The China Mail - Sweden goes into Eurovision as punters' favourite

With a month to go before the grand finale in Basel on May 17, anything could happen.

But Sweden, which has already won the glitzy glamfest seven times -- tied with Ireland for the most Eurovision Song Contest victories -- is once again seen as the clear favourite to steal the show.

Betting sites currently put its odds at 29 percent, followed by Austria at 19 percent, France at 10 percent and Israel at six percent.

Here is an overview of the acts topping of the rankings:

- SWEDEN: Hot stuff -

This year, the act representing Sweden at Eurovision is in fact a comedy trio of dour-looking Finns, marking a departure from the polished, glossy spectacles Sweden usually presents.

The three men from Finland's Swedish-speaking community who make up KAJ -- Kevin, Axel and Jakob -- aim to win an eighth trophy for Sweden, with a quirky eulogy to the joy of saunas.

"Bara bada bastu" (Just have a sauna), with its comic and catchy chorus, is sung in Finnish-tinged Swedish to the rhythm of the accordion.

On stage, the three men wear suits in a mock sauna surrounded by dancers in towels and wool hats, and armed with bouquets of birch branches, used by sauna enthusiasts to whip up their blood circulation.

"Sweden has accustomed us to highly produced, almost glossy acts," Fabien Randanne, a journalist at 20 Minutes and Eurovision specialist, told AFP.

"Today, it seems the public is more open to rough edges, originality and singularity."

Sweden's most notable Eurovision victory was perhaps when pop quartet ABBA catapulted to global stardom with its 1974 winning song, "Waterloo".

The Scandinavian country last won in 2023, with the more conventional pop song "Tattoo" by Loreen, who also won the competition in 2012.

- AUSTRIA: Vocal crescendo -

"Wasted Love", sung by Austrian-Filipino countertenor Johannes Pietsch, known as JJ, fuses pop and lyrical elements in a crescendo that flows into techno sounds.

The 23-year-old grew up in Dubai before discovering classical music in Vienna, where he is currently honing his skills between talent shows and small roles at the opera.

In his Eurovision song, about the experience of unrequited love, he pivots from high soprano notes into a blend of lyricism and balladry, before ending with a techno flourish.

His falsetto voice recalls that of German great Klaus Nomi, and evokes Austria's classical music heritage.

His song's opera-infused genre-blending style has also drawn comparisons to "The Code" -- Swiss non-binary vocalist Nemo's 2024 Eurovision victory song in Malmo, Sweden, which gave Switzerland the right to host this year's edition.

Also leaning on the styles of Mariah Carey and Anna Netrebko -- his favourite artists -- JJ hopes to secure a third Eurovision victory for Austria, which most recently won with bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst's act in 2014.

- FRANCE: Finally? -

Well-known in France, 28-year-old singer and actress Louane has infused a sense of hope that her country could declare a Eurovision victory for the first time in nearly half a century.

Louane, whose real name is Anne Peichert, shot to French stardom in 2013 when she participated in the televised talent show The Voice.

Her ballad, "Maman", addressed to her mother who died of cancer in 2014, exclaims: "In the end, you see, I built my life... I've grown up. From you, I've kept everything that makes me who I am."

France already has five Eurovision wins under its belt, but the last one dates back to 1977.

Marie Myriam, who won that year with her song "L'oiseau et l'enfant", or "The bird and the child", said she hoped this year's pick could finally bring an end to her country's losing streak.

"I want to believe that France will finally declare victory through Louane's voice and performance, under the gaze of the most beautiful of stars, her star," she told AFP.

- ISRAEL: Out of the darkness -

Yuval Raphael, a survivor of Hamas's deadly attack on October 7, 2023, will represent Israel at this year's Eurovision contest.

When Hamas militants killed over 370 people at the Nova music festival, the 24-year-old survived by hiding under a pile of bodies inside a roadside bomb shelter.

Raphael only began singing professionally after the attack, as a way to deal with her trauma.

She was selected to represent Israel after winning the "Hakochav Haba" (Rising Star) reality television contest with a powerful ballad version of ABBA's "Dancing Queen".

At Eurovision, she will perform the power ballad "New Day Will Rise", with lyrics in English, Hebrew and French about survival after tragedy.

Last year, amid anger over Israel's war in Gaza, the country's competitor Eden Golan faced threats and mass-protests at the Eurovision contest held in Sweden.

There have also been calls this year for Israel to be barred from Eurovision.

But that has been ruled out by the European Broadcasting Union, which oversees the competition and of which Israel's public broadcaster is a member.

Israel, which has taken part in the contest since 1973, has won four times, most recently with Netta Barzilai's 2018 rendition of "Toy".

S.Davis--ThChM