On Saturday night, thirteen of this year’s Eurovision 2023 acts turned up and turned out at the Barcelona Eurovision Party 2023. For many it was their first opportunity to deliver a live performance of their ESC entry abroad — and in front of a live audience.
Mae Muller unleashed her da-da-da-da-da-daaahs, while Blanca Paloma had us going eaea, eaea. Amid all the sounds and dance moves, opinions were formed and calculations were made. Now we have to find out: Who had you screaming, “You’re a winner, baby?”
You can review all 13 performances in our playlist below. Then vote in our poll. You can vote for as many acts as you’d like, but you can only submit your votes one time. Be sure and tick the box next to each act you want to support before hitting submit.
Barcelona Eurovision Party 2023: Live performances
Vote in our poll
Who is your winner? Who surpassed your expectations and who fell short?
Latvia, Belgium, Slovenia and Portugal’.
From what I have seen the best vocals so far this year are Georgia, Iceland and Spain. They are top class with hitting all their notes and control and delivery. I could even say the same for Piqued Jacks too, barely a note not sharp or flat.
I do agree that Iceland’s song is completely elevated by her singing which saves it from being a middle of the road song. We will see how that translates to in the semi final performance.
It seems to be a very anti UK Can you stop it please If we’ve got nothing to say be quiet I’m sick Off it
We all have to admit that Gustaph was – once again – amazing. He sells his song really well 🙂
Iru and Blanca Paloma
UK is dreadful. It could be another bottom place for them. Certainly not higher than 20th in the final.
GO IN TOP 8 FOOL OF DAY
Uk is going to be bottom 5 in jurys and maybe 10-15 in televote
Slovenia 12
The Spanish fans in Barcelona were throwing a lot of hate to Ireland and San Marino. They were yelling stuff like “flop” and “will not qualify” and to Wild Youth and Piqued Jacks.
Not even for the fact that Spain is one of big 5 countries that qualify automatically do Spanish fans have the least modicum of respect for other contestants. Shame on them.
I was there, and no sign of what you’re saying. No one was insulted. Plus, there were many fans there who weren’t Spanish.
It’s not just here. There are loads of live videos on YouTube. Mae Muller cannot sing.
Just push the big Jew onto the stage and tell her to be “fierce” with a synth-beat behind her. The degenerates will go wild for it.
What are you on about Are you watching the same videos I’m watching She can sing live I think you’re taking something
she can sing but that song its hard to sing its very fast. Btw it´s not an extreordinary singer she has to improve her tecnique, so she is going to be bottom 5 in jurys. Televote will help her.
People take these pre parties seriously. What matters is the semifinals and finals of Eurovision.
This could be the hint of how could their arena performance look like. If you are really bad vocally (unless you are ill) now you really have to work hard to improve in just 4 weeks. Alvan&Ahez and Pia Maria never improved their vocals.
Oh my , with all the efforts the BBC is making to create a great show they forgot to pick an artist that can match their level of taste and professionalism. This will end the show…..
Much as it pains me to write this I have to admit Mae Muller is not a great vocalist live after watching other videos on YouTube. Sadly I don’t feel the song is strong enough to overcome that.
I really liked Dilja’s performance, she is superb, and although the song itself is ok, she elevates it. I have faith she will qualify and bring Iceland to the final once again.
I am concerned about Iru’s performance. Vocally she is good but the whole thing does not resonate much, I can’t feel what the song is about, there is a missing concept that I can’t see even live.
Gustaph is also always nice to watch and hear. Good vibes and energy. Fingers crossed for qualifying for the final.
On the other hand, I did not like Mae at all. song, voice, attitude, performance, I respect every artist but it looked rather “cheap” (no offence). The UK can do much better than that!
Once again the same as last year you criticise Sam Ryder you’re always the same
Piqued Jacks. Go San Marino!
The frontman is a great vocalist. I love their song, it’s very underated. I have faith they will do a very good job at Eurovision. 🙂
Piqued Jacks at least deserve a round of applause for consistent vocals. Y’all can hate on the song but man can that guy sing. It’s a shame how biased the fan base can be even when artists do their best.
Gustaph killed it, as per usual.
I believe in him and his song, I feel it is going to qualify.
OK, Monika has elevated that song from my lower half into my upper half. Incredible stage presence and voice. We do need to talk to her stylist though…
I’m sure Mae will improve, but that thumbnail makes me think it wasn’t wise to include the lyrics da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da in a song about song-writing.
