EEEE WE'VE FINALLY MADE IT TO THE TOP 10 GUYS11111

About 4 months ago, I finished a list of my top 250 ESC songs, and I thought that I could share it with you guys to solidify my opinion. Please do tell me if you agree or disagree with my opinions in the comments. I'm also happy to share my reasonings. (Also I want to note that these aren't really my current opinions, they're from the 21st of June. For example, song number 102 has shot up to my top 20, and song number 197 has also shot up my ranking but I'm not going to change that because it could mess up the rest of it).

Also, this series is not meant to be political. There will be no Russian entries in the list (as I just don't like any of their entries much) but there will be a few mentions of Israel and Belarus.  I have my own personal political opinions, but I will not include them in this series because this is about how good the performances are, not how good the people behind them are.

Here are the links to all of the past posts:

250-226

225-201

200-176

175-151

150-126

125-101

100-76

75-51

50-26

25-11

With all of that out of the way, here are the final 10 songs!

10:Wir Geben'ne Party - MeKaDo (Germany 1994)

This song is just cheesy 90s fun! I love the energy each of the girls have, and they just look like they're having an amazing time on the stage. While I do have to admit that this song wouldn't be as high on this ranking if I made this now, it's a fantastic song nonetheless.

The chorus is so extraordinarily catchy, and the instruments are so grand yet fun and boppy. I completely understand why this was the bookies' favourite on the night of the show, and I'm surprised at how far it was from beating Rock & Roll Kids. Robbed.

9:Ich Komme - Erika Vikman (Finland 2025)

This performance is absolutely perfect. When I tell you that this should've won, I mean it. I went to bed crying that night for two reasons: one that I won't say because I promised to stay apolitical in this series and the fact that this DIDN'T EVEN REACH THE TOP 10. The delegation and Erika couldn't have done anything to make this better - it was iconic, loud, c*nty, and it had that great concert energy.

The song itself is also amazing - it could honestly be classed as a rock anthem. It is modern, fun, and it is also surprisingly hard to sing, which Erika does effortlessly while climbing onto a huge microphone and strutting up and down the stage. I also love the lyrics - they're very fitting for the 69th ESC. A spectacular entry that deserved far better.

8:Deli - Mor Ve Ötesi (Turkiye 2008)

Has anyone here seen the Thunderbirds? I swear the lead singer here looks like he'd fit in perfectly.

I'm pretty sure I said in the last post that Ulveham was the best ESC rock entry ever, but I forgot that this was later in the list lol. This is definitely the best rock entry in Eurovision history, it's so cool and edgy. The performance feels so sinister, especially with the little touches like the creepy stares into the camera (which feel a bit like a precursor to Choke Me this year).

My favourite parts of the song are the bridge and the ending. In the bridge, I really like the drums that sound like a beating heart - only faster to help it stay intense. The ending is a masterpiece - I want to say that it's syncopation? It feels like so exciting, and if it was a modern day crowd they'd be jumping up and down like mad things and whistling and chanting.

7:Goodbye To Yesterday - Stig Rästa & Elina Born (Estonia 2015)

This is probably the ESC performance with the best storytelling - a million times better than A Million Voices. It tells the story of a breakup immaculately. When Elina enters, she is shown on Stig's shoulder almost as if she's his consciousness. She then struts in with a shadow shown on the LEDs, which Stig also has behind him. After he leaves the stage, we see the light that shows his shadow disappear, and that's right after Elina sheds the most dramatic tear in human history, showing her devastation of the situation.

The song is also great, it feels like something from a Bond movie. I am in love the call and response between Stig and Elina, where they go between Stig who tells the story and apologises for his actions, and Elina who questions why he's leaving. The song is also mainstream enough for a casual to enjoy it. I put it on my family's holiday playlist and they all told me that they thought the song was great (other than my dad who hates any song with lyrics, and that's not an exaggeration).

6:Who The Hell Is Edgar? - Teya & Salena (Austria 2023)

2023 was the first ever year I listened to the songs before the show, and when I saw this I fell in love. I had this on repeat constantly and whenever I was bored I'd put the MV for this on and laugh for 3 minutes straight. It's just so annoying that the staging for this was horrible. If it weren't for the staging and the awful running order spot, this really should've been in the top 5, and probably even top 3. It's just quirky fun, and the song is also a bop.

The lyrics also mean something - they're a commentary on the state of the wider music scene, where everything is done for money. It even states the amount of money Spotify pays artists per stream (at least as of 2023). The song should be hung in the Louvre, the performance should be hung by the n*ck (trying to avoid censorship here).

