Watched by millions around the world, the Eurovision Song Contest is musical Marmite – love it or loath it – even its fiercest critic can’t call it dull.
This year of course is something special – for the first time two countries (Ukraine and the UK) will jointly host the event which has descended on Liverpool’s waterfront in all its multi-coloured glory.
So, as pop fans ready themselves for Saturday’s marathon of 26 acts in four hours, who do we think is going to be taking home the iconic Eurovision glass microphone trophy?
The top three
Sweden – the birthplace of Eurovision royalty Abba – are favourite to win.
Loreen – who won the contest in 2012 with Euphoria – is now returning with her new song Tattoo, an electric banger with show stopping vocals.
And science is on her side, with solo female pop acts found to be the most likely to win the competition, according to a recent study by digital marketing agency Evoluted.
More on Eurovision
Related Topics:
Winning this year would put Sweden level with Ireland for most wins (seven) and make Loreen the first woman to win it more than once.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
4:04
‘I want to create something that matters’
Finland’s hyper-pop-rap tune Cha Cha Cha is also hotly tipped by bookies.
Advertisement
The song is performed by Finnish singer Kaarija – a pro at posing up a storm on the red carpet with his trademark neon green sleeves-only puffer jacket and bowl haircut.
His name is a clever pun in Finnish on the verbs “to wrap / and to rap” and his song is inspired by the feeling of losing your inhibitions after a drink or two. The 29-year-old singer has described the track to Sky News as: “Very much power and energy and fire”.
Electronic duo Tvorchi, made up of producer Andrii Hutsuliak and vocalist Jeffery Kenny, will compete for Ukraine with their rousing song Heart Of Steel.
With their band name meaning “creative” in Ukrainian, their song is an understated message of defiance aimed at Russia, the invader of their homeland.
They are of course hoping to take the prize back to Ukraine, which was unable to host this year’s show due to the war.
She explained the inspiration for the song on TikTok: “I was really annoyed at this guy. I wanted to do something crazy, maybe burn his house down, I don’t know.
“But instead I took the high road and I wrote a song. And that’s called growth, ladies and gentlemen.”
With an energetic dance routine and easy-to-sing-along-to section of “da dada dada da’s” it stands a good chance of making the top 10.
Also in the running
Spain’s Blanca Paloma will sing Eaea which has an authentic Spanish sound, fused with strong synth line.
Paloma has said the song represents a “chant to her late grandmother”, who had inspired much of her music.
Norway’s Alessandra will sing Queen Of Kings, a pop sensation with a super catchy chorus. With comparison to Lady Gaga, it’s already one of the most streamed songs of the competition.
And France’s La Zarra will sing sultry torch song Evidemment (which translates as “obviously” in English).
The French-language track was created especially for the contest, co-written by La Zarra herself, and she’s described it as a true French “chanson” about love, the importance of loving oneself and the strive towards achieving complete happiness in what can often be a complex world.
What about the novelty songs?
Possibly more important than the potential winners, are the acts everyone will be talking about on Sunday morning.
Austria is getting all literary, with Teya and Salena’s entry Who The Hell Is Edgar?, about the ghost of American writer Edgar Allan Poe. That, and streaming sites short-changing artists. Quite an eclectic mix.
Croatian shock-rock band Let 3 will sing a a track called Mama SC, which includes the lyrics: “Mama bought the tractor”, “Armageddon granny” and “War, war, evil little psychopath”.
While they will perform in brightly coloured military garb on the Eurovision stage, they are reported to have been in trouble in Croatia for stripping off in public and performing naked.
Many have interpreted the lyrics of the first song on the album, Fortnight, to be about him, where she sings: “And I love you, it’s ruining my life, I touched you for only a fortnight.”
It’s widely assumed he’s also the subject of the track Guilty As Sin, where she sings about having “fatal fantasies” about someone from her past while in a relationship.
Fans are also suggesting the song The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived appears to allude to Healy “ghosting” her.
