The Eurovision 2022 season saw a boom in national finals, with 27 countries using a show to select their entry for the contest. Although we now have 27 winners who will move onto Eurovision, many of the other entries that didn’t make it will remain on our playlists for some time. To celebrate these acts, it’s time for our countdown of Team Wiwi’s top national final songs of Eurovision 2022, now entering the top 20.
As usual, the team from wiwibloggs have voted for their favourite songs that competed in the national finals for Eurovision 2022 but were not selected. Note these are our favourite songs, not songs we think should have gone to Eurovision.
After reviewing the 100s of songs that were entered into this year’s national finals, we finally settled on our top 50. And now we’re ready to share it with y’all. We’ll reveal ten tracks each day until we reach the winner.
Let the countdown continue!
Team Wiwi’s top national final songs of Eurovision 2022: 20 to 11
20. Elsie Bay – “Death Of Us” (Melodi Grand Prix)
What we said: Throughout a tough-to-stomach, painstakingly long national selection, less than a handful of Eurovision qualifier contenders have arisen from Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix. Elsie Bay stands head and shoulders above the competition. Despite some overly-pretentious lyrics and subtext, “Death of Us” is a well-crafted piece of songwriting, with emphatic swells and intriguing progressions. Elsie seizes every opportunity to show off her vocal, but to really capture a voter’s attention she’ll need to upgrade the minimal staging to match the dynamism of the track. Nail it, and she’s got a real shot at the Norwegian ticket to Turin. (Oliver)
19. Cyan Kicks – “Hurricane” (Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu)
What we said: I’ve been a fan of Cyan Kicks for about a year now, having found them through Blind Channel’s record label, and I’ve grown to love them for their coarse, punchy nu metal sound. That’s why I expected a much heavier song going into “Hurricane”, and was initially let down by how poppy it is. After a couple of listens I’ve managed to see the song for what it’s worth. In a nutshell, it’s an excellent pop-punk track, it’s catchy, and it’s on brand for Finland. I’m also well aware Cyan Kicks know exactly how to put on a live show, so I’m expecting a UMK winning performance from them. (Lauren)
18. AIDAN – “Ritmu” (Malta Eurovision Song Contest)
What we said: At its core, “Ritmu” is cliché Mediterranean dance-pop. From a musical standpoint, this formula is stale; there is little innovation or mesmerising composition at work, and despite its title the track has little rhythmic variation. But frankly, that doesn’t matter. Aidan’s bid for Malta is fun, feisty and feel-good – just what this kind of music needs to be. Additionally, the native-language lyrics also give this track a competitive edge, standing out from the abundance of English entries. The Maltese language is decades overdue its return to the Eurovision stage, and Aidan has the chance to spark its renaissance. (Oliver)
17. Rayden – “Calle de la llorería” (Benidorm Fest)
What we said: Rap isn’t a genre that is usually heard very much at Eurovision. And when it is, it frequently flops. Rayden is giving Spanish rap a go with his song “Calle de la llorería” and dare I say (and I will say this quietly), this could do well. I have not seen Rayden sing live but if he brings the kind of drip from his music video onto the Benidorm stage, he will smash it. Rayden, much like his song, is just so cool and “Calle de la llorería” would not be out of place in a movie soundtrack or a TV series like Money Heist. I am not convinced this song, or his moustache for that matter, will be universally liked. Rap isn’t everyone’s cup of Sangria. However, the beat is irresistible and I think Rayden is an excellent addition to what will (finally) be a strong Spanish national final. (Tom)
16. Blanca Paloma – “Secreto de agua” (Benidorm Fest)
What we said: This song is enchanting from start to finish. Its production is minimal but still wide-ranging and definitely enough to fill anyone’s soul. Blanca Paloma’s voice is a non-stop force of emotion from start to where it fades out into the snares at the end. The only issue I have is while I enjoy these kinds of spiritual ballads, it does end up becoming a bit repetitive towards the end and I wish they would pick it up a bit more as it goes along. Still, I’m sure with enough presentation, this song will soar on stage. (Natalie)
15. Dargen D’Amico – “Dove Si Balla” (Sanremo)
