Between 4 and 10 October, we celebrate World Space Week which is "an international celebration of science and technology". The week commentates the first human-made Earth satellite to be launched (4 October 1957) and the signing of a treaty to ensure exploration and peaceful uses of outer space, the moon, and other celestial bodies.
Over the years at Eurovision, we have been treated to many space-themed songs. We have seen songs literally about space, lyrics with space-related double entendres, and some good old-fashioned space-themed staging. While there are a lot to choose from, we have picked 10 songs to enjoy!
Sam Ryder - 'Space Man' (United Kingdom 2022)
It is probably fair to say that when you think about Eurovision songs and space, this would be one of the first to come to mind! Sam Ryder gave us the glorious 'Space Man' and brought home a much-needed good result for the United Kingdom in 2022. The lyrics of 'Space Man' are absolutely jam-packed with space references with Sam singing about astronauts, navigation systems, black holes, satellites, stars, and gravity.
Mouth & MacNael - 'I See A Star' (Netherlands 1974)
Going back a few years now to 1974. Mouth & MacNeal from the Netherlands brought us this sweet little love song sung in English the year after the non-native language rule was relaxed. The lyrics were 'I see a star', and that star is said to be the star in "one's lover's eyes". This song finished in 3rd place and remains a classic to this day.
Taxi - 'The Moon' - Romania (2000)
In 2000, Romania sent this folky little number. The band was Taxi and the song was 'the Moon' which was about.. you guessed it... love. The lyrics had several references to the moon and stars: "Now I hear when the wind is playing with the stars of my night, simply 'cause I have you near, now I feel when the moon is playing on and on and on with my heart, simply 'cause your love is real".
Kate Miller-Heidke - 'Zero Gravity' (Australia 2019)
In 2019, our very own Kate Miller-Heidke made us all very proud with her earth-defying staging. Kate wrote 'Zero Gravity' following her struggle with post-natal depression, singing about coming out of that depression fog and being at zero gravity once again. The staging was some of the most innovative we have seen with Kate high in the air on a 3.3 metre pole, backed by a beautiful screen of space. The performance saw Australia finish Top 10 for the fourth time in five years.
F.L.Y. - 'Hello from Mars' (Latvia 2003)
Latvia was flying high in the early 2000s after first entering the Contest with a bang with a top 5 finish, and then securing their first win in 2002. The following year saw Latvia host in Riga, where they sent the band F.L.Y. to compete in front of their home crowd. Their song 'Hello from Mars' may not be about space per se, the lyrics are more about being on a high from being in love: "When heaven comes down to Earth, to say hello to Mars". Unfortunately they didn't finish too high on the scoreboard, finishing in 24th place.
Who See - 'Ingraka' - Montenegro (2013)
How could we ever forget two rapping astronauts from Montenegro? In 2013, Montenegrin band Who See gave us a feast for the eyes with their song 'Ingraka'. One would think this was definitely about space, but nope - it was about going to an epic party. The duo entered the stage in full astronaut gear with Nina, their guest singer, joining them on stage in the form of a cyborg. This led to some pretty wild and unforgettable staging.
Hovi - 'Made of Stars' - Israel (2016)
In 2016, Israel's Hovi Star bought us a beautiful ballad in 'Made of Stars'. The song featured space references in the lyrics: "Let's float across the sky like there's no floor and there's no ceiling - Dance with me like we are made of stars". The staging was matched perfectly for the song - it was simplistic and it felt like a starry night showing glimmering stars against a black background.
Lena - 'Satellite' - Germany (2010)
We couldn't have a list of space-related songs and miss this song. Lena's winning song 'Satellite' for Germany gave us some pretty clever and memorable lyrics "Like a satellite, I'm in orbit all the way around you, and I would fall out into the night". However, this isn't the first song we have had to reference satellites in the Contest though, as in Ted Gärdestad gave us 'Satellit' when he represented Sweden in 1979.
Lidia Isac - 'Falling Stars' - Moldova (2016)
How could we forget this absolutely underrated bop from Moldova in 2016. Stars continue to be popular, and Lidia referenced her dying relationship to be like "falling stars". On stage, she was joined by a dancing silver astronaut. It is iconic Eurovision.
The Shin and Mariko - 'Three Minutes to Earth' - Georgia (2014)
The Shin and Mariko represented Georgia at the 2014 Contest with 'Three Minutes to Earth'. The song had multiple references to space in it's lyrics, even if we are not quite sure what it all means: "Home, home, through the star trail of a lonely star, home to the Earth where we belong, belong to… dazzling light of mankind's emotion. Show us the stairway to come back to Earth – sky diver's space jump!"
So that's our 10 space-themed songs, no doubt we'll see more at the Eurovision Song Contest in the future.
For continued updates on all the Eurovision news follow Aussievision on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and YouTube. All links at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet