Dancing to a Different Tune (It's that time again) - ESC 250 for last year
Yup this again - however I'm much happier this time. That said I'll post this on the RAJC reacting to this but I wonder if it might be better if you have categories - all time (5 years or more only applicable), best in the last 5 years, best in the last year to try and counter the heavy heavy recency bias - which is a thing (I'm almost tempted to go through and parce out the top rankings separated out like that). That said this is most a pretty good list and many songs that will be discussed in the Best of list:
100) (C)hi - Ofra Haza - Israel 1983 - great to see this here
99) Marija Magdalena - Doris Dragavic - Croatia 99 - Grootvision winner of that year - well deserved
98) Because of You - Gustaph - Belgium 23 - nice to see this here
97) Ohh Ahh Just A Little Bit - Gina G - UK 1996 - paaaarty!
96) Fulenn - France 22 - this isn't in the Best of list - it's good and I like that it's bravery is awarded here in a way it wasn't in the contest but I don't think the live performance was that great - in my two minds about it.
95) Lovewave - Armenia 16 - in the BoL
94) Ne Partie Pas Sans Moi - I don't like this, others do, opinions vary, I'm resigned to it, mine's in the two winners assessements.
93) Attention -Norway 20 - in the BoL
92) Calm After the Storm - the Common Linnets - Netherlands 14 - in the BoL
90) Because I Wrote a Song - this isn't, it's not bad and Mae is bae, but she'd be the first to admit that her vocals weren't there on the night.
89) Wild Dances - Ruslana - Ukraine 2004, also in the BoL and with high ratings amongst the winners rankings, unlike RAJC I don't think this the only Ukraine winner I rate, I like them all.
88) Sebi - Slovenia 2019 - in BoL - I don't agree with RAJC it's overated
87) Czechia 2022 - Lights Off - nice to see this is still holding value
86) Secret Combination - Greece 2008 - I kinda low key hate this I find it lyrically cringy and overly girly and twee - the community overates dancing girlies and I find this a prime example of this.
85) If Love Was a Crime - Bulgaria 16 - in the BoL
84) Te Tu Reconnais - I don't like this song, people more musically knowledgeable than me do and I respect that but it and Anne Marie David do pretty much everything I hate so there. I'm not surprised it's here but I'm not thrilled.
83) Italy 18 - in the BoL
82) Ella - Cyprus 22 - I liked this song in the lead up to the contest and then I saw the performance - like Albania the same year the song is good and the staging and performance aren't. I guess a lot people responded to the former so much they ignore the later but I can't ....sorry.
81) Eres Tu - Spain 73 - yes Reece it did deserve to do better than the actual winner - it should have won for once the yanks (and Mexicans) who made it a huge hit stateside were right. in the BoL.
80) La la la love - Cyprus 12 - not in the BoL - I don't hate it, it's way better than Greece the same year - but to me it's very very typical of the time and of the ESC in general - it's another generic girl bop to me - enjoyable but in no way justified in existing on a Best of list.
79) Dum Tek Tek- Turkiye 09 - I said this last year, I get why RAJC might not care for this but I do a lot....on BoL
78) Dancing in the Rain - Spain 14 - I think this is decent but a bit overated for me, it's not on the BoL but I don't hate that it's here.
77) Feed You My Love - Norway 13 - it's not on the BoL because it's not really my bag but it is good and I wouldn't have been pissed if it won or that it's here.
76)Occidentali's Karma - Italy 17 - yeah this is great, on BoL
75)Tears Getting Sober - Bulgaria 20 - no it wouldn't have won, on the BoL because the bookies thought would have done, I do like this, for me - both this and Growing Up is Getting Old Victoria's other song are good and I like them but they're not favs and I don't think they're different enough for them both to be on.
74) Celebrate - Croatia 11 - this is a wtf entry, what is it about everything song at the ESC called this being shite and why on earth are people voting for this as their best song, what's wrong with them?!
