Eurovision is my life. Eurovision makes me cry. I live and breathe Eurovision. I spend the months leading up to the contest watching analysis videos on youtube, scouring Eurovision forums for rumours on who will be representing which country, ranking and re-ranking the songs.
On the week I am as good as uncontactable, watching rehearsal livestreams and demanding silence for the semi-finals. On the Saturday of the final, I am insufferable, my stomach turning at the excitement, counting down the hours and minutes until I hear ‘Te Deum’ and hear Graham Norton’s commentary. If my favourite wins, I have been known to shed real tears. In the days afterwards, I suffer from Eurovision withdrawal symptoms and scrutinize every last detail of the final results. Then, I get ready to do it all again the following year.
This uncontainable excitement is all without the contest being hosted in my country.
This year, it is finally happening. Eurovision is in Liverpool.
AND I HAVE TICKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hosting on behalf of Ukraine after their victory, for obvious reasons, the UK is turning its hand to producing the spectacle that is a post-2010 Eurovision. We have not hosted since 1998, one year before I was born. Getting tickets to Eurovision could not be more of a dream come true for me.
Until May, to tide me over and keep my hysteria at bay, I thought that I would subject everybody to my personal top ten Eurovision entries. It is a near-impossible task for me to pick just ten. Therefore, I feel impelled to begin with a few honourable mentions:
Honourable Mentions:
Georgia 2016: Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz – Midnight Gold
Hungary 2013: ByeAlex – Kedvesem
Italy 2014: Emma – La Mia Citta
Sweden 2017: Benjamin Ingrosso – Dance You Off
Estonia 2015: Elina Born & Stig Rasta – Goodbye to Yesterday
Slovenia 2019: zalagasper – Sebi
United Kingdom 2022: Sam Ryder – SPACE MAN
Mollie’s Top Ten Eurovision Songs
10. Estonia 2009: Urban Symphony – Rändajad
Haunting, captivating, mysterious and downright gorgeous, Estonia’s 2009 offering Rändajad (meaning ‘wanderers’) finished the competition in a respectable 6th position. However, overall, it is an incredibly underrated and overlooked song and performance. It is one of the few that manage to send chills down my spine, even fourteen years later. The Estonian language is stunning, its sounds dancing amongst the violins of the backing track, melding together to create something incredibly special. Urban Symphony deserve more recognition!
9. Belgium 2015: Loïc Nottet – Rhythm Inside
Simply, one of the best Eurovision stagings of all time. Fifteen-year-old me was absolutely captivated by Nottet who, at the age of just nineteen restored his country to Eurovision glory after a lengthy string of poor results, finishing 4th. Both the song and performance are incredibly artistic, with the choreography and visuals some of the most striking ever seen on a Eurovision stage. Despite this, it is simple, carried by Nottet’s spectacular vocals (including being able to belt whilst laying down) and dancing skills. Eurovision may be known for its extravagance, but this entry showed that simplicity works just as well. Truly, a triumph. Fun fact: one of Nottet’s backup singers was SuRie, who went on to represent the UK in 2018!
8. Ukraine 2021: Go_A – SHUM
Speaking of incredible staging; Ukranian electro-folk band Go_A delivered one of the most iconic performances of all time. With lead singer Kateryna Pavlenko dressed in a distinct lime-green fluffy jacket, surrounded by creepy-looking trees in front of a pulsing LED screen displaying various mesmerising visuals, Go_A made everybody fall in love with ‘Ukranian flute rave music’ in three minutes. I know several non-Eurovision fans that had SHUM on their Spotify playlists for months afterwards. That, in itself, is a real legacy. This song paved the way for folky tunes displaying the culture and sounds of the different nations participating in Eurovision.
7. Netherlands 2019: Duncan Laurence – Arcade
Arcade was not my favourite 2019 Eurovision song (more on that later), but it did win the contest, and I was still incredibly pleased. Duncan Laurence’s track was the country’s first win since 1975, and it is not hard to see why. Laurence’s simple performance, shrouded in blue light and sat behind a piano, was saturated with emotion and vulnerability that allowed his outstanding vocals to take centre stage. The sound of the entire arena singing the chorus’ iconic ‘ahhhhhhh, oooooooh’ with Laurence gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. A song that truly brought millions of fans both across Europe and the world together, it was a deserved victory. Also, the song ended up going viral on TikTok, busting pre-conceptions of Eurovision as a gimmick that never produces decent music. Eurovision produces incredible music, and Arcade is one of the best.
6. Czech Republic 2019: Lake Malawi – Friend of a Friend
The Czech Republic have a fairly poor Eurovision track record, only recently gaining its first couple of qualifications for the final. This song was one of them. Friend of a Friend would not sound out of place on an album by a British indie band, like The Wombats. It is dripping in charisma and energy, with the live performance matching this with bright colours and lots of jumping up and down from lead singer Albert Černý. I had it on repeat on 2019, and by repeat, I mean constantly playing it. It remains one of my favourite Eurovision entries ever four years later, and is another underrated gem.
