Ranking Eurovision entries by Australian artists for other nations

Although Australia first started competing as a nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015, our nation has been sending artists since 1972.

After fans ranked all entries for Australia, we thought our team should do the same for the Australian Eurovision artists who also competed for other countries.

So, before we get to our rankings, here are the artists who competed for other nations.

The Australians who competed for other nations

Keith Potger’s reincarnation of his old band The Seekers with the aptly named The New Seekers, featuring Australians Peter Doyle and Marty Kristian, finished second in the contest with Beg, Steal or Borrow. The song also charted at no.2 on the UK charts.

They were followed by Olivia Newton John with Long Live Love in 1974 who finished fourth.

Then came Let Me Be the One by The Shadows featuring Australian John Farrar the year after in 1975, giving the United Kingdom another second place.

Things turned in the 80s for Australians at contest with Frankston-born Johnny Logan winning for Ireland in 1980 and 1987 with What’s Another Year? and Hold Me Now respectively, the latter reaching no.4 in his country of birth.

The iconic singer, otherwise known as “Mr Eurovision”, also penned the 1992 winning song for Ireland Why Me and 1984 runners-up Terminal 3, both of which were sung by Linda Martin.

Cult favourite Ooh Aah…Just a Little Bit sung by Brisbane-singer Gina Gardiner, better known as Gina G, was the next Australian artist to represent the United Kingdom in 1996.

Gardiner wearing one of Cher’s cast off dresses was one of the favourites to take home the crystal microphone, but ultimately finished in 8th place. The song however, managed to chart in the USA and was nominated for an ARIA in 1997.

Australian singers then moved on to continental Europe with Newcastle-singer Jane Commerford fronting German act Texas Lightning to finish 14th with the country-lite No, No, Never.

Texas Lightning defeated 1972 Eurovision winner Vicky Leandros, who represented Luxembourg in 1967 as well, and Thomas Anders from legendary German pop duo Modern Talking in the preselection contest.

Commerford composed No, No, Never which spent 39 weeks on the German Singles Chart, peaking at no.1. The song reached the top 10 in Austria and Switzerland.

Armenia was the next country to be represented by an Australian as part of the supergroup Genealogy in 2015.

Opera singer Mary-Jean O’Doherty was chosen as the Australian “petal” of the forget-me-not flower, the logo of the 100th anniversary of the Armenia genocide which was commemorated in 2015. Genealogy's song Face the Shadow finished in 16th place.

2017 saw Denmark represented by Anja Nissen, winner of the third singer of the Australian version of The Voice.

Nissen had tried her luck to represent the Scandinavian nation in 2016, but finished in second place in the national final to male trio Lighthouse X. Nissen finished in 10th place in her semi at Eurovision, scraping into the Grand Final where she placed 20th.

Switzerland’s Eurovision 2022 representative Marius Bear holds an Australian passport and refers to himself as “half-Australian”. Both his parents lived in Australia and he did too for some time when he was younger. He has relatives in Australia whom he Zoom chats with often and has hinted about returning here soon.

Marius wrote and performed Boys Do Cry, which finished in 17th place.

Our final two representatives for other countries both hail from Sydney and both represented Cyprus.

Andrew Lambrou tried his luck at Australia Decides in 2022. He finished in 7th place with Electrify which featured Spanish lyrics.

He was then preselected to represent Cyprus in 2023. He placed 12th with the ballad Break a Broken Heart.

Silia Kapsis, who was also preselected, finished in 15th place this year with Liar.

Aussievision team rankings

So with 12 songs featured by Australian artists who represented other countries, who is the Aussievision team’s favourite? 10 of our contributors have ranked the songs, read on to find out who our number 1 is.

12. Marius Bear - Boys Do Cry (Switzerland 2022) - 12 points

Highs: 5 points from Hayley, 3 points from Jamie and Saskia

Lows: 1 point from Fleur, 0 points John Christian, Steven, Sam, Dale, Joel and Emma

11. Genealogy - Face The Shadow (Armenia 2015) - 17 points

Highs: 7 points from Sam and Hayley, 2 points from Emma

Lows: 1 point from John Christian, 0 points from Steven, Saskia, Sam, Dale, Joel and Fleur

= 9. The New Seekers - Beg, Steal or Borrow (United Kingdom 1972) - 33 points

Highs: 6 points from Dale, 5 points from Steven and Sam

Lows: 2 points from John Christian, 0 points from Saskia, Joel and Fleur

= 9. Johnny Logan - What's Another Year (Ireland 1980) - 33 points

Highs: 8 points from Steven, 7 points from Fleur

Lows: 1 point from Joel, 0 points from Jamie

8. The Shadows - Let Me Be The One (United Kingdom 1972) - 35 points

Highs: 10 points from Saskia and Fleur, 7 points from Dale

Lows: 1 point from Jamie and Hayley, 0 points from John Christian, Sam and Emma

"This kind of 70s rock is really up my alley and The Shadows deliver a really impressive live, especially with those backing vocals." ~ Saskia

"Look I grew up hearing The Shadows often - my parents loved them, so this one is sentimental. I love '70s music and this is just a great song. This is by far my favourite song from the 1975 contest. I just had to give it my dix points." ~ Fleur

