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Newsletter # 307
​Published 16th of February 2026

Congratulations ireland

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After a lengthy selection - starting with 59 songs - we have now found what you think was the best song in Global Music 2025!

Interestingly, the one song surviving all the battles, standing strong at the end of it all, was not a Global Music Champion. In fact, it did not even win a medal, when it competed, but finished in 4th place.

But that doesn't matter when it comes to the Super Final!

Congratulations Ireland, Rea Garvey and HoD Jon on this title!
​

GLOBAL MUSIC ROYALTY NOMINEES

It's time to pick the third Global Music Royalty of the year and the 69th in the line of honorees.
Here are your 10 artists nominated for this great honor.
Who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame is totally up to you.
​Votes are made through the Voting Form for the final of GM235.
INFERNAL
Global Music Champion and Bronze Medallist
This Danish duo has participated 3 times winning two medals. In GM136 they took the gold with "Weightless".

TOM GRENNAN
Global Music Champion and Bronze Medallist
This British singer has participated four times and won two medals! He took home the gold in GM184 with "Little bit of love".

JECK
Global Music Champion and Silver and Bronze Medallist
This French singer har won 3 medals - one of each - in only 4 participations! He won GM234 with "M'envoler".

MERCY MYRA
Global Music Champion
This Kenyan singer has only participated once, but she did bring GM to Africa for the first time already in the 3rd edition. Her GM02 winning song was called "I'm gonna fly".
​​
LISA LOIS
Global Music Champion.
This Dutch singer has participated 3 times always finishing top 10. She brought Netherlands their first gold medal with "Silhouette" in GM113.
CHRISTOPHER
Global Music Champion and Double Bronze Medallist.
This Danish singer has participated 7 times, finishing in the top 10 on 6 of these! He even won the contest in GM223 with "It could have been us".

SOPHIE AND THE GIANTS
Global Music Champion and Silver Medallist
This British group has participated 3 times, reaching the top 5 each time! As recently as in GM211 they won on their third attempt with "Paradise".
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MARIA MENA
Global Music Champion and Silver Medallist.
This Norwegian singer has participated 4 times winning first a silver medal and lastly a gold medal in GM175 for "Not OK".

​
GIGI RADICS
Global Music Champion and Silver Medallist.
This Hungarian singer has participated 7 times winning with her first entry "Vadonatúj érzés" in GM88. She followed up on this with a silver medal only 4 editions later!

​
LOST FREQUENCIES
Global Music Champion
This Belgian DJ has participated 9 times and kickstarted Belgium's Golden Age, when he won the gold with "Back to you" in GM208.

The final begins in Kyiv

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We have reached the second final of 2026, coming to you from spectacular Kyiv in Ukraine.

The semi finals were really close, so an exciting final is ahead of us!

As usual 26 countries are left at this stage fighting for the gold. 
​
Check out ​who made the cut!

It is now up to you to decide, who will follow in the footsteps of Jerry Heil and take home the trophy.
​
Votes are due on February 25th.
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​Ping Pong's popular predictions

Here is Ping Pong - our Predicting Panda!
🌟 Top 5 Most Likely to Win

Ireland – Dermot Kennedy – Power Over Me
  • Intimate, heartfelt, emotionally immediate.
United Kingdom – James Morrison – Cry Your Tears On Me
  • Warm vocals, classic songwriting, sincere delivery.
Sweden – Molly Sandén & Victor Leksell – Lost and Found
  • Modern duet pop, relatable and uplifting.
Denmark – Theresa Rex – Run Boy Run
  • Contemporary, melodic, radio-ready.
Spain – Manuel Carrasco – Tengo El Poder
  • Passionate, accessible, culturally rich pop.

🐺 Three “Dark Horses” 

Cyprus – Yianna Terzi – Horis Anasa
  • Mediterranean emotion with modern polish.
Finland – VIIVI – Kävi mitä kävi sul on mut
  • Gentle, catchy, emotionally warm.
Italy – Levante – Sono Blu
  • Moody, stylish, contemporary pop.
Ping Pong's selection was shot down in the last edition, as none of his predicted winners made it into the top 15! However, since he loves picking his favorites so much, we have allowed him to continue making his monthly predictions.

