Eurovision 2025 is upon us! If you haven’t been following the competition leading up to tonight’s first semi-final, you might tune in and wonder where all the women have gone. Based on the random draw, only two competitive acts tonight contain female performers, as well as two of the featured automatic qualifiers. Despite this imbalanced semi line-up, there are still many acts this year that put women at the forefront, whether on the stage or in the lyrics. We wanted to spotlight a few of these songs that either have an explicitly feminist message or otherwise celebrate women.
“Ich Komme” Erika Vikman (Finland) – Let’s not beat around the bush. Of course the first song we want to highlight is “Ich Komme” by Erika Vikman. This song is an ode to women’s sexual pleasure; it’s third-wave feminism writ large. In the song Erika openly sings about a sexual encounter (could be partnered or solo, that’s for the listener to decide) as a chorus sings the refrain “Ich Komme” (“I’m coming”) over and over again. The song builds to an increasingly fast and furious orgasmic crescendo that abruptly cuts to end the song, telling the same story with music as with lyrics.
It bears pointing out that Erika was asked by the EBU to reconsider her stage outfit from UMK, even though she was visibly more covered than other artists have been at ESC in past years. However, her body and her song and her aesthetic centers women; she’s all about women being in charge of their sexual pleasure. Erika’s dressed how Erika wants to be seen, not because she’s inviting the male gaze. And there’s nothing men like less than not being invited to something they think they already own. In response to the request, Erika brilliantly referred to her song “Cicciolina” (a line roughly translated into English as “it doesn’t even matter if I’m dressed as a nun”) when she dressed in a nun’s habit and lip-synced “Ich Komme” on TikTok. Based on rehearsal clips, her ESC outfit is showing less skin, but it’s no less sexy, bold and powerful for the alteration.
“Serving” Miriana Conte (Malta) – DIVA NOT DOWN! Miriana Conte has proven to be one of the boldest and most energetic performers in this year’s batch of artists. “Serving” is a song about defying norms and expectations, about being a rulebreaker who takes charge of her own destiny in a world full of people who want her to be quieter, smaller, softer. “They say no, do the opposite.” And the reaction to the song has proven her point. Enough people clutched their pearls about her creative and inventive use of language (her playful blend of Maltese and English to invoke a “naughty” phrase without actually saying the explicit word), that the EBU required last minute changes to the title and lyrics, despite having given earlier approval and reassurances that changes would not be necessary. Miriana and her team rose to the occasion with an updated recording that includes a breathy vocalization in place of the word kant (which, to my not-so-delicate sensibilities, sounds much more vulgar and explicit than any word ever could).
“Baller” Abor & Tynna (Germany) – The lyrics of “Baller” tell the story of a woman who is reclaiming her autonomy after a failed relationship. The lyrics leave room for interpretation, it could be a romantic relationship, a toxic friendship, a controlling parent, and it doesn’t matter. Tynna declines to turn her focus back to that relationship, instead choosing to “shoot for the stars.” Now, instead of aiming her weapon at the other person (“chalk silhouettes on the sidewalk between us, there’s a crime scene”), when she fires her weapon to the sky, the resulting stardust covers her skin like glitter and (in the lyrical highlight of the season) she sings, “I’ve learned what doesn’t kill me only makes me more chic,” and I, for one, am here for it!
“Esa Diva” Melody (Spain) – In Melody’s song, a diva is defined as every woman who is doing the thing she was made to do, the mother early in the morning, the artist who creates without an audience, the singer who can’t help but sing, the dancer who dances as easily as they walk. Fame and wealth aren’t the indicators of divadom, but finding freedom in your enthusiasm is. It’s a beautiful, empowering, and inclusive take on the word, one that Melody owns just as much as she owns the stage when performing!
“maman” Louane (France) – Louane’s song is stylized as “maman” to differentiate from her 2015 song “Maman.” Louane has referred to “maman” as a sequel to “Maman” that was written from a healthier place, and has indicated that she doesn’t intend to perform “Maman” live anymore. If “Maman” was born from the raw pain of her then-recent loss, “maman” is instead relaying that she’s doing better now while crediting her late mother for “everything that makes me who I am.” In “maman,” Louane sings of having new purpose and direction and the indelible love she found in motherhood. It’s a love letter to both her mother and her daughter and through that specificity it celebrates those universal roles and relationships.
“Gaja” Justyna Steczkowska (Poland) – With “Gaja,” Justyna brings us an apocalyptic showstopper from the perspective of earth goddess Gaja herself. From a literal interpretation, Gaja is awakened by the pain mankind has inflicted upon her, and despite her love, her tears will destroy the world to which she’s given life. If we want to take a more allegorical approach, then Gaja could be telling us the story of a jilted woman who is finding her strength and understanding that she has as much power to destroy as she does create, and a determination that in the end she will be the one left standing.
“La poupee monte le son” Laura Thorn (Luxembourg) – “La poupee monte le son” tells the story of a woman who refuses to shut up and smile and is instead using her voice. She may allow you to call her “doll” but she’s not made of porcelain or rags or plastic and she certainly doesn’t need a ventriloquist. Instead, the doll is asserting her own identity and will turn up the volume in the face of someone who wants to build her in their own image. It’s a bubblegum poppy bop with a heavyweight message of independence and autonomy.
“Bur man laimi” Tautumeitas (Latvia) – The lyrics of “Bur man laimi” are simple and repetitive, but powerful. The women of Tautumeitas are empowering themselves through their lyrics. The title is translated differently with various sources, but commonly as “A chant/spell/ritual for happiness,” and I’m using that “chant/spell/ritual” translation for “bur man” in the song lyrics as well. Throughout the song, the most commonly repeated phrase is “bur man nevar manis izpostīt” which translates to “a chant cannot ruin me.” The lyrics go on to describe a metal bridge that corrodes, while an oak tree bridge continues to grow leaves. It’s a lovely comparison, and one that lends power back to the song itself; in this context, negative words cannot ruin them, but these positive words they are repeating can help bring about their happiness and growth.
Other Artists Celebrating Women
“C’est La Vie” Claude (Netherlands) – Claude’s “C’est La Vie” is yet another personal narrative, and one that celebrates the artist’s late mother. It tells us the story of a young boy and the comfort he finds in his mother’s words and the memory of her voice, her song, her simple explanations of life’s ups-and-downs to a child. It’s the story of a mother’s love reaching from beyond the grave to bolster and support her son. It’s three minutes of time travel; a reflection on memory and how love and music can cut through grief and loss and uncertainty to bring our past to the present. A celebration of eternal love. (Full disclosure: I cry tears of joy every time I listen to it.)
“How Much Time Do We Have Left“ Klemen (Slovenia) – Klemen wrote a ballad about a difficult time in his life: his wife’s cancer diagnosis and recovery. In his lyrics, he stresses his admiration for her determination, even as others were telling her to give up. It’s a fraught topic for many reasons, not the least of all because many people don’t recover from cancer, and it’s not because they lacked the will to heal, but because it’s a nasty umbrella of a disease we still don’t know enough about to properly predict and treat in many instances. However, in Klemen’s personal story, his wife did survive the disease and treatment, and has come through the other side of that sad and scary time. Of course Klemen wants to celebrate that, and her!
Should Albania and Poland qualify tonight (as widely expected), the odds increase that we’ll see greater gender balance at Saturday’s grand final as Thursday’s show features more women artists.