5. Italy 2021: Måneskin – ZIITI E BUONI
I adore Måneskin. I am also a quarter Italian (this will be far from the last Italian entry on this list, and there are only four left…). So, I cried when they won. Real tears. Frontman Damiano David screamed ‘ROCK AND ROLL NEVER DIES’ into the microphone as the band lifted the trophy, and they certainly proved it. Rock is a genre that has had mixed results in Eurovision, but Måneskin brought the genre to the top once again with their swaggering, bold track and performance. Looking like true rock veterans, the young Italian group stormed to victory in Rotterdam, winning over the entire continent with their stage presence. Måneskin have gone on to worldwide fame following the competition, with several of their songs going viral, as well as them being announced to perform at Glastonbury Festival, and embarking on a tour in 2023. The band and song are proof that Eurovision is far from a career killer if you do it properly.
4. Italy 2022: Mahmood and BLANCO – Brividi
This will also not be the last time you see Mahmood on this list. I am, probably, one of Mahmood’s biggest fans. He is always within my top two listened-to artists on Spotify every single year. He is incredibly underrated and deserves more global success, and this is only proven by this gorgeous duet with emo-ish singer/rapper BLANCO. Translating to ‘Shivers’, Brividi gives you exactly that. Shivers, goosebumps, chills, tingles. It is not often that you see two men perform a romantic ballad duet on the Eurovision stage, and this song and performance is dripping in emotion. Mahmood’s second outing to Eurovision was not quite as successful as his first, finishing sixth (more on that later), but it was my most listened-to song of 2023 on Spotify. Obsessed isn’t even a strong enough word.
3. Portugal 2017: Salvador Sobral – Amar Pelos Dois
Portugal had an incredibly unlucky record at Eurovision until 2017. Their win, with Salvador Sobral’s ‘Amar Pelos Dois’, only happened on their 49th participation, and was also their first and only top-five placing! Amar Pelos Dois is the contest’s highest-scoring entry ever and stands as one of its most iconic performances. It is its beautiful simplicity that makes it outstanding. Sobral let the beautiful violins and piano of the backing track, and the stunning Portuguese language do the talking. There was no quirky staging or backing dancers/singers, just Sobral stood behind a microphone, feeling every note and word of the song. Amar Pelos Dois is another entry I cried at when it won. It is one of the most heartfelt, gorgeous songs ever submitted to Eurovision. A worthy holder of the highest scoring song position and forever one of my very favourite entries.
2. Italy 2019: Mahmood – Soldi
The very entry that made me fall in love with Mahmood and his music, Soldi, meaning ‘money’ is not a happy song by any means. Its Italian lyrics explore Mahmood’s strained relationship with his absent father, questioning if he only cared about money. Despite its emotional subject matter, which is evident in Mahmood’s facial expressions throughout the performance, Mahmood had the entire Arena clapping along during the chorus, commanding the stage in a striking red and gold shirt whilst his backing dancers and the LED screen helped to tell the story to those that do not speak Italian. Mahmood finished second behind Duncan Laurence, making this the most successful of his two entries (although both finished in the top ten, a rare feat for returning Eurovision artists!). I am grateful to Eurovision and Soldi for introducing me to who is now one of my favourite music artists. Soldi is not only iconic, but equal parts Summer bop and brooding tune, featuring sections akin to rap, alongside a beautiful string section before the last chorus. If it weren’t for my number one song, Soldi would still be my favourite entry of all time, and it was, for a very long time, my number one most listened-to song on Spotify.
1. Switzerland 2021: Gjon’s Tears – Tout L’Univers
I am obsessed with this man. I am obsessed with this song. I am obsessed with this performance. Gjon’s Tears was selected for the cancelled 2020 contest and tipped to be one of the contenders to win that year. Switzerland reselected him the following year, giving him his moment to represent his country on the stage, and I could not be more grateful that they did. He did not come to play. Tout L’Univers is breathtaking in every single sense of the word. Gjon’s vocals are literally out of this world (it is no mystery why he stormed and won the jury vote). The performance blew me away, and I remember my Mum saying to me during his semi-final performance “that feels like a winner”. Okay, it didn’t win. It finished third behind Måneskin and France’s lovely Barbara Pravi. However, as much as I love Måneskin, it was Gjon that truly captured my heart in 2021 (and still does now, I’m obsessed with the man). It would be incredibly difficult for another entry to knock Gjon off my number one spot (or even to usurp Mahmood from second place). It is one of the performances I can watch ten times in a row without getting bored. The high note is always astonishing, and I’m even obsessed with his gun fingers dance moves. They just work, okay. I could not love a Eurovision entry more if I tried. Gjon’s Tears’ Tout L’univers is my favourite Eurovision entry of all time. Simply, incredible.
You can watch Gjon’s Tears’ performance of ‘Tout L’univers’ in the 2021 Eurovision grand final here:
