Eurovision is finally here, which means this week has not one, but three events: Semi-Final 1 on Tuesday, May 13; Semi-Final 2 on Thursday, May 15; and the Grand Final on Saturday, May 17. All three will be available on Peacock in the US — but what if you hear a song in Icelandic, or Armenian, or Greek, or Latvian while you bop your head to this year's entries and think to yourself, "What the heck is this song about?"
Great question! Pop Heist has enlisted the hosts of the Eurovision podcast Eurovangelists, to give you a quick breakdown of each song. With our help, you can enjoy the show without speaking the nearly 20 languages you'd need to understand every song in the contest.
Now, can you go in cold and just let each song wash over you, deciding who you like on vibes alone? Of course! But for those who prefer to know what they're dancing to, we present this guide to the semis, laid out in running order for both shows. Or, check out our YouTube playlist of the songs in alphabetical order by country.
Semi-Final One!
Streaming on Peacock on May 13 at 3 p.m. ET
- Iceland - VÆB - "Róa (Row)": These two Icelandic brothers use the ocean as an allegory for the ups and downs of life in this electro-sea shanty. Through rough weather and choppy waters, they just keep on rowing, which makes sense — the brothers of VÆB are energetic to say the least.
- Poland - Justyna Steczkowska - "Gaja (Gaia)": Steczkowska is the Earth Goddess personified in this exciting show of force. She proclaims she is the source of energy, love, and life itself, and warns us that hurting her will bring about her wrath. "Gaja" is the first of two songs this year that include magical chanting designed to bring health, fertility, strength, and other such boons. Let's make it happen, Justyna!
- Slovenia - Klemen - "How Much Time Do We Have Left": Years ago, Klemen's wife Maja was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and given a rather grim chance of survival. Nevertheless, she managed to make a total recovery. In this ballad, Klemen shares his admiration for her inner strength and comments on the fragile nature of life and love itself.
- Estonia - Tommy Cash - "Espresso Macchiato": If you're a Tommy Cash diehard, you might have convinced yourself that this song has some deep satirical meaning that requires a high IQ to understand. It's not. It's a goofy, fake Italian-ish song about nothing, but the line, "Life is like spaghetti, it's hard until you make it," still hits.
- Ukraine - Ziferblat - "Bird of Pray": Like many Ukrainians, the members of Ziferblat have been separated from their families and friends who have sought refuge in different countries to escape the violence of the Russian invasion. This song is about longing to connect with their loved ones during these tragic circumstances, praying and hoping for their safety.
- Sweden - KAJ - "Bara Bada Bastu (Simply Sauna)": These three Finnish fellows are representing Sweden (it happens!) and singing a song about an important element of Scandinavian life: the sauna. Most Swedish folks would reluctantly admit that their Finnish neighbors have the superior sauna culture, and this song demonstrates why. The lyrics extol the virtues of spending a nice long time with the heat cranked up to 100 degrees Celsius (or 212 degrees Fahrenheit for the non-Europeans) and sweating it out with your sauna bros. It's good for the mind, body, and spirit.
- Portugal - Napa - "Deslocado (Displaced)": Portugal, like many countries, is rapidly losing its youth population. It has the highest emigration rate in Europe, with 30% of its young people leaving the country to seek better opportunities elsewhere. This song focuses on the plight of one such émigré, who feels like he'll never belong in his new surroundings and is desperate to return home.
- Norway - Kyle Alessando - "Lighter": Similar to Klemen, Alessando's song is inspired by his mother's battle with cancer, from which she also recovered. Throughout her months of treatment, she often told Alessando not to let his light dim. Essentially, "Lighter" is about finding hope inside yourself in challenging circumstances. Why the medieval musical and costuming influences? Who knows, but it mostly works!
- Belgium - Red Sebastian - "Strobe Lights": Blending elements of rave and house music, Red Sebastian takes listeners through a wild night at the club, during which he locks eyes with a captivating stranger. The romantic connection turns into a magical descent into paradise that seems to last forever.
- Azerbaijan - Mamagama - "Run With U": Love at first sight on the dance floor is a common theme at the Eurovision Song Contest, but this one's got a traditional Azerbaijani twist on a pop sound. The stringed folk instrument in the breakdown is known as the saz in its home country, if you want to sound worldly at your Eurovision party.
- San Marino - Gabry Ponte - "Tutta L'Italia (All of Italy)": Once upon a time, Gabry Ponte was a member of Eiffel 65. He was the one who actually produced "Blue (Da Ba Dee)," but that has nothing to do with this song. This song is literally just a hype song for Italy, and yes, it does name check spaghetti, soccer, wine, and Catholicism.
- Albania - Shkodra Elektronike - "Zjerm (Fire)": At its core, this masterful blend of traditional Albanian sounds and electronic beats is a wish for freedom from division, violence, and oppression. It begins with a vision of a world without war, pollution, orphaned children, and stifled speech. Then it transitions into the opposite view: no one can escape suffering, and we inflict it on each other. At last, the lyrics tell us the fire within us can spur revolutionary change, and that it will continue to shine ("shndrit" in Albanian) no matter how bleak things get.