What we said: Dargen D’Amico — real name Jacopo D’Amico — makes his grand debut at Sanremo. It’s time to dance, literally, with Dargen, who transforms the Ariston stage into a club with a song with clear 90s vibes. “Dove Si Balla”, which translates to “Where do we dance?”, is an authentic declaration of love for dance music, the kind you can’t resist. This dance is cast as an antidote: to break the boredom of those who sleep without dreams, to react to a story that goes to hell, to express dissent against the masks we wear to protect ourselves. (Cristian)
14. Jaguar Jonze – “Little Fires” (Eurovision – Australia Decides)
What we said: “Little Fires”, which is in the same vein as a Radiohead style ballad, is very much a reflection of what has been a reflective and life-affirming few years for Jaguar Jonze – from an early COVID-19 diagnosis back in 2020, to becoming a fierce advocate for change and accountability in Australia’s music industry off the back of her experience of being assaulted at the hands of music producers. Jaguar stood up and fought strong, showing her tenacity and became an advocate for those who couldn’t share their voice. “Little Fires” is moving, it’s liberating and it’s unlike anything you’ll hear in a national final. (Sebastian)
Previous top national final songs: “Rabbit Hole” (#11 in 2020)
13. NorthKid – “Someone” (Melodi Grand Prix)
What we said: This is a sweet song and NorthKid deliver it well. And, ok, is seems a little inspired by Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” — but the Scottish singer certainly doesn’t have monopoly on heartbreak. NorthKid brings a relatable energy to the performance and frontman Bilal is able to handle both the big loud notes and the more subtle moments of the song. Maybe the overall sound is ever so slightly dated but the overall performance elevates the song beyond just the impact of the audio. It’s a fresh sound for Norway. (Robyn)
12. Tone Sekelius – “My Way” (Melodifestivalen)
What we said: Tone came out as a transgender woman last year in an interview with Aftonbladet. “My Way” is a very brazen song about the fight for transgender rights. As a trans woman myself, seeing a song like this performed by such a confident, proud performer such as Tone means the world to me. I hope we see much more of Tone in the future, and that this will be just the start of an influx of trans-positive performances at Mello and other national finals. (Natalie)
11. Tanxugueiras – “Terra” (Benidorm Fest)
What we said: The Benidorm Fest 2022 songs dropped when I was boarding the plane back home from Junior Eurovision, and I only had time to play one song. About ten seconds into it, I knew I had chosen the right one. A booming electronic bass echoing as the trio chants “ailaralalá!” at the top of their lungs, fading into an addictive percussive beat – that intro single-handedly gives hope that Spain could end their current dark age at Eurovision and get their best result in at least 20 years. “Terra” is unique, (post-) modern, empowering, and above everything, unifying. Hopefully the nation of Spain is unified in the opinion that Tanxugueiras should go to Turin! (Lauren)
Our top national final songs of Eurovision 2022 ranking is determined by independent votes from a panel of wiwibloggers. They are Jonathan, Cinan, Youyou, Diego, William, Pablo, Oliver, Edd, Antony, Deban, Sebastian, Luis, Antranig, Padraig, Tom, Renske, Lauren, Robyn and Ron.
Which songs do you think should feature on the list? Are you surprised by our Eurovision 2022 national final top 20 choices? Let us know in the comments.
Listening to tracks 11 till 19 was hard work. Luckily #20, of Elsie Bay, saved the day with a gripping song. With a bit better staging it would have made it to Turin.
what a crime putting both Las Tanxugueiras and Aidan so low. They’re easily top 10 material (at ESC even). But you guys really did something choosing the underrated and overlooked Dove Si Balla, that’s indeed a nice and fun homage to dance, plus Dargen D’Amico was one of the highlights at Sanremo this year imo.
Either Farfalle or Ciao Ciao better be in the top 10 or i’ll riot lol
I’m gonna actually try guessing their entire top 10, in no particular order: LIAMOO, Klara, Medina, Cazzi Opeia, BESS, SOA, Alban Ramosaj, Alina Pash, Rigoberta Bandini and La Rappresentante di Lista. That would mean no Irama or sangiovanni at all in their top 50, quite depressing, especially considering lots of other stuff that already made it on there.
considering they had the nerve to put Ana Mena… yeah, pretty depressing to say the least. and you were spot on. they’re THAT predictable.
I had Ritmu as my winner, still listen to it everyday and love it just as much when I first watched Aiden at MESC, I hope he tries again for Malta, he really deserved to represent them and do well at ESC.
Nice to see Rayden, Blanca Paloma and Jaguar Jonze all so high up on the list. Ritmu has also somehow grown on me, not the type of entry I usually care too much about so I wouldn’t add it to a season top 20, but it was still Malta’s best option by some distance.
