So, on Saturday night (22nd of May), the Eurovision Song Contest returned to our screens for the first time in two years. Last years show was sadly cancelled after COVID hit, but now there is light at the end of the tunnel, and we were able to once again witness the biggest song contest of the year!

The night was packed with stunning performances from some great artists from across Europe. It was a tight competition but Italy pulled through as the worthy winners. The first group to win since 2006. We would like to look back at those performances for you now and share which ones were our absolute favourites.

5) James Newman – Embers – UK

It wouldn’t be that patriotic of us if we didn’t mention the fun performance that James Newman put on for us. “Embers” is an extremely catchy track that you can’t help but move to – even if it’s just a tap of the foot! Whilst it may not have been a performance that particularly stood out from the rest, James still did his country proud. There was no doubt that he was enjoying every moment of it, despite the results. He certainly deserved better than what he got. He was just happy to be there and his pure happiness was contagious. Truly a pleasure to watch.

4) Barbara Pravi – Voila – France

Next on our list is the amazing Barbara Pravi. France has not won Eurovision for a few decades now, but Barbara sure put their names on the map with her entry. “Voila” is a stunning ballad which she performed flawlessly. You can hear her French roots in every lyric. The passion that she put into her performance was simply fascinating.

3) Maneskin – Zitti E Buoni – Italy

Surprisingly, heavy-metal was quite a popular genre that many countries chose for this years contest. Italy had strong competition with Finland who were also a heavy-metal group. Out of the two however, Maneskin were just a little ahead of them for us, taking the third spot on our list. Italy seemed to have wowed other places also as they blew up on social media. This band happened to be a lot of peoples favourites (clearly, as they ended up winning the whole thing!) Seeing another genre that isn’t pop make such an incredible impact is worth noting when coming up with a favourites list. They were out of the box, and nothing like the other contestents.

2) Manizha – Russian Women – Russia

Manizha created quite a controversial stir in her home country of Russia. As the title may suggest, her entry was a powerful feminist anthem. What really stood out to us was the screening she chose. Towards the end of the song, she turned to face the screens where there were several Russian women singing along to the track. It was truly empowering to watch as it had such a powerful message behind it. Despite the controversy, Manizha demonstrated what it is like to use your voice for the better. This is something that should be admired by many.

1)VICTORIA – Growing Up Is Getting Old – Bulgaria

VICTORIA – a fantastic songstress who represented Bulgaria – gave an out of this world performance with her song “Growing Up Is Getting Old.” The best thing about this performance, and what gave her the Number 1 spot on our list, was the fact that she kept it simple. Hardly any special effects, no gimmicks, no dancers, just her and her beautiful vocals singing an equally beautiful song. The screening worked with her rather than next to her. The effects she did have complemented her performance rather than take it away. For us, she was able to captivate the crowd, and viewers at home, with her voice and her voice alone. That is talent in itself.

So, that’s it! Those were our best Eurovision performances of the night. Did you agree with our picks? Let us know who your favourite was over on our Twitter! – @AboutThe_Noise