73) Monster Like Me - Norway 15 - yup in the BoL
72)Dinle - Turkiye 97 - see above
71) Estonia 09 - see above - one of the two best songs Estonia have ever sent - the cinematic masterpiece, it's not a song it sounds like a musical soundscape like an epic movie soundtrack
70)We Could Be the Same - Turkiye 10 - I love this and yes it is better than the winner - sue me. On the BoL - well duh.
69)Bridges - Estonia 23 - ok here's my attempt at a parody with alt lyrics to its dreary tune - I know that this song isn't shit, I know that everything about is legit, but I can't help but find it, so boooring. Seriously I've had people trying to explain to me why I should appreciate this song and yeah it tells me why they do and maybe that it's not without merit but they're not getting that I'm not them and however much you deconstruct why a song sounds good to you, it's still not going to make it anymore interesting to me. I just don't like droning ballads even if they are sung by charming people unless they really speak to me and this just doesn't and it's success this year is why I get annoyed with juries (and uber ballad fans). What makes it worse is that Hope was my favourite song in 22 (and it DID speak to me) and so for me this is a major step down for the country and yet it did better - this annoys me, I hope it gets forgotten about by next year.
68)Repondez Moi - Switzerland 20 - I still need to get around to listening this in full but I guess from what I've heard it's the good that got made kinda irrevelent by the better - not in the best of list for that reason. I will do it at some point and might well change my mind. Gjon's a sweetheart - he deserves double representation.
67)Lejla - Bosnia and Herzegovnia 06 - one of the things that becoming an ESC fan and diving deeper did for me is that it made me appreciate the beauty of some balkan ballads although Chris West's book says this is a really old form of them dating back to the Middle Ages and they say the ESC isn't culture and doesn't teach you anything - it may not have secured European peace in our time but it has broadened minds and introduced them to wider cultural horizons....well it did me with this...and other works of the great Balkan prince of the ESC.
66) Promise - Australia 23 - Had my hubbie bothered with the ESC he might well have had the satisfaction of seeing me really like quite a prog rock influenced ditty (the ESC wouldn't really allow a true prog song as they are all longer than 3 minutes and usually about profondly weird subject matter like the Bill Bailey parody 'Insect Nation'). It's nice to see this here - if Bridges illustrates how juries illustrate champion the worthy but dull, this shows why they are necessary - it deserved top ten. Welcome back Australia - this is one of the reasons you would have been missed had you quit.
65) Vislat Nasr - Hungary 18 - RIP Ors but this shows you are not forgotten and nor is your country. In the BoL.
64) Sentimentai - Lithunina 22 - I've already talked about this but someone had an informal cutest ESC contestant award and had they had this for 22 then Monica would have won this hands down - no contest. I love this and I love that the first song the country sent in their native language since scoring nul points on their debut almost got on the left of the board and is doing better here than many songs that did. In BoL
63)Stefania - Ukraine 22 - I guess Shum is still stealing it's thunder - I think it deserves better but hey ho. In BoL
62)Brividi - Italy 22 - I don't care what anyone says it's still a lovely song even if the live performance wasn't the best, one of the few host entries that didn't tank and the only one of those since Taken By A Stranger that acheived a top ten result AND deserved it. In BoL.
61)Lane Moje - Serbia and Montenegro 04 - it didn't just introduce the world to the great Balkan ballad but it almost won (and it did Grootyvision) - Zelijo Jokismovic's beautiful melodies made me fall in love with them. BoL.