There are a lot of things that need to change, for me this entry is a bottom-5 contender, and I am sorry for that. I believe the UK can do much better than that. She is ok but the whole thing does not resonate (lyrics, voice, song, performance outfit).
What are you taken because you seem to be on something because you seem to have the same crap every year
I voted for Moldova. The usual Spain and Portugal, and especially Georgia are all about screaming and shouting. This is noise, not music! UK was a disaster. The others were just flat and boring, not worth mentioning…
i agree, Spain and Georgia are three minutes of endless noise.
Do you realize that you contradict yourself by using the phrases three minutes and endless in the same sentence?
Dumb and dumber.
Spain, Portugal and Georgia are noise not music? And ur message is not a message but absolute moron’s garbage… But that IS just my opinion.
You are toxic.
The “usual Portugal screaming “ in particular makes me laugh so hard: where was all the screaming in Maro’s, Blackmamba’s, Salvador’s or Claudia Pascual’s”O jardim”??? And even Conan Osiris doesn’t fit in what you are saying. You are just a hater, dude, try to find some help….
oh dear, wash ur ears, that´s call singing!.
it’s releasing April 5th
How do you know?
I just don’t understand how come people vote for Mae Muller? Have you heard her well? Both the voice and performance was bad. I found few brilliant eg Slovenia, Iru etc.
People ignoring the fact that she was sick and technical difficulties were present *yawns*
I agree about the UK, since first listen and watch this entry did not resonate with me at all. I respect every artist but the whole thing feels “cheap” to me. I can’t believe that this is the host’s entry after Sam Ryder that I absolutely looooved! The UK has so much talent and a huge music industry. Good luck to anyone and Mae!
Because the song is self is amazing she was ill with the flu idiot
WORST PARTY I CAN RECALL. Honestly. From the sound problems, to those attention-seeking drag queens talking for ages, to the actual selection of artists. First I was angry having to watch this, BUT LATER I actually felt sorry for the audience. What a failure.
Indeed, the audience was literally soulless, as if they were sitting on a couch and sleeping.
I am not going to make the easy joke here (the easy job for a non-Catalan Spaniard as I am)
I was in the audience cheering on every performance (i travelled from Ireland to be there) however I don’t know why the locals even bothered going as they appeared to be asleep. Also, it didn’t need to be made into a drag show, they talked unnecessarily at regular intervals. I found all acts gave it their best and for me personally it was Ruslana who stole the entire show on the night!!
I just heard they’ll release the revamped (only studio) version on Spotify on April 5th
Love Georgia iry Wery Winner
Why Moldova so low? Thought it was brilliant.
My top 13 of the Barcelona Eurovision Pre-Party 2023: 13. Ireland (Chaotic and awful syncs, I didn’t like the song from the start anyways) 12. Slovenia (A HUGE difference from the live performance video… and not a positive difference at all. Rather dissapointing might I add. Might have been the really bad audio quality but many of the notes came out really shouty). 11. United Kingdom (Oof, girl, you barely hit right half the notes you were supposed to. Extremely shaky vocals, hopefully it was just Mae being nervous). 10. San Marino (Decent, for the standards of the… entry). 9.… Read more »
To be fair on Mae, she was actually sick when she performed last night so that’s why her vocals were off. Although I think it’s better to screw up during the pre-parties, than at Eurovision, you can get your nerves all the way.
I actually don’t like singers performing ill because that’s not good for them and they can exacerbate their illness, and that could risk getting other singers unless she was wearing a mask before the performance.
12. Slovenia (A HUGE difference from the live performance video… and not a positive difference at all. Rather dissapointing might I add. Might have been the really bad audio quality but many of the notes came out really shouty).
The shouting you heard in the middle of their performance was from one member of the audience. The singer gave him a microphone to sing (which was a mistake, I guess).
I DID NOT KNOW THAT, LOL.
Being Lithuanian myself I did NOT expect Monika to slay this hard at some random party lol. And yet she’s still receiving slander in her own country… can’t wait for her to prove everyone wrong
Ouh really she does? What people are saying? Why is she receiving slander? Love her..
Some people cannot reconcile with the fact Ruta Mur didn’t win the selection.
She was the televote winner, so I can see why some people could be upset, but unlike your neighbor, Poland, at least you guys are lucky that jury winner actually can sing.
I wasn’t a fan of Monika’s song before I saw her in Barcelona but it really grew on me after seeing her performing live. I think she could definitely qualify for the final!
