The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews

By The EuroWhat? PodcastMusic Music Commentary Music History

The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews episodes

January 12, 2021Episode 102: Hoe is de Zorg?
We have songs to talk about! Israel and Norway have Eurovision tracks in the wild while we consider the optics of putting on the Contest amid a pandemic.
Hoe is de Zorg Summary
Process updates: Greece, France, Finland, Sweden (1:25)
Israel: Three songs (leaked) for Eden (7:18)
TV This Weekend: Norway's NRK Melodi Grand Prix and Lithuania's Pabandom is Naujo (19:01)
What are the four Eurovision scenarios? (28:13)
Links
Cover Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash
Spotify Playlists: Selection Season | Albania | Estonia| France | Norway
Eurovision 2021 Calendar
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
36 min
January 05, 2021Episode 101: Disco Toilet
From Albania's FiK selection to Senhit's latest disco cover to the results of ESC 250, we discuss a lot of Eurovision news from over the holidays.
Disco Toilet Summary
Anxhela Peristeri wins Albania's Festivali i Këngës with "Karma" (1:41)
Selection season updates (10:10)
Lithuania, Croatia, and Italy announce contestants
Belarus is open for submissions
Serbia's Hurricane and Ireland's Lesley Roy are coming back
Spain will use a national final for Blas Cantó's song
Israel announces three songs for Eden Alene
Slovenia will use EMA to select Ana Soklic's song
San Marino's Senhit covers Abba's "Waterloo"
Iceland's Daði needs a choir (Google Drive)

ESC 250 Results and Analysis (25:07)

Links
Cover screen from RTSH / YouTube
Spotify Playlists: Selection Season | Albania | Estonia | France
EuroWhat's On 2021 Calendar
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
39 min
December 15, 2020Episode 100: Spotify Warped
We're celebrating 100 episodes and the end of 2020! After checking the news, we look at our Spotify Wrapped, ESC250 ballots, and our origin stories.
100: Spotify Warped Summary
Eurovision at the Grammys (1:41)
New Eurovision Logo for 2021 (5:05)
Selection updates: Israel, Estonia, France, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia, Italy (6:31)
Festivali i Këngës Picks (11:49)
Spotify Wrapped or Warped? (22:04)
Our ESC250 Ballots (30:30)
How did we get radicalized into Eurovision? (35:50)
Links
A Data-Driven Identity for the Eurovision Song Contest That Unites and Celebrates (Clever Franke Eurovision logo case study)
Spotify Playlists: Albania | Estonia | France | Selection Season 2021
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
43 min
December 01, 2020Episode 99: Merry FiKmas
Eurovision season usually begins in December with Albania's Festivali i Këngës, sometimes known as FiKmas. We dig into FiK's history.
Merry FiKmas Summary
Eurovision 2021 Updates: Semi-Final Allocations and Plan C Videos (2:49)
Artist Updates (7:52)
Cyprus will send Elena Tsagkrinou with "El Diablo"
Bulgaria's VICTORIA floats "Ugly Cry" for consideration
Senhit covers "Amar Pelos Dois"
Damir won't represent Croatia; Aksel won't represent Finland
The ROOP will compete in Lithuania's Pabandom is Naujo

National Selection Updates (16:53)
France's National Final coming in January
Norway expands Melodi Grand Prix 2021
Upcoming drops: Sweden's Melodifestivalen Acts, Estonia's Eesti Laul songs

Main Topic: Albania's Festivali i Këngës and How to Open Up (25:36)

Links
Cover Image by Peggy and Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay
Eurovision Selection Season 2021 Playlist (Spotify)
#71: Sticks Nix FiK Picks
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
1 hr 4 min
November 17, 2020Episode 98: Let’s Talk Turkey
Turkey was last at Eurovision in 2012. We wanted to take this opportunity to comb through its history at the Contest and gobble up any information we could find.
Let's Talk Turkey Summary
Corrections: Stupid Sexy Flanders Edition
News (3:15)
Belgium's Hooverphonic changes its lineup
Ben Dolic won't return to represent Germany
Albania's Festivali i Këngës releases 26 songs and its (tentative) schedule
Israel hops online to choose Eden Alene's song
Estonia announces the 24 entries for next year's Eesti Laul

Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest
Debut (13:17)
1980s (22:41)
1990s (28:39)
Every Way That I Can and beyond (34:07)

