It’s the grand final of SongHunt 2019! The poll is up and running, and you can vote for your favourite once every 24 hours here. But wait a moment: We’d really like to introduce you to our finalists in a little more detail, since they’ve worked so hard to get this far. Why not read on and explore what are officially the twelve most robbed songs of the national final season?

(The poll can be found at the bottom of the post too, so you can vote there when you’re done!)

Aly Ryan – Wear Your Love (Germany)
Not the first or the last performer to play around with lighting, Aly Ryan’s “Wear Your Love” ended up being perhaps a little bit too static to convince the various voters who were responsible for deciding Germany’s entry for ESC 2019. Our SongHunt voters agree that the underlying song is a cracker, though, and she’s stormed through the rounds to reach our grand final.

Anna Bergendahl – Ashes To Ashes (Sweden)
Some people take part in Melodifestivalen every year, while others need some time to lick their wounds. Nine years after becoming Sweden’s only non-qualifier in the ESC semi-final era, Anna Bergendahl made a return that, if not triumphant, was at least narratively satisfying. She may have had to sneak into the MF final through the back door, but she’s had no trouble reaching the SongHunt final, trading near the top of the poll every time so far.

Arja Saijonmaa – Mina fyra årstider (Sweden)
Another returnee in Sweden, and oh, how our chat’s collective heart melted at the sight of the legendary Arja charming her way through this old-fashioned yet thoroughly lovable song. There was no improbable qualification in Melodifestivalen – this year’s nostalgia vote would ultimately be reserved for Arvingarna – but we hope a place in our SongHunt final serves as some kind of compensation.

Artemisa Mithi & Febi Shkurti – Dua te besoj (Albania)
Artemisa and Febi received an excellent score in our chat but were ultimately squeezed out of the qualification spots in Heat 1 of SongHunt. It was a tough one: no fewer than three of this year’s other finalists also originated there. No surprise, then, that the second-chance wildcard “Dua te besoj” received in Heat 8 opened the door for a better result, and the duo has shown no signs of stopping since. Hey oh, let’s go!

Battista Acquaviva – Passiò (France)
The woman. The legend. Was there a more WTF moment this national final season than when Battista and her dancers took to the stage and delivered this visual and vocal… interpretation of “Passiò”? Sometimes two wrongs do make a right – but what about a three-minute string of wrongs? And what about when they’re accompanied by what is, after all, a pretty good song? The answer: humiliation on the scoreboard in France, and a place in the SongHunt final.

Chimène Badi – Là-haut (France)
Returning to the limelight a few years after her commercial peak, Chimène Badi was never really seen as being in the running to win the French final, but she will probably have been perfectly satisfied with third place with “Là-haut” – a solid piece of mature pop delivered by someone who clearly knows exactly what she’s doing. Which makes a refreshing change sometimes.

Electric Fields – 2000 And Whatever (Australia)
The very first national final down under may have resulted in the most Eurovision winner imaginable, but finishing not far behind Kate Miller-Heidke were the Aboriginal Australian electronic duo Electric Fields. It’s hard to know exactly how “2000 And Whatever” would have translated to the European stage, but in terms of both style and identity, it’s a unique addition to our SongHunt final line-up.

Hanna Ferm & LIAMOO – Hold You (Sweden)
Joint-second in Melodifestivalen (well, third on a tiebreak) is a pretty excellent result in one of Europe’s pop capitals, but this year’s Swedish final was such a walkover for John Lundvik that Hanna and Liam never really felt like they were in serious contention for the ticket to Tel Aviv. Still, their “Hold You” is one of the more genuinely contemporary songs to trouble the top end of the MF scoreboard, refreshingly free of schlager clichés – and our SongHunt voters evidently agree.

Kerrie-Anne – Sweet Lies (United Kingdom)
It’s rare for a British finalist to get this deep into the SongHunt game, although Holly Brewer managed a grand final appearance in 2017. This time it’s the turn of Kerrie-Anne, whose unashamedly retro disco banger would have brought some energy to the Tel Aviv stage – but instead she has to make do with a shot at SongHunt glory.

Lidija Bačić – Tek je počelo (Croatia)
An immediate chat favourite due to the live whistling at the side of the stage and the spectacular lack of clothes being worn on it, Lidija Bačić may not have come anywhere near winning the legendary Dora trophy, but our SongHunt voters are only too happy to have put her in the running for our crown.

Lorena Bućan – Tower Of Babylon (Croatia)
BA-BY-LON-HEY! This is what we wanted from the long-awaited return of Dora – a glorious throwback to years (decades?) past from the Huljić/Huljić camp, with a pseudo-ethno beat and more words wedged into the verses than should be permitted under EU law. The Croatian runner-up duly gets a second chance in the SongHunt final.

Mørland – En livredd mann (Norway)
After four years away, Kjetil Mørland returned to the Eurovision arena with this dark and brooding native-language number. The Norwegian public weren’t overly enthusiastic – “En livredd mann” didn’t make it to the MGP superfinal – but it received the highest chat score of all the songs remaining in the competition, and the SongHunt voters have come out in force every round so far to deliver the song to our grand final.

And now you’ve met our twelve candidates, it’s time to decide! Remember, you can come back and vote for your favourite again after 24 hours have passed since your last vote. Let’s find a SongHunt champion!

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