🇬🇧 Meet The TES Team: Kittens (Michelle)

Hello folks! I’m Michelle, but everyone knows me as Kittens! I’m a video editor here at TES, and 2026 will be my third year of being part of the team. I live in South West UK and have been a Eurovision fan for many years. Outside of Eurovision you can find me gaming, going on walks, going to the theatre, crafting something impractical, and probably making a spreadsheet for something. 

You can probably find me online talking about Benjamin Ingrosso or Darin, who I stream a very normal amount of times.

Name: Kittens or Michelle

Age : 42

Pronouns: She/Her

Socials: 

• Bluesky: @kittenseses.bsky.social
• Instagram: @kittenseseses

How did I get into the Eurovision Song Contest?

When I was a kid, I was allowed to stay up late for two events in the year: the Last Night of the Proms and Eurovision. I definitely remember at one point making a results spreadsheet and entering in scores as they came in, which is very on brand for me as a data nerd. I got back into Eurovision during university and thanks to friends, started throwing and going to Eurovision parties, but the first contest I remember really watching heavily was probably early 2010’s sometime. 

At what point did I consider myself a Eurofan?

I started really getting into the fandom around 2018, which was my first London Eurovision Party. Even though I was watching national finals by then, I only joined the online fandom on Twitter in 2020-2021. I’ve gone to every LEP ever since that first one and wouldn’t miss it for the world, and have also frequented other Eurovision events, national finals and gigs since joining the fandom. 

2023 was my first on the ground experience at Eurovision. I was lucky enough to be able to get tickets for all the live shows and it was a fantastic experience. I loved every minute of it and it was great to be able to catch up with so many people in Liverpool – I’ve been to every contest since, and don’t intend to stop now.

How has my life changed since becoming a Eurofan?

The big difference is the community – the people you meet and the impact they make on your life. I’ve made so many friends through this competition and I’m happily at the point where I can walk into most Eurovision events in the UK and find someone there I know and can chat to! Eurovision has massively changed my attitude to travel – I used to be a very nervous traveller but I now find it much easier to think about just ‘popping over’ to another country for a national final or concert or just to meet up with friends I’ve met in the fandom.

I’m also a Eurovision crafter and am known for my berets – I made my first Eurovision berets for Liverpool and just kept going – I made six Eurovision related berets in the 2025 season, and I’m sure I’ll be making more as well for years to come!

I started my life here at the site as a staff writer, and moved to being a video editor when need arose – including organising a good amount of the video content for the site – making sure everything is recorded and in place at the right times. It’s been something that has been a great personal journey and has shown me what I’m capable of. I’ve also had the opportunity to go to events as press and conduct artist interviews, which has been such a fantastic experience.

The other major thing has been the amount of music I listen to, and the ways the national final process introduces me to such a wide variety of new artists and genres – it’s a great way to get a supply of fresh music regularly.

What are my favourite Eurovision songs and countries?

I have a particular preference for the higher end of the BPM scale – not to say I don’t like a good ballad but it has to be particularly interesting to work for me! It’s hard to pick only a few tracks to show my taste but I had to pick these ones in particular – “Popular” was definitely a breakthrough (pun intended) moment for me personally!

• 🇸🇪 Sweden (2011) Eric Saade with “Popular”
• 🇷🇸 Serbia (2015) Bojana Stamenov with “Beauty Never Lies”
• 🇺🇦 Ukraine (2021) Go_A with “Shum”
• 🇬🇧 United Kingdom (2022) Sam Ryder with “Space Man”
• 🇨🇭 Switzerland (2024) Nemo with “The Code”

I don’t generally have a particular country I have a preference for at Eurovision, it really depends on what they bring. While I do have a particular penchant for Melodifestivalen as a national final, I don’t always like what they choose – at least 2025 was an exception. Boyyy do I have Melodifestivalen discourse. Do not get me started!

What are my favourite national final songs?

My exposure to national finals is a bit more recent than the contest as a whole, but I can’t ignore that I could have picked a lot from the Melodifestivalen back catalogue to go here! “Vem e som oss” is just such a fun tune that never fails to make me smile when I hear it.

I normally am left a bit cold by Sanremo despite watching it as much as possible but couldn’t resist popping “Dove Si Balla” into this list – such a great song and such great memories of grabbing sunglasses every time it was performed!

• 🇸🇪 Anis Don Demina with “Vem e som oss” (Melodifestivalen 2020 – Sweden)
• 🇮🇹 Dargen D’Amico with “Dove Si Balla” (Sanremo 2022 – Italy)
• 🇸🇪 Emil Henrohn with “Mera mera mera” (Melodifestivalen 2023 – Sweden)
• 🇫🇮 Bess with “Ram pam pam” (UMK 2022 – Finland)
• 🇸🇪 Ola with “Unstoppable” (Melodifestivalen 2010 – Sweden)

What am I looking forward to in the new Eurovision season?

I always look forward to the new season as it always brings me new artists to listen to, but also because of the excitement of the selection process and seeing what gets chosen. There’s also many more new songs to start arguments with other site members over (we are friends really but boy do we have opinions)

Most importantly though I can’t wait to be surprised – the joy of Eurovision is finding new things you enjoy, or…sometimes don’t enjoy! so I can’t wait to see what happens each season.

The 2026 season will be my third year at the site – and while life here is stressful at times, it’s all rewarding in the end. Can’t wait to be part of the team for another year, and massively looking forward to seeing what pans out in the contest itself this year!

What do you think of Kittens’ favourites? Want to learn more about our team? Let us know in the comments below or on social media. Don’t forget to follow ‘THAT Eurovision Site’ over at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok as we gear up for the next Eurovision!

News Source: That Eurovision Site

Photo Credit: Michelle