In December, #EurovisionAgain will celebrate Eurovision non-qualifiers, with a fan rewatch and vote of 20 of the best songs that never made it to a grand final. But before that, we want to know which non-qualifiers are your favourites. We’re running a series of polls to see which acts wiwibloggs readers think deserve a second chance.
The polls include all countries who had more than one non-qualifier in the semi-finals era — from 2004 onwards. Listen to the non-qualifying tracks and vote for your favourites! We’re continuing with Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia and Norway.
What is your favourite non-qualifier from Montenegro?
- 2007: Stevan Faddy – “‘Ajde, kroči”
- 2008: Stefan Filipović – “Zauvijek volim te”
- 2009: Andrea Demirović – “Just Get Out of My Life”
- 2012: Rambo Amadeus – “Euro Neuro”
- 2013: Who See – “Igranka”
- 2016: Highway – “The Real Thing”
- 2017: Slavko Kalezić – “Space”
- 2018: Vanja Radovanović – “Inje”
- 2019: D mol – “Heaven”
What is your favourite non-qualifier from the Netherlands?
- 2005: Glennis Grace – “My Impossible Dream”
- 2006: Treble – “Amambanda”
- 2007: Edsilia Rombley – “On Top of the World”
- 2008: Hind – “Your Heart Belongs to Me”
- 2009: De Toppers – “Shine”
- 2010: Sieneke “Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)”
- 2011: 3JS – “Never Alone”
- 2012: Joan Franka – “You and Me”
- 2015: Trijntje Oosterhuis – “Walk Along”
What is your favourite non-qualifier from North Macedonia?
- 2008: Tamara, Vrčak and Adrian – “Let Me Love You”
- 2009: Next Time – “Nešto što kje ostane”
- 2010: Gjoko Taneski, Billy Zver & Pejčin – “Jas ja imam silata”
- 2011: Vlatko Ilievski – “Rusinka”
- 2013: Esma & Lozano – “Pred da se razdeni”
- 2014: Tijana – “To the Sky”
- 2015: Daniel Kajmakoski – “Autumn Leaves”
- 2016: Kaliopi – “Dona”
- 2017: Jana Burčeska – “Dance Alone”
- 2018: Eye Cue – “Lost and Found”
What is your favourite non-qualifier from Norway?
- 2007: Guri Schanke – “Ven a bailar conmigo”
- 2011: Stella Mwangi – “Haba Haba”
- 2016: Agnete – “Icebreaker”
Previous polls
- Part 1 – Albania, Andorra, Armenia and Austria
- Part 2 – Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia
- Part 3 – Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia
- Part 4 – Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark and Estonia
- Part 5 – Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Latvia
- Part 6 – Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Monaco
Which non-qualifiers are your favourites? Who would you like to see have another shot at Eurovision? Tell us your thoughts below!
1. North Macedonia – Dona – the best North Macedonian entry. “Pred da se razdeni” was great and had deserved final as well. “Autumn Leaves” was really nice in the studio version. I liked “Jas ja imam silata” too but that moment he grabbed the female dancer by her chin during the live performance was supa unnecessary. 2. The Netherlands – easily Sha-la-lie. Such a cute and uplifting entry. I also loved “You and me” in the studio version until Joan Franka came on stage in those Indian-American feathers – just why? 3. Montenegro – surprising for me to realise,… Read more »
Montenegro: 2013. Along with San Marino – the biggest robberies of the decade. Thanks, juries.
Netherlands: 2012. Sweet stuff.
North Macedonia: 2013. Applause for trying that. Lozano should return.
Norway: 2016. I’m catching myself listening to it so there’s that. 2011 was also fun. 2007 was ok but Portugal did it way better that year.
My votes:
Montenegro – D mol (2019), haha. 🙂 But I understand why Igranka is leading. If I took it seriously then probably 2013.
The Netherlands – 2012, but I also really like 2010.
North Macedonia (or whatever it used to be called) – 2017, but I also like 2018 and 2016.
Norway – 2011, Haba Haba! (Sorry, I can’t stand ‘Icebreaker’.)
1/4 this time around. I guess that my sad moment with Montenegro came in 2018 and yours in 2019.
I know many people are saying that Inje is not as strong as Adio or Moj svijet, but all 3 are equally an absolute favorites of mine.
In a an equally subjective manner, I can see why Icebreaker is polarizing, but I really enjoy it. Haba Haba is kind of a guilty pleasure. 🙂
We also have completely different Dutch favorites.
We agree on North Macedonia. 🙂
Oh my, Agnete’s Icebreaker was my favourite of the whole 2016 so I was really gutted that she didn’t make it. I know some people didn’t like the two-paced nature of it and perhaps the staging was a little strange, but I absolutely loved that song and Agnete’s delivery. I still listen to it a lot now. I was having a tough time back then and the song and Agnete’s delivery was such a dazzling light of hope.
