2026 national final artists
🇪🇪 Clicherik & Mäx – “Käsipagasis”
Clicherik & Mäx were one of the fan favourites going into 2026’s Eesti Laul national final with the song “Jolly Roger” (mostly down to ESCGabe’s insistence to talk about the song – I can’t lie). They eventually failed to make the superfinal of Eesti-Laul, ultimately losing out to Vanilla Ninja, who took the crown. But the pair have continued to release tracks, and appear to be here to stay. Their music is exciting, addictive and fun. And new single “Käsipagasis” delivers on this. It’s up-tempo, pop-rap, dance-y, Estonian fun. If you liked “Jolly Roger”, you will like this. It has elements of Käärijä, Baby Lasagne and Joost about it, whilst still being original and authentically Estonian.
🇺🇦 Khayat – “Ясиня”
Ukrainian singer-songwriter Khayat regularly features in the country’s national selection ‘Vidbir’, making four appearances in the show so far. Most recently, he appeared with the song “Hertsy”, which placed 5th in the final of the 2026 edition of the show. He previously placed 4th in the 2025 edition of Vidbir with the song “Honor”, winning the jury vote but only coming 4th in the televote that year. In 2019, as well as debuting in Vidbir, Khayat appeared on The Voice in Ukraine, coming third on Eurovision 2006 participant Tina Carol’s team. Khayat has been a long-time fan of Eurovision, and sees the Song Contest as the biggest international platform for Ukrainian musicians today. He describes his music as folktronica and neo-pop, combining ethnic melodies and instrumentals with more modern pop and electronica sounds. His latest single “Ясиня” is a slightly different vibe from the singer, but still as captivating as other records from Khayat. He describes the song as “a fresh way to express the rebellious Ukrainian spirit—one that never loses its power over time. It’s a meeting of past and present, where tradition speaks the language of today”. It’s clear Khayat is a force in the Ukrainian music scene!
🇩🇪 Malou Lovis – “i’m not here for you”
Malou Lovis is probably most known in Germany as the winner of the 2023 season of ‘The Voice’, but she made an appearance in ‘Das Deutsche Finale’ this year with her song “When I’m With You”. Although she failed to make it to the super-final of the German nation final, her song for the selection was widely praised by fans across the world. Her latest single “i’m not here for you” is another empowering song from the German singer, and Malou says the song is about many things she is not here for, but way more things she actually is here for, including friends, making honest music being in love. It is a beautiful piece of music, and fans of Malou or those that have never had the pleasure of finding her music should check it out.
🇲🇹 Mychael Bartolo Chircop – “DANCING ON THE FLOOR”
18 year old Maltese singer songwriter Mychael Bartolo Chircop has already had an incredible 2026. Following two attempts to represent Malta at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, Mychael entreated MESC 2026 with his song “My Sweet Angel”. He eventually finished 3rd place in the national final, only behind MESC regulars Matt Blxck and Aidan. Not bad for a debut! Mychael’s second single, “DANCING ON THE FLOOR” takes his instantly recognisable, raspy voice and adds a rocking drum beat. The song is anthemic, loud, full and exciting. Mychael Bartolo Chircop is, for sure, one to watch for future MESC attempts if this track is anything to go by!
🇬🇷 ZAF – “AVGOUSTOS”
ZAF may be a young, new talent from Greece, but the singer has already had huge online attention after collaborating with Coldplay’s Chris Martin and after the release of tik-tok viral hit “PES” in 2023. The Greek singer placed 5th in the ‘Sing For Greece’ national final in 2026 with his song “Asteio”, becoming somewhat of a eurofan favourite in the process. ZAF is back with his first release since his attempt to represent Greece at Eurovision in Vienna, and “AVGOUSTOS” does not disappoint. It’s a slower tempo track than some of his previous work, with more of an indie-pop sound, but the singer shines in this darker, heavier vibe. Fans of “Asteio” should definitely check it out.
🇸🇪 Felix Manu – “Låt tiden stå still”
Fresh from his appearance in deltavling 4 of Melodifestivalen 2026 with the song “Hatar att jag älskar dig”, Swedish singer songwriter Felix Manu has a new single. “Låt tiden stå still”, which is released alongside his Mello track “Hatar att jag älskar dig” and previous single “Bättre utan dig”, is co-written by Manu himself, with Mattias Andréasson and Ellen Bergelin. It is a beautiful track, and the three songs together work incredibly well as a project.
🇫🇮 Etta – “Tunnistaa”
Etta, who competed in this year’s edition of UMK with “Million Dollar Smile” features on a new single from Finnish rapper KERZA. The rapper has a controversial past, with multiple news stories in Finnish press detailing his behaviour in recent years. Etta features on one verse of “Tunnistaa”, released under KERZA’s deal with Warner Music Group. The song was produced in collaboration with some of the team behind Etta’s UMK entry.
2025 national final artists
🇪🇸 Carlo Frigo – “Bend It Back”
Although she didn’t make the final of Spain’s 2025 Benidorm Fest, Carlo Frigo and her song “Bésame” became a bit of a summer anthem in Spain after the national final. The girly-bop icon has released many songs since her Eurovision attempt in 2025, and most recently has teamed up with DJ duo Kenny Can’t Dance on “Bend It Back”. Unlike her Bendiform Fest track, the song is in the English language, but it’s every bit as addictive. It’s a filthy, sexy, club-dance track. If you like her, you’ll like this.
🇸🇮 July Jones – “Strip the veil”
July Jones has been rumoured as a possible Slovenian Eurovision entrant for many years, appearing in national finals in the country in 2022 and 2025 so far. July went into the 2025 edition of Slovenia’s EMA national final as the clear fan favourite with her song “New Religion”. Unfortunately for July, Klemen took the winning spot at the selection and went on to represent the country at Eurovision in Basel. It was heavily rumoured that July was planning to submit a song to the Slovenian broadcaster for the 2026 contest, before RTVSLO made the decision to withdraw from the contest. Born in Ljubljana, before moving to the UK, July has continued to release music in recent years. The singer-songwriter has also worked with many other artists such as Slovenia’s Eurovision 2024 representative Raiven and popular alternative, British singer / rapper Girli. Her newest single, “Strip the veil” is a great piece of electro-pop, drawing inspiration from synth music of the 80s uk scene, as well as more modern alt-pop that July has become known for. This release is July Jones’ second single of 2026.
🇸🇪 Vilhelm Buchaus – “Stockholm”
Vilhelm Buchaus made a name for himself as a solo singer with his country rock song “I’m Yours”, placing 4th in the Deltavling 5 of Melodifestivalen 2025. The 24 year old Swedish singer is back with a new single, “Stockholm”. The song was written with Jacob Werner who has worked with Marcus & Martinus and Omar Rudberg among others. Isa Molin, who producer “Hold Me Closer” for Cornelia Jacobs, as well as working on music with Gabry Ponte, Robin Bengtsson, Lisa Ajax and Klara Hammarström among others, provides backing vocals. It’s a great piece of country-pop, and shows off Vilhelm’s vocal ability beautifully.