By Laura Smith and Saskia McKenna
With renewed vigour after Dons’ incredible shock qualification in 2024, Latvia's national selection show Supernova is back and maybe stronger than ever.
Supernova will consist of two shows; one semi-final held on February 1st (CET) and the grand final a week later on February 8th (CET).
To kick off the Baltic nation's national final, 13 Aussievision members have had the privilege to listen to the 20 songs of Supernova and have ranked them according to personal taste.
Let’s see how our team voted and who our pick is to fly the Latvian flag in Basel!
Rankings from 20th to 11th:
20. Palú – Delusional – 11 points
19. Rūta Dūduma – Chemical – 12 points
18. Toms Kalderauskis – Domāju, Tu Nāc – 17 points
17. JULIANNA – Something in the Water – 18 points
16. Katrīna Gupalo – Scarlett Challenger – 20 points
15. Justs – Fit Right – 24 points
14. LUKA – Stronger – 26 points
13. Marta – Lovable – 28 points
10 points from Sam, 6 points from Hayley and Jamie, 4 points from Joel, 1 point from John Christian and Laura
“A great pop bop, simple yet effective. To paraphrase Marta: how dare this song be so Lovable!” – Sam
= 11. Adelina – Electric Love – 30 points
12 points from Joel, 7 points from Laura, 6 points from Dale, 4 points from John Christian and 1 point from Emma
“This is a classy, laid-back electronic groove that hooked me straight away. With a pulsating bassline vaguely reminiscent of Stevie Nicks’ riff on Edge of Seventeen, I immediately went and searched for anything else I could find in Adelina’s back catalogue. If there’s any criticism, it’s that the pre-chorus is almost too good which means the chorus doesn’t pop as much as it could. But you can ever have too much of a good thing!” – Joel (12 points)
= 11. Bel Tempo x LEGZDINA – The Water – 30 points
10 points from Fleur and Saskia, 4 points from Emma, 3 points from Joel and Sam
“A genre often not seen in Eurovision and I'm so glad to see it here. I adore this style of chill dream pop, reminds me of a lot songs from local artists I love.” – Saskia
“I simply enjoy listening to this song. It's very radio friendly which is a good thing for a song like this which isn't a strong contender. This is by no means reinventing the wheel but it is definitely one of the songs that I listen to often in this selection.” – Fleur
Now on to the Top 10:
10. Tepat – Sadzejot – 32 points
12 points from Hayley, 7 points from Craig, 6 points from Liv, 5 points from Dale and 2 points from Saskia
“I don't know what it is about this song but I keep coming back to it. It reminds me of something that I would listen to on JJJ. It's got an indie vibe to it but the band are clearly clever musicians and I love her vocals. I also really enjoy the Latvian language. I am not sure how well this would do at Eurovision, but I do find it very enjoyable!” – Hayley
9. Sinerģia – Bound by the Light – 39 points
12 points from Melanie, 7 points from John Christian and Liv, 5 points from Saskia, 3 points from Dale, 2 points from Hayley and Laura, 1 point from Craig
“Haunting! Could be an epic soundtrack to a movie” – Melanie
= 7. Chris Noah – Romance Isn’t Dead – 41 points
12 points from Liv, 8 points from Fleur, 6 points from Saskia, 5 points from Jamie and Melanie, 3 points from Emma, 2 points from Joel
“Chris Noah's successful career and experience really shines through in this track - I'd say it's the best produced of the bunch. The lyrics and tune immediately wormed into my head and heart with the catchy chorus and relatable subject matter. It's not the most contemporary piece but that warm blanket of nostalgia lifts the song for me rather than detracts. I LOVE this.” – Liv
“I feel like this is one of those gems that I stumbled across on Rage at 02.30 that I spend the next day googling everything about the song and artist. I love me some indie pop rock. Thank you, Latvia.” – Fleur
= 7. Grēta – Monster – 41 points
10 points from Laura, 8 points from Craig and Emma, 5 points from Fleur, 4 points from Liv and Sam, 2 points from John Christian
“The mid-2000s Timbaland-esque production mixed with spaghetti Western motifs may not be for everyone but this 'secret combination' certainly is right up my alley! With some top-notch choreography and staging, this could be a very fun Eurovision entry!” – Laura
6. Markus Riva – Bigger Than This – 42 points
10 points from Emma and John Christian, 7 points from Dale, 5 points from Sam, 3 points from Liv and Melanie, 2 points from Craig and Jamie
“If it's not Citi Zēni, then I think Markus Riva deserves a Eurovision ticket. This song is not just smooth at the ears of national final listeners, but also falls into the 'easy listening' category, if anything Eurovision needs for a balanced show in Basel. Also, he has been denied tickets before, he won't be denied again.” – John Christian
“I'm a sucker for a good dance banger and Bigger Than This hits the spot. There are remnants of Måns Zelmerlöw's Heroes in the verses before we get to that drop which I adore. Could definitely do with a revamp though...it needs to go out with a bang rather than a whimper.” – Emma
