215 That's SLO Raiven === [00:00:00] Ben: Hello and welcome to the Eurowhat, episode 215 dropping on January 23rd, 2024. We are a pair of Americans trying to make sense of the Eurovision Song Contest. I'm Ben Smith and I'm here with my co host, Mike McComb. Hey Mike! [00:00:29] Mike: Hello. [00:00:30] Ben: In this episode, we'll be talking about Slovenia's Veronica, Estonia's Este Lau, and other Eurovision selection process news from the past week. I'm back, Mike! [00:00:39] Mike: Yes, welcome back, Ben. Your presence was greatly missed last [00:00:42] Ben: Yeah, yeah, so I was checking our email and it turns out my email to the EBU asking for no press releases last week was stuck in our drafts. My apologies. [00:00:51] Mike: Yeah, I mean, there's stuff that's happened this week, but it was at the level that I was expecting for last week. So, yeah, I think next year, if we could just kind of plan on having that flip flop, that would be awesome. [00:01:02] Raiven's "Veronika" debuts for Slovenia --- [00:01:02] Mike: So [00:01:05] Ben: Alright, the main selection this week that we know of is Slovenia, and we have finally heard Raven's Veronica. the interesting thing I noted as I was looking into more about this song is that one of the co writers is Bojan from Joker Out, last year's Slovenian entry. Which, that's fun. [00:01:43] Mike: The song has a huge writers list, and it really seems like, I don't want to say it was focus grouped in a way, but it feels like there's a lot of stuff that was kind of carrying over from 2023, but not the stuff that you would necessarily expect. [00:01:58] Ben: Right, yeah, because like, this feels like an interesting left turn after Joker out in Carpe Diem. [00:02:03] Mike: Yeah, and it feels like it's kind of of a piece with Georgia's entry, Echo, last year? [00:02:09] Ben: The thing that brought to mind for me was, Albania's entry from Jonita Maliki a few years ago as well, that sense of drama. [00:02:16] Mike: This one was an interesting one on the first listen, because my first listen was when the video dropped on Saturday. a lot of visuals. I need to train myself again to, not watch and just listen for the first listen through. I don't think it's going to be something that's going to necessarily catch people on first listen. But once you sit with it a little bit, it's like, oh, there's something here. [00:02:36] Ben: Yeah, no, like, I'm very excited to see what they do with this, I also just love that this has been released now because we have had A lot of, like, wackier stuff, and a lot of more out there stuff that's been released or selected so far, and, like, the internet's like, Uh oh, what if we have 37 of these, and this is a nice reminder that no, we're gonna have some ballads in the mix, the season is young. [00:02:57] Mike: Yep. And I also like that this is as you said, kind of a departure from what Slovenia did last year. It's one of the things that I appreciate about Slovenia. they take big swings and I don't get the sense that they end up in ruts. Like they, they try something, it works. Great. If it doesn't work, great. We'll try something else next year. [00:03:17] Ben: Yeah, exactly, they're not going to, oh, this works, so we're gonna hammer it into the ground. [00:03:22] Mike: It'll be interesting to see how this one stacks up because again, this is only song number four, and it's only January. So yeah, it has a lot of time to kind of sit there and stew and like really kind of get into people's skin before you have to actually start making opinions on things. [00:03:40] Austria announces Kaleen for Malmo --- [00:03:40] Mike: In terms of other contestants for this upcoming contest, Austria announced that Colleen will be their representative, and the song is probably going to be titled We Will Rave. It's a techno inspired banger, and one of the Jimmys, Jimmy Choker, is on the writers list, so probably some Swedish influence in there. [00:04:04] Ben: Yeah, yeah, like that's what I was getting, uh, we're gonna hear that on March 3rd, and then this is another one where I was like, I was really amazed at the CV here for Colleen. Because there's like a ton of Eurovision experience. So, she was a stand in for Eleni Ferreira, and an interval choreographer and dancer for