Intro Post

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A few days ago, Eurovision confirmed that “United by Music”, the slogan of the 2023 contest, would now be the contest’s permanent slogan. If you think that takes away the heart and soul of the contest, then I’m sorry, that’s completely ridiculous. The slogans are one of the least interesting parts of the contest’s planning anyway.

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Introduction

Man, I really miss when Eurovision started with the host broadcaster logo surrounded by “Eurovision” in a circle. The contest stopped doing that in 1994 and instead emphasized the Eurovision network logo. In my personal opinion, that is so much less cool.

After hosting the last contest in the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, RTÉ saw no reason to change the location in 1995. They took an approach of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, though they did revamp the stage design so that the contest would feel fresh. I actually kind of hate the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, because people usually use it to complain about change, but the saying applies in this case.

For this contest, the EBU decided 25 countries was too many and changed the limit to 23. This meant five countries returned (Belgium, Denmark, Israel, Slovenia, Turkey) and seven were relegated (Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland). For now, Germany was the last remaining country with perfect attendance. The most famous entry is easily the winner, “Nocturne” from Norway, notable for being mostly an instrumental piece. It gave Ireland a year-long break from hosting Eurovision.

Hosted by Mary Kennedy, this was the last contest with a solo presenter until 2013 with the legendary Petra Mede. I watched the contest with German commentary by Horst Senker.

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Poland: Sama

Artist: Justyna Steczkowska

Language: Polish

Key: D major

This has a nice, almost cinematic intro, but then it unfortunately falls to shit. The drum beat sounds like the default setting in musical software and is so out of place in the orchestra, and the flutes hurt my ears. So does Justyna’s singing, especially the wailing notes at the end. It’s a failed attempt at sounding otherworldly. I’m calling this Poland’s equivalent of “¿Quién maneja mi barca?”, because both songs hurt my ears, but people who love one are likely to love the other.

Ireland: Dreamin’

Artist: Eddie Friel

Language: English

Key: A major

Normally I don’t believe theories that a country deliberately chose a boring song so that they wouldn’t win Eurovision, but considering this song is so much less interesting and flashy than the trio of Irish winners, and that it was chosen entirely by juries, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ireland picked it because they wanted a break from hosting. This is a sharp decrease in quality from the winners of 1992 to 1994: just an average country-sounding ditty that goes in one ear and out the other. At least the accordion is nice.

Germany: Verliebt in dich

Artist: Stone and Stone

Language: German

Key: A major and B♭ major in alternation

Germany, what the hell are you doing? You did so well with the upbeat party girl song last year, so why did you decide that this year, an off-key ballad with lyrics about the singer’s love for God would be a better idea? Even if I wasn’t an atheist, I would still find this song embarrassing as hell. It’s the first time Germany got last place all to itself and this time, it was completely deserved. I’m guessing this song is what caused 1996 to have an audio semifinal, because otherwise one of the biggest financial contributors to Eurovision would be relegated. Controversially, Germany was relegated from the 1996 contest anyway, but that’s a story for my next post.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Dvadeset i prvi vijek

Artist: Davor Popović

Language: Serbo-Croatian (Bosnian)

Key: F minor in the verses, E major and F major in the chorus

If you don’t speak a Slavic language, you probably wouldn’t have guessed the title means “the 21st century”. Except this song isn’t about anticipating the future or something cheesy like that, but that the singer’s love interest is stuck in the past and doesn’t want to enter the next century.

As a song, this is a lot more interesting than the first three. It’s a jazzy ballad that puts emphasis on two instruments: the bass and the electric piano. I think it gets a little too orchestral in the chorus, and there isn’t enough connection between the verses and chorus. On the other hand, I have a huge soft spot for songs ending in a series of jazzy chords, as this does. Jazzy chords in general are an easy way to win me over and this song has no shortage of them. It’s not the flashiest former Yugoslav entry we’ve seen yet, but it sticks out from the rest so far.

Norway: Nocturne (the winner)

Artist: Secret Garden, vocals by Gunnhild Tvinnereim

Language: Violin, nyckelharpa, and tin whistle, plus Norwegian at the start and end

Key: D minor

Oh fuck yes, now we’re at this ABSOLUTE bombshell of a winner!!! I didn’t talk about it in my last post, but I think “Rock ‘n Roll Kids” benefited from being near the start: it had far more wow factor than anything before it and thus was likely to stick in the juries’ heads through the rest of the competition. This song has exactly the same advantage.