I’m really glad to see so many Benidorm Fest song in this year’s ranking. As I’m sure Rigoberta’s “Ay mama” is going to be in the top 10, I think we can agree that Benifest was one of the strongest selections this year, and congratulate Spain for that
offtop but today some Eurovision stars performed on Ukrainian online-concert (Netta and Salvador)
Ram Pam Pam by BESS better be in the top 10!
My fave songs from this set:
Cyan Kicks – Hurricane: I hope they get to represent at Eurovision eventually, the lyrics could have been better, but the song is so catchy!
Aidan Cessar – Ritmu: I think this is somewhat unique, I hope Aidan comes to Eurovision eventually!
So excited to see the top 10!
Top 10 is going to be the worst top 10 ever…. I really disagree with the ranking this year. For sure there will be many swedish songs in the the top 10 once again…. More than ever…. And undeservingly so. How the h could they rank Tone higher than, well, ANYONE in a countdown lile this… A more generic and dated schlager hasnt seen the light of day in years….
A proof that croatian NF was lackluster.. not a single song on the list.
There were around 700 songs in 28 selections. There weren’t only 50 good songs in there. Also, there’s still ten more to come tomorrow.
After going through (sort of) Duarte’s top 700+ eliminated songs, I don’t know exactly how many I’d consider genuine national final songs. A lot of those are San Marino songs that were never confirmed as the actual acts’ potential Eurovision songs or a lot of the EMA Fres acts that never released nor performed a three minute, full version of their song. I think there’s also some inclusion of songs that *might’ve* been in the running for internal selections like Greece or acts that *might’ve* been on a long list for a national final in the Ukraine. I think realistically,… Read more »
You are right, definition varies, and these San Marino attempts definitely add a lot. Now I took a calculator and added – All 28 NFs (internal selections omitted, aside from Moldova, as it was entirely public, and originally meant to be a final), minus EMA freš and San Marino songs that didn’t entered the finals, and minus all the winning songs, bar Out of Sight – Makes 474 full-on NF entries eligible for this list. Out of them, I’d say that at least 200-250 have a case for them being called generally good. True, 700 is an overstatement, but it’s… Read more »
We are getting closer to the top and I agree with most of the songs in this bunch. In fact, some of them are even ranked in the same range in my top. #20 to #11 11. Rayden – Calle de la llorería (7.25) – Benidorm Fest 12. RAUM – “Plans” (7.25) – Supernova 13. Northkid – Someone (7.25) – MGP 14. Browsing Collection – Face?In The Crowd (7.25) – Melodifestivalen 15. Pur Mudd y Shira – Golden Shores (7.25) – Eesti Laul 16. Cyan Kicks – Hurricane (7.25) – UMK 17. Miks Dukurs – “First Love” (7) – Supernova 18. Lolita Zero – Not Your Mother (7) –… Read more »
You better have a fierce top 10 because several of these top 20 songs I thought would have been in the top 10. Bring it on!!
Well, I still can think of good ones for top 10: Bess, Rigoberta Bandini, La Rappresentante di Lista, Alina Pash, …. And we know we are going to have lots of Mello because “professional” eurofans love Sweden haha
Good batch for me. I hate #15 and #12 but the other eight are all strong with six of them also making my top 50.
My Top 20-11:
#20 – Bess – Ram Pam Pam (Finland)
#19 – Eldis Arrnjeti – Refuzoj (Albania)
#18 – Elsie Bay – Death Of Us (Norway)
#17 – Eli Huli – Nostalgia (Israel)
#16 – Zorja – Zorja (Serbia)
#15 – Kyrie Mendel – Hurricane (Romania)
#14 – Blacci – Mar No Fim (Portugal)
#13 – Inbal Bibi – Zaza (Israel)
#12 – Emma Muscat – Out Of Sight (Malta)
#11- Purr Mudd Ft. Shira – Golden Shores (Estonia)
Nice list Briekimchi, Zorja made it onto my top 50, I really like the drama in that song. My guess is that you like solo artists who have power in their vocal. I would need to think more deeply about what will appear on your top 10, but my feeling is that it will be solo artists with a powerful vocal (of course I could be massively wrong!). My gut feeling is we will not share any of our top 10 (which is perfectly fine!). I have four groups in my top 10 and my feeling is that you probably… Read more »
I don’t think there are many surprises in store for you! There are no groups in my top ten, all solo artists. At least six of which could be categorised as BIG vocal performances.