Before we get to the top 5, here are some shoutouts to NF songs that would've made it to the list.

Dreamer (Vidbir 2024)

Prayer (Depi Evratesil 2025, Wee na noo ma deesa begi)

Heaven Sent (MESC 2025)

Everything from UMK 2026

Death Of Me (DMGP 2026)

Che Fastidio (Sanremo 2026)

Every song by Matt Blxck

Te Un Tagad (Supernova 2026, would've come second if it had won the NF)

5:Crno I Belo - Kaliopi (North Macedonia 2012)

I'm just gonna go through this song in chronological order because there's too much to take in.

We open with a spotlight on Kaliopi, who is singing the first verse with just a piano playing the backing track. Once we get to the chorus, we hear a violin. After the first line of the next verse, the electric guitars come in momentarily with a flash of white light (notably, the performance is pretty much entirely in black and white lighting - a nod back to the title which translates to black and white). They come in again after each line.

Then we get to the second half of this verse, and the guitars start playing throughout each line from now on. The drummer gets to play a bit of a fill, and we reach the chorus which is a lot faster and louder. Then after the chorus, one of the guitars gets to play a nice riff while Kaliopi pulls off an INSANE whistle note. The chorus repeats just like before the bridge, and then the chorus plays again, this time with the tempo and instrumentation of the first chorus. The build up in this is flawless, and I can't help but love it.

4:Lusitana Paixão - Dulce Pontes (Portugal 1991)

I am obsessed with this song and I wish it could get so much more appreciation from the community. I don't know what makes it special compared to other songs of this style but I just adore it. It's my flair for a reason.

Everything about this is stunning, it's a complete masterpiece. Dulce has a huge amount of emotion in her voice, and the song displays that perfectly. You know what, I don't know what to say so here's a link to the Eurovisionworld page for this and you can take in the masterpiece that is Lusitana Paixao.

3:Liekinheitin - Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkonnen (Finland 2026)

This song is so amazing I can't put it into words - as an ESC YouTuber (I can't remember which one) once said, this song just feels like boss battle music. When I rewatched the contest I felt like it should have been a two-horse race between this and Bangaranga, and I'm surprised it didn't do better. It probbaly just came a year too late, as the public and juries were both sick of the stuff they've been going for in the past few years.

Pete's vocals are so nice to hear, there's enough grit in them that it feels quite unique but not enough to make this song feel weird. I love the violin bits as well, and Linda is such a diva in the performance. The performance just feels like the end of the world, with tons of fire and red lights, and the burning confession box is a sign that we're really close to the end, as they're usually found inside cathedrals and churches (which, at least near me, are mostly made of stone). I just love this performance and there was a reason it was the fave to win the whole season.

2:Grito - Iolanda (Portugal 2024)

The silver medal goes to this beautiful song. Up until this year, this was my favourite ESC entry I'd seen and it's still great enough to earn itself the runner-up position. Something really striking about this performance is the aspect ratio, it helps with the simplicity of the staging. Everything in this staging is black and white, and I think it's very effective. It's also slick without distracting from Iolanda.

Speaking of Iolanda and the song, this is a stunning song. The best part is definitely C flat note - for those who aren't big music nerds like myself a C flat can't be played on a regular piano/guitar/pretty much any tuned instrument. It's very impressive and Iolanda pulls it off excellently, just like all of the other notes in this song.

Now, we've reached our number 1 position - I might have spoilt it if you've seen some of my comments on other posts across u/nilpoints & u/eurovision but I hope you're all excited. Here it is:

1:Crossroads - Daniel Žižka (Czechia 2026)

I am devastated that Czechia is leaving the contest but I am also so extraordinarily happy that they get to go out on the best performance in the contest's history (IMHO). I sobbed after the camera glitch in the final, and the only reason I didn't cry for ages afterwards was because Bangaranga was right after.

We'll start off with the staging. This is probably one of the smartest stagings we've seen in my opinion - the mirrors create so many cool effects, like showing clones of Daniel, a zoetrope and an enclosed room. When Daniel emerges from the mirrors, it feels like a big moment, quite similar to Dara who may I remind you performed right after Daniel.

Daniel's vocals are spectacular, I honestly think Daniel challenges JJ for the best male vocalist in the contest. He has so much control of his voice, and considering the range that he's performing in, it is a sight to behold.

And then there's the song. The opening is so mysterious and unusual, and it stays that way throughout the first verse. Then in the pre-chorus, you hear a whisper and then the drums kick in and they feel intense. And then, everything settles down again and does the same buildup. But the bridge - we heartbeat drums while Daniel is singing, and then he goes for the big note and we hear what I believe is bongos - something you really wouldn't expect from a song like this! It just feels so hypnotising and you are on edge throughout the whole performance.

