I almost forgot this but better late than never!
TWENTY-ONE fans presented their Eurovision Moments of 2023!
I had been asking for them for the past 3-4 weeks and 20 fans of the show responded with their personal moments of 2023 - something from the whole season, starting back on September 1st 2022, that will make them remember the year of Liverpool forever. The earliest was mine, just before Christmas in Albania, with the majority being at Eurovision 2023 itself in the M&S Arena. Have a listen to the show to hear them all, covering all of hour one and the first two out of three segments of hour two:
And this special playlist?
Elsa Lisa - "Evita"
Alessandra - "Queen Of Kings"
Alika - "Bridges"
Laurell - "Sober"
Marco Mengoni - "Due vite"
Daði Freyr - "Whole Again"
Mae Muller - "I Wrote A Song"
Nicklas Sonne - "Freedom"
Loreen - "Tattoo"
Blanka - "Solo"
Sam Ryder - "Mountain"
Gustaph - "Because Of You"
Ultimo - "Alba"
Voyager - "Promise"
Käärijä - "Cha Cha Cha"
Joker Out - "Carpe Diem"
Marcus & Martinus - "Air"
Piqued Jacks - "Like An Animal"
Victor Vernicos - "What they Say"
Carola & Nause - "Främling 40"
Jana Burčeska - "Home Alone"
Timebelle - "Drink Beer"
Dotter - "No Room For Love"
Nineteen songs meaning so much to everyone - thank you all for your choices and here is a rundown of those fans and their moments, more or less unabridged from how they sent them to me...
Elsa Lisa - "Evita" (Me)
"This was spellbinding in Albania at FiK - the best performance by far from the best vocalist who is adored by everyone in her nation. The third time she has won Festivali i Këngës and yet again in a year where winning did not allow Eurovision qualification. Albina Kalmendi was the popular choice and got Albania to the Eurovision Final, but I think that Elsa could have brought her nation a top ten and a possible Jury top 3. Admittedly very early in the season but nothing topped this performance in 2023".
Alessandra - "Queen Of Kings" (Steve Thornton)
"Too many to choose. I’ll go with Norway this year please, 'Queen of Kings'. This was my first year attending Eurovision in person, as Norway opened SF1 it was the first Eurovision song I’d experienced from within the arena. Something I’ll always remember this song for."
Alika - "Bridges" (Stelios Andreadis)
"My Favorite Moment probably has to be Alika winning Eesti Laul. I fell in love with her song and her voice the first time I ever listened to her song. For me one of the best female voices this year."
Laurell - "Sober" (Stuart Cameron)
"My moment has to be in Melodifestivalen heat 3, seeing my friend Laurell make her debut on a competitive Eurovision/NF stage as an artist with 'Sober', having been there many times as a songwriter."
Marco Mengoni - "Due Vite" (Mark Dowd & Mick Ward)
(Mark Dowd) "Marco Mengoni collapsing to the floor in Grand Final...he gave us his all. This wasn't 'showiness' but an artist who'd sweated every drop of blood to sing his song. Pure Goose Bumpery. After that, 'Due Vite' leapt in my estimation".
(Mick Ward) "Trying not to sound like a broken record but my moment is connected to the national finals, as I got to watch many more than previous years. Of course the granddaddy of these being Sanremo, which I watched all the way through for the first time this year. So I became invested with that in a big way and of course the eventual winner, Marco Mengoni. Hearing him live in the jury show of the final was the ultimate cherry on top of the cake of getting to my first ever Eurovision final show. The emotion of being there and the powerful delivery by Marco of his song, even edited for the final, was another Italian 'Fai Rumore' moment for me. This performance by Marco will stay in the memory for a long time and has encouraged me to look at concerts by Eurovision stars in abroad venues as becoming more likely. A fabulous Eurovision week in Liverpool, crowned by a performance by Marco coming a well deserved 4th. 'Fai Rumore' and 'Due Vite' will be forever entwined in my memory. Bravissimo Marco".
Daði Freyr - "Whole Again" (George O'Neill)
"My moment was watching Daði sing 'Whole Again' in the interval. The highlight of the whole show for me. Made me realise how talented he is and how he would likely have won in 2020".
Mae Muller - "I Wrote A Song" (Mitchell James)
"Moment for me was seeing Mae Muller perform during the 2nd Semi Final preview night. Whilst I didn't see the UK winning that year, the explosive response from UK to the UK was overpowering and gave me chills. I'd say that's my moment of the year."
Nicklas Sonne - "Freedom" (Thomas Hjorth Nielsen)
"Here is my favourite moment of this Eurovision year. My close second place is Eurovision in concert in Amsterdam. That's always a fantastic experience, both the music and meeting my Eurovision family. But this year, my favourite moment was the night of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix. The whole family was together, first enjoying some delicious food and later sitting together in front of the TV. That night was a busy night, because the final in Eesti Laul was on at the same time. So my messenger app wasn't quiet that evening 🤣 Sadly my favourite in DMPG didn't win. I would have loved to see Nicklas Sonne performing 'Freedom' in Liverpool. But it was a fantastic evening together with the family".
Loreen - "Tattoo" (Jeanette Dahlqvist)
"My moment(s) was seeing Loreen win in Malmö, then seeing Loreen win in Stockholm, I cried so much. And Loreen win in Liverpool, what a moment. She is our Queen Loreen for sure. What a act, what a song, her performance was out of this world. Nobody was even close to give is a performance like that. God I love her! When she won in Stockholm, I had a feeling she actually could win Eurovision".
