Barriers at the Voting Booth: Should Americans Even Have a Say?
Eurovision fever isn’t just for Europe anymore. With the contest’s popularity skyrocketing in the U.S., American fans now want a bigger piece of the Eurovision pie—including a shot at voting. But there’s a catch: the current system lets U.S. viewers vote, but only if they pay up. At a recent roundtable, Eurovision experts Sabrina Imbler, Kelsey McKinney, Dan McQuade, and Ray Ratto didn’t mince words about this peculiarity. Sabrina put it plainly—America shouldn’t be weighing in at all. Why? She suggested that allowing paid participation from Americans throws off the contest’s European roots and opens the door to integrity concerns.
Ray Ratto took it a step further. If a microstate like Andorra isn’t allowed a seat at the table, why should the U.S., a non-participating giant, have voting privileges—especially for a price? For them, Eurovision’s spirit is about unity and fairness. The payment wall makes it feel more like a fan club than a public cultural event. Both agreed that letting Americans join could dilute Eurovision’s core purpose.
When Gender Balance Misses the Mark: Inside Semifinal Segregation
But the voting drama wasn’t the only eyebrow-raiser. Kelsey McKinney pointed out a jarring split—semifinal one was packed with male acts (the panel jokingly called it “a thousand twinks”), while semifinal two mostly showcased powerhouse female performers, especially from Eastern Europe. That’s not a fluke. It’s a division that shapes more than just night-to-night variety; it affects how acts are judged. Sabrina believed this uneven split might leave contestants at a disadvantage, depending on which semifinal they land in. Are more male acts competing against each other likely to cancel each other out? Do the female-dominated heats favor certain genres over others?
The judges and televoting audience don’t exist in a vacuum. Structural quirks like these can tip the scales without anyone noticing. The panel argued that rather than just focusing on showbiz, Eurovision needs to look closely at whether these splits reflect unconscious biases. Sure, no one accused the contest of outright discrimination this year—especially not against Italians, despite the panel’s tongue-in-cheek title—but the group agreed that the rules and processes could send subtle messages about who Eurovision is really for.
More than scoring pop bangers, Eurovision’s mechanics—voting access, gender balance, and who gets left out—shape how fair and inclusive the contest really feels.
