2023 Eurovision artists
🇬🇧 Mae Muller – “Wheels Come Off”
🇫🇮 Käärijä (& SANNI) – “VITUN HYVÄÄ JOULUA”
Finland’s best result at Eurovision since their win in 2006 came from fan-favourite Käärijä, with global hit “Cha Cha Cha” in 2023. “Cha Cha Cha” placed second, only beaten by 2-time winner Loreen at the Contest in Liverpool, in 2023. Since then, he has released a string of hits, many of which featuring various Eurovision alumni such as Tommy Cash, Baby Lasagne and Joost Klein, and has appeared as an interval act at Eurovision Contests several times. For this new 3-track EP, Käärijä joins UMK 2025 host SANNI to release “VITUN HYVÄÄ JOULUA” (MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS). SANNI is Finland’s most listened to female artist on Spotify, and has had a successful music career spanning many years, including three #1 albums, and six #1 singles in the Finnish charts.
“VITUN HYVÄÄ JOULUA” contains 3 songs, “Booty call”, “Hei me pärjätään” and “Sinkkumies”. “Booty call” is a high energy, dance-rap track, reminiscent of many of the songs from Käärijä’s debut album “Fantastista”. “Hei me pärjätään” is a much less chaotic song, will still having a high energy, soft DnB instrumental. SANNI delivers the lead vocals on this second track, and it shows off her musicality alongside Käärijä’s wonderfully. The final track on the EP, “Sinkkumies”, is again another vibe from the duo. The song is more traditional rap-pop sounding, but still has the Finnish flair we’ve come to know and love from both of these artists.
The pair debuted the new songs during a surprise set at the Ruisrock festival in Finland last weekend. They also performed versions of “Että mitähän vittua”, one of SANNI’s biggest hits, and ended the secret set with “Cha Cha Cha”. Käärijä also joined Finland’s 2025 Eurovision participant Erika Vikman on stage during her set to perform the song “Ruoska” together. Is Käärijä the hardest working artist in the Eurovision universe?
🇲🇹 The Busker – “I Like Your Style”
The boys from The Busker sure know how to keep themselves busy. The band have already released 2 singles so far this year, but are at it again! Drummer Jean Paul Borg from the band spent some of 2025 composing and producing “LET A GIRL BREATHE” for Kelsie Borg (no relation), who participated in the Maltese national final MESC in 2026. But it is as Maltese Eurovision 2023 band The Busker that the boys are most remembered. “Dance (Our Own Party)” extraordinarily came last in semifinal 1 of Eurovision in Liverpool, but the song has gone on to gain over 5 million streams on Spotify since the Contest. Latest single, “I Like Your Style”, see the band perform in their usual nu-funk / soul-pop style. If you liked “Dance (Our Own Party)” (I did), you will like this (I do). Its fun. Its funky. It’s jazzy. It’s somehow retro and modern. It’s The Busker. Enjoy it!
🇱🇹 Monika Linkytė – “LŪPOSE TAVO”
Monika Linkytė has attempted to represent Lithuania at both Junior Eurovision and Eurovision 9 times in total. The singer was successful in 2015, with Vaidas Baumila and the song “This Time” and in 2023, solo, with the song “Stay”. Since the Contest in Liverpool, Monika has been unusually quiet, releasing an 8 track album featuring “Stay” in 2023. But the Lithuanian songstress and Eurovision super fan is officially back! For her first piece of new music in a few years, she is featuring on fellow Lithuanian Mantas Jankavičius’ new single “LŪPOSE TAVO”. “LŪPOSE TAVO”, meaning ‘On Your Lips’ when translated into English, is a beautiful duet between the two artists.
Previous Eurovision artists
🇺🇦 Kalush Orchestra – “Очі”
2022’s Eurovision Song Contest winners Klaus Orchestra are back with a new track. “Очі” features Sonya Meleshenko from the Ukrainian band Melos on lead vocals, as well as back up from the rest of Melos. The track is a great addition to both band’s catalogues of music, blending traditional Ukrainian folk instruments with a modern indie-pop sound. The song is release on ENKO Records, a Ukrainian label founded by Kalush Orchestra and alyona alyona. This is sweet, listen to it.
🇪🇸 Blas Cantó – “PARA QUÉ”
Blas Cantó was due to represent Spain at Eurovision 2020, before the Contest was cancelled due to Covid. He returned in 2021 with the song “Voy a quedarme”, and although he only finished 24th place with 6 points overall, he became a solid fan favourite in eurofan circles with an undeniable talent. His latest single, “PARA QUÉ”, is written by Cantó alongside the writing team behind J Kbello’s “V.I.P”. It is a fun, uptempo, latin pop song, similar in sound more to “Universo” than his 2021 entry. Fans of male-fronted Spanish pop will love this.
🇵🇹 Cláudia Pascoal – “Serei Alguém”
Portugal’s 2018 Eurovision host entrant “O Jardim” by Cláudi Pascoal may have placed last in the Grand Final in Lisbon, but nobody can deny Cláudia’s talent. This latest release from the Portuguese singer-songwriter comes from her winning team on the RTP show ‘Dream Team’, a talent show which pairs establishes artists in the country with young talents to compete in weekly shows. Cláudia’s team won this season of the show this weekend, and have released their track “Serei Alguém” together. The young group of female singers, Luz, Zoe, Isabelinha and Maria, performed the winner’s reprise on the show alongside their mothers and Cláudia, in a moment that brought tears to the eyes of everyone in the studio. “Serei Alguém” is a beautiful piece of music, featuring the four young singers, Cláudia and a ukulele.