Lisbon 2018. she was the creative director for multiple nations at Junior Eurovision in 2021 and 2022. She was the stage director for, Junior Eurovision 2022. And in Liverpool, she supported Austria, Germany, Armenia, and Georgia's stage performances which not all of those had, like, a dance component, and she's definitely, like, a dancer as well as a singer, so I'm wondering if she was involved in the vocal side with some of those. [00:04:48] Mike: Yeah, and also, I mean, those were Four performances that, for the most part, had a lot of look. particularly, Germany and Georgia. Like, those were, like, very large performances. So, I'm intrigued by this choice from Austria. I mean, following up on last year's Entry. I think they have, kind of set a challenge for themselves. We're like, okay, can we do this again? So, looking forward to hearing it. I was listening to a few of Colleen's tracks on Spotify, her sound feels kind of current, but also like of the Eurovision milieu, just to be pretentious there. Yeah. I think Austria may have figured some stuff out finally. [00:05:27] Ben: Yeah. We'll see. [00:05:29] Portugal and Germany release National Final details --- [00:05:29] Mike: Relatively quiet week compared to last week, but we did get some songs and entry lists for some upcoming contests. Portugal released the songs for the 60th edition of Festival da Cancao. This is the first time that all of the songs will be performed by their respective composers. with Portugal's process, it's more about the songwriters and composers of the songs, and those are what get selected, and then the composers can choose who actually performs the song as part of the festival and, at Eurovision. The semis will have the same format that was introduced last year, where there'll be ten songs competing. five of those songs will advance based on a combination of jury and televote. once those five are revealed, there will be a second round of televoting where a sixth wildcard. We'll go through, so there should be 12 songs, performing in the final, unless there are technical difficulties, which is why there were 13 last year, the final is scheduled for March 9th, and the two semifinals, the two Saturdays before that, so, uh, pretty traditional calendar, as previous years, so, wrapping up selection season with Portugal. [00:06:49] Ben: agree, it's just kind of wild that this is the first time in 60 of these that the performers are the composers. [00:06:55] Mike: Yeah, and there will probably be some other surprises as well, just because 60th edition, year that ends in zero, boo boo [00:07:02] Ben: pew pew! We have the first part of Germany's entries. There are 8 artists and songs so far, with 1 known wildcard to go from the process they're currently running. amidst the list, Mats Mutzke, who was their 2004 entry, which got 8th place. We mentioned him in episode 87 because he won Germany's version of The Masked Singer. and performed in Germany's Free European Song Contest in 2020. Representing the moon as Der Astronaut. He finished third there. [00:07:31] Mike: I love that, like, five years ago, that sentence would be, Absolute gobbledygook. [00:07:35] Ben: None of those words are in the Bible. [00:07:37] Mike: Yeah, yeah, and it's like, and now it's just like, Oh, yeah, that totally makes sense. [00:07:41] Ben: like I understa yeah, I meant yes. [00:07:45] Mike: Yeah. [00:07:47] Ben: Elsewhere in the lineup, Reich competed in 2018's Unser Lied for Lisbon, where he finished third. And Marie Rehm's mother, Michelle, represented Germany in 2001, where she reached 8th place. I am trying to get myself excited about Germany's selection, even though, uh, the thing I was hyped about, it turns out they didn't even, try to enter. There was a video going around Eurovision social media, which I should know not to trust at this point. Like, I don't know, like, who got this on there, but, uh, Großstadtgeflüster, uh, has this song called Ich kündige. Which means I quit. The video is the lead singer banging on a table with a hammer as it like, splinters for a lot of its three minutes. It was a real mood, and I'm just kinda sad that it's nowhere near the selection, it felt like something that either would really click with people, or really wouldn't, but