Introduction

For quite a while, I wanted to do a special bonus post once I reached a cutoff point in my Eurovision blog post series. That is to choose my favorite entry from every participating country so far. I’d say there is no better cutoff point than 1998, since that was the year after which two rules were abolished: the orchestra and the language rule. It’s where I mentally draw the line between classic Eurovision and modern Eurovision.

Quick disclaimer: I’ll only choose favorite entries from countries that competed with at least three songs from 1956 to 1998. That means I won’t include Morocco, Lithuania, Romania, or North Macedonia. I’ll go through all these countries in alphabetical order and I’ll list my favorite entry of theirs in bold. Since I obviously can’t remember how all 1,600+ songs in Eurovision history sound, for countries where my favorite isn’t immediately obvious, I’ll consult the wonderful recap videos by SchlagerLucas to refresh my memory.

There’s no particular reason I wanted to publish this post on Christmas, other than that I don’t have much to do today. I went to see family yesterday and I’ll see more of them tomorrow, but I’m not doing much on the day itself.

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Austria

To my chagrin, the alphabet starts with one of the toughest countries. I don’t remember how most of Austria’s 20th century entries sound, nor do I remember liking most of them.

A few contenders that I remember are “Merci, Chérie” (the winner of 1966), “Falter im Wind” (formerly my winner of 1972, now Luxembourg), and “Maria Magdalena” (1993). However, a recap of Austria’s entries made me recall a real gem: 1995, Die Welt dreht sich verkehrt. It’s super jazzy and funky and I forgot it existed! It doesn’t click with me on the level of “Ding-a-Dong”, “In Your Eyes”, or “Space Man”, but it’s still a lot of fun.

Belgium

This is also going to be tough, since Belgium was my least favorite country in the first decade of Eurovision and far from my favorite in later decades. I really love “Because of You” from 2023, but I can’t choose it in this post.

From 1956 to 1998, the main contenders are “Judy et Cie” (which I chose as my winner of 1976, though I could have gone with the UK) and “Soldiers of Love” (1987). “Samson” (1981) would be a contender if her lyrics didn’t sound so muffled, and “J’aime la vie” (the winner of 1986) would be a contender if she didn’t keep singing “j’aime le vie”. I’ll pick 1987, Soldiers of Love—I described it in my review as a “regular good song” and I still agree with that.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Only six options this time. The two strongest candidates are “Sva bol svijeta” (1993) and “Dvadeset i prvi vijek” (1995). Do I choose a dramatic song about the pains of war, or a jazzy song about someone’s love interest who won’t live in the present? I’ll go with their debut entry, 1993, Sva bol svijeta, since it’s more interesting as a composition. Even though they’re mostly in the same language, the former Yugoslav countries’ entries in the 1990’s contrast so much against what Yugoslavia itself sent, and I find that really interesting.

Croatia

Again we have six options (1993 to 1998), so let’s eliminate them one by one. As much as I appreciate the skills of all their dramatic female singers, their style isn’t really my cup of tea, which eliminates 1995, 1996, and 1998. Their 1997 entry is an overly cheesy 90’s pop song and 1994 is an average ballad. This leaves 1993, Don’t Ever Cry as my favorite Croatian entry pre-1999. It’s not a song I truly love, but it works very well as a funeral song and has good harmonies.

Cyprus

I still haven’t reviewed a Cypriot entry that truly clicks with me, but the one that comes closest is 1995, Sti fotia. It’s dramatic and I enjoy the time signature changes, a good example of Greece and Cyprus’s 1990’s style.

Going by a video recapping Cyprus’s Eurovision entries, I’m almost certain “Fuego” (the runner-up of 2018) will be my favorite of them.

Denmark

I was almost going to choose “Dansevise” (the winner of 1963), still the only Danish entry I’ve chosen as a favorite, but a recap video changed my mind. 1989, Vi maler byen rød is such a joyful and well-composed song and I might have picked it as a winner if it hadn’t shared a year with Finland’s masterpiece.

Estonia

Dammit, this is hard. Every single Estonian entry pre-1999 is a ballad and I still don’t know how to judge whether ballad number 1 is better than ballad number 2. That’s why I’m glad I don’t rank all the entries in my Eurovision reviews. 1996, Kaelakee hääl has fairly good melodies, so I guess it’s my favorite Estonian entry before 1999.

Finland

Even though Finland has a lot of 20th century entries that I enjoy a lot, it’s easy to choose a favorite of them: 1989, La dolce vita. It’s my favorite entry of the 1980’s and a gorgeous masterpiece that every Eurovision fan needs to listen to.

France

I thought that this post would let me escape the dilemma of choosing between two songs I love with all my heart, but France proved me wrong. How am I supposed to choose between “L’oiseau et l’enfant” (the winner of 1977) and “C’est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison” (the almost winner of 1991)?

