Voting for the annual ESC 250 celebration closed on the 4th of December 2022, and now we have a nervous wait to find out the results! The event is hosted by songfestival.be, with the results revealed from 11:00CET on 31st December 2022 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 the reason for their picks. This time it’s Rosie’s turn to reveal how she voted.
1 point: “Zero Gravity” – Kate Miller-Heidke (Australia, 2019)
I have Tim to thank for this one. Let me explain.
I had a (long) shortlist of songs when I was deciding my votes. I picked one every time I looked at it to add to my final ten. It just so happened that when I was making the list, I was also in rehearsals and performances for a play where I had learnt to walk on stilts. I posted a picture on Twitter, Tim responded with a Zero Gravity joke, and then I couldn’t get the thought of this song out of my head, and on the list it went.
This song received my 7 points last year, and I completely stick by my reasoning with it. For a start, I love opera and popera. Then you add the staging, and Kate’s stunning vocals, and the beautiful message, and it’s a song perfectly crafted to put a smile on my face. It just makes me happy.
2 points: “Fulenn” – Alvan & Ahez (France, 2022)
I really wasn’t sure about adding too many songs from this year into my list, but the more I listened to this one, the more I couldn’t not include it. It’s such a well-structured song, and builds beautifully. It’s amazing to hear music in minority languages represented in Eurovision, so it being in Breton gives it even more of a draw for me. I tend to listen to music a lot while I’m out and about or on public transport, and it’s a song that just makes me need to move with it. Looking like a doofus, feeling like a powerful witch.
3 points: “Fai Rumore” – Diodato (Italy, 2020)
This one was a no-brainer for the list. I was lucky enough to be at the live show for the first semi-final this year, and hearing and seeing this live was a transcendent experience. I’d run onto one of the platforms as it started playing an the sound of every person in the crowd knowing every word and singing along just gives me goosebumps every time I think about it. This was one of my best memories of Eurovision 2022 and it’s earned itself a spot on my list for that alone.
Also, when it came on during ESC 250 last year, I was at a friend’s flat in Washington DC (a group of us were doing a listening party and I’d flown half way across the world for it!) The flat had a balcony, so of course we had to go out to sing it. Sorry, neighbours.
4 points: “Trenulețul” – Zdob şi Zdub & Fraţii Advahov (Moldova, 2022)
I would like to make it known that I thought this song was great from the first listen (/hipster). We’ll ignore what I said about the revamp version (which I admit I still don’t like as much as the original, but it’s grown on me). The only other 2022 song to make my list, I just really, really want to see this get some love in the final ranking. I love folklore, and I love rock’n’roll, and so of course I was going to love this from the start. Again, this was just a moment in the arena when I was in Turin. The whole crowd on their feet, dancing so much the stadium felt like it was shaking. It was really special, and Zdob şi Zdub have truly earned a special place in Eurovision history with their successes.
5 points: “Hunter of Stars” – Sebalter (Switzerland, 2014)
Another one from my list last year (receiving 8 points). This song is basically the epitome of everything I love. Interesting lyrics? Tick. Some social commentary? Tick. A great beat? Tick. A hella fucking good string part? Tick.
Anyway, here’s a shit meme I made for a completely different purpose that applies here:
6 points: “Molitva” – Marija Šerifović (Serbia, 2007)
There are two wolves inside you. One of them wants to rhapsodise about how perfect and timeless a ballad Molitva is. The other wants to go “it’s so gaaaaaaaaay.” Both live in harmony.
7 points: “Visionary Dream” – Sopho (Georgia, 2007)
I don’t know what was in the water for the 2007 debut countries, but I’d like some more of it please.
Also, put this song on Spotify. I am no longer asking.
8 points: “Fiumi Di Parole” – Jalisse (Italy, 1997)
This song was my revelation of the year. I’m not sure how or where I heard it first, but at some point earlier this year, something just clicked between me and it and a love affair began. Part of it is the lyrics, which are so beautiful and heartbreaking, but also Alessandra’s voice, which is so delicate and fragile and it floats above the instrumental in such a touching way, and I cannot imagine anyone else’s voice fitting the song so naturally. It’s a piece of pure Italian excellence and I’m so glad it found a way into my brain, my life and my playlists this year.
10 points: “1944” – Jamala (Ukraine, 2016)
Was this in some way swayed by everything that’s happened this year? Sure it was. Do I care? Absolutely not. It’s another one that’s remained on my list from last year (where it received 6 points), and yet has a whole new level of meaning this year. One of the things that has truly shone through from Ukraine this year is the power of art and music in times of extreme pain. It was clear in Kalush Orchestra’s win, it was core to the two concerts from Go_A I went to, and it’s a thread that runs through so many entries from Vidbir this year too. This song is haunting and beautiful and special and those feelings have just intensified over the last year.
Special mentions
Before I reveal my 12 points, I would like to give a special shout-out to 10 entries that came so close to making my top ten. This year, I made a “short”list of almost 50 songs, and narrowed them down to my ten finalists using the following criteria:
- I voted for songs that stood a chance of making the final 250, and that I wanted to give some support to (sorry to my lovely Georgian soft boys Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao and my delightfully camp Germans Alex Swings Oscar Sings!)
- I added one song from the shortlist to my final 10 at a time (usually when travelling on a long commute), and picked it simply by which song from my list I felt the most drawn to at the time – really, any of them could have made it on at another time!
With that in mind, I’d like to give a special mention to:
- Dansevise (Denmark, 1963)
- For You (Georgia, 2018)
- Hatrið Mun Sigra (Iceland, 2019)
- In Corpore Sano (Serbia, 2022)
- La Venda (Spain, 2019)
- Maps (Ireland, 2021)
- Midnight Gold (Georgia, 2016)
- Minn Hinsti Dans (Iceland, 1997)
- The Voice (Ireland, 1996)
- Viszlát Nyár (Hungary, 2018)
And Rosie’s 12 points go to… “Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente” – Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro (Italy, 2018)
Don’t fix what ain’t broke. My 12 points from last year remains my 12 points from this year, and I don’t think I can express it any better now than I did then.
“While I have loved this song ever since it came out, it’s taken on a whole meaning over these last couple of years. To me, this song encapsulates such an incredible range of human emotions – anger, sadness, frustration, fear, anxiety – but above all. hope. It’s also hugely validating – it’s okay to feel all of these things, and hope is still there. In a world that is scary, chaotic, confusing and unpredictable, this song feels like an anchor to me. Ultimately, it tells me that everything is going to be okay, and that there is still goodness out there.”
Listen to our collective ESC 250 playlist on Spotify
Enjoy our collective ESC 250 playlist on YouTube
Now that Rosie has revealed their votes for ESC 250 this year, what do you think of her picks? Who received 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, Instagram, and TikTok for all of the latest Eurovision news.
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: EBU/Corrine Cumming
