Vixens, Witches and Bananas: Eurovision 2024 Reviewed, pt3 (Spain, Malta, Norway)

Another Friday, another set of Eurovision song reviews - today there are witches. And bananas.
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[@m1ssb3having]

This did not age well for Norway 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 I'm crushed because this was my personal fave but people had been sleeping on it so hard but this is hauntingly beautiful and well executed and an amazing contribution in their own language which shows the Norwegians can take bigger risks than Swedes

[@taezono7687]

i don't think norway could win because i feel like there's a good chance some casual viewers won't understand it. there are already a lot of people who dismiss gunnhild's incredible vocals as just "screaming" and i don't really see it topping the televote or the jury. that said, i think we can expect a much better result for ulveham than eaea or fulenn because folk rock has a much broader appeal (they're also the only ones filling that niche rn) and gåte are absolute professionals who will kill it on stage every single time. no need to worry about a messy performance. ulveham is my winner of the season and my wish for it is to make it into the top 10. i really want norway's risk to pay off and i don't want them feeling like they need to go back to english pop to do well.

[@iyawakarehen]

a lot of people were interpreting kate's as screaming in shum and look what happened. same for tulia who got robbed but would've made the final on a televote only semi (and should have without the jury fuckups of that year). so i'm not too worried about the casual watchers/voters, who are actually the majority on the night of over esc fans who follow everything from september 1st, tanking norway this year. they're also my winners so far too so i also don't even want to entertain any possibility of a negative outcome 🤭

[@pn2360]

ulveham is my 9th favourite eurovision song OF ALL TIME, that's how much i love it to pieces and hope and pray that it does well, but realistically it could finish anywhere from 1st to 26th, and that's no exaggeration. you can compare the whole "oh is gunnhild screaming" thing to blanca paloma all you like, but it simply cannot be the only comparison to make because both songs couldn't be more different if they tried lol. really, like you said you can't compare ulveham to any song EVER, because it's just so niche as a folk rock song, especially a scandi folk song. the last time we had a scandi traditional song was higher ground 2018, which ended up doing what i fear might happen to ulveham: loved by the public but the juries shit on it to no end. yeah literally i don't have a clue how it's gonna do, but i really hope both the juries and the public can recognise the sheer quality ulveham has, which is gonna be borderline impossible given how damn strong this year is and how many jury bait/tele bait songs there are. Edit: well I guess I kinda called it.... 😭😭😭

[@aeonarin]

That didn't age well 😢

[@annakobuk3618]

The Busker's flop for no reason still hurts even after a year...

[@Masaim6]

Benidorm is a lad holiday destination so that might have something to do with the predominantly male audience.

[@BFDudes]

It's sad re-watching this review when you know the results Norway landed at. I was stunned they got last place, they really felt like winner material for me. Maybe in a different year they could've done it

[@emdove]

Thank you for speaking out against dance breaks! Probably my number one grief this year (at least when just looking at non-political issues...). It's so transparently frankensteined in to milk as many votes as possible out of people who are hung up on Unicorn and SloMo. The gap in the music is so jarring when just listening to the audio... This ain't a dancing contest! Dance when it fits, don't fit dancing where it doesn't.

[@motherofslavs8761]

Zora (with one R) means dawn in Croatian and is a fairly common female name here.

[@MadameChristie]

Omigod Gabe tell me you watched the UVPSM final tonight? I only watched like the last hour and it was such a hot mess it was AMAZING XD

[@TheLadySilverMoon]

As a Dane I should feel hurt about your comments about our DMGP, but sadly I think you're right. Denmarks Radio really has done a poor job the last few years.

[@elpapirodependiente6059]

The best song in Benidorm Fest's history is Remitente. It says something, and it says it with poetry

[@bogdan-cristiantimofte5625]

This aged like milk

[@mio.vision]

#1 in my rankings too.

[@_dddani]

to me, jorge's song for benidorm fest sounds A LOT like maria's attempt at representing spain in eurovision in 2019 (although she actually didn't wanted to)

[@villstyringen1096]

Norway is by far the best of all entries this year. Norway should win.

[@annekielland8266]

Hold on selling that kidney. We are some Norwegian fans who pledge to start a fundraiser to get you here in case we win. 👍

[@erik2937]

Its pronounced LOOP instead of LUBE 😂

[@aekelly]

I know Norway's band is uber talented. That wailing just grates on my nerves. Will be so disappointed if it wins. 😢

[@kaiknlast]

i've been a Gåte fan since the early 2000's, nothing can top Ulveham for me. it's a masterpiece. i don't care how much juries will bury it in may, it's my winner (they will bury it - folk rock will never do well with the juries). i've also noticed the fanbase for it is pretty ride or die, so here's hoping it gets a good televote score. also i find it funny that the last song sent in swedish was by Finland lmaooo.

