Australians first had the opportunity to watch the Eurovision Song Contest on SBS in 1983 and the tradition has continued every single year since. But Australians were enjoying music from the Contest decades earlier, with eleven Eurovision songs charting in Australia before our first broadcast.
In celebration of Australia’s love for Eurovision we have complied all the songs in Eurovision history that have made an appearance on the Australian charts and ranked them in order of their peak positions.
The list covers all 40 songs that charted on the Go-Set Australian National Chart, AMR Chart, Kent Music Report, and the ARIA singles charts.
The most successful Eurovision country with the most appearances is the United Kingdom with nine songs. The most successful Eurovision Contest to make its appearance on the Australian charts is 2015, Australia’s first year officially competing in the Contest.
We have included videos to all the Australian Eurovision representatives along with the Top 3 in this list.
Let’s begin!
41. Kate Miller-Heidke - ‘Zero Gravity’ - AUSTRALIA - 9th place in 2019 (No.95 ARIA chart)
Australia’s first National Final selected Eurovision entrant delivered one of the most ‘out of this world’ Eurovision performances ever. Kate Miller-Heidke’s ‘Zero Gravity’ reached No. 95 on the ARIA charts. She managed to also in chart in Scotland (Official Charts Company) reaching No.62 and in the United Kingdom on the UK Download Official Charts peaking at No.57.
40. Nicole - ‘Ein bißchen Frieden’ - GERMANY - 1st place in 1982 (No. 93 Kent Music Report)~
The single released in Australia was the English version ‘A Little Peace’.
39. Aminata - ‘Love Injected’ - LATVIA - 6th place in 2015 (No. 87 ARIA chart)
38. Dschinghis Khan - ‘Dschinghis Khan’ - GERMANY - 4th place in 1979 (No. 86 Kent Music Report)~
The single released in Australia was the English version ‘Genghis Khan’.
=36. Teach-In - ‘Ding-a-dong’ - THE NETHERLANDS - 1st place in 1975 (No. 81 on the AMR chart)#
=36. Sanna Nielsen - ‘Undo’ - SWEDEN - 3rd place in 2014 (No. 81 ARIA chart)
35. Polina Gagarina - ‘A Million Voices’ - RUSSIA - 2nd place in 2015 (No. 79 ARIA chart)
34. Isaiah Firebrace - ‘Don't Come Easy’ - AUSTRALIA - 9th place in 2017 (No. 69 ARIA chart)
Isaiah made his second appearance on the Australian singles chart with his Eurovision song ‘Don’t Come Easy’. His debut single released in 2016 ‘It’s Gotta Be You’ reached No.26 and was his winning single after he took out the 2016 The X Factor Australia show. ‘Don’t Come Easy’ reached the top 50 in the Belgian and Swedish charts.
33. Alexander Rybak - ‘Fairytale’ - NORWAY - 1st place in 2009 (No. 67 ARIA chart)
32. The Common Linnets - ‘Calm After The Storm’ - THE NETHERLANDS - 2nd place in 2014 (No. 66 ARIA chart)
=30. Sertab - ‘Everyway That I Can’ - 1st place in 2003 (No. 63 ARIA chart)#
=30. Dana International - ‘Diva’ - ISRAEL - 1st place in 1998 (No. 63 ARIA chart)
29. Loïc Nottet - 'Rhythm Inside’ - BELGIUM - 4th place in 2015 (No. 61 ARIA chart)
=27. Ronnie Carroll - ‘Say Wonderful Things’ - 4th place in 1963 (No.47 Kent Music Report)#
=27. Emmelie de Forest - ‘Only Teardrops’ - DENMARK - 1st place in 2013 (No. 47 ARIA chart)
26. Clodagh Rogers - ‘Jack In The Box’ - UNITED KINGDOM - 4th place in 1971 (No. 41 Go-Set Chart)#
25. Jessica Mauboy - ‘Sea of Flags’ - SF2 Interval Act 2014 (No. 40 ARIA chart)
In 2014 Australia was invited to be the interval act in the Semi Final 2 show. Australia put on a very cheeky performance with Julia Zemrio begging the EBU for Australia to sing at the Contest. In a performance with dancers dressed as koalas, flies and prawns; Jessica Mauboy hit the stage with her debut performance of ‘Sea of Flags’ making our dreams come true. The song itself reached No.40 on the ARIA singles chart and Jessica Mauboy went on to perform the song at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony in Glasgow.
