Voting for the annual ESC250 celebration will close 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 2024 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 Samantha’s turn to reveal how she voted as this year’s countdown gets underway.
Samantha’s votes
This is my first year taking part in the ESC250 vote, and let’s just say that narrowing down my choices to just 10 songs was no easy task. With over six decades of Eurovision history and 11 years of being a fan myself, the challenge was quite difficult. Some of these songs are in my opinion underrated by the fandom but some of my favourites throughout the contests’ history. The 2025 edition of the contest has introduced me to some new artists that I love and couldn’t help but include in my votes. So without further ado, let’s get into it.
1 point : “Waterloo” – ABBA (Sweden 1974)
Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a die hard ABBA fan so I couldn’t not include them into my vote. For me, this song is just the perfect fun song, you can’t help but move your feet and sing along. Waterloo has always been one of those songs that instantly lifts my mood.
2 points : “Volevo Essere Un Duro” – Lucio Corsi (Italy 2025)
I love how authentic this song is, I love how authentic Lucio is an artist, for me this song is perfect. It’s both playful and deeply vulnerable. It reminds me of the type of music I grew up on and that still love to this day. Whilst this year, I only gave it two points, I am sure that it will place higher in the next few years.
3 points : “Only Teardrops” – Emmelie de Forest (Denmark 2013)
This is the song that got me into the contest and I still love it to this day. I love the folk feel to it and the staging suits the song perfectly.
4 points : “The Calm After The Storm” – The Common Linnets (Netherlands 2014)
My favourite genre of music is country music so it only felt right that I include this song in my vote. I think the staging suited the song perfectly, their voices blend so well together, the song is so calming, and I simply cannot find a bad word to say about it.
5 points : “Children of the Universe” – Molly (United Kingdom 2014)
I was 9 when I first heard this song, and I still believe that this is one of the best songs the UK has sent in at least the 21st century to the contest. The message is still relevant, and the music video compliments the song really well. The only downside were her live vocals and the backing track just overpowered, which in my opinion let it down.
6 points : “Sound of Silence” – Dami IM (Australia 2016)
Talk about powerhouse vocals ! I don’t tend to be the biggest fan of ballads, but this just works so well. The dress, the staging, the lyrics, the vocals, EVERYTHING is perfection.
7 points : “Sebi” – zalagasper (Slovenia 2019)
MESMERIZING. That’s it, that is the only word I can use, Zala and Gasper were in their own bubble on that stage and I know that the artist should usually interact with the audience but “Sebi” didn’t need any of that.
8 points : “Deslocado” – NAPA (Portugal 2025)
In retrospect, this was probably my winner of Eurovision this year. NAPA stayed true to themselves as artists, and I am always drawn to the acts that don’t try to change for Eurovision. The song really speaks to me as someone who emigrated from their country to another at a young age and never quite feeling native to either of them.
10 points : “Grito” – iolanda (Portugal 2024)
Another Portugal entry, well what can I say, I love Portugal as a country and their Eurovision entries in general. The vocals and the drama of this performance !!
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. Bare with me, there are a few.
- “Playing with Numbers” – Molly Sterling (Ireland 2015) – One word : UNDERRATED
- “Evidemment” – La Zarra (France 2023) – Oh what a Diva. Love the lyrics, the staging, the vocals everything, one of the best entry’s France has sent to the contest.
- “Medo do Sentir” – Elisa (Portugal 2020) – I literally never hear anyone talk about this song, but WOW the feels this song gets me in. A shame we never got to see it live on stage or any of the 2020 songs because I thought it was a really great year song wise.
- “De Diepte” – S10 (The Netherlands 2022) – Staging was intimate and raw that complimented the lyrics perfectly. Very nearly entered my votes.
- “Carpe Diem” – Joker Out (Slovenia 2023) – My friends are going to be so shocked that Joker Out missed out on my vote this year because of how much I banged on about them and even dragged my friend to Glasgow to see them. My Baby Boo era is slowly making a comeback after dying out for a bit. I love the shagadelic rock n roll vibe that they have going on and very happy that they are bringing that sound back with their new track “Supersonic”.
And Samantha’s 12 points go to…”1944″ – Jamala (Ukraine 2016)
Poignant song that is still relevant to this day, beautiful staging, and the vocals WOW. I could literally write an essay about this song and the meaning, but I will settle for that.
Now that Samantha has revealed her 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 : Pedro Pina / RTP
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