The Eurovision Song Contest was held in Basel on Saturday night, with 26 countries competing for the coveted glass microphone trophy.

The competition is less predictable than in recent years, when Lorraine (Sweden, 2023) and Kalush Orchestra (Ukraine, 2022) were appointed to win.

Currently, the dealer has installed Sweden on the table of the 69th competition, their Bonkers Sauna sonnet Bara Bada Bastu.

But here's the thing: novel numbers never won. Voters usually prefer songs about victory over adversity, and huge pop songs.

Ideally, they want a great pop song about Victories beat adversity and there are a lot scattered in tonight’s running orders.

We spoke with six contestants to find out what made their Eurovision entries stand out.

• Chances to win: 39%
• Language: Swedish
• Type: Epadunk
• Spotify stream: 43.9 million

Kaj is the first Finland bill to represent Sweden on the Eurovision Network, which comes from the coastal town of Vörå, where the Swedes remain the main language.

The comedy troupe they met at school has performed together for more than 15 years and is the surprise champion of Sweden's Melodifestivalen, with the public choosing the country's Eurovision Network to enter earlier this year.

Their song Bara Bada Bastu is a coordinated tribute to the sauna culture (Finland has over 3 million saunas, one for every two).

"It's really a natural thing," said Kevin Holmström. "We really like saunas. It's common."

The song is the first Swedish entry since 2012, which promotes the barrier virtues of practice. That's why Finland has been rated as the happiest country in the world, and I wonder why?

"This is the case with chicken and eggs," Jakob Norrgård laughed. "I don't know which was happiness or sauna in the beginning, but the sauna will definitely lower your pulse."

The trio brought the mock sauna to the Eurovision stage this year and was equipped with dancers with birch branches, hot coals and light towels. In the lyrics, they ask, “How long can you last?”.

"Oh, we can do it the last night of the whole night," Jackb confirmed. “A sauna party that lasts for hours.”

“I like to do this to a large extent,” Axel Oman said. “Two to three hours, in and out, drink something, and even snack on sausages outside and go back – just to calm it down and have a long meeting.”

What does Finland think about the feeling of the trio representing its neighbors and Eurovision competitors?

Jackb smiled and said, "The Finns like to bargain, so that's great."

"Sweden can pay for everything, but it's also a victory for Finland."

• Chances to win: 22%
• Language: English
• Type: Pop Music
• Spotify stream: 6m

Austria is the best opening couplet of the year: "I am a sea of ​​love/you are afraid of water.“

"It's about my personal experience in unfamiliar love," said singer Johannes Pietsch. "It feels like I'm walking a street."

The 24-year-old started with his daily work at the Vienna Opera House, on the European TV network, where he played roles in Magic Flute and Von der Liebe Tod.

"There is a sell-out show in the opera that can accommodate 1,600 people, so it's nothing compared to the European TV audience," he said.

Pietsch's song "Wasted Love" is a turbulent ballad that makes his anti-tenant spectacularly use EDM twists.

On stage, he performed on a shaky sailboat, the ocean threatened to consume him, clutching his mast tightly. It was one of the most fascinating performances of the night and it required a lot of preparation.

“That’s my opera singer, I practice every day,” he said. “I had to do a sound warm-up to keep it active, and before I got on stage, I always did ten push-ups and a minute of boarding.”

It has been a dream to reach the European TV final since he watched Conchita Wurst win Austria in 2014. Can he replicate this success in Switzerland?

"It's great for Austria. I'd love to do it. I call my mother Congitta, so I want to make her proud."

• Chances to win: 8%
• Language: French
• Type: Torch Song
• Spotify stream: 69m

“I’m surrounded by dust storms, beach tornadoes, and I’ll wear a custom Rabanne dress.”

French singer Louane describes her simple but amazing performance of Maman.

The sand is real (how she avoids sucking it, I will never know), but it has a purpose: The song is inspired by the mother's death from cancer, and it's about the passage of time.

"It's a song, saying, even through sadness and deep pain, you finally feel good."

Technically, Maman is a sequel to the 2015 song of the same name, written in the depths of Louane's despair. “I lost my taste for entertainment/I can't find meaning“She sings.

The 2025 version includes several callbacks to the first song. For example, the original work with lyrics opens:”Lovers from bed to bed", but updates found her singing."No more lovers, no more beds. ”

Having a child of your own helps Louane lift the veil of sadness.

