The ones that missed out – looking back at the 2025 national final season
The national final season has finished last weekend with Portugal being the last country to select their entry through a national final. And whilst we are still awaiting the entries from France and Georgia, we wanted to look back at the 2025 national final season, and point out some of the songs that didn’t make it to Eurovision, but certainly made an impression on one or more of our team members.
🇱🇻 The Ludvig – Līgo
After his first entry in Supernova back in 2017 and a second place with “I’m In Love With You”, The Ludvig came back to the competition this year with something completely different to his previous entry. And he was an instant fan favorite, who ended up winning the televote in the Grand Final, but unfortunately the juries didn’t see it as a winner, and he ended up finishing in fourth place overall – but only 1 point behind the winner. The Ludvig was also the top favorite of many of our team members in this year’s Supernova. Our very own David said:
David:
Unfortunately for what was one of the absolute favorite best national final entries of this year and would guarantee Latvia a strong result at the Contest was binned controversially by the juries – ranking only 6th out of the finalists.
Sophie added:
From the Latvian folk elements to the epic dance breakdown in the bridge, this song had so much potential to be a top contender on the big stage. It was a huge shame that the live performance wasn’t quite spot on, but if The Ludvig keeps building on this momentum and perfecting his craft, I can see him taking Latvia all the way one day.
🇮🇹 Achille Lauro – Inconscienti Giovani
After representing San Marino in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Achille Lauro was once again in the Eurovision spotlight, as he was competing in Italy’s Sanremo music festival for the fourth time. And this time, he came with something rather unexpected and different, and nowhere near as extravagant as people would have expected. As our newest team member Pawel described:
At this year’s Sanremo, Achille Lauro showed a whole different level of artistry and presented this phenomenal ballad which, from the very first second, took me on some sort of indescribable emotional journey.
Bea was very impressed by Achille’s performance this year as well:
The complete switch from when we saw Achille back in 2022 to now was simply amazing to see. And it was a gorgeous ballad too, very emotional and well executed.
🇵🇱 Sw@da x Niczos – Lusterka
After a year long break from national finals, Poland re-branded their selection, and selected their entry by televoting only. Justyna Steczkowska was the winner, but the second-placed act – Sw@da x Niczos were not too far behind either, and their song really stood out in this competition. Nikola loved the language aspect of it, but the song and the overall performance also impressed him:
This gem sung in the Podlachian dialect would’ve brought us a new language to the list of ones performed in Eurovision so far. I really like the dark energy of the song and the powerful beat. This is a huge recommendation for everyone who loved “Shum” in 2021.
Even though he is very happy with the song his country selected, Pawel added:
Sw@da x Niczos were definitely one of the biggest discoveries not just for me but for many others. The idea of mixing together electronic and folk music with lyrics inspired by a dialect spoken by approximately 30,000 people on the Eastern Polish border shows that music has no boundaries and it’s still possible to create something fresh. Especially because their participation opened a nationwide debate about language, cultural and national identity matters in Poland.
🇳🇴 Nataleen – The Game
Two acts withdrew last minute from this year’s edition of Melodi Grand Prix – just before the announcement of the Finalists, and we ended up with nine acts competing in this year’s edition of the Norwegian Final. There were only three acts that haven’t competed in this competition before, and one of them definitely made an impact. As our very own Ervin put it:
Even though there are many similarities to “Run To The Hills” and “Queen Of Kings” (seeing as some of the songwriters are the same, it sort of makes sense), Nataleen was vocally perfect singing this rather demanding song, and together with her dancers brought a lot of energy onto the stage. And the line “You’re the player and I am the game” is one of the best lines in this whole national final season.
