Our reaction to the Semi-Final 1 running order of Eurovision 2025. Iceland's Vaeb will open the show, while Cyprus' Theo Evan will close it. Among other things, we discuss how the start position could impact who qualifies; why Poland's Justyna was put in second position (the so-called "death slot"); why producers have Cyprus performing last; and so much more.

Watch this podcast on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohTaz4OfgFU

1. 🇮🇸 Iceland – Væb with “Róa”

2. 🇵🇱 Poland – Justyna Steczkowska with “Gaja”

3. 🇸🇮 Slovenia – Klemen with “How Much Time Do We Have Left”

4. 🇪🇪 Estonia – Tommy Cash with “Espresso Macchiato” 🇪🇸 Spain — Melody with “Esa Diva”

5. 🇺🇦 Ukraine – Ziferblat with “Bird of Pray”

6. 🇸🇪 Sweden – KAJ with “Bara bada bastu”

7. 🇵🇹 Portugal – Napa with “Deslocado”

8. 🇳🇴 Norway – Kyle Alessandro with “Lighter”

9. 🇧🇪 Belgium – Red Sebastian with “Strobe Lights”

🇮🇹 Italy — Lucio Corsi with “Volevo essere un duro”

10. 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan – Mamagama with “Run with U”

11. 🇸🇲 San Marino – Gabry Ponte with “Tutta l’Italia”

12. 🇦🇱 Albania – Shkodra Elektronike with “Zjerm”

13. 🇳🇱 Netherlands – Claude with “C’est la vie”

14. 🇭🇷 Croatia – Marko Bosnjak with “Poison Cake”

🇨🇭 Switzerland — Zoë Më with “Voyage”

15. 🇨🇾 Cyprus – Theo Evan with “Shh”

We react to the Semi-Final 2 running order for Eurovision 2025. Producers have Australia's Go-Jo opening the show and Finland's Erika Vikman closing it. We ask why Montenegro is in the death slot (second position); suggest that producers wanted to spread out the riskqué sexy acts (Australia, Malta, and Finland), ; and suggest Israel benefits hugely from performing between Luxembourg and Germany.  

Watch our reaction on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ANSBdl6845s?si=6cB2DOO1GBECXB6L

1.⁠ ⁠🇦🇺 Australia: Go-Jo with “Milkshake Man”  

2.⁠ ⁠🇲🇪 Montenegro: Nina Žižić with “Dobrodošli”  

3.⁠ ⁠🇮🇪 Ireland: Emmy with “Laika Party”  

4.⁠ ⁠🇱🇻 Latvia: Tautumeitas with “Bur man laimi”  

5.⁠ ⁠🇦🇲 Armenia: Parg with “Survivor”  

6.⁠ ⁠🇦🇹 Austria: JJ with “Wasted Love” 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Remember Monday with “What the Hell Just Happened?”  

7.⁠ ⁠🇬🇷 Greece: Klavdia with “Asteromata”  

8.⁠ ⁠🇱🇹 Lithuania: Katarsis with “Tavo akys”  

9.⁠ ⁠🇲🇹 Malta: Miriana Conte with “Serving”

10.⁠ ⁠🇬🇪 Georgia: Mariam Shengelia with “Freedom” 🇫🇷 France: Louane with “Maman”

11.⁠ ⁠🇩🇰 Denmark: Sissal with “Hallucination”

12.⁠ ⁠🇨🇿 Czechia: Adonxs with “Kiss Kiss Goodbye”

13.⁠ ⁠🇱🇺 Luxembourg: Laura Thorn with “La poupée monte le son”

14.⁠ ⁠🇮🇱 Israel: Yuval Raphael with “New Day Will Rise” 🇩🇪 Germany: Abor & Tyne with “Baller”

15.⁠ ⁠🇷🇸 Serbia: Princ with “Mila”

16.⁠ ⁠🇫🇮 Finland: Erika Vikman with “Ich komme”

William's reaction to the sauna song "Bara Bada Bastu" — Sweden's Eurovision 2025 entry from KAJ. The Swedish-speaking Finns rode a wave of momentum to win Melodifestivalen 2025. We review their live performance from the national final. Is it surprising the international jury place them second? Does it escape the "joke entry" label? And will the feel-good factor carry through to Basel? We discuss this and more.

00:01 Introduction

01:42 First reaction

04:53 Review and Analysis

07:54 Readers' comments

Featuring: William: http://instagram.com/williamleeadams

It was a nailbiting final in Melodifestivalen in Sweden, but in the end the victory went to the sauna boys! We caught KAJ for their initial reaction to winning and how they are gonna bring the heat to Eurovision.

Featuring: Simon - http://instagram.com/simonfalkdk

Måns Zelmerlöw was the bookmakers' heavy favourite to win Melodifestivalen, but in the end he finished second by only a seven point margin to eventual winners KAJ. We caught up with Måns for a quick reaction after tonight's final, and he tried to cope with not winning.

Featuring: Simon - http://instagram.com/simonfalkdk

Our reaction to "Wasted Love" — JJ's Eurovision 2025 song for Austria. JJ (full name Johannes Pietsch) mixes opera with pop and techno, all delivered in his gorgeous countertenor voice. We review his music video and discuss his artistry, presence, vocals, the song's touching lyrics and the scope for drama and staging in Basel. Can Austria qualify for the grand final? We look at the odds.

00:01 Intro

01:51 First Reaction

04:24 Reaction & Analysis

Our reaction to Serbia's Eurovision 2025 song "Mila" from Princ. We review the live performance from the Pesma za Evroviziju final (PZE 2025).

00:01 Introduction

00:41 Live reaction

03:39 Review & Analysis

09:04 Readers comments

Featuring: William: http://instagram.com/williamleeadams

Deban: http://instagram.com/deban_deban

Our reaction to "Baller" — Abor & Tynna's Eurovision 2025 song for Germany. We watch their live performance from the final of Chefsache ESC — the country's national selection. We review the artist's vocal capabilities, the staging, the song and more to ask: Can Germany win Eurovision again? #Eurovision #Chefsache

00:01 Introduction

00:28 First reaction

03:31 Review & Analysis

09:42 Readers' comments

Featuring: William: http://instagram.com/williamleeadams

Deban: http://instagram.com/deban_deban

Our reaction to "C'est la Vie" — Claude's Eurovision 2025 song for The Netherlands. We review the song's simple, but touching French-language lyrics, which convey a story of strength and perseverance. The singer — full name Claude Kiambe — was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and fled with his mother at the age of 9. The song is a tribute to her for reminding him to always look on the bright side of life. We ask whether this could win the Eurovision Song Contest, as it has great jury and televote appeal.

00:01 Introduction

01:01 The message of Claude's Eurovision song

01:37 First reaction

04:39 Review & Analysis

11:21 Netherlands Semi-Final 1

14:03 Readers' comments

Featuring: William: http://instagram.com/williamleeadams

Deban: http://instagram.com/deban_deban

It was a thrilling final tonight in DMGP 2025 in Herning, where the big favourite Sissal ended up taking the trophy with one point margin. We caught her after the show for her initial reaction to winning - and she promises to do everything she can to get Denmark back into the Eurovision final.

Featuring: Simon - http://instagram.com/simonfalkdk