In this song, she talks about how to hold her daughter's hand to recall memories of the times her mom did-only this time, the pain of remembering disappeared.

In Maman's close bar, we briefly hear her daughter's voice.

"She won't be in Basel," Luanna said. "She will watch it on TV because she only has five."

"But she's very proud. She kept telling me, 'Maman, you have to bring the trophy home.

"She's just cute."

• Chances to win: 6%
• Languages: French and English
• Type: Song
• Spotify stream: 172m

The Netherlands initially asked last year's contestant Joost Klein to be banned from the final after being accused of having a dispute with the camera operator, a chance to return in 2025.

Although he had written a song for the competition, he refused, saying his disqualification was still "stinging".

Instead, the honor was dedicated to 21-year-old Claude Kiambe, who moved to the Netherlands from the Democratic Republic of the Congo when he was nine.

"It's not always safe in Congo," he said. "I can't afford to go to school...I love school."

His mom eventually managed to smuggle his family into the country, and for her, his Eurovision songs were dedicated.

Titled C'est La Vie, a joyful fusion of Afropop and French Chanson, repeating her advice to Claude and his siblings at the Alkmaar’s sheltered centre.

"She once told me, 'c'est la vie. Life is beautiful, even if it's hard sometimes."

“So when I heard about Eurovision, I thought, ‘Wait, if I go there, I want to bring this information to the world.”

"I have a lot of respect for her. She has been fighting all her life and we are still here."

Claude competed with a small advantage as he became famous in Europe for his 2022 hot Ladada. But he had to pick out the new skill of Eurovision: choreography.

“I used to do only one dance move, but when I wrote this song, I thought, ‘It’s time to get me out of my comfort zone and dance around.”

He believes that it took three days to learn choreography. "We started at 11 and ended at nine. I really want to know that I can do this in my dreams."

• Chances to win: 4%
• Language: Finnish, German
• Type: Europe
• Spotify Stream: 11.8 million

Ask Erika Vikman to describe her songs, but she doesn't splurge.

“It’s about orgasm.”

Filled with a thrilling technical rhythm, it seems to be the Welsh male voice choir, which can be part of the folk customs of European TV networks, regardless of the final.

Vikman was once known as the Queen of Finland tango dance, but gave up on pop music, “because I can’t be very crazy about this kind of music.”

Inspired by artists like Madonna, Cher and Lady Gaga, she is one of the few artists to take the stage without a dancer.

"Why? Because I'm very selfish!" she smiled. "I want to pay attention."

“No, it’s because when I go on stage, I feel like a rock star, and when I feel like a rock star, I really don’t need a dancer because it has my power and myself.”

She certainly owns the stage – ending her song on a huge golden microphone, and when she hangs in the sky, she will burst into flames.

However, Hawkeye viewers may notice that her outfit is a little less than the ones from the Finnish selection show Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu.

"They said if we don't downplay something, it won't go past and one of the suggestions is my outfit," she said.

"So I thought, 'Well, if that's the price to pay, we covered my ass'."

That doesn't mean she's happy about it.

“This song is about having your sex act and then someone comes to control me and says, ‘You’re going to ruin every kid who watches this show’. It’s a double standard.”

Without review or not, Wickman won a huge shortening chance after his outstanding performance in the semifinals.

"I have a feeling about it," she smiled. "I can be a dark horse."

• Chances to win: 1%
• Language: English
• Genre: Musical
• Spotify stream: 31m

After Thursday's semifinals, the UK bill remembers Monday, which raised the odds...well.

Previously expected to be ranked 17th, they are now shot dead in 11th.

But regardless of the outcome, the three - the first women's team to represent Britain since 1999 are determined to have fun.

"It's all surreal, beyond what we could have imagined," said singer Lauren Byrne.

"It sounds cheesy, but it's really everything we want," said her band member Charlotte Steele. "Who can stand up and perform their music with two best friends? It's spiritual."

"Listen," Lauren added. “If we do really well, we will continue to come back until we win.”

In their favor, remember that Monday's performance was weird and fun, they were in the context of the musical theatre. Former British winner Bucks nodded, their live harmony was so sophisticated.

“They have a lot of experience,” said Ace Bowerman, creative director of Dua Lipa and Blackpink who designed their own show.

"Their performance continues to evolve and attracts audiences. Ultimately, the energy we want to create is what people want to be part of this band."

Maybe fans underestimated Monday's chances, as the music performed by West End was untested on the European TV network - but the UK's track record was not good.

We must wait and see what is going on.