A Swede who lives in Finland and who is lost in Euroland - the wonderful world of Eurovision
There is always some matter to discuss or just a song I want to share
Very welcome - I hope you'll like it here!
What is the worst kind of bad luck you can have at your national final? Is it perhaps the musical ketchup effect? First comes nothing, then nothing, then nothing and then all at once. And then the bottle is empty.
The Netherlands had had some problems finding really solid entries after their 1993 smash "Vrede" but put great effort into their 1998 final and found themselves with not just one but two fantastic entries.
I think they made the right choice, sending Edsilia off to Birmingham with the remarkable "Hemel en aarde" which secured the best Dutch showing since 1975. But Nurlaila would have been an equally strong choice.
Sounding like a Broadway musical showstopper, "Alsof je bij me bent" was written by John Ewbank who had previously taken part himself in the 1990 Dutch final as part of Shift.
Only a few years later, the Dutch would lose their grip on Eurovision totally and fail to reach the finals on eight consecutive occasions. Too bad they couldn't save Nurlaila for later and bring her out instead of that seemingly endless string of weak entries. That would have been something.
Nurlaila / Alsof je bij me bent (Netherlands NF 1998)
In this very popular series where I rank all participating songs of the ESC of a given year we have today reached 1998 - the last contest to date hosted by the BBC.
(This is my blog. If I say a series is very popular then it is. Do you understand me?)
The late 90's were exciting times as the contest had started to gain popularity and a certain buzz again after many years of falling ratings and a real lack of hit songs among the participants. Or to put it like one of the Swedish tabloids: what's the point of a hit song contest that doesn't generate any hits?
Big changes were about to happen. For 1998, most of the countries introduced full-scale televoting and the next year there would be free choice of language as well as no orchestra.
In general, 1998 was a pretty good year with a good selection of songs. Good but not outstanding. Which makes it a little bit easier to make this list.
25. Spain - Mikel Herzog / Que voy a hacer sin ti
Mikel has a good voice but the song is so dull that I don't know where to begin to look for words describing just how mind-numbing these three minutes are. My personal motto is that if you can't be good, it's always better to be bad than to be dull. Take note, Spain. Grade: 0/5
24. Greece - Thalassa / Mia krifi evesthisia
It's the "better be bad than dull"-rule that saves Greece from last place. This really is fantastically bad, going in all directions at the same time as it goes nowhere. A sad day for Greek music to have this represent them, but as with all truly bad songs it does have a certain entertainment factor. Grade: 0/5
23. Turkey - Tüzmen / Unutamazsın
A pretty passionate performance isn't always enough to make a song interesting. Sometimes it just makes you wonder where that passion comes from. This song just goes on and on and feels a whole lot longer than three minutes. Grade: 1/5
22. Malta - Chiara / The One That I Love
I will never forget my surprise when this one almost won. All I heard and saw was a dull standard ballad where all these televoters must have found something truly captivating. Grade: 1/5
21. Romania - Mălina Olinescu / Eu cred
Originally a sweet little song that suffered from an overblown orchestral arrangement that triggered the singer to become really shouty by the end. Grade: 1/5
20. Finland - Edea / Aava
An intriguing set-up and an exciting soundscape are quite successful in blocking the sight and make you forget how little of a song really goes on here. When singer Marika Krook failed to deliver the final high note, all that remained were three minutes of wait without any climax. Grade: 1/5
19. Cyprus - Michalis Hatzigiannis / Genesis
Another pleasant piece of music that never really takes off and another singer that tries to compensate for the lack of development in his song with vocal power. Gets a bit chaotic by the end. Grade: 2/5
18. Germany - Guildo Horn / Guildo hat euch lieb
Unlike Cyprus, this one is chaotic on purpose and gets away with it. A funny package but not really a terrific song in any way. Grade: 2/5
17. Slovenia - Vili Resnik / Naj bogovi slišijo
When there are too many ballads in the same line-up it is very easy to just disappear among the rest and be nothing more than just another ballad. Just like Slovenia. Quite a good one, well performed, but with nothing that makes it feel special. Grade: 2/5
16. Hungary - Charlie / A holnap már nem lesz szomurú
The orchestra was present for the last time, and hearing what it did to this pretty decent little blues song you don't miss it a terrible lot. Good song, poor execution. Grade: 2/5
15. Belgium - Melanie Cohl / Dis oui
Happy and light-weight, but apparently exactly the kind of song Europe needed at this time. In my mind it's happy and clappy for three minutes without leaving much of an impression. Grade: 2/5
14. Portugal - Alma Lusa / Se eu te pudesse abraçar
Cheerful and likeable (except for the tiny detail that the lead singer is clapping her hands out of rhythm), but yet another of those pretty un-remarkable song this line-up is full of. Grade: 3/5
13. Estonia - Koit Toome / Mere lapsed
Another ballad, soft and tender like a lullaby. What saves this one from being just another ballad is the star quality of Koit Toome, still young but already a very good singer. Grade: 3/5
