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Every Eurovision Song: Doctor Who To The World Cup Written by on June 23, 2014 | 2 Comments

Another week of listening and we have another collection of performances from almost sixty years of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Our ‘Every Eurovision Song‘ project has the simple goal of reviewing every single song that has taken to the competitive stage at the Song Contest from the first moments of 1956, through to Austria’s win in the 2014 Contest, in preparation for the sixtieth edition of the Contest to be held in May 2015.

You can follow our progress over on EveryEurovisionSong.com, or you can catch up with our weekly highlights here on ESC Insight!

Every Eurovision Song, week 3 gallery

Every Eurovision Song, week 3 gallery

Belgium 1967: Ik heb zorgen, by Louis Neefs.

Now this has everything I would expect from a Eurovision performance. It’s a delightfully uplifting song, there’s enough sway that you can enjoy a flagon of beer while singing, it’s like a light and fluffy cupcake of delight – Belgium clearly got the memo after Serge Gainsborough won in 1965.

There’s more! Neefs manage to fake out the audience, the lighting tech, and the show’s producers with his false ending. You have spinning mirror giving it a 60’s psychedelic vibe. And you have an song that really doesn’t take itself too seriously.

I think the truth can now be told. That’s not Louis Neefs. That’s Matt Smith.

In 1967 Belgium sent the Eleventh Doctor from Doctor Who (with a cheeky dash of Harry Hill as he does a sideways look at camera two).

(via Every Eurovision Song on Tumblr)

PS: This was posted last Monday… a week later, it is the biggest Earworm of the Every Eurovision Song project so far.

Yugoslavia 1981: Lejla, by Vajta

This sounds horribly familiar to me – not in a plagiaristic way, but there are echoes of ‘Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs’ and ‘Part of the Union’ – two songs that I really like for their storytelling, strong beat, and artistic composition. It’s no wonder that I love ‘Leija’ as well.

Most of Europe did as well, with Vajta getting a bona-fide hit out of the Song Contest with this track, to add to his extensive repertoire back home. It’s nowhere near ballad territory, but neither is it frantic pop, This is a good slice of middle of the road album orientated music.

And he looks like the bloke out of ‘The Joy of Sex’ books. Which I think is a win…

(via Every Eurovision Song on Tumblr)

The Netherlands 2007: On Top of the World, by Edsilia Rombley

For some reason the introduction of the semi-final system caused the Netherlands a lot of issues… namely they could never get out of them!

Really there’s nothing wrong with Rombley’s energetic RnB infused number here. It’s got a good hook, it has the varying rhythms and structure that I love in my music, the story is there to see in the lyrics, the song, and the performance. I come back to the question of why did it not qualify?

Two reasons. Rombley pushes a little too hard during the live show and sounds a bit breathless as she reaches the end of the song. Also, the cultural voting in the 2007 semi final saw only Eastern countries qualifying, and this is one of the rare times that ‘politics’ might actually be the answer.

This is a little gem that was left behind.

(via Every Eurovision Song on Tumblr)

France 2010: Allez Ola Olé, Jessy Matador

I still think it was a bit sneaky of the French to send the theme tune to their World Cup 2010 TV coverage as their Eurovision entry, but it provided a great dance floor filler, and a song with buckets of energy. It’s amazing just how different this song is live compared to the studio version, how both of them have their own energy and drive.

This is summer, this is dance, this is life, this is enjoyment, and it’s all on stage. with Matador singing as part of a team, not in front of some random backing dancers. It’s just… happy!

What surprises me the most is looking back and realising this managed a 12th place, their second best result in recent memory (after Patricia Kaas). It might not be a technical song, but it’s a loved song.

(via Every Eurovision Song on Tumblr)

Who Shall We Listen To Next?

You can follow the project every day at EveryEurovisionSong.com, or check back here on ESC Insight for the weekly highlights. We’ve passed 100 songs in the ‘completed’ counter, but there’s a lot of great music waiting to be (re) discovered.

About The Author: Ewan Spence

British Academy (BAFTA) nominated broadcaster and writer Ewan Spence is the voice behind The Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcast and one of the driving forces behind ESC Insight. Having had an online presence since 1994, he is a noted commentator around the intersection of the media, internet, technology, mobility and how it affects us all. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, his work has appeared on the BBC, The Stage, STV, and The Times. You can follow Ewan on Twitter (@ewan) and Facebook (facebook.com/ewanspence).

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Have Your Say

2 responses to “Every Eurovision Song: Doctor Who To The World Cup”

  1. Shai says:

    The Netherlands 2007- Paul de Leeuwe thought it would be a good idea to bring Eldislia back to Eurovision. He thought that her 1998’s result is sure to get the Netherlands out of the semi. He convinced Esildia and the NOS, ignoring the rule that you can’t do better than your previous attempt.

    It’s not a bad song, but still inferior to her 1998’s entry. Part of the problem was they decided to change the language to English instead of keeping it Dutch(see link below). The English version had too many word in it and Esildia needed to run through it.No wonder she was breathless

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi6-EQ8jJLQ

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