The 2 acts who impressed me the most are Diljà, Mimicat and Tvorchi. Gustaph, Monica, Blanca, Iru, Pasha, Piqued Jacks were flawless, I’m still not into these songs butbthey were good. Among the groups I loved Joker Out and Wild Youth a lot, they are growers for me, even if Ireland needs to improve a bit we can feel their professionalism. For Mae, we can feel she has potential but the execution needs to be worked a bit more. I feel Sudden lights were not at 100% of their capacity too. I voted in this poll for Portugal, Iceland, Slovenia… Read more »
The 3 acts not the 2….
Beth. I rest my case.
Okay let’s be honest, Monika & Iru ate it all and left no crumbs. I really see them both in the 10 with a good staging.
I wouldn’t rule out Monika winning the whole contest in May. At the end, no one had expected her to win PiN
That’s a very bold prediction, and that would be the ultimate Darkhorse victory, but I think, realistically, if Lithuania qualifies, it might be more of a top 15 result at best similar to Monika Liu. I’ll be surprised if we get another top 10 result for Lithuania. That would be great, but I’m not betting on it.
Me neither, it was a very far fetched comment from me, but stranger things have happened. Personally, I do agree more with your prediction, but what I said is a possibility I just can’t rule out jajaja
True, anything can happen.
I voted for the 3 performances that gave me chills yesterday as part of the audience in the party: Lithuania, Moldova and Spain.
I just found out that betevé YT channel also published Barcelona pre-party videos. They’re much better than those filmed by wiwibloggs because it had access to the stage!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ryl7d8tiIU
UK isn’t there.
Those are literally the ones I saw and judged!
It’s still not on Spotify yet. That’s frustrating.
For me the two iberian queens. Mimicat and Blanca Paloma ??
Everyone who already performed in their NF gave more or less a similarly strong performance as expected, so I’ll just focus on two first-time performances: Georgia and The UK. Iru knocked it out of the park with her vocals! It’s a vocally challenging song, and she nailed it. Too bad that the lyrics are so poor. On the other hand, I like the lyrics in the British song, but I’m not impressed by the rest. Mae’s vocal performance was ok at best. Ideally, I’d swap the lyrics of two songs, so we’d have one amazing entry, and one overall meh… Read more »
Destiny, and Destiny. 🙂 And, Blanca Paloma obviously.
The big surprise for me was Georgia’s Iru. That voice could fill a few stadiums! I’d love to hear Iru sing off against Loreen one day.
I don’t know about Iru. I’m getting more and more perplexed with Georgia after an initial loving reaction to their song. She’s vocally great but her performance made me wonder even more what this song is about in the first place.
I am actually not a fan of such high notes during the entire song, I wish it had some versatility. I had difficulty to watch this till the end tbh. Not a fan of fan favourite Portugals song either – not my type at all. Loved Spain – goes without saying she was amazing you like the song or not. Slovenia and Ukraine disappointed. Lithuania was amazing all the way and the only one who interacted with the public – real professionalism. Yet to form opinion about the rest, but i think Belgium didn’t disappoint.
I feel the same. I can understand she has a powerful voice, but the song becomes a little dull after the first minute and a half
San Marino was amazing,those vocals are wow. Even though many people don’t like the song,can you guys be realistic? Last place in this poll…come on.
I tried. Of course the vocals are good. But I tried to like “Like An Animal” and I just can’t.
if this was a singing competition, the guy from san marino would not be last, for sure. the problem is the song not being competitive.
Spain will score very well with the juries in May but I’m not sure the public across Europe will be captivated despite her excellent vocals . The song either you love it or you don’t. Nothing in between. So she will score high in the final, but it’s not a winner .
Yep, I agree. I still can’t enjoy the song although I tried to listen it in different contexts, but her performance is captivating. I expect a Top 10 but I have no idea where exactly she could end up.
This year the whole world is voting… including the America. I guess it will top 5 in the televote
The rest of the world will have only one 12-pack of points. That is, even if Blanca manages to mobilize all of Latin America, she’s getting 12 points at most from the rest of the world. It’s not like each of the more than 200 countries and territories will award points separately. All those votes will have a single mark: ROTW. It means Blanca still needs to reach every European country’s TOP10 to get at least some points.
I wonder how the rest of the world voting will work. Will they go for the European countries that they’re actually familiar with or will they actually go for the best song/performance even if it’s from a European country that isn’t a household name?
