Wednesday Wishlist: Our dream Eurovision 2020 contestants — Croatia to Greece

For the sixth year running, the team at wiwibloggs is organising our “Wednesday Wishlists”. As the title suggests, it’s our yearly round-up of the artists we think would do a fantastic job representing their nation in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Over the five Wednesday Wishlist editions we have done, our wishes were granted a total of eleven times, with a total of twelve entries sent to the grand Eurovision stage. Will any more be granted in 2020?

And as this is all fantasy, we’ll also be taking a look at absentee countries, both long and short term. Because in our ideal contest everyone comes to the party.

To make sure that no one gets left out, we’ll be going through countries in alphabetical order, so this week we’re starting with Croatia and working through to Greece.

Eurovision 2020 Wishlist (Part Two)

Croatia: Mia Dimsic

Antony: Mia Dimsic is one of Croatia’s rising stars. Singing country-pop, her debut album Život nije siv reached number one on the charts. Many of her subsequent singles have done likewise, while she has won several Porin awards (basically Croatia’s Grammys). Representing Croatia at Eurovision would add to her list of many achievements. Give her a guitar and stripped back staging, and Mia and her gentle voice will do wonders for the country. Her latest award-winning single with singer Marko Tolja featured in this year’s Splitski Festival.

Past wishes: Franka Batelic (wish granted), Luce, Lana Jurcevic, Petra Kovacevic and Damir Kedzo

Cyprus: Arcadian Child

Ari: After a shaky start to the decade, Cyprus seem to have finally gotten the hang of it now. Having qualified to the final five times in a row, it’s safe to say creativity paid off for the Cypriots. And nothing screams “creativity” like ambient indie/psychedelic rock fusion! Arcadian Child are a Limassol-based rock band who just might expand the average ESC fan’s musical taste. I see an intricate black-white staging. I see smoke, lights, maybe an electrifying guitar solo. Arcadian Child would be a very bold choice, but it just might work out!

Past wishes: Valando Tryfonos, Kyriacos Georgiou, Nikolas Metaxas, Sophia Patsalides and Polina Christodoulou

Czech Republic: Tereza Mašková

Mikhail: Tereza is a relatively new talent on the Czech music scene. She found fame one year ago when she won the 2018 edition of Czechoslovak Superstar. Shortly after that she released her first single “New Me”. It shows her artistic side. The music video is fairytale-like with Tereza looking like a queen replete with her trademark pink hair. Back in June she released her second single “Žár” (Heat), this time in the Czech language. It is light and empowering. Overall her style is pop and funk. If chosen, she would surely continue the Czech’s lucky streak.

Past wishes: Verona, Veronika Stýblová, Lenny, Mikolas Josef (wish granted) and Emma Smetana

Denmark: Medina

Lucy: There’s a good chance you’ve heard the summer banger “The First Time” by M-22. But those vocals are by Danish songstress Medina. Although she often sticks to the Danish language, she has also released various singles in English, including “You and I” and “Lonely”. The former charted in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Her voice is different than that of your average pop queen. It possesses a softer edge which, weirdly, works beautifully with an upbeat track. She’s also worked with Melfest alum Anton Ewald on the sexually-charged “This Could Be Something”, so Eurovision is definitely a possibility. I’d love to hear what uplifting tune she could bring to the table.

Past wishes: Ida Corr, Stine Bramsen, Turboweekend & Oh Land, Lukas Graham and Malte Ebert

Estonia: Nublu

Julian: Nublu is a popular Estonian rapper. However, he plays with a lot of different genres. His most-streamed song “Mina Ka” will give you a very retro feeling due to electro beats and lots of synthesizer action. On the other hand, “für Oksana” – one of his newest songs – is filled with contemporary Latin beats. The song topped Estonia’s Spotify charts and has amassed over 2.3 million YouTube views in less than two months. Impressively, it contains rapping in Estonian, Russian and English! One more fun fact: While “für Oksana” placed seventh on Estonia’s top 20, the track also reached number one on Estonia’s top ten most annoying songs, proving taste is always subjective.

