The 10 best songs competing at (a very contentious) Eurovision

Croatian singers of band Lelek perform "Andromeda" during the first semifinal of Eurovision in Vienna, Austria on May 12. Tobias Schwarz/AFP via hide caption toggle caption Tobias Schwarz/AFP via The winner of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, whoever it turns out to be, will have a big ol' asterisk next to their name in the history books, so let's start there: Israel's participation has caused a whopping, unprecedented five countries to boycott the event in protest of Israel's conduct in Gaza, even as the contest's organizers struggle mightily to project an apolitical, uncontroversial image. That effort is more doomed than ever this year, because the boycotting countries include dependable Eurovision powerhouses Ireland (which has won the seven-decade-old contest a record seven times, tied only with Sweden), The Netherlands (five wins) and Spain (which has only won twice, but is historically one of the contest's "Big Five" main sponsors, alongside the U.K., France, Germany and Italy, so its absence is a very big deal). Iceland and Slovenia are staying home, too. That leaves 35 countries in the competition in Vienna, Austria this year, ten of which have now been eliminated in semifinals held Tuesday and Thursday. This Saturday, the 25 countries that made it through to the Grand Final will perform their songs in astonishingly rapid succession; despite its perennial veneer of sparkly chaos, Eurovision is, from a production logistics standpoint, the very tightest of ships. …