The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 is set to take place on Sunday 11 December. A total of 16 countries will present their entries for the public and juries, all hoping to be crowned the winner at the end of the show.
But, before we settle down to watch some amazing young singers, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals — has been busy listening to all the competing entries. Now it’s time for them to reveal who their favourites are.
Our nine jurors hail from Australia, Croatia, Romania, Spain, United States of America and the United Kingdom. Below, they’ll each list their top five songs from Junior Eurovision 2022 and provide a short review of their favourite. Read on to find out who they’re rooting for.
Junior Eurovision 2022: Wiwi Jury Reviews
Ruxandra
1. Ireland: Sophie Lennon – “Solas”
I entered a magical world while listening to this song. Making my top five was a very tough decision as there are so many strong entries this year, but Ireland’s song has found a place deep within my heart. Sophie gives a certain light and warmth with “Solas”. The clarity of her voice is incredible and the song is at the same time calm and powerful. I love the whole story of the music video, the way in which Sophie manages to open every single locked door in order to offer the world her light. The lyrics are lovely and the fact they are in Irish Gaelic is a great thing too — it makes the song even more authentic.
2. Netherlands: Luna – “La Festa”
3. Portugal: Nicolas Alves – “Anos 70”
4. Spain: Carlos Higes – “Señorita”
5. Georgia: Mariam Bigvava – “I Believe”
Antranig
1. Spain: Carlos Higes – “Señorita”
Spain did themselves proud at Eurovision 2022 and I think Junior Eurovision 2022 will follow suit. This entry is so much fun, high energy and dynamic, with the catchiest hook in the contest. “Señorita” is definitely an earworm and I think many viewers will have this stuck in their heads when the time comes to vote. I hope Spain can put on a great show befitting of this entry and I’m excited to see what Carlos brings to the Yerevan stage.
2. United Kingdom: Freya Skye – “Lose My Head”
3. Kazakhstan: David Charlin – “Jer-Ana (Mother Earth)”
4. Armenia: Nare – “DANCE!”
5. Ireland: Sophie Lennon – “Solas”
Deban
1. Netherlands: Luna – “La Festa”
Luna’s “La Festa” comfortably cuts above her peers, and cements itself as one of my favorite Junior Eurovision entries of all time. Music is feeling and I feel joyful when this comes on. But that’s not all. The wardrobe, choreography, arrangement and musical direction are all on their A game. This is teen pop with a POW! Exuberant, festive, nostalgic, and served with a winning smile, Luna and her dancers are undeniably magical, and probably the most deserving of victory.
2. Armenia: Nare – “DANCE!”
3. United Kingdom: Freya Skye – “Lose My Head”
4. Georgia: Mariam Bigvava – “I Believe”
5. Poland: Laura – “To The Moon”
Jonathan
1. Armenia: Nare – “DANCE!”
There are many upbeat songs getting me moving at this year’s contest. But the one that has me DANCING is the home entry from Armenia. Nare delivers an amazingly catchy track that blends digital production with a sprinkling of Armenian spice. Yet it never gets too repetitive — the rap verse and subsequent dance break help give the song extra light and shade, providing an already dynamic song with even more pizzazz. It’s reminiscent of Aram Mp3’s bangers from over the years — and I see no reason why Nare can’t give Armenia just as good (if not better) of a result at Junior Eurovision 2022 as Aram Mp3 did at Eurovision 2014. Let’s DANCE!
2. United Kingdom: Freya Skye – “Lose My Head”
3. Netherlands: Luna – “La Festa”
4. Spain: Carlos Higes – “Señorita”
5. France: Lissandro – “Oh Maman!”
Luis
1. Spain: Carlos Higes – “Señorita”
Let’s get this first point out of the way: it’s obviously conflicting that I named my home country as my favourite. But, I can’t hide the fact that “Señorita” is an absolute earworm sung by Carlos with great spirit. As with Eurovision 2022, Spain dives into the topic of “what Europe expects from them” and comes up with a catchy tune with strong choreography. Doing as well as “SloMo” will be a complicated task for Carlos, but he’s surely bound to give one of the performances of the night.
2. Portugal: Nicolas Alves – “Anos 70”
3. Armenia: Nare – “DANCE!”
4. Ireland: Sophie Lennon – “Solas”
5. Serbia: Katarina Savić – “Svet Bez Granica”
Mario
1. Ireland: Sophie Lennon – “Solas”
Goosebumps, goosebumps, goosebumps! That’s all I could feel from the very first notes – and this feeling hasn’t stopped after multiple listens. A touching ballad about mental health that beautifully kisses with the stunning scenes of Ireland and their language. It’s Ireland from tip to toe! Underrated on so many occasions, this should secure Ireland’s best score to date with ease.