that's the sort of thing you need to be sending. [00:08:52] Mike: Yeah, yeah. Although, maybe, all the hubbub around it might, convince him to be like, Oh, well, San Marino might still be open to some suggestions. I doubt they'll show up there, but [00:09:02] Ben: but also, could you guys go over to San Marino and just, like, destroy a table with a claw hammer for like three minutes? Just, like, it doesn't need to win, it just needs to, like, be on a potential Eurovision stage in my heart. [00:09:16] Eesti Laul Semi-final --- [00:09:16] Mike: This past Saturday we had, three selection shows that were all in, preliminary phases, so no, actual selections being made. the first on Saturday was Estilal, from Estonia. They had their semifinal, featuring 15 of the 20 songs that are in competition this year. From those 15, five songs, advanced to the final, which will be happening next month. those songs, are from the artists, five M and Pup, Ali Ewert and the Two Dragons, Peter Poder and Annette Vikk. Ma, I think I got through that. How, how, how, how'd I do Ben [00:09:54] Ben: Uh, you saw the letters and you said them, so that's basically how Ugric languages work. Excellent work. [00:09:59] Mike: Excellent. Did you get to watch any of Estee Law? I know that one's, uh, earlier in, [00:10:04] Ben: That was the only one I missed this weekend because I had other plans, but I am generally intrigued by what Estonia is doing, so I look forward to tuning in to the final. [00:10:15] Mike: I like these choices getting through. I mean, like, Five Minutes and Pulep, their song was, the one I was most excited about going into the show on Saturday, and it was a really good performance. there's been a lot of sort of bowed instruments, uh, of the, like, whatever that, like, old timey instrument in Love, Love, Peace, Peace, which is like, is this an actual instrument, or is this one just fabricated for this performance? But yeah, those sort of instruments, uh, had a lot of appearances on Saturday, which I thought was interesting, but I don't know. I think it was a really varied lineup that was available. on the, SD l YouTube channel. they have, high def versions of, all of the performances. I recommend checking them out. there was another song, Oblivion, that, uh, Ewert was a part of, and the performance was kind of unsettling. It was, people in, like, black bodysuits wearing paper masks of Ewert, uh, just kind of Running around the stage and, like, the eyes were removed. It was, uh, yeah. It was [00:11:21] Ben: So sort of like a creepy being John Malkovich vibe. [00:11:23] Mike: Yes, yes. That's one, I think you have to kind of pay attention to it, because there is stuff happening on screen. But, unfortunately, that one did not get through. Overall, pretty good show, and, uh, yeah. It was wrapped up right before Norway got started, so it's like, uh, Estonia. I love ya. Yeah, [00:11:45] Ben: between the various processes this weekend because For the most part, Norway and Lithuania were trading off who was performing and who was doing an intro package. [00:11:56] Mike: that was the case last week as well. [00:11:57] Ben: Yeah, just like as a person who is fervently trying to strategically mute my computer and my TV the entire weekend, very appreciated. [00:12:05] NRK MGP Heat 2 --- [00:12:05] Mike: Did you get a chance to watch back last week's show? [00:12:08] Ben: Yes, I did all manner of homework catch up this week, catching up on both Norway and Lithuania. I knew Margaret Berger was going to go through. I'm still kind of meh on Oblivion, the thing I like about, uh, I, like, I Feed You My Love is that there's some crunchiness to the, the actual backing track, and it's kind of smooth this time, and also, you The performance is weirdly just evoking, I can't go on. Like, like just like my brain just like, I'm hearing the song and just like, I'm just thinking about Robin Bangstrom from like a few years ago. [00:12:41] Mike: oh, that's interesting. Yeah, because there was also a treadmill act in Estonia's, performances. So it's like, huh, I wonder if that's what's in. I, I, what if all of this year's entries are just homages to what Sweden has done the last 20 years? [00:12:58] Ben: I mean, that would be like, if it was like a razzing