12. Ireland - Dawn Martin / Is Always Over Now?
After having won four times in recent years with various ballads, it was almost as if the televoters around Europe suddenly said in unison that they had had it with Irish victories. This one isn't bad at all, but the voters remained unmoved. Grade: 3/5
11. France - Marie Line / Oú aller?
A strong, contemporary song that I expected to finish really high on the night, at least until I saw this car crash of a performance. Would have deserved more points than it had but I clearly prefer the studio version. Grade: 3/5
10. Switzerland - Gunvor / Lass' ihn
It's old-fashioned, I can acknowledge that, but a nul-pointer? What I hear and see is a pleasant little schlager in a slightly modernised arrangement - and again Egon with his violin - and I feel genuinely sorry this one didn't make it into the top ten of a single country. At least Gunvor made it into my top ten, if that makes her feel any better. Grade: 3/5
9. Norway - Lars Fredriksen / Alltid sommer
A shameless rip-off from Boyzone's "Picture of You", but the Motown vibe works well with the orchestra and provides some temper and tempo in this line-up. Grade: 3/5
8. FYR Macedonia - Vlado Janevski / Ne zori, zoro
A touch of Leonard Cohen added to a sophisticated arrangement with dramatic strings and an exotic tone in guitars, this is a song that has grown a lot on me through the years. Stylish and solid. Grade: 3/5
7. Sweden - Jill Johnson / Kärleken är
One of the best ballads of the year suffered from a slightly nervous performance and a catastrophic styling that neither suited the singer nor the song. Is it possible that bad styling makes the singer ill at ease and has a negative impact also on an artistic level? Grade: 4/5
6. Poland - Sixteen / To takie proste
Another good, contemporary effort that seemed very promising in the previews but then failed to ever really take off during the live performance. And maybe it just needed a listening or two too many to work in a televote? Grade: 4/5
5. United Kingdom - Imaani / Where Are You?
Slightly reminiscent of "Missing" by Everything But The Girl, the home entry was the most chart-friendly song of the year, performed with a confidence and self-assurance most UK entries have lacked since. Grade: 4/5
4. Slovakia - Katarina Hasprová / Modlitba
Original and soulful, beautifully sung, left with a ridiculous grand total of eight points (that they quite possibly had traded with Croatia anyway) when it really deserved a steady stream of appreciation from all corners of the continent. Slovakia's finest to date. Grade: 4/5
3. Israel - Dana International / Diva
Just like when a certain Conchita won sixteen years later, some critical voices claimed the victory depended on hype alone. This is of course ridiculous. The Israeli effort was brave, infectious and had a very strong and hit-friendly chorus. A most deserved success. Grade: 4/5
2. Netherlands - Edsilia / Hemel en aarde
If it hadn't been for the phenomenon that was Dana International, Edsilia would have been the winner and rightly so. Powerful, dynamic and one heck of a performance - vocally and visually. Grade: 5/5
1. Croatia - Danijela / Neka mi ne svane
What can I say? Loved it when it won the Dora final - at the time when most online fandom just saw it as a disappointingly ordinary ballad - and I kept loving it ever since. There is nothing ordinary about this. The dress trick is the icing of the cake but the real treasure here is all that drama bubbling under the surface. A lovely, lovely song. Grade: 5/5
What fun it has been making the list of songs I thought I was the only person alive under God's divine sky to like and enjoy. Part 1 and Part 2, however, taught me many people share my odd taste so here we go with five more songs that somehow seemed to appeal to the mainstream of eurofans.
Rikki - Only The Light (United Kingdom 1987)
I was only 11 years old at the time and didn't really understand what the Swedish commentator meant when he implied the UK was in an outright downhill and no longer delivered anything really convincing to Eurovision. I thought this song was fun and catchy, and Rikki's backing group provided dance moves even I could manage. What was there not to love?