[@joshelison]

and that Finnish song was so great, I think it was my second back in 2012? Loved it a lot

[@SmolAliens]

I live in the US, fell in love with the song, and voted for it in the MGP televote. Maybe there will be be enough of us to make a difference! ;)

[@wibbliams]

I think I'm one of the only people that voted for Judge Tenderly of Me

[@ashlatano6886]

I had'nt heard of them before but I really love Ulveham so much. I will definitely vote for it.

[@totto6850]

I work at a radio station in Sweden and I'm already going around the office singing Ulveham, lmao. I don't think Sweden is going to send something particularly good this year (if Gunilla doesn't win), so I'm just going to go all in for Norway in may and hope that we play Ulveham at my job when it gets big

[@wibbliams]

You could play literally every melfest song on the radio station. I think it's very funny

[@Trampolina2000]

istg om Gunilla vinner🤣 I showed that one to my Scottish flatmate and her boyfriend and they were both lowkey horrified

[@kai-uweschmidt7615]

I'm not so sure about Norway's chances. Granted, it could be the next Shum and get a Top 5-Finish for Norway with a good Televote-Score. However, after seeing how Fulenn and Eaea did in the last two years there is a possibility, where Ulveham could flop in Malmö, because the wider audience doesn't understand it. This song isn't a safe bet. And it most likely won't win Eurovision because of lacking jury support. But seeing Norway taking a risk is exciting.

[@tallemajas]

i don't think it will win, but i definitely think it's more of a shum than a fulenn, i'll be shocked if it's not top 10. it's less weird than fulenn, its rock sound is more familiar to people than the flamenco of eaea, and the visual performance is amazing

[@kennet7837]

As a Norwegian, I'd say you did a great job with the pronounciation of our entry. It was 99% there. A couple of corrections: - KEiiNO did *not* use any joik in their song this time. However, the "dam dam suliatten" part was inspired by a Norwegian folk music style called slåttestev, according to Tom Hugo. - Subwoolfer competed in 2022, not '21.

[@molly_lf]

Then Gåte ends last 😢

[@Trampolina2000]

So I'm Swedish and ngl I really appreciate the use of 'Scandinavia' in this video. I've lived in the UK for several years now and most people I've talked about it to can not wrap their heads around the difference between Scandinavia and the Nordics it's driving me a tiny bit insane x))

[@escgabe]

Thank you! Finns and Swedes have taught me well on this matter 🤣

[@catarinavh1835]

I love fridays (more) now

[@ctw8097]

not "retirement home Cicciolina" 💀

[@tallemajas]

JUSTICE FOR OUR KING MATT BLXCK! and as for ulveham, regardless of how it does, i think it's such an absolute gem. i'm just grateful we have something so cultural and so artistic in eurovision this year. it's by far my favourite norway entry of all time, it reminds me why i love eurovision so much :)

[@jockey7069]

If Gåte doesn't win it's cause people are scared of the prices in Norway

[@bentevanl]

im already excited to hear you talk about estonia next week

[@Kallapsen]

The thing i hate the most about damdiggida is that there isnt even any joik in the song taking away keiino's whole identity

[@ttarimax]

ok but i genuinely thought zorra was gonna win after listening to all songs before the show😭😭 i had doubts after i saw noone agreed tho..

[@sahiantoche]

Same. It was always my favorite but the Eurofandom made me lose hope.

[@pauliusd6505]

Of course Gabe would know what a retirement home cicciolina would sound like 🤕

[@escgabe]

BEHAVE YOURSELF.

[@ajmxna]

gabe he kinda gagged u here😭😭

[@mildridstenberg6921]

Thank for your nice words Gabe. Love from Norway 🥰

[@torunnskaug2240]

We need to discuss the international juries in MGP. Norway has consistently scored poorly with the esc juries the past few years, but our MGP winners have often had the jury on their side when winning - just look at Alessandra last year. I was curious, so I took a look at it, and turns out a lot of the jurors are professionals who work/have worked with esc, or artists who have participated. I understand the thought, but all of these people are very pop oriented. Remo Forrer was on the jury for Switzerland this year, for example, and I just can't help feeling like the juries are comprised mostly of people favouring pop music. In actual Eurovision the jurors are DJs, opera singers, lots of different kinds of people, but in MGP you have mostly esc insiders. I thank my lucky stars every day for the 60/40 decision now.

