TOP 10: Eurovision 2026 Songs
Hey there, neighbor. It’s your GPCD American Eurovision Correspondent Trey!
As always, here’s the playlist for this year’s European Song Contest:
This 70th edition of Eurovision was good! While it wasn’t my favorite of the most recent years, there are still a lot of good songs. And you can literally hear the influence from Nemo (2024 winner) and JJ (2025 winner) as there are so many songs with soaring vocals this year. Everyone tried to out opera and out high note everyone this year. And we all … listened.
And now for the points from the Radburn delegation. Yes. I can hear you and what a good night it is! Because the winner is … EVERYONE!
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10. “Bangaranga” by Dara (Bulgaria)
In 10th place and receiving 1 point from the Radburn delegation is the Bulgarian entry “Bangaranga” by Dara. And SPOILER alert: this is the winner of Eurovision 2026! The last time Bulgaria participated was 2022, and their three-year absence gave them the energy they needed to take home their FIRST EVER WIN! When I first heard this song, I loved it. Then I grew a bit tired of it, but Dara’s performance was wonderful! And her performance after her win surrounded by her dancers was lovely! It was a bangaranging good time for her! No one’s going to sleep tonight in Bulgaria!
Trey - 10th place
Jury - 1st place (4 douze points)
Public - 1st place
Overall - 1st place
9. “Pray” by Alicja (Poland)
In 9th place and receiving 2 points from the Radburn delegation is Poland’s Alicja singing “Pray.” This was another lovely mixing of genres from gospel to rap to straight-up pop and R&B singing. Poland has had a few mediocre years recently, so I was very happy to rank her in my Top 10 and glad to see at least some love from the jury.
Trey - 9th place
Jury - 7th place (4 douze points)
Public - 16th place
Overall - 12th place
8. “Tanzschein” by Cosmó (Austria)
In 8th place and receiving 3 points from the Radburn delegation is “Tanzschein” by Cosmó from the host country of Austria. Since Austria’s entry won last year, they had the privilege to host this year. They submitted “Tanzschein”, a song about needing a dance license to get into the club … and you only get a dance license if you don’t act like a complete animal and make the experience worse for everyone else in the club. Unfortunately, the entire continent of Europe disagreed with me. Oops. The idiot American strikes again.
Trey - 8th place
Jury - 24th place (tied for last)
Public - 22nd place
Overall - 24th place
7. “Ya Ya Ya” by Jonas Lovv (Norway)
In 7th place and receiving 4 points from the Radburn delegation is Jonas Lovv of Norway and his song “Ya Ya Ya.” The rockers really showed up this year, probably as a contrast to the pop and operatic vibes from recent years. Jonas Lovv gives some new-age glam rock vibes and a rocking good time with his performance. He’s got stunning vocals and looks like he actually wants to be there.
Trey - 7th place
Jury - 9th place (1 douze points)
Public - 15th place
Overall - 14th place
6. “Choke Me” by Alexandra Căpitănescu (Romania)
In 6th place and receiving 5 points from the Radburn delegation is Romania’s Alexandra Căpitănescu singing “Choke Me”. Romania came back into the contest after a two-year hiatus and gave us another rock song. She gets into this year’s operatic trend a bit, but only after growling how she needs her partner to choke her because all she needs is your love. This is an absolute banger if you like banging … your head to a good beat.
Trey - 6th place
Jury - 16th place (1 douze points)
Public - 2nd place
Overall - 3rd place
5. “Eclipse” by Delta Goodrem (Australia)
In 5th place and receiving 6 points from the Radburn delegation is Australia’s song “Eclipse” by Delta Goodrem. I will fully admit that when I was listening to this power ballad in the lead up to Eurovision Week, I was kind of bored with it. But this is fully a song that won me over with her performance on the stage in Vienna. It’s an earnest love song about melting together with your lover (what else could the chorus be pointing at?) and her full gold look and rising into the air was absolutely what helped to propel her in the hearts of the audience.