Links
#67: Hungary for Turkey
Turkey at Eurovision playlist (Spotify)
Fesitvali i Këngës 59 playlist (YouTube)
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
51 min
November 03, 2020Episode 97: Eurovision AV Club
We could all use a distraction during *gestures at universe*. Here are some picks for Eurovision-adjacent media from our AV club.
Eurovision AV Club Summary
News: 41 Countries to Participate at Eurovision 2021, Daði & Gagnamagnið for Iceland, Senhit covers "Rise Like a Phoenix" (2:38)
Selection Season process details: Lithuania's Pabandom is Naujo, Finland's UMK, Croatia's Dora, Denmark's Melodi Grand Prix (7:56)
ESC 250 voting opens November 9 (13:19)
Eurovision Book Club! (16:11)
Three Minutes of Eternity (Amazon)
Being Conchita: We Are Unstoppable (Amazon)

Eurovision Movie Club! (29:16)
Monsterman (Amazon Prime)
Souvenir (Trailer)
Cupcakes (Trailer)

Links
Photo by Juraj Gabriel on Unsplash
#20: Bite The Apple
#31: Eurovision Gifts for 2018
Bem Bom Trailer (YouTube)
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
52 min
October 20, 2020Episode 96: Take! It! Off!
The Masked Singer has proven to be an international hit and a potential aftermarket for Eurovision alumni. Mike from Aussievision joins us to discuss the insanity.
Take! It! Off! Summary
News: 38 countries so far, Norway dates, Italy process (2:00)
Iceland Airwaves presents Live from Reykjavik (5:54)
Netflix offers Fire Saga For Your Consideration (8:07)
Main Topic: The Masked Singer as Eurovision Aftermarket (15:56)
Special Guest: Mike from Aussievision discusses the Australian version of the Masked Singer (26:51)
Links
King of Masked Singer: Ryan Reynolds and Dami Im
#28 The Aftermarket
Special Guest: Aussievision.
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
47 min
October 06, 2020Episode 95: Six on Stage
Will Howells has created a database called Six on Stage, cataloguing every performer on the Eurovision stage. We chat with him about the project and get caught up on the news.
Six on Stage Summary
How to build a database (1:03)
Watching and re-watching (and re-watching) Eurovision (12:16)
The singers under the stairs (20:36)
News
4 plans for Eurovision 2021 (37:06)
Country updates: Sweden's Melfest schedule, Belarus drops VAL, Dream Team journal (41:36)
"Congratulations" and happy birthday to Senhit (49:11)
Hatari's A Song Called Hate premieres (52:18)
Eurovision in the Wild: America's Got Talent, Just Dance 2021, the People's Choice Awards (53:39)

Links
@WillHowells on Twitter
Six on Stage
#89: 12 Points to Fire Saga?
Special Guest: Will Howells.
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
1 hr 3 min
September 15, 2020Episode 94: Double Trouble
Ben flies solo again with another audio essay, this time looking into performers who made double, triple, and even quadruple visits to the Eurovision stage.
Double Trouble Summary
Eurovision, Again? (0:55)

Defining a "Lead Artist" (2:00)

Golden Boy (3:17)

The Four-Timers Club (4:25)

Three is a Magic Number (9:04)

CAROLA (11:00)

Close Close Close, but No Cigar (13:07)

Second Time's the Charm (15:36)

Glow-Ups (17:33)

The Direct Opposite of a Glow-Up (20:50)

Failure to Launch (24:58)

Keep That Same Energy (25:56)

What's Another Year? (26:50)
Links
Cover art: EBU / Andres Putting / Thomas Hanses (Eurovision.tv)

Six on Stage website

Sound Off or contact the show to Ask Us Anything

#59: 12 Angry Points
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
30 min
September 01, 2020Episode 93: Rotterdam, Ahoy! Take 2
Rotterdam gets to take a mulligan on 2020 as we look ahead to how preparations for the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest begin to take shape.
Rotterdam, Ahoy! Take 2 Episode Summary
Mailbag and Eurovision in the Wild (2:13)
Eurovision at the DNC

The Crossword: Friday, August 21 in the New Yorker

Animal Crossing Fashion by Nitro Gnome

"Zenit" by ONUKA in Just Dance 2021

Where are we with countries and artists for next year? (18:35)
Senhit's Freaky Trip to Rotterdam: "Ding a Dong"

Ben's NRKMGP Presentation

How is Rotterdam planning for Eurovision 2021? (27:43)
With COVID, how is the 2021 edition of Eurovision Organized? (RTS)

Links
Cover Photo by Gerard Lakerveld on Unsplash

Episode 61: It's Rotterdam! Ahoy! (Caution: some YIKES content)
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
34 min

About The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews

From the publisher's feed

The Eurowhat? Podcast launched in 2018 and features two Americans (Ben Smith and Mike McComb) attempting to make sense of the Eurovision Song Contest. The show tracks national selections and artist…