[@franzcohenfan3619]

isn't it bizarre - looking at this video after the event - my favourite song was Norway -

[@kevindeering1457]

didn't need to be reminded the busker only got 3 points :(

[@ESCHayden]

Another great review. Rather liked the 'character profiles'. (Also thought the lighting was better in this video but I think that's because it's daytime?)

[@Serge.Song.Contest.got.Recaps]

The shade MESC Final had the best ratio of bad to good songs

[@erebos02]

Benidorm Fest has had those problems since the first edition, just that they have come to shine this year specially. Chanel saved our asses in 2022 but some people say this was a turn for the worse because those in the internal jury (you should see their ranking this year lol) favour cheap Slomo deviations now and what in their heads are "Eurovision" songs. Those are the ones who need to be axed first... Also, this year the man responsible for the camera production retired and was replaced by a more newbie person. The funny presenters last year were axed because they wanted to make the show more mature? and ended up being boring. They favoured Lérica so much that they even put them 1st in the internal jury ranking just to lure Abraham Mateo (who is their brother and a famous singer) into the competition...

[@thel8624]

8:47 I always thought Nebulossa might have a chance to win. I was certain they would be at least Top 3 in Benidorm.

[@sahiantoche]

Agreed.

[@Fire_Onyx]

With Jorge González’s song sounding like Senhit’s song, I can’t stop imagining how a mashup of those two would sound like!😅 Maybe I should make it?🤔😏🇪🇸🇸🇲 Edit: Just realised Gabe hearted my comment and I was dumb enough to edit it due to an error I found!😢 If he can heart it again, I’d greatly appreciate that!

[@thedistracteddoctor]

Somebody who thinks Thomas G:son is an agent of Satan? (I’m assuming this is Satan from South Park) . You have my attention.

[@ColoringAHouse]

As a spanish fan, I watched Benidorm Fest this year, all my hopes are on the show getting cancelled for next year, it's just for the better, the quality is shit, the songs are shittier, and the hosts were awful.

[@anukasmunakas]

haha i wasnt sold on ulveham even though it has all the elements i do love a lot, but you convinced me to try it out with my good headphones on and really take it in

[@p0lyf0nisk]

about the language thing, 2004 sweden sent Lena Philipsson - it hurts. originally, it was in Swedish (Det gör ont) but they changed it to english before eurovision, and noone in sweden had really heard the english version before eurovision, so we were dissapointed. Don't know how it affected the outcome at eurovision, cause they alos changed the staging, and the whole thing was way better on melodifestivalen than it was on eurovision. >_

[@ZironixNO]

Well pretty much all songs from 1999 to 2006 (except from 2005) was won in Swedish in MF and then changed to English for Eurovision...

[@suggen08]

When I heard Ulveham by Gåte for the first time, I didn’t like it. But suddenly, it grew on me so much. When I hear this song, I instantly think about Norwegian folklore and the country’s culture. It really show the mystical, dark and mysterious side. Maybe I am exaggerating it, but this is what I mean. Sad that the song came last place at Eurovision😢. Also want to mention that I was a huge fan of KEiiNO in 2021 and a little bit in 2022. However, I feel that their best songs are in the 2019-2021 era. Recently, I am not a huge fan of the songs. I am no longer a huge fan of them, but still like them.

[@miguelnvsamorim]

Thank you!!!! My super hero rob 🎶 😂

[@echtblikbonen]

I am definitely rooting for Norway thus far, although my boy Joost's song hasn't been released yet so there's good odds it changes

[@balticthegrapher]

why do you like matt blxck so much probably even more than i like henri piispanen

[@escgabe]

because he is a genius

[@balticthegrapher]

@@escgabe honestly fair

[@myjunkdrawer8014]

I fully believe if Erba had better costumes they would have won. Costumes are something that can be fixed but those were so naff I think it broke people. I like Norway's I think but it's so dark and so much is happening I can't tell.

[@Dall66650]

Thank for giving me this video on my birthday Gabe ❤❤❤

[@escgabe]

Happy birthday!!

