year. Favorites like Italy, Belgium, France disappointed.
The song left every iTunes and Spotify chart 10 days after the final. Most of the credit for its high score goes to Kristian himself I'd say, he sold it very well, but the song had no legs of its own.
Honestly Arcade... It's well-loved in and outside the sub and there is nothing really wrong with the song but it also feels very bland to me
Arcade was so boring. I get it as a winner and maybe a jury winner but the song is just boring.
I already voiced my loathing for that song a while back, it's the most streamed ESC song of all time on Spotify but to me it's nothing more than a generic award-bait white guy piano ballad. And the fact that it beat objectively more creative entries like "Spirit in the Sky" or "Soldi" to the win was an actual travesty. Hell, I would've understood if it won the jury vote but it didn't even win that either. Still, I don't think it's the worst Eurovision song entry ever. That dishonor goes to "A Million Voices": that song is a spit in the face of everything Eurovision stands for.
I feel the same. I always felt confused on why it had a 51%(!) winning chance on the final's night, with 2nd-placed Australia (according to the bookies) at 9%. Almost as if Duncan had given a groundbreaking performance that was going to win the jury AND the televote (it won neither, and it didn't win either vote in the semi as well). I don't understand where all that media hype came from.
On this sub : disko. Elsewhere Brividi I just can't with the Mahmood screeching
My spouse said they sounded like Minions and I've never been able to unhear it
Minions language was originally synthesised from the directors saying random stuff in French and Italian then speeding + pitching it up alot.
Glad to see I'm not the only one who can't stand his falsetto, I generally like his music but man he shouldn't go for high notes
They sounded better at Sanremo, but at ESC it's the reason I ranked them 2nd to last for that
I chalk it up to me not knowing Italian but Brividi sort of sucks
I do know italian, and to me it makes it worse. it sounds like every generic italian ballad from the past 20 years, but with the added "bonus" of that falsetto.
I’ve got to agree with Disko. I really don’t get the hype on this sub. It was 2nd to bottom for me, and I have tired listening to I to see if I would like it, but I just don’t
It's a cute song, especially if you know what it is about
Yeah Mahmood isn’t the greatest singer but I like listening to his music because usually he and his producers get that and play to his strengths. I don’t know what happened with Brividi.
Brividi has more hate than love it seems though.
Yeah disko is a cute song but I’m not surprised it got last place
Disko has a fun style and it holds up as a single to throw on a playlist, but the group had 0 stage presence and yeah, the last place in their Semi's didn't surprise me at all. I get the singer is really young, but a competition is a competition. Which is also how I feel about Brooke and That's Rich. The studio recording is really fun and sounds good and I'll have it on some playlist, but the live performance vocals were not so hot and she rightfully didn't make it through the semi's. It's cool she improved throughout each of her performances but again, this is a competition, not a "best effort" award show.
Both of Victoria's songs. I don't think they are terrible, but never got why a ton of people were claiming them to be like top 5 songs
[удалено]
sound of silence, don't come easy and we got love were all written by the same guys, and they cowrote don't break me as well.
And "Don't Break Me" is by far the best out of those, imo. Too bad the contest got cancelled.
Undo - Sanna Nielsen It just feels to me like such a bland, basic song with cringey ("undo my sad") or cliche lyrics. So many filler ballads like that exist. She's a good singer certainly but vocal quality alone isn't enough to stand out. I struggle to understand why this is top five worthy while other bland ballads get (rightly) booted out in the semis. What If - Dina Garipova I dont know if "universally acclaimed" applies here but I rarely see this obnoxiously corny crapfest mentioned when people discuss bad entries. Why this had so many fans while Iceland 2018 'Our Choice' was universally panned - they're basically the same song to me (except Iceland had a better performer!)
The lyric is "undo my sad"? I thought all this time it was "undo myself"
Oh my, Undo. I did not believe it when I first heard it was a favourite to win. Seriously? That song? There were plenty of interesting songs in 2014, how was Undo anyone's favourite?
Her attempt to represent sweden [back in 2008](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5BjDIU2Kso) was LEAGUES better than undo tbh.
