The voting for the annual ESC 250 celebration closed on 5th December 2021, and now we have a nervous wait to find out the results!
The event is hosted by songfestival.be, with the results revealed throughout the day on 31st December 2021 on ESC Radio to close out the year. Find out more about it here!
While we wait to find out the official results, members of the TES team will be sharing their votes for this year and explaining why they have voted the way they have. Next up to reveal their votes, Ava.
Why I voted how I voted
I have always known what Eurovision songs I have love-loved over just liked. My 8-12 points are almost staples at this point, especially my 12 points, which has always been a song I love. The rest I distributed among other songs I love, and find myself coming back to a lot. These songs are mainly from the two countries I think about far too much. Also fair warning, there is a lot of recency bias here. I have watched a few classic contests, but the songs I truly love are more recent.
These are the songs I always find myself returning to.
And now, without further ado, here are my votes for this year’s ESC 250! Let’s go!
1 Point: Fairytale -Alexander Rybak (Norway 2009)
I am being honest, I needed one more song, and I liked this song enough to vote for it. It’s an ESC classic. I couldn’t help it! This is defs a song I would show a Eurovision newbie!
2 Points: Arcade- Duncan Laurence (The Netherlands 2019)
I mainly chose this because I think like Voila, this is an Experience and every time I listen to I feel like I am feeling every emotion. It takes me into Duncan’s world and I love that. While when it won I was a little mad (you’ll find out why in my 7 points!) but I see truly now why it won, the storytelling and simplicity of this performance is out of this world. Bravo Duncan. Bravo The Netherlands!
3 Points: Zitti e buoni – Måneskin (Italy 2021)
This is me just doing my small part to dethrone Euphoria.
No really though, I do like this song a lot. Like France, Italy took that stage in the Netherlands and made it feel like their own, and not the same stage that 25 other acts had to perform on. I was hesitant to want them to win Eurovision though, mainly because I was all for the France train and really enjoy being right. However, come the morning of May 23rd 2021, I was wrapped in my Italian flag crying tears of joy. I do believe this song could potentially do it without my three points!
4 Points: Voila- Barbara Pravi (France 2021)
When I was reviewing the ESC 2021 top ten, here are a few things I said about Barbara that will hopefully sum up why I voted for “Voila”
“Barbara, you had my heart from the moment you won your national final”
“…I sobbed to this during the final uttering- she has to win, she has to win- over and over…”
Like I mentioned in my Zitti e Buoni write up, this was my pick to win. I just always knew that France had found something special here, and I say this as someone who has always preferred bops over slower songs. I have said it all!
5 Points: Taken by a Stranger – Lena (Germany 2011)
Listen. I love Lena. I love everything about this performance and it was a solid return from her. The vibes are just right, and the ending of the performance where there is an explosion and she smiles is in the top ten most iconic Eurovision moments for me .
6 Points: Congratulations- Silvia Night (Iceland 2006)
I wish I could explain why I voted for this. I wish I could tell you why I unironically love this. I just really love joke entries. I am oddly not ashamed of this, even though I cannot quite explain why I am voting for it. Maybe it’s the theatre nerd in me, maybe it’s the fact that this song makes me feel so confident, I do not know. This one just stands out among other joke entries. And I cannot help what I like.
7 Points: Zero Gravity – Kate Miller Heidke (Australia 2019)
In Eurovision, there is a rule stating you cannot vote for your own country. In ESC250 there is no such thing. I love this entry. It is so theatrical in its staging. As a theatre nerd I have always been drawn towards this entry over others from my country because of this. I just love everything about this performance, it is so extra, yet so beautiful and moving (seriously, the chills I get in the last 30 seconds is like nothing else) and I remember thinking we actually had a chance to take out the title in 2019.
8 Points: SHUM – Go_A (Ukraine 2021)
I love songs with long build-ups, and this is no exception to that rule. The live performance of this had me mesmerized, and I love how Ukraine embraced its culture. I love that it was a native language song. I love that it was a bop, I love that it makes me wanna spin around in long dresses and join in whatever they’re doing. The intense build-up to the long note at the end is perfectly paced and gives me chills. Did I mention that it was the only song in my Spotify top ten that wasn’t from Germany or the Netherlands? That’s a big deal for me! Pretty much, I believe in SHUM supremacy.
10 Points: Hemel en Aarde – Edsilia Rombley (The Netherlands 1998)
Do you know those songs in foreign languages that make you feel like you know the language? Yeah. This song is 100% one of those. I just know I can suddenly speak Dutch if this song is on (to an extent). It’s just a straight-up banger, and I find myself randomly going “DAT HET LOT BESTAAT” randomly fair too often not to vote for this.
Every time this song comes on I am like “ah, yes Hemel en Aarde” and then proceed to vibe for the next 3 minutes. It just makes me so happy! What an iconic Dutch entry!
And Ava’s 12 points go to… Satellite- Lena (Germany 2010)
I have literally been told by people this song reminds them of me.
This is my second most played song of all time on my Spotify account and my most played Eurovision song. While some of the lyrics are questionable, Lena has that goofy look that 100% makes it work. I could argue for years on why this was a deserved winner (although really I don’t exactly care what people have to say about it.) Simply put, this song makes me feel safe and warm, it fills me with joy and always will. It is a staple on my playlist and I will never get sick of it. Furthermore, it was one of the first Eurovision songs I discovered so I bet there is nostalgia hinted in there too.
Now that Ava revealed their votes for ESC 250, what do you think of them? Who has got your 12 points this year? As always, please let us know what you think by commenting below. Be sure to follow ‘THAT Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: EBU