After thinking about it for a while, I’m going with 1991, C’est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison because of Amina’s exceptional vocal performance. That song is really something special and should have won 1991, but as the title says, the last one who spoke is right. And that’s why Carola was chosen as the winner instead.

Germany

Although I dearly love Germany and it’s an important part of me, most of their Eurovision songs aren’t that great. This means it’s not that hard to choose a favorite German entry pre-1999. I’ll go with the absolute banger that should have won by a landslide: 1979, Dschinghis Khan. It’s among a handful of German entries that truly make me proud of my country. Others of this type are Johnny Blue (1981), Ein bisschen Frieden (1982, winner), and Guildo hat euch lieb (1998).

It’ll really fucking hurt reviewing the 2021 and 2022 finals, because so many countries brought their A game and sent extremely competitive entries, whereas Germany just… didn’t.

Greece

I’m so glad Greece started sounding properly Greek in the 1990’s, because otherwise this would be a lot harder. 1993, Ellada, hora tou fotos is an absolute banger and represents the turning point for Greece in Eurovision (and by association, Cyprus). I’m excited to review Greece’s 21st century entries (at least before they started copying Sweden’s style), but I doubt I’ll enjoy any of them more than “Alcohol Is Free” (2013). Let’s hope that their choice of Marina Satti for 2024 begins a new era of Greek-sounding songs!

Hungary

I’ll go with 1994, Kinek mondjam el vétkeimet. In my review of that song, I discussed why it’s more than just a regular ballad, whereas the other Hungarian entries pre-1999 are either regular ballads or otherwise not that great.

Iceland

Another easy one. 1992, Nei eða já is by far my favorite Icelandic entry until 1999, because it’s so much more upbeat than the rest. Though I’m not 100% sure it was the right winner to choose for 1992, because the girls’ singing is very shouty.

Ireland

Even easier than Iceland. 1993, In Your Eyes is a gorgeous masterpiece that makes me a little teary every time I listen to it. I’m going to preemptively declare it my favorite Eurovision song of the 1990’s because I doubt anything from 1999 will surpass it. Honorable mentions to their two winners afterwards, Rock ‘n Roll Kids (1994) and The Voice (1996). I don’t care for most of Ireland’s non-winning entries.

Israel

As fun as all those Israeli dance songs are, none of them can top the goofy masterpiece that is 1987, Shir Habatlanim. It’s an out of the box entry but also a good song underneath the gimmicks, exactly the kind of song that defines Eurovision.

Italy

I’m not as big a fan of Italy’s 20th century Eurovision entries as most fans are and I had to watch a recap to refresh my memory of them, because they surely have some gems I forgot about. Italy’s entries were at their best in the 1990’s, which is weird because that’s when they were losing interest in Eurovision. Two particularly good contenders are “Sole d’Europa” from 1993 and “Fiumi di parole” from 1997. I’ll go with 1997, Fiumi di parole because it’s a lot more rousing.

Luxembourg

If you know anything about my Eurovision tastes, it won’t surprise you that my favorite Luxembourgish entry by far is 1965, Poupée de cire, poupée de son. As I’ve said before, it’s the oldest song from the contest that I truly adore. It’s my favorite Eurovision song of the 1960’s and it would probably be in my top 10 favorites of all time.

I should also mention, my favorite Eurovision entry of the 1950’s is “Een beetje” (the winner of 1959). I don’t truly love that song, but it’s very fun and playful and there aren’t a lot of options anyway.

Malta

The three entries Malta sent in the 1970’s are forgettable and most of their 1990’s entries are ballads. The standout is 1997, Let Me Fly, an atmospheric folk song in varied time signatures. It may seem odd that Malta sent that song in a ballad-heavy era, but Malta was very competitive in the 1990’s and this was the one year where they decided ballads weren’t fashionable.

Monaco

I don’t like most of Monaco’s Eurovision entries that much, nor was I big on the country’s presence in 20th century Eurovision—it just seemed like an excuse for France to double-dip, as if Luxembourg sending French singers wasn’t enough. I needed a recap to jog my memory. 1960, Ce soir-là is actually pretty good, a ballad that’s melancholy in the right way, so I’m choosing that as my favorite from Monaco.

Netherlands

Do I even need to say it? 1975, Ding-a-Dong is probably my favorite Eurovision song of all time (and my favorite of the 1970’s). I love it so fucking much.

My second favorite from the Netherlands has to be “De troubadour” from 1969, another awesome classic.