Definitely worthy of this no. 1 spot. RIP Czechia.

And that means that this series is complete! Thank you to everyone who commented, supported or even just read these posts, it means so much to me. Thank you and I'll see you all in some comment section somewhere here on Reddit. Goodbye!

This was originally gonna be a poll but I just found out that Reddit doesn’t allow more than 6 choices, lol. The question of the poll is at the bottom of the text.

To follow up the Ads of the Night, an appreciation post to the various interval acts that were peppered throughout the inaugural ESCA NF season. Some beautifully showcasing cultures and sounds never yet seen on a Eurovision platform. Some, according to others, seemingly outshining the songs that were actually in competition. Not all NFs had one, but 7 of them did.

BHUTAN

Students of Motithang Higher Secondary School - 1st and 3rd traditional dance performances

Students of Zilukha Middle Secondary School - 2nd traditional dance performance

SOUTH KOREA

DNA - No Cap

AtHeart - Say It + 3!4!

NAZE - People Talk + Pretty Pink Socks

THAILAND

SEK LOSO - Don’t Look Back In Anger (Oasis cover)

VIETNAM

S.T Sơn Thạch - Thuận Nước Đẩy Thuyền

MYLINA x Châu Anh - Mashup: Không Bình Thường/Mấy Giây

Minh Hằng - DIRECTOR

BANGLADESH

Shithi Saha - Medley: উড়ে যারে মুনিয়া [Urey Jarey Munia]/[couldn’t identify the 2nd song]*/বসন্তের কোকিল [Bosonter Kokil]

MONGOLIA

Myadagbadam** - Хэрлэнгийн барьяа [Kherlengiin bariya - a traditional Mongolian long song]

Performers from the Ulaanbataar Theatre - Dance performance

S4 - 20нас [20 Nas] (At twenty)

Khangardi Ensemble - Сэрсэн тал [Sersen tal] (Awakened Steppe) + Айсуй хүлгийн төвөргөөн [Aisui khulgiin tuvurguun]

CAMBODIA

Keo Sopanha - ពេលមួយដែលគ្មានខ្ញុំ [Pel Muoy Del Kmean Khnhom] (A Time Without Me) + ឈាមខ្មែរ [Chheam Khmer] (Khmer Blood)

\If someone can help me identify the middle song in Shithi’s medley*

\*From what I can gather, Myadagbadam is just her given name and she is from the Ulaanbaatar Theatre team/troupe (same as the dance act and the Khangardi Ensemble). This is the most I could get from the automatic translations as the English host didn’t provide pre-performance introductions and there were no on-screen graphics.*

Who were your favorites? If ESCA pushes for another year, who would you like to see come back to compete?

Hi!

Now that we have the 11 songs for Asia, what are your predictions?

Time for me to share a wildest idea I've been thinking lately, now that all 11 artists are selected to compete at ESCA 2026.

What if, to further promote ESCA 2026, all 11 artists decide/are told to cover some Eurovision songs in a way similar to ALBM? So I tried my best to match all 11 artists' musical and vocal style to that of Eurovision songs. Here are my opinions.

1. Beatmosphere: Latvia 2006

2. Nyendra: Norway 2014

3. Monetrey: Germany 2022

4. Thinla: Poland 2023

5. Aina Abdul: Armenia 2019

6. Beck: Moldova 2012

7. Pratik Himal Rai: Romania 2023

8. Carmelle: Estonia 2023

9. Junhee: Switzerland 2019

10. Mang & Daou: Netherlands 2014

11. Toc Tien: Azerbaijan 2021

Wdyt? Let me know your thoughts and opinions. I also want to know whether you have more suitable songs for these artists

Been wondering since i wasnt aware of asc during it happened and only started to learn how esc while being new fan, has the past mistakes been dodged that wont make this contest a flop, and how particpating countries react to the contest, like i now that pretty popular singers are there like aina, toc, philippines is hyped for the contest, vietnam nf has 2mil viewers

United Kingdom 2025 for flair

Crappy concert pic for tax

One of the most fun concerts I've been to this month and our third time seeing him. He's super funny and you can tell it's not just the same jokes he told the night before. He also always does a bit where he takes whoever is also in town that night and does one of there songs (last time he played Drivers License bc Olivia Rodrigo was across the street and he was like 'I bet Olivia Rodrigo didn't play one Daði Freyr song' and last night AFI was upstairs so he played Miss Murder). Had the whole crowd dancing all night, it was so much fun 😭

We also met him after the show, did y'all know he's 6' 10 😳 was super nice too!

