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 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.

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.