24. Massiel - ‘La La La’ - SPAIN - 1st place in 1968 (No. 39 Kent Music Report)#
The single released in Australia was the English version ‘He Gives Me Love (La La La)’.
=22. Lena - ‘Satellite’ - GERMANY - 1st place in 2010 (No. 37 ARIA chart)
=22. Dana - ‘All Kinds of Everything’ - IRELAND - 1st place in 1970 (No. 37 Kent Music Report)~
Before Dana’s Eurovision song was released in Australia a cover was released by Melbourne singer Pat Carroll. It peaked at No.28 until it was charted jointly with Dana’s single release which reached No.37 on the Australian singles chart. Below is the performance of Pat Carroll’s cover of ‘All Kinds of Everything’.
=20. The New Seekers - ‘Beg, Steal or Borrow’ - United Kingdom - 2nd place in 1972 (No. 36 AMR Chart)#
=20. Loreen - ‘Euphoria’ - SWEDEN - 1st place in 2012 (No. 36 ARIA chart)
Other than the No.36 spot on the ARIA singles chart Loreen’s ‘Euphoria’ managed a No.4 spot on the ARIA dance chart. An acoustic cover version of ‘Euphoria’ made it on, Greg Gould’s single ‘Don’t Let Go - EP’ which reached No.16 on the ARIA singles chart in 2017. The Australian singer’s music video for ‘Euphoria’ features true love stories from the LGBTIQ community in Australia.
=18. Jessica Mauboy - ‘We Got Love’ - AUSTRALIA - 20th place in 2018 (No. 31 ARIA chart)
Jessica Mauboy is no stranger to the Australian charts with nine top 10 hits, including her No.1 single ‘Burn’ from 2008 as a solo artist. ‘We Got Love’ is Jessica’s second Eurovision song release on the Australian singles chart. The song also charted in Scotland (Official Charts Company) reaching No.60, Sweden (Sweden Sverigetopplistan) at No.86 and in the United Kingdom (UK Download Official Charts Company) peaking at No.58.
=18. Cliff Richard - ‘Power to All Our Friends’ - UNITED KINGDOM - 3rd place in 1973 (No. 31 Kent Music Report)
17. Mocedades - ‘Eres tú’ - SPAIN - 2nd place in 1973 (No. 30 Kent Music Report)*
16. Vicky Leandros - ‘Après Toi’ - LUXEMBOURG - 1st place in 1972 (No. 23)~
The single released in Australia was the English version “Come What May”, sung by Vicky Leandros.
15. Rosa Linn - ‘Snap’ - ARMENIA - 20th place in 2022 (No. 20 ARIA chart) *CURRENTLY CHARTING*
14. Måns Zelmerlöw - ‘Heroes’ - SWEDEN - 1st place in 2015 (No. 19 ARIA chart)
13. Lulu - ‘Boom Bang-a-Bang’ - UNITED KINGDOM - 1st place in 1969 (No. 15 Kent Music Report)
12. Guy Sebastian - ‘Tonight Again’ - AUSTRALIA - 5th place in 2015 (No. 12 ARIA chart)
Our first competitive entry at Eurovision, Guy Sebastian made us proud with his impressive top 5 position in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest. As well as charting in Australia ‘Tonight Again’ went on the chart across Europe in nine countries. His success led to us being invited back for the 2016 Contest.
11. Olivia Newton John - ‘Long Live Love’ - UNITED KINGDOM - 4th place in 1974 (No. 11 ARIA chart)
The English born Australian singer represented the United Kingdom in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with ‘Long Live Love’. She was accompanied by back up singers which included the Ladybirds. The trio were previously back up singers to Sandie Shaw’s Eurovision winning song ‘Puppet on a String’. In 1974 ‘Long Live Love’ reached No.9 in Ireland and No.11 in the United Kingdom and Australia. Later that year Olivia Newton-John would go on to reached No.1 in Australia with ‘I Honestly Love You’.