Poland should have taken notes in 1995: this is how you make a song sound otherworldly! Everything about the composition and performance is utterly perfect and enchanting. It’s a gorgeous fusion of Irish and Norwegian folk music, matching the nationalities of the duo behind Secret Garden. It’s got a perfect variety of instruments, simple but captivating melodies, and a great buildup to the climax. I have never seen a single Eurovision fan say they dislike “Nocturne” or give it anything less than wholehearted praise, so this song is clearly doing something right. But this also causes a problem: there aren’t any arguments against this song’s victory that I can refute. So what else can I say about this masterpiece of a song?

I know what else I can talk about: the lyrics. Most of Secret Garden’s discography is instrumental, but to conform to Eurovision rules, they had to incorporate lyrics somewhere in this song. In a song meant to focus on the instrumental, how did they solve this problem? Simple: by putting Norwegian lyrics at the start and end. The lyrics are only 24 words about the night and day but the vocalist performs them beautifully, and they fit perfectly into the song. This is the right way to make your song conform to Eurovision rules: don’t hastily edit it, but consider how you can design your entry around these rules.

This song is more than just a winner of Eurovision. It’s an example of exactly what Eurovision was created to do: unite Europe through music. It combines the musical identities of two different regions of Europe and focuses entirely on the beauty of music, not flashy choreography or dramatic lyrics. The fact that fans unanimously love this song shows that despite all the petty drama, Eurovision truly has achieved its intended purpose: uniting people not just in Europe, but all over the world. I’m writing reviews of every single song from this contest, and I live in goddamn America!

(Psst… if you like Minecraft music, you’re going to LOVE “Heartstrings” by Secret Garden.)

Russia: Kolybelnaya dlya vulkana (Колыбельная для вулкана)

Artist: Philipp Kirkorov, a prominent Eurovision composer and controversial figure

Language: Russian

Key: D major

I didn’t expect this song’s title to appear first in the Cyrillic alphabet, then the Latin alphabet. That’s such a nice touch! The same was done with Cyprus and Greece’s entries this year. Also, knowing current events, it feels weird seeing Russian flags in the audience. Maybe I’ll get used to it when watching later contests, up to 2021.

The singer gives it his all and knows how to express himself, and the choruses have a good chord progression, but I’m afraid it’s too ballady for me. I guess power ballads were a rite of passage for countries in 1990’s Eurovision, just as joke entries were in the 2000’s.

Iceland: Núna

Artist: Björgvin “Bo” Halldórsson, whose daughter was in Eurovision 2017

Language: Icelandic

Key: G major, A major, B♭ major

Sigh, another boring ballad. I can’t pinpoint why this ballad in particular bores me, it just does. A guitar solo after the first key change doesn’t save it, and the second key change really doesn’t help.

Austria: Die Welt dreht sich verkehrt

Artist: Stella Jones

Language: German

Key: E minor (verses), E major (chorus)

Wow, this is such a breath of fresh air! This is a jazzy, funky soul song heavy in saxophone parts and jazzy solos, accompanied by a charming backing band. I’m really glad to hear a greater variety of genres sung in German than peace ballad this, peace ballad that. It’s nice to have the lyrics not be about peace for the world either, but instead something romantic. I’m not sure if I like the change to major key in the verses, but I do like the way it transitions back to minor key and the major seventh chord at the end.

Spain: Vuelve conmigo

Artist: Anabel Conde

Language: Spanish

Key: E minor, F minor. Key change at the second verse.

This is Spain’s most recent time scoring second place and, until 2022 with the iconic “SloMo”, their last time in the top five. I can see why it scored highly: Anabel gives a strong performance over a powerful backing track with really good melodies. The verses sound a bit ballady, but the chorus is incredibly intense and I love the repeated string notes. Plus, unlike so many other Eurovision singers who wail high notes, Anabel actually sounds good when doing so. I don’t think I like this more than “Nocturne”, but it’s easily one of Spain’s strongest entries.

I should also mention the title means “come back to me” and in the lyrics, the singer pleads her love interest to come back. “Ven, ven, vuelve conmigo” is such a sticky melody, reminiscent of the chorus of “Johnny Blue” from 1981. I wish I had more to say about this, but it’s just a regular good song.

Turkey: Sev!

Artist: Arzu Ece

Language: Turkish

Key: G major

Arzu Ece was part of the group Pan, who competed in 1989 with an over-the-top hectic song. Aside from the choir at the start, this is the opposite: an ordinary romantic ballad that the German commentator said was originally going to be an upbeat pop song, but the singer had trouble with it. It’s decent enough and I would have probably thought it was Turkey’s chance to score well. But as always, the juries’ standards for judging ballads make no sense to me. Don’t worry, Turkey would finally score high two years later.

