Previous national final artists
🇪🇸 Vicco – “TIRAMISÚ”
Vicco’s Benidorm Fest song “Nochentera” absolutely took over European pop in the summer of 2023. The song has since been certified octuple platinum, and has amassed nearly 170million streams on Spotify globally. The Spanish pop star has since released countless records, and most recently has given the world “TIRAMISÚ”. The song was written partly by Victoria Riba, who worked on “Nochentera” and has since collaborated with Gabry Ponte on various projects, and has similarities with the Benidorm Fest smash hit. It’s summery. It’s girl-pop. It’s electrodance.
🇸🇪🇺🇦 Maria Sur – “Better Man”
Maria Sur, originally from Ukraine but now residing in Sweden, is probably best known to eurofans as a two-time Melodifestivalen finalist. First, in 2023, with the song “Never Give Up”, and then again in 2024 with “When I’m Gone”. The 21 year old singer is back with a new single, “Better Man”, and it holds up against her Mello entries. It’s a sultry, RnB-pop, feminist anthem. The Ukrainian singer is sure to be appearing in eurofan wish lists for the foreseeable future if this latest track is anything to go by.
🇷🇸 Hurricane – “Joooj, šta me snaðe”
Hurricane represented Serbia at Eurovision 2021, in Rotterdam, with the song “Loco loco”. They were also selected to represent the nation in 2020 with the song “Hasta la Vista”, before covid cancelled the contest. Since then, the band has had a complete lineup change, with none of the original members remaining in the group. Current members of the band Jovana Radić and Sara Kourouma competed in Serbia’s PZE national final in 2023 with the track “Zumi zimi zami”, placing 12th. The duo are back with a new single, featuring Bosnian-Serbian folk singer Nada Topčagić. “Joooj, šta me snaðe”, meaning ‘Wow, what’s wrong with me?’ when translated into English, is a modern spin on a classic Balkan vibe. The crossover of classic Balkan folk with Hurricane’s well known girl-bop obsession is intriguing. If you like this iteration of Hurricane, it’s a good track. If you prefer Sanja Vučić’s Hurricane, this may not be for you.
🇪🇸 Noan – “Moriremos Bailando (David Van Bylen Remix)”
Fans of Spain’s Benidorm Fest national final may remember Noon from his 2024 song, “Te Echo De -“. Although the Spanish singer didn’t make it through to the grand final of the national selection show, the song found huge success in Spanish speaking Europe after the contest. Noan has amassed millions of streams on Spotify since his 2024 attempt to represent Spain at Eurovision, including with his single “Moriremos Bailando” released earlier in the year. The original version of the song is a passionate, ukulele pop-rock track with classic Mediterranean feel. Noan has teamed up with David Van Bylen to turn the track into a summer club anthem, with a new remix. It really is a sweet, joyful version of the track.
🇪🇪 Traffic – “Husqvarna”
Estonian pop-folk band Traffic have competed in the country’s national final Eesti Laul 7 times so far, most recently with “Wunderbar” in 2024. The band’s best result came from their second attempt in 2009, with the song “See päev”, beaten in the final by eventual Eurovision representatives Urban Symphony. While the band has never made it all the way to the Eurovision stage as a group, founding member and writer of most of the band’s music, Stig Rästa, made it to 2015 Contest in Vienna with the song “Goodbye to Yesterday”. Latest single from the band, “Husqvarna” was once again co-written by Rästa and singer Silver Laas. It’s a fun, authentically Estonian, folk-dance-pop track. Is it time the band made their 8th appearance in Eesti Laul this coming season?
🇱🇹 Beatrich – “Wake Up”
Lithuanian artist Beatrich placed 3rd in the country’s national final in 2023 with the song “Like a Movie”. The singer has huge support across Europe, and has multiple songs with millions of streams on Spotify. Latest single “Wake Up” is an easy, indie-pop track with wide appeal. This is the third release from Beatrich so far in 2026, and the artist is sure to keep delivering popular pop records.
🇪🇪 Carlos Ukareda – “HOLES IN MY CLOTHES”
Carlos has taken part in Estonia’s Eesti Laul multiple times now, with varying degrees of success. Most recently, he made the final of the 2024 edition of the national final with the song “Never Growing Up”, but missed out on the superfinal round. His most recent single “HOLES IN MY CLOTHES” is the singers first track of 2026, and id probably the best of all his recent music. The song is modern, with potential for mainstream appeal. I really enjoy this track, and if you’ve never discovered Ukareda before, start here!
Honourable mentions / tenuous links
🇪🇸 LUCYCALYS – “DEL AMOR Y DEL MAR”
Although the Spanish broadcaster withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026, the annual Benidorm Fest was still held as a standalone competition. LUCYCALYS, alongside DJ and singer Tony Grox, would end up winning the competition with the track “T AMARÉ” which has since gone on to gain huge support on TikTok and amassed millions of streams on Spotify. LUCYCALYS is back with a new EP, collaborating with a number of Spanish artists on 6 tracks. It’s a beautiful body of electro-pop music, really showing off the singer’s talents.
🇺🇦 OTOY – “Страхи”
Hip-hop, R&B, Punk and Soul blend together in OTOY’s music. The Ukrainian performed at the Liverpool Contest in 2023 as a featured interval act in semifinal 2 alongside Mariya Yaremchuk and Zlata Dziunka. The singer and rapper is back with a new single, “Страхи”.
What do you think about this week’s new music round-up from the Eurovision universe? Let us know your thoughts on social media, and if we have missed any Eurovision universe releases! Don’t forget to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky, and ZOOP for all things Eurovision!
News Sources: ThatEurovisionSite / Spotify / Instagram
Image Credits: Käärijä & SANNI – Kaverikarim , Mae Muller, Antigoni & Sal Da Vinci – Keaton Rich, Gåte. Lion Ceccah, Leléka, Khayat – Tania Horbatiuk, July Jones – Bex Fahey
Nicklas N