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Scottish Sun
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Eurovision fans work out which four acts will be AXED from the competition tonight in nail-biting second semi final
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) EUROVISION fans are convinced they have worked out four acts that are set to fall at tonight's penultimate hurdle. Music lovers are gearing themselves up for the Grand Final this weekend and think they know some of the nations that won't make it. 4 Georgia's act Mariam Shengelia is hoping to make it through to the Grand Final Credit: Splash 4 Nina Zizic will be representing Montenegro tonight Credit: Splash Tonight's second semi-final will see 16 acts take to the stage at Eurovision, which is being held this year in Basel, Switzerland. Once they have all performed, votes will be thrown open and 10 will be picked to go through to Saturday night's Grand Final 2025. The UK is one of 'the big five' that has already made it through. Sharing their thoughts online, Eurovision fans have scrutinised the 16 semi-final acts and 'worked out' who is going to go. One person, who was in the audience at Tuesday night's first semi-final, said on Reddit: "Having been to the show last night, this is what I'm expecting. "Likely not qualifying... Denmark (looks a little dated as well as she sings). Ireland (she sounded very nervous and it doesn't quite work imo). "Montenegro (Greece and Israel were better and the recap is bad). "Georgia (the song isn't good enough even if she sang it well, it was her birthday today!)." Another agreed on two nations, saying: "I'm gonna put my prediction here too so I can link the comment after tonight and show everyone how right I was. Katie Price reveals huge Eurovision 'regret' and admits she 'hated' the contest after years of ridicule "Pretty sure they're out: Montenegro, Georgia." Fearing the worst for Ireland, a third wrote: "I love Ireland, but I am bracing myself for a NQ." And someone else added: "NQ for sure is Montenegro and Georgia. And Ireland. (One I truly dislike)." A fourth, meanwhile, added: "All I want is Ireland, Lithuania, and Australia qualifying and I'll be happy. "I think Lithuania and Australia have pretty good chances but nervous about Ireland's slightly negative perception online." The nations performing in Thursday night's second semi-final are; Australia, Montenegro, Australia, Ireland, Latvia, Armenia and Austria. They will be joined by Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Malta, Georgia, Denmark, Czechia, Luxembourg, Israel, Serbia and Finland. Australia's entry Go-Jo will be opening the semi-final with his song Milkshake Man. Finland's Erika Vikman will be closing the show with her song ICH KOMME. The UK's entry, girl group Remember Monday, has already made it through to the Grand Final on Saturday night, along with this year's acts from France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Remember Monday will be performing in tonight's semi-final but not competing, along with French singer Louane and German duo Abor & Tynna. Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Final 2025, 8pm, BBC One, Thursday May 15 4 Ireland is being represented by Norwegian singer Emmy this year Credit: Splash
The Irish Sun
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Eurovision fans work out which four acts will be AXED from the competition tonight in nail-biting second semi final
EUROVISION fans are convinced they have worked out four acts that are set to fall at tonight's penultimate hurdle. Music lovers are gearing themselves up for the Grand Final this weekend and think they know some of the nations that won't make it. Advertisement 4 Georgia's act Mariam Shengelia is hoping to make it through to the Grand Final Credit: Splash 4 Nina Zizic will be representing Montenegro tonight Credit: Splash Tonight's second semi-final will see 16 acts take to the stage at Eurovision, which is being held this year in Basel, Switzerland. Once they have all performed, votes will be thrown open and 10 will be picked to go through to Saturday night's Grand Final 2025. Sharing their thoughts online, Eurovision fans have scrutinised the 16 semi-final acts and 'worked out' who is going to go. Advertisement READ MORE ON EUROVISION One person, who was in the audience at "Likely not qualifying... "Montenegro (Greece and Israel were better and the recap is bad). " Georgia (the song isn't good enough even if she sang it well, it was her birthday today!)." Advertisement Most read in TV Exclusive Another agreed on two nations, saying: "I'm gonna put my prediction here too so I can link the comment after tonight and show everyone how right I was. Katie Price reveals huge Eurovision 'regret' and admits she 'hated' the contest after years of ridicule "Pretty sure they're out: Montenegro, Georgia." Fearing the worst for Ireland, a third wrote: "I love Ireland, but I am bracing myself for a NQ." And someone else added: "NQ for sure is Montenegro and Georgia. And Ireland. (One I truly dislike)." Advertisement A fourth, meanwhile, added: "All I want is Ireland, Lithuania, and Australia qualifying and I'll be happy. "I think Lithuania and Australia have pretty good chances but nervous about Ireland's slightly negative perception online." The nations performing in Thursday night's second semi-final are; Australia, Montenegro, Australia, Ireland, Latvia, Armenia and They will be joined by Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Malta, Georgia, Denmark, Czechia, Luxembourg, Israel, Advertisement Australia's entry Go-Jo will be opening the semi-final with his song Milkshake Man. Finland 's Erika Vikman will be closing the show with her song ICH KOMME. The UK's entry, girl group Remember Monday, has already made it through to the Grand Final on Saturday night, along with this year's acts from France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Remember Monday will be performing in tonight's semi-final but not competing, along with French singer Louane and German duo Abor & Tynna. Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Final 2025, 8pm, BBC One, Thursday May 15 4 Ireland is being represented by Norwegian singer Emmy this year Credit: Splash Advertisement 4 Eurovision fans fear Denmark's Sissal is at risk Credit: Splash
Irish Independent
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
What's the secret to a good tune? Eurovision 2025 sees comeback for key changes and the signature ‘la la la'
A total of 37 countries will take to the stage in Basel in Switzerland over the next few days, ahead of the grand final on Saturday. While the event will deliver its familiar rich mix of spectacle, pride and eccentricity, this year also sees a revival of certain musical and stylistic features that had all but disappeared from Eurovision in modern times. Perhaps the most striking comeback at the 2025 contest is the key change. This staple of Eurovision from the 1950s to the 1990s fell out of favour in the early 2000s and became steadily less common until it disappeared entirely – for the first time in the event's history – in the 2023 contest. A key change was used in only one of 2024's entries, but this year it appears in five, including the favourite to win, Bara Bada Bastu by Sweden, as well as songs from Iceland, Israel, Ukraine and host nation Switzerland, according to analysis by the PA news agency. Also staging a modest revival in 2025 are songs with a time signature not based on four beats in a bar. In the early history of the contest, countries frequently used a range of rhythms and structures in their entries, with songs in 3/4 (three beats per bar) or even 5/4 (five beats), before 4/4 became more common from the 1970s onwards. Recent years have seen time signatures become even more standardised: every song in last year's grand final had a strict four beats in a bar, the sixth time this has occurred since 2000. This year the contest boasts a more varied mix of rhythms, however. Israel's song is a fast-paced waltz in 6/8 time (two groups of three beats per bar); the Czech Republic's song is also in 6/8 time, but switches to a disco-style four beats per bar during its middle section; and Ukraine's entry has four beats per bar, but each beat is actually a group of three quavers, meaning it is in 12/8 time. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Georgia's song is the most complex of all, with a verse that has five beats per bar, a chorus that has three beats per bar, and a free-flowing middle section with no beats at all, where Mariam Shengelia sings phrases at her own pace. While experiments with time signatures represent one of the more complex musical characteristics of the contest, one of its simplest are the lyrics 'la la la': a phrase cemented in Eurovision folklore when Spain won in 1968 with a song titled precisely that: La La La. In both of the following years, 1969 and 1970, 25% of finalists included 'la la la' in their lyrics. The popularity of the phrase waned slightly in the 1970s, but 'la la la' was still turning up in 17% of songs in the final as late as 1982. Since then, the 'la' has more or less vanished and has been absent in almost every final since 2000. But this year it makes a rare appearance, decorating the chorus of the Netherlands' entry C'est La Vie. Luxembourg has not quite embraced this tradition in full, offering instead a few bursts of 'na na na', while Ireland has gone for 'ba da dum bum'. The UK is represented at this year's contest by the trio Remember Monday: the first time since 1999 the country has sent an all-female group to the contest. Their song What the Hell Just Happened? does not contain any key changes or unusual time signatures, but it does manage to both speed up and slow down during its three minutes. In any other year, these changes in tempo might have helped Remember Monday stand out from the other entries. But by a curious coincidence, three other countries – Austria, Finland and Switzerland – have all deployed a similar gimmick and entered songs that speed up part-way through. The UK has also chosen to ignore the current fashion for songs in a minor key and instead is one of six countries whose entry is in a major key, up from two countries last year. Songs in minor keys were scarce in the early years of Eurovision. There were none at all in the contests in 1957-59 or in 1964, though 1961 saw the first minor-key winner (Nous Les Amoureux by Jean-Claude Pascal for Luxembourg). The proportion of songs in a minor key topped a quarter for the first time in 1965 but did not pass a third until 1979, and it took until 2002 to pass 50pc. Since 2005, more than half of the songs in the final have been in a minor key save for one year (2013), with the proportion passing three-quarters in 2023. Neither of the two countries that entered major-key songs in 2024 made it through the semi-finals, meaning last year was the first time every song in the grand final was in a minor key. The world will be spared a repeat of this gloomy scenario in 2025, however. Five countries automatically qualify for the grand final each year thanks to the size of their financial contribution to the contest's organiser, the European Broadcasting Union – and one of these is the UK, meaning Remember Monday's major-key song will definitely be in the final on Saturday.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Eurovision 2025 promises the comeback of a little-known musical trick