“You tried to buy some pills, from a friend of mine, they just ghosted you, now you know what it feels like,” she sings.
In a video circulating online, Healy was approached by a reported photographer in Los Angeles and asked how he rates his “Taylor diss track” and how he thought it compared to the other songs on the 31-track double album.
Last May, Healy made a surprise appearance during the Nashville performance of Swift’s Eras tour to play with her support act, indie singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers.
Swift also sung two The 1975 songs at their London gig in February 2023.
By June last year, reports surfaced that the pair were “no longer romantically involved”, with a source telling US outlet People the relationship was “always casual”.
“She had fun with him, but it was always casual,” the source said.
Tupac Shakur’s estate has threatened to sue Drake and ordered him to delete a track featuring an AI-generated copy of the late rapper’s voice.
Drake released the song Taylor Made Freestyle – a diss track aimed at Kendrick Lamar – on his Instagram page on Friday, which features verses created by AI software mimicking both Shakur and Snoop Dogg.
In a cease-and-desist letter seen by Sky News’ US partner NBC News, Howard King, an attorney who represents Shakur’s estate, requested that Drake remove the track from all platforms where it is publicly available.
The letter sent on Wednesday states the Canadian rapper has until midday on Thursday to confirm he will remove it or the estate will “pursue all of its legal remedies” against him.
“Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time,” Mr King wrote.
“The estate would never have given its approval for this use.”
The letter also outlines the estate’s “dismay” regarding the topic of the track, saying Lamar is “a good friend to the estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately” and that this “compounds the insult”.
In the track, the AI-generated voice of Shakur urges Lamar to respond to Drake’s previous diss track about him released several days prior, saying lines like: “Kendrick, we need ya, the West Coast saviour / You seem a little nervous about all the publicity / You asked for the smoke, now it seem you too busy for the smoke.”
The letter claims the track and its popularity have created the “false impression that the estate and Tupac promote or endorse the lyrics for the sound-alike”.
Advertisement
Shakur’s estate is also seeking damages including all profits from the record, which has so far only been posted on Drake’s Instagram page, as well as additional damages for substantial economic and reputational harm caused.
The letter claimed Drake’s non-consensual use of Shakur’s likeness violates Shakur’s right to publicity, an intellectual property right protecting against the misappropriation of somebody’s name or image.
Sky News has contacted representatives of Drake for comment.
The AI-generated voice of prominent rapper Snoop Dogg was also used on the track.
Snoop Dogg posted a video on his Instagram story shortly after the diss track was posted, where he said: “They did what? When? How… What’s going on… I’m going back to bed.”
Richard Gadd has urged fans of his hit show Baby Reindeer to stop speculating about who the characters in his show are based on in real life.
The Netflix series is based on the real-life story of its writer Gadd, who also plays the lead character, and his warped relationship with a female stalker.
Fans have been speculating online about the identity of the stalker played by Jessica Gunning in real life (spoiler warning), as well as who another character, seen sexually assaulting Gadd in the series, is based on.
The character, played by Tom Goodman-Hill, is a TV writer who repeatedly sexually assaults Gadd’s character and supplies him with drugs.
Gadd addressed his fans on his Instagram story on Tuesday, saying: “People I love, have worked with, and admire… are unfairly getting caught up in speculation.
“Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show. Lots of love, Richard.”
The show is based on the hit Edinburgh Fringe one-man stage play Gadd performed in 2019.
Gadd, who plays Donny Dunn, a character based on himself, said he didn’t expect the show to “blow up” in the way it has since its release on 11 April.
Advertisement
“I’m super proud of it. I really believed in this show, but the fact it’s gone so stratospheric so quickly, for such a cult, quite niche story… it’s kind of amazing. It’s clearly struck a chord,” he said on This Morning.
The writer, actor and comedian is also an ambassador for We Are Survivors, a charity which supports male survivors of sexual abuse.