The thing is that this two-paced nature that you’re mentioning was easily recognized in the studio version, but Agnete made it work better live! And this is what amazes me with her delivery! How unfortunate that this song was killed because of the emptiness of the staging in Stockholm. Their national final staging was better by far. At least, I believe Agnete will get the recognition she deserves with this ongoing procedure regarding the semis
Yes, finally someone else who really likes Montenegro 2016, it is really hated for some reason
Montenegro: I’m probably the only one who loved The Real Thing, but I really like the power and the rock-influences. The live performance was really cool too.
Netherlands: I honestly couldn’t care less.
North Macedonia: Most people went with Dance Alone, and I did too. A great song, and I didn’t understand people complaining about the empty stage, it is literally a song about dancing alone.
Norway: Well, Norway usually qualifies so their NQs aren’t exactly masterpieces. I’ll go with Icebreaker, it’s a pretty good song.
Montenegro: 2007 & 2009
Netherlands: 2005, 2007 & 2008
North Macedonia: 2017
Norway: 2007, 2011 & 2016
Glad to agree with you on the first 2, though I felt that, whilst I wanted to like Lost and Found and Icebreaker, it was felt there was too much going on for me.
Jana Burceska’s “Dance Alone” totally deserved to qualify, so underrated. The stage looked a bit empty and simple but the song itself was good enough to take Macedonia to the final.
Yeah, there’s some proper good songs in this selection. I think “Inje” is the best overall composition and would be in my top ten of all-time “deserved to qualify lists” and obviously, “Icebreaker” not qualifying still doesn’t seem right, even now.
N.Macedonia have some good ones but nothing to the level of the two that I mentioned.
Montenegro: 2013. I don’t have much to add, I just like it, but I can understand why it didn’t get through, but had it been 100% televoting it would have made it to the final. Inje was a good song but it didn’t work live for some reason and this is why I didn’t vote for it. And of course Moj Svijet and Adio were much better than Inje. The Netherlands: 2007.There are some quality songs here that could’ve made it but they were in the wrong year or semi. For example My Impossible Dream or Your Heart Belongs To… Read more »
Wow FYROM, definitely the most underrated country in the ESC. I’ve voted for all their songs since 2013. So many good songs!
So many of them had mediocre to just plain terrible staging. They would have qualified with just a small upgrade in how they were presented.
its Northmacedonia now for 2 years
Or: “The one with the sunshine flag.” 🙂
Whilst Moldova did that stuff better 6 songs later, Space is still great fun, the lyrics are so outre they are hilarious, and it was a lot better than I expected – disco soul rather than the autotuned EDM I had expected it to be before hearing it. It was a bit sad the You and Me didn’t qualify, even though it was a sweet song (maybe due to the appropriating headdress) but thankfully the only way was up. Dance alone and Let Me Love You were good and 2010’s had a good chorus, but several NM failures to qualify… Read more »
Exactly due to Joan Franka’s headdress that song stopped existing for me, even tho it’s 100% my kind of music.
Montenegro: Igranka – Would have qualified if it wasn’t for the jury!
Netherlands: My Impossible Dream – Granted, 2005 was a strong year, and there were so many song that were robbed, but this one was my favourite if the bunch! It should have qualified!
North Macedonia: Dance Alone – Great song, mediocre live performance.
Norway: Icebreaker – By a landslide! Robbed so badly! Should have definitely qualified!!!
I was so surprised that the Netherlands didn’t qualify in 2005– My impossible dream easily made my top 3
I would have kicked Georgia. easily. It was a jumbled mess of a song with great staging.
I just checked, it’s really a strong group of qualifiers. Personally, I loved Georgia (my overall top 5 in 2016), but I totally see why the song is polarizing. For my personal taste, I’d replace Norway with Latvia. I just find the song too repetitive, but I can see the quality in the production. As for Who See in 2013 – This is an interesting case for me. It’s the *only* Montenegrin song of 2010s which I don’t downright love or dislike. It’s interesting, but not something I’d usually listen to. It would, however, easily be my second favorite Montenegrin… Read more »
For me, each of these countries had one truly robbed stellar song:
Montenegro – Inje
Netherlands – My Impossible Dream
North Macedonia – Dance Alone
Norway – Icebreaker
Others were either not deserving by being poor or just stuck in a difficult semi whose top ten they wouldn’t break (Lost and Found, Autumn Leaves, On Top of The World…)
The issue with “Inje” is that it got compared to “Adio” (2015) and “Moj Svijet” (2014), both of which were a bit stronger sounding.
Norway’s “Icebreaker” is of course divisive – I just can’t stand that slower Chorus and that painful held clash note in the melody; it honestly makes me cover my ears every time.
Agnete was robbed so badly. Deserved top 10 in the final.