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JIN‘s new Echo EP tops this week’s new music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (May 16) on Billboard, choosing the BTS member’s latest solo endeavor as their favorite new music release of the past week.
JIN’s seven-track collection saw a landslide victory, with a staggering 93% of votes placed in support of the EP. Voters chose Echo over new releases from artists across genres, including Morgan Wallen, Rihanna, Laufey, Avicii (a posthumous compilation album), Lola Young, Sebastián Yatra and Rico Nasty.
Echo — the follow-up to JIN’s debut solo EP, 2024’s Happy — was released on Friday (May 16). “Don’t Say You Love Me,” “Nothing Without Your Love,” “Loser” featuring YENA, “Rope It,” “With the Clouds,” “Background” and “To Me, Today” make up the tracklist for the K-pop star’s new project. “Don’t Say You Love Me” also got an official music video, directed by Yongseok Choi and shot across various locations in Singapore.
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He’ll be celebrating the new release in the upcoming week in New York City with a televised performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon!, on an episode set to air on Wednesday (May 21) on NBC.
Since its announcement, Echo has been described by JIN’s team as a “perspective on universal life experiences, capturing everyday emotions with warmth and sincerity. Built on dynamic band sounds, the album showcases his versatile vocals across a spectrum of moods and styles. It reflects a deeper layer of vocal maturity and personal storytelling that underscores Jin’s evolving artistry.”
Among the new music trailing behind Echo on this week’s poll are Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem, Rihanna’s “Friend of Mine,” Laufey’s “Tough Luck” and more, all with a very minor percentage of the vote.
See the final results of this week’s poll below.
Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Former President Joe Biden is currently receiving treatment for prostate cancer, his office announced on Sunday.
Medical evaluations were prompted by ongoing urinary issues, which led to the discovery of a prostate abnormality. Further testing confirmed a diagnosis of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. The cancer has been classified as aggressive, with a high Gleason score of 9, indicating a serious stage of the illness. Despite the severity, doctors say the disease is responsive to hormone therapy, which provides a promising path for treatment.
Biden, who held the presidency from 2021 to 2025, was the 46th leader of the United States and made history as the first to reach 80 years of age while serving in office.
His decades-long political career includes time as Vice President and many years in the U.S. Senate. News of his diagnosis has sparked concern but also hope, as his medical team believes the cancer can be effectively managed. The former president is reportedly in stable condition and surrounded by close family and healthcare professionals. His office has pledged to keep the public informed as he continues with treatment and recovery efforts.
More news to come as the story develops.
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Jesy Nelson and Zion Foster’s babies have arrived. The new parents welcomed healthy, identical twin girls who were born early, at 31 weeks, on Thursday (May 15).
Their premature birth occurred after Nelson faced complications with her pregnancy due to carrying monochorionic/diamniotic twins, babies who share a placenta while having separate amniotic sacs.
“Our beautiful baby girls decided to come at 31weeks plus 5 days,” Nelson announced in an Instagram post on Sunday (May 18). “It all happened so quickly, but we are so blessed that they are here with us, healthy and fighting strong! We’ve never felt more in love.”
“Everybody meet Ocean Jade Nelson-Foster and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster,” the singer wrote in her introduction to the newborn twins. She uploaded sweet snapshots of herself and her partner, Foster, lovingly holding their babies; the proud dad shared Nelson’s post in an Instagram Story and commented, “My princesses are here.”
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The former Little Mix member revealed she was pregnant in January in an Instagram post that indicated the couple was expecting twins. “She’s eating for 3 now,” she hinted at the time.
In early March, she shared that they’d learned that Ocean and Story were monochorionic/diamniotic twins, which raised medical concerns.
“Normally, most twins will have two placentas that they feed off of, but when you have mono/di twins, that means your twins live off one placenta, which can lead to lots of complications,” Nelson explained in an emotional Instagram video posted in March. “One baby might take all the nutrients, the other might, which — really awful to say — could lead to both babies dying. At the moment, I am currently pre-stage TTTS, which is twin-to-twin transfusion. I’m being monitored very closely, I have to go be scanned twice a week.” (Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, or TTTS, is a rare pregnancy condition that affects identical twins or multiples when their shared network of blood vessels in the placenta is imbalanced, according to John Hopkins Medicine. One twin might give away more blood than it receives, risking malnourishment and organ failure, while the other twin might receive too much blood and become susceptible to the heart being overworked, or other cardiac complications.)
