Eurovision 2020: The Entries That Almost Were

National final season is over and we know all the songs for the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest (or will very very soon). What a ride it's been. It's harder to get as excited about this year's set of songs. However, it brought the world some excellent songs that didn’t make it to the big stage but made it to many fans’ consciousness and playlists. Here are my top ten that we won’t see in May:

1) Albania - “Me tana” 

2) Finland - “Cicciolina” 

These two bangers bookended the season, coming second place in huge upsets. The winners are excellent ballads, but these two would have been perfection on the Eurovision stage. “Me tana” has an almost turbofolk flavor and a fun party vibe. “Cicciolina” is the definition of “almighty bop,” electro disco that sounds more than a little like “Lay All Your Love On Me”. And that Midsommar-esque national final performance could have been iconic. These two losses sting the most.

3) Sweden - “Bulletproof” 

4) Sweden - “Boys With Emotions” 

These were the highlights of Sweden’s Melodifestivalen this year. In a contest that sounds decreasingly hook-y, “Bulletproof” brought a massive hook with “Undo”-with-a-laser-show vibes. “Boys With Emotions” could describe the prevailing theme in this year’s entries and national selection contenders, but brought a clear, concise, and important message along with a cool beat.

5) Lithuania - “We Came From The Sun” 

6) Lithuania - “Tave Čia Randu” 

Lithuania’s national selection was the biggest redemption arc of the season. For too long it had been overly lengthy and amateurish, but this year the quality was exceptional. There was a wealth of excellent songs to choose from, including the actual winner, and over half of the songs would have made fine entries. My favorite was “We Came From the Sun,” a mystical synthpop song with an intense breakdown after the final chorus. There were gems that got left behind in the semifinals too, especially the almost synthwave ballad “Tave cia randu.” Their selection was a sign of great things to come.

7) Slovenia – “The Salt” 

8) Australia - “Rabbit Hole” 

There were a lot of fun style throwbacks this year, to genres that aren’t really popular now but were popular too recently to be retro. Slovenia’s “The Salt” brought us nu-metal and Australia’s “Rabbit Hole” brought use indie rock, both with catchy hooks and good messages.

9) Croatia - “You Will Never Break My Heart” 

10) Belarus - “Pour lui” 

These two don’t really have much in common other than being uptempo. “You Will Never Break My Heart” uses ethnic touches, an arena-filling feel, and an almost aggressive defiance. “Pour lui” is questionable French trance. Both are absolutely fabulous and fun, also very missed.

Five honorable mentions are:

Denmark - “Den eneste goth i Vejle”

Never would I ever expect new wave/goth music from Denmark. Please do it again.

Slovenia - “Sing to me” 

It might not have stood out as much in this year’s contest, but this creates such a cool, dark ambience

Australia - “Life”

Australia gave up the opportunity to go full Mad Max with this glam rock triumph.

Norway - “Wild” 
There has to be one of these every year lately (typically it gets given to Margaret) but it’s always a joy. The lyrics are bizarre for sure with the animal imagery, and even without, worth an overanalysis.

Portugal - “Dizsó” 

There is a wealth of amazing music genres in the Lusophone world, and some of them get featured in Festival da Canção. I hope someday we hear something like “Diz só” in Eurovision.