Norway

I want to consider “It’s Just a Game” from 1973 and “Nocturne” from 1995 for my favorite Norwegian entries, but 1966, Intet er nytt under solen is screaming “PICK ME!” into my face. It’s a wonderful tune sung beautifully and I hope you can forgive me for not originally choosing it as my winner of 1966. Åse Kleveland is a queen.

Poland

Each of Poland’s first five entries is in a completely different style, so it shouldn’t be hard for any fan to pick a favorite of them—it depends on which of the five genres they like the most. For me, it’s definitely the dramatic, mysterious folk music common in 1996 and 1997, so I’m choosing 1997, Ale jestem. Why did Poland have to send something so much more boring in 1998?

Portugal

I don’t need to watch a recap to know that 1984, Silêncio e tanta gente is my favorite Portuguese entry pre-1999. It’s completely unfair that it didn’t win that year. A beautiful piano ballad at the end seems like perfect winner material, but the juries were biased against Portugal.

Russia

I only have three options to choose from (not including the non-qualifier from 1996), so I’ll go with 1994, Vechny strannik. The others are too ballady, sorry.

Slovakia

Again, I only have three options. I’ll go with 1998, Modlitba and trust my past self’s judgement that the other two are forgettable drivel.

Slovenia

As with Croatia and Bosnia, my favorite Slovenian entry before 1999 is definitely their debut: 1993, Tih deževen dan. It’s one of those old Eurovision songs that nobody talks about but I have a soft spot for. Their other entries don’t click with me.

Spain

Spain in Eurovision is such a hit-and-miss country for me. Either their entries totally click with me, or they don’t interest me at all. Contenders for my favorite include “Eres tú” (1973), “Él” (1982), and “Vuelve conmigo” (1995), all great dramatic Spanish tunes, as well as “Estando contigo”, their fun and catchy debut from 1961. I relistened to “Estando contigo” and almost chose it as my favorite, but then I relistened to 1973, Eres tú and remembered that it’s on a whole different level. It’s a truly beautiful song and a classic that I’ll always love, even if I overdosed on it in early 2023.

I still don’t know why I have so much trouble describing what makes “Eres tú” great. Usually if I like a song, I’m good at picking apart all the little compositional techniques that make it work. But with this song, words still fail me. Returning to my metaphor from my 1973 review, you can’t just describe what makes vanilla ice cream taste so damn good.

Sweden

Even though Sweden made a splash many times in Eurovision history, none of their pre-1999 entries captivates me more than 1996, Den vilda. It’s a gorgeous song and I wish Sweden sent more songs like it. Honorable mentions to Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mej (1968) and Bra vibrationer (1985), both very fun and very Swedish songs.

Switzerland

Another country whose 20th century entries I don’t remember well, but they do have a few gems. Going by a recap, Switzerland’s genres in Eurovision are more varied than I gave them credit. Their entries usually aren’t the greatest, but they’re a fierce competitor when they want to be. Their biggest gem would be 1977, Swiss Lady, a song that I usually forget about but makes me smile when I do remember it.

Turkey

I chose two Turkish entries as my winner of a year, “Sevince” (1978) and “Dinle” (1997). The better of the two is definitely 1997, Dinle, an awesome ethnic bop that deserved its high placement. Honorable mention to “Hani?” (1982), which sounds like a Turkish counterpart to “Ding-a-Dong”.

United Kingdom

The common narrative of the UK’s history in Eurovision is “the country sent amazing songs and scored high up to 1998, but everything went downhill immediately after”, but it’s a lot more nuanced than that. Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, the country reliably sent something interesting and memorable, but their entries got a lot duller and plainer in the 1980’s and 90’s because they felt they could send whatever they want in English and score highly, which wasn’t far from true.

Before the British entries started getting boring, the UK sent its most infectious entry of the 20th century: 1981, Making Your Mind Up. Nothing else they sent back then was quite as irresistible, though “Save Your Kisses for Me” (1976) comes close.

Yugoslavia

I really don’t care for most of Yugoslavia’s Eurovision entries—they were usually too slow and dreary. Their best ones are in their upbeat rock phase from 1987 to 1990, and the best of those is easily 1989, Rock Me, their only winner.

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Statistics for fun

Sorted by decade, my per-country favorites break down as follows: 3 from the 1960’s, 4 from the 1970’s, 7 from the 1980’s, 17 from the 1990’s. Out of the 1990’s entries I chose, 9 of them are from countries that debuted before the 1990’s, so it might seem like I have recency bias. However, as someone that’s binged each Eurovision contest up to 1998, I can confirm that the contest improved massively when the 90’s rolled around. The year I chose the most favorites from was 1993, which makes sense. It was a fun year for me to review with tons of variety, as were many others in the 90’s.

I hope you enjoyed this little side post! I’ll hold off writing my Eurovision 1999 review until the new year, but I couldn’t resist writing a bit about the contest anyway.