Besides, the Swedish commentator had no idea what a REAL downhill looks like, and neither did the UK until some twelve-thirteen years later. Rikki did end in a 13th place - the worst UK placing until then - but somewhere in Liverpool a real disaster called Jemini was just waiting to happen.
Marty Brem - Wenn Du da bist (Austria 1981)
This is actually a really lovely little song. Gentle, sensitive, heartfelt. It is well sung and is overall a rather catchy ballad. It just tries really hard to distract anyone from noticing. The composer was quoted as being unhappy with the confusing arrangement in the beginning of the song. Had I been him I would have worried a whole lot more about the performance as such. Where do I begin?
I would have loved to have a look inside the head of the Austrian choreographer. What can he have been thinking? Some heavy dancing would be nice. Backwards dancing would be even better. And somebody has to wear a helmet. Dancing has never been stranger.
Pas de Deux - Rendez-vous (Belgium 1983)
When the expert jury overwhelmingly voted Pas de Deux as winners of the 1983 Belgian final it would be a real understatement to call the studio audience enthusiastic. They whistled, booed and most left the hall before the winner's reprise was over. I guess Belgian audiences prefer heartfelt ballads about mothers to more experimental stuff.
And experimental it was, made to annoy rather than please, with it's distinct rhythm, it's intense brass arrangement and its constant repetition of one single line that doesn't really mean anything. It is close to what Greece is doing this year - presenting a set of rhythms and hooks rather than an old-fashioned song - but back in the early 1980's it was far too avant-garde to go down particularly well. At least the Spanish jury liked it and gave it eight points.
Baby Doll - Brazil (Yugoslavia 1991)
Just to make one thing very clear: there isn't the slightest hint of irony here, no tongue in cheek. I really think this song is fun and happening and that Baby Doll is a most spectacular performer. If you are looking for fine singing this will perhaps be slightly disappointing but it is not likely do bore you at least.
Since Yugoslavia had done well four years in a row I was convinced this one would be top ten material and was a bit shocked to see it end second last with only one point from Malta, beaten by a whole bunch of soporific ballads.
Vlado Janevski - Ne zori, zoro (FYR Macedonia 1998)
Not too surprising that a televoting audience that had lived through endless ballads with flute and violin and pretty harmonies and an Irish win-athon would go for something more cheerful and upbeat when they finally got the power in their hands, but it is a shame that they overlooked this last song on the night. Vlado is a really cool cat who wrote himself a really good song - a sort of Leonard Cohen of the Balkans - that would have deserved a lot more attention than this. At least they would have deserved a neighbourly top mark or two.
It seems you good people didn't quite agree with me being the only one to like either of the songs in the first part of this series. Well, I guess I wouldn't be myself if I didn't push my luck and tried to challenge you with five more songs that I sometimes think I'm the only one in the world to care for. Am I?
Gemini - Dai li dou (Portugal 1978)
After a couple of years with serious songs with political undertones, Portugal suddenly decided to send in a wonderfully (annoyingly, according to some) bouncy little song about a kite flying high in the sky. Simple and catchy (or possibly repetitive), performed by another one of these groups of four people, clearly modelled on Abba.
The verses may be a bit clumsy but the chorus is so happy in all its simplicity and the choreography is probably so easy not even I could make a mess of it. Cute.
Cocktail Chic - Européennes (France 1986)
Things weren't exactly running smoothly in France at this point. There had been almost ten years since their last victory and the contest changing hands from TF1 to Antenne2 had resulted in a national final nobody wanted to be part of or associated with. So the best thing they could come up with this year were a bunch of popular backing vocalists who would finally have their big chance of performing as a group.
With styling as impeccable as their vocal delivery (some of those notes are really rather wobbly), the French girls didn't stand a chance during the voting and ended in a pale 17th place while the three other countries singing in French - Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg - all made top three.
Gunvor - Lass ihn (Switzerland 1998)
Through the years I have often been better at predicting the last place than picking a winner but this was a nul-pointer I never saw coming. I thought Gunvor had written herself a nice little ditty, perhaps a bit average but still catchy and retainable enough. It even featured Egon Egemann and his white violin, that would surely make an impression?
Despite being up against real non-songs like Spain and Greece, Gunvor somehow managed to cling to her zero points all the way through the voting. Her career, already deeply affected by local scandal newspapers and their shameless publication of pictures and details of some less glamourous aspects of her life, never recovered from this and Gunvor decided to retire from the spotlight. A real shame. And her song wasn't even bad to start with.
