Last year was a bad time for many reasons, but Eurovision being cancelled was just the cherry on top. Thankfully, this year it is able to go ahead. Happy Eurovision Day everyone!
Huge respect to the Netherlands for being able to make this year go ahead, despite numerous restricting factors. I know this year is going to be very different from previous years. In a way, I’m sad that the Netherlands won’t get to celebrate their 2019 win to its full extent. But I am grateful they are persevering and doing the best they can with the situation.
Whilst we have the show tonight to look forward to, I thought I would recap on some of my favourite acts from the past decade or so! This is in no particular order, and also there are so many favourites that I had to cut.
You Are The Only One – Sergey Lazarev (Russia, 2016)
Sergey’s performance in 2016 was my winner. The song was cheesy, the performance was dramatic, and there was a key change… what more could you possibly want from Eurovision? I have also spent hours staring at the screen wall trying to figure out how it all worked. He may not have won, but at least he did get to come back in 2019 with ‘Scream’ which was equally as dramatic.
Rhythm Inside – Loïc Nottet (Belgium, 2015)
Not only is this a great song, but it’s an impeccable performance. The choreography is weird and quirky, but I kinda vibe with it – especially that spin halfway through! Whilst I loved this performance, I understand that this year was a real tough battle between the top four songs so it’s hard to be bitter about it.
Grande Amore – Il Volo (Italy, 2015)
Remember how I just said 2015 had some real competition at the top end of the leaderboard? Well Il Volo was one of those acts who also deserved the win, but didn’t quite snag the trophy. One of the things I love about Eurovision is the varying different music styles. Il Volo came into this contest with some operatic pop and incredible harmonies which was a nice switch up. Their music video is also super cheesy, paying tribute to some famous romantic film moments!
Side note: I could talk all day about how much I love Måns Zelmerlöw and his winning song ‘Heroes’. This is in no way saying he didn’t deserve it because he most definitely did! I just wanted to showcase some of the other amazing 2015 acts.
Molitva – Marija Šerifović (Serbia, 2007)
Sadly, it’s rare that a country wins singing in their own language these days. Many countries choose to sing in English as they believe this will give them the biggest chance of winning. The beauty of music is, when done right, you don’t need to understand the language to understand the emotion. Unlike most Eurovision performances again, this one lacked showy dance routines and excessive pyrotechnics. Serbia won solely with a powerful and meaningful ballad, which was a huge contrast from the heavy metal Finnish band that won the previous year. This will always be one of my all-time favourite winners.
Fairytale – Alexander Rybak (Norway, 2009)
Going from one iconic winner, to another. Alexander Rybak was such a favourite that on the old voting system he won the most votes of any contestant ever. With the voting system changing a few years back, he will now forever hold that title. His violin part is iconic and features Eastern European-style folk rhythms. Can we also just take a moment to appreciate the athleticism of the dancers throughout too!
Dancing Lasha Tumbai – Verka Serduchka (Ukraine, 2007)
Hilariously, this was actually my first ever year watching Eurovision. Verka really set the Eurovision standard for me – I want everything to be this weird and chaotic! I know I mentioned before, but one of the things I love about Eurovision is the variety of music genres. This song was the runner up to Molitva which really just reinforces my point of how wildly different acts can be in this competition.
Soldi – Mahmood (Italy, 2019)
The runner-up for 2019 came in with a real bop! He had the whole of Europe clapping. I know I’ve said previously, but I really love it when countries sing in their own languages. Sure I can understand it if it’s in English, but I much prefer the celebration of different languages and cultures. The lyrics for this one are also worth looking up the translation to, for sure!
But again, this was another tough year at the top of the leaderboard. Duncan Laurence’s beautiful song ‘Arcade’ took the title (another favourite on TikTok apparently), with Sergey’s dramatic ‘Scream’ and Luca Hänni’s extremely catchy ‘She Got Me’ coming in third and fourth place respectively. I would highly recommend checking out these other songs too!
Party For Everybody – Buranovskiye Babushki (Russia, 2012)
One of the weirdest things that ever happened at Eurovision was the Russian grannies baking bread. They were told they didn’t stand a chance of winning, but iconically came in second place. It still brings a smile to my face after all these years. Sometimes you just gotta appreciate that something like this could only happen at Eurovision.
Together – Ryan O’Shaughnessy (Ireland, 2018)
Honestly, this song deserved better than ending at number sixteen on the leaderboard. It’s a gorgeous song with heartbreaking lyrics and beautiful vocals. It is also the first performance to feature two same-sex dancers throughout the competition’s history. I think 2018 wasn’t a great year overall for performances. It’s rare that I don’t like a winning act at Eurovision but this year was an exception. It’s a shame because the runner up song ‘Fuego’ was a really fun time. It would have been really nice to see Ireland place higher though!
There was controversy surrounding the song when China censored the broadcast in their country during the semi-finals. This led to the European Broadcasting Union banning them from being able to broadcast the final as they refused to not censor the performance in the final. But as Ryan says at the end of his performance, love is love. Eurovision has been embracing the LGBT community for years, so it was crazy that two men dancing together was the thing that broke China.
Rise Like A Phoenix – Conchita (Austria, 2014)
I couldn’t have a list of my favourite Eurovision performances and not include Queen Conchita Wurst from Austria. Her song had ‘James Bond’ vibes to it, and it’s a real shame that the franchise is slacking and has yet to ask Conchita to write a song for their movies. One of the things that brings me joy in this performance is being able to hear the audience singing the chorus with her.
Bonus: Love Love Peace Peace – Måns Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede
The Eurovision song contest was blessed when Måns Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede hosted for Sweden in 2016. Usually, the hosts don’t perform as the interval acts, but these two went all out. They performed a song called ‘Love Love Peace Peace’ which was a light-hearted and fun breakdown of what Eurovision is. During the semi-finals, they also did a very Broadway-esque performance.
The song paid tribute to the themes of ‘love’ and ‘peace’, which so actively feature in many entries. They also reference numerous different past performances, which is a joy to anyone who has watched Eurovision over the past decade or so, but also a great introduction to the wackiness of the contest for anyone who has never seen it before. They were truly iconic hosts.
What are your favourite Eurovision performances? Let me know in the comments.