2. Georgia: Mariam Bigvava – “I Believe”
3. Italy: Chanel Dilecta – “BLA BLA BLA”
4. Spain: Carlos Higes – “Señorita”
5. Netherlands: Luna – “La Festa”
William
1. Netherlands: Luna – “La Festa”
Uplifting, energetic and feel-good — Luna brings the positive vibes that Junior Eurovision is all about. The chorus is easy-to-remember and makes me smile, and the polished choreography is just dazzling. It’s a good sign when you can’t wait for the artist to reach the chorus and do it all again. The bridge and dance break carries a clubby boom which helps even out all the sweetness. That Luna delivers all of this without ever looking stressed or strained only adds to the allure. This would be a very deserving winner.
2. Armenia: Nare – “DANCE!”
3. United Kingdom: Freya Skye – “Lose My Head”
4. Georgia: Mariam Bigvava – “I Believe”
5. Spain: Carlos Higes – “Señorita”
Pablo
1. Spain: Carlos Higes – “Señorita”
It’s difficult to implement modern trends for Junior Eurovision, but Spain has done it masterfully for the second time this year. Taking elements from the ever-popular Hispanic pop genre, “Señorita” has all it takes to be really successful. The hooks hit right, the English inclusion is brilliant, and just like the best of this genre, it’s able to get people from all corners to stand up and dance. Transmit this energy and explosion of happiness with summery goodness live, and a podium placement should very well be within reach once again.
2. Armenia: Nare – “DANCE!”
3. United Kingdom: Freya Skye – “Lose My Head”
4. Kazakhstan: David Charlin – “Jer-Ana (Mother Earth)”
5. Netherlands: Luna – “La Festa”
@wiwibloggs_official Taking up Carlos’ #SeñoritaChallenge 💃 #JESC2022 #JuniorEurovision #Señorita #CarlosHiges #Spain 🇪🇸 @eurovisiontve ♬ SEÑORITA (Eurovisión Junior 2022 / España) – Carlos Higes
Tom
1. Ireland: Sophie Lennon – “Solas”
I am a sucker for the Gaelic language – even more so in song. Giving me “Banshee” vibes (Ireland JESC 2019), “Solas” is such a heavenly track. It transports me to a magical, mythical, fantasy realm where there are fairys, wizards and unicorns. There might not be a real hook for the masses, but for me, “Solas” is beautiful and it stands out from the pack this year.
2. United Kingdom: Freya Skye – “Lose My Head”
3. Netherlands: Luna – “La Festa”
4. Spain: Carlos Higes – “Señorita”
5. Portugal: Nicolas Alves – “Anos 70”
Junior Eurovision 2022: Wiwi Jury Results
If each Wiwi Juror were to award 12, 10, 8, 7 and 6 points to their favourites, the overall top five would be:
- Spain: Carlos Higes – “Señorita”
- Netherlands: Luna – “La Festa”
- Armenia: Nare – “DANCE!”
- United Kingdom: Freya Skye – “Lose My Head”
- Ireland: Sophie Lennon – “Solas”
What do you make of the reviews of our Wiwi Jury for Junior Eurovision 2022? Do you agree? Who are your favourites ahead of the contest? Let us know in the comments below.
I would be happiest with the Netherlands, Ireland or Spain winning. The UK has a good song too but it’s way too adult for the JESC to my taste.
My Top 5 would be:
1. Italy
2. Poland
3. Ireland
4. Ukraine
5. France
I don’t have time to give detailed comments on my Top 5 above, but here are my brief thoughts:
Italy – Very cool, catchy, nice melody and sounds different from anything else in the competition.
Poland – I like the mysterious but danceable vibe, and I really connect with the lyrics.
Ireland – Stunningly beautiful composition, but a bit lacking in origionality.
Ukraine – Impactful use of musical devices
France: ?
My emoji on France didn’t work. Meant to say it’s very groovy!
Probably The Netherlands and Portugal will be mistreated as it has always happened in the JESC, but all of them have a fair chance alongside Italy and Georgia of making it to the top 5.
I completely forgot about Ukraine. Yeah, they have a biggest chance of making it into the top 5. I hope this time it doesn’t happen like in the adult counterpart though, as the song isn’t winning material.
The adult one isn’t a winning material either…
This is LA FESTA vs. UK
I have read somewhere that of this year countries can vote for their own entries both for JESC and ESC. I would like someone to confirm whether this is true or not.
lie in eurovision they didnt change that.