Although I think it’s the most intriguing thing this season, I think it may become a complete disaster. I believe it will be challenging to uphold transparency in other parts of the world. As a result, it’s likely that voting will only be done through the app. That does not, however, guarantee that results won’t be manipulated by some countries. It’s simple to change your phone’s IP address, effectively voting for your own country. Hence, unless EBU will ask for credit card validation to authenticate votes, it appears that the most populous countries and those with the most active polling… Read more »
Only 12 as one more country? I thougt it was as a whole and then divided, including Europe. In that case, then Ukraine will win the televote again… and maybe it all.
Spain with this type of song in past flopped with juries (1983,1996). I hopw juries push Spain in voting this year like they did with Portugal. For me Spain deserve TOP 5 this year
They were other kind of juries that consisted of average people. Only since 1991 EBU started with professional juries.
Based on vocals alone (because staging was not what’s being planned). The top group is: Latvia; Belgium; Portugal; Spain; Lithuania; Iceland; and San Marino. The so-so group was: UK; Moldova; Slovenia; Ukraine; and Georgia. And Ireland was a total $hitshow.
Please, behave respectfully towards Ireland. There is already too much hostility towards them, and this influence can be seen in their performances.
I just heard Mae’s live in much better quality, and it was very bad. I know she’s ill so I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt…
It looked and sounded like an incoming car cash innit? I hope they will iron it out til May and I wish Mae quick recovery.
They always say they are ill. Until I hear a good performance from her, I remain to be convinced.
Where did you see this video? Link?
Wiwibloggs’ interview with her..
Sound is too 5h1t for me to answer that question Wiwi….
Also did I Wrote A Song get revamped or did she just give an alternative verse for that performance specifically?
That’s her music video version. On spotify there is not the rap part
The rap part was different to the music video though.
From what I saw, everyone acquitted themselves well—I haven’t watched the UK beyond a recap clip, but I don’t feel the need to gawk if circumstances were unfavorable. I do get the impression that Blanca Paloma is on another level and on any given night, she’s likely to blow everyone away.
I wouldn’t be surprised if more artists pull out of the Barcelona party next year, the sound is always so bad. And the fans were very entitled and disrespectful. No artist deserves that.
Then why did Ruslana and Destiny sound so amazing?
Some artists sound very good some others not, that’s the game. The sound has nothing to do, it was recorded by Betevé with a very good sound. Some acts needs more training to sound flawless that’s all.
This pre party was nice and well made, maybe not the best atmosphere in the audience but still it was good imo.
Lithuania!
Dark horse alert. Monika is really good and I can see this doing much better than expected.
That’s what I’m thinking too. Don’t underestimate Lithuania. If they can qualify from disadvantaged spot last year, It might actually do well for itself qualifying from a better spot this year. I admit I see a top 15 placing at best for now, but I’ll be generally shocked if it makes top 10.
From the guests’, I liked Ruslana’s and Beth’s performances
I can’t forget how bad the sound was in the beginning of the hall, how the crowd was dead even though the performers tried to “lift” it up a little. I think the first singer from Joker Out was the one who jumped off the stage and tried to raise the atmosphere, but it didn’t help. When it was Ireland’s turn, some people in the audience were shouting that they didn’t deserve to be in the final. Who were those people in the audience? Anyway, it was a party and not a vocal competition, and all the performers did their… Read more »
Spain, Georgia and Lithuania were the best of last night.
Slovenia were a big disappointment. I’ll give Mae Muller the benefit of the doubt, since she was ill, but that performance wasn’t it…
The Slovenian performance was very good given the circumstances (the microphone sound was too loud and the background music was too quiet) so it was not fully their fault.”
Although the vocals were not perfect at times, the energy of Joker Out was phenomenal. They really tried to raise the atmosphere in the hall at the beginning. They remain my favorites.
Nah Slovenia was totally fine. It’s more about the energy and the charm these guys are radiating and this wasn’t very well captured by the cameras anyway.
Not on the list, but Destiny knocked the socks off everyone!
Who?
Indeed she did. She has to come back.
Agreed, Destiny sounds like she’s at her best right now.
Yep, she’s awesome. I still prefer “All of my love” over “Je me casse” but I was happy to see both amazingly performed live.
Spain, Lithuania, and Georgia easily. Uk was a disappointment.
I voted for Lithuania and Spain.
The UK song really grew on me, and it is in my playlist in a loop…but if she sings like this in Liverpool….
Mae was sick in Barcelona, I’m sure she’ll be doing fine in Liverpool 🙂
That echoing Mike wasn’t the best…