The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 officially roared to life on May 13 with the First Semi-Final live from Basel’s St. Jakobshalle, and after a night packed with drama, glitter, and genre-defying performances, ten acts have officially secured their place in Saturday’s Grand Final.
The show was hosted by Swiss presenters Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer, and featured 15 countries battling it out for ten golden tickets. The results, decided entirely by public televote across Europe (and beyond), produced a compelling mix of styles—from cinematic folk to high-gloss pop to the flat-out bizarre.
Among the qualifiers, Norway’s Kyle Alessandro opened strong with “Lighter”, a pop anthem that balanced vocal sincerity with slick staging. Albania followed with Shkodra Elektronike, whose fiery “Zjerm” lit up the stage with Balkan-electronic fusion. Sweden’s KAJ delivered “Bara Bada Bastu”, a polished, playful entry with traditional Eurovision flair.
Iceland’s VÆB brought haunting serenity with “RÓA”, while the Netherlands’ Claude kept things grounded with the breezy, bittersweet “C’est La Vie”. Poland’s Justyna Steczkowska turned heads with the operatic, dramatic “GAJA”, a masterclass in performance art-meets-power ballad.
The party ramped up as San Marino’s Gabry Ponte offered a high-energy EDM entry with “Tutta L’Italia”. Estonia’s Tommy Cash delivered the evening’s most surreal moment with the absurdist, oddly catchy “Espresso Macchiato”. Portugal’s NAPA impressed with “Deslocado”, a moody, minimalist number, and Ukraine closed the list with Ziferblat’s “Bird of Pray”, a haunting, poetic fusion of folk and electronic influences.
The 10 Qualifiers (in order of announcement):
- 🇳🇴 Norway | Kyle Alessandro – Lighter
- 🇦🇱 Albania | Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm
- 🇸🇪 Sweden | KAJ – Bara Bada Bastu
- 🇮🇸 Iceland | VÆB – RÓA
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands | Claude – C’est La Vie
- 🇵🇱 Poland | Justyna Steczkowska – GAJA
- 🇸🇲 San Marino | Gabry Ponte – Tutta L’Italia
- 🇪🇪 Estonia | Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato
- 🇵🇹 Portugal | NAPA – Deslocado
- 🇺🇦 Ukraine | Ziferblat – Bird of Pray
These artists now join the automatic finalists and await Thursday’s Second Semi-Final to find out who else will make it to the Grand Final stage. Eurovision is back—and it’s already delivering.