Days later, Nelson shared an update that doctors determined she needed to undergo a medical procedure that “going to give our babies the best chance of surviving.”
Prior to giving birth on May 15, her last video update on Instagram came at the end of March, when she announced from the hospital that the operation had been successful, and the TTTS had “cleared up.” She said she was to stay in hospital, however, as doctors told her her cervix was very short and that her water could break at any time — “and I’m still very, very early.”
She also shared images from a black-and-white maternity photo shoot in early May.
Nelson and Foster were first linked together in January 2022. In August 2024, they released a song together titled “Mine.”
Scarlett Johansson kicked off the season 50 finale of Saturday Night Live with a musical monologue set to the tune of Billy Joel‘s “Piano Man.”
The Jurassic World Rebirth star, who hosted the May 17 episode alongside musical guest Bad Bunny, opened the iconic sketch comedy show with a heartfelt cast singalong celebrating the show’s five-decade legacy.
“It’s 11:30 on a Saturday, finale of season 50,” Johansson sang. “It’s chaotic and crazy, the whole week is hazy, but there’s no place I’d rather be.”
The 40-year-old actress was soon joined by cast members Bowen Yang, Sarah Sherman, Heidi Gardner, Mikey Day, Ego Nwodim and Chloe Fineman, who harmonized with her. “Sing us a song, it’s your monologue, sing us a song tonight, as we made 50 years of great memories, every Saturday Night,” they all sang.
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Johansson then teased a surprise appearance by the Piano Man himself, saying, “Ladies and gentleman, Billy Joel… wrote this song.” Day, visibly disappointed, responded, “I thought Billy Joel was going to come out,” Johansson, a seventh-time SNL host, said, “Oh, Mikey. So cute, so simple.”
The monologue took a comedic turn as Fineman expressed her love for musical monologues, while Gardner noted her preference for audience questions. Kenan Thompson, pretending to be a fan in the audience, asked the Jurassic film actress to introduce him to a dinosaur, prompting Johansson to jokingly regret calling on him.
New season 50 cast members Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline made cameo appearances, singing about their gratitude for joining the iconic show — only for Johansson to hilariously forget their names. She also gave shoutouts to cast members Marcello Hernandez and Devon Walker, calling them her friends, and acknowledging Andrew Dismukes and James Austin Johnson.
Toward the end of the number, Johansson dropped a surprise bombshell, singing that season 50 would be Sherman’s last. “We’re all gonna miss you next year,” the cast sang in unison. A stunned Sherman replied, “Wait, what? Did you guys hear something or…?” The joke about the comedian’s departure was not mentioned again during the episode.
Elsewhere in the show, Bad Bunny delivered performances of “NUEVAYoL” and “PERFuMITO NUEVO,” both from his sixth album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos. Watch the performances here.
Watch Johansson’s SNL monologue below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.
Sleep Token scores its first No. 1 album, and first top 10, on the Billboard 200 with the chart-topping arrival of its fourth full-length studio release, Even in Arcadia.
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The set, which is the English rock band’s major-label debut, bows atop the list dated May 24 with 127,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending May 15, according to Luminate — marking the act’s best week by units ever. It’s also the biggest week by units for any rock album in nearly a year, and the biggest for any hard rock album in two years. Further, the set’s streaming numbers are so big that it scores the largest streaming week ever for a hard rock album.
Sleep Token released its first single in 2016 and made its overall Billboard chart debut in 2019. The band previously scored one entry on the Billboard 200 with Take Me Back to Eden in 2023, debuting and peaking at No. 16. That set has earned 819,000 units in the U.S. to date, and its dozen songs (six of which were top 10 hits on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart) have generated 935 million on-demand official streams in the U.S. The band was among Billboard’s year-end top 10 on Top Hard Rock Artists in both 2024 (No. 8) and 2023 (No. 5).
