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 40.

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: 40 to 31

40. Wellboy – “Nozzy Bossy” (Vidbir)

What we said: Wellboy — that’s Anton Vel’boy — grew up in the Sumy Oblast village of Hrun’. With his nasal voice and interesting stage persona, he quickly gained a strong fanbase and following. In “Nozzy Bossy”, Wellboy tries to reconnect with the ground underneath his feet. In the first verse of the song, the narrator says that the protagonist, a girl, should not forget her roots in the countryside. (Renske)

39. Azúcar Moreno – “Postureo” (Benidorm Fest)

What we said: What most surprises me about this song is that, production-technology gap aside, “Postureo” is perfectly interchangeable with Azúcar Moreno’s Eurovision 1990 entry “Bandido”. The flavour Azúcar Moreno brings is unmistakably their signature and for what could be shrugged off as the “vintage quota” ends up a really enjoyable entry with strong Spanish identity and an addictive hook. It isn’t my preferred one to send, but I’m more than glad it’s in Benidorm, busting the myth of the “older act” being dull filler. (Pablo)

38. Queens of Roses – “Washing Machine” (Pabandom iš Naujo!)

Inspiration for songs can come from anywhere. For Lithuania’s Queens of Roses, the inspiration came from a household appliance. “Washing Machine” was a sassy track that the girl group performed with striking ponytails and pink gloves. The trio ultimately went all the way to the grand final of Pabandom iš Naujo! 2022. (Jonathan)

37. Reykjavíkurdætur – “Turn This Around” (Söngvakeppnin)

What we said: Enter the all-female rap band Reykjavíkurdætur, who have been playfully ruffling conservative feathers with their raunchy and in-your-face songs and performances since 2013. Their Söngvakeppnin 2022 song is written and composed by Reykjavíkurdætur themselves. They admit that they had enormous fun writing the song, as they lived in a commune of some sort with their kids for a week while writing it. They wanted that feeling of change in the lyrics, as well as a song that makes people want to dance. (Kristin)

36. Lolita Zero – “Not Your Mother” (Pabandom iš Naujo!)

The icon, the legend, the moment that is Lolita Zero. Lithuania’s prima drag queen returned to the country’s national final as one of the public favourites. Stood in one place for the entire song, Lolita still managed to keep viewers interested as she spent three minutes telling us all that she is “Not Your Mother”. Making it to the grand final, Lolita finished in joint second position. (Jonathan)

35. Pongo & Tristany – “Dégrá.dê” (Festival da Canção)

What we said: Disruptive, intense, genuine, representation. So many words can be used to describe Pongo & Tristany’s entry this year but none on its own can perfectly define what’s being presented to us. Channelling African sounds and culture, “DÉGRA.DÊ” presents itself as a frontrunner for this year. Experimental but more accessible than Conan Osíris, the duo would be the perfect representation of a diverse and inclusive Portugal. (Bernardo)

34. Niello & Lisa Ajax – “Tror du att jag bryr mig” (Melodifestivalen)

Melodifestialen alum Lisa Ajax returned to the contest with a duet partner for 2022, performing alongside rapper Niello. The response to their entry “Tror du att jag bryr mig” (“Do you think I care”) is one of two contrasting stories. Lisa and Niello finished last in heat two of Melfest 2022. However, the song went on to be a hit, reaching a peak of #7 on Sweden’s Sverigetopplistan – Lisa Ajax’s highest charting song to date. Every cloud has a silver lining. (Jonathan)

Previous top national final songs (Lisa Ajax): “Torn” (#8 in 2019), “I Don’t Give A” (#17 in 2017), “My Heart Wants Me Dead” (#10 in 2016)

33. Aminata – “I’m Letting You Go” (Supernova)

There was much excitement for Aminata’s return to Supernova. After taking Latvia to sixth place at Eurovision 2015, many were looking to her to bring the country back to the grand final. Aminata brought the emotional ballad “I’m Letting You Go”, which was a fan favourite among the field. In the end, she couldn’t quite make it back to Eurovision, finishing second. But Aminata was still able to showcase her talent once again. (Jonathan)

