In their one night national final selection episode of the Late Show, Ireland chose the Norwegian singer Emmy and her song “Laika Party.” Emmy will perform 3rd in the second semifinal.

[Content Warning: This upbeat pop-disco entry deals with themes of animal abuse and the death of a dog… which is really not a sentence we thought we would ever need to write in the Eurovision blog.]

We really don’t know what possessed Ireland to select a Norwegian singer’s song about a reimagined fate for the Soviet space dog, though we cannot help but admit that it is a fun and catchy melody with memorable lyrics. Truly wild choices all around though.

This entry is very campy with metallic outfits, star sunglasses, and silver make-up. It has the magical WTF Eurovision quality that makes this song contest so enjoyable to follow. Hopefully, they will continue to lean into the camp aspects with their live performance.

Previous space themed Eurovision entries have all be excellent including UK’s 2nd place finish with “Space Man,” Montenegro’s sexy hair rope in “Space,” Australia’s “Zero Gravity” complete with giant swaying poles, and of course, Subwoolfer the Norwegian wolves from the moon and their song “Give That Wolf A Banana.” All excellent entries that really demonstrate the best qualities of Eurovision.

When we first heard this song, we had no idea what it was about. We heard “Like A Party in the Sky” with this cool disco beat ~ba ra ram bam bam bam bam bam~ But then, we started wondering what the lyrics were talking about – some brave little girl who saved the world?  

The “Laika Party” lyrics are about the tragic fate of Laika, the Soviet space dog, who was sent to space without proper or effective life support systems. So, even when wrapped in such a bubblegum melody with a cute dance break, the song is hard to listen to and leaves us with somewhat conflicted feelings.