Croatia: Nostalgija

Artist: Magazin and Lidija Horvat-Dunjko

Language: Serbo-Croatian (Croatian)

Key: A major, D major, B♭ major, E♭ major, E major

At sixth place, this was Croatia’s best result in their first three years of Eurovision, but they’d surpass this next year with fourth place—still the highest result this country has achieved. That’s the third best maximum rank of a former Yugoslav country, behind Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

This is something different from Croatia: a classical inspired tune in 6/8 time whose title unsurprisingly means “nostalgia”. It starts with a showy violin to grab the listener’s attention, and ends with that plus a high opera note. I think the bulk of the song sounds a little too standard in some areas, especially with that uninteresting drum beat. I am amused by the contrast between the opera and non-opera singers; I wouldn’t quite say I enjoy this contrast, because opera really isn’t my thing.

France: Il me donne rendez-vous

Artist: Nathalie Santamaria

Language: French

Key: C minor

Once again, France is showing other countries how 1990’s Eurovision should be done! This is NOT power ballad number 500 million, but a relatively modern funky pop song whose title means “he’s asking me out”. The lyrics tell a story of a sly and charming man who asked the singer out, but it manages to sound sassy instead of dainty. As with France’s last entry, her performance is full of attitude.

This song also does a lot right compositionally. The groovy chords at the start grab the listener’s attention, then it transitions into a swing pop song that makes perfect use of the orchestra. The electronic instruments don’t feel out of place with the acoustic ones, and instead they complement each other. The strings in particular give this song a pinch of drama. In this era, some Eurovision songs in swing rhythm don’t sound great with the orchestra, but this totally does. Plus, it has some great melodies and hooks, especially when she sings the title. After hearing the song twice, I can remember how the melody goes just by reading the title.

Although they’re varied in terms of genre, I’d argue that France’s entries in the 90’s have a recognizable overall style. A singer who expresses her/himself in a unique way, a composition that stands out from the rest, and often a pinch of ethno-funk or regular funk. These entries don’t aim to conform with the other songs, but to showcase the many facets of French musical culture. It’s such a big improvement from 1980’s France! Fourth place is a good score for France this year, but I really wish at least one of their 1990’s entries won.

Hungary: Új név egy régi ház falán

Artist: Szigeti Csaba

Language: Hungarian

Key: C minor, C major

Remember in my last post, when I praised the Hungarian entry for keeping the instrumentation calm and mellow throughout? That’s exactly what this song doesn’t do. It’s yet another entry that starts with a promising piano, but then becomes more and more like a regular power ballad. It even changes to major key halfway through, but this change is probably meant to indicate a shift to a more positive mood, so I shouldn’t be that annoyed about it.

This song got second last place, probably because the jury didn’t like the singer’s raspy voice. I’m not a big fan of his voice either.

Belgium: La voix est libre

Artist: Frédéric Etherlink

Language: French

Key: E major, A major, F♯ major

This year, Belgium only scored slightly better than two years prior: near the bottom at 20th place. Although the 1996 semifinal spared Belgium from relegation, the reworked relegation system meant they were shafted again in 1997. Belgium and Finland prove that being relegated every other year doesn’t encourage a country to perform better, but makes them feel like they don’t have a chance. Anticipation of success is always a better motivator than fear of failure.

Anyway, this is an average raspy-voiced rock ballad whose singer is too close to the microphone at times. It’s not bad or anything, but I doubt I’ll remember how it sounds after finishing this post.

United Kingdom: Love City Groove

Artist: Love City Groove

Language: English

Key: C♯ minor

This is something very different from the UK, and that’s exactly why it was selected: to showcase the more contemporary side of the British music scene. While other Eurovision songs had a handful of rapped lyrics here and there, this is the contest’s first ever full-out rap song. I don’t mean the lyrics are entirely rapped—the chorus is sung, as is common in rap music—I just mean the general genre. Unfortunately, other countries weren’t quite as interested in sending rap music to Eurovision, so this song didn’t score as high as hoped: tenth place. It’s a decent rap song and I’m glad the genre was represented in Eurovision, but it would have had to be a truly top-notch rap song to score well.

These reviews have made me realize that through most of Eurovision history, the contests weren’t very musically diverse. The dominant genre was first chansons, then brassy pop songs, then power ballads (YOU ARE HERE), then Eurodance. The most diverse periods so far have been the transitional eras, like the late 1960’s and early 1980’s. If this year is anything to go by, the mid to late 1990’s might also be a transitional era. I want to say the 2010’s were when Eurovision started to truly showcase a variety of musical styles, but we’ll see when we reach that decade. I know for a fact that 2020’s Eurovision is full of variety.