60) El Diablo - Cyprus 21 - there's an Anya Marino song called Two Left Feet that describes how when she moves towards a lover, he moves back but when she retreats from him he moves towards her 'the more I love you the more you stray, the more I hate you the more you come for me'. I feel that I do that a bit with this song. The more people criticise it - the more I feel compelled to point out how much fun the performance is to watch, how well staged it is and how infectiously catchy it is but when it appears on a list like this and RAJC raves about how sexy Elena's performance is the more I feel compelled to remember and point out how generic the song is, how much it sounds like better songs most notably Bad Romance, how a German ESC fan pointed out that her singing sucks and what trash some of the lyrics are 'all that spicy melts my icy, yes it's true' and that Cyprus sort of churned out these bops because Fuego did so well, all of them written by Swedes like Bad Romance was. I voted for it at the time but now I find it's a bit galling that this is here and Discotechique and Russian Woman which are much better, more interesting songs aren't. Also I find Reece's thrist a bit galling in the light of what he says about Joker Out later on - why is your thrist ok and the lady's isn't. You're a good dude but it's a bit hypocritical - yes?.
59) My Sister's Crown - Czechia 23 - yeah this is another reason why we need juries (they got it into the top 10) and a welcome return of the 'how many languages do you want' trope for a good message - in BoL.
58) Vuelve Commigo - Spain 95 - ok I'm going into Cabaret's quotes here - this is a beautiful song, sung by a beautiful woman in a beautiful frock, perfecting beautifully - yeah it's BoL. The stupid thing is she got barely any support and no one rated her chances before the contest apparently and she was still second and part of a top three without a word of English which wouldn't happen again for almost thirty years. In BoL.
57)Everyway That I Can - Turkiye 03 - I've talked about this in my winners list, it's good but overated in my book.
56) Love Injected - Latvia 15 - Aminata, the saviour of Latvia's reputation in the 10's , like Reece I do like this but not as much as others and some other songs in 15 - still in BoL though, it's innovation and creativity is great - a well deserved renaissance.
55) Samo Mi Se Spavo - Serbia 23 - hearting that this has gone a better reception than it did at the contest and yup deserved, it's heartening to see it appreciated. In BoL.
54) Think About Things - Iceland 20 - would probably have won the contest had it not been cancelled, I love him but although it's a cute, catchy and creative song it's never blown me away. It's not on the BoL but 10 Years is.
53) Evidement - France 23 - I think this was a bit robbed, I don't condone La Zarre flipping the televoters off but I understand it. In BoL.
52) You're the Only One - Russia 16 - it annoys me when people call Heroes a victory of style over substance when this is. Unlike Yankee Doodle Donut with Heroes I don't think this is hot garbage and I don't hate this but I do find it very overated. It's still in the BoL because it was a televote winner and the visuals are shunning but still...when someone puts it as their 2016 winner I groan inwardly.
51) We Could Be the Same - Turkiye 10 - I love this and yes it is better than the winner - sue me. On the BoL? - well duh.
50) Sound of Silence - Australia 16 - I like and enjoy this, more than above actually but I do think it's fans overate it a tad although it's haters can be ridiculous too - who cares if she's sat down for most of it, not everyone has to dance, just as not everyone has to do vocal gymnastics. On BoL.
49) Undo - Sweden 14 - I agree with Reece this hasn't dated the best although as I've said I'm not a fan of vocal gymnastics and Uuuundo myself, unnndo what hurts so bad vocal trick is one that gets on my nerves. The rest of the song isn't so annoying but it's also a bit bland. Sanna's good but I don't think the song is and I wouldn't have this here myself. At the risk of Yankee Doodle Donuting this - there are about twenty better songs.
48) Die For You - Greece 01 - Thanks to Grootyvision I know that like Undo I like the verses better than the chorus that put me off, the chorus is the worst thing about it, it's also better in Greek. I can see why it's so liked having heard it in full now (where you hear the Greek instrumental rather than the cliched lyrics) but it's still not a fav of mine - still probably one of the best songs of 2001 though and I get and am fine with its inclusion here.
47) Only Teardrops - Denmark 13 - I covered this in the winners review but I can see why it's well liked amongst fans and why I kinda like it, but I don't think it's underated unlike Reece because the flipside of it being a very classic winner is it's not really standout or ground breaking amongst winners - it's not in the BoL but I'm not annoyed or surprised it's here. Deserved.