[@Dall66650]

@@escgabe THANK YOUU

[@Sonnen_Licht]

Gabe eating a banana at the end is adorable

[@kevinhofmann2842]

Damn you didnt have to be so hard to loop lol

[@austincaraher1942]

I had forgotten about My AI before this video... then you played it now its stuck in my head again 🥲

[@weronika152]

uh oh, i think norway isn't gonna win i'm quite surprised by the fandom's love for it. not because it's a bad song, but because it's such a specific subgenre of rock/metal that even not all rock fans are gonna love this entry (speaking as a rock fan). it doesn't have the most broad rock appeal that maneskin had and the folk elements sadly may bring the fulenn curse to it. though i'm quite confident it will do better than fulenn because the live vocals are impeccable

[@weronika152]

right after the grand final i remembered about this comment and while i still stand by everything i said oh my god they didn't deserve last place 😭

[@davidwedberg6183]

Video on my birthday amazing 😊

[@Dall66650]

My birthday is today too omg

[@victorlenoble6643]

I love this series! The shade and the humor are on point. Looking forward to watching the next reviews.

[@cokolesnik]

Great video! I am a bit worried that Gåte is a bit of a Eurovision bubble song... everyone was convinced that Spain would do well last year too.

[@vivianh28]

that's my worry too, i just hope it'll do well because it's such a good showcase of culture

[@cokolesnik]

@@vivianh28 yes. And also as Gabe mentioned it's in Norwegian. Maybe it would influence more songs in nordic languages

[@Meg-ld7vt]

Ulveham was not written for MGP or ESC. The song was originally almost 6 min long. That's why Gåte had to change the lyrics and the the length of the song. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r17Unpl_qcd-p6s

[@AnneAmanda-b4d]

Once again, thank’s Gabe for your excellent review. Your videos are just pure gold! I’m going to Malmö to get the whole ESC live experience and your videos are giving excellent background information for this whole journey. Love from Helsinki!

[@EmoBearRights]

I wish we'd had four witches too.

[@Tollkirschenkind]

Meanwhile I'm still vibing to Judge Tenderly of me, probably the only person on the planet, but that's ok, it hurts only a little 😢

[@ajmxna]

REALLL I LOVE THAT SONG

[@amandamadaci7797]

Oh no Gabe... 14 minutes of enjoyment and now I really disagree. Chanel didn't invent Eurovision dancebreak. Eleni Foureira did it before. Ani Lorak did it before. And debatable, Javine was the one who did it first. We all could have a conversation about it like there's no tomorrow

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

He never said that Chanel invented the dancebreak, but she definately popularised it. We didn't see many dancebreaks after Eleni or those who did it before her, but we've seen a ton of dancebreaks after Chanel.

[@amandamadaci7797]

@@Gfynbcyiokbg8710 Okay you have a point there. As I try to remember the recent years it is probably only after Chanel when every other girl with an uptempo song started dropping a dancebreak in the performance. I just don't really like that Chanel is the first and only mentioned to do a miracle on stage, it rubs me the wrong way I don't know why. Probably because I personally appreciate every work done before and after while some influencers say "if you don't do it like Chanel don't do it" I just don't agree with that 🤷‍♀ Sorry for the rant 😅

[@r3b3k41978]

As a spanish, I can say that, for me, Benidorm Fest took a nose dive in 2022 when the jury selected a song when the public, in almost 90 %, chose another. Even though Chanel did an AMAZING job, they robed the oportunity to Tanxugueiras and their song Terra. I haven´t seen another Benidorm Fest. And I can seriously say that I won´t ever see it again. I send my best to Nebulosa and I hope they have a great time there.

[@danielmirica5846]

I hope Norway wins. I’m also scared cause in semifinal it follows The Netherlands. I’m in love with their performance and what they are bringing to Eurovision. I think that instrument they use in the beginning it’s a first in esc. The mixture of genres is a first I believe. Regarding auto tune , I’m against it. However, I heard that Gunnhild was asked if she wanted to use auto tune and she refused. And we seee whyyyyyy ❤️❤️❤️ I don’t think Norway needs to improve this year. I love the stage, but I have one request. The moment when she uses the stone to sing that note, I want a better camera angle and smoke to start from that spinning disk and inside of the disk a fan to blow her hair a lot in the air. I don’t think I explained it good but in my mind it will stand one even more. Anyway. NORWAY 🇳🇴 for the win ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@Zoe-el8ck]

Thank you for pointing out how camp zorra is. Before knowing what the song was about, my theory was that it was about her being so camp, that she attracted ALL the queers, ergo, her corsetted, thong wearing co-performers. ("background dancers" sounds wrong, since there's actually a lot of camera focus on them)

[@michakochanowski7310]

You were surprised why there were so many men in Benidorm Fest, in Spain Eurovision is very focused on gay community on contrast to the Scandinavia where it's very familiar thing. Regular people in Spain don't care about the Eurovision too much to be honest.

[@pliu6627]

what is that outro 😭😭😭

[@eashansaju8106]

I wish this came a week later with knowledge of the internal jury selections for BF24, where the juries for some reason put Astronauta at no.1 ,and Angy and St.Pedro in the latter half with St.Pedro making it in.