sort of a deal, I would be all for it. Just like, just like, oh, we see, we have stolen entirely from your bag of tricks. [00:13:07] Mike: Yeah. [00:13:09] Ben: This is, this is a roast now. This is not a Eurovision final. It's a roast. [00:13:12] Mike: Yeah, yeah, uh, which country is going to send the song, my panini, uh, [00:13:16] Ben: Mm hmm. [00:13:17] Mike: no. [00:13:19] Ben: I was pleased to see Gothminister go through just because, that is the man that looks like a Gothminister. Enjoyed what went through. It felt correct based on the performances that night. The hologram performance of Duet was, like, just this side of unsettling for me. Like, I don't know, like, I'm, [00:13:37] Mike: this at all. [00:13:39] Ben: that was, that was like the interval before the announcement. [00:13:41] Mike: Okay, oh, you know, I think my attention was fully focused on Lithuania at that point, [00:13:45] Ben: Okay, yeah, cause I, I watched the, I watched those completely separately after the fact, so like, I was fully focused on it. Like we have ABBA Voyage, and I'm fine with ABBA Voyage, one of the members of duet passed away, and it's not, not like controversial or anything, but like it's weird that like, like the weird Natalie Cole Nat King Cole duet kinda. [00:14:04] Mike: Okay. [00:14:05] Ben: Of just like, one person in front of a screen where the other person is like just like preserved in amber at like 1996 or whenever. [00:14:12] Mike: Right, uh, yeah, this sounds like that time on American Idol where Celine Dion was, uh, duetting with Elvis. And they kept, they kept cutting to this kid in the audience who's like, I have zero understanding of what is going on. [00:14:27] Ben: But no, it just like the, like it was, like it was a well staged performance, but just like the hologram is very smooth and I'm disconcerted. [00:14:34] Mike: Yeah, okay, uh, I'm I'm sorry I missed it so that I could talk about it more coherently, but I'm also not sorry I missed it because that sounds really creepy. [00:14:43] Ben: It's great that it only lives in my brain between the two of us. [00:14:46] Mike: Yeah. You can have that one. I will keep Selene and Elvis. [00:14:50] Ben: Yeah, just, [00:14:51] Mike: deal. [00:14:52] Ben: like weird, yeah, weird hologram duets. Like, you only really need one a person. [00:14:56] Mike: Let's talk about this week's episode. [00:14:59] Ben: this one was the one that, of the three heats that I was, most unsure of, what was gonna go through, cause, like, we didn't have, like, a big tentpole, this person has already done Eurovision before and wants to do it again, in the [00:15:10] Mike: Mm hmm. Yeah, well, we sort of had that in a very roundabout way. Uh, yeah, this was the week that Super Rob and Erika Norwich's My AI was going to be performed live. And, um, it was the one that I had the most trepidation about going into the show, I think. [00:15:34] Ben: As I watched it, it was an interesting mix of things, You're Mine, I had that one and, uh, Erika Norwich in sort of the same category of They're leaning a little too heavily on the autotune and the backing vocals, in both cases But, like, they were, well, mostly competently staged. I think I like the staging of You're Mine a little bit more Like, it, like, You're Mine felt like, weirdly, like a Disney villain song [00:15:56] Mike: Okay, yeah, I [00:15:58] Ben: just like, just like the prints revealing that, like, that know, like, they're a nightmare two thirds of the way through the movie [00:16:04] Mike: Whereas, like, uh, while I was watching it, I was just looking up how to say panic at the disco in Norwegian, so [00:16:10] Ben: Yes, [00:16:12] Mike: Panik på diskoteket. [00:16:14] Ben: when he said during his intro package that he was very influenced by anime and then I watched the performance. Yes. [00:16:19] Mike: Yeah. [00:16:19] Ben: you are. [00:16:21] Mike: But again, not the only one that seemed to be influenced by anime this [00:16:24] Ben: No, no, my AI, like, yeah, but like, my AI was the one that felt like slightly more appropriative of some of the aesthetics there. On the other hand, like, it felt weirdly LazyTown to me, and like, [00:16:35] Mike: Oh, wow, that, yeah, yeah, I absolutely [00:16:39] Ben: just crack something open