7. Anja - Where I Am (Denmark 2017) - 47 points

Highs: 10 points from Joel, 8 points from Saskia

Lows: 1 point from Steven, 0 points from Hayley

"Anja delivers a powerhouse vocal performance throughout the entire song, but by the time the chorus comes around she absolutely blows me away with the strength and emotion in her voice." ~ Joel

6. Olivia Newton-John - Long Live Love (United Kingdom 1974) - 48 points

Highs: 10 points from Sam, 8 points from John Christian and Emma

Lows: 1 point from Dale, 0 points from Saskia and Hayley

"Ah, you can’t go past the great ONJ. Whilst I like Long Live, Love even I have to admit it is quite cheesy and definitely did not do justice to Olivia’s potential. Despite a mediocre song, dreadful running order and with a dress like a toilet roll cover, she still absolutely slayed and gave a magnificent performance. R.I.P ONJ <3" ~ Sam

5. Texas Lightning - No, No, Never (Germany 2006) - 61 points

Highs: 12 points from Joel, 10 points from Jamie

Lows: 4 points from Fleur, 1 point from Saskia and Emma

"This has long been one of my favourite Eurovision songs ever. There's just something about this sweet country tune that hooks me in every time." ~ Joel

"This song is very underrated in what was one of my favourite Eurovision years when Lordi won. The lead singer Jane Comerford has an amazing voice and she wrote this song for her niece who had lost her father, so her words have a very emotional meaning." ~ Jamie

4. Andrew Lambrou - Break A Broken Heart (Cyprus 2023) - 62 points

Highs: 12 points from Saskia, 8 points from Dale and Fleur

Lows: 4 points from Steven and Hayley, 3 points from Sam

"This song was a real grower for me during the 2023 season. From going from near the bottom of my ranking to then voting for it after he brought an epic performance to Liverpool. Andrew lifts this already dramatic, punchy studio cut to new heights and to me is the clear stand out." ~ Saskia

3. Silia Kapsis - Liar (Cyprus 2024) - 63 points

Highs: 12 points from John Christian and Hayley, 7 points from Saskia and Emma

Lows: 4 points from Sam, Dale and Joel, 2 points from Steven

"THIS is the definition of an Australian representing another nation in the Eurovision. Not only because she is new to the arena, but she also proves that she is a rising star, similar to Addison Rae, Madison Beer, Tate McRae, and other young female singers of today." ~ John Christian

"Look I don’t want to be so recent but this song slaps SO HARD! Brilliant song, amazing performer in Sillia. Was so proud how she handled herself. I will be listening to this for years to come!" ~ Hayley

2. Johnny Logan - Hold Me Now (Ireland 1987) - 80 points

Highs: 12 points from Steven, Fleur and Emma, 10 points from Dale and Hayley

Lows: 4 points from John Christian and Saskia, 1 point from Sam

"This moving ballad about the end of relationship is just so beautifully written, and Johnny “Mr Eurovision” Logan’s vocal is simply perfect. It’s just perfect!" ~ Steven

"This is a classic. Also the first Eurovision that I watched. I enjoyed hearing it on the radio eleventy times. Seriously, it has aged well. A great sing-a-long. I just love it." ~ Fleur

"It has to be Johnny for the 12 points with one of the most well known Eurovision winning songs of all time. I remember hearing it many times as a kid and having no idea about it's Eurovision history until much later. Johnny's voice is so smooth and he still sounds fantastic singing the song today." ~ Emma

"His Aussieness is a little tenuous but we will still claim this brilliant entry and victory. Hold Me Now was perfect Eurovision for the time and it was a global hit for a reason." ~ Dale

"I remember this song in high school - I loved it! It’s still a gorgeous song :)" ~ Hayley

1. Gina G - Ooh Aah… Just A Little Bit (United Kingdom 1996) - 89 points

Highs: 12 points from Jamie, Sam and Dale, 10 points from John Christian, Steven and Emma

Lows: 6 points from Saskia and Hayley, 3 points from Fleur

"An awesome pop dance banger from the 1990s. I remember hearing this song everywhere at the time and it topped the UK charts as well as ranking highly in many other countries. You can't help but not love it and want to dance along to this song." ~ Jamie

"This song is the peak of 90s Europop. It made number 1 in the UK charts and was nominated for a Grammy, and totally deserved both. The fact this song did so well commercially but barely made an impact with the Eurovision judges, was apparently one of the catalysts which saw tele-voting being introduced to the contest the following year. Finally, Gina’s metallic dress is so iconic: it was originally made for Cher, but Gina made the hem much shorter to suit her. Urgh, I simply love everything about this entry!" ~ Sam

"This song is the reason I fell in love with Eurovision. Pop perfection which made it a worldwide hit and Brisbane's own Gina G did us proud at the Contest even if the jury let her down." ~ Dale

"I think for the most part, this 1996 banger should've gotten into Top 5 territory but with surprises such as Ireland, Norway, and Sweden at the time, I think she would've been a league of their own." ~ John Christian

"Whilst the live performance wasn’t quite “it”, the recorded version is a great example of upbeat, catchy pop music with a cracking beat and a chorus that you can’t but sing along to." ~ Steven

"Doesn't this take me back to my nightclub days! I never found out until years later that it was the U.K's Eurovision entry in 1996. It wasn't all that well publicised in Australia at the time although it was on very high rotation on all of the popular radio stations. At a time where the Eurovision songs of the 90's didn't really represent what was in the charts at the time, this song was the exception." ~ Emma

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