Estonia's ‘Espresso' and the Swedish Lonely Island: Who Will Win Eurovision This Year?
Eurovision Song Contest 2025 has something for everyone, from the Netherland's dance floor-ready resilience anthem and Estonia's inspirational reminders about caffeine to Malta's Wendy Williams-inspired glam pop and Sweden's own version of the Lonely Island.
On Saturday, May 17, these acts will be part of the finals, which include 21 total countries. Some places, like Malta, could win for the first time, while others have been waiting for another victory for years (the U.K., for example, last won in 1997.) Eurovision 2025 will be hosted in Basel, Switzerland, since the country won last year's song contest with Nemo's 'The Code.'
More from Rolling Stone
Will Ferrell Reveals Plan to Adapt His 'Eurovision Song Contest' Movie for Broadway
Switzerland's Nemo Wins 2024 Eurovision Song Contest
Netherlands' Eurovision Contestant Disqualified From Finals After Incident With Crew Member
This year is another chance for the competing countries to have their own Celine Dion, ABBA, or Maneskin moment. Ahead of the finals, here are five of the top contestants who have a shot at winning Eurovision.
Sweden has a gift for anyone who has ever thought to themselves, 'What if the Lonely Island were Swedish?' The Finnish music and comedy group KAJ is representing the country this year with a song all about saunas, performed entirely in Swedish. 'Bara Bada Bastu' is essentially their 'I'm on a Boat,' except they're, well, in a sauna. KAJ makes a strong case for just guys being dudes in their embrace of the type of comedic performances Eurovision viewers have come to expect from the contest. Sweden has won the contest seven times before.
In the official music video for Miriana Conte's song contest entry 'Serving,' the Maltese drag performer Trihanna Wilde recites one of Wendy Williams' most iconic quotes: 'She's an icon, she's a legend, and she is the moment — now, come on now.' Conte lives up to the list of accolades. The musician goes full glam-pop with the confidence of a winner, singing: 'Why should we let other people decide, when we could be having the time of our lives?' She's serving, and looks, vocals, and choreo are all on the menu. Bon appétit. Malta has never won the contest before, but its luck could change this year.
Sabrina Carpenter has 'Espresso' on lock, but Tommy Cash is making a case for 'Espresso Macchiato.' Representing Estonia in the song contest, the musician's upbeat entry is as spiritually rejuvenating as it is deeply caffeinated. 'No stresso, no stresso, no need to be depresso,' Cash offers in one reassuring verse. In another, he drops some more words of wisdom: 'Life is like spaghetti, it's hard until you make it.' It's that kind of confidence that could take Cash far in the contest to earn Estonia its first win since 2001.
Girl groups are one of the United Kingdom's most notable exports. It makes sense, then, that pop trio Remember Monday are representing the country in this year's song contest. They mark the first girl group to compete for the U.K. since Precious in 1999. 'What the Hell Just Happened?' has all the chaos of a night out with the Spice Girls and the vocal prowess of a studio session with Little Mix — there's even a little edge of influence from Queen infused in their melodies. Remember Monday only reached the semi-finals of The Voice U.K., but they just might be able to bring it home at Eurovision for the sixth time overall and the first time since 1997.
A few of this year's Eurovision Song Contest entities share a common thread of embracing resilience during dark times. It creates an intriguing dichotomy for an event known for its quirky and eccentric character. Representing the Netherlands, Claude finds an appealing middle ground on his song 'C'est La Vie.' The record is melodically fit for the dance floor, but lyrically apt for a journal entry. 'Sometimes in love, sometimes miserable/And I still hear my mama's voice inside of me/La melodie, la melodie,' he sings. 'Oh, this rollercoaster/And I will sing, until it's over.' The Netherlands last won the contest in 2019, which marked its fifth win.