Christina Simon - Heute in Jerusalem (Austria 1979)
Eurovision is a circus full of glitter and happiness and more or less obvious attempts at attracting points from all directions. There is nothing wrong with that and I want it to be like that, but it does make it a less suitable arena for people who are actually trying to say something.
Austria thought the final in Jerusalem would be the perfect place to tell the world they would prefer peace instead of war and employed Christina Simon to be their voice in this slow and demanding jazz number. Of course it didn't stand a chance and as Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty right before the final it even felt less relevant also lyrically. Last place was still really unfair and my question remains the same as ever: what's the point of having juries if they can't recognise quality?
Aleksandra & Konstantin - My Galileo (Belarus 2004)
At first I had no idea how to react to this. Was it really in English? Were those real words? Is it supposed to sound like this? I didn't know what to expect from Belarus in the first place but I most certainly did not expect this. Despite being reluctant at first, it started growing on me with it's odd folksy sound and before Eurovision week in Istanbul was over I had sung this song in front of a small crowd at the Belarusian party and my friend had kissed Aleksandra's feet. A regular day at the Eurovision Song Contest, you know.
Often being a eurovision fan is pretty easy in the sense that you mainly need one emotion at the time. If your favourite wins, you are happy. If your favourite doesn't win, you are angry. Or disappointed.
It is the day after Melodifestivalen 2014 and I find myself with very conflicting emotions concerning the outcome.
First of all, I am so happy for Sanna Nielsen who finally got her long-awaited and well-deserved victory. Now she might have landed herself a pop hit that could add more layers to her already very successful career.
Without a doubt she will shine also in Copenhagen, even if the abundance of female vocalists armed with various degrees of mid tempo already chosen could make it a bit more difficult for Sanna to stand out just as much as many seem to anticipate.
I could come to change my mind at some point, but "Undo" doesn't feel like a eurovision winner at this point. It is impressive in many ways but perhaps slightly too professional and controlled to win.
And then there is the disappointment that Sweden came so close to taking a chance with Ace Wilder. Sending in something wild and crazy and running an actual risk of displeasing people. It would have been so refreshing to see Sweden - the country of cool at the ESC - do something as unexpected as that.
All Ace would have needed to win was two points. Which makes me wonder how carefully put together those international juries are. They all agreed Ace was top three material with the notable exceptions of Germany and Malta. Isn't that odd?
At the same time it was a good thing that the winner of the televote also won the whole thing in the end. Had Sanna lost a second time because of the juries, there would have been quite some outcry from the public. As you see - conflicting emotions also here.
I also note that the heyday of the cute boy singer seems to be over. One Yohio, one Oscar and one Anton was more than the audience could digest but I was a bit surprised to see Anton being the one to truly crash and burn at the bottom of the results. I really thought his song was better than that.
The show stayed true to style - some entertaining moments but overall pretty lacklustre. If you want to put on the biggest show of the year, a good line-up is not enough and SVT will have to rethink their conception quite a lot for next year.
So, I'm pleased and a tiny bit disappointed at the same time. Just as I was in 1998 when the Swedish juries rejected the modern and avant-garde "Avundsjuk" by Nanne Grönvall in favour of the beautiful-but-ordinary "Kärleken är" by Jill Johnson.
I really don't know how this happened. Poland was such a revelation, such a powerhouse, such a fantastic new force in Eurovision. They kept sending in good, modern, eccentric and progressive entries that were so good, so good, so good.
They were supposed to come in, crush all resistance, work their way to victory and drag this old contest kicking and screaming into the future. It all looked so promising.
Edyta Górniak - To nie ja! (Poland 1994)
Their sensational debut, when Edyta made a coup and sang her song in English during the jury final and scored a phenomenal second place in the end, really left the feeling that Poland was on to something big. And then they opted for something seriously different.
Justyna - Sama (Poland 1995)
Justyna's etno-pop-yoik did take some getting used to, admittedly, but in the endless ocean of toothless ballads that was ESC 1995 it stood out like a monument of anarchy. Violently, provocatively different and modern. And the judges just didn't get it.
Anna Maria Jopek - Ale jestem (Poland 1997)
The juries would continue not to get the Polish entry. The quirky and folksy dance that was Ale jestem also ended outside the top ten (not by much, but anyway) and maybe now Polish tv was getting a bit exhausted. They were doing their best but kept getting ignored.
