EUROVISION'S 150 MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGS. This post: 1998-2002.  

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.

1998

The Eurovision Song Contest returned to Birmingham, England. After a trial run, televoting was expanded to as many countries as possible. FYR Macedonia made its debut. Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Denmark, Russia and Iceland were relegated due to their possessing the lowest 5-year average points. Italy gave up on Eurovision and withdrew. Slovakia, Israel, Romania, Belgium and Finland returned after being relegated the previous year.

 

DIVA Dana International

Israel

The first trans winner of the Eurovision Song Contest was Dana International. Born a man, she had surgically changed gender and, despite protests from the orthodox members of the Israeli public, arrived to compete in the 1998 Contest. Security was amped up after death threats were directed towards her. Concerns about her ability to sing live were justified, but her overall performance led “Diva” to victory. This was the third win for Israel.

 

1999

The Eurovision Song Contest underwent more changes in 1999. As the 4 countries that paid the most among EBU members, France, Spain, United Kingdom and Germany would automatically get a spot in the Contest every year. The practice continues to this day. All countries were now free to perform in any language they wished. With no orchestra, all countries performed in 1999 using a backing track.

Jerusalem hosted the Contest, although initially there was opposition from offended Orthodox Jews after Dana International’s win the previous year.

 Latvia and Hungary withdrew. This allowed Portugal to compete. Lower averages meant that Finland, Greece, FYR Macedonia, Romania and Switzerland were relegated.

 

TAKE ME TO YOUR HEAVEN

Charlotte

Sweden

The 1999 Swedish entry sounded very reminiscent of ABBA. Little wonder then that Sweden won the Eurovision Song Contest again that year. Performed in English by Charlotte Nilsson, the song scooped up 163 points, comfortably ahead of the Icelandic runner-up, “All Out Of Luck” which finished with a score of 146. “Take Me To Your Heaven” gave Sweden its fourth victory.

 

2000

The first Eurovision Song Contest of the new millennium was held in Stockholm. Greece withdrew. Latvia finally competed and finished respectably in third place. Relegated in 2000 were: Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Lithuania, Romania and Bosnia & Herzegovina.  

 

FLY ON THE WINGS OF LOVE

Olsen Brothers

Denmark

Of the 24 competing entries, Denmark’s song finished the night 40 points ahead of the Russian runner-up. Denmark had first won the Contest in 1963. “Fly On The Wings Of Love” gave the Dames a second victory. The song had not started as a favourite. Nicki French representing the UK with “Don’t Play That Song Again” and the Dutch entry “No Goodbyes” by Linda Wagenmakers seemed destined for ESC glory. The 2 favourites ended the night ranked 16^th and 13^th respectively.

 

2001

The Eurovision Song Contest returned to Copenhagen and 23 nations competed. Seven countries were relegated because of low average results in the previous 5 years: Romania, Switzerland, FYR Macedonia, Finland, Belgium, Austria and Cyprus. This was the last time the averages from the past 5 years would determine a nation’s ability to participate.

 

EVERYBODY

Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL

Estonia

The hot favourites for the 2001 Contest were France, Greece and Slovenia. At the end of the night, the leaderboard revealed that Estonia had achieved its first (and to date – only) win. Dave Benton became the first black winner of the Eurovision Song Contest.

 

2002

Estonia had made its debut at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. When “Everybody” won in 2001, the country became the first former Soviet nation to secure a victory. Initially, there was doubt the fledgling country could financially manage the event.

The rules were altered again for the 2002 Contest. The top 13 scoring countries from 2001 and ‘The Big 4’ (France, Spain, United Kingdom and Germany) would all automatically qualify for the following year. The countries that were unable to compete in 2002 were: Iceland. Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Poland.

 

I WANNA Marie N

Latvia

In a strange twist of fate, Portugal withdrew from the 2002 Contest. This allowed Latvia the opportunity to compete. The favourites were Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Estonia. In the end, Latvia collected 176 points, comfortably ahead of the runner-up Maltese entry’s 164. Latvia’s success was remarkable, given that the country had first competed as recently as 2000.