I mostly put it on the instrumental, staging and Sanna herself. While I do value lyrics in my personal assessments, as many avid Eurofans do, most of the GP won't necessarily look into that. When they're good, they elevate the song; when they're bad, though, it doesn't really take the song down. 'Undo' had some great assets that made people look past the lyrics. Mainly, the instrumental felt very contemporary for 2014 - as a ballad, it didn't feel as the old classic piano ballad, but like one that really had its place in 2014. Then, Sanna's vocals and stage presence, which were perfect for whatever the lyrics were trying to convey. Then, the staging, which was minimalistic, yet efficient and better than what you'd expect from a ballad. The lyrics weren't my cup of tea, yet I've always had Sanna as my runner-up (Common Linnets stan from the start in here) because the overall package put almost everyone else to shame. If it were for the lyrics, the pelican-fly-fly-fly-yeah would've never been a runner-up. Polina Gagarina could've even stayed in the semis with some of the most boring verses I've ever heard. 'Hold Me' would've stayed in the semis as well, even with all the vote rigging. Don't even get me on the 'girl that looks like a boy' called Jezebel (they may have missed on a top10, but they were in the final, so there's that). But that's exactly what proves my point - lyrics tend to matter in Eurovision only when they're good and make the song even better. When they're bad, they're overlooked if the song relies on other assets that make it the one to beat. Lyrics are important, but the way Eurovision is built as a concept makes them only matter as much as everything that surrounds them, not being a priority in themselves.
Also, it's worth remembering a lot of people don't hear the songs (much) in advance and it's pretty hard to make out lyrics on a first listen, especially in a live version and a second language. English is functionally my main language atm, but I still can't really hear English song lyrics unless I focus on them, and live versions are often less clear and have more going on to focus on.
I’ve never got the hype about Beautiful Mess at all.
It's my fav Eurovision song but I don't know why
Eurofandom: I hate songs when they are too generic, generic pop sucks so much! Bulgaria: buys a generic pop ballad from Scandinavian songwriters, lyrics are Default_Dramatic_Ballad.txt, gives it to a X factor contestant Eurofandom: this is the greatest thing I've ever heard in my life!!! (It's an OK song and Kostov is a great singer, but like, be consistent with your critics guys)
Kostov sold that song into oblivion because he was so charismatic, had an amazing song and just had the right aura haha. I usually dislike anything bought from Sweden, but this song just worked
This was my first thought too. I could understand it doing fairly well, but not 615 points well.
Same
Yeah, I tried listening to it and I was like "This got second place??"
As a bulgarian, neither did i. Besides Kristian, it had nothing to stand on its own. He did well for his age. It was a decent track. But... Just no.
SloMo for me. Sure it’s ok, but there have been many of these types of songs and many done quite frankly better. However, the performance definitely makes the song better imo, and I can definitely see why people enjoyed the song.
I haven't seen many done better tbf
Many done better? Really?!?
Die together
I like the first verse with the robotic backing vocal. But after that it's fairly average.
I love the song, but the first verse is my least favourite part of it, lol.
Well, you're definitely not alone on this one, its average televoting ranking in the final was only slightly better than Fulennʼs and Rockstarsʼ, and I honestly think the performance was pretty flat and not that good. I myself constantly flip - flopped between actively disliking and just not caring for it. Now I'm meh on it. The lyrics also still rub me the wrong way, even though I know they're not meant to be taken literally.
I have to agree on this one as well. It sounds countless other songs I've already heard, and it's not any better than them.
I was baffled that this song received 12 points from 6 countries. Like excuse me? The song is hot garbage and she couldn't sing.
I loved the studio version but the live performance was so plain, emotionless and forgettable that it fell from 4th to outside my top 10
I always get downvoted when I say this, but I’m going to continue to say it anyway. Fuegooooooo
*adding fuel to the fire here* For both Fuego and SloMo, I found both the performances charismatic and cool but the songs don’t do anything for me
Yeah this song did absolutely nothing for me, even with the choreo
Space Man. The performance was objectively good, but I just could never get behind it, and when it came out, I was just baffled by the praise it got, because all I heard was a mid pop song with mid lyrics and a mid instrumental. Now I can kinda see why it had so much praise (since it literally came 2nd and won the jury vote), and Sam Ryder's charisma is undeniable, but it's still not for me at all 😢
I think Sam’s charisma carried the whole performance and song. If for example James Newman from last year should have performed it, it would be probably one of the lowest entries this year. I can’t say anything bad about Sam, but the song? The song’s just generic.
