Swedish pop sensation Robyn brands Eurovision ‘embarrassing’

Published on 13 November 2026 - 10:15 GMT+1 Robyn is not shy about her feelings towards the Eurovision Song Contest, labelling the annual music event as "shit" and "embarrassing". ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The celebrated Swedish pop star, whose hits include 'Show Me Love', 'With Every Heartbeat' and 'Dancing On My Own', shared her verdict during an appearance on comedian and actress Amy Poehler's podcast, Good Hang. Robyn suggested Eurovision's appeal had diminished for her since ABBA’s involvement. The Swedish pop group won Eurovision with their hit song 'Waterloo' in 1974, and since then, Sweden has won the contest six times – the latest being Loreen in 2023 with the song 'Tattoo'. Despite this impressive track record, Robyn told Poehler that she is not a fan, admitting that she frequently finds herself cringing at what she sees. "We don't have ABBA any more so I don't really watch Eurovision. Now it's just shit, I would say." She added: “I have American friends I watch it with, and my friend Bert has a blanket he pulls up over his eyes when we're watching it because it's so embarrassing. It really is embarrassing." “After I've watched it, I feel really overstimulated and in a bad way. I was looking for words – I'm not going to say – but I don't like it.” She's not the only one, as Eurovision has taken many blows over the years, with the contest's reputation being repeatedly dented by the inclusion of Israel on the line-ups. Last month, Dutch public broadcaster NPO reversed its earlier decision to return to the contest, after broadcaster AVROTROS had announced in August that it would not take part because of Israel's presence. Ireland has already announced it will not take part in Eurovision 2027, and the head of the Spanish public broadcaster has come out in favour of a boycott. The Czech public broadcaster has also pulled out, but cited spending cuts as the reason. Last year, five countries - Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia - boycotted Eurovision after organizers declined to exclude Israel over its military actions in Gaza and violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The Spanish broadcaster RTVE said at the time that it would not broadcast the contest or the semi-finals and criticised the decision-making process as “insufficient”. They said that the EBU’s decision to keep Israel as a competitor “increases RTVE’s distrust of the festival’s organisation and confirms the political pressure surrounding it." Irish broadcaster RTÉ stated: “RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.” As for Slovenian broadcaster RTVSLO, they said last year that taking part “would conflict with its values of peace, equality and respect” and that it was pulling out of the competition "on behalf of the 20,000 children who died in Gaza". The 2026 competition drew 131 million viewers, down 35 million from the year before. Eurovision 2027 will take place in Burgas in Bulgaria on 15 May, following Dara's win in Vienna this year. As for Robyn, her latest album 'Sexistential' made the cut in Euronews Culture's Best Albums of 2026 So Far list. We wrote: "Female sexuality, motherhood and existential dread - Robyn lays it all out on the dance floor in her ninth studio album. Frothy with the Swedish singer’s trademark dopamine-laden synth-pop, ‘Sexistential’ feels like entering the eye of a hormonal storm. As she sings in the title track: “My body's a spaceship with the ovaries on hyperdrive / Got a whole universe inside that exists in between my thighs.”" We added: "Jittery and bombastic, this collision of parental and sexual identities is overwhelmingly self-assured - the music of someone that doesn’t just write music, but owns everyone it touches. It will make you want to bury your self-doubt and give in to the fleeting elation of desire."