Join Alix, Max, and Bart as they give their hot takes on the entries from Hungary, Lithuania, Denmark, and Belgium. This week, Alix and Bart are not impressed with Max’s literary analysis of Hungary’s lyrics, Alix tries to figure out who might be voting for Denmark, and all three have already forgotten what Lithuania sounds like.

Songs featured:

• Joci Pápai – “Az én apám” (Hungary)
• Jurijus – “Run With the Lions” (Lithuania)
• Leonora – “Love is Forever” (Denmark)
• Eliot – “Wake Up” (Belgium)

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Ukraine has withdrawn from Eurovision 2019 after a controversial national selection and the refusal of the winner to sign the Ukrainian broadcaster’s contract. Join Alix, Max, and Bart on this bonus episode of Star Spangled Eurovision as they dive deep into what happened this year at Vidbir and how it reflects wider debates among Ukrainians about identity and their place between Europe and Russia.

Watch MARUV’s winning performance at Vidbir here.

You can read a great summary of what happened after MARUV’s victory here.

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Join Alix, Max, and Bart as they cover the entries from Estonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Latvia, Romania, and Germany! This week, the crew tries to figure out the witchcraft behind Estonia’s staging, has some questions about the “sisters” from Germany, and generally agrees that this group of entries are a little low energy.

Songs covered:

• Victor Crone – “Storm” (Estonia) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4bfC0NPl1I
• Roko – “The Dream” (Croatia) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH1XfjICYLc
• Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl – “Sebi” (Slovenia) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4Ci3nrBdno
• Carousel – “That Night” (Latvia) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j61TWsjcJY
• Ester Peony – “On a Sunday” (Romania) –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvzruGxaAO4
• S!sters – “Sister” (Germany) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuqS6-KJFgA

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Join Max, Alix, and Bart as they review the entries from Australia, Italy, Montenegro, and the UK. In this episode, Alix gushes over Italy, Max and Bart discuss the merits of Australia’s weird staging, and all three agree that Montenegro maybe could’ve done better this time.

Songs covered:

• Kate Miller-Heidke – “Zero Gravity” (Australia) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlpBPO9_L4E
• Mahmood – “Soldi” (Italy) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvJUrrMgyGs
• D-Moll – “Heaven” (Montenegro) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KNRvyqVvOw
• Michael Rice – “Bigger than Us” (UK) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_IcrNgV-O4

Note: We ended up not including a clip of Darude’s “Sandstorm” but you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6120QOlsfU

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Welcome to Season 2 of Star Spangled Eurovision! The first four entries for Eurovision 2019 have been revealed, and Max, Alix, and Bart are back to kick off the Eurovision 2019 season with their hot takes on the songs from Albania, the Czech Republic, France, and Spain. Tune in to find out who we like, who we don’t like but wish we did, and what we think some of these songs are really about.

Shownotes:

Songs featured

• Jonida Maliqi (Albania) – “Ktheju Tokës” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vZDCw9Pedw
• Lake Malawi (Czech Republic) – “Friend of a Friend” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duSSVY_YJyY
• Bilal Hassani (France) – “Roi” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCJRigN2DmI
• Miki (Spain) – “La Venda” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpMIb5rabKQ

National Final Schedule – https://eurovision.tv/calendar/

Semi-Final Allocation – https://eurovision.tv/story/semi-final-allocation-draw-results-2019

And finally, if you’ve never seen it, you *must* watch Serhat’s 2016 entry for San Marino, “I Didn’t Know” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYKFKgwVbV4

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