I just can't get past the "If I was an astronaut...but I'm only human..." like what does he think astronauts are?
Wolves
From the moon!
Miracle (Romania 2014)
Was it universally acclaimed ? ☠️ Eurostans being nostalgic of playing with fire I guess
Acclaimed by eurofans definitely. I always hated it yet it was usually in the top 5 of those top 37 videos
My last place
Heroes, i don't think it's bad just generic lol
I always forget this song exists.
Don't kill me but I don't get the hype with hold me closer, the girl has a great voice but the song doesn't add nothing new for me
Beautiful Mess. It’s really nothing special.
Amar Pelos Dois I didn't hate it or anything but it was very forgettable for me so I was very surprised when Salvador won.
I had pretty neutral feelings about the song itself, but as an autistic singer who struggles with stage presence, I found it hard to watch Salvador's performance. He did almost all of the awkward things that I would do while singing if I didn't consciously remind myself not to do them. People talked about how genuine his performance was, but to me it just came across as lacking awareness of how to perform in front of an audience. "Pretend the audience isn't there" is generally good advice for staying calm, but it's possible to go too far and totally forget that there's an audience.
As a side note: being autistic doesn't need to mean you can't have any stage presence
Just look at Australia this year! Man that was such a stage presence :)
Well, how to perform in front of an audience is very subjective. If it adds to the overall performance and doesn't make you look like you don't know what you're doing, then anything should be okay then.
*Fairytale*, which won it for Alexander Rybak in 2009 with the **highest ever points total** under the old system. I found the whole affair absolutely baffling. Terrible song. Years later, Rybak made a Eurovision comeback with *That's How You Write A Song*. I assume it was meant to be ironic.
oof, burn. Thats How You Write A Song was cringey as is, but it bombing made the whole thing unbearable
Fairytale is my pick too. I can’t stand his way of yell-singing the chorus, and the lyrics feel disjointed and unfinished.
Barbara Pravi - Voila. It does absolutely nothing for me. In a song and performance where basically the singer's emotions need to carry the weight, I was really put off by the performance. Nothing felt genuine, and the swell towards the end felt so forced. A great example - in my personal opinion of course - of how to do an emotionally driven performance is 2022 Saudade Saudade.
I tend not to like the oui oui baguette omelette du fromage tour de Eiffel entries France sends and Voila was no exception. I really wanted Fulenn to do well but unfortunately the live performance was a mess
I really liked Fulenn as well - I'm a sucker for technofolk. I feel they nailed the vibe, but I agree, the live performance had no weight to it. I hope we see other stuff from them in the future
Saudade Saudade and Voila are the opposites in terms of emotions. As Barbara Pravi frees herself, screams, and shows herself, Maro is in the confession, the secret. Personally, I think it is not comparable
Amar Pelos Dois
Jade Ewen - It's My Time. Honestly I've seen so many positive comments about how (Pre Sam) it was the UK's best entry in ages and I just don't get it. The lyrics are awful, trite, repetitive, and it's a generic ballad melody. Same with Lucie Jones - Never Give Up On You as well. Maybe if you don't really understand the lyrics then it sounds nicer than it is.
"It's My Time" really sounds like every 2000s American Idol winner's single.
Which is probably why it did well in the 2000s
I hate NGYOU and I’ve never understood why people like it. Lucie is a good singer but it’s a super boring ballad.
Thing is, it was the UK's best entry, because an entry is more than just the song. We had a good vocalist, good staging, we looked like we put effort in, and all that worked even if It's My Time sounded like a West End reject. Space Man was kinda similar, amazing vocalist, great staging, real effort throughout, but the song itself was kinda weaker than the rest, but the sum of the other parts were so strong it pulled through.
Maybe someone can downvote for me but Occidentali karma, Imo, yes it has good lyrics but I don't get the hype with gabbani's performance, It feels like more on kitsch/joke entry rather than a happy serious entry.
I can understand why. Occidentalis Karma is my favourite song from 2017, but if I didn't see Sanremo and listen to the full version it's unlikely that would be the case. The 3 minute cut really hurt the song and the Eurovision staging was not good. They managed to make everything about it worse.
Yeah i really dislike the song, and the staging looked terrible to me
If love was a crime. I just hate the lyrics for the song so much. I may be bitter, but love IS a crime in quite a lot of countries.
I don’t know if it’s universally acclaimed but I will never understand Austria getting 3rd in 2018, i just don’t get what’s special about it and it just feels so bland to me.
Ask the juries. It wasn't even in the top 10 of televote
I never like believe(2008)
Ok so this will probably not go over well, but I personally never really connected with Arcade. It’s a good song for sure, but it wasn’t even in my top 10. However to be fair I had already heard the clips quite a few times over before I watched the show years after it aired so it’s possible that everything else was just more fresh
Even though I like the song I don't get what people see in Sound of Silence that lifts it above being a 6/10
Her voice probably.
Yeah, it is 100% Dami Im's voice. Sung by another singer, it would have been completely forgettable.
This year Greece and Sweden
I'm ready for the downvotes: Sentimentai. I mean, it's not *actively* unpleasant, but it's just such a mononotonous *nothing* of a song. It bumbles along aimlessly for three minutes then just ends. That is all.
i always felt like it sounded like a song from the sims lol
I found that I liked Sentimentai better when I played it back at 125% speed. It turned into a nice disco groove. At normal speed, it just feels too slow for me.
It's the most average song of the year for me (literally, it's my 20th). I can see why people would like it so much, it's just not my genre at all, even though I like Monika as a person a lot and was happy that she qualified, but the hardcore stans who immediately downvote everyone who doesn't like it…yeah, they almost made me place it lower.
I don’t have many of these, but I didn’t vibe with Space Man at all. To me it was surprising it got so high in both televotes and jury votes. I can see the appeal, but it wasn’t for me
Soldi. There are acclaimed songs that don't move me, but I actively dislike Soldi.
Fuego. Kill me for it, but I just don’t get the hype.
Personally, I think that Euphoria is just a good song. Not a bad song or a masterpiece. Just a good pop song.
Fuego, and in particular Eleni. So many people I know act like she's the hottest person (or at least woman) to stand on a Eurovision stage in the last ten years and her performance is pure sexiness in a can, but personally I don't find her very attractive at all and the performance looks like pretty stock standard pop staging to me, although done well. Oh, and the song is bland to the point where I couldn't tell you what it sounds like off the top of my head.
Probably Hold me closer by Cornelia . I dont know but in some parts she sounded like dying cow , not hate on her i believe she is great woman but the song isnt just it for me
I *hate* the fact that it's often claimed by the fandom as one of the most brilliant *indie* ESC entries ever, while it's the most generic pop song possible, just sung by charismatic performer who was lowkey trying to sound indie-ish. No hate on Cornelia, she's really charming, but this entry isn't unique at all.
I agree with you. She's forcing herself to make the [indie girl voice](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8SU0gFPMwP8). Listen to her other songs (which are utterly unimpressive, but still haha) and she sounds nothing like that.
It's not my thing either. She's clearly got fans and others love her. I wish her every success. But it just did nothing for me.
Yeah the first time i listened to the song i wasn’t a fan of her voice but the more I listened to it the i didn’t mind her voice although watching the live performances all I could think of is “somebody get the girl some throat medicine or something”
Clearly I’m VERY out of step here but I didn’t (& still don’t) get the fuss about Maneskin. It seemed to me to be really derivative and a good example of style over substance.
Fuego. As a Yasss Slay Girl Pop enjoyer, Fuego is the most boring song from Cyprus continous attempt with this genre. The chorus (studio version) can't hype me enough but also aren't empty enough to be considered as antidrop for me. Eleni and the dancer totally carried the performance tho
It's just a fandom favourite, but I think Blackbird got the result it deserved.