🇫🇷 Jessy Matador – “Live à la Cigale”
Eurofans will almost definitely remember Jessy Matador’s 2010 infectious entry “Allez Ola olé” from the Contest in Oslo. Matador would eventually place 12th in the Grand Final with the song, but it found huge success after the Contest as one of the official 2010 FIFA World Cup anthems. The French singer and rapper has continued to have success in the country after his Eurovision journey, and recently played the famous ‘la Cigale’ music venue in Paris’ Pigalle district. This album is a live recording of the concert Jessy headlined in April of this year. The album also contains a new single, “Afro genesis” which acts as a bonus track. Listening to a live recording of “Allez Ola olé” from the gig will surely make any eurofan smile. It’s worth a listen just for that.
🇦🇱 Ronela Hajati – “BALUKE”
Albania’s 60th Festivali I Këngës winner and 2022 Eurovision participant Ronela Hajati is back with a new Balkan girl-bop. Ronela has already had a busy 2026, with “BALUKE” being the 8th single released this year to feature her. Ronela took to her instagram to declare the start of summer with her new Balkan bop, and “BALUKE” delivers everything you would want a Ronela summer banger to deliver. The instrumental features traditional balkan sounds, with a modern pop / R&B vocal from Ronela on top. There truly is no stopping Tirana’s pop princess, and who knows, maybe it is time she had her redemption for the semi-final 1 result in Turin.
🇫🇮🇦🇹 Darude & PÆNDA – “Feel The Beat”
Finland’s Darude and Austria’s PÆNDA, both of whom competed in the 2019 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, have teamed up for a new single. “Feel The Beat” is released alongside 6 remixes of the track, and gives Darude’s iconic EDM sound a new take. Neither artist made it out of the semifinals in 2019, but together the sound is HUGE. A Darude club anthem for the ages.
🇲🇹 Gianluca – “N’ammurato e te”
‘His name is Jeremy, working in IT. Never questions why, he has always been, an extra careful guy. Sensitive and shy’. Malta’s Gianluca Bezzina will forever be stuck in my head with his 2013 Eurovision entry “Tomorrow” from the Contest in Malmö. The Maltese singer has released a plethora of songs in the years since, and completed in the MESC national final again, alongside his sisters, in 2015. The singer is back with a new sound. “N’ammurato e te” is a nu-funk, disco, guitar track, which is a much more mature vibe from the “Tomorrow” singer. It is a feel-good song, in the Maltese language, perfect for summer.
🇳🇱 OGENE – “Twin Flame”
Dutch sisters OG3NE have represented The Netherlands in both the Junior Eurovision Song Contest (2007) and the Eurovision Song Contest (2017). Lisa, Amy and Shelley have since rebranded as OGENE, dropping the 3 as according to the group, you’ll hear the 3, you don’t need to write it. The trio have changed up their sound somewhat too, from vocal ballads to a more mature, RnB sound. Latest single “Twin Flame” is a great piece of RnB / pop / soul music and shows the sisters have still got buckets of vocal talent and can still hit every single 3 part harmony. If you haven’t kept up with the Dutch trio since their Contest appearance, give this a listen. It might surprise you.
🇭🇷 Roko Blažević – “Još te sanjam”
Roko represented Croatia at the Song Contest in Tel Aviv in 2019, with the song “The Dream”. He won both the televote, and jury at the 2019 edition of Croatia’s DORA national final. He unfortunately did not make it out of the second semifinal at the Eurovision Song Contest, placing 14th out of 18. However, the singer has continued to release a range of music in recent years. “Još te sanjam” is the first single from Roko since 2024, and is a beautiful soft-rock ballad. Roko’s vocal abilities really come through on this track. It bears lots of similarities to the overall vibe of his Eurovision entry, but shows Roko is still evolving in his musical style.
🇨🇭Timebelle – “Osasuna”
Switzerland may have just missed out on a place in the Eurovision Grand Final in 2017, but that didn’t stop Timebelle becoming a eurofan icon. The band performed “Apollo” in the second semifinal in Kyiv, coming 12th, but found huge success after the Contest in eurofan circles with their mashups of famous Eurovision songs from previous contestants. Romanian actress and lead singer of Timebelle, Miruna Manescu, features on new single from Romanian DJ Edward Maya, most known for eurodance hit “Stereo Love” but also for his multiple attempts in national finals, in Romania and San Marino, in 2026. “Osasuna” is a perfect blend of reggaeton, eurodance, pop and summer house. It’s not exactly the most mature or complex sound, but it soundtracks summer in Europe well.
🇱🇹 Vaidas Baumila – “Kas yra?”
Not to be outdone by his 2015 Eurovision counterpart Monika Linkyté, who also appears on this week’s round-up, Vaidas Baumila has a new single. “Kas yra?” is far removed from the Eurovision entry “This Time”, and the singer delivers an incredible funk-pop-rock performance on this track. The singer has remained incredibly popular on TV and in music charts in Lithuania since his 2015 Eurovision appearance, and maybe its time for a solo reappearance in the Lithuanian national final?
Nicklas N