The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews

By The EuroWhat? PodcastMusic Music Commentary Music History

The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews episodes

February 04, 2020Episode 75: Austvia Superdecides
It's time to update your Eurovision Top 2 videos as Czech Republic makes their choice and Australia, Italy, and Latvia get ready to make theirs.
Austvia Superdecides Summary
Semi-Final Allocation for Realsies This Time (1:40)
Eurovision Ticket Sales (5:15)
Spain releases Blas Cantó's "Universo" (8:28)
Czech Republic chooses Benny Cristo's "Kemama" (10:12)
Greece selects Stefania (14:16)
Weekend Recaps: Lithuania, Norway, Sweden (15:58)
Italy's Sanremo Festival Begins (33:27)
Our picks: Australia Decides (35:35)
Our picks: Latvia's Supernova (44:49)
Coming up this weekend: Malta, Ukraine, Iceland, Poland,
Links
75: Austvia Superdecides Playlist (Spotify)
Australia Decides Aussievision Online Poll (Aussievision)
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
56 min
January 28, 2020Episode 74: Semi Final Allocation Czech In
Czech Republic came to play, y'all. We do a deep dive on this year's Eurovision selection entries and check in with news across Europe as we wait for the semi final draw.
Semi Final Allocation Czech In Summary
Semi Final Allocation (0:48)
Finland's UMK Entries' Slow Drip (6:11)
Czech Republic's Seven Songs for Eurovision (8:38)
Denmark and Belarus Narrow Down Their Fields (25:51)
Norway's Melodi Grand Prix Heat 3 Recap (28:09)
Lithuania's Pabandom iš Naujo Heat 3 Recap (34:59)
Coming up this week: Tickets, Spain's Song, Sweden's Melfest, Moldova's Auditions, Poland's Szansa na Sukces (38:54)
Links
Playlist: 74: Semi Final Allocation Czech In (Spotify)
Eurovision 2020 Accessibility Plans Revealed (Eurovoix)
Eurovision Semi Final Allocation (YouTube—Geoblocked in the US)
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
51 min
January 21, 2020Episode 73: Boys!
We have an avalanche of Eurovision news this week, including two new artist selections, a bunch of songs, and Billie Eilish?
Boys! Summary
Martin Österdahl named Eurovision Executive Supervisor (1:25)
Jon Ola Sand discusses the US at Eurovision (3:24)
Artist announcements: Tom Leeb for France, Vasil Garvanliev for North Macedonia (6:35)
Song drops: Portugal, Iceland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Moldova, Finland (9:08)
Norway Melodi Grand Prix Week 2 (19:00)
Lithuania Pabandom iš naujo! Week 2 (26:25)
Links
#73 Boys! Playlist (Spotify)
Martin Österdahl Book List (GoodReads)
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
32 min
January 14, 2020Episode 72: DRIP in a Box
Eurovision Selection Season 2020 begins in earnest with Norway's revamped Melodi Grand Prix and Lithuania's fashion makeover.
DRIP in a Box Summary
Jeangu Macrooy will represent the Netherlands (1:10)
Norway's Melodi Grand Prix Heat 1 (3:40)
Lithuania's Pabandom iš naujo! Heat 1 (9:23)
Serbia announces its contestants (14:33)
Czech Republic announces their artists (16:25)
This week: Portugal, Latvia, Iceland, Slovenia (20:45)
Links
DRIP in a Box Playlist (Spotify)
Latvia Supernova auditions (YouTube)
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
28 min
January 07, 2020Episode 71: Sticks Nix FiK Picks
We're barely a week into 2020 and we already have Eurovision drama up to our ears (HI ALBANIA!). We get caught up on the news from over the holidays in this episode.
Sticks Nix FiK Picks Summary
Albania's Fesitvali i Këngës chooses Arilena Ara's "Shaj" (1:51)
Georgia Idol chooses Tornike Kiniapi (13:34)
Australia Decides fills its roster (16:39)
Selection process news: Italy, Netherlands, North Macedonia (23:07)
ESC 250 Results (25:42)
Coming up this week: Ukraine artists, Norway's Melodi Grand Prix, Lithuania's Marathon (30:34)
Links
Playlist: 71 Sticks Nix FiK Picks (Spotify)
Festivali i Këngës: The Aftermath (Jessie Hong)
‘America’s Got Talent’: Australian singer Jordan Ravi was ‘robbed’ by ‘AGT’ judges, say 28% of viewers (Gold Derby)
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
38 min
December 31, 2019Episode 70: The Ones That Got Away 2010s Edition
