WORTH A LOOK?: ****

We’re holidaying in Barcelona and leaning into the flood of Eurovision songs just released and this Netherlands entry stands out on 1st listen for its riffing on 90s Dutch superstars 2 Unlimited and their best known charttopper No Limits.

• Read on for reasons including how this may be a comedy entry but will finish top 10

Joost Klein performs in semi 2 on Thursday 9 May at the Malmo Arena and should expect to see his way clear to the final 2 days later thanks to the lack of juries in the televote-only semis.

We don’t see this as a Eurovision winner but its funnier than Finland’s No Rules by Windows95Man which should make the final from semi 1 2 days earlier and we’re loving the cheesy flourishes which appear to understand why European pop and Euro living can be such a joy.

Should you need it there’s also a backstory about Klein’s father and his inspirational education to son Joost about living a life without limits.

The song is predominantly in Dutch but the video below is subtitled and while we don’t see this challenging Croatia’s current frontrunner Baby Lasagna – whose message about the challenges young people face of seeking fortune abroad is subverted here – we can understand why Europapa‘s Spotify streams are so high.

We share Joost’s ambition for a world without borders, may not understand his fish and chips dissing but if this is realised with half the imagination on a Eurovision stage that is shown for the video, Eurovision Song Contest show viewers are in for an international dish to water the mouth.

Does it have the stamina to sustain the many challengers it will face in the gallop to the win? Time will tell.

But for us this is the sound of the Netherlands entertaining after their 1st non-qualifier since 2015 last year, reminding us what makes Dutch pop so special and earning a coveted top 10 spot on Saturday 11 May. And perhaps even higher.

On Sunday we reveal our Eurovision final predictions for the 6 pre-qualified finalists with our predictions for whose making the final from semi final 1 and semi final 2 following in late March/early April when all the songs are known. Rave. On. Europe/Europapa!

• Main picture via Facebook courtesy Joost Tickets
• Have you seen a Joost show before and what did you think of this Eurovision entry? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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