Radio Free Järbo

Eurovision 2026
Our experts weigh in on every entry

Our devoted fans know that we have a Eurovision routine here at Radio Free Järbo. First we listen to every entry by watching the official videos released by the national broadcasters. In some cases, we also listen to the song without watching the video. In some cases, to make sure that the song can stand on its own without the help of the visuals. In some cases, no. In a few cases the video was a distraction. It some case, the song was good or rotten with or without the video.

Rest assured we will be watching the Semi-Finals and live blogging during the final. We know that sometimes the live performance is better, sometimes not. Many singers’ voices, we find, don’t always hold up well to the big stage, and the studio versions used in the videos are under ideal conditions. To that end, we will reserve making a top 10 or predictions until after the final field is set. We have a habit of backing the songs everyone else hates.

So here is our initial feedback by country. An asterisk means we liked it.

Albania*
Alis. “Nân”
We respect those countries who give a modern twist to their cultural traditions in the Eurovision entries, as Alis does this year. We liked the emotional delivery and the plaintive background.

Armenia

Simón. “Paloma Rumba”

We listed to some of the entires without the video to see what the song is really like. In this case, the song—which was a hot mess while watching the video—was still a bit all over the place for our taste. If the shirtless iteration of Simón shows up in the staging, then that will help, as will some really good dancers.

Australia
Delta Goodrem. “Eclipse”
We think she has a really good voice, but are disappointed that the song she is doing here is just sort of ho-hum.

Austria

Cosmó.  “Tanzschein”

Not a fan. The song has Multiple Personality Disorder.

Azerbaijan*

Jiva. “Just Go”

We thought, while the song was a little formulaic in places, her voice is lovely, and we liked the song overall.

Belgium

Essyla.  “Dancing on the Ice”

I found it too electric for my taste and not really musical.  Gunnar just said, “Why?”

Bulgaria

Dara.  “Bangaranga”

I found it headache inducing and as unlistenable as it was unoriginal.  Gunnar said, “It would have been easier for Bulgaria just to put money in a paper shredder.”  Can’t argue with that. 

Croatia

Lelek.  “Andromeda”

We’ll give it to the Croatians, they can send entries to Eurovision who can give a master class in harmony.  This is one of them.  The song is nice, but doesn’t knock your socks off.

Cyprus

Antigoni. “Jalla”

No, we don’t want more.  The song is kind of boring, even if the video was fun.

Czechia*

Daniel Zizka. “Crossroads”

We found this to be one of the more musically interesting songs of the pack, with its  hauntingly captivating score.  We found we liked it better when we listened and didn’t watch the official video, which distracted from the beauty of the song.

Denmark

Søren Torpegaard Lund.  “Før vi Går Hjem”

If Eurovision were a dance contest, he’d for sure win.  The staging in the video was clever and hopefully can be replicated on the Eurovision stage.  The song itself, with a very Scandinavian sound, is only just OK.

Estonia*

Vanilla Ninja.  ‘Too Epic to Be True”

This was one of our favourites.  It’s a good rock song performed well by seasoned musicians.   Ok, in places maybe it was a little formulaic, but we overlooked that because of the strength of the overall performance.  

Finland

Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen.  “Liekinheitin”

He is very easy on the eyes and ears for sure, and her violin playing (thankfully she can do it live onstage) is absolutely amazing.  But we found the disappointing whole much less than the sum of its parts.  

France*

Monroe.  “Regarde!”

Man, can she sing!  We liked this very French ballad, even if the operatic elements were distracting (although very well done).  The French have a way (usually) for finding really good singers who can belt out a ballad, and here’s another one—even if she is American born.  Gunnar liked that it wasn’t aiming at the lowest common denominator. 

Georgia

Bzikebi.  “On Replay”

No, this isn’t a song we would have on replay.  We thought it came across as if the song were written, the score put in a paper shredder, then radon sections taped together. 

Germany

Sarah Engels.  “Fire”

We’ve heard this before.  We’ve seen this production before.  We’ve even seen versions of her outfit before.  And we didn’t like it the first hundred times.

Greece

Akylas.  “Ferto”

Not a fan.  

Israel

Noam Bettan.  “Michelle”

While its not a bad song, it isn’t our among our favourites.  For us, the song never really coheres. He has good control of his voice as an instrument, but we don’t like the sound of it. 

Italy*

Sal da Vinci.  “Per Sempre Si”

The song is cute and Sal is charming.  It’s a nice romp back to a wedding in the 80’s.  Light but fun and well delivered.

Nominee:  Best Video

Latvia

Atvara.  “Ēnā”

We think she has a nice voice in there somewhere, but this song doesn’t highlight what we think she could really do.  It just doesn’t work for us.

Lithuania

Lion Ceccah.  “Sólo Quiero Más”

This is one of those times when there are moments you think a really good song is about to break out, but then it doesn’t.

Luxembourg

Eva Marija.  “Mother Nature”

While we like the idea behind the song, we found it just “meh.”

Malta*

Aidan.  “Bella”

Malta gives us a good, old-fashioned kind of song that is well done.

Moldova

Satoshi.  “Viva, Moldova!”

We didn’t like it, but it did make us smile.  There is lots of energy in the video with a cast of hundreds, but I don’t think it can be as fun on stage. 

Montenegro*

Tamara Živković.  “Nova Zora”

We thought the video for this song was great, and among our favourites.  Reading the English translation, makes us like it all the more. 

Nominee:  Best Video

Norway

Jonas Love.  “Ya Ya Ya”

No No No.  Except for the drummer who appeared on the video, this was pretty awful.   We don’t like his voice; the song is boring and sung so loud you can’t—and don’t want to—hear it.  And no, he doesn’t need to tell us he has no self-control (but it is something he should work on).

Poland

Alicja.  “Pray”

Whether you like the song or not, you have to admit she sang the hell out of it.  We liked it at the start, but not all of it.  At least it is different and not the standard Eurovision fare.

Portugal

Bandidos do Cante.  “Rosa”

Portugal comes back with another simple song with nice harmonies.  We weren’t blown away by it, however, and are pretty certain Europe will hate it.  But good on Portugal for sending it.

Romania

Alexandra Căpitănescu.  “Choke Me”

We were not certain what we felt about this song after watching the video, but just listening improved the experience.  It’s a good hard rock song.  Maybe the staging when done live will be less distracting than the video was.

San Marino

Senhit.  “Superstar”

I think this is trying to be an 80’s disco hit style song.  While we danced to a lot of 80’s disco hits in our day, this song is forgettable.  

Serbia

Lavina.  “Kraj Mene”

This year, the Serbians have created a new musical genre: painful rock.  Gunnar: “That was scary.” 

Sweden

Felicia.  “My System”

We felt this was a teeny-bopper pop song on acid, and liked it better when she wasn’t singing (not a good omen for a song contest).  Really, Sweden punches well above its weight when it comes to its musical talent; it is hard to believe this is the best they can do.  Förlåt miner vänner. 

Switzerland*

Veronica Fusaro.  “Alice”

We liked this soft, pop rock song, especially its great beat.  The video really shows what the song is about.  We liked it.

Nominee:  Best Video

Ukraine

Leléka.  “Ridnym”

This is not a great song, but it saved by her lovely voice.  I wish she had something a little better.  

United Kingdom

Look Mum No Computer.  “Eins, Zwei, Drei”

I know we go on (and on) in praise for people who don’t bring typical Eurovision fare, but Look Mum breaks the mold too severely.  Yes, the message of the song is cute, but this song getting Eins, Zwei, or Drei points would be three points too many, in our opinion.