EUROVISION'S 30 MOST CONTROVERSIAL MOMENTS. 
Part 23: 2012 (Un-Like The Lyrics).
Continues tomorrow.

THE BIGGEST CONTROVERSIES

Of the

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

(1956 - 2019)  

From its inaugural year, the Eurovision Song Contest has had more than its fair share of controversial moments. This is a special look back on 30 significant upsets in chronological order.

2012

Un-Like The Lyrics.

One of the strict rules of the Eurovision Song Contest is that songs not contain messages that could be construed as advertising in their lyrics. In 2012, San Marino selected Valentina Monetta to perform its entry in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Sammarinese entry was entitled “Facebook Uh, Oh, Oh”. This was clearly in breach of the rules. San Marino was given the option of submitting a new song or omitting any references to Facebook.

Once the latter option was agreed upon, Monetta’s song was re-titled “The Social Network Song (Oh Oh - Uh - Oh Oh)”. Facebook was no longer mentioned in the lyrics although it remained obvious that the social network referred to was Facebook.

The re-written song was performed during Semi – Final 1. San Marino achieved its best result yet in the ESC (14^th place), but failed to qualify for the Grand Final. Monetta returned to Eurovision again to represent San Marino in 2013, 2014 and 2017.