Blanka - "Solo" (Betty Evans)
"Blanka wearing a ballgown with 'Bejba' on it in enormous letters for the turquoise carpet".
Sam Ryder - "Mountain" (Jade Colburn)
"I got to see him sing it at the Cavern Club and in the Final (after the emotional YNWA by Duncan Laurence)".
Gustaph - "Because Of You" (Liz Russell)
"My positive moment was discovering the BBC’s Eurovisioncast podcast series on Sounds. It was the depth of winter and I was struggling with fitness following a bad break in my foot last year. Towards the end of January I finally got the all clear from the consultant in the fracture clinic to get walking again. I was feeling sorry for myself but decided I had better start by a gentle walk and build up from there. It was dark and cold and my left foot had been bandaged up in a cast/boot for weeks on end but I ‘took the plunge’. Scrolling through the Sounds app I saw Eurovisioncast and listening to this kept me going. Soon I was back to my exercise routine again and this podcast series kept me going out in late winter/early spring. It was funny as well as being very informative and my accompanying song would be Gustaph’s ‘Because Of You’. Reason? One of the presenters was obsessed with the song (the running joke was she wanted to marry Gustaph). I loved the song from the beginning of the season too and was thrilled it did so well! The evening of my very first ‘recovery’ walk the handover ceremony was on TV, so I knew it would be a great ESC season!"
Ultimo - "Alba" (Knut Olav Halseth)
"There are two artists & singers that stands out, Ultimo& Madame in Sanremo, Italy. Just by thinking of their breathtaking performances gives me goosebumps. Ultimo's song 'Alba' about mental health & fighting your inner demons. Madame took the perspective of a sex worker, and in the video you could see that the customer in the song also were a female. I could see how these two singers simply lived their song during all their performances. They were really burnt out afterwards, I could see & feel that their songs meant everything to them. Performances par excellence ❤❤ If I have to choose I go for Madame. She's only 21 but seemed so mature, even though after every performances you could see it had taken its toil on her"
Voyager - "Promise" (Helen Scott)
"A moment from 2023 for me was meeting Voyager outside Liverpool Lime Street station. They were my favourite entry this year, and the only ones I bumped in to in Liverpool, so it was perfect!"
Käärijä - "Cha Cha Cha" (Danie Jacobs & Melanie Sue LoPresti)
(Danie Jacobs) "The rise of Käärijä! I was amazed when I saw him the first time. I didn't understand a word, but luckily his performance is much bigger than the language barrier. Then I watched the video where he was in the ring with his demons. It was amazing to see his 'transition' in the ring. His performances in Liverpool were all performed with gusto and also tongue in cheek. I even watched his show after he returned to Finland, more than an hour in Finnish! I wanted him to win as he was so unique and fresh. I hope he will try again with an even stronger song and crazier look".
(Melanie Sue LoPresti) My favorite moment is Käärijä in ESC. He's such a fun guy to watch. He's entertaining and his dancers are fantastic.
Joker Out - "Carpe Diem" (Kristina Dragaš)
"The best moments been between Käärijä and Joker Out, their relationship is everything. Also Käärijä and Konstrakta in Madrid, pre-party backstage and Käärijä is sitting on Konstrakta's lap (Kristina prefers 'Carpe Diem' to 'Cha Cha Cha')".
Marcus & Martinus - "Air" (Chris Ioannou)
"My moment was 'Air' from Marcus and Martinus. Two guys that I want for their talents now to see them in the contest - I hope they will try to manage it again soon, with a song as so good as this".
Piqued Jacks - "Like An Animal" (Shaun Underhay)
"I'd just like to say how amazing it was to finally attend the contest in person after being a fan for 30 years (most of my life!). Met so many great people, was partying all night in the Euroclub and explored some more of Liverpool's incredible nightlife and architecture, and managed to get some photos of John Lennon's house while I was there. My wallet and energy levels took a gigantic hit, which I'm still recovering from, but it was all worth it. I was lucky enough to be 37th in the queue in the OGAE Ballot, so I got a package for all 3 live shows. As for the song, I'd be grateful if you could play 'Like An Animal' by Piqued Jacks (San Marino) - I was sad that it got zero even if it wasn't entirely unexpected".
Victor Vernicos - "What They Say" (Danie Tregonning)
"I was at one of the OGAE meet and greets and I stepped outside to chat to friends. Suddenly Victor Vernicos comes running over, asking for a selfie because I am his favourite YouTube reactor. Over the week, we met up a couple of other times. On the carpet, he gave me a Greek flag (which is now in our Eurovision bar) and then I gave him a pep talk at Camp and Furnace before the second semi final. It was a nice but strange experience!"
All of those fans reasonings are on the show too and it was a pleasure to read those for everyone! If you analyse when the moments came, it was almost a 50/50 split pre-Liverpool and during the fortnight itself, even though all but five made it onto the Eurovision stage. You can all have a rest now - you don't have to think about Eurovision moments again until 1st September 2023!
Next week's show (#260) has news of Eurostarz 2023, where the artists above will be performing, and you will hear the Eurovision entry connected to each of them. Among the rest of the new releases and music linked to the news that I regularly play, I will do something that I have never done on LET ME BE THE ONE before...
Four Dutch entries to listen to next week!