Trey - 5th place
Jury - 2nd place (tied; 3 douze points)
Public - 9th place
Overall - 4th place
4. “Viva, Moldova” by Satoshi (Moldova)
In 4th place and receiving 7 points from the Radburn delegation is Moldova’s Satoshi singing “Viva, Moldova!” This song won me over immediately. It’s filled with absolute joy. Everything about this song feels happy and positive. Part of this has to be Satoshi’s joy at Moldova moving more towards greater Europe and away from Russian influence. And even though the performance was full on heterosexual chaos, this homosexual fully loved it and wanted more.
Trey - 4th place
Jury - 17th place
Public - 4th place
Overall - 8th place
3. “Ferto” by Akylas (Greece)
In 3rd place and receiving 8 points from the Radburn delegation is Akylas from Greece singing “Ferto”. In a sea of twinks, be a cute cub with the highest energy. The English lyrics are a panoply of consumerism and getting all the material desires a person could ask for. I grew a bit tired of this song during the lead up, but Akylas won me back with his energy and adorableness and his minions.
Trey - 3rd place
Jury - 12th place (2 douze points)
Public - 6th place
Overall - 10th place
2. “Andromeda” by Lelek (Croatia)
In 2nd place and receiving 10 points from the Radburn delegation is Croatia and “Andromeda” by the group Lelek. After the 2024 version of the song contest that brought us the Crown the Witch campaign, I have been drawn to the witchy songs. This performance (and the English lyrics) is haunting and draws you in, and you’ll definitely be put under their spell with their tight harmonies. It’s absolutely a song of feminine rage, and this male feminist is here for it. Although most of Europe wasn’t, but again, what do I know?
Trey - 2nd place
Jury - 16th place
Public - 12th place
Overall - 15th place
Before we get to our top pick…
Honorable Mention
The Celebration! 70 Interval act, celebrating so many songs (a dance version of “All Kinds of Everything”; “Cha Cha Cha”; “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”; “Arcade”) with favorite performers (including Lordi, Erika Vikman, Alexander Rybak, Verka Serduchka) gave a fun walk down memory lane. Here’s a playlist with all of the songs in the medley, and the songs by the Eurovision singers performing:
Weird Thing
Billy Joel did a video? Because the contest was in Vienna? And that’s the name of a song of his? But … he wasn’t there to sing it? Cool. After being yelled at on social media by a few Europeans telling me I’m not allowed to watch Eurovision because I’m a US Citizen, it gave me a dumb little smile to know Billy Joel was there in spirit.
Tension Mention
For the third contest in a row, there has been controversy over allowing Israel to compete in Eurovision because of the war in Gaza. Additionally, there have been rumblings of KAN (the Israeli broadcaster) buying votes and campaigning too aggressively for votes for its entry. In December, there were some rule changes and a vote ultimately allowing Israel to continue to compete. Five countries (Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Netherlands, and Solvenia) boycotted the contest this year because of Israel’s continued presence. Ultimately, if Israel continues to participate, the EBU is going to need to find a new sponsor because I can’t envision a Eurovision sponsored by an Israeli company (Moroccanoil) if Israel is banned. And I’ll say, while Israel’s song “Michelle” by Noam Bettan didn’t rank for me (17th) it was a much better song than last year’s entry.
Honorable Mention: “Paloma Rumba” by Simon (Armenia)
I was actually a little surprised when Simón from Armenia didn’t qualify for the final with his “Paloma Rumba.” The song is good (not my favorite; the ending is chaotic and weird) but his performance was just so incredibly high energy I thought it was a shoe in. Go check it out.
1. “Liekinheitin” by Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen (Finland)
Douze points! And in first place, receiving 12 points from the Radburn delegation is FINLAND’s entry “Liekinheitin” by Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen. This was the heavy odds favorite going into the night (I mean, just look at Eurovision heavily featuring Erika Vikman and Lordi for the medley) and it became my favorite, too. It has one of my favorite choruses of the year. The lyrics are all about how someone is so bad for Pete, but how can he resist the fire coming from their flamethrower (not a gay euphemism, I assume). And besides, who can resist Linda’s violin? It’s a siren song if ever I’ve heard one.
Trey - 1st place
Jury - 5th place (2 douze points)
Public - 8th place
Overall - 6th place
And that’s it! Happy Eurovision 70 everyone!
I’ll (virtually) see you all in Bangkok in November, because … what’s that … Asiavision Eurovision Asia is actually happening!
And then I’ll see you in Sofia next May!
