🗳️ Our ESC 250 votes: Angus

Voting for the annual ESC 250 celebration closed on the 10th of December 2023, and now we have a nervous wait to find out the results! The event is hosted by songfestival.be, with the results revealed on the 31st December 2023 on EFR12 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 Angus’ turn to reveal how he voted.

Last year I already used some cursed rules to determine my vote, and now I have added even more! So besides the at least one song per decade and at most one per year and nation, now enjoy a ballot also impacted by: only songs (largely) performed in one of the official or regionally recognized languages, and only songs that finished outside of the top 500 (as a complaint about last year/gratitude for publishing the full full results again this year).

1 point: “O vento mudou” – Eduardo Nascimento (Portugal, 1967)

Portugal served up some sleek, classy late ’60s pop music with “O Vento Mudou” (The Wind Changed). It’s uplifting, it’s a historical milestone, it’s engaging, it makes you move, his voice is like melting butter… Well, I think you get the drift. Eduardo Nascimento and his song deserve more attention than both get.

2 points: “Bonjour, Bonjour” – Paola Del Medico (Switzerland, 1969)

One of the few songs that didn’t win in 1969, “Bonjour, Bonjour” is a perfect slice of cheese from its era. A song about lovers that only see each other occasionally, it is a great track to signify the early jet age and the dawn of the true globetrotting era. The performance is crisp, the lyrics sweet, and that build-up to the last chorus is magnificent.

3 points: “Birth Of A New Age” – Jeangu Macrooy (Netherlands, 2021)

Here’s your first returnee of last year, and in the same spot too! In some ways I was shocked this wasn’t in the top 500, in other ways I was not. While we could still have meaningful discussions about its result in Eurovision and what it says about the contest, let’s just focus on the song’s merits. And for that I will let me from last year take the reins: “Jeangu delivered a song that is powerful, meaningful, and, also important: absolutely amazing. Add to that an absolute powerhouse of a performance on the Eurovision stage and you have a magical entry.” (Also, fun fact: this song passes my language rule thanks to the *English*, as that is a regionally recognized language in the Netherlands. The more you know!)

4 points: “Ne pali svetla u sumrak” – Lola Novaković (Yugoslavia, 1962)

The second returnee rises two spots, as something about it really clicked with me this year. “Ne pali svetla u sumrak” (Don’t turn on the lights at dusk) is such a gentle and sweet loving track. Lyrically a little snapshot of a relationship, and musically just an absolute dream too. This song sounds like those blissful evenings feel.

5 points: “Toi, la musique et moi” – Mary Christy (Monaco, 1976)

Of all my ESC 250 votes last year, this is one of three that I am absolutely baffled by that it didn’t even crack the 500. The way that this song could also be from the 90s thanks to the timeless sound (and the lounge-revival happening back then, but shush), Mary absolutely eating the performance, the song actually being uplifting to the point of even being moving… And to top it all off it actually is just a hopeful dream of leaving the hustle and bustle of everyday life, so that life is just about your partner, music, and yourself.

Also, Monaco come back to Eurovision!

6 points: “Brandenburger Tor” – Ketil Stokkan (Norway, 1990)

For a variety of reasons, David Hasselhoff is considered to have the most… iconic performance relating to the fall of the Berlin Wall, but to me this is THE song about it (for the song about Berlin during the Cold War, please turn to Klein Orkest’s “Over De Muur”). This song speaks of the joy, hope, and dreams of the time. And the chorus just goes so, so, so hard.

7 points: “Theater” – Katja Ebstein (Germany, 1980)

I still can’t believe I go on here, the internet, to say I love a song by Siegel and Meinunger this much. But “Theater” has it all. Camp, surprising depth, a catchy melody, and of course no-one can perform like Katja Ebstein. How is this song not a mainstay in the top 100? How are none of her three entries in the top 500? This is a failure of the Eurovision fandom at large.

8 points: “Je suis un vrai garçon” – Nina Morato (France, 1994)

Getting away with a swear would be enough to go on this list, but this song has so much more going for it too. That dramatic opening merging in, then giving way to the acoustic guitar. Nina’s powerful delivery, and with every part of the song just more instruments being added. Only to shortly strip back down as we get a slice of over-the-top drama before heading straight back into the song.

10 points: “Sense tu” – Jenny (Andorra, 2006)

I know that a number of Eurofans can’t connect with the song due to the staging which is fair enough (even if I love it). But if you are among those people, try to listen to it with your eyes closed. Jenny sounds wonderful, the music is so beautifully and, frankly, almost needlessly dramatic. This song and performance demand your attention, and if after all this you still don’t hear it, maybe this helps: this is the closest we ever got to something like Anastacia’s excellent pop rock.

Special mentions

Before I reveal my 12 points, I would like to give a special shout-out to a few entries that came so close to making my top ten. They are (besides all the songs I voted for/honourable mentioned in 2022 and 2021):

• “L’amour à La Française” – Les Fatals Picards (France, 2007) – A fun burst of… pop punk? indie rock? that was robbed at Eurovision, and is continually robbed at the ESC250.
• “Gori Vatra” – Zdavkro Colic (Yugoslavia, 1973) – This song is so smooth yet impactful, Zdavkro’s voice and the orchestra are made for eachother.
• “Frère Jacques” – Anne-Marie B (Luxembourg, 1977) – I called this “space-disco-with-hints-of-jazz” and “the most Star Wars entry ever” and I stand by it. Despite being a Trekkie, absolutely amazing.

And Angus’ 12 points go to…. “Beşinci Mevsim” – Şebnem Paker (Turkey, 1996)

This year, a lot has happened to me personally and beyond and it only is right to have a new favourite Eurovision track (although my old #1 would not have been allowed on this list anyway, but regardless). Such a classy jazz and chanson inspired track, and Şebnem’s best Eurovision entry. “Beşinci Mevsim” (Fifth Season) is such a quietly melancholic track that the extreme emotion in the song can almost pass you by. Also, some surprisingly modern staging in the camerawork.

Listen to our collective ESC 250 playlist on Spotify

Sadly, some of my picks are unavailable on Spotify in their original form, and one track is absent completely. Still, I did my best.

Enjoy our collective ESC 250 playlist on YouTube

Now that Angus has revealed his votes for ESC 250 this year, what do you think of their 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, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky for all of the latest Eurovision news.

News Source: That Eurovision Site

Photo Credit: Hans van Dijk / Anefo / Nationaal Archief