Best of Rolling Stone
The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs
All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Eminem's Publishing Company Files Copyright Lawsuit Against Meta
Eminem's publishing company Eight Mile Style has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Meta. The suit filed in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division and reviewed by Rolling Stone alleges that the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp has distributed the rapper's music across its platforms without proper licensing permissions. 'Despite their not being licensed, the recordings of the Eight Mile Compositions have been reproduced and synchronized with visual content on Meta's platforms across millions of videos, which have been viewed billions of times,' the complaint claims. 'Meta's years-long and ongoing infringement of the Eight Mile Compositions is another case of a trillion (with a 'T') dollar company exploiting the creative efforts of musical artists for the obscene monetary benefit of its executives and shareholders without a license and without regard to the rights of the owners of the intellectual property.' More from Rolling Stone Eminem, Post Malone Make Cameos in Adam Sandler's 'Happy Gilmore 2' Trailer Watch Eminem Join Jelly Roll for 'Lose Yourself' at Detroit Show Eminem Stalker Convicted After Second Home Invasion Eight Mile Style is the owner of 243 musical compositions, including 'Lose Yourself,' 'The Real Slim Shady,' 'Forgot About Dre,' and other notable releases from Eminem. The suit acknowledges that Meta 'has removed several of the Eight Mile Compositions from its Music Libraries in the preceding months,' including 'Lose Yourself,' but states that a karaoke version, a piano instrumental, and one regular cover version by a different artist are still available. 'This in addition to other prominent Eminem works which remain available on Meta's services,' the company's lawyers claim, citing 'Till I Collapse.' The suit alleges that Meta's 'rampant infringement' extends beyond allowing users to upload copyrighted audio to its platforms. 'This case involves Meta's knowing infringement of the Eight Mile Compositions by first reproducing and storing them in Meta's online Music Libraries, and then distributing them for users to select and incorporate into their own photos and videos made available for public streaming on the users' WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram accounts,' the complaint claims. The publishing company is seeking monetary damages 'including actual damages, damages for the diminished value of the copyrights by Defendants' theft of them, lost profits, and Defendants' profits attributable to the infringement.' Alternatively, the company is seeking 'maximum statutory damages for willful copyright infringement for each of Eight Mile Style's works,' which would amount to '$150,000 per work, times 243 works, times 3 platforms,' or $109,350,000. Eight Mile Style has also requested a permanent injunction to halt ongoing infringement. A rep for Meta did not immediately return Rolling Stone's request for comment. The legal filing comes less than a year after Eight Mile Style lost its copyright infringement lawsuit against Spotify after five years due to a legal loophole. In September, a Tennessee judge ruled that while Spotify did not have the proper streaming license, as the publisher claimed, any imposed penalties would have fallen on Kobalt Music Group, a royalty collection agency. In the suit, Eight Mile Style sought nearly $40 million, claiming to not have received payment for billions of Spotify streams. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Cosmopolitan
35 minutes ago
- Cosmopolitan
Marina Squashes Charli XCX Beef, Says She 'Fully Deserves' Success
According to Marina Diamandis—aka MARINA—Charli XCX has worked it out on the remix in more ways than one. During a recent interview with Rolling Stone ahead of her album PRINCESS OF POWER's release on June 6, the 'Butterfly' singer revealed that any old beef between her and Charli has officially been squashed. When Charli and Lorde worked their complications out on the remix of 'Girl, so confusing' last summer, it struck a chord with Marina. She sent Charli a message on social media and admitted that the 'courageous' track made her cry amid their own falling out, which marked a moment of reconciliation between the artists. 'I think these moments are important. It was sweet to see people respond to that,' Marina told Rolling Stone. 