there? [00:16:41] Mike: Yeah, uh, maybe something that I was, like, trying to keep buried, and now it's back up to the surface, so thank you for that, [00:16:47] Ben: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, but no, like, it would, no, it's just, like, very much just, like, music number from LazyTown, about the dangers of, like, using AI to do your homework or whatever. [00:16:56] Mike: Yeah, yeah, if we can get the Lil Jon remix, that would be, uh, ideal, so [00:17:02] Ben: Yes. it was a fine performance, you guys have what I have been told is a 3 meter tall robot, do something with it, you have had months to prepare, what is it, what is its thing? Like, make it, make it breakdance, make it do something a little bit more. I get that it's very large, and it can sound like a girl that's named Christine. The robot was weirdly low energy for a robot, for me. [00:17:20] Mike: Yeah, I thought the whole performance was rather static, and I don't know, maybe, maybe uncertain, which is kind of understandable because I have to imagine that that was maybe the third or fourth time that they were able to perform in that specific space. And again, three, three meter tall robot that's, uh, probably difficult to maneuver. [00:17:42] Ben: Yes. Yes, and like, maybe, maybe I'm expecting too much of it because I want it to like, be breakdancing or whatever, like, because, but again, [00:17:49] Mike: I think back to Belgium's selection last year, and they had a giant robot, and it was static as well, but there was more interaction between the singer and the robot in that performance, and I thought that there was in this. [00:18:05] Ben: in trying to be a little bit more fair and balanced and say nice things about the robot, I did like that they gave it kawaii anime eyes. [00:18:12] Mike: I am made very uncomfortable by this entry, and I don't really want to fully explore it at this point. If it goes on to win, then I am going to have to have that [00:18:24] Ben: yeah, then we can engage with it, but yeah. I have things I like in Norway's selection better, and like, I was delighted to see the two other things that went through were on that list. I thought that Gatte's lulvaham was like, like, that was sort of, uh, the Norwegian, like, traditional folk instrument that you have never seen before, uh, from Love Love Peace Peace of the week. The whole folk metal thing, I'm like, I'm like, yeah, Norway, you got this covered. Great work. Uh, and then, uh, I had been fully, like, it's okay about Dog Eric Oaksvold and Anne Fogermose judge Tenderly of me. that performance elevated it, like, 100 percent for me. [00:19:01] Mike: I find that phrasing to be kind of clumsy, but, like, the actual vocals and presentation, like, my, my initial note on this is like, Oh, Netherlands is gonna love this. So, like, it is a solidly constructed, country ballad. [00:19:16] Ben: Yes. Yeah, like, I had the same thing as you when I heard the studio version, is the studio version makes all of its lyrical clunkiness very apparent. Their live performance is just so good. [00:19:27] Mike: I think it really stood out among the ballads this week because, uh, what was the, uh, the, uh, Touch of Venus? Was that [00:19:35] Ben: Yeah, that was just like a straight up like, I look forward to seeing who the follow up to Daniel Craig is, is James Bond in Touch of Venus. [00:19:43] Mike: All in all, uh, a pretty good show. Uh, I did also notice that they, reconfigured where the audience was sitting in relation to the hosts, uh, after last week's, [00:19:52] Ben: Oh yes, yes! [00:19:54] Mike: yeah, it's like, okay, yeah, Nor Norways. Taking notes, but um, yeah, so next week, uh, is the final semi final. We've got, Keiino, we've got Maya, Anne Princess, Thomas Jensen, uh, Mystra, and Vida Vila, and oh, wow, actually looking through this list, it's like, oh, these are a number of songs that I've, made a note, you should pay attention to this one. So, yeah, next week's heat should be good. [00:20:22] Ben: I am very excited about the Kano entry. Like, I've been listening to it a lot a lot. We talked like a couple weeks ago about how The selections seem to finally be shaking off all of, sort of, the 80s revivalism and, like, I'm really liking that we're