408 songs competed on the Eurovision stage this decade. 148 did not qualify for the Grand Final. From those, we picked 20 that still hold up.
Episode Summary
2019 picks (4:03)
2018 picks (7:39)
2017 picks (11:40)
2016 picks (16:40)
2015 picks (22:07)
2014 picks (28:03)
2013 picks (33:48)
2012 picks (41:56)
2011 picks (46:05)
2010 picks (49:23)
Links
70: The Ones That Got Away 2010s Edition playlist (Spotify)
ESC 250 Countdown (ESC Radio)
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
55 min
December 25, 2019Episode 69: Ben’s Grand Eurofying Theory
Ben flies solo this week after getting too caffeinated while prepping for the last Eurowhat of the year. He develops a theory about Eurovision in the last decade and makes an audio essay about it. It involves snacks.
Episode Summary
How to define a decade (1:48)
Pop, with a Folk flourish (4:15)
Power ballads! (6:10)
The Azerbaijan Pop machine (9:00)
Italy returns (11:18)
Fuego, Replay, and repetition (14:48)
Folk, with a Pop flourish (17:26)
Interesting choices, struggling titans (19:06)
Balance shifts again (22:18)
Links
Hit Parade: Rolling in God's Uptown Road Edition (Slate)
Episode 69: Ben's Grand Eurofying Theory Playlist (Spotify)
Interstitial music in this episode from https://filmmusic.io ||
"Beauty Flow" by Kevin MacLeod || Creative Commons License
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
26 min
December 18, 2019Episode 68: Eurovisie Songfestivus
Tickets! Hosts! More selections! Eurovision 2020 is in full swing, but we look back at 2019 pop culture and make a 2020 wish list in this episode.
Episode Summary
Eurovision tickets on sale... for 20 minutes (1:32)
Eurovision Hosts: Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley, Jan Smit (6:26)
Austria selects Vincent Bueno (9:38)
Albania's Festivali i Këngës takes place this week (12:18)
Czech Republic invents some genres (14:55)
Festivus Grievances and Holiday Wishes (17:43)
What did your Spotify Wrapped look like? (29:50)
What other podcasts caught your ear this year? (36:52)
The Most Important Piece of Pop Culture of 2019 (42:12)
Podcasts We Recommend
By the Book
Cocaine and Rhinestones
Dolly Parton's America
Extra Hot Great
Hit Parade
List Envy (Mike's episode)
Who? Weekly
You're Wrong About
Other Links
Vincent Bueno competes in Austria's 2016 National Final (YouTube)
Festivali i Këngës YouTube Playlist
Episode 68 Spotify Playlist
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
46 min
December 04, 2019Episode 67: Hungary for Turkey
Hungary's reasons for withdrawing from Eurovision sound similar to Turkey's. What else do the two countries have in common?
Hungary for Turkey Summary
Eurovision 2020 Logo (1:32)
Cyprus announces Sandro Nicolas (4:03)
Bulgaria announces VICTORIA (7:07)
Sweden announces Melfest lineup (8:39)
Australia Decides: Mitch Tambo and iOTA (12:06)
Estonia presents its 24 songs (14:50)
Internal selections: Russia, France, Spain (16:49)
Main Topic: Hungary for Turkey (18:26)
Spotify Playlist
Links
Hungary pulls out of Eurovision amid rise in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric (The Guardian)
Is Eurovision too hot for government and public media? (Index.hu (Translated))
Turkey to return Eurovision 'if no more bearded divas' (Hürriyet Daily News)
Inching away from democracy? (Politico)
How Hungary Became a Haven for the Alt-Right (The Atlantic)
It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary (Vox)
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
35 min
November 20, 2019Episode 66: Iceland Airwaves
Our Senior Hatari Correspondent Ben traveled to Reykjavik to check in with the Iceland Airwaves festival and what's going on in the Icelandic music scene.
Episode Summary
How Many Countries are in Europe? We have an answer! (1:21)
National Selection Hopscotch (2:44)
Featuring Czech Republic, Estonia, Australia, and more!

ESC 250 Voting is open! (7:16)

Eurovision in Chicago: Onuka, Il Volo, Flying Steps (9:31)

Iceland Airwaves (15:53)

Links
66: Iceland Airwaves Playlist (Spotify)
Iceland Airwaves homepage
Support The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
47 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…