Eurovision Song Contest 2024 - My Top 36 (2 years later) (With comments)

It's been two years since the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden came to a close, with more than a little uproar. This controversial edition of the contest came with the added issues regarding the Israeli delegation and how they behaved themselves in the week leading up to - as well as during the contest. Filming people without permission, insulting other artists on live television, selecting entries that have a clear and manipulative political meaning, as well as manipulating the score through government-funded advertising campaigns by telling people all over the world to vote for the maximum number of 20 times for Israel. These are examples of the things the Israeli broadcaster KAN, as well as their delegation have done. Sadly, the EBU has done little to nothing to make this matter open to discussion, and has left the matter in the hands of five broadcasters who made the choice to boycott the competition, until Israel is restricted from competing. My stance on this very matter is final. While I understand the situation that both Israeli and Palestinian citizens face, I cannot forgive the Israeli broadcaster and its delegation for brutally abusing their position, and I refuse to accept the EBU's behavior, backing every act of their misconduct under the argument that "the contest is not political." It always was, and it always will be, and Israel has abused it to inhumane ends, continuously claiming the position of "victim" for each time anyone dared to criticize them openly. As of the time I'm posting this video, the 2026 contest has yet to happen, but despite it being celebrated for being ESC's 70th anniversary, five countries have withdrawn, those being Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain. Whether the contest can survive another edition with this much controversy leading up to it, remains to be seen. Even if the chances are growing slimmer by the day, I hope the EBU finally learns its lesson at some point, and makes the decision they should've made long ago. Other than 2024's piles of controversy, most of the songs are actually still really good, with many of them still being favorites among fans and myself included. This video focuses purely on the other 36 entries, and bears no further mention to Israel's entry, nor the debate surrounding their participation.