46) Die Together - Greece 22 - a quality song but not massive fav, still in BoL
45) Future Love - Armenia 23 - I've gone off this a bit but it's still a good song, in BoL
44) Rise Like a Phoenix - Austria 14 - still being in this list after 10 years isn't doing badly - see comments above about recency bias - in BoL - unlike previous winner this does break new ground for the contest
43) Waterloo - Sweden 74 - it changed the contest forever and it's a classic - in BoL
42) Goodbye to Yesterday - Estonia 15 - perfectly executed kitchen sink stageplay, a beautiful intimate character study, the country's second masterpiece, in BoL
41) Space... Man - UK 2022 - Sam the man - after the previous year things couldn't have got worse but I don't think anyone could see how much better they would get, Merry Christmas Sam - you are a great singer, a great songwriter and a great human being and you were a true ambassador for your country, and brought the contest home and you truly deserve your success.
40) Heroes - Sweden 2015 - with this country it would seem that I seem to be an accidental contrarian so of course it's most contraversional winner is my favourite one by a country mile, as with most Swedish entries I do not care what anyone else thinks .... I freaking love this song, I don't care that it's a Avvici copy, it speaks to me like it did Mans and the visual affects are great and stick boy is very cute. in BoL
39) Amar Pelos Dois - Portugal 2017 - like with Reece - this grew on me a lot, and I intially thought it was boring, it's not an absolute fav but it is very good and was a worthy winner and unlike Reece I like Beautiful Mess and Hey Mamma - all in BoL.
38) Dancing Lasha Tumbai - Ukraine 07 - is this the best ESC song ever - prob not, is it the most fun three minutes ever transmitted during an ESC contest - quite possibly, the most full on performance ever and it did so while getting crap past the radar...dar dar dar - in BoL, ok happy end.
37) Hard Rock Hallejulah - Finland 06 - on the day of rockening it's who dares wins and you will see the jokers will be the new kings, how I love this, let me count the ways, well I've said it before, but yup on BoL list.
36) Dime - Spain 03 - it's a bit overated but still pretty good - Vamos - on the BoL
35) City Lights - Belguim 17 - in BoL
34) Saudade, Saudade - Portugal 22 - another song that justifies juries as they got it in the top 10 despite a really shitty running order draw - BoL
33) Quedate Commigo - Spain 12 - for me, this doesn't but it's not bad, it's just not my bag, some love the yess queen slay emotive ballads, I don't, but the world doesn't revolve around me and I don't begrudge that, I just think this is a bit overated
32) Rhythm Inside - Belguim 15 - it's nice to see my opinion that 2015 was an annus mirablis justified - Loic isn't just a great singer, songwriter and performer but the moves he displayed here would net him the Danser Avec les Etoiles trophy and the highest viewed contemporary dance routinue in Europe (except the UK where it is location banned), SuRie also sings rather well too - in BoL
31) Aija - Latvia 23 - I wonder if Groot has a lot of fans voting in this poll, I can't argue with this though, and a further two fingers waved in the direction that idiot music critic who slated it. in BoL.
30) Grand Amore -Italy 15 - it's not my fav but yeah this is great, Grootyvision is going to be hotly contested for that year, in BoL
29) Who the Hell is Edgar? - Austria 23 - in BoL
28) Dark Side - Finland 21 - in BoL
27) Unicorn - Israel 23 - I do think this is a bit style over substance although the style is great and Noa is fantastic but the song is fine but IMO it's not brilliant - still in BoL though.
26) Die Depte - Netherlands 22 - a great song in a native language, and a bad running order position and a great justification for juries, should have been top ten except the actual top ten was pretty great, in BoL
25) Moltiva - Serbia 07 - this has grown on me over the years....a lot, yup it's a classic - just a great voice, a great chrous, simply but expertly staged, drip me in chocolate and throw me to the lesbians, in BoL
24) Nocturne - Norway 95 - iconic - top three with not a word in English although there weren't many words at all, in BoL
23) Due Vite - Italy 23 - yup the truimphant return of King Marco, this has grown on me simply staged but when you've got Marco's voice you don't need much else although the Pride flag in the parade was a welcome edition - in BoL
22) Soldi (clap, clap) - Italy 19 - I love this song, such a musical departure for Italy and contest - my fav that year - in BoL.