🇮🇪 Bobbi Arlo – Powerplay
The Irish Eurosong was once again connected to The Late Late Show. Six acts competed in this year’s show (five made it through the open call, and Samantha Mumba was fast-tracked directly to the Final), and the very first song that was announced – “Powerplay” by Bobbi Arlo left a huge impression on many Eurovision fans across the world. Many thought that there would be many similarities to what Bambie Thug did last year, and that it would go straight to victory, but the live performance failed to live up to the huge expectations, and the act finished in third place overall. Nevertheless, it left a big impression on our very own Joe B, who had his opinion on what possibly went wrong:
This song is so good that it gave Laura Fox of RTÉ Radio 2 heart palpitations. Unfortunately, as the panel pointed out, you’re limited to the stage you’re given at a national final, and the tiny, lifeless Donnybrook TV Studio relegated Bobbi’s performance to third place on the night. I’m almost certain this would’ve popped in a bigger arena.
🇩🇪 Feuerschwanz – Knightclub
Germany’s NDR collaborated with the commercial channel RTL in order to find their Eurovision entry for Basel. And more importantly, they once again hired the biggest name in German entertainment – Stefan Raab, to help find the entry. Last minute rule changes meant that the juries will have a say on which of the Finalists the public will be able to choose from (a similar format to Hungary’s A Dal from back in the day), and one of the fan favorites and the biggest German metal bands then didn’t get the opportunity to get a public say. Regardless, “Knightclub” is a song our very own Bea, as well as a lot of fans around the world, will listen to for a long time:
I have never expected to see Feuerschwanz in a German national final for Eurovision – this was such a great surprise, and I was super happy to see them there. The song and their live performance left me with such an adrenaline rush that made me remember my DnD sessions.
🇭🇷 Magazin – AaAaA
After a huge success in last year’s Eurovision, Croatia’s Dora was brought back to Opatija, and to a big concert venue. The overall interest for Dora was higher than in any of the past years, and the overall quality of song was easily the best in the Balkans, and possibly one of the strongest ones across all national selections. There were a couple of returnees to the Contest, and Magazin was the one that really stood out to Ervin in this line-up, and in this Eurovision season:
This was my favorite song of this entire national final season, and Lorena didn’t disappoint a single bit with this live performance. This entire performance was perfectly dramatic, tense, and vocally perfect. Magazin were not that far behind the winner, and if we had eight Croatian jury centers instead of the four international ones – this would have surely ended up higher, perhaps could have even finished in the top spot. Regardless, this is a song I will be listening to for a long time, and I’ll look forward to seeing Magazin and Lorena back in Dora once again, in the near future hopefully (and hopefully with better grammar, if their song will again be in English).
🇧🇪 Mentissa – Désolée
VRT from Belgium once again opted to host an invite-only national final in order to find their act for Basel. But unlike in 2023, each artist was competing with one song only, and some names stood out in the line-up from the very beginning. David had huge expectations from Mentissa from the very start, and these expectations were fully met:
A lot of people were very excited after Mentissa’s name was confirmed in the Eurosong lineup. Unfortunately, despite an incredibly catchy song and hook, it was no match for Red Sebastian. It would have been funny had it actually won, as we then would’ve had a staggering SIX songs at least partly in French at the 2025 Contest.
🇲🇹 Kantera – Lalaratatakeke Lalaratakabum
This year’s edition of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest proved to be one of the strongest ones in years. And we are not only talking about the song quality, but also the entire production was simply on another level this year (PBS, very well done!). Many songs competing from this year’s edition stood out, but one caught the eyes (or the ears) of two of our team members as personal favorites – Bea was super impressed:
I’m in love with ethnic entries and this was no exception. Kantera took me on a magical journey and made me feel like a pirate sailing the seas. This was so much to watch, and it is so much fun to listen to.
Ervin added:
This was just a bomb of happiness and positive energy that we all needed. It’s a super happy tune that everyone can very easily sing along to, and once you hear it, it will remain in your head, whether you like it or not, and regardless if you understand Maltese or not – you will remember the chorus.
