Now Eurovision 2026 is firmly behind us and weâve had a chance to properly digest the wild ride of Vienna, itâs now time to discuss What Went Wrong. Weâve all had a chance to mull over the results of the contest. The Eurovision 2026 final saw some very dramatic results, but 6 acts in particular had noticeably bad results.
In our ninth part Tom, Emma, and Kittens discuss what went wrong with CosmĂł.
Who is CosmĂł?
COSMĂ is the stage name of Benjamin Gedeon, a 19-year-old singer born in Budapest, Hungary. Growing up on the Austrian-Hungarian border, he became invested in music as a child, learning how to play the piano at the age of four. He wrote his first song when he began to take singing lessons at 13. He shot to fame in 2022 when he auditioned on the German version of The Voice Kids, reaching the final under the guidance of Alvaro Soler. After this, he began to lean into various genres, exploring his personal musical style. Ahead of the Austrian national selection, he adopted the moniker âCOSMĂâ.
His song to sing on home soil â âTanzscheinâ â was written by Benjamin himself, alongside Elias Stejskal and Ella Stern.
What are the issues with the selection?
Tom: Ah nowt. CosmĂł is amazing, and so young. This was a great host entrant. Would I have liked to see other songs win the national final at the time? Sure. Do I now think the âTanzscheinâ dance is one of the best moments of the Grand Final? Absolutely. Iâm glad Austria gave us a national final for the year the hosted the Contest, and am glad they are returning to an internal selection in 2027.
Emma: I donât think there was anything fundamentally wrong with the selection. CosmĂł brought something genuinely distinctive, and âTanzscheinâ had a unique sound and personality that made it an interesting, if slightly risky, choice. As the host nation, Austria were also in the rare position of being able to take that risk without quite the same pressure to chase a result. And ultimately, it gave us the âTanzscheinâ dance. Who doesnât love an instructional dance?
Kittens: The national final was honestly a bit of a farce â I would have thought they would have had so, so much more to offer, especially in a Eurovision winner year. Iâd much rather they went internal than do this, and thankfully they are looking at doing that for next year. However did a good song win? Absolutely yes. CosmĂł has a lot of things going for him and I think there was a lot of good energy there.
Was the song and act good enough to be in Eurovision?
Tom: Yeah, sure. Austria was never going to win this year. I think itâs almost impossible for a country to win back to back these days. So it was almost the perfect act and perfect song to be in Eurovision for Austria this year. It was a great host entry.
Emma: Absolutely. It was distinctive, well produced and unlike anything else in the contest, with CosmĂł bringing plenty of personality to a song that could easily have been difficult to sell. The unusual style was always going to divide opinion, but Eurovision is much more interesting when countries are willing to send something that doesnât sound like everything else.
Kittens: I think the song was probably perfect as a host entry, and in terms of getting something people could rally behind and âuseâ it was really good. The subject matter seems very ârealâ and itâs not a subject that gets talked about often in music, so nice to see something a bit more unique. I donât think there was much of a problem with the physical performance of the song either â although itâs helped by some of it being almost spoken.
Did the staging compliment the song and stand out?
Tom: I actually think the staging was perfect. It was both cool and modern, and referential and retro. The dance is great and easy to pick up. CosmĂł is cool and incredibly likeable. The âVIENâ shout moment, followed by the roar really amplified the staging and costuming decisions. As a finished packaged, this was enjoyable.
Emma: I really enjoyed the staging. It was slick, colourful and slightly retro, and the choreography gave the performance an identity that was instantly recognisable. The âTanzscheinâ dance was obviously the standout moment, although I do think some of the songâs meaning got lost amongst all the fun. It certainly wasnât forgettable, though.
Kittens: Sadly I think what failed with this one is just storytelling. The song tells a very specific unique story, with lots of fun features, and the dance was cool (I do not care if you think itâs cringe!) and I think it was performed well. I just donât think it communicated the message well. A casual non-German speaking viewer just didnât have enough to interpret it and thatâs where it fails. If you canât tell what the story is in those 3 minutes â youâre lost. However, it was so enjoyable and they had clearly put some thought into it, so Iâll give it a pass on a general basis.
Would this song have qualified from this yearâs semifinals?
Tom: I really want to say yes, because I love it, but looking at what failed to qualify â Iâm not so sure. But I also donât think Austria would have necessarily sent this, had they not been hosting this year.
Emma: I actually think it could have scraped through. It was distinctive enough to stand out in a semi-final and the dance gave viewers something immediate to remember, even if the song itself wasnât the most accessible. I certainly wouldnât have called it a safe qualifier, but I wouldnât have written it off either.
Kittens: Iâd like to hope it would have, if they had managed to get some momentum, but I think even if it had it might have been low in the qualifiers. It feels like it would maybe have struggled to pick up votes against other offerings- and the result in the final shows that.
What are our outlooks for future contests?
Tom: Keep calm and carry on. Austria are coming off a recent win. The country is going back to an internal selection. Letâs see what happens! There are absolutely no reasons to panic for the Austrian delegation after this yearâs results.
Emma: Thereâs really no reason to worry about Austria after one disappointing result, particularly when they came into this contest as the reigning champions. Theyâve shown theyâre willing to take risks and send genuinely interesting artists, and returning to an internal selection gives them plenty of opportunity to keep doing that. One slightly bonkers host entry shouldnât change much â more of the same, please!
Kittens: Internal selection really is the best way forward for Austria until they work out what theyâre doing. I think their identity at Eurovision is rather weak, and their successes feel like happy accidents rather than any concerted strategy. And without the momentum of hosting, i donât think theyâll get the same interest. Hereâs hoping they can pull a great artist for next year out of the bag.
Watch the accompanying discussion video here:
Austriaâs Eurovision Journey
In 1957, Austria made their debut into the Eurovision Song Contest, where Bob Martin represented the landlocked nation with the song âWohin, kleines Pony?â. At the close of voting, it managed to place 10th overall. Since their debut, Austria has participated 56 times (being in the final 49 times), and â before 2025 â had won the competition on two occasions in 1966 and 2014.
In 2026, Austria selected COSMĂ to represent the nation on home soil with âTanzscheinâ. Being the host country, Austria automatically qualified for the final â where COSMĂ would ultimately finish in 24th place with 6 points. One point came from the jury while another five came from the televote.
What do think about our thoughts? Do you think Austria could have done better? Let us know in the comments or on social media! Be sure to follow âThat Eurovision Siteâ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we prepare for Eurovision 2027!
Source: That Eurovision Site
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