December 14: Sonia & Selena

When looking back on several of the songs making up this series, you can't help asking yourself at times what the people in charge were thinking. How could they miss such obvious pearls and - painfully often - send dismal or pointless entries instead?

I'm not going to get on my high horse here and ask why on earth Spain didn't select this one for Copenhagen. It didn't stand out for me in this version either.

The 2001 Spanish final was reasonably strong and this felt mainly like a jaunty rewrite of a number of already existing songs in the typical vain of easy dance-friendly floor-filling summer hits. Catchy but not outstanding.

How was I - or anyone else - supposed to know this one would later become a smash hit and one of the most popular tracks of the year? The recorded version also had another energy and felt more dynamic. A better package.

Not that David Civera did a bad job, but this song would surely have felt like a welcome breath of fresh air in the pretty tedious lineup of 2001.



Sonia y Selena / Yo quiero bailar (Spain NF 2001)

Runner-up: Denmark 2001

Ecstatic after bagging their first victory in 37 years, Danish television derailed ever so slightly and lost a bit of focus while preparing for the 2001 Copenhagen final.

Never mind if things were good as long as they were big. The biggest arena ever with a huge audience and a huge stage unfortunately resulted in a show that often looked like it was shot in a flight hangar where a large restless crowd kept walking about rather than focusing on the competing entries.

The only song to benefit from this setting was the home entry, a pleasant if not violently outstanding tune with a typically wide Danish smile and a singalong chorus that was easy to retain. Catchy and happy. Inoffensive.

Under normal cirucumstances, the Danes could have had a nice fifth place with this song. Now, being performed last on the night in front of an audience that suddenly goes from barely awake to screaming enthusiastically, it came across very well on-screen. Surely that must have affected the voting masses at home.

A deserved 2nd place?
Hardly. I am not saying the Estonian victory was fully deserved either, but both these entries came across well and scored accordingly, while better songs looked less attractive and failed to impress. I just wish songs would matter more in a song contest, that's all.



Rollo & King - Never Ever Let You Go (Denmark 2001)

Be brave, Danes!

Dear Denmark,

you are just about to select your entry for this year's Eurovision Song Contest. I must say you have done really well for the last few years, being last year's winner and this year's host country and all, so you hardly need any advice from anyone like me.

But still, I'd like to share some thoughts with you before your final starts. You see, you have meant so much for me through the years. Already as a very young fan, I singled out Denmark as one of the countries I liked almost without exception.

This was in the happy 80's where - admittedly - there was a distinct taste of plastic to most of your entries, but in the 80's we loved plastic. I loved you for it. I still do.

Lately, however. Last ten years or so. I don't know how to put this in a kind way, but as I consider us very close friends it is my duty to say it anyway, so here goes. Lately, your songs haven't meant a lot to me. They are nice and polished. Often catchy. Often pretty inoffensive too.

I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more of an edge, Denmark. Some real emotion. I'd like to see you go out on stage, pull a face, do something unexpected and run the risk of not being liked. I know you'd like to, I know you have it in you.

I know you have it in you, because many songs in your national finals through the years tell me that you do. Here are two examples - from the extravagantly fabulous Sanne Gottlieb - to inspire you, to convince you it can be done and show you that I am truly a friend and nothing else.

A friend who takes the liberty of expecting a little bit more from you.



Sanne Gottlieb - Uden dig (Denmark NF 2000)



Sanne Gottlieb - Tog jeg fejl? (Denmark NF 2001)

Tobson's Winners: 2001 - 2005

After relatively successful years, commercially speaking, and a big breakthrough in terms of production and ratings with the 2000 final, the ESC was still up for a few years of unplain sailing.

The winners of 2001 and 2002 were commercial flops, and the problem with corrupt voting figures (as countries had started to trade points in the mid-90's to avoid relegation) was still very present.

Also, the ratings suffered in the countries that got relegated. In Finland, where interest in the ESC had always been strong, the ratings were reduced to nothing after being out every second year since 1994.