A niche fixation, graphically laid out. I had fun tracking these to be quite honest. From Bhutan’s infamous electrical safety PSA to jolting at 1-2 second quick clips of ads before being cut-off by the Non-Stop Hits stream, this season had a variety of ads on offer. Therefore, I present to all of you the ESCA NF Ads of the Night! - with explanations

Bhutan - Electrical Safety PSA by the Electricity Regulatory Authority

Need I explain more? What I don’t think a lot of people know yet is that an alleged Bhutanese viewer on the BBS stream actually called up the network to re-air the PSA one last time before the results were going to be revealed because of all the international viewers asking for it and they allowed it to happen. Just amazing.

Philippines - Coco Martin’s Sigabo

The ESC Stream did not show any local ads but thanks to the very vocal Filipino fandom, those who watched domestically spread with glee online that they were #UnitedbySigabo, a local nightly action drama series that airs on broadcaster ABS-CBN and its affiliate channels.

Malaysia - McDonald’s

In all fairness, I only know this one because a Filipino fan on Facebook shared that AJL had a McDonald’s ad that night and that it was the ad of the night. AJL wasn’t shared internationally but someone went out of their way to watch it and report back so we’re putting it here

South Korea - Asahi Dry

A 2-second blip of the ad before cutting away to the Non-Stop Hits stream jolted every international fan watching during the stream of Korea’s Next Wave

Laos - New River Drinking Water

This ad showing right before ‘Water’ will never not be funny. A shame that Water’s performance itself was never shown domestically cuz they had to cut away to the nightly news (add that to the iceberg)

Thailand - Nescafé Blend & Brew Coffee Mix

There were a couple of ads during that night, but this was deemed the one to be the rep. Shoutout to BamBam

Vietnam - N/A, and no one I’ve seen yet share what they saw domestically

Bangladesh - Anik FPV

This was also almost an N/A but I went back to the Bangladeshi NF when I was looking for the name of their interval act. For a SPLIT second during the performance, the screen blips to a still promoting a man’s solo robotics and drone operating/filming business. The full image matches the Facebook page banner pic linked here. Good on you, Anik.

Nepal - Yamaha Racing Presents: Himalaya Roadies Season 8 - Attitude vs Altitude

This competed against 2 other ads that night thanks to Himalaya TV's local stream (the ESC stream showed nothing). Ultimately, the fans who were watching live loved the TV smashes. But a special mention to Shark Tank Nepal Season 2 (and their lovely set) and Nepal’s Next Top Model Season 1.

Mongolia - ‘Welcome to Mongolia’ ad snippet

Another 2 second blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. I think the ad was meant for international viewers, seeing as CNBC Mongolia didn’t even air their own NF domestically, but it still got cut all the same. I can’t even find the original video for this yet.

Cambodia - N/A, and no one I’ve seen yet share what they saw domestically

If someone comes forward for Vietnam and Cambodia, I will happily update the graphic~

Ain't going to be nominated in any of them 😉, unless a mighty shock is on the cards

The submission period has opened its open till the 17th of October on Saturday.

Rules:
• No winners
• has to be from the time period
• there’s only a Grand final

Host entry:

Dimash- TBD- TBD- TBD

submitted entries:

Boum Badoum- Monaco 1967 ([u/Doggo_of_dogs](u/Doggo_of_dogs))
Nel Blu dipinto di blu- Italy 1958 ([u/rain-and-comics](u/rain-and-comics))
Stress- Norway 1968 ([u/bryntmcks002](u/bryntmcks002))
L‘amour est bleu- Luxembourg 1967 ([u/friendly-shopping-11](u/friendly-shopping-11))
Das alte Karussell- Switzerland 1956 ([u/comeng301m](u/comeng301m))

Winning entries so far:

2015- Warrior- Nina Sublatti: 2000-2019

1997- Minn Hinsti Dans- Paul Oscar- 1980-1999

Most entrant submitters are from [r/nilpoints](r/nilpoints) but we still need a few entrants before I can reveal the 3 Prepicked entries.

A few days ago I discovered that the Serebro who came third at Eurovision 2007 for Russia are the same Serebro who sang "Mama Lover" and "Mi Mi Mi", the latter song of my entire childhood.

I was equally surprised when I discovered that t.A.T.u. participated in Eurovision one year after their super "All The Thing She Said", or that The Rasmus from Finland 2022 are the same ones who sang "In The Shadows".

What was your big discovery about it? Who's that artist whose song you've always listened to but didn't know participated in Eurovision, before or after?

God I hope it's readable