[@tifak380]

i love the format of this videos

[@pericrayola]

btw i think jay's twitter is missing a letter :D

[@ajmxna]

i fixed it😇

[@oonams]

gabe singlehandedly keeping eurovision alive

[@Mat2000IPAD]

What does camp mean

[@Palatariso_epic]

Gabe out of context 10:54 to 11:00

[@aliegg4790]

i'm sat

[@EmoBearRights]

I didn't like Damigida - it sounds like Barbie Girl. Still better than my AI. I wish you'd talked about Green Lights.

[@annakobuk3618]

Green Light's - the most underrated song at MGP, indeed

[@happyvisionsongcontest]

Why people said to me technicolour 2021 was just her screaming but are now big fans on Ulveham. I dotnt think Ulveham is screaming btw. I do dislike the vocal style but I realise its not "just screaming" (i hate it when people say that) I personally feel like Ulveham will be the Eaea of this year. Lots of people love it and sees it as winning potential. But is kinda gonna flop

[@jffrancisco_]

I have that feeling as well.... :/

[@that_cat21]

i don't think ulveham will be eaea 2, i think it won't be as loved by the casual audience as it is by the fandom but it will still do well because its a much less polarising sound than eaea. same thing comparing it to fulenn, the performance and staging is fantastic and the song itself (message included) is much more mainstream (not quite the right word) than the pagan electronic music that fulenn is. don't get me wrong, i absolutely love eaea and fulenn, they both got votes from me, but ulveham is more emotional and will be overall more positively received than eaea or fulenn.

[@jijitters]

I dislike both eaea and Ulveham for the "yelling" sounds so you might be right lol

[@that_cat21]

well i was very wrong, it did worse than both 🤠 at least it q'd lol

[@icyflame716]

Norway is stupidly overrated to me. She is a great vocalist but it feels like a combination of France 2022 with the ethnic vibes of Spain 2023. Both flops ingeheid own way. The Eurovision bubble is going crazy about ulveham but I don’t see this appealing to the general public. Not gonna lie, I think My ai fit Eurovision better.

[@andreaskrapp12]

Super Rob will be in my top 5 most heard songs for this year😂 Gåte on the other hand does nothing to me

[@jijitters]

It was never going to win, but my MGP favorite was very strongly and very easily Mileo's You're Mine, but the more loser-ish voters couldn't appreciate a fun anime/disney villain song and apparently got upset that the lyrics were about violence lol Those people might be my new least favorite ESC fan sub-demographic. It's such a cool song and I loved the creative choreo and staging. I would've loved to see him go even bigger.

[@arthurtyshchenko7336]

No, in this video there is no winner of ESC2024

[@domiiinik4320]

Spain : it's just bad, she is just a granny that wants to have fun and I get it, bless her, but it should be bottom 5 in final Malta : boring, typical bad bitch song Norway : there was a potential, but it's too much shouting, too little folk for my taste

[@esc1074]

So who are your favourites? Personally I love Spain's entry, for me absolute banger.

[@domiiinik4320]

@@esc1074 My top 3 at this moment are Ukraine, Latvia and Poland, but if Poland would choose Justyna it would be 1st

[@matleeena]

Can someone explain to me where the negativity towards Nebulossa is coming? I discovered the song today and I genuinely enjoy it, I'd even call it one of my favourites so far. I'm curious to hear some backstory, unless it's just good ol' misogyny 🤔

[@domiiinik4320]

@@matleeena How is that misogyny if 2 out of 3 of my favourite songs are from women? You really have to much free time to think

[@domiiinik4320]

@@matleeena and answering your question - the song is just bad and the presentation is even worse

[@EurovisionFan91]

It didn't went well with Estonia, we gave you the worst song of Eurovision 2024... Sorry.

[@EmoBearRights]

No you didn't - Finland exists.

[@afgvGb4Th5180]

wdym, Estonias' song is an absolute banger

[@jijitters]

@@EmoBearRights Finland's entry is the only one I love so far, speak for yourself lol

[@sahiantoche]

lol gabe loves the estonian entry

[@tisen.]

Estonian entry is the best

[@agirlinabasementofyourdaddy]

Tbh, my czech friend that spend years living in Spain.. she actually told me after semifinal of Benidorm - “Yeah, Zorra is winning. And it will be the most spanish eurovision fanboy thing to ever happen. And I wont be surprised.” 😂

[@kevanmcdougallmph]

the absolute gobsmackery of "retirement home Cicciolina" 🫢