In 1998, I was convinced that TVP had finally hit the bull's eye again. The group Sixteen had a very fresh sound and their song was engaging and instant, but at the same time it kept growing on you for every listen.
Sophisticated and hit-friendly. Would this be Poland's return to top five?
On the night of the final in Birmingham, Poland passed under the radar of almost everyone and ended in a shockingly low 17th place. I could not believe my eyes.
Since then, the Polish entries never regained that original sparkle that they used to have. Some of their entries have been good, but never as overflowing and captivating as their early efforts. After having missed out in one semi final too many, TVP withdrew after the 2011 contest.
If they stay away in order to evaluate the situation, re-group and try to find their own self, then this absence is well worth it. I just hope they won't stay away too long.
Up until the early 80's, France owned the Eurovision in many ways. They had a very distinct formula that most of their entries kept close to, and they almost exclusively landed among the five best placed songs every year.
In the 80's, however, the formula grew tired and the votes stopped coming in. France Télévisions (or Antenne 2 as the channel was still called) first scrapped the national final, then decided to depart from anything France had ever sounded like before.
In 1990, the head of entertainment Marie-France Brière called up the mythical Serge Gainsbourg and asked him to create another eurosong - twenty-five years after winning with "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" - and he brought in a very exotic element indeed.
Joëlle Ursull was part of the zouk movement - exotically flavoured music from the Caribbean - and she was taken in to perform "White And Black Blues", a song rending hommage to the diversity and colourfulness of the French population.
France, who in all fairness never cared much for minorities and such through history, found themselves pushing the limits for how you could look and sound at Eurovision. The likes of Turkey, Greece and Yugoslavia had tried being exotic, but when an established country like France did the same thing - then the votes started flowing in. See the live performance here.
Joëlle Ursull - White And Black Blues (France 1990)
This was the start of something new and given the commercial success of "White And Black Blues", the French decided to push the limit even further. Given the tension surrounding the current Gulf War, it was a strike of genius to select Tunisian-born Amina to perform a distinctly Arab-flavoured song that contemplated the world order in a quiet, understated way.
The new formula worked again, and Amina was only a tiny rule paragraph away from winning the whole thing in Rome. See the live performance here.
Amina - C'est le dernier qui à parlé qui à raison (France 1991)
By 1992, more countries had picked up on the exotic vibe, making rastaman Kali stand out less with his creole entry in Malmö. Some negative publicity, emerging from some not too cleverly formulated statements given by the performer, may also have been the reason for a slight decline compared to the previous years. And honestly, maybe this song was slightly less striking as well.
Kali - Monté la riviè (France 1992)
It might look like France tried to go back to their old formula a bit in 1993, but selecting a song partially in a national minority language was, in fact, a statement in its own right. The song fared well at Eurovision, less so in the charts, but the performer was to carve a solid place in French showbiz in the coming years.
Patrick Fiori - Mama Corsica (France 1993)
The two following years, France2 (the new name given to Antenne2 in 1993) explored other musical landscapes, but were back on the etno track in 1996 - now putting a more serious emphasis on minority matters as the French entry - for the first time - was performed completely in a minority language - Breton.
It was a clever idea, given the Irish domination as well as the Celtic flavour of the 1995 Norweigan winner, but the selected song was ultimately too thin to break through to the juries. This was the first real French flop at Eurovision for ten years.
Dan Ar Braz & L'Héritage des Celtes - Diwanit bugale (France 1996)
The last entry to date selected by France2 (but we didn't know it yet at that time) was another truly exotic offering. Legend has it, it was favoured by the channel after one of the old masters of television entertainment (Pacal Sevran) openly called the song unsuitable for Eurovision.
Maybe the old monsieur was not all wrong, after all. 1998 was the first year when televote was in (almost) full use, and what had impressed the juries did not necessarily work with the viewing audience. Despite enthusaistic reviews from the press, the French entry crashed and burned, ending second last.
Marie Line - Où aller (France 1998)
Since then, France has gone in different directions, again trying to broaden the idea of what a eurovision entry could look and sound like. But one thing is for sure - culturally, the importance of these French entries in the 90's could not be over-estimated. They helped breathing new life into the Eurovision formula, as well as promoting less square and uniformly "european" expressions on stage.
Hats off to France - it didn't get them a victory, but in the long run it did change the public perception of what was possible to get away with and not. Well done.