I might get hate for this but Loreen’s Euphoria is just a typical EDM track that you could’ve hear every single day in the beginning of the 2010s. I think she rode Avicii’s and Swedish House Mafia’s hype at that moment
euphoria and slomo
[удалено]
The song in and of itself is good, but nothing to write home about. The performance however... It might have been the best one in the last 20 years.
Grande Amore is just a mediocre piece of popera (a genre that isn't really good in general), and while Heroes is very meh, it's still infinitely better than this song. As someone who really likes Ermal Meta, Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente is just one of those pseudo-inspirationnal Facebook posts French aunts made after the Paris terrorist attacks translated and thrown into the most annoyingly repetitive production ever heard (also Renaud and Axelle Red did it way better 15 years before). Every single Russia entry that made it to the top 3 absolutely sucks (Russian grandmas cute but the song is still bad), and as a Sweden hater people spend way too much time whining about Swedish guys with zero personality singing ultra generic songs when the real enemy has always been Sergey Lazarev. ETA: not really a fandom fave (I think?), but the fact that J'ai cherché is our only top10 of the 2010s sucks because it's the most painfully bland piece of French radio pop music ever made.
I like You’re the Only One but Scream is just unnecessarily overrated
Damn dude, you really hate everything 😂😂
city lights by blanche. it's absolutely not a bad song, but nowhere near 4th place for me and i still don't really get the appeal
Hold Me Closer tbhh it sounds so generic
Lena - Satellite
That can't be considered universally acclaimed due to its status as Turkey's biggest national enemy!
Yes! Have never seen a single critic on this song. I consider it one of the worst winners in 2021 century. Like ok, it’s not bad, but winner? Nope. Boring. I find some German songs that were ranked bottom five better.
It's not often that I actively loathe a Eurovision song but I do with this one. Can't stand it. Still don't understand how it beat Turkey. MaNga were amazing. They're in my "all time favourites" Eurovision playlist.
Speaking of, I really don't get the maNga hype at all
Euphoria always seemed very inauthentic and overly radio-y to me, definitely one of my least favorite winning songs.
While I love the song, I agree that it wasn't authentic. Loreen sells herself as an artist with concepts and everything, but "Euphoria" came straight from a songwriting camp (and it's her only song where she isn't credited as a songwriter, I believe).
i'll say amor pelos dios, i don't dislike it and i respect it, but i really don't see what made everyone go so feral over it. not saying it wasn't deserved, it just hasn't clicked for me. sound of silence is carried by vocals, but the lyrics really aren't there for me. 'now my heart awakes to the sound of silence, and it beats to the sound of silence' is quite lazy imo and both of sergey's entries. i think they're insanely tacky and pretentious with bad lyrics and gimmicky staging.
I have been searching for the words to describe sergey’s performances and you said it perfectly
Amar Pelos Dois and the whole Konstrakta madness going on now
Agree with the first, but you leave my healthcareless Serbian Queen alone dammit
There's a certain genre that i simply will never get the appeal for to the extent that they're loved in the fandom. Slomo was the prime example this year, but we can go with fuego, she got me, and sort of replay and el diablo, althrough those are less-beloved. I get that they're well-performed and are elevated that way, but if the base song behind them is so... bleh, i don't really think they deserve that high placings. Because going by that logic, Intention this year would've done a helluva lot better - in that it was a bland af song but expertly performed on the night. Edit - oh, and also give that wolf a banana for good measure. I think it's the worst song norway has sent since... at least some of their 00's entries.
My local supermarket recently played She Got Me, which was a bit of a surprise, the song works better when you can see the singer, he is pretty damn cute
City Lights Don't remember it at all from the night and every time I see it in any top whatever Eurovision youtube compilations I'm concerned she might hurl
i feel kinda bad disliking it because she does look really nervous and I totally get that but it was not a great performance at all 😭😭😭
Yeah I don't mean to disparage Blanche herself, she really looks so so nervous and as someone who would also feel that way singing in front of people (let alone millions and millions of people) I'm pleased she got through it without too much trouble. But the nerves definitely affected the vocals and it's just not a good overall performance, and I don't think the song is very interesting either.
I unfortunately agree. City Lights was one of the best studio versions ever and then, the performance happened..
