Like previous years, ESC COVERS will again share a blog post from Morten Thomassen of OGAE NORWAY with his views on the positions reached by all 35 2026 entries. ESC Covers google translated it from Norwegian to English.

There is always at least one country every year that surprisingly qualifies for the final and this year it was the Belgian ESSYLA with the song “Dancing On The Ice” who took that scalp, although it must be said that I tipped the final place for our Belgian friend after watching the jury test on Monday night.

The jury test is perhaps the night where really good artistic efforts risk being rewarded the most, and when 81 of the 91 points received in the semi-final came from the professional jury members, it was smart of Alice Van Eesbeeck, who is actually the lady’s name, to step in when it mattered most.

This artist, whose artist name is her real first name spelled backwards (something like that), has a good dose of attitude and self-confidence in her performance, something that is needed in this type of song and something that many other artists who perform similar songs occasionally lack to such an extent.

Add relatively steady vocals, probably well supported by a backing vocalist who was standing behind the stage, and even though the song had an icy theme that was emphasized just enough in the right amount, the artist also manages to give us some charming smiles.

With all this in mind, it is therefore a bit strange that the song did not receive any points in the telephone vote and that the 36 points the song received all came from the jury and our Belgian friend, like 17 other countries, was allowed to celebrate at least one 12-point award on the final night. Our Belgian friend’s favorite country was probably Italy after the final was over.

Our Belgian friends usually choose their songs internally, this time it was the French-language TV station that participated, the Flemish-language TV station is talking about staying away next year, luckily there is still plenty of time to change their minds.

Featured image – ESC Covers