'I love her work and it's so inspiring to see what she did with Brat. She just fully deserves it.' In case you need a refresher, the two Britpop darlings ran Tumblr back in the day thanks to the visual aesthetics brought forth by their True Romance and Electra Heart eras. The artists even toured together during the blogging site's prime in 2013. A few years later, they had a public falling out when MARINA called Charli out for participating in a photo shoot with a concept similar to her album art for her 2015 single 'Immortal,' which featured greenery and neon-colored fruit. At the time, she posted a social status, writing, 'Imagery is artistic property. Please respect your fellow artists.' The '360' hitmaker responded and sent 'positive vibes' along with her official statement, which reportedly read, 'You know what, sometimes you do a photoshoot standing in front of a plant, sometimes you do a photoshoot in black and white, sometimes you wear purple eyeshadow. Sometimes you shoot with the same photographer a fellow artist has shot with. That's just how things happen in the industry I work in. What was I supposed to do? Shoot it in the snow!?' Per Entertainment Weekly, MARINA also referenced her album FROOT when she commented on photographer Charlotte Rutherford's photo of Charli: 'That FROOT looks familiar!' The quote eventually became an inside joke across both fan bases over the years, and in 2023, Charli revealed that she and MARINA weren't friends on her private Instagram account, @brat_360. 'It's not like DEEP or anything, there's no negativity in my opinion, our worlds just don't cross. I will say I DID feel negatively years later because I just felt like I really looked up to her and almost saw her as a role model in a way, and when she publicly put me on blast via subtweet I was honestly really hurt and upset and confused and all the fans were coming for me and everything,' she wrote at the time. She continued, 'And I just thought we were friends so maybe she could have like, texted me or something ? So I just felt like she knew she was sending people to 'get me' online and as someone I looked up to I just thought that was really a mean thing to do at the time. Now I'm just like lol the whole thing is so funny like as if there was a beef over lemons. Pahaahha.' Now that things are good between the girlies, let this serve as a reminder that we can all listen to their 2013 collab 'Just Desserts' free of guilt. You're welcome for this treat:
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
She Says Diddy 'Dangled' Her Off 17th-Floor Balcony. Now She's Ready to Testify Against Him
Bryana Bongolan is set to testify at Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial on Wednesday, June 4 In August 2024, Bongolan sued Combs and accused him of sexual battery and dangling her over a 17th-floor balcony at Casandra "Cassie" Ventura's apartment The balcony incident was seemingly referenced in the indictment against CombsA fashion designer who once accused Sean "Diddy" Combs of dangling her over a 17th-story balcony is set to testify at the music mogul's trial on Wednesday, June 4. Bryana Bongolan will be called by the prosecution to testify. In November 2024, she filed a lawsuit accusing Combs of sexual battery. "On or about September 26, 2016, Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs sexually battered Ms. Bryana 'Bana' Bongolan, dangled her off of a 17-story-high balcony, and then slammed her onto the patio furniture on the balcony," the lawsuit alleged. "His outrageous and abhorrent conduct violated Ms. Bongolan's fundamental dignity, bodily autonomy, and sense of safety." After the suit was filed, a legal representative for Combs denied Bongolan's allegations in a statement to Rolling Stone. "Anyone has the right to file a lawsuit, regardless of the evidence they may or may not have. Since last year, Ms. Bongolan has expressed an intention to sue Mr. Combs and has sought legal representation to pursue her claims,' the rep said. 'Mr. Combs firmly denies these serious allegations and remains confident they will ultimately be proven baseless.' Combs is now criminally charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution in federal court. He has pleaded not guilty. In the indictment against Combs, prosecutors said that Combs is alleged to have once dangled someone over a balcony. In her lawsuit, Bongolan said she had been sleeping in the apartment of Combs' then-girlfriend, Casandra "Cassie" Ventura. Bongolan said in the lawsuit that she suddenly heard Combs shouting and banging on the door of the apartment. "Mr. Combs gained entry to the apartment and, upon seeing Ms. Bongolan on the balcony, advanced on her," the suit alleges. "He grabbed her, turned her back to his chest, and molested her by groping her breasts as she yelled to be left alone. When Ms. Bongolan began to physically struggle, Mr. Combs shifted his hands from her breasts to her arm pit area and lifted Ms. Bongolan up on the banister of the 17th floor balcony, while repeatedly yelling: 'Do you know what the f— you did!'"After getting down from the banister, Bongolan claimed Combs lifted her higher over the balcony. The suit claimed that the alleged assault ended when Ventura emerged and began screaming for Combs to stop, before he allegedly pulled Bongolan back and slammed her on a table. Ventura previously testified at Combs' trial for four days and made allegations of abuse, including rape, over the course of their 11-year relationship. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to . Read the original article on People
