Our 2018 Eurovision favorites

The Czech Republic's entry in 2018 sounds like nothing you've heard from them before. "Lie To Me" is electro-hip-hop of the finest sort! The young singer is really good, the number itself funny and it reminds me a bit of the poppy Snoop Dogg hit "Drop It Like It's Hot." Czech contestants have been dropped like they're hot in past years, but I see this act possibly landing among the top 10.

In the video, two young men in love are dancing through the streets of Dublin. The quiet and light, airy and slow ballad was selected from over 300 songs in Ireland. With it, the country could return to its glory days of the 90s, when it saw many ESC triumphs. It sounds unlike anything else at Eurovision this year.

Belgium is always good for a surprise and this year that comes in the form of a warm and powerful soul voice belonging to singer Sennek and her "Matter Of Time" ballad. I didn't think much of it from the get-go but then in the refrain, it was like the sun had risen right in front of me. Great song, great voice.

The tears flow, real and honest. The song has everything: a solid structure, moving refrain, relatable text and a message that everyone could have personally experienced — the death of a loved one. Michael Schulte is not only friendly and quite personable, he is clearly a professional. It's hard to find something to say against him.

Every year I go to Wacken for DW to report on what's new at the heavy metal festival. The Hungarian band AWS would fit right in there. These five guys will blast the audience out of their seats with a very loud rock anthem that will make you lose your hearing and sight. I love it when the ESC sounds like that, too. I'm all for headbanging!

Praise for the extreme punk-rock sounds and the courage to deliver a song in the national language. The video shows boisterous music, children playing, smiling faces. Only later does one notice that this song is about dying. The no-frills message: everything is finite, so we should lead a happy life.

What in the world is this? A woman who cackles and sings and roars?!? She reminds me of Beth Ditto. With her song "Toy," about a self-determined woman, she needs no backup singers nor wind machine nor gimmicks to make her clothes look like they're aflame. This woman is a hand grenade, which makes up for slightly flat lyrics like "I'm not your toy you stupid boy." No wonder Netta is a fave.

What else could we expect? A bit pudgy, sassy, thumbing her nose at conventions — this artist and her song let loose as they celebrate differences. While the opener is a bit deceptive because of its tone and shifts in rhythm, this song really cracks as it shifts into a contagious dance number with a message — "I'm not your toy!" seems fitting during a time of debates about women's rights.

"That's How You Write A Song": the title says is all. Rybak has written a song that has it all: a good-mood pop track that could be the hit of the summer. It's hard to sit still when such a funky dance number comes on. And this singer who can play the violin — we all remember him as the winner of the contest in 2009, right? He's likely to rocket to the top right alongside Israel's Netta.

It's impossible to listen and not to bob along with your head or tap your hand and smile. Rybak once wrote Eurovision history by taking home the highest score ever and he could make it to victory again. His play on imaginary hovering stringed instruments is sweet, though nothing new. But then, when he digs out the real violin: it's all over with.