Latvia: The Happiest Country In Eurovision (Featuring Jöran Steinhauer from Aarzemnieki)

BONUS EPISODE- The Best Songs of Eurovision 2025

It would be actually criminal not to do at least one episode this season that looks at the songs from 2025, and since I don't want to end up getting locked away, I am happy to deliver! For this final episode of Eurovisionism Season 2, I am joined by Kyriakos Tsinivits and Yolanda Vu- two massive Eurovision fans with some hot takes that you will either love or despise. Theme Song: Max Dary Outro Song: JOJ BOUK

How The UK And Spain Almost Solved Eurovision (Featuring ESC Gabe and Luis Mesa)

Or: Spainio and UKette. After their second and third place finishes in 2022, the perception of The UK and Spain at Eurovision changed from disappointment to excitement. With just two songs, these countries had turned their fortunes around and were expected to make a return to the top of the leaderboard- somewhere neither had been in decades. But in the years after Chanel and Sam Ryder took to the stage, no Spanish or British entries have managed to come close to replicating those outstanding results. Fans have been left wondering, in the words of Remember Monday, "what the hell just happened?" After all, Spain and the UK have two of the biggest economies and music industries of participating Eurovision countries. They should be untouchable! To get to the bottom of this, Gabe Milne (ESC Gabe) and Luis Mesa (Euromovidas) join me on this final regular episode of the season. Both are Eurovision fans and journalists who have seen what their country is capable of on the Eurovision stage and are left wondering why that quality is not sent every single year! We discuss what it meant for them to see their flags at the top of the scoreboard, and how they see a way out for two of the biggest Eurovision countries. Theme Song: Max Dary Outro Song: JOJ BOUK

Georgia Should Be Good At Eurovision. So Why Have They Never Won? (Featuring Iru)

Georgia is one of many countries to have never won Eurovision. On its own, that is not an interesting fact at all. But when you consider that at the same time they have more Junior Eurovision titles to their name than anybody else, things become a little less simple. If Georgia is able to bring back trophy after trophy (after trophy, after trophy. They've won four times) then why can't they replicate that success in the "adult" competition? To uncover this mystery I am joined by Junior Eurovision expert Craig Land (of Aussievision) and Iru- winner of Junior Eurovision in 2011 and contestant at regular Eurovision in 2023! I also had the joy of getting help from my friends Nathan Roach and Molly Brookman to really bring this story to life. Theme Song: Max Dary Outro Song: JOJ BOUK

Latvia: The Happiest Country In Eurovision (Featuring Jöran Steinhauer from Aarzemnieki)

Every Eurovision fan remembers the song that first drew them into the contest. Maybe for you it was ABBA with Waterloo. Or Loreen with Euphoria. Mine was Aarzemnieki with Cake To Bake. And in this episode of Eurovisionism, I get to speak to the man responsible for writing it! In 2014, Jöran Steinhauer and his bandmates took to the Eurovision stage representing Latvia. Twelve years earlier, this little Baltic country won their only Eurovision trophy, which set the streets of Riga alight. History beckoned as this plucky young band with their cheery song attempted to secure another victory for their country. But after their three minutes were up, Latvia was again missing from the list of qualifying countries. Since then, it's been much the same for following Latvian participants. Aside from a handful of solid results, Latvia has been largely unsuccessful at Eurovision. Or have they? Join me over the next twenty minutes as I examine what it means to have success at Eurovision, and how a German man came to represent a country that most Europeans might struggle to point out on a map. Thank you to Jöran for speaking to me for this episode, it was exceptionally cool to learn all about the person who wrote my favourite Eurovision song! And thank you also to the members of the Sydney Latvian Society in Strathfield who invited me to visit during one of their dance group rehearsals. They are doing a fantastic job of keeping the Latvian spirit alive and well on the other side of the world to their home country! And finally, thank you to my friend Alex who is always happy to be my go-to European for this podcast (and in life generally). Theme Song: Max Dary Outro Song: JOJ BOUK

The Rise And Fall Of Moldova At Eurovision (Featuring SunStroke Project)

In Moldova's relatively short time at Eurovision, they have basically done it all. From the dizzying heights of a bronze medal finish to the dark days of three straight non-qualifications, this country has always been one to watch. But this year, for the first time since 2005, there will be no Moldova in Eurovision. So what happened? How did things get so bad? And will we see them back in the contest ever again? To find out, I spoke to the band responsible for Moldova's best ever Eurovision result and arguably the most recognisable Eurovision meme- SunStroke Project! Yes, Epic Sax Guy is on this podcast! I'm also joined by Liv Webster from Aussievision- one of the biggest Eurovision fan sites (and podcast) in the world! Special thanks to Lana, SunStroke Project's manager, and Lachlan Woods (president of OGAE Australia) who helped me to organise the interview with Sergei and Sergey. I am painfully aware of the mistake at the beginning of the episode in which I say that Moldova's first Eurovision entry was in 2007 when in fact it was two years earlier in 2005! I hope you can look past this and not let it ruin the very immersive experience, as there are no other errors in any of the episodes of Eurovisionism! Theme Song: Max Dary Outro Song: JOJ BOUK