21) My Number 1 - Greece 05 - it's not mine but I don't hate even I do think it's overated massively - again the fandom loves it's dancing girl bops.
20) In Corpore Sano - Serbia 22 - political, performance art in Serbian with clever lyrics and clapping - yup sign me up so happy this did well both at the contest and here - Biti Strava - in BoL
19) Tout L'Univers - Switzerland 21 - I thought Gjon winning the jury vote was fair at the time but the more I listen to this song the more I appreciate it's beauty and his lovely and emotional voice, I even kinda like his dorky dance moves - in BoL
18) Fairytale - Norway 09 - still in the top 10 most watched videos on the most watched songs on the ESC You Tube channels most months - not bad for a 15 year old winner, Vampy approves - in BoL
17) 1944 - Ukraine 16 - sorry Reece - I love this and it's really grown on me especially with increased relevance over the years - in BoL
16) Queen of the Kings - Norway 23 - yup this grew on me a lot too this year - in BoL
15) Hatrid mun Sigra - Iceland 19 - even more marmite than Toy but also enjoying a well deserved renaissance because Hatari had the balls to wave a Palestinian flag in Tel Aviv, also even if you hate the song then staging is amazing - in BoL
14) Spirit in the Sky - Norway 19 - yup please come back Keiino - this is why Norway hates the juries and I don't blame them - in BoL
13) Fai Rumore - Italy 20 - in BoL
12) Arcade - Netherlands 19 - it's a tad overated but still great (sorry Todd in the Shadows but you're wrong) - in BoL
11) Carpe Deum - Slovenia 23 - no it's not thrist it's nostalgia for me - they're cute but they remind of the fun indie bands of the 90s, they were so robbed this year and eff you EBU for announcing Joker Out last amongst the semi 2 qualifiers so making me nervous they wouldn't get there at all, the first song that really engaged me last year - in BoL
10) Eeaa - Spain 23 - ok juries have a point, naff you televoters - seriously you are showing you don't appreciate art - in BoL
9) Voila - France 21 - I have to be in the right mood to listen to this but it is really great although not as much as Tout l'Univers - my niece has this as her fav though and she knows more about music than me so respect - in BoL
8) Fuego - Cyprus 2018 - it's in the BoL but so is Toy and I think being marmite and Israeli as counted against the later more than its quality so people like Reece going so there is misguided and wrong.
7) Shum - Ukraine 21 - well unpacked the glow sticks and lets go - who knew I needed Eastern European folk rave in my life but I kinda did and it was awesome. It got pretty much all their fellow competors dancing too - in BoL
6) Zitti E Bouni - Italy 21 - this got the rest dancing - and it got me into the contest - probably my fav winner of all time, I wish it had won this competition but it's been top 10 for three years... I'll take that - in BoL
5) Hold Me Closer - Sweden 22 - my niece's fav last year, it's not my fav but it's great and Cornelia's cool - in BoL
4) Slo Mo - Spain 22 - well it's not no.1 anymore thank goodness, I admire Chanel's work ethnic and the Spainish were due a good result but I don't care if it's got a never before heard rhythm at the contest and I find it tedious musically and trite lyrically
3) Euphoria - Sweden 12 - good but chronically overated IMO - not in the BoL
2) Tattoo - Sweden 23 - nor is this which is not as good and even more chronically overated - yes I'm still salty, Loreen's cool and it's well sung and staged but the juries would have you believe the best song since their return and nope, just nope and these guys kinda drunk the Kool aid but........
- Cha Cha Cha - Finland 23 - well at least they liked the real winner more and yup this is better than Euphoria and especially Slo Mo so for me result - shine on you crazy emerald! - in BoL