I would say there’s probably a 50/50 split between songs you’d expect to be there and surprises that would probably only come from my peculiar mind…but yes, you shall see shortly!
And I haven’t given up yet. I hope that we have at least one act shared in this top ten!
I find NorthKid’s song adorable too. It’s my 15th of NFs. Tone’s song is good as well, but it’s perhaps overstated here because of representation. That said, trans visibility on NFs really helps in long-run, and should be encouraged. Song-wise, I like that it has an old school orchestral feel with strings in the contest where everything usually feels made for radio.
I mildly like Ritmu too. Enough to probably help Malta climb around 10 places on my list. My winner was Nicole Hammett, but even she probably wouldn’t enter my top 15 on ESC. It’s not the song choice, it’s the fact that they just wanted Emma, regardless of the song, but decided to waste everyone’s time with the charade. I enjoyed the ”Special night”, though. Seeing all of their previous representatives again was nice.
northkid and tone higher than queen sara jo? is this a joke?
i liked both of their entries just fine but seriously? this is wayyyy higher than either deserved
Tone Sekelius 12th place is a rather odd choice. There are 100s of better songs than this one, in terms of music and voice. Anyway, in the end what matters it is the succes of an artist. People who check the artists career know that the artists having success aren’t most of the ones that Wiwi team tries to push and overestimate.
northkid has no business in being there lbr… awfully dated song with laughably lazy lyrics. i also expected aidan to be first considering wiwibloggs’ history of love for him, glad he’s in a more appropriate place haha
Wow I never thought my own personal taste would differ that much from this list, but I guess that’s also the beauty of the Eurovision season, anyone can find songs they like, whether others enjoy them as well or not ?
I hope that July Jones will be in Top 10. But the Slovene EMA is always overlooked, despite all entries being better than anyone on this list.
The slovenian selection was quite bad this year unfortunately… A couple of ok’ish songs, but most performances were really bad still… It is no wonder it is overlooked this year.
So happy to see Jaguar Jonze so high up again! I really hope she makes it to Eurovision one day, she’s such an amazing artist both musically and visually
My fav in their National Selection by far. IMO, she deserved to win.
The studio version sounds great but her live performance was woeful.
I still think “Calle de la Llorería” was the best of the best at BeniFest :’)
And it should have been number 1 in this rank!!!
You are right, but the thing is they did not convert it into a ESC song, meaning, they could have had prerecorded voices that would have sound better life, closer to the videoclip. Instead, Rayden preferred “quality”, meaning as much live voices as possible, but it did not work. I bet Rayden has learnt from that and I bet we will have him again in BF with better results (so we can still see him at Eurovision in the future).
Well, I guess I prefer “quality” too then!
Major props to Tone for coming 5th in MF!
I know the hype and the drama behind Benidorm Fest and all that jazz, but seeing a song in my mother language, with our folklore elements…being so loved, makes me very happy.
Non hai fronteiras.
Back then I thought blanca paloma was the best option for Spain. Maybe now with all the strong ballads I think Chanel was a good choice
Ritmu deserves a higher position. And FYI, none of the song really is ‘cliche’. I don’t know what that reviewer was on. Ritmu is INCREDIBLY unique. Malta have not sent a song in Maltese for a while and frequently are too scared to, in the last years sending female English bops. A male ethnic bop turns everything on its head here and subverts expectations. That’s why so many people liked it, because its different but still has some degrees of familiarity that fans can enjoy. That’s why for many people, Ritmu would be in the TOP FIVE of all national… Read more »
I mean, the only thing that makes “Ritmu” unique is the language. Then, it’s another uptempo, which is OK.
There are not so many uptempos this year though. And finally, Malta chose another song … just to change it. And they changed for another typical song that says nothing. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t have Malta in the final this year, whereas I think they could have had a chance with Ritmu.
For me, the worst decision of a NF this year.
My opinion is Ritmu>>> Emma Muscat’s ESC songs, I only wanted to say that it’s not an unique song only because is in Maltese. It’s just a generic tune, which I rooted for his win because I like it even I don’t find it super special.
I agree, the song in itself is rather ordinary. Never got all the fuss about it.
Aidan was pitchy. Deserved not to win.