5. Tautumeitas – Bur Man Laimi – 45 points
12 points from Laura, 10 points from Melanie, 5 points from Craig, Emma and Liv, 4 points from Hayley, 3 points from Fleur, 1 point from Sam
“As a longtime fan of Tautumeitas, I was delighted when they were announced for Supernova 2025. Bur Man Laimi is a song that would represent Latvia well, with its folkloric sounds and plenty of opportunities for eye-catching staging - especially that chorus which is an absolute explosion of joy!” – Laura
“Amazing harmonies and that beat!!” – Melanie
4. Emilija – Heartbeat – 49 points
10 points from Jamie, 8 points from Hayley, Joel and Melanie, 5 points from Laura, 4 points from Craig, 3 points from John Christian, 2 points from Sam, 1 point from Dale
“I have listened to this song a number of times already and it really resonates with me and makes me feel happy, especially the chorus. Emilija has a beautiful voice and I hope she does really well at Supernova in what looks to be a very strong Latvian national song selection this year.” – Jamie
3. KoBra – Zelts – 56 points
12 points from Craig and Fleur, 10 points from Dale, 8 points from Saskia, 6 points from Emma and John Christian, 1 point from Hayley and Melanie
“His voice alone gets my douze points. But really this is a lovely sounding song with great harmonies and progression. It got my attention within the first few bars.” – Fleur
“This is a very odd but captivating journey of a song. I can't put my finger on why I like it so much but it's working for me.” – Dale
2. The Ludvig – Līgo – 84 points
12 points from Dale, Emma and Saskia, 8 points from Jamie, Liv and Sam, 7 points from Hayley, 6 points from Craig and Fleur, 3 points from Laura, 2 points from Melanie
“The song of the national final that made me sit up in my seat, I can already picture this on the Eurovision stage. An amazing blend of folk and club beats that constantly shifts and never gets stale.” – Saskia
“With its anthemic ethnic beats Ligo had my attention straight away. I love the mix of English and Latvian and think this would be such an interesting choice for Latvia. Staging will be interesting for this but if they can pull it off I can see this being a certain qualifier.” – Emma
“This got me from the very get go. Anything that makes something traditional into a banger wins me over every time. This has something special.” – Dale
1. Citi Zēni – Ramtai – 109 points
12 points from Jamie, John Christian and Sam, 10 points from Craig, Hayley, Joel and Liv, 8 points from Dale and Laura, 7 points from Emma and Fleur, 3 points from Saskia
“This song is a real dance banger and, in my opinion, much better than their 2022 Eurovision song Eat Your Salad. Also enjoying that much of the song is in Latvian, as I like it when Eurovision acts sing in their country's language.” – Jamie
“This song is clearly the favourite to win that national final. They should've qualified with Eat Your Salad, but this song would be a 'walk in the park' when it comes to qualification. Not as solid as Rim Tim Tagi Dim, Luktelk, or Damidiggida, but it's very catchy.” – John Christian
“This song is a total earworm. I love how it is so different from Citi Zēni’s 2022 entry. I am so curious to see the staging and dancing of this sophisticated song. Extra marks for the use of the Latvian language.” – Sam
“From the first beat, Citi Zēni promised a fun listening experience with the entry. I can see myself happily bouncing around Euroclub at 3am to this which is always a big thumbs up from me. The downside I see here is it relies A LOT on that drop for a chorus to carry the song and might struggle to capture jury attention because of it. This is a cracking and quirky tune, bloody love it.” – Liv
“This song starts off with a zany, instantly catchy staccato beat and I’m here for it! So much better than their memorable 2022 entry Eat Your Salad.” – Joel
“Look, there is no doubt about it, this slaps, hard. I found myself turning up my headphones louder and louder! It is high energy, rather manic and quite addictive and VERY different to their last song. The only thing I am not sure about is the transition between the different parts of the song.” – Hayley
How to watch Supernova 2025 in Australia:
You can watch the semi-final of Supernova 2025 via livestream on LTV1 at 8:10pm Central European Time on Saturday 1st February. In Australia, you can watch at the following times:
Perth: Sunday 2nd February at 3:10am
Darwin: Sunday 2nd February at 4:40am
Brisbane: Sunday 2nd February at 5:10am
Adelaide: Sunday 2nd February at 5:40am
Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart: Sunday 2nd February at 6:10am.
The final of Supernova 2025 will take place on Saturday 8th February European time, although the viewing times have not yet been released by Latvian broadcaster LTV.
For continued updates on all the Eurovision news, follow Aussievision on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Threads. All links at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet
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