In Jesc u can vote for your country but u have to vote 3 countries. But in ESC is the same voting as always
Thanks
Macedonia SUCH UNDERRATED, LIKE ALWAYS 🙂
Good luck to all the children 🙂 From Spain, I will vote for the entries my son will tell me to XD His faves are The Netherlands, Kazajistán, Italy, Armenia and Spain itself, so I don’t know which ones I will end up voting. My own favorites are The Netherlands, Serbia, Portugal, France and Spain.
You really believe that Ukraine won’t win ahahahahahahh
I just listened to the song again, and I think this is a contender to win. The instrumentation and rhythm get your attention right from the start and set the mood, and the progression and buildup are among the strongest in the competition.
Ordinarily, this song may not have the mass appeal needed to win. But this year, coming from Ukraine, it very well could.
Me descojono los únicos que han puesto a España en el N.1 los españoles. Como siempre la objetividad brillando por su ausencia. De verdad que España no va a ganar.
Same people who were saying “Chanel is not gonna make the final” after Benidorm rehearsal…. Hahaha! Just pathetic
My Top 7 are
Well… so much toughts that I can’t express…but it seems that the overly patriotism helps a lot sometimes. Anyway nice top 5 and good luck to ALL the children.
I still think that a more neutral and more balanced jury would be more relevant but whatever it’s not that important.
I love seeing Serbia in one of the tops. It’s a very underrated song.
And today after the first rehearsals, it really stood out and it’s even more mesmerizing!
I watched the opening ceremony and we now know who open and close the show and we’re Armenia will perform. The Netherlands will be the show opener and Ukraine is the show closer in while Armenia will perform in slot 15 just before Ukraine. Now we wait and see where the other countries will placed later.
I see homophobic Aram MP3 was there. I hope he has reformed into a good example for children.
I can’t believe Junior Eurovision is coming this Sunday. I can’t wait.
Imagine ranking kids, absolutely shameful.
Imagine commenting on a JESC post…
It’s in the EBU code of ethics that the element of competition should not be emphasized, but nobody ever seems to care about that. Including the EBU. Sad.
Anyone who does not comply could have their accreditation revoked, but that never happens.
I think they mostly mean votes and polls like the one in this article. Polls on first rehearsals. That kind of stuff.
ok honestly I’m disappointed in this take. Its a bit ridiculous to suggest that children cannot partake in a somewhat competitive competition. Ive watched jesc for years and whilst, yes they have a leaderboard, the hosts always reiterate how everyone did a great job,they should be proud of themselves and if they dont receive as many points as others, they always say well done, you were great etc. Children can be and are competitive and they can have fun whilst doing it. Idm if they opted for just announcing a top 5 in the future instead of having every placement… Read more »
Also people can have preferences for songs, even if songs aren’t in their top 5 and this year is a prime example of this, that doesn’t mean the song is bad, it doesn’t mean they hate it, I know several people who say their top 10 is brilliant and ita difficult to choose between them and let’s not forget that people have different tastes, so someone might love a fan favourite, for another person it mightn’t be their favourite, same goes for the “underdog” entries, doesn’t mean theyre bad and that no one will vote for them. Once people are… Read more »
Why are you talking about messing up? I’d imagine delegations would not want to make their entrant feel in any way uncomfortable and again, they have a support team around them. No one wants anyone to mess up and I’m sure if it did happen people wouldn’t make a big deal of it because theyre children.This isn’t exactly toddlers and tiara where children are forced by their parents to go into an extremely toxic environment. The children are 9-14 years old. All they can do is their best.
That certainly is a possibility but ig you have to hope that they’ll have lots of support throughout with both the run-up to the competition and after the results. I mean you could even say the same about young people taking part in big international sporting events like with the skateboard event in the Olympics in Tokyo having 13-15 year olds (still almost entirely in the age range of jesc) taking part. Like there’s plenty of international competitions and national competitions that children take part in, you’d hope though that they are well looked after, have support and are reassured… Read more »
I looked at the exact wording in the code again. It says “the competitive aspect of the event should not be unduly stressed”, which to me means no articles like this or rehearsal polls. Maybe others feel differently.
It’s not just for the broadcasters, though, it’s for anyone going to or covering the event.
That is true. Far less exploitative and demeaning than anything Simon Cowell is involved with.
Ditch the whole thing.
If you’re going to try and make this a “oh the Spanish and the UKs entry aren’t child friendly” I cba. Firstly, what children listen to in that age group is very relevant, theyre not gonna sing about anything inappropriate.