- The Netherlands - Claude - "C'est La Vie (That's Life)": Claude and his mother moved from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Netherlands and faced tremendous hardship before, during, and after they arrived in their new home. In this song, Claude reminiscences on how his mom's singing gave him comfort during difficult times.
- Croatia - Marko Bošnjak - "Poison Cake": Ostensibly, this song is about getting vengeance on the people who have wronged you, or giving your enemies their "just desserts," if you will. Ironically, listening to the song feels a bit like eating the titular Poison Cake, as its sing-song bridge may induce nausea in some listeners.
- Cyprus - Theo Evan - "Shh": A dance pop number that alludes to the danger of arrogance, Theo sings about how his beauty and overconfidence may lead to his demise. The only song with a built-in excuse if it doesn't do well at the Contest.
Semi-Final Two!
Streaming on Peacock on May 13 at 3 p.m. ET
- Australia - Go-Jo - "Milkshake Man": After sending a cosmic Aboriginal techno jam about humanity coming together last year and not qualifying for the Grand Final, Australia has pivoted hard to a man in tight pants singing a song about, uh, milkshakes. Go-Jo at least seems to be aware of how silly his song is, but if you miss the meaning on this one, you may need to be checked to see if you're innuendo-blind.
(You may ask why Australia is in Eurovision — we have an episode about that)
- Montenegro - Nina Žižić - "Dobrodošli (Welcome)": Prepare for tonal whiplash. Žižić sings about the unique hardships women face in society, and how they are expected to endure those hardships while maintaining grace and beauty. Worse still, Žižić notes that oftentimes, women find themselves abandoned when life is difficult, as presumed support networks suddenly vanish when they're needed the most. To counter this, she is welcoming these hurting women into her world, where one can be scared, vulnerable, and unhappy without judgement.
- Ireland - Emmy - "Laika Party": And now back to weird stuff. Eurovision songs have covered a lot of subjects, but a dance-eulogy for a Soviet space dog is certainly new ground. In 1957, engineers launched a stray dog named Laika into space inside of the Sputnik 2 satellite. It was a horrible instance of animal abuse, as there was never any intention or possibility of bringing Laika back down safely. The scientists who worked on the Sputnik 2 mission later admitted that no real scientific value came from this, so claims that Laika "saved the world" and advanced research into human spaceflight are spurious at best. But instead of accepting Laika's tragic fate, Emmy imagines a world in which Laika continues to sail among the cosmos — so we hope that she is, in fact, dancin' every night among the stars.
- Latvia - Tautumeitas - "Bur Man Laimi (A Chant for Happiness)": A gorgeous choral celebration in Latvian that invites strength, good health, and resilience against all things evil, so chant along with the women of Tautumeitas and gird yourself against misfortune in the coming year. We're not saying there's definitely more misfortune coming, but maybe don't pass up a chant for happiness in 2025, right?
- Armenia - Parg - "Survivor": It's a classic tough guy anthem about handling the hard parts of life with ease. But every year there's a song or two that plays a little fast and loose with English lyrics in a way that's equal parts amusing and confusing, so we welcome you to enjoy Parg telling everyone that he's "got his bad shades on" and that he's not just a survivor, but also "a stay-aliver."
- Austria - JJ - "Wasted Love": JJ's operatic vocals lend high drama to this song about a spurned lover who is now drowning in the wasted love they had for their former flame. Thankfully, he's able to channel this aria of loss into a club breakdown, just as JJ's countryman Mozart would've wanted.
- Greece - Klavdia - "Asteromata (Starry-Eyed)": Similarly to Ukraine, Klavdia's song is about uprooted people who have lost their homeland, culture, and loved ones. Klavdia is of Pontic Greek descent, a Greek community that experienced horrific discrimination, violence, and deportation under the Ottoman Empire, including a decade-long genocide that started in 1913. In this ballad, she asks her loved ones not to cry for her as she seeks to find her way back to a home that may no longer exist.
- Lithuania - Katarsis - "Tavo Akys (Your Eyes)": A surprisingly post-punk Eurovision entry from Lithuania this year, "Tavo Akys" is an intensely dramatic song about seeking to share the pain of another and wishing to protect them from further sadness. We're betting a lot of Lithuanian art school kids have Katarsis logos on their notebooks.
- Malta - Miriana Conte - "Serving": The drama with this song's original title ("Kant" means "singing" in Maltese, but is pronounced like … yes, you're correct) between Conte and the European Broadcasting Union has become one of the big stories this year, but Conte clowns on it masterfully in her video. Expect more of the same from this diva and her song about female empowerment and following her own rules as she serves kant in Basel.
- Georgia - Mariam Shengelia - "Freedom": Pro-Kremlin drivel masquerading as a Eurovision song. Perfect time to refill your drink and donate to a Ukrainian charity.