32. Jude York – “I Won’t Need to Dream” (Eurovision – Australia Decides)

What we said: “I Won’t Need to Dream” is a dreamy, almost weightless ballad. Jude imagines better times and happier days, where his dreams become real: “Soaring through the make believe, chasing something out of reach, and maybe if I wish it so, life could be the way I hope, one day I won’t need to dream.” The contemplative lyrics married to his glorious vocals make this West End ready! (William)

31. Isaac Sene – “Kuuma jäbä” (Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu)

What we said: Slick, smooth and slightly dirty, “Kuuma jäbä” is a full delight. It takes the wave of male sensuality that Måneskin and Achille Lauro ride, but gives it a pop twist. If Isaac can translate the appeal of his music video to the live performance, this is going to be one to watch. However, its linear progression and lack of a clear hook makes his chances delve. The fact that it’s in Finnish just adds an extra touch to this electro pop delight. (Luis)

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 40 choices? Let us know in the comments.

26 Comments
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Ben
Ben
2 years ago

Washing Machine and Not Your Mother slap hard

Midnight Gold
Midnight Gold
2 years ago

Isaac Sene’s studio version is actually in my top 5 of the entire season, too bad the live didn’t come close to meeting those expectations… There’s not much reason to comment about the actual order as mine would obviously be completely different, but Pongo & Tristany and Wellboy are also good picks, at least.

KLINE
KLINE
2 years ago

What was Australia thinking not sending Jude York to Torino? “I Won’t Need to Dream” is heavenly beautiful – totally captivating!

Héctor
Héctor
2 years ago

Oh, no… Isaac Sene and Lolita Zero!! Both of them appear much later in my top. Actually, at first, I was hesitant about Lolita but really gave a good show, especially in his final performance. From #31 to #40: 31.  Patrick O’Sullivan – One Night, One Kiss, One Promise (6.75) 32.  Jordan Haj x Emma Smetana – By Now (6.75) – ESCZ 33.  Rigoberta Bandini – Ay Mama (6.75) – Benidorm Fest 34.  BESS – Ram pam pam (6.75) – UMK 35.  LUMA – All in (6.75) – EMA 36.  Syro – Ainda nos temos (6.75) – Festival da Cançao 37.  Angelino – The end (6.75) –… Read more »

Ieva
Ieva
2 years ago

Dégrá.dê should be higher

Mary M.
Mary M.
2 years ago

Postureo in the TOP40 ._.

Thallo
Thallo
2 years ago

Wellboy, Lolita Zero and Isaac Sene are all waaaay too low. They all easily deserve Top 15.

Essie
Essie
2 years ago

This list is nice for discovering good music if you’re like me and didn’t watch every national final or listen to all 700 songs this year.

Would love to see playlists by genre, like “dance bops”, “emotional ballads”, “ethnic flavor”, “unexpected”, …

The Voice of Reason
The Voice of Reason
2 years ago

Iceland’s song here was ROBBED big time!!!

Erik
Erik
2 years ago

Number one should be Omar Rudberg with Moving like that!

Colin
Colin
2 years ago

Top 40 for me: 40. Sofie Fjellvang: Made of Glass (Norway) – A beautiful and frail powerballad, as good as Attention or even better. The thing is, the competition in MGP this year was stacked. 39. Mia Negovetic: Forgive Me (Oprosti) (Croatia) – My winner of Dora 2022. Mia could have done wonders with this emotional song. The staging wasn’t good, but that could have been changed for ESC. 38. The Valentines: Stay or Go (Czech Republic) – Sometimes we tend to overlook low-key songs, but this is really, really fun. It reminds me of Friend of a Friend. 37. Elliott: La tempête… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Colin
Briekimchi
Briekimchi
2 years ago
Reply to  Colin

Nine out of ten of these are songs I like (you already know which one I don’t!) but otherwise, #35 is in my list somewhere and #40 and #32 would be in a top 100 if I were to make one.

Think this part of your ranking maybe highlights that I might put a bit more stock in a good live performance than you do…since Elliott and Fado Bicha definitely had issues…and even Jonas’ song didn’t look right.

Absolute great call on getting Peter Poder in there though. That was a nice little song.

