So another national final season has come to a close and of course we have lost many much loved songs.
The Aussievision team have each chosen our favourite five songs that didn't win their national final but still have a special place in our hearts!
Check them out below and see who our overall favourite is:
Mike
1. Gabrielius Vagelis 'Tave čia randu' (Lithuania)
This has such an awesome 80s vibe to the production and the melody just sticks in my head. There’s an emotion to Gabrielius’ vocals that gives this a yearning and although the live performance may have been lacking, this studio never gets tired.
2. Elodie - 'Andromeda' (Italy)
3. Anna Bergendahl - 'Kingdom Come' (Sweden)
4. Aistė Pilvelytė - 'Unbreakable' (Lithuania)
5. Sonja Alden - 'Sluta aldrig gå' (Sweden)
Dale
1. Anna Bergendahl - 'Kingdom Come' (Sweden)
This is everything I love - a Swedish diva singing country infused pop in hugely dramatic staging with topless dudes. A fresh look and strong moves brought a new Anna compared to 2019, and the moment the dancers appear from nowhere is one of the staging moments of the season. Chuck in the 'fists in the air' anthemic finish and I was wetting myself. Loved every second of it, gutted it didn't make it to Rotterdam.
2. Erika Vikman - 'Cicciolina' (Finland)
3. Monika Marija - 'If I Leave' (Lithuania)
4. Didirri - 'Raw Stuff' (Australia)
5. Elvana Gjata - 'Me Tana' (Albania)
Liv
1. Rancore - 'Eden' (Italy)
I cannot stop playing this - everything Dardust touches turns to gold and Eden is no exception. A wonderful masterclass in Italian rap and how well the language can be used in this area of music - the way he plays around with sycopation and jumping hard on the down beat is blissful. Not to mention the backing is an absolutely stunning soundscape. I would say his placing at Sanremo was about expected...but I would have loved to have seen this at Eurovision.
2. Dotter - 'Bulletproof' (Sweden)
3. Elodie - 'Andromeda' (Italy)
4. Roxen - 'Cherry Red' (Romania)
5. Erika Vikman - 'Cicciolina' (Finland)
Kyriakos
1. Didirri - 'Raw Stuff' (Australia)
The emotion in Didirri’s ‘Raw Stuff’ captivated me from the very first listen. It is a song I still listen to and the emotion just returns instantly. The song itself is raw and honest and Didirri himself is such a down to earth soul. It is a ‘music first’ performance and it is great to see other similar songs make it to the Eurovision Song Contest. I hope Didirri makes a return to Australia Decides in the near future.
2. Elodie - 'Andromeda' (Italy)
3. Markus Riva - 'Impossible' (Latvia)
4. Rein Alexander - 'One More Time' (Norway)
5. Diana Rotaru - 'Dale Dale' (Moldova)
Guy
1. Neda Ukraden - ‘Bomba’ (Serbia)
Grand Balkan diva' is one of my favourite genres... so I guess I had a predisposition to this to start with, but when it came to the Beovizija performance, it really delivered. Neda has said she likes to push the envelope and not conform with any notion that women should stop being sexy past a certain age, and with this song she was showcasing a "new Neda". She was the first to release her song (complete with a sexy music video), and it was a good catchy contemporary Balkan pop song. It had a fair bit of production in the studio version, including vocal auto-tune, so there were some questions about how it would work in the live performance. Well she slayed! It began with her on stage in what she called her "romantic outfit", with four male dancers. After a costume reveal into a full body suit, she transformed into the "sexy Neda", all the time hitting the vocal and serving some (cautious) choreography with the dancers. It had fire, it had big effective LED use, and it made an impact. She killed it and it was a joy to watch. I really hope to see Neda at Eurovision one year.
2. Barbora Mochowa - ‘Black and White Holes’ (Czech Republic)
3. Mariette - ‘Shout it out’ (Sweden)
4. Aistė Pilvelytė - ‘Unbreakable’ (Lithuania)
5. Thomas Løseth - ‘Vertigo’ (Norway)
Ruby
1. IVA – ‘Oculis Videre’ (Iceland)
A true gem of a song, ‘Oculis Videre’ would have been such an amazing operatic addition to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Iva brought a deeply personal message and incredible instrumentation, reminiscent of Murray Gold’s work on ‘Doctor Who’. Vocally a very competitive entry, it’s a shame she didn’t make it to the superfinal, but perhaps another time in a less tight field with more ambitious staging.
2. Jaguar Jonze – ‘Rabbit Hole’ (Australia)
3. CHAKRAS – ‘La-Ley-La’ (Belarus)
4. Sander Sanchez – ‘SCREENS’ (Denmark)
5. Pasha Parfeni – ‘My Wine’ (Moldova)
Steve
1. Erika Vikman - 'Cicciolina' (Finland)
I’ll admit to being totally gutted that I won’t now get to enjoy this absolute banger on stage at the Ahoy Arena in May. This was the playful, fun and high-energy bop that Rotterdam needed. I’ll miss the staging (those bears!), the disco beat and the wonderfully charismatic and talented Erika herself. Oh, and this means one less non-English language entry (which saddens me as a linguist). The contest is poorer for Cicciolina’s omission.