So, once again we asked Ping Pong to pick the 5 songs which are most likely to triumph in Kyiv as well as 3 dark horses. With a little help from his zookeepers, Ping Pong predicts these songs to do really well.


Please bear in mind that Ping Pong is not a music professional nor an oracle and he could thus be mistaken!
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- END -
Newsletter # 306
​Published 8th of February 2026

Conclusion of the Super Final

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With the conclusion of the 2025 Super Final we are closing the door on last year's Global Music journey.

59 songs started out with the chance of being crowned as

    THE BEST SONG IN GLOBAL MUSIC 2024

In the end it was down to 2 songs: The Dutch Champion "Gave it all" by HAEVN against the Irish entry "Halo" by Rea Garvey, which did not win a medal in it's original edition.

24 players cast their vote in the Grand Final!

Check out who ran away with the trophy! 

​- END -
Newsletter # 305
​Published 5th of February 2026

Global Music 238: Kyiv

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​​Welcome to Kyiv!

As Jerry Heil managed to win the contest and give Ukraine its 2nd trophy, we are moving farther East, settling in the resilient city of Kyiv!

40 countries have signed up to participate, which is the same number as last time!
GM238 sees the return of the staple houses Bosnia-Herzegovina and Cyprus who has been away for quite a while now. Also we welcome back Chad, who has only competed once before!
We also have a new player this month: A warm welcome to the family, Andreas!


There are 5 Global Music Champions in the line-up this time and another 2 Medallists are fighting to be able to better their previous result. All these medallists will battle against a string of other returnees as well as a lot of debuting artists. Who will come out on top is up to you!

The first hurdle in Kyiv is the semi finals, from which 21 countries will qualify for the final as usual.

​We are so excited, so let's get inside the International Exhibition Center for the semi finals!
​
Let the show begin here!  

​Votes are due on February 14th.

There is still time to vote
​in final of the 2025 super final

Last chance is February 6th at 4 pm. CET


​- END -
Newsletter # 304
​Published 28th of January 2026

tHE FIRST CHAMPION OF 2026

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In January we have been in Karlovy Vary, where Mattoni Arena has hosted the 237th edition of Global Music.

26 countries competed in the grand final, and Radka Rosická and Jakub Kotek are now ready to reveal the votes coming in from all the juries. Afterwards they will announce the result of the televote, based on the 6 countries, who despite being eliminated in the semi finals, still took the time to vote.
Unfortunately, Montenegro did not vote and their final score has thus been set to 0 instead of 101 points they would have scored.

And now let's get to it! Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Here is the live voting.
​
You can also check out the complete scoreboard here and soon everything about this edition including the separated televote here.

Congratulations to our winner!

We all now anxiously await the selection of the next host city.

Statistics, country pages and the artists database will be updated as soon as possible.

Call for songs

We don't know yet where we are going next, but it is time to find out who will be competing in that city! It's time to find out who will grab that microphone in the next edition!

Some countries have already selected their next entry. If you haven't already submitted a song for your country, it is time to make your choice! 

Remember to check The Artists Database when making your choice to avoid sending a song which has already competed before. 

Stay tuned to see who will be competing in February!
​


Last day to submit your song is January 31st
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There is still time to vote
​in THE qUARTER fINALS of the 2025 super final

Last chance is January 29th at 4 pm. CET

- END -
Newsletter # 303
​Published 17th of January 2026

The final begins in Karlovy Vary

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We have reached the first final of 2026, coming to you from beautiful and relaxing Karlovy Vary in Czech Republic.

The semi finals were really close, so an exciting final is ahead of us!

As usual 26 countries are left at this stage fighting for the gold. 
​
Check out ​who made the cut!

It is now up to you to decide, who will follow in the footsteps of Deloraine and take home the trophy.
​
Votes are due on January 26th.
​

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Ping Pong's sense of songs

Here is Ping Pong - our Predicting Panda!

Last time Ping Pong actually did really well, having both Czech Republic and Portugal in his top 5! So, once again we asked Ping Pong to pick the 5 songs which are most likely to triumph in Karlovy Vary as well as 3 dark horses. With a little help from his zookeepers, Ping Pong predicts these songs to do really well.