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In early 2024, the act signed to RCA Records after previously releasing music on the indie label Spinefarm. The masked band — whose members have remained anonymous through the group’s career — made its debut on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart in March with the new album’s “Emergence.” Two more pre-release songs from the set debut on the tally: “Caramel” (a career-best No. 34 high for the band) and “Damocles.”
Sleep Token’s No. 1 debut coincidentally comes just two weeks after another masked hard rock band from Europe, the Swedish act Ghost, landed its first leader with the chart-topping debut of Skeletá (May 10 chart).
Also in the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200, Kali Uchis achieves her third top 10-charting set with the debut of Sincerely, at No. 2.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new May 24, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on May 20. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of Even in Arcadia’s 127,000 first-week equivalent album units, album sales comprise 73,500 (it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 53,000 (equaling 68.89 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs; it debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise 500. Sales of the album were bolstered by its availability across six vinyl variants, a standard CD, two deluxe CD boxed sets (containing a CD and a branded hoodie) and a standard digital download album. All configurations contained the same 10 songs.
Even in Arcadia is just the fourth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2025, of 13 total, to also simultaneously be No. 1 on both Top Album Sales and Top Streaming Albums, following Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM (March 22), Kendrick Lamar’s GNX (Feb. 22) and The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow (Feb. 15).
Prior to Even in Arcadia, the last rock album to have a larger week, by equivalent album units earned, was Zach Bryan’s The Great American Bar Scene, in its first full week of release, with 137,000 units (July 20, 2024-dated chart). The last hard rock album to score a larger week was Metallica’s 72 Seasons, which debuted with 146,000 units on the April 29, 2023 chart.
In terms of streaming numbers, Even in Arcadia posts an eye-popping — and historic — sum for a hard rock set. Its SEA figure of 53,000 equates to 68.89 million on-demand official streams of its 10 songs. That’s the biggest weekly streaming sum for any hard rock album ever. The last rock album overall with a bigger streaming week was The Great American Bar Scene, when it tallied 77.76 million during its fifth week on the chart, dated Aug. 10, 2024.
Even in Arcadia sold 73,500 copies — with vinyl comprising 47,000 of that figure. That’s the largest vinyl sales week for the band, and the biggest for a hard rock album on vinyl in the modern era (since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991). (It trumps the previous record, set only two weeks ago by the debut of Ghost’s Skeletá with 44,000.) It’s also the second-largest sales week in the modern era for a rock album, following the opening week of blink-182’s One More Time… (49,000; Nov. 4, 2023).
With Even in Arcadia debuting at No. 1 just two weeks after another hard rock album was tops — when Skeletá debuted at No. 1 on the May 10 chart — there have been two No. 1 hard rock albums in less than a month. That hasn’t happened in more than a decade. The chart last had two hard rock No. 1s in less than a month’s time nearly a dozen years ago, when Queens of the Stone Age’s …Like Clockwork and Black Sabbath’s 13 debuted at No. 1 in successive weeks (June 22-29, 2013).
Rock and hard rock albums are defined as those that are eligible for, or have charted on, Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts, respectively.
Finally, Sleep Token is the fifth act in 2025 to score a first No. 1 this year, following Ghost (with Skeletá), Ken Carson (More Chaos), Tate McRae (So Close To What) and PARTYNEXTDOOR (with the Drake collaboration set $ome $exy $ongs 4 U). In all of 2024, there were five acts that got their first No. 1s: Ty Dolla $ign (with the Ye collab Vultures 1), TWICE (With YOU-th), Sabrina Carpenter (Short n’ Sweet), Jelly Roll (Beautifully Broken) and Yeat (Lyfestyle).
Going back another year, there were also five acts in 2023 that got their first No. 1s that year: TOMORROW X TOGETHER (The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION), Karol G (MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO), NewJeans (2nd EP ‘Get Up’), Zach Bryan (Zach Bryan) and ATEEZ (THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL).
