CD1.Alis- Nân (Albania); Simón - Paloma Rumba (Armenia); Delta Goodrem - Eclipse; (Australia);COSMÓ - TANZSCHEIN (Austria); JIVA - Just Go (Azerbaijan);Essyla - Dancing On The Ice (Belgium); DARA - Bangaranga (Bulgaria); LELEK - Andromeda (Croatia);Antigoni - Jalla (Cyprus); Daniel Zizka - CROSSROADS (Czechia); Søren Torpegaard Lund - Før Vi Går Hjem (Denmark); Vanilla Ninja - Too Epic To Be True (Estonia); Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen - Liekinheitin (Finland); Monroe - REGARDE ! (France); Bzikebi - On Replay (Georgia); Sarah Engels - Fire (Germany); Akylas - Ferto (Greece); Noam Bettan - Michelle (Israel)
CD2. Sal Da Vinci - Per sempre sì (Italy)
Atvara - Ēnā (Latvia); Lion Ceccah- Sólo Quiero Más (Lithuania); Eva Marija - Mother Nature (Luxembourg); AIDAN - Bella (Malta); Satoshi - Viva, Moldova! (Moldova); Tamara Živković - Nova Zora (Montenegro);JONAS LOVV- Ya Ya Ya (Norway); Alicja - Pray (Poland); Bandidos do Cante - Rosa (Portugal); Alexandra Căpitănescu - Choke Me (Romania); Senhit - Superstar (San Marino); Lavina - Kraj mene (Serbia); FELICIA - My System (Sweden); Veronica Fusaro - Alice (Switzerland); Leléka- Ridnym (Ukraine);
LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Eins, Zwei, Drei (United Kingdom).

Label: Universal Music

The 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is now literally just around the corner. The bookies have been favouring Finland ever since Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkonnen romped to victory with Liekinheiten at this year's edition of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu. However, with 35 entrants competing to take the crown from Austria's JJ on May 16, there is plenty of new music to discover at this year's contest.

While the entries have been steadily revealed over the last few months, the compilation album has been released, and it reveals that this Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is going to be one that celebrates diversity of sound, while there is no denying that pop leanings are prevalent.

The compilation is not compiled in a competitive order or designed in structure for audience flow; as per the live shows, it is in the alphabetical order of the countries in the contest. As a result, the collection opens with Albania's entry, Nân, by X Factor Albania winner Alis. The entry is boldly vocalled and rich in sound. It is a bold start to a compilation and hooks you in easily before Armenia's Simón delivers a reminder of why Eurovision is often so memorable. A chaotic explosion of a song, it is somewhat addictive, but its appeal is hard to explain. Borrowing from the school of recent success stories, Baby Lasagna and Käärijä, this is mad pop at its finest.

Simón is not alone in these leanings, with Greece's Akylas perhaps winning in this field. The video game inspired by Ferto is truly bonkers but insanely addictive.

While there is no denying the appeal of Finland's Liekinheiten, it is actually a little generic on record, as the on-stage between the violinist and vocalist doesn't pack quite as much punch as in the live performance. With a driven pop sound, Denmark's Søren Torpegaard Lund's Før vi går hjem is a memorable affair.

However, at Eurovision ethno-pop is often the underdog, and there are some stunning moments on the compilation that will happily provide a soundtrack for your summer. From Cyprus' Antigoni with the joyous Jalla to Montenegro's Tamara Živković with the dramatic Nova Zora, there is pop punch aplenty to fuel the Eurovision lovers' hunger. However, it is the hypnotising drive of Bangaranga by Bulgaria's Dara and the forceful brilliance of Choke Me by Romania's Alexandra Cāpitānescu that may fare the best in the voting for memorability.

However, balladry and opera leanings have also dominated the finish line in recent years. Competing in this realm are France's Monroe with Regarde, which perhaps sits too dangerously close in sonic alignment with the previous two winners to take the crown this year. Czechia and Malta have delivered bold male vocals that will have the hearts fluttering, but it is no doubt Australia's Delta Goodrem or Latvia's Atvara who takes the balladeer crown this year.

With Switzerland's Veronica Fusaro, no doubt the black horse of the competition, and the lush Alice, the overlooked Estonian entry, Too Epic To Be True, by Vanilla Ninja is perfectly pleasant but may be overlooked alongside the pure pop heaven of Germany's Fire by Sarah Engels in a live setting.

Although our own entry, Eins, Zwei, Drei by Look Mum No Computer, channels Madness and Blur and borrows from another language, this linguistic switching is better delivered by both Israel and Moldova, with the latter, in particular, delivering one of the anthems that will endure long after the competition in the hearts of the Eurovision fans.

With 35 entries, there really is something for everyone – but interestingly, there is not one standout winner that can be truly identified weeks before the contest. As a result, the impending live shows are ones to really enjoy as they unravel, and the compilation collection proves itself a worthy addition to any collection.