getting, like, this nice string of, like, very 90s, what I think of as Eurodance. Yeah, [00:20:43] Mike: and for ill. [00:20:44] Ben: for good and for yeah, yes, yeah, like, like, we all, we all watch Planet of the Bass. [00:20:49] Eurovizija.lt Heat 2 --- [00:20:49] Ben: Which, let's, let's talk about Lithuania as long as we're doing that, because again, there's a lot of, like, I, there's a lot of 90s influence in the, in the water over in Vilnius right now. [00:20:56] Mike: Yep, yep. So yes, what did you think of last week's Eurovisialt? [00:21:03] Ben: I liked that one a lot, I was delighted that the thing that, like, I'd watched, like, the first few, I'm like, okay, this is This is sort of what Lithuania does, and it's not really clicking for me, but something will click for me. And then, Sylvester Belt's, Luktauk is so good. Like, that just feels like a fully formed performance, and was delighted to see that it clicked with everybody else. and then Kaboom! happened, and I'm just like, okay, I would like to see the timeline of when this was developed, and when Planet of the Bass happened. I'm not mad about it, it's also very fun, have I just been like, walking around in my daily life, and then my brain will just be like, Bossa chica leh, kaboom! Like, it's very effective at what it does. I had a friend who, when I posted about that, was like, Oh, you're listening to K pop? I'm like, no, I'm watching Lithuanian television. [00:21:47] Mike: Yeah. It's influences everywhere, [00:21:52] Ben: Yes. Kaboom is fun. I don't want it anywhere near the win. But I absolutely want it in the final. [00:21:59] Mike: It's this year's drip. [00:22:00] Ben: Yeah, it's this year's drip, again. Planet of the Bass happened last year, and I enjoyed exactly the 30 seconds in the first TikTok. I did not enjoy the full song. I don't need that full song. I just need the 30 seconds that you made the initial TikTok with. [00:22:14] Mike: Yeah, there wasn't really anything in this week's show that reached that level of silliness, I would say. [00:22:21] Ben: Yeah, nothing really hit the heights of either of what went through last week for me. And like, I was kind of shocked that Ice Day's We Will Rule the World was the jury choice. [00:22:31] Mike: Yeah, because, well, yeah. [00:22:35] Ben: That performance was actively bad. It felt like bad community theater. [00:22:39] Mike: I mean, I get the sort of disco influence, but like, I don't know. It was so costumey that, uh, and just kind of banal lyrics. [00:22:51] Ben: Yeah, it was just like 70s disco hippie. [00:22:54] Mike: Yeah, and, I don't know, I thought the vocal was kind of rough, but, [00:22:58] Ben: thought the vocal was awful. [00:23:00] Mike: I don't know, maybe it sounded better in the room. there wasn't really anything in this week's heat that, like, particularly grabbed me, so I wasn't, like, super offended that it's like, how did this not get through? Sort of like, eh, yeah, like, I think you could really take in two of any of these. [00:23:14] Ben: I did not have a clue what of these eight songs was going to go through. I was kind of delighted that, Zalvarinus Go de Ve, [00:23:21] Mike: Mm hmm. [00:23:22] Ben: like that, that was another one that kind of feels in the same area as Gaute's Ulvaham of remixing folk with metal. [00:23:32] Mike: yeah. So, I mean, if every national selection is going to have entries like that, I'm, I'm all for it. Uh, I guess that one was probably the one that I was most supportive of. [00:23:43] Ben: That was the one that felt the most fully formed to me, so I'm glad that the, the, uh, Televote really sort of latched onto it. [00:23:50] Mike: There was one, uh, I think was Blood on Your Hands, where, like, in the second verse, there was a sort of random gymnast on stage, and if you told me that that was a stage invader that just wanted to, do some backflips. it was so not integrated with the rest of the performance that it's like, sure, why not? [00:24:10] Ben: The one thing that I feel like I am missing from Eurovisielt, uh, as we are calling it, versus, Pabandom is Naujo, is that because only two are going through, it can be a little anticlimactic of like, okay, well we know the jury likes this, so that's probably through unless something dramatic