At No. 2 on the Billboard 200, Kali Uchis’ Sincerely, debuts with 62,000 equivalent album units earned. It’s the artist’s third top 10-charting effort, following Orquídeas (No. 2 in 2024) and Red Moon in Venus (No. 4 in 2023). Of the 62,000 units earned, album sales comprise 38,000 (it debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 24,000 (equaling 32.45 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs; it debuts at No. 18 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
The first-week sales of Sincerely, was aided by its availability across 10 vinyl variants (including signed editions), three CD variants (including a signed edition), a cassette and a standard digital download album (all containing the same tracklist), as well as a deluxe download with two bonus tracks.
A trio of former No. 1s is next on the Billboard 200, as SZA’s SOS is steady at No. 3 (51,000 equivalent album units; down 3%), Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time is a non-mover at No. 4 (48,000; up 6%), and PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake’s $ome $exy $ongs 4 U climbs 7-5 (47,000; up 17% following its vinyl release). Fuerza Regida’s 111XPANTIA falls 2-6 in its second week (just over 43,000; down 43%), while Kendrick Lamar’s chart-topping GNX dips 5-7 (43,000; down 4%), and Sabrina Carpenter’s former leader Short n’ Sweet falls 6-8 (40,000; down 2%).
The Weeknd’s former No. 1 Hurry Up Tomorrow vaults 27-9 with 38,000 equivalent album units earned (up 82%), largely owed to sales generated by the release of new CD and vinyl editions of the album. Rounding out the top 10 of the Billboard 200 is Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which falls 1-10 with 38,000 units (down 55%), a week after it hopped back to the top following its release on vinyl.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Ever wondered what a reunion between Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Mike Myers might look like nearly 20 years after their infamous Hurricane Katrina telethon moment? Saturday Night Live has the answer.
In a hilariously awkward sketch during the SNL season 50 finale on May 17, the Austin Powers star finds himself trapped in an elevator with the embattled rapper — and does everything he can to escape the uncomfortable encounter.
The four-minute skit, titled “Mike Myers Elevator Ride,” opens with Myers (playing himself) stepping into an elevator alongside two star-struck passengers, played by host Scarlett Johansson and cast member Marcello Hernandez. After a few stops, Ye (portrayed by Kenan Thompson) enters mid-phone call, complaining about Spotify pulling his controversial new track “Cousins.”
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“Oh, my God. Is that Kanye West,” Myers whispers in horror as Johansson’s character quickly exits. “You can’t leave me alone in here with him,” he pleads.
Once alone, West turns to Myers, noting it’s the first time they’ve seen each other since their 2005 Hurricane Katrina telethon — when West famously declared on live TV that then-President George Bush didn’t care about Black people, leaving Myers stunned on screen.
You “had to stand there looking stupid,” Thompson’s West reminds him. Trying to shift the mood, Myers asks, “So what have you been up to?” “Oh, me? I’m in the KKK now,” the rapper replies.
The awkward exchange continues with small talk about their kids, before Ye abruptly shifts topics to Diddy, who’s currently on trial for sex trafficking.
“This Diddy stuff crazy, right?” West says. “Diddy, he’s on trial right now for, like, a bunch of stuff. It’s so crazy, man. You think you know a guy. Turns out to be a full crazy monster.”
When Myers asks, “So what happened to you?” Thompson’s West seeks clarification, only for Myers to quickly brush it off.
The encounter spirals further as Ye questions whether Myers’ last name is Jewish, the elevator appears to get stuck, and the hip-hop star takes a hit from a canister of nitrous oxide. Moments later, Myers bolts for the exit.
Watch SNL‘s “Mike Myers Elevator Ride” sketch below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.
Bad Bunny helped close out Saturday Night Live’s milestone 50th season with a memorable appearance on the show’s May 17 season finale, hosted by actress Scarlett Johansson. The 31-year-old Puerto Rican superstar took the stage twice during the NBC sketch comedy series, performing a pair of tracks from his history-making album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos. […]
Duki’s Ameri World Tour, presented by Live Nation, arrived to Miami on Saturday (May 17) — packed with energy, Argentinean pride, and rock star attitude.
