My Eurovision love started a long time ago, when I discovered some pixelated videos of Latvia’s 2008 entry. That love completely consumed me in 2020, when I spent a good portion of my COVID quarantine going back through 70 years of competitions and finding my favorite hidden gems and timeless bangers.

This year, Sarah and I decided to host a watch party. Silly eurotrash is more fun with friends. We waited to the last minute to get our shit together, sending invites out only 1 week before. But folks were around and willing - if skeptical - so we put up decorations, made some food, bought some beer.

Eurovision crew + European beers and lemon bars

Most of our friends were skeptical. We printed out cheat sheets for them to get their bearings and keep track of the run order, and handed out 3 voting ballots to every attendee. Then, we tuned in and waited for everyone’s reaction.

Homemade cheat sheet and ballots

To my surprise, and to my great relief, every single one of our friends became very invested in the contest. By the end, we all had our favorites, we all clapped and booed as the jurry vote was announced. And by the end of the night (and everyone stayed to the end!!), we had a whole new set of Eurovision fans.

Winners of our unofficial vote:

  1. Finland
  2. Belgium
  3. France

This was so much fun and we can’t wait to host it again next year, bigger and louder. I’m already dreaming of holding an entire block party/watch party one day, closing off a whole street and blasting Eurovision through the streets of Baltimore.

And with that, here are my 5 favorite songs of this year’s edition.

#5 Austria

It’s about Edgar Allen Poe, Baltimore’s favorite poet, possessing the singers. This song grew on me, and I woke up this morning with the “There’s a ghost in my body…. Poe, Poe, Poe…” stuck in my head.

#4 Croatia

The craziness only on display in Eurovision. High energy rock that kind of sounds like a Queen anthem. In Croatian. With a bunch of dictators dressed in drag. What’s not to love?

#3 France

I usually don’t go for these kind of songs, but this year’s French entry (sung by a Canadian) really grew on me. Snubbed in jury and popular vote, I was sure it would have done better in the competition. Still, I like it, and thankfully taste is subjective.

#2 Finland

The people’s favorite. Should have won the whole thing. The live performance was probably even better than the official music video. This also won our watch party vote. It’s a wild one.

#1 Germany

My mom hated this. The jury hated this. Most of the world hated this. But Blood and Glitter was my favorite, and I’m proud of my shitty music tastes. This song makes me so happy I could die.