🇫🇮 Nelli Matula – Hitaammin Hautaan
Finland’s UMK still remains one of the most consistently strong national finals across Europe. Once again, the entire line-up of this selection managed to shine on the stage, and bring something very unique. And even though Erika Vikman was the hands-down winner of this selection, other songs stood out as well, but were short of victory. Nelli Matula’s “Hitaammin hautaan” was one of Shaun’s favorites after watching the show:
This was the biggest grower of the entire season. The song is perfectly produced with a melody that might not be instantly catchy, but once it’s in your head, it doesn’t escape. Perfect staging as well.
🇺🇦 DK Enerhetyk – Sil
Ukraine once again gave us a show, and their “Vidbir” had more variety than before. Even though it ended up in the lower half of the scoreboard, we can easily say that DK Enerhetyk gained many new fans, and our very own Joe, as many others, were very pleasantly surprised by this act:
Well this was unexpected. We don’t usually get this kind of darkwave in national selections and the melody, and the whole vibe just left me in awe. An absolute gem.
Pawel was equally positive, and had DK Enerhetyk as his favorites:
I always support alternative music in Eurovision, and I believe that “Sil” possibly wouldn’t make it to the left hand side of the Final scoreboard in Basel. However, it would still show just how creative the Ukrainian music scene is. I love that post-punk vibe influenced by ’80s/’90s music represented back then by many bands from the Post Soviet countries.
🇮🇹 Simone Cristicchi – Quando sarai piccola
Another Sanremo entry from this year brought tears to many eyes, not just in Italy, but also abroad. And this is yet another proof that true and pure emotion will break any language barriers. Simone Cristicchi’s “Quando sarai piccola” was the top of the betting odds, and it did end up in the top five in the Final of Sanremo, but fell short of the overall victory. Many people, including Nikola from our team, resonated with the song and the lyrics:
This emotional rollercoaster masterpiece of poetry dedicated to the dearest and most important person in everyone’s life – their mother, is a song which I can’t listen to without shedding tears. The lyrics resonate with me so much… I wholeheartedly love it and I applaud Simone for sharing this song with the world.
Sophie also had him as her number one in this year’s Sanremo:
This is simply one of the most beautiful and touching songs I’ve ever heard. I have to really try hard not to cry when listening to this, and that was true even before I’d read the lyrics! Such subtle instrumentation and an intricate melody, topped off with a fantastic performer who gives it everything on stage. I love this.
🇮🇸 Birgo – Ég flýg í storminn
In a rule change for this year’s edition of Söngvakeppnin, meaning that six songs will be making it through to the Final, prior to the first semi noone even thought of the possibility of Birgo not making it through. Unfortunately on the night, she failed to impress the Icelandic audience, and finished in distant fourth place, thus not qualifying for the Final. Nikola, as many other Eurovision fans were disappointed with this result:
The biggest robbery of the national final season was not having this song in the Final of Söngvakeppnin. I love the Icelandic version, the lyrics are great, the music is enchanting and the whistle note was hit perfectly. It brought the elements of some fairytale musical and I just really liked the build up. Everything about the song was great, and since the moment I first heard it, it became part of my playlist.
🇸🇪 Victoria Silvstedt – Love It!
We end our list with a song that unfortunately failed to qualify for the Grand Final of this year’s edition of Melodifestivalen, but definitely left a huge impressions on majority of Eurovision fans. There was a lot of buzz ahead of her first ever participation in Melodifestivalen, and in our interview with her, she told us that she is here to have fun. She absolutely brought the fun, and we did indeed love it! Our very own Joe says:
An absolute highlight for me this year. Sometimes we just need a song that does nothing more than make you smile for 3 minutes solid. A self-aware throwaway bop that Victoria delivered with a real sense of fun.
These were several other songs that made impressions on our team members, but which songs made the biggest impact on YOU? Which song that competed in their country’s national selection that failed to make it to Eurovision will you keep listening to? Let us know in the comment section below, or on our social media pages.