The crowd — mostly made up of children and teens with their parents or young adults in their early 20s — filled the Kaseya Center and chanted “Duko Duko Duko” just minutes before 9 p.m. Shortly after, a three-member band (drums, keyboardist and guitarist) hopped on the red-lit stage and Duki followed singing “Leitmotiv.”
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He continued to perform almost all of the tracks from his latest studio album, Ameri, in order: “Nueva Era,” “Brindis,” “Buscarte Lejos,” “Imperio,” “Hardaway” and “Cine,” to name a few.
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“Thank you for sharing this night with me, Miami. I am Duki!” the Argentine trap star (real name: Mauro Ezequiel Lombardo Quiroga) told his euphoric fans.
Wearing a black muscle tee, baggy jeans, black beanie hat and white Adidas sneakers, Duki — who’s known as one of the pioneers of the Argentine trap movement — did not hold back from channeling his inner rock star.
“Vida de Rock,” “Rockstar,” and “Hablamos Mañana,” his collaboration with Bad Bunny, were some of the songs that fused rock with rap, and had the intense crowd jumping and chanting. He also performed the hits including “Si Te Sentis Sola,” “Goteo,” and his “BZRP Music Sessions #50.”
A notable moment of the night was when he took fans down memory lane and performed his 2017 breakthrough hit “Loca.” The song’s remix with Bunny and Cazzu earned Duki his first entry on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs that same year.
But the evening’s big highlight was when Puerto Rican urban artist Jhayco surprised fans by performing his collaboration with Duki, “Rockstar 2.0.”
“Thank you, my beautiful people! Thank you for bringing me far away from home to an emblematic venue,” Duki thanked his fans. “All of this tour is thanks to you and for you. I thank you with all my soul. Without you, this wouldn’t make sense.”
At 10:30 p.m., Duki closed his set with the ultimate fan-favorite track “Givenchy.”
Last December, he became the first urban artist ever to sell out Argentina’s biggest stadium — the fabled River Stadium in Buenos Aires — not once, but twice, selling 140,000 tickets across both nights. Earlier this year, he became the first urban artist to ever play and sell out Spain’s Bernabéu stadium in Madrid.
The Ameri World Tour wraps Sunday (May 18) in Puerto Rico, following his visits across Latin America and Europe that kicked off in March.
Bruce Springsteen resumed denouncing Donald Trump from the stage of his Land of Hopes and Dreams Tour Saturday night (May 17) in Manchester, England.
The Los Angeles Times reports the Boss didn’t back down from his stance on Trump this weekend, after the U.S. president called Springsteen “highly overrated,” “dumb as a rock” and a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!)” in a post on Truth Social. The rant was Trump’s reaction to the musician calling out the president’s “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration” at his tour opener earlier in the week.
“Things are happening right now that are altering the very nature of our country’s democracy, and they’re too important to ignore,” Springsteen said to the crowd in a three-minute speech on Manchester’s Co-op Live stage on Saturday, as heard in a video posted by the L.A. Times.
“In my home, they’re persecuting people for their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. That’s happening now,” Springsteen said, echoing what he’d spoken about at his May 14 show. “In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. That’s happening now. In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.”
Springsteen continued, “They are removing residents off American streets without due process of law and deploying them to foreign detention centers as prisoners. That’s happening now. The majority of our elected representatives have utterly failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government. They have no concern or idea of what it means to be deeply American.”
On a note of optimism that quoted novelist and civil rights activist James Baldwin, he added, “The America I’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real, and regardless of its many faults, it’s a great country with a great people, and we will survive this moment. Well, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, ‘In this world, there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.’”
On Friday, after Springsteen had shared similar thoughts from the stage on opening night of his tour, Trump responded on Truth Social, writing: “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country. Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
The “Born in the U.S.A.” singer, who’s performing across the U.K., France, Spain, Germany and Italy from now through early July, endorsed Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
Classically trained countertenor JJ of Austria is the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest winner with “Wasted Love,” a song that combines operatic, multi-octave vocals with a techno twist. JJ beat 25 other competitors during Saturday’s (May 17) grand final in the Swiss city of Basel.
