The 2024 escbetting Awards

Hmm, I promised this before the end of May so Silia Kapsis is probably going to call me out again. There's not a big word count here and I'm far less busy than during the weeks leading up to the contest but my motivation really does plummet to get the bare minimum of content out. Anyway, our 4th annual escbetting awards are finally here.

Best National Final Choice

Nominees: Ireland, Portugal, Czechia, Sweden

This category is for the countries whose result would likely have been much worse otherwise *and* where the winner wasn't an obvious choice which is why you won't see a few of the top entries featured.

Christ filling the nominations was a task here, so much so that we have an non qualifying entry from Czechia amongst the ranks. I don't really remember much from escz but Aiko came relatively close in the end, gave a good showing and spent the season as a bit of a fan and Eurojury favourite. Not a rousing success but a fair showing they can be content with perhaps. Marcus and Martinus are also falling dangerously into the ‘obvious’ side for Sweden and a 9th place finish might not have been entirely insurmountable to the likes of Scarlet or Jacqline at a push. Iolanda was also a pretty clear choice for Portugal so the runaway winner is Ireland who, despite my prediction, did take a risk which paid off hugely for them - nothing else was qualifying.

Winner: Ireland

Worst National Final Choice

Nominees: Iceland, Moldova, Malta, Finland More clearly, this is for any country who likely left something significantly better on the table. I’m loave to put in Finland here but in terms of results Sara Siipola would likely have qualified and finished higher thanks to a jury push - I would guess around 10-13th fwiw. Malta were perhaps hard done by (again) with Sarah and delivered a good package overall but Matt Blkxkxkxs's ‘Banana’ was the alternative and whilst the televote should be given some credit, that likely would have come closer. Moldova made a similar mistake in weighting their national final towards the juries leaving the catchy ‘Anti-Princess’ on the table. Given their ability of staging with staging fun songs and past successes in this area that probably would have made it in to the final. Lastly, Iceland are the obvious option to turn to having gone from 5s to 200s after making their choice but they did kind of know what they were doing here. I doubt many Hera voters genuinely believed her to have the most potential on the scoreboard so this poses a question on how to judge this category if Iceland were well aware what they were turning down and why. It’s a judgement I don’t want to make right now so will give our first shared award.

“Winners”: Moldova and Iceland

Most Likely To Return

Nominees: Silia Kapsis (Cyprus), Nutsa Buzaladze (Georgia), Joost Klein (The Netherlands), Marcus and Martinus (Sweden)

Georgia feature again after last year’s nomination for Iru and again probably left something on the table with Nutsa one of the strongest performers of the year. Without being the biggest music scene and in seemingly trying harder these last years they may revisit the Buzaladze well at some point. Joost Klein potentially has an open invite pending how the next few months and narrative develops but desire is a question- does he stay away or return with a self aware ‘Onafgemaakte Zaken’ entry? Marcus and Martinus have many years on their side as well as the chance to jump ship back to their native Norway at some point but this is even more the case for Silia Kapsis who ticks every possible box. One of my favourite pieces of trivia for the year is that Marina of Greece could easily and entirely uncontroversially be Silia’s mother despite both looking in their mid 20s. Silia has an easy 20 editions ahead of her to be considered for and could realistically pop up for Cyprus, Australia and Greece so is the obvious choice here.

Winner: Silia Kapsis

Best Staging

Nominees: Switzerland, Ukraine, Croatia, Ireland

The winning country is always likely to feature here and Switzerland do just that. In hindsight, perhaps such a jury score was to be anticipated as their liking of interaction with a serious/high tech prop is something to lookout for in future years. Nemo’s platform and vocal control whilst using it earned the win. Ukraine once again showed their credentials in elevating a song (after two leaner years from that angle) whilst Croatia brought one of the best credible arena stagings of all time- simple on the surface but the clarity and slickness was exceptional. Ireland would have been a surprise nominee too this time last year but brought one of the most cinematic performances and squeezed every last drop of potential from ‘Doomsday Blue’. Switzerland however probably have to take this given how important I believe Nemo’s disc turned out to be- the reprise sure shortchanged us…

Winner: Switzerland

Worst Staging

Nominees: Poland, Azerbaijan, Albania, Belgium

Belgium pick up the first of a few negative awards but there was more of a charisma issue here rather than the more technical aspects/concepts. Similar applies to Azerbaijan who were visually and artistically sound but fall on the competetive requirements. Poland and Albania stand out as the two notable failures from a pretty solid year and the only two in real contention for me. Maybe I'm still blinded on Poland a little (despite really not liking ‘The Tower’ is studio) but it’s attempt at character saves it from last with ‘Titan the most boring staging of the year.

