🎶 Eurovision music round-up: May 2023

The 2022 entries

They are getting one last real moment in the sun, and then you will have to look for them in the other artists’ section: it’s all our faves from Turin 2022!

Monika Liu – “Kodėl Tu Čia?” (LP)

Last month, Monika stunned me (and hopefully you readers too) with her great new single “Kodėl Tu Čia?” (Why Are You Here?), and now the album of the same name is out! The 8 track album includes “Bossa,” both the original and an unplugged version of “Šampanas (bul bul bul),” and an 8 minute version of her Eurovision entry “Sentimentai”. Smooth, intriguing, and always aware of what she is doing, Monika Liu’s latest album really makes for a great listening experience.

Sheldon Riley – “Insane”

Australia’s future in the contest is, for now, still a mystery. But Australia’s Eurovision entries keep on releasing music in high quality and quantity. A year after participating, Sheldon Riley has released his new single “Insane,” which deals with unbelievably strong yet unreciprocated feelings of love.

LUM!X, LAWRENT – “Electric Love”

You didn’t think LUM!X would be missing out on the final ESC2022 artists round up, did you? The most regular of regular guests in these articles has released “Electric Love,” a summery track which sees the Austrian DJ work with Paris born, London based DJ LAWRENT.

wrs – “Fiesta’23” (LP)

Romania’s wrs has been bringing the party all year long, and a year after scoring well with “Llamamé” he is ready to present an album! “Fiesta’23” is 11 tracks long and includes new and previous releases, with his Eurovision entry being presented in a new remix.

Sam Ryder – “Mountain” and “Fought & Lost” feat. Brian May

Sam Ryder has climbed a few metaphorical mountains in his short time as a musical artist (I do not know his physical mountainclimbing record), from getting 2nd place in Eurovision to actually making the British public at large more excited for Eurovision than they have been in ages. And now he has released his latest single, “Mountain,” which is all about overcoming difficulties.

And that’s not all from Sam. Following his performance with Queen drummer Roger Taylor at Eurovision itself, he now has released a song with Queen guitarist Brian May. It’s a moving ballad with some guitar but mostly heavy on the piano. The song was written for the show Ted Lasso following a conversation between Sam Ryder and and Tom Howe, who is partly responsible for the Ted Lasso music.

Rosa Linn – “Hallelujah (My Story)”

It’s uplifting music o’clock for our two biggest TikTok stars from 2022, it seems. Rosa Linn has released her new track “Hallelujah (My Story),” an upbeat track which sees Rosa Linn reflect on and be thankful for everything that has happened to her this last year. Rosa Linn shares writing credits for the track with superstar writer-producers lostboy and RØMANS.

Achille Lauro, Rose Villain – “Fragole”

It’s been a year since Achille rode into Eurovision on his mechanical bull for San Marino, and now he is back with the summery track “Fragole” (Strawberries). The upbeat sound of the song contrast magnificently with the lyrics, which are about cheating and lying, although clearly both parties know what is going on (“I’ll come back to you tomorrow / With a new lie / You don’t care about me anyway / You want them).

Chanel – “P.M.”

Chanel new music alert! Spain’s 2022 representative is here with the dancey, catchy, summery, (add more buzzwords if you like) pop track “P.M.”. As the song title hints at, this song is all about those hot summer nights, and all the fun she will get up to with her lover at the beach.

Mia Dimšić – “Ništa Ili Sve”

Croatia’s Mia Dimšić comes in with hints of Spanish guitar on her new track “Ništa Ili Sve” (All Or Nothing). The song was recorded for the CMC Festival, a yearly music event in which Croatian artists get to showcase new music. Mia brought back her cowriting duo from Eurovision entry “Guilty Pleasure” to write this song.

Cornelia Jakobs – “I Turn To You”

Cornelia Jakobs brought a powerful and personal take on “I Turn To You” by Mel C. It’s a great pop-rock version on which Cornelia gets many deserving moments to shine. That being said, let me use this soapbox for a moment to say that I personally would have wanted Cornelia to cover Mel C’s “Never Be the Same Again” because wow that song is good. Cornelia Jakobs’ “I Turn To You” is however absolutely excellent, and I have been listening to it quite a bit!

Malik Harris – “Up”

Germany’s Malik Harris has released new track “Up”, following the release of “Dreamer” earlier this year. The uplifiting track is dedicated to his mother. As Malik writes on Instagram: “I always wanted to dedicate a song to my amazing Mom, but I never quite knew what exactly to write about because there are countless things she did and does for me and I could never fit them all into one song. But I think the most valuable thing she has taught me and continues to teach me everyday is that I myself have the strength to achieve anything I want.”

Opał ft. Ochman – “Energia”
Ochman – “Rozmyty Obraz”

“River” singer Ochman has released another song with Polish rapper Opał. “Energia” once again contrasts Ochman’s voice against the harsh delivery of Opał. But that was not all! Ochman also released the moody pop track “Rozmyty Obraz” (Blurred Image). The song, which is entirely in Polish, touches on how the past can be something to be enjoyed or learned from, and that if our minds can be our biggest enemy, it means our minds can also become our best friends, as per a press release.

Ronela Hajati – “SI YLL”

“SI YLL” (LIKE A STAR) is the latest single by Ronela Hajati. It’s another danceable track pulling from a variety of influences by Albania’s 2022 entry. On Instagram, Ronela writes about the summer-ready track that she wants you to enjoy it at a loud volume.

Brooke – “Being Alone”

On the other side of the emotional spectrum for bangers is Brooke with “Being Alone”. The Irish 2022 representative worked with James Guido on this track while touring in Australia. Musically it goes further into the pop-rock direction than you might expect, while lyrically it deals with being bad at being alone and still hung up on a previous partner.

STEFAN · Lenna – “Kiri külmkapi peal 2.0”

“Kiri külmkapi peal 2.0” (Letter on the fridge 2.0) is, as the title implies, a new version of STEFAN’s single from November. So, what’s new about it? STEFAN is this time joined by Lenna. Lenna has some impressive performances at Eesti Laul under her belt as an solo artist, nclkuding two second places. As part of Vanilla Ninja, she also competed at Eurolaul twice, and represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 with the song “Cool VIbes”.

Next page: The best and biggest new releases from other Eurovision artists