10. Bucks Fizz - ‘Making Your Mind Up’ - UNITED KINGDOM - 1st place in 1981 (No. 6)*
=5. Mary Hopkins - ‘Knock, Knock Who's There?’ - UNITED KINGDOM - 2nd place in 1970 (No. 5 Go-Set Australian National Chart)*
Before Mary’s Eurovision song was released in Australia a cover version by Australia pop singer Liv Maessen was released and made it to No.2 in the 1970 Go-Set Australian National Chart. She managed to reach No.9 in the 1970 End of Year chart.
=5. Gina G - ‘Ooh Aah… Just a Little Bit’ - UNITED KINGDOM - 8th place in 1996 (No. 5 ARIA chart)
In 1996 Australia's own Gina G gave us ‘just a little bit, little bit more’ where she represented the United Kingdom in the 1996 Contest. Her song ‘Ooh Aah… Just a Little Bit’ charted well across Europe, reaching No.1 in Israel, Scotland and the United Kingdom. She also reached No.12 US Billboard Hot 100 and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Record in the 1998 40th Grammy Awards, she lost out to Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder ‘Carry On’. This year marks 25 years since the song's release you can read more about it here.
=5. Dami Im - ‘Sound of Silence’ - AUSTRALIA - 2nd place in 2016 (No. 5 ARIA chart)
Dami’s 2016 runner up Eurovision song charted in 13 countries across Europe and in Australia. She managed three other top 10 positions including No.5 in Australia, No.9 on Icelands RÚV chart and No.10 on Belgium’s Ultratip Flanders chart. ‘Sound of Silence’ actually charted better across Europe than the Eurovision winner of that year Jamala with her song ‘1944’.
=5. Cliff Richard - ‘Congratulations’ - UNITED KINGDOM - 2nd place in 1968 (No. 5 Kent Music Report)
=5. Brotherhood of Man - ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ - UNITED KINGDOM - 1st place in 1976 (No. 5 Kent Music Report)
=3. Johnny Logan - ‘Hold Me Now’ - IRELAND - 1st place in 1987 (No. 4 ARIA chart)
“Mr. Eurovision” was born in Frankston, Victoria, Australia, but moved to Ireland at the age of three. ‘Hold Me Now’, his second Eurovision win after his first win in 1980 with ‘What’s Another Year?’, managed to remain on the Australian Top 100 chart for 35 weeks. He would go on to add another Eurovision winning entry to his name as songwriter and composer to the 1992 winning Irish Eurovision entry ‘Why me?’ sung by Linda Martin.
=3. ABBA - ‘Waterloo’ - SWEDEN - 1st place in 1974 (No. 4 ARIA chart)
The most successful and well known group to come out of Eurovision, ABBA, actually began their charting success in Australia with their song ‘Ring Ring’ which peaked at No. 7 in 1973. The following year after Eurovision they released ‘Waterloo’ which reached No.4. Their first Australian No.1 came in 1975 with the song ‘I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do’. Later with ABBA mania came a whopping six No. 1 singles in Australia, including, ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘Fernando’ and ‘Dancing Queen’. ‘Fernando’ topped the chart in Australia for 14 weeks.
2. Sandie Shaw - ‘Puppet on a String’ - UNITED KINGDOM - 1st place in 1967 (No. 2 Kent Music Report)
Sandie’s ‘Puppet on a String’ became a huge hit reaching No. 1 in ten countries across the world, including New Zealand and even reached the top 5 in Malaysia, South Africa and Singapore. Her No. 2 position was her highest charting song in Australia, but she still charted with follow up singles up until 1982.
1. Domenico Modugno - ‘Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volare)’ - ITALY - 3rd place in 1958 (No. 1 Kent Music Report)~
The most covered Eurovision song in Eurovision history is ‘Nel blu dipinto di blu’ which takes the top spot in our list. It was most notably covered by Cliff Richard, David Bowie and of course Dean Martin. Its Dean Martin’s version of the song called ‘Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)’ that charted together with Domenico’s version on the Australian charts when they were released on October 4 1958. It is the first Eurovision song to chart in the Australian charts. It came in at No. 3 in the end of year Australian best selling singles chart for 1958. Domenico’s version reached No.1 the US Billboard Hot 100 and also is the first song to be honoured with the Record of the Year and Song of the Year wins at the 1st Grammy Awards in 1958. Take a dive and read more about the story and legacy of ‘Nel blu dipinto di blu’ here.
* Australian Chart Book, 1970-1992
# found by Christopher Dean
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