“Winner”: Albania

Best Price of The Year

Nominees: Israel 50+, Ireland 75+, Switzerland (various), Ukraine 10+

Israel feature for the second year in a row having been far too high since participation was confirmed. Ultimately however in failing to even land a place however they are trade value only which is also the case for Ireland. Our winner will almost always get a nomination and the question is moreso on the ‘when’ - 7s on the day of the final? 10s after the first lives and establishing itself as a fan frontrunner? 40s after release (or pre song even given their recent trajectory). Ukraine is the other country in the discussion for their e/w and overall points tally suggesting in another world they could have gone the distance.

Winner: Switzerland

Worst Price of The Year

Nominees: Iceland 5s, Italy 6s/7s, Belgium 13, Austria 40s

We return to the Bashar Murad situation with Iceland which it goes without saying ended up being money down the drain. I think the eventual winning score (and 2nd) would have been out of his reach but this would have undoubtably remained short all year and probably finished strongly too. That he only narrowly lost out also earns some points back. Italy were the season long favourite to eventually fail to place and these are always going to be an easy pick here despite the strong indicators as are Belgium who were keeping good pace at an early stage before we got to the preparties. Austria were always a distance out but were consistently far too short in every market this year and are something I want to pick out. Overall, this is tight between Bashar and Angelina but I will go with Italy in having the actual hindsight on this and the length of time for which it was fancied.

“Winner": Italy

Over-Performance of The Year

Nominees: Ireland, Portugal, Latvia, Germany

Reserved for the act who exceeded expectations the most at one time or another, Ireland get the ball started again who we have touched on a few times and for whom 6th makes them a strong shout again. Portugal in squeezing into the top 10 was something rarely predicted and acheived almost what was tipped for Dons early in the season although Latvia’s eventual qualification and midtable spot still gets him a mention. Germany’s 12th place from 3rd in the running order completes the nominees even if this wasn’t without precedent following Eurojury and rehearsals. This is very tight between Ireland and Latvia but I will spread the love and give this to Dons for his qualification upset whereas the market had come around to Bambie by the semi finals.

Winner: Latvia

False Hype of The Year

Nominees: The UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, Greece

The ease at which we get carried away every year always presents many options. Belgium as touched on had perhaps the biggest fall from early expectations but in fairness to them, I don’t recall much being self driven. Greece’s staging didn’t quite live up to expectations and talk of Athens being ready to host optimistic but 11th is still a good finish. Joost indeed managed to bring us something never seen before but the staging fell below what was promised regardless. There is no other winner here however than one of the early favourites Olly Alexander who finished with 0 from the televote after the BBC’s big game talk in January.

“Winner”: The UK

Personal Favourite

Nominees: Norway, Croatia, Finland, Ukraine

Norway was a favourite throughout most of the season but has faded a little in my rankings with a combination of cheering on the last place and a more winter vibe maybe the reason. Fellow Nordic Finland brought the silliest entry of the year but the gimmick has never grown old on me. The fact this eliminated an earnest and heartfelt fan favourite in UMK also appeals to the petty side of my character. Croatia and Ukraine were pretty consistent personal favourites throughout the season. I think coming out the end of this season, ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’ just edges it for me and is something I’ll come back to more. For anyone interested, from those not have made it to ESC proper San Remo dominates with ‘Sinceramente’, ‘I’ lp Me, Tu P'Te’ and ‘Diamanti Grezzi leading with Melovin's ‘Dreamer’ filling out the top 4.

“Winner”: Croatia