My top 20: 20. Ieva Zasimauskaite: I’ll Be There (Lithuania) – My 2018 top 5 singer returns with another heartwarming ballad. This is a more of a slow burner for me, but it’s like a warm hug needed in these tough times. 19. Elina Nechayeva: Remedy (Estonia) – As Ieva’s 2018 colleague, and my top 5 co-shareholder, Elina also brought pure magic on stage. Comparisons with La forza are obsolete, as she also owns this enchanting cinematic song. 18. Younghearted: Sun numero (Finland) – Slow-building campfire ballad in Finnish with some of the most beautiful lyrics this season. One of those that I… Read more »
Some strong songs here Colin – Ieva and NorthKid only just missed out on my top 50. I can appreciate the artistry in all of these efforts. I suppose the reason they don’t get into my absolute favorites is the absence of a deep, personal connection to me. And those things are going to be unique to the individual. But that doesn’t mean I can’t see the merits of these songs and I definitely respect the impact that they have had on you personally. Having scanned my top 10 again and compared them to themes I can see coming through… Read more »
We’ll find out tomorrow. But no matter if I like them or not, I will always appreciate the originality and honesty with which your lists are made, Kosey. 🙂 I am sure that I will like at least some songs in your top 10.
Hints for my top 10: 4 male singers, 5 female singers, and an all-female group; sung in six different languages; representing 6 different countries overall. 🙂
I will have to get my thinking cap on….
My gut feeling is that you are drawn to strong introspective emotions, so my guess is that there will be lots of those types of songs in your top 10.
I have four groups in my top 10, a mix of styles I think, but all have grabbed my attention this year in their own unique way.
Five of them made it into my list and Ieva, Giudi, Elina and Jaagup all did well in my ranking of their national finals too.
The one that probably sticks out for me is Michele as I ranked him in the teens in SanRemo. I found the song to be all build that went nowhere and he was doing a weird spoken-word thing with his vocals. It wasn’t really for me but there was definitely some nice instrumentation there and the build, even with the end result, was still nicely done.
I knew you’d like this part of my list. 🙂 As for Michele, I find the song beautiful. It has some ”spoken word” element, but it’s still very melodic, and doesn’t bother me unlike in, say ”Mio padre, tua Madre, Lucia”, where it becomes too much. In my case, I quite like songs I’ve put in mid teens on my Sanremo list. While perhaps not something that would give winning vibes, I’d say that songs like Ogni volta e cosi, Sei tu or Miele would still be in my top 20 of Eurovision line-up.
Definitely agree with the sentiment in the final part of your statement. A lowly-ranked SanRemo song would still probably do well in my ranking of Eurovision.
I’m actually interested now so I’m going to go and re-look at my ranking.
Iceland is currently my #26 in my ESC ranking and the lowest ranked SanRemo song I’d put ahead of it is “Abbi Cura Di Te”, which was my 17th (I think) in Sanremo.
That’s kinda incredible.
Rayden too low, deserved top10
Terra as well.
Was fully expecting Tanxugueiras to come top!
i mean, didn’t we all? seeing Tanxugueiras ranked so low seems so out of place
Seeing Terra outside of the top 10 of this top 50 kinda hurts me a bit, not gonna lie. :’)
It is so great for me to see 3 Spanish songs in this part of the list. Who would have said so a year ago? But I would also like Terra to be higher, they were my favourite from the beginning to the end of Benidorm Fest. They did not deserve the treatment they had from the professional jury.
11. Mia Negovetic – “Forgive Me (Oprosti)“ (Croatia) – such a lovely ballad, the only one on this list that brought me to tears the first time I heard it. The performance sadly wasn’t as on point as it needed to be, but what bursting emotion this song has, it strikes a really deep chord. 12. SOA – Seule (France) – perhaps the best lyrics of the year for me, how they are so uplifting and fit perfectly with the soaring quality of the music – a really exceptional effort 13. Aka 7even – Perfetta Cosi (Italy) – another great rock… Read more »
This list again has more songs I either like or find okay. Klara and Mia already appeared in mine, SOA in honorable mentions, Raum, Elia, Inspo, and Xeinn are also solid, every song is Sanremo is at least capable, and Angel Kiss is actually near the top of my Moldovan list. 🙂
SOA made my list but there’s a couple here that I think are pretty decent. Klara, Angel Kiss, Elia and Inspo were all rated quite highly in my national final selection.
I really disliked Mia, Raum and Xeinn’s songs though…and Aka 7even/Browsing Collection I had no strong feelings about.
You were right about your list being really different though! I really am not able to predict what’s coming in each of your group of 10s!