Colin
Colin
2 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

There’s no definitive answer of how much the live performance can influence my rating. Mostly, it’s about whether the vocal issues are big or not, and whether they are due to one random mistake or the performer just cannot do it in general. It really varies from case to case. Elliott and Fado Bicha had some issues, but it wasn’t as big on my ears to hinder my enjoyment in these cases. Sometimes, a really bad performance can impact my rating a lot. It depends. 🙂 Thanks for acknowledging my acknowledgment of Koos lopuni. At times songs that get eliminated… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Colin
Briekimchi
Briekimchi
2 years ago

This was more what I was expecting. We’re now in the Wiwi universe where “Washing Machine” is better than “Virale”.
Was this one person voting it in first place or something silly and y’all getting stuck with it or were there actually a number of you who put it in the top 50 of the NF songs this year? XD

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
2 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

Oh and mine: (#40-31)

#40 – Andrei Zevakin Ft. Grete Paia – Mis Nüüd Saab (Estonia)
#39 – Sangiovanni – Farfalle (Italy)
#38 – Ruta Loop – Call Me From The Cold (Lithuania)
#37 – Blanca Paloma – Secreto De Agua (Spain)
#36 – Os Quatro E Meia – Amanhã (Portugal)
#35 – Omar Rudberg – Moving Like That (Sweden)
#34 – Matteo Romano – Virale (Italy)
#33 – Jaguar Jonze – Little Fires (Australia)
#32 – Angellina – Origami (Serbia)
#31 – Eli Huli – Blinded Dreamers (Israel)

Kosey
Kosey
2 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

Nice list, I can see the style coming through. Unfortunately none of these appear in my top 50 other than Angellina and Ruta (who has already been). That’s not to say that I dislike any of these tracks, far from it, they are just not as much in my “zone” as others.

I wonder if we will have any matches as we go forward? I suspect our musical tastes may mean our absolute favourites start to diverge but it will be very interesting to see!

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
2 years ago
Reply to  Kosey

I’m sure we’ll have a few more in-common as we go forward! However, as Colin said elsewhere, there were like 700 songs this year so it’s harder to get common ground in top 50’s as in some other years (particularly last!).

Excited to see what comes next though. I think my 20-11 is quite fan-friendly. XD

Kosey
Kosey
2 years ago

31. Maël & Jonas — “I Swear to God” (Germany) – surprisingly-dismissed but well-delivered modern pop-rock song 32. Pauline Chagne – Nuit Pauline (France) – eccentric 80s fun 33. Baklava and Nicole – Electric Indigo (Malta) – the most outrageously fantastic lyrics of the season and an instantly memorable and uplifting hook 34. Francesco Monte – Mi Recordo di Te (San Marino) – emotionally compelling rock entry 35. Angelina – Origami (Serbia) – super- polished and catchy dance track 36. La Vibrazioni – Tantissimo (Italy) – thrusting and well-drilled power rock 37. Mia Gucek – Independiente (Slovenia) – surprisingly underrated… Read more »

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
2 years ago
Reply to  Kosey

I’ve got three of these in there. Pauline’s ranked lower, Angellina about the same and Zorja a bit higher. :3
I also quite like Independiente in a weird way.

Kosey
Kosey
2 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

Yes, Slovenia’s semi-final selections were a bit odd I felt. Independiente is a tad generic but it is well-done generic if you know what I mean.

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
2 years ago
Reply to  Kosey

Couldn’t agree with you more. Tu In Zdaj and Naked were literally two of the worst songs yet won their televotes in the SFs. So strange.
Oh and I definitely could’ve done without Nova Romantika, too.

Colin
Colin
2 years ago
Reply to  Kosey

Our lists are very different indeed, and it’s fun to compare. 🙂 Here, I have two songs higher up on mine, one is close by on the honorable mentions, while others are mostly somewhere around the middle tier for me. I haven’t rated San Marino.

Kosey
Kosey
2 years ago
Reply to  Colin

You definitely have to go looking for San Marino entries! I watched as many as I could and made a note of ones I liked and then tracked them down on Spotify but there are not many of them! Similar with Moldova actually.

Sir Stevia
Sir Stevia
2 years ago

Washing Machine made the list while Luma was 51st….bruh. OK I’mma stop being annoyed at this list.

Air man
Air man
2 years ago
Reply to  Sir Stevia

Bruh luma wasn’t even that good, open your eyes and just accept the fact

Dawid
Dawid
2 years ago
Reply to  Sir Stevia

I ignore them every year. Looks like this year isn’t any different