14 May 2025

A stunning stage design, vastly improved sound quality, and a weak set of entries. They were the three key points of note from the first semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. Beyond Netherlands and Albania, nothing much else was of great interest, and once adding objectively good performances or favourites like Poland, Estonia and Sweden as likely qualifiers, the ten entries beyond that were scrapping among themselves for the final five places, and it didn’t really matter which ones emerged.

In revealing the ten qualifiers, Eurovision organisers tried a new feature of selecting three countries to focus on and then announce the winner. No one was actually eliminated until the end. That gave viewers the chance to see the lead up to revealling the winner, not just an instant cut to the reaction. Of course, that meant some countries, like Estonia, were in the window three times, while favourites, like Sweden, if in the window, were the likely ones announced. The final announcement from the remaining six surprisingly did not include a window of them all. It was the usual quick cut from the hosts after their announcement. Since Ukraine was in that last six, they were always going to be revealed. There’s pros and cons to the system and, overall, it’s worthwhile continuing with it at this stage.

After two horrible years of low volume and flat sound, it was a relief to hear the sound punching into my living room without turning the soundbar to maximum and it still be underwhelming! The stage, while I expected it might be a huge plus (literally, like the Swiss flag), the long, front platform under a large square frame really gave the stage a phenomenal three-dimensional appearance. Really impressive.

The Qualifiers

01 Iceland – Vaeb – Roa
02 Poland – Justyna Steczkowska – Gaja
03 Slovenia – Klemen – How Much Time Do We Have Left
04 Estonia – Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato
05 Ukraine – Ziferblat – Bird of Pray
06 Sweden – Kaj – Bara Bada Bastu
07 Portugal – Napa – Deslocado
08 Norway – Kyle Alessandro – Lighter
09 Belgium – Red Sebastian – Strobe Lights
10 Azerbaijan – Mamagama – Run With U
11 San Marino – Gabry Ponte – Tutta l’Italia
12 Albania – Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm
13 Netherlands – Claude – C’est la vie
14 Croatia – Marko Bosnjak – Poison Cake
15 Cyprus – Theo Evan – Shh

Review & Scores

My Top 10

01 Netherlands – Claude – C’est la vie (8)

Such a classy and catchy song. Delightful voice for a male. Interesting staging with the three violinists considering violins are barely heard in the song. Super finish with blossoms filling the screens and a mirror reflecting the moves of a young Claude with the actual Claude on stage.

02 Albania – Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm (8)

The truncated format holds this song back from being stellar. Still a great ethnic vibe, superb vocals, and excellent staging if you know the song’s message.

03 Poland – Justyna Steczkowska – Gaja (7)

Most notable for long notes! Particularly while Justyna is dancing and spinning. Strong finale elevates it above almost all of the rest.

04 Estonia – Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato (7)

The fake stage invader added interest to a song that has induced some fatigue. Do I need another espresso?

05 Azerbaijan – Mamagama – Run With U (6)

Still trying to diagnose it. Expected a science fiction theme like the official music video instead of a club setting. Not a great starting impression with a close up shot of the lead singer who is not exactly Mr Photogenic. The song was still enjoyable and the falsetto vocals were solid.

06 Slovenia – Klemen – How Much Time Do We Have Left (6)

An emotional message and excellent lighting made this cliche ballad at least interesting to watch and enjoy. Is this the first time we heard “diplomas” in lyrics at Eurovision?

07 Norway – Kyle Alessandro – Lighter (6)

Solid song and dance number. The latter part of the chorus is the best part.

08 Iceland – Vaeb – Roa (6)

Really struggling to accept that any of these from this point should be in the grand final. Anyway, Iceland were well choreographed and colourful. The song doesn’t quite have the vibes.

09 Ukraine – Ziferblat – Bird of Pray (6)

A colourful and spry performance. I appreciated the pink and green colours, and I always liked the retro feel of this song.

10 San Marino – Gabry Ponte – Tutta l’Italia (6)

San Marino seems to be the extravagant Italy. It probably has small country syndrome and often tries too hard. Of the high energy dance entries, this offered something interesting with a strong hook and engaging feel to the melody, and the background graphics were good.

The Rest

Sweden (5) essentially reprised their Melodifestivalen performance (the main difference was the requirement to lose one dancer) and they performed well enough. I’ve just never been fond of the song and I’m almost bored of it now. Good background music from Portugal (4). Unfortunately, not enough happens for a Eurovision entry. Probably knowing the translation would help get more from it. It qualified by simply being different. Belgium (5) was well staged with the Sebastian clones, good vocals, and obviously, due to it a techno song, excellent lighting. The song simply didn’t do enough for me and was too repetitive. Croatia (4) staged their song well. The song, itself, simply lacks interest. Innovative use of prop from Cyprus (5). Otherwise a little lacklustre, and it was obvious we’d seen much better in this semi final before this final performance.

This semi final averaged just 5.9, which is quite low. Very rarely do I see anything below 6, while around 6.4 is standard and nudging 7 is an excellent show. The only change from my preview is Ukraine and San Marino into my top 10 with Sweden and Cyprus out. From the official qualifiers, I preferred Slovenia and Azerbaijan instead of Sweden and Portugal. In terms of actual predictions, I missed Portgual and San Marino.

Automatic Grand Finalists

Spain (Melody – Esa Diva), Italy (Lucio Corsi – Volevo Essere Un Duro) and Switzerland (Zoë Më – Voyage) all performed during the show and all were quite impressive. They would be in my top 5 overall. I hope Italy dumps the subtitles (the song is about bullying) for the grand final because they were distracting. Despite a major camera freeze, Switzerland were impressive and were best of the three.

Onto the second semi final, which promises to be much better. Where, in my preview, I struggled to even form a top 10 for the first semi final, I had to make a cut for the second one.

Yes, props to the hosts for the excellent Made in Switzerland interval act, which included Sweden’s true Queen of Eurovision, Petra Mede (sorry, Loreen). It will be one that will be long remembered.

Basel 2025: Full Preview, Betting Odds & Predictions

Basel 2025: My Top 37 – All Songs Reviewed