- Denmark - Sissal - "Hallucination": Sissal, only the second singer from the Faroe Islands to represent Denmark, brought a straight-up club banger to Eurovision this year about yes, believe it or not, love at first sight. It's familiar territory at the ESC, but delivered with powerhouse vocals and a great sing-along chorus.
- Czechia - ADONXS - "Kiss Kiss Goodbye": ADONXS (pronounced Adonis) offers a scathing indictment of an absentee father and how his overtures ring hollow in the face of his actions. Be sure to stick around for the dance breakdown as the music video proves that ADONXS has moves, and there's no way we won't see him put them on display in Basel.
- Luxembourg - Laura Thorn - "La Poupée Monte Le Son (The Doll Turns Up the Volume)": In 1965, a 17-year-old France Gall won the Eurovision Song Contest with her legendary song "Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son (Wax Doll, Singing Doll)" and became an icon (you can learn all about Gall's life and her difficult road to victory here). In both her song and throughout her life, Gall expressed regret that her career was not her own, her fate was forever at the whims of men who used her talent to make money for themselves. Sixty years later, Laura Thorn is here to say she's finally realized France Gall's dream: the doll has reclaimed her autonomy and is reveling in her freedom.
- Israel - Yuval Raphael - "New Day Will Rise": Yuval Raphael's song is all about the hardships she's endured, people she's lost, and the brighter future that she hopes is on the horizon. It's also one of a number of songs this year with lyrics in multiple languages, with sections in English, French, and Hebrew.
(You may also ask why Israel is in Eurovision — we have an episode about that too)
- Serbia - Princ - "Mila (Dear)": Princ (pronounced Prince, not Prink) begs his Mila to return to him in one of the few male ballads this year without any dance-pop trappings. The lyrics inform us that Mila has been tempted into a kiss by another, but Princ, the one who truly loves her, deserves her devotion in the long term.
- Finland - Erika Vikman - "Ich Komme (I'm Coming)": Vikman just barely missed going to Eurovision in 2020 with her song "Cicciolina" after coming in second in the Finnish national final UMK, but the whole event got canceled due to, well, you know. So perhaps it's better she's finally heading to the big show in 2025 with her sex-positive anthem in German and Finnish, "Ich Komme," or "I'm Coming". It ain't subtle, but it is fun.
These songs will be performed in the semis as well, the first three in Semi 1 and the second three in Semi 2. It's a change that only started last year, but all six of these are already through to the Grand Final. Switzerland gets a free pass as last year's winner and this year's host, as is traditional. The other countries are known as the Big Five for putting up the lion's share of the money for Eurovision, so they get a guaranteed spot in the Grand Final as well.
Automatically Qualified for the Final (The Big Five and Last Year's Winner)
- Spain - Melody - "Esa Diva": Melody is a diva, no question. But her song, "Esa Diva," is about her encountering another diva in her youth, and realizing the power that a diva has to lead and inspire others. But good news: equality is her flag, so she invites you to be a diva with her. It's divas all the way down, so hop on board.
- Italy - Lucio Corsi - "Volevo Essere Un Duro (I Wanted to Be a Tough Guy)": Corsi's penned a 70s rock ballad that feels a little unusual for 2020s Eurovision, but wishing you were someone else — a robot, a pickpocket, a spitting champion — still resonates. Corsi sings about how his society demands that he be stoic and unfeeling, but he pushes back. He's not one to run away from his emotions, and he likes himself as he is. Plus, Corsi ended up as a rock and roll vampire, which sounds pretty tough if you ask us.
- Switzerland - Zoë Më - "Voyage": Më's tender song to a loved one asks for kindness, and reminds them that they would always go with them, regardless of the destination. The singer expresses that she has been hurt by people she cares about, but she's willing to forgive them and help them heal. She asks us to consider that people who are going through challenging times may need a measure of grace. Më promises she'll remain faithful even during life's difficult moments, and remains hopeful that a voyage to better days is just around the corner.
- United Kingdom - Remember Monday - "What the Hell Just Happened?": A classic "last night was craaaaazy" tune comes to us from three UK singers known for pop country hits across the pond. A bunch of tempo shifts and stylistic twists add a lot of energy to this song, but some might feel like they want to get off the roller coaster after a couple minutes.
- France - Louane - "Maman (Mom)": Louane's song is a personal message to her mother, who passed away when the singer was young. While her mother's absence has been difficult, Louane thanks her mother for the life lessons that have helped her through life's challenges. She ends the ballad on a positive note: Louane tells her mom that she has found true love as a romantic partner and as a new mother herself.
- Germany - Abor & Tynna - "Baller": "Baller" is an idiomatic German word that, in this context, translates roughly as "to shoot." Tynna wrote the lyrics about bouncing back after a breakup, hoping to turn things around and shoot for the stars. She's now made it to Eurovision alongside her brother Abor, the cellist and producer of the song. Even if she doesn't win the Contest, she definitely won the breakup.
The Eurovision 2025 Grand Finals begin live on Peacock on May 17 at 3 p.m. ET. In the meantime, follow Eurovangelists' Eurovision adventure on Instagram and look for more Eurovision content on Pop Heist!
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