By Valia Nikolaidou,
In less than a month, Eurovision, the most important European music competition, will be taking place in the city of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, and fans have already been excited over this year’s entries! Last year’s winning country, Ukraine, is unable to host the competition due to the ongoing war, so it will be held by last year’s runner-up.
Last year’s winning song “Stefania” represented by Kalush Orchestra, was an excellent example of a song that combined folk elements with hip hop, thus, making it a fresh and modern choice for the competition and resulted in their win. Following Ukraine’s successful electro-folk entry in Eurovision 2021 with the song “Shum”, there have been many countries wishing to showcase their cultures and steer away from the typical English and generic ballad or upbeat songs. This year is no exception. Of all the 37 songs featured in this year’s run, 14 of them will be sung in another language other than English. Let’s take a look at some of the most intriguing entries.
Czech Republic
The song “My Sister’s Crown” sung by the Czech folk group Vesna, features a whopping four languages: Czech, Bulgarian, Ukrainian and English. The lyrics tell the story of sisterhood, women empowerment and touch upon the subject of gender inequality with the lead singer rapping passionately “We are not your dolls”. The video clip showcases perfectly the Slavic culture with the band members dressed up in beautiful, traditional costumes. It has a very high chance of being the Czech Republic’s most successful Eurovision entry, with the last one being Mikolas Josef’s, 6th place with “Lie to Me” in 2018.
Spain
Blanca Paloma’s “Eaea”, sung in Spanish, is an ode to the singer’s late grandmother, who according to her has inspired a lot of her music and is, in retrospect, an anthem that celebrates powerful female ancestors. It combines traditional elements of flamenco along with modern pop and syncopated beats and the staging will capitalize on the female empowerment by featuring an ensemble of female dancers.
Finland
One of the most hyped entries of this year’s competition, Käärijä’s “Cha Cha Cha” is the first time in seven years that the Finnish language will be heard on the Eurovision stage, after 2015’s “Aina mun pitää” which failed to qualify to the Grand Final. It is an upbeat song about having fun and letting loose by drinking alcohol and partying. According to Käärijä, the song does not glamorize the use of alcohol but instead it is a self empowerment anthem that urges people to be their craziest selves.
Slovenia
The famous Slovenian boy band Joker Out are representing their country with the upbeat song “Carpe Diem”; the title of the song derives from Latin and it is the popular phrase “Seize the day”. The members describe their sound as “shagadelic rock n’ roll”, a mix of rock and retro Brit-pop. It is again another party anthem but with more chill vibes.
Croatia
Definitely the most eccentric entry of this year’s competition, “Mama ŠČ!” by the band Let 3 is entirely in Croatian and the song’s message is anti-war and the members even went as far as to say that it is a metaphor for the ongoing situation with Russia and their ally, the country of Belarus. Their peculiar stage presence and the controversial message have already put them in 17th place in the odds, with a high chance that their result will be even higher by the time of the final.
Serbia
Last, but definitely not least, is Serbia’s Luke Black with the song “Samo mi se spava” (“I just want to sleep”). A mix of English and Serbian, it is about Luke’s need to escape his feelings of loneliness by staying inside and playing video games all day, during the COVID-19 pandemic. With clever lyricism, containing various metaphors with video game references, and an interesting stage presence, the odds are putting him in the top 15 and rightfully so.
References
- Defeating Finland’s Fear Of Their Own Language At Eurovision. escinsight.com. Available here
- Vesna. eurovision.tv. Available here
- Blanca Paloma. eurovision.tv. Available here
- National Languages at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. johnthego.com. Available here
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Seize the day! Slovenia’s Joker Out will sing “Carpe Diem” at Eurovision 2023. wiwibloggs.com. Available here
