These Eurovision songs were robbed! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the “Eurovision” tracks that didn’t walk away with the win, but were just as good, if not better than the songs that did.
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00:00 [Music]
00:05 Welcome to MissMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Eurovision tracks that
00:10 didn't walk away with the win, but were just as good, if not better, than the songs that did.
00:15 [Music]
00:21 Number 10. Spirit in the Sky - Kano
00:24 Given that the 2019 winner Arcade topped international charts after its win in Tel Aviv,
00:30 it's pretty bold to say another song should have taken the contest that year. But we're here to
00:34 say Norway's entry, Spirit in the Sky, was the true crowd-pleaser.
00:39 [Music]
00:46 Performed by Kano, a band fronted by an indigenous Sami rapper, the song married
00:51 traditional Norwegian folk music with upbeat dance pop.
00:55 [Music]
01:02 Its bridge features traditional joik singing and a drumline,
01:06 and honestly, what other country could say that? The song handedly won the public vote,
01:12 but only placed sixth when factoring in the jury vote.
01:15 [Music]
01:25 Number 9. We Are The Winners - LT United
01:28 Finland came to rock the continent. Lithuania came to ruffle some feathers.
01:33 [Music]
01:40 In 2006, a six-man band called LT United arrived in Athens, looking to break the country's losing
01:47 streak. While their boastful song didn't end up netting them the win, the hubris,
01:51 memorable lyrics, and straight-up hilarity of the song ranks it as one of the best to never win.
01:56 [Music]
02:04 The Greek audience wasn't amused. They openly booed the song,
02:07 but the song still finished the contest in sixth place. It's been a fan favorite ever since,
02:13 and those who aren't partial to Finland's hard rock hallelujah prefer it to this day.
02:18 [Music]
02:26 Number 8. Chingis Khan - Chingis Khan
02:29 Boney M had Rasputin. Chingis Khan had, well, Genghis Khan.
02:34 Clad in extravagant period costumes, the 1979 West German entry gave us a brutal
02:40 history lesson wrapped in an infectious disco beat.
02:43 [Music]
02:50 What also set it apart was the staging. It may look tame compared to the thrills and
02:55 horrors that would come later, but it was still early days for outrageous performances.
02:59 [Music]
03:05 The song itself was covered and translated into several different languages
03:09 after the contest ended, despite it only placing fourth in the finals.
03:14 If the length of the applause at the end is any indication, this stunt is just unforgettable.
03:19 [Music]
03:29 Number 7. Eres Tú - Mocidades
03:32 It wasn't necessarily unheard of for a Eurovision song to jump across the pond and make a splash
03:37 on the US charts, but Spain's 1973 entry was one of the most successful examples.
03:43 [Music]
03:53 The fact that it's entirely in Spanish only makes the feat more impressive.
03:57 Eres Tú, or "It's You" in English, was performed by the Spanish band Mocidades.
04:03 Between the soaring choruses and the crystal-clear vocals of "Umaya Oranga,"
04:08 it's no wonder the song broke into several non-competing countries' music charts.
04:12 [Music]
04:22 Eres Tú has been covered and translated plenty of times since its performance at the contest.
04:28 Though Spain lost to a worthy winner, the beautiful Tuterú Conetra from Luxembourg,
04:33 we think this one could have at least been a tie.
04:36 [Music]
04:41 Number 6. Grande Amore - Y Volo
04:44 This one launched a few thousand villain origin stories.
04:47 [Music]
04:55 Talk to anyone who watched Italy's Y Volo pour their souls into the passionate pop-opera single
05:01 Grande Amore, and you might actually be hit with the heat of a thousand suns.
05:06 An explosion of vocal technique and passion, the song was an unprecedented success.
05:11 They came third in the finals despite winning the public's heart.
05:14 [Music]
05:21 The next year, Eurovision broke from decades of tradition and overhauled the voting system
05:26 to give the public vote more weight.
05:28 We're not saying Grande Amore actually broke Eurovision, but you could make a case.
05:33 [Music]
05:42 Number 5. Fuego - Eleni Foureira
05:45 Cyprus did not come to play in 2018.
05:48 Eleni Foureira dazzled the stadium with a fiery, pop-chart-friendly song of female empowerment.
05:54 [Music]
06:02 The hierography alone was worth the price of admission.
06:05 On grand final night, this song had the crowd in Lisbon beside itself.
06:10 Fuego is a catchy, well-produced dance hit, bursting with energy and sensuality.
