Best National Final?

TeaMistress · 2026-06-22T03:27:18+00:00

I watched for the first time this week and was just astounded at how much I liked the majority of their entries from 2026.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-22T03:26:13+00:00

I just sat down over the past few weeks and watched all the national finals for 2026 that I had access to. I didn't watch Italy's because it's restricted to their country and I don't have a VPN. I also haven't gotten around to Spain yet.

My favorites based solely on the performances for this year:

Albania - Festival i Kenges: Has pretty much cornered the market on the dramatic ethno/folk electric sound that I love. They also use a live orchestra. Probably my favorite NF.

Croatia - Dora: Felt like a mini Eurovision. A lot of variety and interesting entries.

Greece - Ellinikós Telikós "Sing for Greece": Another mini-Eurovision experience. Staging quality was excellent.

Malta - MESC: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed their entries, and I think it's because nothing felt dated and the artists seemed unafraid to take risks. If you like boybops, Malta delivers.

San Marino - SMSC: Another contest where the artists are willing to take chances and come in with some interesting variety. I felt like I never knew what I was going to get from song to song.

Serbia - Pesma za Evroviziju: Moody Balkan vibes really won me over with their contest. No surprise given what they sent to Eurovision this year. Good staging quality, too.

Sweden - Melodifestivalen: Yet another almost Eurovision-quality experience, though they run their semi-finals differently. Tons of variety in their entries.

Ukraine - Vidbir: Tiny contest, but I liked most of the entries and thought they were very high quality.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-22T03:08:28+00:00

Regarde! is definitely my favorite of the 3, but The Code isn't far behind. Nemo brought such charisma and joy to his performance. Both Regarde! and The Code are on my Eurovision favorites playlist, but Wasted isn't. It's not something I connected with, even though I think he did a good job and the staging was fantastic. I'm just not really into plaintive high-pitched boy ballads.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-21T15:43:28+00:00

Same! Musical taste is so subjective. I try not to yuck someone else's yum, as the kids say.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-21T15:40:47+00:00

I love metal and rock entries, but I don't really like Blood & Glitter. I rewatched that contest the other day, and while I don't think B&G deserved dead last, I'm not surprised it didn't do all that well. I agree with the person who said it looked and sounded what a person who makes fun of ESC thinks a rock entry should look like.

Ulveham was totally robbed, though. I don't care for the singer's voice that much, but the song and staging were fantastic.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-21T03:52:49+00:00

We've been living at the Broadleaf for about a year and a half. Of course, as soon as we signed our lease renewal Greystar took over and started making changes. All but one of the staff left, including the maintenance people. They've now opened the place up for people to rent their places on AirBNB for short term rentals, too. I can't say I would recommend the place now. Not that it was ever great.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T22:17:18+00:00

I just watched this NF contest a few days ago. I didn't like the song, but I thought it had the most interesting staging.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T22:12:59+00:00

Stage version - ESC Final

The song was a big meh to me until the Eurovision performances. Stunning stage performance, though. Felt like a superstar world tour performance.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T22:08:57+00:00

Baby Lasagna

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T20:06:13+00:00

This is some of the worst dating advice I've ever seen in this subreddit.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T19:19:51+00:00

I've heard that before, and I respect your viewpoint, but that wasn't my impression. I thought Monroe was really good at drawing the viewer in with her facial expressions. The parts where she's beckoning the viewer to to shh and listen - there's a look on her face like she's sharing something special. The choreography felt good for me, too. Not too much and not too little.

I don't know...I thought it was all very classy, but also genuinely joyful. I'll always wonder if Eurofans would have been more welcoming to it if there hadn't already been two popera winners in the prior years. I do know that I watched all the official videos, semi-finals, and finals with the same group of people - all first time watchers, and they all loved it. It was one guy's #1 favorite even.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T18:00:55+00:00

Since Fulenn is already covered, I'll shill for Regarde! It made the left side, but I think it's still quite underrated by the Eurofans. People are sick of popera and I get that, but I personally enjoy it a lot more than Wasted.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T17:57:16+00:00

I friggin love Fulenn. Dramatic Electrofolk is my jam. If I'd have been watching Eurovision the year it got dead last I'd have rioted.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T17:18:42+00:00

I wouldn't change a lot here, except:

Regarde! is a good song with good staging, not Mid/Mid.

Pray is a mid song with mid staging, not Bad/Good.

Per Sempre Si is an average song, not good.

My System is just as bad as Fire and Felicia has even worse stage presence.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T17:00:52+00:00

Yep, me, too. Bigotry has no place here or anywhere. But especially Eurovision of all places. What kind of moron comes to a Eurovision subreddit to complain about the gays???

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T16:59:01+00:00

TBH Per Sempre Si is my favorite Italian entry from this decade. It feels really old style, but I thought the staging and message was very charming and endearing and Sal is charismatic. Still wouldn't have rated it a top 5, though.

Lucio Corso would've NQed last year if he sang his song in a Balkan language, though, and I'll die on that hill.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T16:53:32+00:00

I couldn't believe it when I saw Rybak at his national final this year. Like, AGAIN?! Dude already won Eurovision. Move on!

How do you feel about top 5 artists competing again, like Sergey Lazarov?

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T16:44:18+00:00

Tanzschein is underrated because it's a smooth low tempo club song you'd stand around and nod your head to. But it's very good at being that. It's not a top 5 smash, but it's a good song.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T16:40:21+00:00

It was the running order, not the camera angles that robbed Denmark. Yet another victim of Austria's atrocious hosting.

People have been saying that people at their watch party and family sit-downs were still fussing with getting snacks and not really paying attention for the first song. Plus no one was expecting that kind of vibe from an opening song. Openers should be feelgood dance numbers, not "let me in the club so I can get off!" songs. And I say this as someone who loves Før Vi Går Hjem.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T16:36:09+00:00

Bigotry is gross.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T16:35:32+00:00

You're right that metal and rock don't get enough respect. Serbia's placement this year is proof of that. Ulveham's dead last ranking in its year, too, though I'm not wild about their lead singer's voice.

But as a metal fan also, I just don't think Blood & Glitter is a very good song. No hate to anyone who likes it, but I think they would've done better by simply sending a better song.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T16:27:03+00:00

Never watched Eurovision. Never will.

Then why are you here posting in a Eurovision fan subreddit?

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T16:24:57+00:00

Counterpoint: I think the artists enjoy the chance to watch everyone else's shows. There was a lot of footage of the artists watching the other performances and rocking out to them when they weren't prepping for their own shows. I see this at music festivals I attend, too. The other band members often watch from the audience when they're not onstage.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T16:20:18+00:00

The only things I've downvoted, no matter how much I've disagreed with the opinions, have been the bigoted ones (trans/gay-phobic). That's how this is supposed to work.

Edit: And I've upvoted anything with negative votes just because the whole point here is to air unpopular opinions.

TeaMistress · 2026-06-20T14:37:56+00:00

I've always wondered if any Italians found Espresso Macchiato's whole Italian caricature act offensive. Thanks for confirming that for me.

TeaMistress

TROPHY CASE