Please bear in mind that Ping Pong is not a music professional nor an oracle and he could thus be mistaken!
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​🌟 Top 5 Most Likely to Win

Poland – Sobel & sanah – “Wynalazek Filipa Golarza”
  • This is your contest catnip.
Iceland – Of Monsters and Men – “Ordinary Creature”
  • This is not just a song. It’s an atmospheric weather system.
Switzerland – Eluveitie – “Awen”
  • This is the identity bomb of the contest.
Ireland – Sugababes – “Too Lost In You”
  • Nostalgia with laser precision.
South Korea – Jennie feat. Dua Lipa – “Handlebars”
  • The big glossy magnet.

🐺 Three “Dark Horses” 

Albania – Gjon’s Tears – “Où est mon amour”
  • Vocal artistry + emotional devastation.
Belgium – Typh Barrow – “Close To Me”
  • Soulful and intimate.
Finland – Mirella – “Vähän enemmän”
  • Modern, catchy, culturally strong.

There is still time to vote
​in stage 3 of the 2025 super final

Last chance is January 19th at 4 pm. CET


​- END -
Newsletter # 302
​Published 5th of January 2026

GLOBAL MUSIC 237: Karlovy Vary

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Welcome to Karlovy Vary!

As Deloraine managed to win the contest and give Czech Republic its 2nd trophy, we are moving back to Europe, settling in the marvelous spa city of Karlovy Vary!

40 countries have signed up to participate, which is three more than last time!
GM237 sees the return of the staple houses Australia, Finland and Ukraine and one of the lesser frequent European countries: Montenegro. 
We have no new players this week, but I do have the pleasure to welcome back Adilson after a longer break! 


There are 5 Global Music Champions in the line-up this time and another 4 Medallists are fighting to be able to better their previous result. All these medallists will battle against a string of other returnees as well as a lot of debuting artists. Who will come out on top is up to you!

The first hurdle in Karlovy Vary is the semi finals, from which 21 countries will qualify for the final as usual.

​We are so excited, so let's get inside Mattoni Arena for the semi finals!
​
Let the show begin here!  

​Votes are due on Janauary 15th.

My Musical nomad: sonidomundi

As you all know, I have a passion for music and foreign cultures. This is also one of the reasons that I love bringing us all Global Music each month.

However, not many of you know that I have also began dabbling in making my own music where I "travel" the world creating music inspired from various iconic places around the world.

For some reason, Marrakech in Morocco has always been sort of a mythical place for me, and I am fortunate enough to have visited the city a couple of times - and it's absolutely amazing! So I kicked of my musical travels in that city and created 6 songs inspired by Marrakech, blending local instruments and sounds with a more modern Western style. I know that this kind of music will not be to everyone's liking, but as the songs are also very different from eachother, you might enjoy some of them.

That is the reason why I now invite you to visit my artist profile - SonidoMundi - on Spotify and have a listen for yourself. At the moment my songs inspired by Marrakech, Rio de Janeiro and Santorini are available. Next up is Jaipur, Mombasa and Miami, so if you like some of my stuff, please go ahead and follow me to be notified of future releases. And you are naturally also welcome to spread the word and love of music!

If you enjoy some of the songs that's great, and if you don't it is also okay 😉  

SonidoMundi
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There is still time to vote
​in stage 1 of the 2025 super final

Last chance is January 6th at 4 pm. CET
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I don't claim to own any pictures used on this website.
​All pictures shown are solely for illustrative purposes and no commercial gain is obtained from them.
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Global Music is proudly brought to you by Mikkel Baltzer since 2005.
  • News
  • 238 Kyiv
  • 237 Karlovy Vary
  • 2025 Ostrava
  • History
    • Editions 1 -50
    • Editions 51 - 100
    • Editions 101 - 150
    • Editions 151 - 200
    • Super Finals
  • Statistics
  • The Countries
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • North America
    • Oceania
    • South America
  • The Artists
    • Global Music Royalty
    • Champions
    • Medallists
    • Veterans
    • Globetrotters
  • Rules
  • Join