Not all my blogging of Eurovision songs will be as confusing as my last blog. For this blog, I have four nations that are part of Eastern Europe or Eurasia. Here’s my look at their songs:
CZECHIA
Song: “Crossroads”
Artist: Daniel Zizka
Czech Television decided to have their 2026 Eurovision entry done by internal selection. In March, it was decided the representative to be Daniel Zizka and his song to be “Crossroads.” 22-year old Zizka originally pursued musical theatre education in his post-graduate studies but later turned to making music on his own. He has been releasing singles since 2023.
His song “Crossroads” is a song he co-wrote with Villiam Beres. The song appears to be a young adult about to make it on his own and talks of the potential struggles. He’s also aware it never was easy. The song starts out slow but gives the dramatic feel of the song that is consistent throughout. The song goes from the somber verses to being intense with the chorus. The chorus at the end is where it reaches peak intensity. Daniel’s vocals add to the drama without the final chorus showing his biggest vocal abilities. Definitely a song that defies common convention.
ESC Chances:
Czechia has had very moderate success at Eurovision. They participated thirteen times, qualified for the Grand Final five times and their best finish is 6th in 2018. I’m undecided how I feel about this song. I like its originality but I’m skeptical of its chances of qualifying. One thing I know is that the right staging will be needed and Daniel cannot afford to make a vocal error. What can I say? Qualifying for the Grand Final is not all that easy.
GEORGIA
Song: “On Replay”
Artist: Bzikebi
At the 2025 Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Tbilisi, the appearance of 2008 winner Bzikebi singing an original song as the interval act started a lot of hints that they would represent in Vienna. In the winter, it was confirmed Bzikebi will represent at Eurovision but not with “We Don’t Sleep” that they performed that night. Instead, their song is “On Replay.” Junior Eurovision fans may remember people thinking a song where the singers make bees of themselves wouldn’t win, but their performance caught attention, stimulated a lot of buzz (groan) and eventually won Georgia’s first ever Junior Eurovision title! Most vocal groups at Junior Eurovision disband as they grow older. Giorgi and the two Mariams would eventually disband temporarily for their own pursuits but would often reunite. Mostly for events related to Junior Eurovision. 17 1/2 years after their win, they’re back to represent Georgia at the main Eurovision!
They’re back together for their song “On Replay” The song was written by Giga Kukhianidze who wrote the JESC winning songs for 2016 and 2024 and lyrics by 2014 JESC entry Lizi Japaridze (formerly Lizi Pop). Despite all these Junior Eurovision connections, the song is more mature for their ages. The song is about the invincibility of the human spirit and how they can achieve together. The song begins with intensity and energy. You can tell from the start, this will be a high energy song. During the first verse, all three members have a chance to sing their parts. Then the chorus delivers a super-intense dance beat. Just like they did in Junior Eurovision, they deliver the unexpected. Nevertheless they show how much they’ve grown in a song that delivers attitude and high energy.
ESC Chances:
Georgia is another hard luck nation at Eurovision. They’ve participated 17 times previously with their best finish being 9th in 2010 and 2011. The 2020’s have been very hard for Georgia as 2024’s “Firefighter” is the only song this decade that has qualified for the Grand Final. As a songwriter, I sense it having a lot of potential to qualify for the Grand Final. We should not forget bad staging could hurt its chances. Back in 2023, Iru had good chanced to qualify but staging that didn’t deliver the thrills hurt its chances. Bzikebi will be under the same expectations. No doubt they will want to have something more adult than their interval act performance this past December. They have Grand Final potential and they can’t afford to make the common mistakes of past Georgian entries.
POLAND
Song: “Pray”
Artist: Alicja
After years of complaints about their internal selection methods, Poland got back to holding a national final to decide their Eurovision entry. This year’s Final Krajowych Kwalifikasji. There was some controversy with one song withdrawn and one song having an imbalance of Youtube hits and Spotify hits. In the end, it was decided the song to represent is “Pray” by Alicja. 22-year old Alicja Szemplinska first came to exposure in 2019 when she won The Voice-Poland. She was decided to be Poland’s entry for the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Empires,” but the COVID pandemic led to the Contest being cancelled. While 26 of the 39 nations that returned to the 2021 Contest re-entered their 2020 artist, but a switch from national final to internal selection messed things up and angered the Polish public. Despite that, she still continued to record and release music over the time. In Vienna, she will become the 27th artist from that ill-fated Contest to get her Eurovision moment.
Her song is “Pray” and she co-wrote it with two other writers. It’s a song where she questions her faith and ultimately decides to have control of her destiny. The song begins sounding like a common gospel song. Even her vocals at the beginning and the chorus’ back-up singers get you thinking it’s a gospel song. Then the song switches into trance music but does not lose that gospel vibe. Even Alicja’s vocals continue to deliver throughout with an incredible end chorus. Definitely a song that will amaze you.
Note that there are a few foul words in that song. I think for the Contest the EBU will want Alicja to censor them out.
ESC Chances:
Poland has had a mixed showing at Eurovision. They finished runner-up in their debut in 1994 and they’ve struggled since. It seems like they only finish in the Top 10 once a decade. This decade, they’ve had three qualifications to the Grand Final but no Top 10 finish. Despite the song having low odds right now, I can see this song having good chances to qualify. One thing is it will have to make the right staging choices and Alicja’s vocals to be dead on at the Contest. That’s the crazy thing when your chances of qualifying are completely decided by the public.
UKRAINE
Song: “Ridnym”
Artist: Leleka
The war in Ukraine continues by Suspilne network will not let it stop Ukraine from participating in Eurovision. Vidbir 2026 was the place to hold the contest of which song and artist will represent. Even before the final, there were six songs that were part of an online wildcard. The winning song was added to the nine already selected. The final was held February 7th and the winning song was decided to be “Ridnym” by Leleka. 35-year old singer/composer Viktoria Leleka grew up in Ukraine but eventually moved to Germany to pursue further studies in music. She has participated in many music performances and contests ranking from pop to classical to jazz.
Her song is “Ridnym,” which means ‘my relatives’ and she co-wrote it with three other writers. The song doesn’t specifically mention the war but it does talk about hardships and having the courage to overcome them. She sings of finding a new destiny in the name of her relatives. The song begins with soft delicate vocals. As it gets to the bridge, that’s where the vocals get more dramatic and in ethnic fashion. She returns to the soft vocals for the chorus. She does this for the first two verses and then ends the song where she delivers vocals that are either bold and dramatic or they reach the high pitches. Definitely a song that will surprise you.
ESC Chances:
Every time Ukraine has participated, they’ve always made the Grand Final. With the war continuing, it’s pretty much a lock that Ukraine will qualify. Some people have called for Ukraine not to participate because they have the advantage of the ‘sympathy vote.’ Despite it, Ukraine still sends quality entries. You can’t deny that. This song is amazing as are Leleka’s vocals, but it risks being dismissed as too angelic. I don’t find it the most angelic sounding, but others can. Its chances of finishing in the Top 10 are still strong but I don’t see it as a huge contender for the win.
And there you go. That’s my look at four Eurovision entries from Eastern Europe. There’s still six more weeks before the Contest begins. The excitement keeps building!
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