Get ready, Eurovision fans: this year's contest promises a return to the musically complex and satisfying sounds of the past. As 37 countries prepare to take the stage in Basel, Switzerland, for the grand final on Saturday, a resurgence of key changes and unusual time signatures is set to delight viewers. While spectacle, national pride, and eccentricity remain at Eurovision's core, the 2025 contest marks a revival of musical elements rarely seen in recent years. The key change, a hallmark of Eurovision from the 1950s to the 1990s, experienced a decline in the early 2000s, disappearing entirely in 2023 and appearing only once in 2024. This year, however, it features in five songs, including the Swedish favourite, "Bara Bada Bastu," as well as entries from Iceland, Israel, Ukraine, and host nation Switzerland. Beyond key changes, the 2025 contest also sees a return to more diverse time signatures. While early Eurovision entries frequently experimented with rhythms and structures, including 3/4 and 5/4 time, the standard 4/4 beat has dominated since the 1970s. Last year's final saw every song in 4/4, the sixth such occurrence since 2000. This year promises a welcome shift away from this rhythmic uniformity. This year the contest boasts a more varied mix of rhythms, however. Israel's song is a fast-paced waltz in 6/8 time (two groups of three beats per bar); the Czech Republic's song is also in 6/8 time, but switches to a disco-style four beats per bar during its middle section; and Ukraine's entry has four beats per bar, but each beat is actually a group of three quavers, meaning it is in 12/8 time. Georgia's song is the most complex of all, with a verse that has five beats per bar, a chorus that has three beats per bar, and a free-flowing middle section with no beats at all, where Mariam Shengelia sings phrases at her own pace. While experiments with time signatures represent one of the more complex musical characteristics of the contest, one of its simplest are the lyrics 'la la la': a phrase cemented in Eurovision folklore when Spain won in 1968 with a song titled precisely that: La La La. In both of the following years, 1969 and 1970, 25% of finalists included 'la la la' in their lyrics. The popularity of the phrase waned slightly in the 1970s, but 'la la la' was still turning up in 17% of songs in the final as late as 1982. Since then, the 'la' has more or less vanished and has been absent in almost every final since 2000. But this year it makes a rare appearance, decorating the chorus of the Netherlands' entry C'est La Vie. Luxembourg has not quite embraced this tradition in full, offering instead a few bursts of 'na na na', while Ireland has gone for 'ba da dum bum'. The UK is represented at this year's contest by the trio Remember Monday: the first time since 1999 the country has sent an all-female group to the contest. Their song What the Hell Just Happened? does not contain any key changes or unusual time signatures, but it does manage to both speed up and slow down during its three minutes. In any other year, these changes in tempo might have helped Remember Monday stand out from the other entries. But by a curious coincidence, three other countries – Austria, Finland and Switzerland – have all deployed a similar gimmick and entered songs that speed up part-way through. The UK has also chosen to ignore the current fashion for songs in a minor key and instead is one of six countries whose entry is in a major key, up from two countries last year. Songs in minor keys were scarce in the early years of Eurovision. There were none at all in the contests in 1957-59 or in 1964, though 1961 saw the first minor-key winner (Nous Les Amoureux by Jean-Claude Pascal for Luxembourg). The proportion of songs in a minor key topped a quarter for the first time in 1965 but did not pass a third until 1979, and it took until 2002 to pass 50%. Since 2005, more than half of the songs in the final have been in a minor key save for one year (2013), with the proportion passing three-quarters in 2023. Neither of the two countries that entered major-key songs in 2024 made it through the semi-finals, meaning last year was the first time every song in the grand final was in a minor key. The world will be spared a repeat of this gloomy scenario in 2025, however. Five countries automatically qualify for the grand final each year thanks to the size of their financial contribution to the contest's organiser, the European Broadcasting Union – and one of these is the UK, meaning Remember Monday's major-key song will definitely be in the final on Saturday.