So the EBU took action - all televotes started to go to a central switchboard in Cologne, so that the official scrutineers had full control over the numbers presented during the final.

And - in 2004, the ESC changed dramatically, as the semi final was introduced. Now every interested country could take part every year, and in retrospect, this move seems to have consolidated the popularity of eurovision. At least for the time being.

2001 - France



Natasha St Pier - Je n'ai que mon âme (France 2001)

Disaster comes quickly, when DR follows up the slick, elegant and modern production of 2000 with a monster contest where staging the biggest contest ever matters more than anything else.

Also, the songs lined up for the 2001 contest could, on average, be the weakest bunch since the mid-60's or so.

At least France decided to deliver again after some lean years, and sent in a great song - rather reminiscent of "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" and similar recent pop hits in French - with a Canadian star in the making.

Thanks to TF1 picking the song up (rather than any effort from participating broadcaster France3), the song became the biggest commercial success to come out of Eurovision in France since "White And Black Blues" eleven years before.

The live performance doesn't quite do the song justice, but the recorded version is top crop.

Real winner:
Dave Benton & Tanel Padar - Everybody (Estonia)


2002 - Finland



Laura - Addicted To You (Finland 2002)

After a span of unsuccessful entries, often more aiming at being liked rather than trying to communicate anything of lasting importance, Finland selected an entry that felt fresh, relevant and inspired.

2002 was a hard field to crack. The general level of songs being quite alright, but with many songs sounding very much the same, trapped in an updated disco landscape, sharing the available points between them.

Despite being hailed as one of the favourites, Laura Voutilainen crashed and burned on a pale 20th place, behind many lesser songs. This was nothing new for Finland, but the feeling that the voting had been anything but fair left a bitter taste.

Looking at the scoreboard, some countries are obviously trading points with each other, some others are obviously voting tactically to keep other favourites down. The EBU stepped in, did what had to be done and took control over the voting process.

If not, who knows what it would have taken to restore the audience's faith in the voting.

Real winner:
Marie N - I wanna


2003 - Turkey



Sertab Erener - Everyway That I Can (Turkey 2003)

After two musically lean years, Riga offered fresh winds and a more daring collection of songs again. More surprises, new musical directions. Exactly what the contest needed.

Even better then that Europe favoured a variety of different styles and the final top ten had ballads, humour, radio pop, latin pop, rock anthems, world music, punk pop... and a very Oriental winner.

For the first time ever, Eurovision decided to give thumbs up to an exotic praline and Turkish superstar Sertab Erener won the title after a nailbiting finish, where Belgium looked like the winner up until the last country cast its vote.

Of course Turkey was the right winner - a dancefloor stomper, a commercial hit and a clear departure in a new direction for the ESC.

Real winner:
Sertab - Everyway That I Can (Turkey)


2004 - Serbia & Montenegro



Željko Joksimović & Ad Hoc Orchestra - Lane moje (Serbia & Montenegro 2004)

The first Serbian eurosong for 2004 was well worth waiting for - anthemic, majestic, hypnotic. Very well sung, very well performed.

Željko has been back as composer as well as host of the entire show, but never has he left quite such an impression as he did this time.

Despite being another slightly weaker year, there are still quite a few really good classics in the running. But Lane moje blows them all away. Should have won by a mile.

Real winner:
Ruslana - Wild Dance (Ukraine)


2005 - Iceland



Selma - If I Had Your Love (Iceland 2005)

Oh, how the ESC can mess with your head. From the first time I heard Selma's comeback entry, I was sure Iceland had a good placing coming.

I thought it was modern, intriguing, haunting and very, very catchy. But what did that help? When the last envelope was opened in the semi final it read "Latvia". Not "Iceland".

Team Selma had a fall-out with the production team shortly before the semi, something that surely disturbed everyone more than a bit. The live performance isn't perfect and the choreography doesn't quite work.

