EUROVISION'S 150 MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGS. This post: 2010.  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.

2010

The Eurovision Song Contest was scaled back when it returned to Oslo in 2010. Fiscal pressures were affecting the annual event and its impact was evident in the presentation as well as in the number of withdrawing nations. Georgia returned after its song was disqualified in 2009, but Andorra, Czech Republic, Hungary and Montenegro withdrew. They cited the cost as the impediment.

Grand Final slots were assigned in a novel way, with a combination of jury and televotes determining the 20 songs that would qualify. Wildcards were out. The defending champion country and “The Big Four” nations would continue to pre-qualify. It is worth noting that this was the last Grand Final appearance for Israel and Portugal until 2015 and 2017 respectively.

 

SATELLITE Lena

Germany

Lena’s song had a contemporary sound and this helped it chart across Europe. Part of its appeal was no doubt due to its simplicity. Lena’s victory no doubt resonated with a younger demographic. She earned 246 points, way ahead of the Turkish runner-up (which gathered up 170 points). “Satellite” gave Germany its second Eurovision triumph. It was also the first win for one of the “Big Four” pre-qualifying countries since the policy was introduced in 2000. Lena is one of the few winners to defend their title in the following year. She sang “Taken By A Stranger”. The German entry finished in tenth position.

 

RUN AWAY

Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira

Moldova

Although Moldova finished 22^nd out of the 25 Grand Finalists, “Run Away” spawned Eurovision’s first significant internet viral sensation. This was for Sergey Stepanov’s saxophone solo. He was dubbed the "Epic Sax Guy". The Sunstroke Project returned representing Moldova again with “Hey Mamma” in 2017.

 

THIS IS MY LIFE

Anna Bergendahl

Sweden

Sweden takes its Eurovision reputation seriously. Its entries are often among the best and regularly feature among the Top 10. Only Ireland has claimed more wins at the ESC. In 2010, Sweden failed to qualify for the Grand Final- the first time since the introduction of the semi- finals. To date, it remains the only year that Sweden was not represented in the ESC Grand Final since and the sole absence since 1976. “This Is My Life” was the highest scoring of the songs that failed to qualify. The other eliminated countries in 2010 were: Finland, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Estonia, North Macedonia, Croatia, Netherlands, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Slovenia and Switzerland.