25 November 2023

France have certainly hit on the right formula since returning to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2018. While their only previous appearance resulted in a respectable 6th place in 2004, since 2018 they’ve finished 2nd, 5th, 1st, 3rd and 1st. That’s a phenomenal record that’s built on catchy, fun songs with broad appeal, and with extra special appeal to younger viewers. Consequently, for 2023, JESC is back in France, in the city of Nice, after Lissandro won with Oh maman! in Yerevan, Armenia, last year.

Returning to JESC for 2023 is Germany after a break of one year, while Estonia makes its debut. Out goes Serbia and Kazakhstan, with the latter probably realising their five years of kissing the butt of the European Broadcasting Union has been futile in trying to gain a special invitation to senior Eurovision, so why bother keep trying. Perhaps if they were an English speaking country on the other side of the world they would have a better chance.

A playlist of my Top 16 here

The Participants

01 Spain – Sandra Valero – Loviu
02 Malta – Yulan – Stronger
03 Ukraine – Anastasia Dymyd – Kvitka
04 Ireland – Jessica McKean – Aisling
05 United Kingdom – Stand Unique3 – Back To Life
06 North Macedonia – Tamara Grujeska – Kazi Mi, Kazi Mi Koj
07 Estonia – Arhanna – Hoiame Kokku
08 Armenia – Yan Girls – Do It My Way
09 Poland – Maja Krzyzewska – I Just Need A Friend
10 Georgia – Anastasia & Ranina – Over The Sky
11 Portugal – Julia Machado – Where I Belong
12 France – Zoe Clauzure – Coeur
13 Albania – Viola Gjyzeli – Bota Ime
14 Italy – Melissa & Ranya – Un Mondo Giusto
15 Germany – Fia – Ohne Worte
16 Netherlands – Sep & Jasmijn – Holding On To You

The 16 entries are all good and I found it difficult to split them. There’s the usual ballads and uptempo songs, while the success of France has brought an increase in those catchy uptempo songs with stronger appeal to kids.

My Top 16

16 Portugal – Julia Machado – Where I Belong

15 Ukraine – Anastasia Dymyd – Kvitka

14 North Macedonia – Tamara Grujeska – Kazi Mi, Kazi Mi Koj

Portugal, while pleasant, is a bit whiny for my liking. Ukraine gets repetitive despite its fun nature, and Anastasia is too immature vocally. North Macedonia is a standard Balkan ballad, albeit quite nice.

13 Georgia – Anastasia & Ranina – Over The Sky

12 Ireland – Jessica McKean – Aisling

11 Albania – Viola Gjyzeli – Bota Ime

10 Italy – Melissa & Ranya – Un Mondo Giusto

09 Germany – Fia – Ohne Worte

08 Malta – Yulan – Stronger

Things get more interesting with Georgia, especially with the hairstyles, while the duo present quite a beautiful song with some nice harmonies and seemingly some quality vocals. We wait for the live show to really judge! Ireland is quite haunting, which isn’t a surprise, and the vocals are excellent. Albania is similarly quite beautiful, with quality vocals, and there’s much a bit more the song than Georgia’s. While not to the usual standard I expect from Italy, this year’s entry is a bit more mainstream, albeit a strong song, and dramatic in places. It will be interesting to see if Melissa & Ranya can lift it on the stage. Germany is quite catchy, Fia is stylish, and she even provides sign language during the video. I wonder if she’ll repeat that on stage in Nice? Malta only rates this high because Yulan has by far the nicest voice this year, and that’s likely due to her mature age and experience as an artist. This year was her fourth attempt to reach JESC. The song is nothing we haven’t heard a thousand times already, which sort of means it’s quite good.

07 Netherlands – Sep & Jasmijn – Holding On To You

06 Spain – Sandra Valero – Loviu

Netherlands and Spain are in much the same bracket of being catchy, uptempo songs, with Spain differentiated by the ultra cute Sandra performing solo, and she’s a powerhouse performer! Whereas it’s the boy and girl duo of Sep & Jasmijn for Netherlands, which is officially confirmed by their declared pronouns of he/him and she/her, respectively, on the official website. They seem to have a good rapport, and the Dutch typically send accomplished artists, so I definitely expect a great performance here.

05 Estonia – Arhanna – Hoiame Kokku

Estonia makes their JESC debut and bring quite a beautiful ballad, that’s enhanced by the distinct and delightful Estonian language. Let’s hope for a good result so Estonia return next year.

04 United Kingdom – Stand Uniqu3 – Back To Life

Could the trio bring the UK back to life to such a degree they actually win JESC? They have the right formula with a very catchy song complete with some catchy dance moves. There’s quite a mature arrangement to it too, so it could gain broad appeal if the girls can present it well.

03 Armenia – Yan Girls – Do It My Way

Armenia go two better than the UK with five girls on stage with this classy entry. Another high tempo, catchy dance song, and with even more of all the right dance moves.

02 Poland – Maja Krzyzewska – I Just Need A Friend

Who doesn’t need a friend? By far the best ballad in terms of song quality, natural voice and vocal ability. With the plethora of uptempo songs this year, if Maja can produce a stunning stage performance, it won’t be a surprise to see Poland finish high in 2023.

01 France – Zoe Clauzure – Coeur

France’s knack of bringing a small, distinctive element to make their songs so immediately appealing and memorable returns again, and this time it’s the “ai ai ai ai”. It’s just something that once it gets into your system it never leaves! Right from the first note there’s also that intoxicating rhythm felt whenever the French language is involved. Zoe seems strong vocally and the song flows well as it builds into a dramatic bridge, before easing down and ending with a nice note. Overall it’s a package that really touches the heart.

Yes, the top 3 are all the countries that won JESC in the past 5 years. Both France and Armenia have fan support this year, along with United Kingdom and North Macedonia. Strongest support is with Spain and Netherlands.

Junior Eurovision 2023 takes place at 1600 Central European Time on Sunday, 26 November 2023, and online voting is now open on the official Junior Eurovision website. Australian audiences can watch live on the official youtube channel from 0200 Monday morning.