But still. How a fantastic entry like this one can miss the final is beyond me.

It would take a few years before the semi final worked up enough ratings for the results to be representative rather than just a fancy lottery. Having two semis instead of just the one also helped a lot.

But I doubt that made Selma any happier.

Real winner:
Helena Paparizou - My Number One (Greece)

Lisa missed her big chance

The following phenomenon is typical in some countries with national finals: a performer takes part and does well, but doesn't win. Then the next time they enter, they win more because of that other entry rather than the current one.

Like a bit of a consolation prize.

Karmen Stavec should know what I'm talk about. Tor Endresen likewise. And, of course, Lisa del Bo from Belgium.



Lisa del Bo - Vlinder (Belgium NF 1993)

The 1993 Belgian final was a tough race - one of the best selections ever song-wise, if you ask me. Many good, convincing, contemporary numbers, which proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that it is not enough with a good final. You need to be able to pick a winner as well.

The Flemish have always been heartbreakingly bad at selecting the most suitable winner out of their national finals (very much like Finland or Slovenia) and so they rejected Lisa's slick and original xylophone-based pop song and opted for Barbara's ballad instead (which ended last with three points in Millstreet).



Barbara - Iemand als jij (Belgium 1993)

Three years later, Lisa del Bo was back in the national final, this time equipped with a more safe, old-fashioned kind of full-blooded schlager entry. She won quite convincingly, crushing the more modern and progressive entries in the end.



Lisa del Bo - Liefde is een kaartspel (Belgium 1996)

Playing it safe didn't help much, as the juries probably found the entry a bit too stereotypical and classic and left it in a 16th place, shared with Switzerland offering an equally over-classical ESC ballad.

Conclusion: Lisa would have been so much better off had she won her ticket the first time around. The end.

Or, not quite the end. Who would believe that "Liefde is een kaartspel" would live a life of its own and come back to the ESC again? Five years later it was good enough for fifth place in Copenhagen...



Friends - Listen To Your Heartbeat (Sweden 2001)

Quite a striking similarity, eh?

Norway missed a few pearls as well...

Most of the Nordic countries have successfully re-invented their national finals during the last years, and Norway has been working very hard on finding ESC success.

They have been successful as well. Wig Wam in 2005, Maria Haukaas Storeng in 2008 and, of course, Alexander Rybak in 2009 all left lasting impressions on the international audience. Not bad for the country that used to end in bottom five every year for such a long period of time.

But who is perfect? Also Norway has rejected a few personal favourites of mine during the last ten years. It would have been most interesting to find out how these ones would have fared had they reached the ESC.



Venke Knutsen - Jealous Cause I Love You (2010)

I was never a fan of Didrik Solli-Tangen's pompous old ballad and can't help thinking that Venke would have spiced up the Oslo happening quite a bit with her output, presence and wacky lyrics.



Velvet Inc - Tricky (2009)

Of course Rybak was the right choice. Nobody else could have crushed all resistance in Moscow like he did. But had Norway opted for this slick pop praline instead, nobody would ever have known that.



Veronica Akselsen - Am I Supposed To Love Again (2008)

Mellow and melancholic. Very sensitive performance, also. Again, not strong enough to better Maria's fifth place in Belgrade, but a very proud entry for any country.



Ann-Mari Andersen - Ándagassii (2008)

Ethnic, haunting, suggestive piece of modern pop. Slick production and soft, appealing lyrics in Sami. One of the best and most progressive entries that Norway ever left behind.



Mocci - Tonight (2006)

And then there is always Mocci, who has the distinction of missing out twice with modern, urban sounding entries. Her 2006 Sophie Ellis-Bextor sound would probably have been too laid-back in Athens (and had she hit the notes as poorly as she does in this clip, she could have had to fight it out with Fabrizio over the last place) but the song is good. And her 2001 effort would have rocked Copenhagen and filled a real void in the extremely weak line-up of that year.



Mocci - You've Got The Motion (2001)