Israel’s Yuval Raphael came second at an exuberant celebration of music and unity that was shadowed by the Gaza war and ruffled by discord over Israel’s participation.
JJ, whose full name is Johannes Pietsch, was Austria’s first winner since bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst in 2014. JJ, who sings with the Vienna State Opera, has called Wurst a mentor. It was Austria’s third victory overall in Eurovision.
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“This is beyond my wildest dreams. It’s crazy,” said the singer after being handed the microphone-shaped glass Eurovision trophy.
JJ won after a nail-biting final that saw Raphael scoop up a massive public vote from her many fans for her anthemic “New Day Will Rise.” But she also faced protests from pro-Palestinian demonstrators calling for Israel to be kicked out of the contest over its conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Estonia’s Tommy Cash came third with “Espresso Macchiato,” and Swedish entry KAJ, who had been favorite to win with jaunty sauna ode “Bara Bada Bastu,” came fourth.
The world’s largest live music event reached its glitter-drenched conclusion with a grand final in Basel, Switzerland, that offered pounding electropop, quirky rock and outrageous divas.
Acts from 26 countries — trimmed from 37 entrants through two elimination semifinals — performed to some 160 million viewers for the continent’s pop crown. No smoke machine, jet of flame or dizzying light display was spared by musicians who had three minutes to win over millions of viewers who, along with national juries of music professionals, pick the winner.
The show offered a celebration of Europe’s eclectic, and sometimes baffling, musical tastes. Lithuanian band Katarsis delivered grunge rock, while Ukraine’s Ziferblat channeled prog rock and the U.K.’s Remember Monday offered country pop.
Italy’s Lucio Corsi evoked 1970s glam rock, while Icelandic duo VAEB rapped about rowing and Latvia’s six-woman Tautumeitas offered gorgeous, intertwined harmonies.
There were divas aplenty, including Spain’s Melody, Poland‘s Justyna Steczkowska — participating in Eurovision for a second time after a 30-year gap, with “GAJA” — and Malta’s outrageous Miriana Conte, who performed “Serving,” a song whose previous suggestive title and lyrics were changed on the orders of contest organizers, on a set including a glitter ball and giant lips.
Dean Vuletic, an expert on the history of Eurovision, said the competition has become more diverse over the years, both musically and linguistically. There are songs in 20 languages this year, including Ukrainian, Icelandic, Albanian, Latvian and Maltese.
“In the past it was about having a catchy, innocuous pop song, usually in English,” he said. But “in recent years the formulaic approach to a Eurovision entry hasn’t succeeded.”
“An entry needs to be memorable and it needs to be authentic in order to succeed these days,” said Vuletic.
This year’s contest was roiled for a second year by disputes over Israel’s participation. Dozens of former participants, including Switzerland’s Nemo, have called for Israel to be excluded, and several of the broadcasters that fund Eurovision sought a review of the country’s participation.
Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests both took place in Basel, though on a much smaller scale than at last year’s event in Sweden, where tensions spilled over backstage and Dutch competitor Joost Klein was expelled over an alleged altercation with a crew member.
Hundreds of people marched through Basel just before the competition, waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Boycott Israel.”
Earlier, a group of Israel supporters gathered in Basel’s cathedral square to root for Raphael and to show that “Jews belong in public spaces in Switzerland,” Zurich resident Rebecca Laes-Kushner said.
She said that “it would be such a strong statement against antisemitism,” if Raphael won.
“This is supposed to be about music, not about hate,” she said.
The European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, which runs Eurovision, tightened the contest’s code of conduct this year, calling on participants to respect Eurovision’s values of “universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity” and its political neutrality.
After a controversial ban in 2024 on flags, apart from national ones, being waved in the arena, this year audience members can bring Palestinian flags or any others, as long as they are legal under Swiss law. Performers, though, can only wave their own country’s flag.
Eurovision director Martin Green told reporters that the organizers’ goal was to ”re-establish a sense of unity, calm and togetherness this year in a difficult world.”
“All 37 delegations, in difficult times, have behaved impeccably,” he said.
