I’m in Basel, Switzerland – host city of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest – to present research about treatment of songwriters in the contest. While I’m here, I’ll be conducting field research and attending one of the shows. Here’s what I’ll be looking out for during this year’s competition.
One of the joys of Eurovision is hearing songs in different languages and different musical styles. Of the 37 entries in this year’s contest, 23 songs include languages other than English (13% more than in 2024), and 17 of those are entirely sung in languages other than English (14% more than in 2024).
With more than half of the entries now featuring languages other than English, the chances of a non-English song winning have increased. Among these entries, there are some particularly interesting language choices.
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One of the biggest controversies regarding language this year has been the Maltese entry Serving, performed by Miriana Conte. The song was originally titled Serving Kant. Kant is the Maltese word for singing but is pronounced in the same way as the English swear word “cunt”.
It is a knowing reference to the phrase “serving cunt”. Drawn from black queer ballroom culture, popularised through shows like Rupaul’s Drag Race, it means to do something in a powerfully feminine manner.
Read more: They're serving what?! How the c-word went from camp to internet mainstream
Despite therefore provocatively sounding as though it includes a word many viewers will find offensive, the Maltese broadcaster PBS has robustly defended Conte’s right to sing in her native Maltese.
This was deemed within the rules, but then the BBC complained that it couldn’t broadcast the song. Subsequently the European Broadcasting Union have made Malta change the lyrics – although don’t be surprised if you hear fans in audience fill in the missing word.
The controversy around the song has provided it with priceless PR and firmly placed it in contention for the win. I rather suspect this may have been the plan all along.
Another interesting linguistic choice has been this year’s entry from The Netherlands. C’est La Vie, sung by Claude Kiambe, is in the French language, not Dutch, as a tribute to his Congolese roots.
In an interview for the official Eurovision website Kiambe explained: “C’est La Vie is a tribute to a parent and for me that’s my mother. As a little boy and throughout my youth, she taught me to see the positive in the things you experience in life, even when you experience setbacks.”
French allows Kiambe to authentically express his identity and personal story. This song is significant as it becomes the first from The Netherlands to be sung in French.
Unusual song topics
It wouldn’t be Eurovision without songs that cover unusual subject matters. The current favourite to win the contest is the Swedish entry Bara Bada Bastu, or Let’s Just Sauna, by the group KAJ. KAJ are from Finland where sauna is a core fundamental of culture.
Ireland’s entry Laika Party, meanwhile, takes the unusual approach of creative lyrical speculative fiction. The song ponders what would happen if Laika, the first dog in space, was still alive and partying above Earth.
Another unusual offering is Tommy Cash’s Espresso Macchiato, representing Estonia. Some viewers have interpreted the song as mocking Italian culture. It has attracted criticism from Italian politicians including senator Gian Marco Sentinaio who produced a flyer in response with the message: “Whoever insults Italy must stay out of Eurovision.”
The songwriters
Quite often in Eurovision, songwriters are overlooked for their role in the contest. As you read this article, many writers are already locked away at songwriting camps working away on entries for next year. In fact the Norwegian songwriting camp has already taken place for next year’s Eurovision.
This year 134 songwriters are behind the 37 songs performed across the contest.
In popular music songwriting it is now quite commonplace for writers to work in large groups, with each team member making contributions to creating the melody, harmony or the production of the track. This year the Armenian song Survivor, performed by Parg, has the most writers. Ten people were involved in its creation, including Parg himself. The UK comes a close second with seven writers contributing to the entry What the Hell Just Happened?, performed by Remember Monday.
Another notable statistic this year is that in 30 out of 37 songs, the singer has a songwriting credit. This makes it very likely that we will see a songwriter lift the Eurovision trophy. This year many artists share personal stories in their songs, including France’s Louane who pays tribute to her mother with Maman and Italy’s Luca Corsi, who reflects on his childhood in Volevo Essere un Duro.
Many of this year’s songwriters have competed in the contest before. Swedish songwriters Peter Boström and Thomas G:Son, who are no strangers to Eurovision having won the contest twice writing Loreen’s entries Euphoria (2012) and Tattoo (2023), are back once again, this time co-writing Survivor for Armenia.
Another winning Swedish songwriter returning is Linnea Deb. She wrote Sweden’s winning song Heroes in 2015. This time she has co-written Hallucination for Denmark. Alongside the returning Swedes are fellow serial contest writers Dimitris Kontopoulos and Darko Dimitrov, who between them have over 20 contest entries under their belt but are yet to have a victory.
There will also be a return to the contest for Teodora Špirić, better known a Teya, who alongside Salena, performed Who the Hell is Edgar? for Austria in 2023. This year she is the songwriter for Austrian entry Wasted Love performed by JJ. It’s currently the bookies favourite.
There are also many new British writers in the contest to keep an eye on, including Emma Gale who has co-written the Croatian entry Poison Cake.
This year’s contest brings a diversity of languages, subject matter and songwriters together to present 37 unique offerings from which the juries and voters of Europe will choose a winner. While the bookies and fans may have favourites, at this stage a clear winner is not a given – all can change when the songs are performed live.
Samuel Murray is affiliated with the Musicians' Union and a writer member of PRS for Music.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
