You may remember our original Best of the Bunch series, which aimed to find the best Eurovision entry from each nation from the years 2006 to 2015. From that series, we created the ‘Ultimate Eurovision’ which featured the winners of each of the poll, which you can read here. Over the past year, we aimed to find your Best of the Bunch from the last three years, 2016 through to 2018 so now it’s time to create another Ultimate Eurovision!
If you are still interested in voting, the polls will remain open, and for each nation a link will be added!
Hungary
Hungary have had a successful few years at the contest, with all three of the entries within our Best of the Bunch years having qualified for the final. Their best result of the three entries was with Joci Pápai and his song Origo which finished in 8th place in the 2017 contest. Freddie proved to be a fan favourite with his song Pioneer, while AWS was a bit more niche, but still had a strong following. The poll results were close, but it’s Joci Pápai as your Best of the Bunch!
If you haven’t yet had your say in our Best of the Bunch Hungary poll, you can vote here.
Lithuania
Lithuania’s Eurovision journey is like one big rollercoaster with highs, lows, and a lot of middle ground. We see that journey when we look at these Best of the Bunch years, with Donny Montell reaching the Top 10 in 2016, to finishing in second to last in the semi-final of 2018 with Fusedmarc. In 2018, the nation returned to the final and finished in 12th place overall, but which act is your Best of the Bunch? The current winner of our poll is Ieva Zasimauskaitė with her song, When We’re Old.
If you haven’t yet had your say in our Best of the Bunch Lithuania poll, you can vote here.
San Marino
San Marino is the equivalent of the crazy uncle at a family gathering. You never know what they’re going to bring to the party, and it shows. From Serhat’s (debut) performance in 2016 to fourth time lucky (or unlucky) for Valentina Monetta, neither of which qualified to the final. Then we have Jessika and Jenifer Brening who performed with robots on stage – again, finishing towards the bottom end of the table in the semi-finals. At least they give it a red hot go! Your best of the bunch is Serhat with his song, I Didn’t Know!
If you haven’t yet had your say in our Best of the Bunch San Marino poll, you can vote here.
Azerbaijan
A once strong Eurovision nation, Azerbaijan has been on a slow decline over the last few years, culminating in their first non-qualification in 2018 with Aisel and her song X My Heart. Two years prior, Azerbaijan was represented by Samra with her song, Miracle which finished in 17th place. Then in 2017, Dihaj brought her intriguing song and stage show to Eurovision, and slightly improved results by finishing in 14th place in the final. From these three entries, your Best of the Bunch is Dihaj with her song Skeletons!
If you haven’t yet had your say in our Best of the Bunch Azerbaijan poll, you can vote here.
Croatia
Croatia returned to the contest in 2016 after two years break, and they returned with a refreshed strategy for the contest. The nation internally selected Nina Kraljić with the English language song Lighthouse, which was originally picked as a favourite of the contest however finished in 23rd in the final. The following year, Croatia selected Jacques Houdek who inched closer to the top 10, finishing in 13th place with his song, My Friend. The best of the bunch journey concludes with Franka, who unfortunately missed out on the final in 2018 with her song, Crazy. Which artist is currently topping the poll? It’s Nina Kraljić!
If you haven’t yet had your say in our Best of the Bunch Croatia poll, you can vote here.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom haven’t had the best of luck in recent years. Despite automatically qualifying for the final, it has recently been uncommon to see the UK move off the bottom half of the results table. We saw this with Joe and Jake, who finished in 24th in 2016 as well as SuRie in 2018 who also finished in 24th with her song Storm. Lucie Jones achieved the best result of the three, finishing in 15th place with her ballad, Never Give Up On You, which is also your Best of the Bunch!
If you haven’t yet had your say in our Best of the Bunch United Kingdom poll, you can vote here.
Serbia
A once strong Eurovision nation, Serbia has been a borderline qualifier (or non-qualifier) over the last few years. Starting with Sanja Vučić who represented Serbia in 2016 with the song Goodbye (Shelter), which finished in 18th place in the final after qualifying in 10th place in the semi-final. Close call. It was another close call in 2017, however unfortunately on the other side of the qualification line, with Tijana finishing in 11th place with her song In Too Deep. Serbia returned to the final in 2018 with Sanja Ilić and Balkanika and their song Nova Deca, however finished in 19th place in the final after another close qualification. Which is your Best of the Bunch? It’s Sanja Vučić!
If you haven’t yet had your say in our Best of the Bunch Serbia poll, you can vote here.
Belarus
There have been more misses than hits for Belarus recently, starting with the controversial figure at the time, IVAN. He wanted to perform naked and surrounded by live wolves, and obviously that didn’t happen at Eurovision however his performance wasn’t enough to reach the final. The following year, Naviband helped bring Belarus back to the final with their uplifting song, Story of my Life which finished in 17th place in the final. Unfortunately Belarus was a non-qualifier once again in 2018 with Alekseev and his entry, Forever. From these three entries, Naviband is your Best of the Bunch!
If you haven’t yet had your say in our Best of the Bunch Belarus poll, you can vote here.
The Netherlands
We know that The Netherlands scored a win at this year’s contest, but we are focusing on the three years prior. Starting with 2016, where Douwe Bob represented The Netherlands with the country inspired song, Slow Down. It was a qualifier, and finished just outside of the Top 10. The nation also finishing in 11th place in the following year with the sister trio, OG3NE and their song Lights and Shadows. In 2018, Waylon returned as a solo act with another country inspired song titled Outlaw In ‘Em, which finished in 18th place in the final. You have voted, and your Best of the Bunch is OG3NE!
If you haven’t yet had your say in our Best of the Bunch The Netherlands poll, you can vote here.
Stay tuned for our upcoming posts featuring more of the artists in our Ultimate Eurovision!
Read Part 1 here.
Read Part 2 here.
Are your favourites in this list? Tell us who would make it to your Ultimate Eurovision in the comments below!