EUROVISION'S 150 MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGS. This post: 2021. More: tomorrow.
EUROVISION
1956-2022
THE MOST
INFLUENTIAL SONGS
(in chronological order)
This
year’s Contest will see the 70th 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.
20 2 1
After the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest was cancelled
because of the pandemic, policies were implemented to ensure it could be held-
in one format or another- the following year. Rotterdam would still be the host
city for 2021. Provisions were in place to allow flexibility because of
COVID-19. Delegations and the live audience were limited in order to ensure the
safety of the competitors. Australia opted not to perform live in Rotterdam but
Montaigne’s entry was a pre-record used in a Semi-Final. Australia failed to
qualify for the Grand Final for the first time. Iceland had to use its backup
recording because of a positive test result.
Bulgaria and Ukraine officially returned, as they were scheduled
to do in 2020. The countries that withdrew were: Armenia, Belarus, Hungary and
Montenegro (the latter 2 had also decided to miss the ESC in 2020). This
brought the number of competing countries down to 39. Some countries held new
national finals for their 2021 entries. Those that retained the artists due to
perform in the previous year all had to be represented with a new song.
Despite all of the restrictions that were crucial in order for
the Contest to proceed, Rotterdam proved to be a well-received event with
viewers all over the world keen to see Eurovision back.
ZITTI E
BUONI Måneskin
Italy
The Eurovision concept was Italian. After years of competing,
followed by a boycott that lasted over a decade, Italy has consistently
presented strong entries. It has frequently finished in the Top 10. We’ll never
know if the 2020 Italian entry would have won, but what is indisputable is that Italy’s song did triumph in 2021. “Zitti E Buoni” (meaning “quiet &
good”) earned 524 points. This gave Italy its third win, as many victories as achieved
by Denmark and Norway. Måneskin’s song featured elements of glam and punk rock
and was performed in Italian.
VOILÀ
Barbara Pravi
France
Seeing 2 of the “Big Five” countries in the Top 3 is a rarity. “Voilà”
was performed in French and received 499 points, landing it in the runner-up
position. Barbara Pravi gave France its best result since 1990.
TOUT L’UNIVERS
Gjon’s Tears
Switzerland
While Italy topped the televoting results, the Swiss entry
scooped up the most jury votes. “Tout L’Univers” means “all of the universe”.
Gjon’s Tears was scheduled to represent Switzerland in 2020 before COVID-19 led
to its cancellation. He was retained as the Swiss performer albeit with a new song.
Performed in French, the song achieved a score of 432 points. This meant that
for the first time in decades, two songs in the Top 3 were sung in French. In
2021, 4 of the Top 5 finalists were sung in a language other than English. The
Top 6 entries were fully or partially composed by those that performed them.
DISCOTEQUE
The Roop
Lithuania
Lithuania has struggled at Eurovision. In 2021, it was
represented by its catchiest entry yet: “Discoteque” by The Roop. The electro-pop
song finished ranked eighth. This was the best result for Lithuania since 2006.
AI
CORAÇÃO
