This May will see the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest take place in Turin, Italy. Forty-one countries will be participating – 36 of them will battle it out in two Semi-Finals. The Grand Final on Saturday 14 May will see 25 countries vie for the top spot. The host nation this year, Italy, is a member of the so called “Big Five”, these being the five countries who contribute the biggest share of the budget to the contest, the others being Spain, France, Germany and the UK, and all get automatic qualification to the Final. For the last two editions of the contest the UK entry has finished in last place: Michael Rice in 2019 and James Newman in 2021, with the latter having the distinction of scoring no points whatsoever. Let’s hope that the UK’s Sam Ryder with Spaceman will do better this year.
The Eurovision Song Contest has the reputation of being high camp and kitsch, but in the last few years it does seem to have turned a corner music wise with the last two winners, Arcade in 2019 and Zitti E Buoni in 2021, both receiving critical acclaim.
Here are ten entries from the class of 2022 that are worth watching out for in this year’s contest.
LITHUANIA
Sentimentai sung by Monika Liu. Lithuania has yet to win the contest and has opted for a song sung in Lithuanian. It’s in the style of a French song from the 1970s, possibly hoping to replicate the success of the French entry last year which finished in second place.
IRELAND
That’s Rich, sung by Brooke. Seven-times winners, Ireland has struggled in recent years to reach the form it had in the 20th century. This year they’ve gone for something much more modern, and fresher compared to their usual ballads.
SPAIN
SloMo, sung by Chanel. Spain hasn’t won the contest since 1969. This year they’ve opted for the highly choreographed dance-pop type song that has become popular on the Eurovision stage in recent years. Expect loads of hip swiveling and catwalk strutting with this energetic number.
ISRAEL
I.M, sung by Michael Ben David. If you like your Eurovision to be camp then Michael Ben David will provide it in bucket loads with I.M. He even looks and sounds like a camper version of Rylan Clark if such a thing was possible.
ESTONIA
Hope, sung by Stefan. Go for something with an Italian flavour was probably on their minds with this entry; so Stefan has come up with a song that sounds as if it’s lifted from a spaghetti western, complete with staging a cowboy shoot-out.
ITALY
Brividi, sung by Mahmood and Blanco. In five of the last six contests the host nation has finished in the bottom four. Italy will be looking to reverse that trend and aims to be the first host nation to retain the title since Ireland’s three-in-a-row wins from 1992-94. Mahmood was the runner-up for Italy in the 2019 contest, so will be seeking to go one place higher in front of the home-crowd.
ALBANIA
Sekret, sung by Ronela Hajati. Albania are traditionally one of the first countries to select their entry, with Sekret being chosen back in December. This gives them several months to work and revamp the song, including adding some English lyrics - it’ll be no secret as to how this song translates.
LATVIA
Eat Your Salad, sung by Citi Zeni. With lyrics like “my sausage is bigger” and “jiggle that peach” this fun song is full of double meanings. This from the same country that had an entry in 2014 called Cake To Bake, maybe we can expect Whip Your Cream from Latvia in the near future?
NORWAY
Give That Wolf A Banana, sung by Subwoolfer. Another entry that features food in its title. This is the entry that is probably going to attract the most media attention this year. It’s Eurovision meets The Masked Singer which you will either love or hate. It has a hypnotic beat and is infuriatingly catchy and could well end up in contention.
POLAND
River, sung by Ochman. An amazing vocal range on display here from this American-born Polish artist who won The Voice Of Poland. He’s also co-written this entry. Poland has failed to qualify for the final on their last three attempt. This could be the one to change their fortunes with this quality number.
EUROVISION 2022
At the time of writing several countries had still to select their entry and there is a possibility of changes to the line-up of countries should politics get in the way. Ukraine is the only country with a 100% qualification success rate from the Semi-Finals, whilst Sweden, Russia (banned this year following the invasion of Ukraine) and Australia invariably reach the Final.
EUROVISION 2022
The 2022 Eurovision Song Contest Final takes place on Saturday 14 May 2022.
Here's everything you need to know about how to watch and enjoy the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, in Turin, Italy.
