Eurovision 2024: Divisive, shocking, and still oddly satisfying

Eurovision must be the best-marketed event in the world, right? The event is completely over the top with an unusual structure and lots of pop songs with other genres sprinkled in. The entire tournament is ridiculously extravagant, far too colorful, and many times exactly the kind of entertainment needed in a world of dull grays.

If you are new to how Eurovision works, there is voting for songs and an eventual winner but the winner is awarded to the musical artist's country and not specifically to the artist. In other words, if you are looking for how many times ABBA won Eurovision, you might need to see how many times Sweden has won instead.

In 2024, Croatia's - and no, I am not making this name up - Baby Lasagna and his song "Rim Tim Tagi Dim" was more heavily favored by the general public but the jurors preferred Switzerland's Nemo and their song, "The Code." The jury vote comes in first for the finals voting and Nemo had a massive lead but the vote got much closer once the viewer vote was included. Still, in the end, Nemo defeated Baby Lasagna.

Eurovision does not fail to entertain in 2024

To be fair, Baby Lasagna's (the performance name for Marko Purisic) track is pretty catchy. A rock plus techno tune about economic migration? Who couldn't identify with that, am I right?

Nemo was worthy as well, The nonbinary artist has been releasing music in Switzerland for seven years and they are technically sound. The song might not be as catchy, but it's still strong.

For metal fans, Ireland's Bambie Thug (aren't these names great?) and their track "Doomsday Blue" will recall fond memories of King Woman. There is more consistently straightforward aggression, but it's a thrill. The song did not win, of course, but metal fans might have wished it did. Bambie Thug also skipped rehearsal when an Israeli commentator made some comments the Irish musical artist did not care for.

That was a bit of a theme with the 2024 Eurovision competition. The issues in Gaza cast a pall over the event. Norway's spokesperson withdrew from the event on the last day but ended their statement with "Free Palestine." France's contestant stopped mid-performance in their final dress rehearsal to try to urge people to come together. Like almost every year, Eurovision was memorable for many different reasons.

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