Swiss starlet and media darling Gunvor won a comfortable victory in the national final, the first public selection organised in Switzerland for many years. She went to Birmingham with a song she had written herself, backed by former entrant Egon Egemann (Switzerland 1990) and four backing singer, attracting notable media attention from her domestic press.
What she didn't know was that the Swiss press was about to go all dirty on her and disclose spectacular details of her private life during eurovision week. The details, far too many and un-appetising to be re-told here, as well as the entire passage of events can be found in the excellent Tim Moore book "Nul Points".
Given the pressure suddenly put on her, Gunvor stepped out in style and gave a brave, almost heroic, performance of her entry. In this year, the first with full televoting, she however failed to make it into top ten in any country.
Which means nul points in the end.
Nul points?
Even without the story of how viciously Gunvor was treated by the Alpine tabloids and gossip mags, I always found this nul-pointer particularly inexplicable.1998 had its fair share of odd and underwhelming entries (Greece, Spain, Turkey, the list goes on) and I never understood quite why Switzerland would deserve the nul points.
It does prove a point of mine, though. If your entry is horrible or bad in an outstanding way, it will appeal to at least a certain number of people for its entertainment value. If your entry is nice, people will nod their heads, smile and think to themselves "That's nice", but nobody is going to vote for it.
In the world of televoting, "nice" means "bad". Tough luck for Gunvor.
Sweden sent off relatively unknown Jill Johnson to Birmingham to defend the national honour with the song "Kärleken är". Jill as well as the song impressed the greater public, but the singer recieved a lot of bad press concerning her styling, hair and clothing.
In Birmingham several different looks and styles were tried out, which probably distracted Jill from her main focus and on the night she didn't perform quite as well as in the national final.
Jill Johnson - Kärleken är (Sweden 1998 national final)
The song ended in tenth place and Jill moved on to greater fame and fortune with a more country-based repertoire, leaving "Kärleken är" a little bit in the shade.
But it is left with one important distinction - it is the last time to date that anyone has sung in Swedish at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Maybe it would be time for another song in Swedish soon?
Sad news reached the world of Eurovision today as it was reported that the 1998 Romanian representative Mălina Olinesu is no longer with us.
Reports suggesting that Mălina would have committed suicide, aged 37, makes the story even more sad.
Mălina was the second performer to represent Romania in Eurovision and holds the less flattering record of achieving the country's lowest score to date. Six points and a twenty-second place did not help her career back home, and she faded from the brightests spotlights.
Mălina Olinescu - Eu cred (Romania 1998 preview)
I always found the preview version of this song understated in an attractive way, while the final version in Birmingham felt a bit overblown in comparison. Maybe it showcases Mălina's voice but takes away quite a lot of the song's discrete charm.
For instance, I could say that the 1998 German national final in many ways sounded like a musical madhouse and looked like a freakshow but, in retrospect, was the first serious attempt of bringing Eurovision back to its former glory in Germany.
I heard that the blond girl dancer (who gives the impression of not being able to carry a tune in a bucket) later teamed up with DJ Bobo and was the female vocalist in the 2007 Swiss entry. Can anyone confirm or deny this?
I could point out that the presenter is indeed Nena, one of Germany's top stars, who should clearly be taking part instead of hosting.
I could also say that this was the first really scary proof of things falling apart for Ralph Siegel. First you write Dschingis Khan, Theater and Johnny Blue, only to put your name on something as dubious as this?
But I will content myself with stating that this is so wrong on so many levels, but yet so fantastically entertaining. For all the wrong reasons, sure, but entertainment is never out of place.
And then, unexpectedly, the contest started gaining in popularity again. Entries started finding their way back into the charts, more people watched, and Eurovision suddenly seemed capable of launching careers again.
Behind the scenes, this should have not been a greater surprise to anyone as some EBU members, Germany above all, decided to have a final stab at the old event before abandoning it for good.
We will never know how close it was that the ESC was discontinued in the mid 90's. 1995 would have been a logical last year - celebrate the 40th anniversary and then let the old ship sink.
But the ESC was destined to go on. And now the only way was up.
1996 - Estonia
Maarja-Liis Ilus & Ivo Linna - Kaelakee hääl (Estonia 1996)
It was very exciting times, when a small ex-Soviet republic with no reputation in the world and rather a different language suddenly found itself one of the top favourites for victory.
It didn't win, but it beat the big hot favourite, Gina G from the UK, and it was recorded in a few cover versions around the continent. All in all a very pleasant little package, most sympathetic and very easy to like.