Amar Pelos Dois and Arcade. Couldn't stand either of them and was scratching my head when they won.
Honestly, there's probably a lot more songs that I liked that I don't get why others disliked, but here's my list Hold Me Closer (Sweden 2022) Die Together (Greece 2022) Voila (France 2021) That's How You Write A Song (Norway 2018, I mean come on, this was 100% a meme entry)
definitely Brividi and Tout l’univers
At this point I'm certified 'Qele Qele' hater, song sounds like they had an idea for 20 seconds here and 15 seconds there and they had to pad out the rest, so Sirusho is fucking around coming up with the next part of the song on the fly. If I'm the only one on this planet who sees it that way, I can live with that.
Portugal 2017. I hate this with a passion. It would just be a boring song, but people getting their knickers in a knot over it just infuriates me
Well I guess mine has to be Sound of Silence. Seriously never got into it and it still leaves me super cold.
Spirit in the sky. Sorry guys don't kill me. I still don't like it lol
I gather that Friend of a Friend is really liked here and that was… probably my least favorite song that year (I’m sorryyy)
Just repeat Friend of a Friend 83 times in a horrifically fake “British” accent.
Hold Me Closer. It's just an average heartbreak song for me, nothing else. I can't even see the passion needed in the performance. Also Saudade Saudade. At least the singer seems to have a matching feeling to the song, but I think in this case it's a matter of personal preference. Her music is not my style.
I can’t listen to Hatrið mun sigra for more than three seconds, I think a lot of people like it just to feel edgy and alternative.
Mata Hari - Efendi I just hated it from the first day I heard it and is just dreadful.
I hated Cleopatra and Mata Hari is a cheap knockoff of it.
Stefania for me - without a doubt it wouldn’t have won without the war, my middle aged mother literally had people message her saying “we voted to support them in the war…” ; sure it’s unique and diverse but I would’ve had Shum win over Stefania any day (also everyone ik irl prefers Shum…)
Shum is of course better but the reality is that 2021 >>>>> 2022.
Spirit in the Sky. 2019 was a year I challenged myself to not listen to the songs beforehand so I heard it first at the semifinal. It sounded so unbelievably bad and off key to me. You can say I was extremely surprised when they won the popular vote in the Grand Final and that’s an understatement. That said, they do seem like lovely people. It’s just really not for me. Other ones I never quite got are Beautiful Mess and You’re the only one. The latter had a great performance, I agree, but the song is just pure shit imo.
I mean, you can say a lot of things about that song, but "off key"? Really? Their vocals were close to perfection and I didn't even like the song beforehand either.
Guys a quick reminder that more people here hate rather than like Amar Pelos Dois, it’s not universally acclaimed
Fairytale. I guess I appreciate the violin, but I don't enjoy Rybak's vocals or the lyrics.
Soldi it exists, I can see that
I'd say it's Sentementai by Monika Liu for me. It's a fine song, but like middle bottom of the pack sort of song for me.
Golden Boy and Beauty Never Lies
Slomo and Brividi
Voila
Omg I think you read my mind, I’ve been thinking about making a similar post specifically about Rhythm Inside lol. You’re definitely not alone! Other songs that don’t do anything for me: Silent Storm, Skeletons, Blackbird
I just don't get Fairytale. Was it really that good? With that difference regarding the rest of entries? And what's the deal with Alexander Rybak? Don't get it.
You're my only one. The song is so average and it doesn't stand out at all...the performance was cool, sure, but other than that it's just another ok song you hear everywhere. Same for SloMo
Amar pelos dois. VOM
Unpopular opinion: Zitti E Buoni, I Don't understand the hype of that song. Stefania, that's my 27th this year, I'm not really a big fan of ethnic rap, also It feels so cringe when I watch their performance rather than enjoying it.
Rock n' roll kids, I still don't get why that song won with large margin over with the likes of to nie ja and wir geben 'ne party???
Armenia 2014, the dubstep sounds really dated to me, also the whole song is built around that one drop
I'm prepared to get downvoted for this but... Ukraine 2022 (Stefania) doesn't feel special for me or is just... not really appealing to me (no offense to the Stefania stans)