Thought I'd finally get around to updating this!
2018 - I originally gave this to 2019 by a tiny margin, but Ktheju Tokes has fallen slightly down my rankings. Both are decent, though.
2018 - Qami was a bit of a fader for me last year, but wins here easily; I don't like this year's entry as much as I feel I should, for some reason.
2019 - Neither is perfect but I much prefer the creative, risky slant we're going with this year.
2019 - Close win to this year. Both are good songs without troubling my top 10; Limits wins the tiebreak for being more original.
2019 - A battle of two pop songs that started off low in my rankings and then grew. Truth is less basic and continues to grow, so it wins.
2018 - Both are fine but not great. The added cheese gives last year an edge but I can see things changing with the proper live performance soon.
2018 - Both have nice mysterious verses; only one keeps that up in the chorus.
2019 - I do like me a good slice of ham (and wasn't huge on Franka last year).
2018 - With Replay being essentially a slightly weaker Fuego minus the ethno elements, I've gotta give the win to Fuego.
2018 - Last year was a whole lot of fun and a personal top-10 for me. Beats out the "I kinda like it" song from this year.
2018 - Easy pick. One I love, the other is a pile of twee mush (which has grown on me slightly, but from a pretty low baseline).
2018 - I don't mind Storm but La Forza was right up my alley, and more of a standout. Another easy one.
Tied - Can't quite decide here. I'd say 2019 is underrated by the fandom and 2018 was overrated, but both hover around my 10th place.
2018 - Never really got the hype over Madame Monsieur, but do prefer their entry from last year. Could change with Bilal's revamp.
2019 - I'm sad to see all the hate Oto's getting; I think he's got a pretty strong, standout rock entry. Beats out last year too.
2018 - I'm not in the group that hates Sister; Michael just had a better song and a more emotional performance.
2018 - Yianna's live perormance might have been a bit of a flop, but something about Better Love just grates on me slightly.
2018 - I love both but as my #1 of last year, AWS easily takes the cake here.
2019 - After sending my #43 last year, Iceland's sent my #1 for this year. This couldn't be an easier choice.
2018 - Both have their problems, but are... fine, I guess. 22 isn't my cup of tea; last year scrapes ahead with its nice verses.
2018 - I like Home a lot more than most people, but it doesn't exactly come close to Toy.
2018 - Mahmood's finally growing on me after a couple of months, but I've still got MetaMoro slightly ahead.
2019 - Neither is really my cup of tea but Funny Girl got on my nerves for some reason and That Night doesn't, so yay 2019 I guess.
2018 - Last year is decent enough, albeit sappy; this year is just forgettable. I'll go with the sappy.
2019 - Taboo fell pretty far down my rankings last year, while so far Chameleon is climbing this year. Michaela nabs the point.
2018 - I liked Stay in the context of this year's mediocre Moldovan NF but it feels a lot weaker amid the full Eurovision lineup; last year wins easily.
2018 - Wasn't the best Balkan ballad, but hey, I like Balkan ballads enough to beat out this year's Montenegrin attempt.
2019 - I'm not hyping Duncan as much as most people, but I do like him enough to have him ahead of Waylon (who I thought was decent).
2019 - After two years of not quite understanding the Macedonia hype, I'm finally back on the hype train right when everyone else has hopped off.
2019 -
He lå e loi la Čajet dan čuovgga
2019 - Not the biggest fan of either, but this year's at least doing something interesting.
2019 - Telemoveis certainly makes for a unique and cool three minutes, even if I don't adore it as much as some other people.
2019 - The Humans did nothing for me; Ester Peony at least has some interesting elements and could grow.
2019 - I feel like Sergey's a little underrated by the fandom this year; too many comparisons to 2016, perhaps. If nothing else, he wins over Yulia.
2019 - I honestly didn't expect the Serhat comeback to win me over so hard. Please, San Marino, don't mess this up live.
2019 - It's a close-ish battle, but this nice Balkan ballad just takes the win for me.
2019 - It's very much an apples-and-oranges comparison – and I did like last year – but Sebi's more unique and more emotional.
Tied - Both would've been in my lower top 10; both plunged down my rankings with weak revamps. Hard to decide.
2019 - While I appreciated DYO's staging and retro vibe, John's just got a much stronger package on the whole.
Tied - Two songs flitting around the border of my top 10. 2019 is moving constantly around my rankings too, which makes things hard to compare.
2019 - Surie herself was lovely, but that's not quite enough. Slight edge to Michael's kinda-nice power ballad.
2018: 18
Ties: 3
2019: 20
So we've ended up with a pretty decent year on the whole! Some of those earlier NFs were concerning, but between good NF winners in the later weeks, strong internal selections and a couple of things growing, I'm happy with the lineup. Now to see how things go live in two weeks time...