Secondly, many, if not all the entries this year are child friendly or stuff that affects their age group such as having fun, wanting to live their life their way, not listening to haters, being the light at the end of a tunnel, wanting to dance, hoping to save mother earth etc.
Carlos is eleven. Why have the songwriters and producers decided he likes girls? Why not boys?
I’ll be honest, I hope and assume the songwriters consulted with the artists when writing lyrics because if they didnt, then yes, thats a very big assumption theyre making and its wrong of them to do so.
I really hope they did not consult with Carlos. Asking a young child if they like boys of if they like girls is not right either. This song has many levels of wrong.
Or, not of.
I meant more so as in subject matter like do you want to write a song about dancing. But yes I agree, they shouldn’t question whether they like boys or girls but I also think producers most certainly shouldn’t force a child to sing about that to begin with.
Come on, it’s JESC, not Agenda 2030.
Please explain. Hetero only?
Imagine a teacher ranking their students who are kids OMG!!!! Do u remember when u were a kid? its just a contest!
Were your classes broadcast to the whole continent? Did people make YouTube reaction videos on your music class?
Tom, I think “wizards, fairies and unicorns” might be taking the Disney version of Ireland a little too far. No leprechauns?
Again what’s with the smart arseyness of this comment, he meant its magical/mythical like in a fairytale.
Maybe I was a touch unfair, but I don’t really understand where this “magic” comes from. There’s nothing genuinely Celtic about this song, apart from the language. It’s an industrial conveyor belt product like too many other songs in the contest. Real Irish music sounds nothing like this.
I’m Irish and the instrumentation has traditional Irish elements (done in a more modern way). It’s not a full on ceilí I get that but you can certainly say thats its an Irish song on first listen because of the instrumentation and the language. I also feel like we dont necessarily have to go full on traditional for songs that one thing I really love countries doing is taking some traditional elements and using it in a different way or making it more contemporary. I’m guessing the magic comes somewhat from the language and perhaps the visual package, it is… Read more »
Tom says in the video that the Irish language just does that to him, brings him to fairyland. Which I find a little weird considering it is a living language of the 21st century, and not something from Middle Earth. Insulting, almost.
I mean I get why you’re saying that but if I’m completely honest, most Irish people do not speak Irish daily. It’s a language that people are taught in schools and don’t use all too often aside from if they choose to live in an area where Irish is the more spoken language such as Connemara in Galway which is on the west coast or if they want a job that requires a certain level of Irish such as a primary school teacher. So, I can understand that someone would find Irish unique and possibly magical if even their Irish… Read more »
glad it isn’t 100% Israeli gay bar or 100% wiwi-jury
What does that mean?
I don’t like the wiwijury results and I would rather mbd wouldn’t have won.. sorry that probably came off as homophobic. It has something to do with the 2022 iceberg.
How very awful to see the Spanish song at the top. Carlos is eleven! Next year, I am going to write a song for an eleven year old about boy-on-boy love, and see how that goes down.
well I dont think, Spain has chance to win this year, and is my country. But are u kidding me? the lyrics of spanish song is ok. Have u ever read UK´s lyrics? o Macedonia lyrics?
Why the hell do you find it so unbelievably important that 9-14 year old children HAVE to be gay for them to be allowed to sing about romance according to you? Most children likely don’t have a defined sexual identity and preference before they get around 18 years old, and we shouldn’t ever force it on them to reveal it too soon either. Most of them are probably still orienting at 14. Let their lives flow as they go… and whatever they discover about themselves… it all becomes clear for them over time. A boy loving a girl is still… Read more »
You guys are obsessed with Spain. Are you getting money for this?
1.France
2.Netherlands
3.Portugal
4.Albania
5.Ireland
6.North Macedonia
7.Poland
8.Kazakhstan
9.Spain
10.Armenia
11.Serbia
12.Georgia
13.Ukraine
14.Italy
12.Malta
16.UK
Never watched JESC before. I have been impressed by the standard of songs and singers. I think Georgia will win, maybe France has an outside chance. Seeing the large size of the stage and arena all the performers have my utmost respect as it looks very daunting.
Really surprised but also feels kind of nice to see Ireland being ranked so high. We probably won’t win but this could be our best JESC result yet so far.
Would be nice to see the Irish language getting done live and appreciation in a competitive field
My top 5 is
1. Ireland
2. Kazachstan
3. Serbia
4. Netherlands
5. Albania
Good luck to all the participants
My TOP 5 (changing every 10 minutes – haha):