And I'm still hoping for Maarja's grand retun to the Eurovision stage, to better her fifth place.
Real winner:
Eimear Quinn - The Voice (Ireland)
1997 - Iceland
Paul Oscar - Minn hinsti dans (Iceland 1997)
1997 is not only a very strong year. It was like waking up from a long sleep - after so many years of slowly collapsing, the ESC came on like a flash out of the dark.
Suddenly there were pop song, modern rhythms, thought-through stage acts, songs with hit potential... And the epitome of this new world was the entry of Iceland. Modern, provocative and knocked out over a white leather sofa.
Pretty tame compared to many of the acts that were to follow, but back in the day Paul Oscar walked in like a one-man-version of the French revolution. Even if I love many of the entries of 1997 with a deep passion, nothing quite sums up the esprit of the year like this number.
Also, far too much for the juries, but embraced by the televoters. The next year, the juries would be gone. Not a minute too soon.
Real winner:
Katrina & The Waves - Love Shine A Light
1998 - Croatia
Danijela - Neka mi ne svane (Croatia 1998)
1998 saw the grand exit of the juries - and the grand introduction of televoting. That, plus the relative success of some more television-friendly performances the year before, lead to a line-up including quite a few really strong songs.
Some things proved too difficult for the televoters to grasp on a first listening: the beautiful Slovakia waltz, the Polish pop and the Leonard Cohen-esque debut entry of FYR Macedonia, for instance.
The winner was the only credible choice, though. The only way to go. A colourful performer with an evident chorus, set to hit the charts. Maybe the UK could have pulled the same thing off, possibly Dutch Edsilia could have achieved something.
But the one for me is Danijela and her mega-chorus, dramatic verse and huge key change. One of the few songs that can make me see the point of having the orchestra, which was about to vanish as well.
Real winner:
Dana International - Diva (Israel)
1999 - Estonia
Evelin Samuel & Camille - Diamond Of Night
At the time, I favoured the likes of Cyprus and Croatia, with Selma from Iceland as my sky-high favourite. Unfortunately, the Cypriot chick couldn't carry her tune, and Selma's song aged badly.
Croatia is still a real party song, but it is the Estonian ballad that really does it for me. Sweet, enchanting and spellbindning.
By far, my favourite violin through eurovision history.
Real winner:
Charlotte Nilsson - Take Me To Your Heaven (Sweden)
2000 - Turkey
Pinar Ayhan & The SOS - Yorgunum anla (Turkey 2000)
I must admit that Sweden's victory in 1999 didn't enthuse me - it was something old-fashioned at a time when eurovision needed modern and forward.
But Sweden gave us forward and modern in 2000, when playing host, offering the real start of the ESC the way we see it today. Modern, fast-moving, progressive. And, as a lucky break, most countries played ball and sent in great entries.
Russia, Estonia and Latvia all fulfilled the youthful pop vibe, Denmark the more mature pop vibe and most of the others provided entertainment value aplenty.
But the quirky tune from Turkey is my song. A song to belt out in the shower or dance along to on the tram as it plays in your headphones. A song to love.
In a world that was fair, Pinar Ayhan would be a super star. But Turkey still had some way to go before they would conquer the ESC.
Real winner:
Olsen Brother - Fly On The Wings Of Love
As this song won the first national final organised by Swiss television for six years, I already doubted its winning potential. I thought it was nice, maybe a bit too plain, but saved by a pretty convincing delivery.
Come Birmingham, I had actually grown to like it quite a lot. Enough to accept the presence of Egon Egemann and his white violin. Enough to ignore the dress. Enough not to find the choreography of the backing group ridiculous.
Gunvor - Lass' ihn (Switzerland 1998)
I also thought you have to love somebody called Gunvor Guggisberg - what a fantastic name!
So you can safely say I didn't see that nul pointer coming. Last place when there were things like Greece and Turkey and Hungary on offer? Never! Mind you, I never thought France would come in second last either.
If you read Tim Moore's book "Nul points" (which I think you should) you will find that the nul points was the least humiliating thing Gunvor had to go through in connection to her ESC experience. A fate so painful I can't bear to tell the tale - check out the book and you will fully understand.
In short - this song is possibly not the ultimate epos, but it certainly did not deserve nul points. And Gunvor certainly didn't deserve the treatment she got in the Svizzerian press.