happened in the televoting. [00:24:27] Mike: Mm hmm. [00:24:28] Ben: And similarly, whatever got through from the televote is gonna get through unless something dramatically different happened in the jury vote. And I'm, I'm missing how you would see something Skate through at like fourth out of its heat look at how this performance was televised, changed a a few things up and, and would learn over the course of like from heat to semi-final to final. [00:24:50] Mike: Yeah, I'm exactly in the same mindset. Like, that, that workshopping phase, I think, was my favorite part of Pabandom. [00:24:59] Ben: Yeah. Is, yeah, it was, it was really fun to watch, to watch, uh, a performer like figure out in real time, uh, how to make the best version of that performance. And we're still gonna get some of that, but like, not as much. [00:25:13] Mike: Right, like, you're not going to have, like, I think of, uh, like, Alligator, where, like, in the semi final performance, it was, like, creepy clown makeup or something that was added to it, and it was like, oh, that did not work at all, and so that was gone for the final, whereas, just like, in this year's process, if you tried the creepy clown makeup in the final, that's a big risk, let's see if it works, [00:25:34] This week: Romania, Denmark, Serbia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, and The Draw --- [00:25:34] Mike: Other things that are happening this week, uh, on Thursday, Romania's broadcaster TVR will be voting on whether or not to approve the budget that would allow them to participate at Eurovision this year. [00:25:49] Ben: I was gonna say, I appreciate that, uh, even though we may not see them in the contest, they are still being dramatic about it. [00:25:56] Mike: Also, on Thursday, we will be getting the list of contestants and the songs for Dansk Melodi Grand Prix from Denmark, and Serbia will be releasing the songs that are going to be competing in their national final. [00:26:10] Ben: Yeah, and then, uh, Friday we have Eurosong from Ireland, I have been listening to the various things that they have been dropping. I am very intrigued by Eurosong this year, even though they are still doing it on the Late Late Show. [00:26:23] Mike: We can either change the songs and have like really good options or we can change the venue. We can't do both and I'm glad they went the song route first. Like I think I can handle Late Late Show one more year [00:26:33] Ben: Yes. Yes. Yeah. Uh, yeah. And like I am very intrigued to see how some of these songs play live, given how they sound in the studio versions. Good work. Ireland, apparently our cyber bullying worked. [00:26:49] Mike: don't try this at home [00:26:50] Ben: Don't, we did, we did none of this. [00:26:55] Mike: And then, next Saturday, along with Norway and Lithuania, we have Luxembourg's song contest, so their eight acts will finally perform live. It'll be interesting to see how a broadcaster we've not interacted with before, like, how they handle This sort of [00:27:14] Ben: like reintroduces themselves. [00:27:16] Mike: Yeah. Yeah. So, um, very, very much looking forward to that one. [00:27:21] Ben: Yes. That, that is, that is the one that I am, that is at like top of my list for watching. Monday, Malta's extended birthday month begins as we determine who will, who will represent them at the contest. Which of these 12 things? [00:27:34] Mike: And then Tuesday, as our next episode drops, uh, we will be getting ready for the draw to find out which countries are in which semifinals. So, uh, still relatively quiet, but, uh, yeah, things are really starting to ramp up. [00:27:52] Ben: All right. Well, that's going to do it for this episode of the Eurowhat. Thanks for listening. The Eurowhat podcast is hosted by Ben Smith, that's me, and Mike McComb. [00:28:00] Mike: That's me! If you'd like to help support the show and access a ton of bonus content, head on over to Patreon. com slash Eurowhat. [00:28:08] Ben: Our full coverage of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest can be found on our website at Eurowhat. com. You can also follow us on social media at Eurowhat. [00:28:16] Mike: Next time on the Eurowhat, we'll catch up with Luxembourg, Ireland, and the latest batch of Eurovision news.