Past wishes: Jaan Lehepuu, Liis Lemsalu, Iiris, Jana Kask and Cityflash & Laura-Ly

Finland: Nightwish

Tom: This might seem a little on the nose since the band’s current lead vocalist Floor Jansen has already expressed an interest in participating for the Netherlands. However, I say get the boys together, dust off the electric guitars and let’s rock Nightwish style! Nightwish, the legendary symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland, was formed way back in 1996. Though the lineup may have chopped and changed over the years, it has gone on to be the most successful group in Finland, selling more than nine million records and receiving more than 60 gold and platinum awards, releasing five number one albums and thirteen number one singles. Plus, they were inducted into the Finnish Music Hall of Fame in 2018. Bringing the heavy metal group back together for Finland may be a stroke of genius. Nightwish even has some Eurovision pedigree, having performed in Finland’s national selection in 2000 with rock ballad “Sleepwalker”. It placed first with the public but ultimately dropped to third place after the jury vote. Twenty years on, Nightwish may ‘Finnish’ what they started and have their Eurovision entry after all.

Past wishes: Laura Närhi, Anna Abreu, Niila, Alma and Sonata Arctica

France: Indila

Padraig: She’s one of the biggest names in French pop. But, alas, Indila is on record saying that Eurovision is not for her. However, that was way back in 2014. France had just scored its worst result ever with Twin Twin. Meanwhile, this chanteuse was releasing hit after hit, including “Dernière Danse” — a global smash with over half a billion YouTube views. Five years later, France’s Eurovision reputation is on the rise and Indila in the midst of a long-awaited comeback campaign. Surely the ESC stage looks more appealing now?

Past wishes: Mylène Farmer, Amel Bent, Brigitte, Christine & the Queens and Maître Gims

Georgia: Keti Topuria

Jonathan: Despite being a relatively small country, Georgia still has its fair share of international stars. This includes Keti Topuria. Since 2005 she’s been the lead vocalist of Kazakh band A’Studio, who themselves initially received widespread acclaim in 1989/1990 across the then USSR. Three decades later and the band are still going strong, with their recent music videos racking up millions of views on YouTube. Keti herself has become a prominent figure across the region and amassed 2.3 million Instagram followers. Thus, with fifteen years of international success and experience behind her, perhaps it’s time the Tbilisi-born star turned the spotlight purely onto herself for a short period and represented her birth nation at Eurovision. Whether she participated with an A’Studio-produced track or one from other song writers and producers, Keti may just be what Georgia needs to once again climb up the Eurovision scoreboard.

Past wishes: Katie Melua, BERA, Nini, Salio and Nino Katamadze & Insight

Germany: Nico Santos

Florian: Nico Santos is an aspiring German singer-songwriter. Growing up in Spain, he got into music at a very young age. For quite some time he was working for other artists behind the scenes. That changed with his breakthrough hit “Rooftop”. Ever since, Nico Santos has become one of Germany’s most promising acts. He’s also been part of the German Eurovision jury and is now part of The Voice of Germany, hosting the comeback stage for eliminated acts. Recently, he released the track “Better” with none other than Eurovision 2010 winner Lena.

Past wishes: Mandy Capristo, Oonagh, Glasperlenspiel, Mogli and LEA

Greece: Konstantinos Argiros

Oliver: Unfortunately, Greece has fallen into somewhat of a rough patch at Eurovision. The once powerful competitor has struggled to deliver good results at the contest for a few years now. That’s where our pick, Konstantinos Argiros, comes into play. A heavyweight in the Greek music industry, Konstantinos has tonnes of hits registering millions of YouTube views. With lots of TV performances under his belt, he is no stranger to a big stage. His musical style spans genres, but one thing that always remains true is his ability to incorporate a distinct Greek charm into his work.

Past wishes: Eleni Foureira (wish granted for Cyprus), Tamta (wish granted for Cyprus), Kings, Nikos Ikonomopoulos and Marina Satti

What do you think of our choices? Who would you choose? Let us know in the comments.

CHECK OUT OUR PREVIOUS WEDNESDAY WISHLISTS.