The final of the Song Contest will take place on May 11th in Malmö, Sweden, and the two semi-finals will take place on May 7th and 9th. Austria is sending newcomer Kaleen into the race; her song “We will rave” will be presented on Friday (can be heard on ).
A little foretaste of Austria’s contribution:
People talk about these countries
But weeks before the broadcast, the singing competition organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is already providing plenty of topics to talk about. A look at the most hotly debated posts this year:
Israel considers cancellation after differences over text
Israel’s participation is particularly controversial this year. The lyrics of the song “October Rain” by singer Eden Golan could be interpreted as “too political” from the perspective of the EBU rules and therefore disqualified. The song, which is mostly sung in English with a few Hebrew words, refers to the victims of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th. Calls quickly grew to exclude Israel from this year’s competition because of the war in Gaza. The ESC organizers announced that they were examining the text, but a final decision is still pending. If the contribution is deemed too political, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan will consider canceling it. Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar called the prospect of exclusion “scandalous.”
Eden Golan for Israel – “October Rain”:
Prohibited content – Germany has to censor song
With the pop song “Always On The Run”, the musician Isaak is representing Germany in this year’s song contest. The 28-year-old newcomer prevailed in a jury vote and audience vote against the well-known singer Max Mutzke, who competed in the ESC final 20 years ago with “Can’t Wait Until Tonight”. Isaac’s song also does not comply with the regulations. It doesn’t contain any political passages, but it does contain a word that you don’t like to hear at the ESC: “shit.” Specifically, one line says: “No one gives a shit about what’s soon to come.” There are curses and expletives at the ESC are strictly forbidden, the German has to improvise at this point: “Somehow you get a ‘shhh’ or something like that. We thought about it, we also censored it. We can manage that, no problem,” said the singer, according to schlager.de.
Germany: Isaak sings “Always On The Run”:
Spanish Prime Minister defends ESC song
Spain will compete in Malmö with the duo Nebulossa. The song “Zorra” has been criticized primarily because of the title. Because the word “Zorra” means “vixen”, colloquially it also refers to a “slut”. “When I go out alone, I’m a slut when I’m having fun , even more,” it says in the text. Whether this is feminism or the exact opposite, this question divides all of Spain. The song “insults women in a sexist way,” a women’s organization criticized. And even Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez spoke up: “Zorra” is a “funny song that breaks stereotypes.” And further: “It seems to me that feminism is not is only fair, but can also be fun, and this kind of provocation has to come from the culture,” said the politician.
Duo Nebulossa – “Zorra” for Spain:
Ukraine with favorite status
22 titles from a total of (probably) 37 participating countries have only yet been determined, but the first favorites are already emerging when it comes to the betting odds. The Ukrainian contribution is currently in first place among betting providers, followed by Croatia and Italy. This year Ukraine is sending the women’s duo Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil into the ESC race. The singer and the rapper will perform in Malmö with “Teresa & Maria”. The song is about female perseverance in difficult times using the example of Mother Teresa and the Virgin Mary.
The Ukrainian contribution “Teresa & Maria” by Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil:
Author
Andrea Endt
Online editor
Andrea Endt