2. Anna Bergendahl - 'Kingdom Come' (Sweden)
3. Olga Lounová - 'Dark Water' (Czech Republic)
4. Sander Sanchez - Screens (Denmark)
5. Monika Marija - 'If I Leave' (Lithuania)
Fleur
1. We All Poop - All The Blood (Positive Song Actually) (Czech Republic)
This was a pleasant surprise because I was expecting a troll song. Instead we got an alt-rock earworm about animal consumption, greed, hypocrisy and self-realisation. Not the typical sort of subject matter that we are accustomed to hearing at Eurovision, that’s for sure!!! Those issues were lost on me when I first heard it because it was the melody and style of song that I was drawn to. But if you can disguise such political and ethically aware lyrics in a contemporary rock piece, then I am here for it. Needless to say I was quite surprised that it finished in 4th place out of the 7 songs as it was one of the favourites. We All Poop are a new band on the Czech music scene- even Czech people had not heard of them so here’s hoping they will be back soon. They certainly left their mark (pun intended) on the competition with their film clip. I will leave you to search on how the band got their name. Spoiler- it has to do with equality. 2. Iva - 'Oculis Videre' (Iceland) 3. Erika Vikman - 'Cicciolina (Finland) 4. Jaguar Jonze - 'Rabbit Hole'(Australia) 5. ANNNA - 'Polyester' (Latvia)
Laura
1. Elodie - ‘Andromeda’ (Italy)
‘Andromeda’ grabbed my attention from the very first listen. From the piano to the lush strings to the hard-hitting bass, this song is so amazing in all its variety and contrasts. A satisfying blend of classical and modern musical elements, coupled with Elodie’s passionate voice which soars and shines, the raw emotion of ‘Andromeda’ transcends any language barrier. It baffles me to this day how this modern masterpiece finished not second, not third, but SEVENTH in San Remo 2020! In my opinion, if ‘Andromeda’ won San Remo and flew the Italian flag in Rotterdam, there would have been a a very high chance that Eurovision could have been heading to Italy next year!
2. Erika Vikman - ‘Cicciolina’ (Finland)
3. Elvana Gjata - ‘Me Tana’ (Albania)
4. Rūta Loop - ‘We Came From The Sun’ (Lithuania)
5. Monique - ‘Make Me Human’ (Lithuania)
Alyce
1. Angelika Pushnоva - 'True Love' (Belarus)
I remain absolutely shocked to this day that this didn’t win the Belarussian national final. On a night full of vocal issues, Angelika was flawless. Her singing was flawless, her staging was engaging and interesting, there was nothing wrong with it. During the show, I was so sure this was going to do well, but to finish only 6th? What were you thinking Belarus?
2. Vanessa Amorosi - 'Lessons of Love' (Australia)
3. KeySi - 'Chilli Pepper' (Belarus)
4. Mitch Tambo - 'Together' (Australia)
5. Rein Alexander - 'One Last Time' (Norway)
Emma
1. Rein Alexander - 'One Last Time' (Norway)
This wasn’t my favourite song before the semi final based on the studio version but something about the live performance really appealed to me. It was like a singing Hagrid from Harry Potter was bringing his fiery magic to life on stage. I loved how the dancers appeared almost from nowhere up out of the smoke and the acrobatics performed throughout the song were spectacular. Whilst I still like Ulrikke and think she was a great choice, I am disappointed we won’t get to see Rein in Rotterdam.
2. Erika Vikman - 'Cicciolina' (Finland)
3. Elvana Gjata - 'Me Tana' (Albania)
4. Dotter - 'Bulletproof' (Sweden)
5. Khayat - 'Call For Love' (Ukraine)
Aaron
1. Jaguar Jonze - Rabbit Hole (Australia)
This song, and this act, are the highlight of my year. Rabbit Hole is the right kind of indie rock to get me rocking out, and Jaguar's performance pops out amongst the selection this year for me (much like her shoulder, unfortunately!). I love this up loud. It's also surprisingly good at parties (Hello, OGAE folks!).
2. Pingiuni Nucleari Tattici - Ringo Starr (Italy)
3. Krut' - 99 (Ukraine)
4. Magnus Bokn - Over The Sea (Norway)
5. Maja og de Satre Sjæle - Den eneste goth i Vejle (Denmark)
So after 12 Aussievision team members voted, the song with the most votes was...
1st Erika Vikman - 'Cicciolina' (Finland) - 6 votes
2nd Elodie - 'Andromeda' (Italy) - 4 votes
=3rd Anna Bergendahl - 'Kingdom Come' (Sweden)
=3rd Jaguar Jonze - 'Rabbit Hole' (Australia)
=3rd Elvana Gjata - 'Me Tana (Albania)
Nations with the most votes:
7 votes - Lithuania, Sweden, Australia
6 votes - Finland, Italy
4 votes - Norway
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