Here are the notes I've made through the whole show. Let's see if I have my finger on the 2023 Eurovision pulse.
01 Austria - foot tapping, a bit catchy, her in the shiny black plastic outfit must have been boiling! Not a winner though.
02 Portugal - very red! (clothing, lighting) Very earnest Eurovison. er... I don't think the "2nd's never won" will change this time.
03 Switzerland - Initial lyrics made me thing er... Rolf Harris's "Two little Boys"?? After the song got started then, well, it's a very earnest lyric. Good performance too, no gimmicks required. Can't say it got me bopping around the room though.
04 Poland - catchy. Too much dancer, not enough singer. It's one of those summer Euro hits.
05 Serbia - ooh, I like the music for this one (at the start, anyway) And by the end it was still the music I liked, quite a lot actually. Oh, sorry, was there a singer? I didn't really notice him. I am definitely going to get this track and play again. LOUD.
06 France - Very French. Which is a Good Thing in my book. The tall dress thing is just copying Grace Jones though. I really like the tune and the singing. Damn, I'd give this douze points. Can't see her winning though. Another track I will definitely listen to again.
07 Cyprus - One of those singers and songs that really aren't my cup of tea. Therefore Cyprus will almost certainly come in the top five. Or three.
08 Spain - crikey! What a voice! Very Spanish. Won't win, but it's damn good. Not sure about her shoes. Probably illegal under some country's Health and Safety legislation.
09 Sweden - relies too much on special effects. I don't care for her voice either. Even at the end of the song I was still waiting for the tune to turn up. Lord knows how Norton said that she is the one to beat. Maybe I'm out of touch...
10 Albania - oh, I like her voice. Good music, good beat. Not singing in English. Not a western rock/pop/techno beat either. Sadly it won't come anywhere but performances like this are what I really love Eurovision for.
11 Italy - very Italian. Backing circus act just distracts from the song. I'm sure the song is great but it doesn't exactly have my foot tapping. In fact I feel like asking for the menu, wine list and what the specials are. "Try the veal, its the best in the city".
12 Estonia - The start reminds me of Lily Allen's "Somewhere only we know", which is no bad thing. Fabulous voice. Could do very well. Should do very well.
13 Finland - lots of hype before the performance. For good reason. Instant foot tapping! It's Rammstein! Very, very likely to win.
14 Czechia - I confess to loving traditional Eastern European singing so this started great for me. Then went a bit... English. But then went ethnic again. It's actually really good. to listen to. Less good to watch. Won't win, but I'd love to listen to it again. But jesus christ, how long is their hair?!?!
15 Australia - starts off very acceptably. Very catchy. A bit of a Gary Numan and Cars vibe. Maybe that's why they have a car on stage. Yes, very catchy. It's a top five. All they need to do is move their county to SOMEWHERE NEAR TO EUROPE.
16 Belgium - had to go downstairs to get a refill so I missed the start. As I heaved my broken body back upstairs I could hear a Damn Fine Pop Song being performed. What??? This isn't what Belgian Eurovision entries are supposed to be! This is fucking brilliant. First or second.
17 Armenia - Sounds lovely. Song doesn't sound at all Armenian, really. I really like this. Oh, and then it changed abruptly into something quite different. And then back again. She has a lovely voice. Definitely one to listen to again. And again.
18 Moldova - Ah, at last. Back to the Eurovision madness. By a remarkable co-incidence I'm thinking of having the same hairstyle as one of the backing singers. Actually the music & singing is really quite good. But won't even get into the top half sadly.
19 Ukraine - a LOT to live up to. Top five irrespective of how good/bad the song is. Understandable really. Oh dear, the song's a bit crap so far. Really good visuals though.
20 Norway - Initial impression yeah. Top drawer. Well, for someone like me who quite likes rather odd music. I want to hear it again!! It won't finish in the top half though.
21 Germany - Rammstein again. I quite like Rammstein. Blood and glitter, ridiculous title. Especially when sung in a Rammstein-esque manner. No, really guys it just sounds silly. A travesty if this gets in the top ten.
22 Lithuania - good. Really quite good, but just not good enough. She CAN sing though. Won't make the top half.
23 Israel - very hyped in advance. One of the few songs I watched from the semi-finals. I wasn't terribly impressed then. Let's see if it hits the spot tonight. Nope. It's the sort of thing I'd expect to watch on a cruise ship or at Butlins. Depressingly, it'll be top ten.
24 Slovenia - there should be bonus points for entrants who sing in their native language and have absolutely no gimmicks. Slovenia would at least be guaranteed some points that way.
25 Croatia - UTTER MADNESS. I LOVE IT. (I have to confess this is also one I watched from the semi finals. I needed a lie down afterwards) What can I say. It'll be in the top half. I fear for the future of humanity if it wins.
26 United Kingdom - I've heard this a few times (or bits of it anyway) and it's catchy. High hopes. But, oh, she doesn't sing it as well as I'd hoped. No, we're definitely not winning this year.