STV News
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- STV News
Eurovision 2025 sees comeback for key changes and unusual time signatures
Fans of songs with key changes, unusual time signatures and the occasional 'la la la' or 'na na na' can look forward this week to one of the most musically satisfying Eurovision contests for several years. A total of 37 countries will take to the stage in Basel in Switzerland over the next few days, ahead of the grand final on Saturday. While the event will deliver its familiar rich mix of spectacle, pride and eccentricity, this year also sees a revival of certain musical and stylistic features that had all but disappeared from Eurovision in modern times. Perhaps the most striking comeback at the 2025 contest is the key change. This staple of Eurovision from the 1950s to the 1990s fell out of favour in the early 2000s and became steadily less common until it disappeared entirely – for the first time in the event's history – in the 2023 contest. A key change was used in only one of 2024's entries, but this year it appears in five, including the favourite to win, Bara Bada Bastu by Sweden, as well as songs from Iceland, Israel, Ukraine and host nation Switzerland, according to analysis by the PA news agency. Also staging a modest revival in 2025 are songs with a time signature not based on four beats in a bar. In the early history of the contest, countries frequently used a range of rhythms and structures in their entries, with songs in 3/4 (three beats per bar) or even 5/4 (five beats), before 4/4 became more common from the 1970s onwards. Recent years have seen time signatures become even more standardised: every song in last year's grand final had a strict four beats in a bar, the sixth time this has occurred since 2000. This year the contest boasts a more varied mix of rhythms, however. Israel's song is a fast-paced waltz in 6/8 time (two groups of three beats per bar); the Czech Republic's song is also in 6/8 time, but switches to a disco-style four beats per bar during its middle section; and Ukraine's entry has four beats per bar, but each beat is actually a group of three quavers, meaning it is in 12/8 time. Georgia's song is the most complex of all, with a verse that has five beats per bar, a chorus that has three beats per bar, and a free-flowing middle section with no beats at all, where Mariam Shengelia sings phrases at her own pace. While experiments with time signatures represent one of the more complex musical characteristics of the contest, one of its simplest are the lyrics 'la la la': a phrase cemented in Eurovision folklore when Spain won in 1968 with a song titled precisely that: La La La. In both of the following years, 1969 and 1970, 25% of finalists included 'la la la' in their lyrics. The popularity of the phrase waned slightly in the 1970s, but 'la la la' was still turning up in 17% of songs in the final as late as 1982. Since then, the 'la' has more or less vanished and has been absent in almost every final since 2000. But this year it makes a rare appearance, decorating the chorus of the Netherlands' entry C'est La Vie. Luxembourg has not quite embraced this tradition in full, offering instead a few bursts of 'na na na', while Ireland has gone for 'ba da dum bum'. The UK is represented at this year's contest by the trio Remember Monday: the first time since 1999 the country has sent an all-female group to the contest. Their song What the Hell Just Happened? does not contain any key changes or unusual time signatures, but it does manage to both speed up and slow down during its three minutes. In any other year, these changes in tempo might have helped Remember Monday stand out from the other entries. But by a curious coincidence, three other countries – Austria, Finland and Switzerland – have all deployed a similar gimmick and entered songs that speed up part-way through. The UK has also chosen to ignore the current fashion for songs in a minor key and instead is one of six countries whose entry is in a major key, up from two countries last year. Songs in minor keys were scarce in the early years of Eurovision. There were none at all in the contests in 1957-59 or in 1964, though 1961 saw the first minor-key winner (Nous Les Amoureux by Jean-Claude Pascal for Luxembourg). The proportion of songs in a minor key topped a quarter for the first time in 1965 but did not pass a third until 1979, and it took until 2002 to pass 50%. Since 2005, more than half of the songs in the final have been in a minor key save for one year (2013), with the proportion passing three-quarters in 2023. Neither of the two countries that entered major-key songs in 2024 made it through the semi-finals, meaning last year was the first time every song in the grand final was in a minor key. The world will be spared a repeat of this gloomy scenario in 2025, however. Five countries automatically qualify for the grand final each year thanks to the size of their financial contribution to the contest's organiser, the European Broadcasting Union – and one of these is the UK, meaning Remember Monday's major-key song will definitely be in the final on Saturday. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