I do think it’s nice that countries were willing to experiment in this contest. Let’s hope the next few contests are like this too!

Portugal: Baunilha e chocolate

Artist: Tó Cruz

Language: Portuguese

Key: G major, A major

Another Portuguese Eurovision entry whose lyrics keep talking about food? Sure, I’ll take it. It’s another soul sounding song with jazzy chords, but unfortunately it scored third last place. I really enjoy the chords in this song and Tó Cruz has a good singing voice, but it doesn’t have any good melodies to keep me hooked. I can see why for people who don’t care about jazzy chords, this song might fall flat.

Yes, I know the lyrics are actually about loving people regardless of race, but using vanilla and chocolate as an analogy is still overly silly.

Cyprus: Sti fotiá (Στη φωτιά)

Artist: Alexandros Panayi

Language: Greek

Key: D major (verses), G minor (chorus), G♯ minor (final chorus)

Alexandros Panayi has a surprisingly long history in Eurovision: he’s served as a backing singer for many Greek and Cypriot entries, and as a vocal director for even more entries. This is his only time singing solo in Eurovision, and the only entry for the contest that he composed.

In 20th century Eurovision, Greece and Cyprus are like that friend of yours who’s extremely nervous to share their interests in fear of being ridiculed, but once they’re lured out of their shell, your friend goes ALL out in showing their interests. Well OK, since Greece and Cyprus are two countries, they’re more like those two friends of yours who do everything together and have all the other traits I mentioned. The tipping point was “Ellada, hora tou fotos” two years prior: that song finally lured the Greek-speaking countries out of their shell. In this metaphor, both countries were hiding under the same shell.

Alexandros makes a dramatic entrance under a sheet held up by backing singers, then sings to us some pure Greek drama. The title means “in the fire” and the lyrics tell the story of a brave Greek man who fought through hellish conditions and proudly survived. I’d also like to analyze the ethnic elements of the song. The verses have a half major half minor key (or in less clunky terms, Phrygian dominant), the same kind that’s common in flamenco or traditional Middle Eastern music. The choruses stick to more conventional minor key, but make up for that with a highly unusual 7/8 time signature. I’m not too big on the key change in the final chorus, but it’s not a deal breaker.

I didn’t think Greece or Cyprus in the 90’s would give us something more ethnic than “Ellada, hora tou fotos”, but I was wrong! Greece’s entry this year has a phrase in Ancient Greek, so I expect that to sound quite ethnic too.

Sweden: Se på mig

Artist: Jan Johansen

Language: Swedish. We won’t hear it in Eurovision for much longer.

Key: E major, F♯ major

This is the third place song of the contest, and I guess I can see why it scored well? It’s an accessible male ballad that sounds more contemporary and lighter than other ballads, the kind that teenage girls (and possibly teenage gay boys) swoon over. It doesn’t really grab me and I was honestly expecting it to be more dramatic and flashy. I’m slightly distressed by the panting before each chorus.

Denmark: Fra Mols til Skagen

Artist: Aud Wilken

Language: Danish

Key: F major

Why is the color on Aud Wilken’s dress so muddy??? I refuse to believe anyone would ever design a dress that’s dark yellowish green. It looks like a bright yellow dress that was tossed in a river, left in there for two weeks, then fished out and plopped right onto her body. I hope she isn’t soaking wet.

I read someone say this song sounds like Animal Crossing music, and I can see the comparison. Simple instrumentation, a light drum beat, a nostalgic-sounding melody played on the banjo, it’s got the full package. It really is quite a vibe, nice to hear something mellower from Denmark. I’m happy the juries appreciated it and gave it fifth place.

Slovenia: Prisluhni mi

Artist: Darja Švajger

Language: Slovenian

Key: G major, A major

Slovenia’s second Eurovision entry achieved 7th place, tied with 2001 as the best ranking Slovenia has achieved to this day. I really thought “Carpe Diem” in 2023 would be one of the country’s highest results, but I suppose it was a fiercely competitive final.

I’m guessing Slovenia thought, “hey, Poland did well with a female power ballad, we should try that too!” It’s not too bad as far as these power ballads go. It has a few nice FM piano notes and a simple structure of verse, chorus, bridge, chorus. This makes it feel less formulaic than other ballads, almost like a cinematic song. However, it’s still a power ballad and I don’t see myself coming back to it.

