EUROVISION'S 150 MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGS. This post: 2009.  More: tomorrow.

EUROVISION

1956-2022

THE MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGS

(in chronological order)

 

This year’s Contest will see the 70^th song declared a winner. Caffè Lattè lists all of the past winning entries and other songs that have had a lasting impact on the Eurovision Song Contest.

2009

The Eurovision Song Contest was held in Moscow. Russia was keen to stage an impressive show and succeeded. A third of the planet’s available LED screens were implemented on the stage. Vladimir Putin, Russian PM at the time, personally checked on the venue prior to the event.

The same number of participating countries were scheduled for the 2009 Contest as had competed in the previous year. Slovakia returned and San Marino withdrew. Georgia later decided to not compete, bringing the number of entries down to 42.

National juries were re-introduced with the Grand Final results being a combination of 50% jury points and 50% from televoting. The 2 wildcards in 2009 were Finland and Croatia.

Culled in the Semi-Finals were: Serbia, Ireland, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Cyprus, Belarus, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia, Netherlands, Andorra, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Belgium and Czech Republic.

 

FAIRYTALE Alexander Rybak

Norway

The voting system in place then gave a country the possibility of amassing a score of 492 points. Norway’s “Fairytale” proved so popular it broke the record, accumulating 387 points. This was the third Norwegian victory. To date, this is also that country’s most recent win. It still remains one of the Contest’s most cherished triumphant songs.

 

 

IT’S MY TIME Jade Ewen

United Kingdom

If writing pedigree matters at Eurovision, the UK entry boasted one of the most illustrious. “It’s My Time” was performed by Jade Ewen. Its lyrics were written by American Diane Warren to music composed by the acclaimed Andrew Lloyd Webber. In the Grand Final, the UK landed in fifth position. This remains one of the country’s best performing entries.

 

ET S’IL FALLAIT LE FAIRE

Patricia Kaas

France

France has often served up classy entries. One of the finest in recent years was performed by renowned French songstress Patricia Kaas. “Et S’il Fallait Le Faire” means “and if it had to be done”. The song ended the night ranked eighth which is one of the highest positions achieved by a French entry in recent years.

 

 

THERE MUST BE ANOTHER WAY

Noa & Mira Awad

Israel

Eurovision has dealt with social issues over its many decades. Israel’s 2009 entry dealt with the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. With lyrics sung in English, Arabic and Hebrew, the Arab-Israeli duo pleaded for a peaceful resolution to the tensions back home. The song finished 16^th.

 

WE DON’T WANNA PUT IN

Stefan & 3G

Georgia

“We Don’t Wanna Put In” was scheduled to compete in Semi-Final 1, representing Georgia. There were tensions between that nation and Russia. It was obvious that the title was a not too subtle dig at Vladimir Putin. The EBU threatened to ban the song if its lyrics were not altered. Georgia refused to comply and chose to withdrew instead. In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the song proved to be prophetic.