I really hope I'm not the only one to like this one. If you like it too, please leave a comment.
It is not necessarily a wise thing to come back to Eurovision once you've won the whole thing.
Niamh Kavanagh will probably understand what I mean. Charlotte Perrelli would agree. And even if their comebacks were more successful, Isabelle Aubret, Izhar Cohen and Carola would emphasise that winning a second time around is not as easy as one might think.
Now Dana International, winner of 1998 and one of the most groundbreaking participants ever, had decided to give it another go behind the microphone.
She co-wrote the 2008 Israeli entry for Boaz Mauda, and now she will enter the national final, the famous Kdam, with the song "Ding Dong".
Dana was selected internally to represent Israel in Birmingham in 1998, but three years earlier she tried her luck at the Kdam, reaching second place.
Dana International - Laila tov Eropa (Israel 1995 NF)
Sorry for the quality of the clip, it was the only one available on YouTube. Sorry for a few sick notes as well - vocal perfection was never Dana's thing.
She was scheduled to take part in the 1996 Kdam as well with a song called "Agada", withdrawn before the final. Does anyone know if she ever recorded it? Is it any good?
After a very tight voting, where the last set of 12 points (awarded by the spokeswoman in Skopje), Dana won and scored one of the biggest commercial hits to come out of Eurovision in the 90's.
Dana International - Diva (Israel 1998)
For reasons best known by Dana and her team, the success didn't lead to continued international stardom. There was never any credible follow-up single until many months later and Dana remained a one-hit-wonder in most territories.
Will this be her second time lucky? Or will she get stuck alreay in the national final?
Let's rewind the tape a bit and go back to the 90's. The 90's, when Eurovision was declining in many countries, when many doubted the contest would survive for particularly long, when it didn't generate any major international hits.
One thing that saved the ESC was a number of established countries taking turns to breathe new life into the event: France with ethnic entries, Spain with modern entries, UK with rap and Gina G, Germany with some dramatic rule changes in the late 90's (introduction of televoting, free choice of language, no orchestra).
Another thing was of course the formerly socialist countries of eastern Europe making their grand entrance. They brought in new attitudes, new styles, new sounds. Most of which more modern than anything Switzerland or Belgium would whip up.
The country leaving the biggest mark on many eurofans was probably Poland. From their sensational debut in 1994, when Edyta Górniak ended in second place, their first five entries was a continuous string of artistic success.
Poland sent in good singers, ambitious compositions and a very different ambience into this old contest. Apart from their debut, their songs didn't do very well, but they were impressive on many levels.
I suppose I was not the only one thinking it was only a matter of time until Poland would hit the correct button at the right time and be the first country of the former East to win.
Unfortunately, Poland has lost their touch since. Their entries are still more often good than bad, but they have not felt like a contender for years now.
I'm hoping Poland will get back in shape and impress everyone again sometime soon. It would be great to see the ESC broadcast live from Sopot, for many years the home of the Intervision Song Contest - the socialist equivalent of Eurovision.
Edyta Górniak - To nie ja! (Poland 1994)
Justyna Steczkowska - Sama (Poland 1995)
Kasia Kowalska - Chcę znać swój grzech (Poland 1996)
Tonight, the Dutch will select their entry for Düsseldorf, while broadcaster TROS already selected the trio 3JS internally. They will perform five songs, one of which will get the golden ticket in tonight's show. Here are short snippets of the songs in the running:
3JS - Recap of the five songs (Netherlands NF 2011)
It sounds pretty promising, in a mature pop vein, a little bit like Take That lately, but in Dutch. Snippets mean nothing, however, it gives no idea whether the songs will develop of fall flat before the three minutes are over.
And who knows the Dutch will select the best song on offer? They have not reached the final of Eurovision since 2004 (and their latest top ten was in 1999) and all of this for good reason. They have sent surprisingly weak and/or dated entries and then had their jaws drop in surprise when nobody likes them much.
But seriously, the Netherlands may have piled up an impressive total of four ESC winners, but most of the years they have had dismal placings. All through the 60's, 70's and 80's most of the years have seen the Netherlands end up in lacklustre positions.
Too often they have fallen into the trap of being funny, or too nice or too inoffensive. Most people would appreciate their songs, but they would not convince a jury. Or televoters, for that matter.
Let's hope the wind will change tonight. Wouldn't it be good to see the Dutch back on the scoreboard? Maybe even battling it out for victory? Like Edsilia did back in Birmingham?