06:15 [Music]
06:22 Even if you didn't know it was a Eurovision entry,
06:25 Fuego sounds like a hit single that would be at home in any country's Top 40.
06:29 It finished in a strong second place, but some still think it deserved to be in the top spot.
06:35 [Music]
06:46 Number 4. Ooh Ah! - Just a Little Bit - Gina G
06:50 Considering the amount of play this one got, it's hard to believe that the United Kingdom
06:55 only earned 8th place out of 23.
06:58 From its opening synthesizer to its breathy chorus,
07:01 Gina G's "Ooh Ah! Just a Little Bit" is peak '90s techno-Europop.
07:06 [Music]
07:14 Its electronic sound led to a charmingly awkward bit of staging.
07:18 Old contest rules required every instrument used in the song to be physically present on stage,
07:25 which is why there are two computers just chilling behind Gina G and her backup dancers.
07:29 [Music]
07:35 Despite its lacklustre result in the 1996 Eurovision,
07:39 the track found more success after the contest.
07:42 It even made it to the 1998 Grammys as a nominee for Best Dance Recording.
07:47 [Music]
07:56 Number 3. Think About Things - Dagi og Agnum Agnud
08:00 For the first time in Eurovision's long and complicated history,
08:04 the contest was officially cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
08:09 Every participating country had already chosen and released their songs,
08:13 and fans could only speculate who would have won.
08:16 [Music]
08:22 Iceland's quirky, meme-worthy, and genuinely brilliant "Think About Things" by Dagi Freyr
08:29 became the odds-on favorite. The song and its endearing, charmingly nerdy music video
08:35 achieved viral success, helped along by the isolation of lockdowns and quarantines.
08:40 [Music]
08:48 To add insult to injury, if it had won, it would have been the country's first ever.
08:53 Dagi would get a second chance at the next year's contest, where he and his band finished fourth.
08:59 [Music]
09:05 Number 2. Dancing Laša Tumbaj - Vjerka Senduška
09:09 Serbia's winning song is a heart-rending and powerful ballad,
09:13 but Ukraine's outlandish, semi-incoherent second-place entry has more than earned its
09:19 legendary status. [Music]
09:27 In 2007, drag queen Vjerka Senduška brought the house down with "Dancing Laša Tumbaj".
09:34 Despite allegations that the song's gibberish title bore resemblance to the phrase "Russia,
09:40 goodbye", the song managed to avoid an international incident, winning over millions of fans.
09:46 [Music]
09:54 When people talk about how unhinged Eurovision is, this is what they mean.
09:59 It's an overstimulating mix of campiness, joy, and sheer nonsense.
10:04 [Music]
10:15 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.
10:19 Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein - Joy Fleming
10:21 Eurovision just wasn't ready for the absolute slayage of Germany's Joy Fleming.
10:27 [Music]
10:35 Hold Me Closer - Cornelia Jacobs
10:38 A heartfelt and powerful pop ballad from Sweden.
10:41 [Music]
10:51 Is It True - Joanna
10:52 In any other year, Iceland's runner-up finisher would have killed the competition.
10:58 [Music]
11:04 Sound of Silence - Dami Im
11:06 Australia nearly swept away the competition in their second year competing.
11:10 [Music]
11:19 Spaceman - Sam Ryder
11:21 Sam Ryder gave the UK its best placement in the contest since 1998.
11:26 [Music]
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11:55 Number 1 - Nel Blu De Pinto De Blu - Volare - Domenico Modugno
12:01 Our 12 points go to Italy for the classic song "Volare".
12:05 [Music]
12:11 Domenico Modugno's entry, known by its original name "Nel Blu De Pinto De Blu",
12:16 already sounded timeless when he performed it at the 1958 contest.
12:21 Despite placing third overall, it is widely regarded as the contest's first veritable hit record.
12:28 [Music]
12:36 Modugno won two awards at the very first Grammys ceremony in 1959,
12:41 beating songs by English-language stars Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and Perry Como.
12:47 It has since been recorded by some of the most famous and beloved singers of all time,
12:53 including Dean Martin and David Bowie.
12:55 [Music]
13:03 "Volare" became a point of national pride for Italy
13:06 and would inspire many more singers to try their hand at the contest.
13:10 [Music]
13:18 Which of these losing entries gets your 12 points? Tell us in the comments.
13:23 [Music]
13:31 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from MsMojo.
13:34 And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
13:38 [Music]