EDIT (June 21, 2024): Weirdly enough, I have started coming back to this entry pretty often lately. I don’t know, there’s just something lovely about it. Maybe it’s the distinctive rousing melodies that don’t quite sound like other ballads. Or the gorgeous string riffs that complement the chorus melody. Or the lovely major and minor seventh chords… lord help me, am I falling in love with a power ballad?! Wouldn’t be the first time.

Israel: Amen (אמן)

Artist: Liora Fadlon Simon

Language: Hebrew

Key: B major, C major, D♭ major

I think the screen tried to display the song’s title and author in Hebrew letters, but it glitched out and displayed jumbled Cyrillic characters instead. I would say it’s the thought that counts, but nah. It’s getting it right that counts.

Man, I miss Israel’s upbeat ethnic dance song phase. Their peace ballad phase is so much more boring, because so many other countries already send ballads. I recognize that this song has buildup and doesn’t remain static in style, but I am tired of all these ballads. Also, I thought we were done with double key changes.

Malta: Keep Me in Mind

Artist: Mike Spiteri

Language: English

Key: F major

I’m not surprised Malta sent another power ballad. This is set apart by the others slightly by a rock organ and harmonica, but otherwise I can’t even pretend to have much to say. At least the ballads are more spaced apart than 1994.

Greece: Piá prosefhí (Ποιά προσευχή)

Artist: Elina Konstantopoulou

Language: Greek, plus a spoken phrase in Ancient Greek

Key: G minor, A minor

Like Cyprus’s entry, this is exactly the kind of Greek-language song I was hoping to hear. Compared to Cyprus’s dramatic song, this one is more focused on buildup. It starts mysterious and atmospheric, but gradually gains more instruments like percussion, a bassline, and a lovely pan flute. The lyrics seem to be mythology related, especially considering the title means “which prayer?”.

It’s not quite as good as the Cypriot entry, particularly because it ends rather abruptly before it’s explored all its ideas. Maybe it could have used a dramatic bridge section, and then the key change after the bridge would be a payoff? Still, it’s lovely to see Greece coming out of its shell. Come to think of it, Germany sending songs in English since 2008 also feels like the country is scared to come out of its shell.

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Who’s my favorite?

For the third year in a row, I easily agree with the actual winner: Norway, Nocturne. This song is just on a different level from everything else this year, and almost everything else in Eurovision history. Other songs may have their flaws and quirks, but “Nocturne” is genuinely a perfect song.

• Austria, 1
• Belgium, 1
• Denmark, 1
• Finland, 3
• France, 3
• Germany, 4
• Iceland, 1
• Ireland, 4
• Israel, 2
• Luxembourg, 3
• Netherlands, 6
• Norway, 3
• Portugal, 2
• Sweden, 3
• Switzerland, 1
• Turkey, 1
• United Kingdom, 1
• (16 winners)

Honorable mentions to Bosnia, Austria, France, and Portugal for being funky, Cyprus for being dramatic and ethnic, and Spain for its amazing melodies. If Secret Garden wasn’t in this contest, then picking a winner would’ve been difficult.

General thoughts:

After all the songs finished, the host took some time to give applause to previous Irish winners, Dana (25 years after winning) and Johnny Logan (for his birthday), and you know what? After winning three times in a row, Ireland earned the right to toot their horn. The same goes for the interval act, which is a showcase of Irish new-age choir music. The presenter exuded both warmth and professionality and, as with all other Irish presenters, spoke some Irish throughout the contest.

This contest was thankfully less of ballad soup than 1994. It was a mixed bag overall, but the good songs made this contest worth watching. I enjoyed all the funky soul songs and ethnic tunes, but the highlight was the incredible winner which finally gave Ireland a break from hosting. Even though Norway was the clear winner at the end, it took surprisingly long for them to climb to the top. Sweden and Denmark were ahead of them at first.

I burst out laughing when Germany got their only point from Malta near the end. I would be normally sad they scored low, but their song this year wasn’t good. It’ll hurt more seeing their fan favorite song not qualify next year, but it will all be worth it in 1998 when Guildo Horn comes in. Surely afterwards, Germany will never score this poorly again… right?

I’m obligated to mention that the reprise of “Nocturne” was sung in English. Unless Dana International does the same in 1998, this will probably be the last Eurovision reprise sung in a different language.

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And that, my friends, finishes my review of the 40th Eurovision Song Contest! I can’t believe I’ve reviewed this many contests now. I’ve come a long way with this project, but I still have 28 years left. Remember, every year starting 2004 will take up two blog posts, one for semifinals and one for finals.

See you next time for the only year where Germany didn’t participate.

>> 1996: An Atmospheric Top Three