What is the Eurovision Song Contest without a strong presence of the Nordic nations? Even this year, many of the songs promise excitement and already have EuroFans singing along. Most interesting this about this year is not only did all five Nordic nations have a national final to decide their entry, but an international jury made the jury decisions, either partially or completely! Here’s my review of this year’s songs from the Nordic nations:
DENMARK
SONG: “Hallucination”
PERFORMER: Sissal
Once again the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix was used to select Denmark’s entry for Eurovision this year. The competition consisted of a final of eight songs and a superfinal for the Top 3. The results were decided by a mix of two juries (Danish and International) and televoting. In the end, Sissal was decided the winner with the song “Hallucination.” Sissal became only the second Faeroese singer to represent Denmark at Eurovision.
The song has the style heard in a lot of dance songs. It starts out slow but the dance pulse starts calmly with the bridge. The first chorus is a return to the slow tempo and then returning to the calm dance pulse in the second verse. Then we finally get the full dance pulse with the second chorus. Finally the song ends with a return to the slow tempo and back to the all-out dance pulse in the ending chorus. The trance-like song of the sound sounds great and Sissal has the right vocals to deliver for the song!
ESC Chances: Of all nations at Eurovision, Denmark is the nation that’s had the hardest of luck in the 2020’s. Denmark and Montenegro are the only nations to not have qualified a grand finalist in the 2020’s, and Denmark has participated every year this decade. It’s especially odd since Denmark had five Top 10 finishes in the 2010’s including a win in 2013. By the sounds of this song, you can tell Denmark has had it with not qualifying! Right now, it’s low in the betting odds but I’m expecting it to get higher over time. The song itself has what it takes to qualify. It just needs the right staging in order to make it work.
FINLAND
SONG: “Ich Komme”
PERFORMER: Erika Vikman
To decide Finland’s entry for Eurovision this year, Finnish network YLE again held the Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu to decide. There were to be seven entries in the final but one band was disqualified for ‘contractual reasons.’ The winner was decided by a mix of international jury results and televoting. The winner was decided to be Erika Vikman for her song “Ich Komme.” Vikman has has a career in Finland for ten years. The first five years, she was a tango singer until her switch to pop in 2020 and her career really took off.
Now this song is one dance song where the dance vibe is there from the start and never stops. Vikman herself even begins her vocal energy and sexual energy with a bang. The energy never stops and her already-fearless performance gets bolder and bolder as it goes on. Finally it ends with the tempo boosted up and her performing boldness on full display. The mix of dance vibes works for the song and its very easy to see why this song won.
ESC Chances: Finland has had it very good in the 2020’s so far. They’ve qualified for every Grand Final this decade and have finished in the Top 10 twice including runner-up in 2023. This song has a lot of huge buzz with the betting odds already having her in the Top 10 and it’s easy to see why. Even the staging at the Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu is excellent enough for the Eurovision stage. Nevertheless recent news that the EBU found the staging too provocative has leaked. I can easily see why it could raise eyebrows as there were times Erika simulated pole dancing. Recommendations from the EBU have been given. Let’s hope if there are any changes, that they don’t water the performance down because I see Top 3 potential here.
ICELAND
SONG: “Roa”
PERFORMER: Væb
The nation of Iceland keeps on delivering with their performers and the Songvakeppnin was used to decide Iceland’s entry for Basel. The contest consisted of two semifinals and a final to decide the winner. The winner was decided to be the duo Væb with their song “Roa.” After their win, controversy erupted as it was said to closely resemble a song from Israeli singer Eyal Golan. The network consulted the Composers Rights Society of Iceland on this and it was decided “Roa” didn’t resemble the Israeli song enough to be plagiarism.
Væb are an electropop/hip hop duo of two brothers: Halfdan and Matthias Matthiasson. It’s interesting that this is a song about rowing the seas to places like Greenland and the Faeroes. Nevertheless it’s not odd as it could be a song about being free. It’s a song that mixes of schlager, dance and rap that would be quite popular in Europe. The two know how to go from dance mode to singing mode and they keep the dance vibe of the song active from start to finish. Still, it leaves to question if this fun vibe will travel well with the Eurocrowds. It’s a song with a fun vibe and usually Eurocrowds like songs with fun vibes, but it risks looking ridiculous. Also the vocals near the end sound more like shouting than singing.
