This has been a very different year thanks to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, however we have had plenty of Eurovision related music to enjoy. Here at Eurovision Ireland and our friends from the around the Eurovision Community, we have chosen just five tracks that have summed up our year – coming from the Eurovision National Finals, the cancelled 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light, Eurovision: The Story Of Fire Saga, the Junior Song Contest 2020 and the Turkvision Song Contest 2020.

Next up is James Scanlan, with tracks selected from Moldova, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom.

“Die For You”

Back at the beginning of this year, (when there was still a glimmer of normality in 2020), I took my first trip to Moldova to cover Finala Națională for the website. Moldova put on a spectacular show as they always do, and Catarina’s Mexican-inspired “Die For You” stood out among many memorable performances. As well as becoming the soundtrack of a memorable trip to Chișinău, this Euro-bop song always helps to cheer me up and makes me want to dance!

“Solovey”

Anyone who knows me knows that when it comes to Eurovision I like songs with a strong ethnic vibe, sung in a native language and also something a little different – and my goodness, Solovey ticked all of these boxes!! I was looking forward to seeing it on stage in Rotterdam, especially after the staging at Vidbir was so simple and striking. Absolutely loved it, my winner for 2020 and am delighted Go_A will be returning for 2021! Many of you also loved my vyshyvanka that I wore for #ReVu2, which was a nice memory for this year!

“Forever”

This song said potential winner for me from the moment I first heard it. Karakat has an incredible voice for such a young performer, the lyrics and story of the song are heart-breaking, that atmospheric and haunting music video… and as for that staging at the contest itself… oh wow… simply sublime! I think the pain she sings about will strike a chord with so many people, especially after this year and we will all certainly remember 2020 forever. Being able to turn something that hurt so much into something so beautiful is very powerful.

“Ateş Gibi”

This is where I hold my hands up and say I’ve never watched a full Turkvision, but I feel like I picked a good year to start with 2020! So many brilliant songs, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Yakutia… Bosnia and Herzegovina made me very emotional, but I’ve chosen Moldova (again!) for this list as it was my favourite – I love the sizzling Turkic music and beat, and think Pelageya’s performance was one of the strongest of the competition – very happy she finished in the Top 10!

“Love Shine A Light (Instrumental)”

The moment Europe Shine A Light started and we saw the empty and eerily silent streets around Europe, the enormity of everything happening this year hit home that bit more. As someone who loves to travel and spends a lot of time in Europe, 2020 has been a very unusual year. So seeing all these landmarks around the continent, many of which I’ve stood in front of, light up to an instrumental of one of the most anthemic Eurovision entries ever was a deeply moving moment. That’s why I saved it for last on this list!

Let us know what you think about our chosen 2020 Tracks – either in the comments below or on our FACEBOOK and TWITTER pages.

Author: Richard Taylor

Source: Eurovision Ireland