All 40 songs for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest have arrived. With less than two months until the first semi-finals begin, fans can preview all of this year’s entries before they’re eventually performed in Turin, Italy.
For those who need a refresher, the Eurovision Song Contest is a yearly musical event where countries in Europe and Australia compete for the best pop song. The winning country also gets the opportunity to host next year’s contest. The contest first came into being in 1956 in an effort to help unite European countries after the events of World War II. It’s been running annually for more than 60 years, except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy won last year’s song contest in The Netherlands with the song “Zitti e Buoni” by Måneskin.
This year, 40 countries will be taking part in the contest, as Russia has been suspended from competing due to its invasion of Ukraine. Despite the ongoing conflict, Ukraine has reassured the world that it will still be competing in this year’s contest.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 most-viewed music videos ahead of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.
10. “Die Together” – Amanda Tenfjord (Greece) [646k views]
“Die Together” by Amanda Tenfjord is an atmospheric ballad about a dying relationship that questions how far a person would go to save it, making it resonate with a great many listeners. The music video illustrates further illustrates that question, encouraging viewers to lean into the visual aspect of the performance. What’s with music videos being short films lately, you ask? Because it’s dramatic and helps emphasize the song on an emotional level, which is why the “Die Together” music video currently has over half a million views.
9. “Halo” – LUM!X feat. Pia Maria (Austria) [879k views]
The music video for “Halo” is an open invitation to dance. Just the sight of seeing people enjoying themselves in wacky costumes screams “Eurovision party!” The audience better be dancing when this song is performed live on stage, something we imagine will happen since the music video is closing in on a million views.
8. “Give That Wolf a Banana” – Subwoolfer (Norway) [938k views]
Subwoolfer became an instant fan favorite in Norway’s national selection, with a few fans theorizing that it was Ylvis behind the mask. The music video for “Give That Wolf a Banana” tells the backstory of Subwoolfer and how they came to Earth. With quirky lyrics and simple dance moves, many fans are hoping that these space brothers qualify for the Grand Final.
7. “Ela” – Andromache (Cyprus) [1.001 million views]
The music video for “Ela” has brought some romantic vibes to this catchy pop song. Both the song and music video try to offer something timeless, with a cinematic quality you’d usually see in paintings. How will this song and performance be translated on stage? We’ll have to wait until May to find out.
6. “In Corpore Sano” – Konstrakta (Serbia) [1.2 million views]
This music video is wild and has a lot going on in it. What’s interesting is that the song went viral in eastern parts of Europe including Serbia, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia. According to the lyric website Genius, “In Corpore Sano” is among the top 10 most-searched songs on the platform. Will this virality continue in Italy?
5. “Space Man” – Sam Ryder (United Kingdom) [1.2 million views]
Since their abysmal result in last year’s song contest from both the jury and televote, some feared that the United Kingdom wouldn’t be sending an artist to Turin, Italy. But will “Space Man” give the U.K. the morale boost they need to make it through this year’s song contest? According to this year’s Eurovision odds, it seems likely.
4. “Sekret” – Ronela Hajati (Albania) [1.5 million views]
This music video features the revamped version of Ronela’s song “Sekret,” which now features English lyrics alongside Albanian ones. Since the release of the music video, the artist has commented on the video saying “Helicopter is missing,” referencing her live national performance. The song features Baltic influences with a modern twist, creating a powerful love song.
3. “De Diepte” – S10 (The Netherlands) [1.7 million views]
According to the singer, “De Diepte” is a love letter to herself. The music video is cinematic and emotional and S10 has been very vocal about depression and mental health in the past. The music video seems to be resonating with fans just as much as the song is, as it’s nearly at two million views.
2. “Trenulețul” (The Train) – Zdob și Zdub & Advahov Brothers (Moldova) [3.7 million views]
This quirky music video fits well with what the song is about since, according to the band via Facebook, it’s about a train ride between Moldova and Romania. Fun fact: the music video was released at the same time that the Chisinau-Bucharest train was relaunched and the band wanted to help promote regional tourism. With over 3.7 million views at the time of this writing, it seems that the band has done a good job of that.
1. “Brividi” – Mahmood & BLANCO (Italy) [44+ million views]
Ever since the announcement that Mahmood would be returning to Eurovision following his 2019 performance, fans have been excited to see him once again grace the world stage. Both Mahmood and BLANCO collaborated on this very emotional ballad, which showcases both artists’ unique styles.
In an interview with Wiwibloggs, the artists had this to say about “Brividi.”
“Brividi has an important message, that of freedom, which is a universal theme. The desire to express all the love possible, even when there’s the fear of making mistakes and feeling inadequate, unable to convey what you feel.”
Will any of these songs win the Eurovision Song Contest? Maybe. This year is unpredictable, and it’s up to the live performances to see if any of them will qualify for the Grand Final.
The Eurovision Song Contest will be hosted in Turin, Italy on May 10, 2022, and will be broadcast on the official Eurovision YouTube channel and participating global broadcasters.
