Over the years, it hasn’t been uncommon for prior Eurovision artists and even winners to return to the stage.
For example, in 2020 alone, we expected to see the return of Senhit (who had previously represented San Marino in 2011), Sanja Vučić (who represented Serbia in 2016), and The Mamas (who had been backing vocalists for Sweden in 2019).
But some artists love of the competition has seen them return not only for a second time, but to sing four songs in total at the Contest.
Here are the artists who have achieved this feat:
Lys Assia
Lys Assia is well-known in the Eurovision community as the winner of the debut Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Her song, 'Refrain', is a much-loved chanson classic of the era, still instantly recognizable by fans today.
However, 'Refrain', which was ninth in the running order, wasn’t the first song she performed on the Eurovision stage. This honour goes to 'Das alte Karussell' ('The Old Carousel'), which was the second song to ever performed.
Lys Assia performed two songs in 1956 due to a rule that saw each country perform two different songs. All up the seven debut nations sang 14 songs in total. This rule was changed the following year, making 1956 the only year in which broadcasters were represented by more than one song.
In 1957, Lys Assia returned to defend her title with the entry 'L’enfant que j’étais' ('The Child That I Was'). The entry garnered five points, and finished eighth on the night.
Lys’s final Eurovision entry was 'Giorgio', representing Switzerland in 1958 in Hilversum. With a total of 24 points, the song came second.
Although she has provided the Swiss history in Eurovision with four entries, they aren’t the only times Lys Assia has attempted to represent the nation in Eurovision. The Swiss national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 saw Lys Assia come eighth in a closely fought show with the song 'C’était ma vie'. She also tried again for the 2013 contest with 'All in Your Head', featuring hip-hop band New Jack.
Fud Leclerc
Lesser-known 50s and 60s Eurovision singer Fud Leclerc had the honour of representing Belgium in 1956, 1958, 1960 and 1962.
Singing directly after Lys Assia’s first Eurovision entry, Fud Leclerc’s debut Eurovision song was 'Messieurs les noyés de la Seine' ('The Drowned Men of the Seine'), a depressing song about a man trapped in a loveless marriage and wishing to drown himself.
His next Eurovision song had a much lighter tone. 'Ma petite chatte' ('My Little Darling') came fifth out of 10 songs, with a total of eight points. The song is about Leclerc walking through the rougher part of town and finding and then marrying the girl of his dreams.
In 1960, Leclerc returned to the competition with 'Mon amour pour toi' ('My Love For You'), which came sixth out of thirteen entries, and received nine points.
Leclerc’s finaly foray into the Eurovision Song Contest came in 1962 with the entry 'Ton nom' ('Your Name'). The song was notable for being the first song performed at the contest to receive the infamous ‘nil points’.
Peter, Sue & Marc
Peter, Sue & Marc were a Swiss musical group who represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest on four different occasions, and in four different languages.
In 1971, the group made their first appearance at Eurovision, singing in French with the entry 'Les illusions de nos vingt ans' ('The Illusion of Our Twenties'). The entry came twelfth on the night and received 78 points.
In 1976, the group returned to the Eurovision stage with the English-language entry 'Djambo, Djambo'. The entry came in a respectable fourth place, achieving a total of 91 points.
Just three years later, in 1979, Peter, Sue & Marc sang in German at Eurovision with the entry 'Trödler und Co.' ('Dawdler and Co.'), performed with Pfuri, Gorps & Kniri. The song came in tenth place with 60 points.
The trio’s final Eurovision song came in 1981 with the Italian-language song 'Io senza te' ('Me Without You'). The song gave the trio their second fourth-place entry at Eurovision, but with more points than any of their previous entries, with 121.
Elisabeth Andreassen
Norwegian-Swedish singer Elisabeth Andreasson has represented both Norway and Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest during her four participations.
Elisabeth’s first appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest was as a part of the group ‘Chips’ with the song ‘Dag efter dag’ (‘Day After Day’), representing Sweden in 1982. The song came 8th in Harrogate, receiving a total of 67 points.
Her second Eurovision performance was in 1985, where she took part in the duo Bobbysocks!, which provided Norway with their first win with the song ‘La det swinge’ (‘Let It Swing’).
Elisabeth returned to the Eurovision stage for the third time in 1994 in a duet with Jan Werner Danielsen, representing Norway with the song ‘Duett’ (‘Duet’). The song came 6th in Dublin, with a total of 76 points.
Her fourth appearance at Eurovision was on home soil in Oslo, Norway, in 1996 following Secret Garden’s win the year before. Singing solo on the stage for the first time, Elisabeth Andreasson sand ‘I evighet’ (‘For Eternity’), coming second with a total of 114 points.
Elisabeth Andreasson has taken part in Swedish national final Melodifestivalen on six occasions, and hosted once (in 2000). She has also taken part in the Norwegian national Melodi Grand Prix on six occasions, and hosted once (in 1992).
Valentina Monetta
The most instantly recognizable of the four Eurovision artists who have performed four songs at Eurovision would be Valentina Monetta, who not only performed four songs in the same decade, but three of them in a row, all for San Marino.
Valentina’s Eurovision debut was in Baku in 2012 with 'The Social Network Song (Oh Oh – Uh – Oh Oh)', which was originally entitled 'Facebook Uh, Oh, Oh'. The song was changed after the EBU deemed the song to be a commercial message for Facebook, resulting in the lyrics disqualification. However, the song failed to qualify to the Grand Final.
In 2013, Valentina returned to the Eurovision stage with 'Crisalide (Vola)'. The song was a fan favourite, being voted second only to Denmark by OGAE fans. However, the song came only eleventh in its semifinal, and failed to qualify for the Grand Final.
Returning for the third year running, Valentina sang 'Maybe' in Copenhagen, finally making it to the Grand Final. The song was San Marino’s best placing to date, finishing in 24th place with 14 points.
In 2017, Valentina returned to the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv with American singer Jimmie Wilson with the disco and Eurodance hit 'Spirit of the Night'. Unfortunately, the song failed to qualify for the grand final, coming 18th in its semifinal, receiving just 1 point from the German televote.
So there we have it, the artists who have performed four songs. Will we see others join the club over the decade?
Perhaps a Serhat or Sergey may make another couple of attempts, or could Valentina come back for a fifth performance? Time will tell!