Voting for the annual ESC250 celebration closed on the 7th of December 2025, 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 2025 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 Nicklas’s turn to reveal how he voted as this year’s countdown gets underway.
Nicklas’s votes
Since this is my first time voting in the ESC250, I feel like my top 10 is more vibe based than anything else. I’ve been watching since ’01 and really tried to not let recency bias take over, but I’m not sure I really succeeded in that. However I do stand by that these are at least some of the ESC songs I keep coming back to.
1 point : “I’m Alive” – Elhaida Dani (Albania 2015)
Best ever Albanian entry. I said what I said. I feel like most people have forgotten this, but I still find myself coming back to it. Something about it just feels really powerful and had her vocals been better on the night, I think it would have done better in the final score.
2 points : “Øve os på hinanden” – Fyr & Flamme (Denmark 2021)
I don’t think many eurofans realise that this song in the only DMGP winner in at least 10 years (probably more) to actually have an impact on the charts and be played in Denmark outside the ESC bubble. Jesper & Laurits are amazing performers and I’ve been lucky enough to have seen them perform live a couple times. They got me into listening to more 80’s music and I really wish this would have ended up in the final (like the televote wanted) so we could have gotten more authentic danish artists like this in DMGP moving forward. One can only dream…
3 points : “You” – Robin Stjernberg (Sweden 2013)
When I showed my top 10 to one of my closest friends, this was the only song he was confused about. Yes I know it’s not a popular choice for Swedens best entry, but something about it has always stuck with me. It’s catchy, insanely hard to sing when I’m doing ESC karaoke in my kitchen, and I love an underdog story. I’m a loud and proud member of the “You” fan club, even if I’m the only member.
4 points : “Yes” – Ben & Tan (Denmark 2020)
My favourite Danish entry in a long time, and my biggest “what if” of the 2020 contest. I honestly think we could have cracked the top 10 with this song, and I’m forever sad that they never got the chance to shine on the big stage. I interviewed them before DMGP and they were absolutely lovely people. I was also one of the very vocal people criticizing DR for not giving them a pass into DMGP 2021. Fun fact, I actually met Ben at a concert in 2022 amd we recognised me from our previous interactions online. We had a little chat and it was lovely.
5 points : “If Love Was a Crime” – Poli Genova (Bulgaria 2016)
This used to be my favorite ESC entry for a few years, but I like I’ve just gotten a bit tired of it lately. Still love it though, I clearly remember becoming a fan of Poli after she hosted JESC in 2015, and hearing it for the first time when it instantly became my winner for the contest. It laid the fondation for Bulgarias short but wonderful golden age in the contest and I’m grateful we got to experience it, even if it almost killed the Bulgarian broadcaster.
6 points : “Snap” – Rosa Linn (Armenia 2022)
It’s time for me to confess that I’m a sucker for TikTok indie pop. This is up there with “Atlantis” by Seafret as my favorite sad boy/girl songs to come out of TikTok, and even though it actually wasn’t in my top 10 originally it’s now become one of my most streamed songs from the 2022 contest. I wish we could go back to a few years ago where we had a lot of these songs in national finals. Yes it’s not a very competitive genre, but it’s one of my personal favorite genres of music and hopefully 2026 will bring me more songs like this.
7 points : “Arcade” – Duncan Laurence (Netherlands 2019)
Oh look, another song that had a life on TikTok after the contest. I’m really painting a picture of myself aren’t I? Anyways, this is my favourite recent winner and it still feels modern, current and authentic, from a time where it felt like Eurovision was finally getting really good and we were moving away from songwriting camp slop. Can we go back to this style of winners again please?
8 points : “Attention” – Ulrikke (Norway 2020)
Another entry from the contest that never was. Ulrikke is an amazing performer who expresses the emotions of the song to absolute perfection. The song is also pure and honest emotion and very well written. Had she gone on to represent Norway in 2023 when she returned, that entry would have probably also ended up on this list.
10 points : “Hold Me Closer” – Cornelia Jakobs (Sweden 2022)
A lot of what I just said about Attention can be repeated here. Cornelia hooked me in from the first semi final of Melodifestivalen, and nothing else in that NF season was ever able to captivate me in the same way as this. The staging is simple and gives you the chance to just focus on the raw talent and emotion, and the song feels both nostalgic and modern at the same time. This is Swedish pop perfection when it’s at it’s peak.
Honourable mentions
Before I reveal my 12 points, I’d like to give a shoutout to a couple of songs that just missed out on making my list for ESC250.
- “Goodbye to Yesterday” – Elina Born & Stig Rästa (Estonia 2015): Should have been Estonias 2nd victory. Tallinn 2016 would have been beautiful.
- “Space Man” – Sam Ryder (United Kingdom 2022): Gotta give BBC credit for hitting the jackpot with this, and the continuing to not understand what made it so special.
- “Europapa” – Joost Klein (Netherlands 2024): Not only is it a banger, but it also deserves a special mention for the way EBU screwed him over.
- “Something Better” – Softengine (Finland 2024): People have been sleeping on this since 2014 and it’s time people finally realise that it’s one of the best rock songs in ESC history.
- “La teva decisió (Get a Life)” – Susanne Georgi (Andorra 2009): Get Andorra back in Eurovision. That’s it.
And Nicklas’s 12 points go to…”Don’t Break Me” – Montaigne (Australia 2020)
This song is perfection to my ears. It’s the kind of music I also love outside the Eurovision bubble, and I’m also one of the people who actually enjoyed their performance on Australia Decides. It’s very artsy but it works well with the song if you think about it for a bit. Also I love the concept performance that SBS did and it really takes the concept to a whole new level, and had that been their staging in Rotterdam, I would have loved it even more. Do I think it would have done well in the contest? Honestly, probably not, but I do very much consider it my current favourite ESC entry of all time.
Now that Nicklas has revealed his votes for ESC250 this year, what do you think of his 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 credits : EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett
Euan T