ESC Chances: Iceland’s success at Eurovision has often been off and on ever since they started participating in 1986. Even in the 2020’s, they’ve had two entries in the Grand Final and two that missed out. I’m not too sure if the song will qualify. With the lyrics all in Icelandic, I don’t know if the crowds will understand the meaning of the song. Plus with so many dance songs in the Contest, they face a lot of competition. The duo will have to work on their performance a bit if they want to increase their chances of qualifying. Additionally, they will need staging that works for a song like that. The boat is a good idea but they will need more.
NORWAY
SONG: “Lighter”
PERFORMER: Kyle Alessandro
In all but one year, Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix has been used to decide their entry for Eurovision and 2025 is no exception. Most interesting thing of the Grand Prix final is that two of the ten finalists were not only acts who represented Norway before but one was forty years ago, 1985’s Bobbysocks, and the other was twenty years ago, 2005’s Wig Wam! In the end, it was a first-time winner who won: Nineteen year-old Kyle Alessandro and his song “Lighter.” Kyle’s not a first-time participant at the Melodi Grand Prix, having already competed in 2023 at the age of sixteen. Actually his singing career goes back as far as 2017 when he appeared on Norway’s Got Talent when he was just ten!
A song Kyle co-wrote with Adam Woods, the song is about a bad relationship where he wants out. Overall, it’s about finding hope in hard times and being the one calling the shots. The song is a unique pop song with an energy that delivers. Already at eighteen, Kyle has the talent and professionality to deliver well. The backup dancers are a smart addition to the show. The show will remind some of the pop music from the late-90’s or early noughts. Also with a title like “Lighter,” it makes sense there’s pyrotechnics. Possibly the one glitch that the song ends with a chorus and a half. I can understand because of the three-minute time limit, but the ending could be better.
ESC Chances: Here in the 2020’s, Norway has seen continued success with two Top 10 finishes. They also saw hard luck as last year, they added to their record of last-place finishes in the Grand Final, now standing at twelve. As for this song, I can see this being quite catchy. I see this song having Top 10 potential. It will depend on the competition in Kyle’s semifinal, which I’m quite confident he will qualify. The staging is already very good and doesn’t need too much improving. Whatever the situation, this is not last-place material. Even though last year’s entry from Norway wasn’t material of last-place either. Let’s hope Kyle’s on and things in Basel work in his favor.
SWEDEN
SONG: “Bara Bada Bastu”
PERFORMER: KAJ
Once again, Sweden’s Melodifestivalen was used to decide Sweden’s entry for Eurovision. To decide the twelve finalists, the contest consisted of five heats where the Top 2 qualified and a repechage match for the third-placers where the Top 2 there also qualified. The most interesting thing about this year’s MelFest judging format is for televoting points, they even went as far as breaking down results in age range demographs! Equally as interesting is that in a Contest that has a recent reputation of crowning dazzling English-language pop entries as winners, this year’s winner was a folksy-sounding song in a Swedish dialect and by a comedy act! The winner was the trio KAJ from Vora: a region of Finland with a Swedish majority. Their name KAJ is an amalgamation of their first names: Kevin, Axel and Jakob. Their song is “Bara Bada Bastu” which means ‘just having a sauna.’
Their song is in ‘Finland Swedish’ which is mostly Swedish with Finnish words mixed in. The song is simply a fun celebratory song about being in a sauna. I never thought Sweden would ever send a song with an accordion. The song mixes Finnish/Swedish folk music, rap, schlager, pop and some electrodance elements. Anyone else who wonders how such a song could win the MelFest will know why after they see it. The fun vibe works well and even if you don’t understand Finland Swedish, you can still soak up the fun energy. This can make for a good party song or drinking song. The staging has a lot of prop work happening, but they make it all work in its three minutes and in the staging area. The backup dancers add to the theme of the song. It’s easy to see why it won. Makes you want to hold a sauna party of your own!
ESC Chances: You can always expect Sweden to be a force at Eurovision. The 2020’s continue to be good to them with three Top 10 finishes including a win in 2023. The MelFest knows how to pick good ones. Comedy entries are normally a gamble at Eurovision as it’s a known fact that comedy often doesn’t translate well out of your own country. Nevertheless even if it’s Sweden’s first Swedish-language entry since 1998, I can see people soaking up the fun energy of the song. Heck, the word ‘sauna’ is known universally and most people know how good saunas are! Also we should not forget Russia’s entry from 2012 which was also a folksy entry that went far. Already the song is on top of the betting odds, but we’ll see as the Contest gets closer and closer.
And there you have it. That’s my look at the five Eurovision entries from the Nordic Nations. It’s easy to see why the Nordic entries are often a force to be reckoned with.
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