Not too long until the first Eurovision Song Contest of the new decade. The Roop with ‘Discoteque’ in semi final 1 on May 21 will be the first Eurovision song performed on the Eurovision stage in the 2020’s.
Before a new decade of Eurovision begins we look back at the top 20 songs that shaped 2010 - 2019 with the best 20 Eurovision Grand Final Songs of the decade 2010 - 2019. We have compiled the list of the best 20 songs ranked by the percentage of their possible total score.
Before we start there are a few notable mentions. Out of the “Big Five” countries who automatically qualify for the Grand Final, three entries made it to the top 20, with two of those songs from a country that only returned in 2011 after being on hiatus for more than a decade.
Also, for those Australian fans a notable Australian vocal powerhouse makes an appearance! Finally there are two countries each with three song entries who made it in the top 20. Can you guess who and which songs?
Let’s begin our countdown!
20. Zlata Ognevich - Gravity - UKRAINE - 3rd place in 2013 - 46.93% (214 points out of 456 - average score 5.63 points)
One of Ukraine’s most memorable entries of the decade, where Zlata is carried on stage by a giant before she sings her world-beat pop song with the infectious melodic hook!
Ukraine got third place that year, making it the first of four third placed songs, and Ukraine’s second best song to reach our top 20 list for the decade.
19. Mahmood - Soldi - ITALY - 2nd place in 2019 - 49.17% (472 points out of 960 - average score 5.90 points)
This Eurovision fan favourite is Italy’s second best ranked entry in our top 20 list. Mahmood managed 12 points from 10 countries through the jury voting and televoting, to beat his rival, Duncan Laurence’s eight set of 12 points. Though it wasn’t enough as The Netherlands achieved more points overall in both the jury voting and televoting and won the Contest.
18. Sergey Lazarev - You Are They Only One - RUSSIA - 3rd place in 2016 - 49.90% (491 points out of 984 - average score 5.98 points)
This banger track has to be one of Russia’s most well known Eurovision songs. That year Sergey only managed to receive points from half of the jury, where he came third, but he was the public’s favourite of the night where he scored points from every single country in the televoting where he got first place, which at the end put him in an overall third place.
Sergey did return to the Eurovision Contest in 2019 to claim the trophy with the song “Scream” but yet again came in at third place. His second Eurovision entry reached the top 30 in our complete list of the best Eurovision Grand Final songs of the decade.
17. Sanna Nielsen - Undo - SWEDEN - 3rd place in 2014 - 50.46% (218 points out of 432- average score 6.05 points)
Sanna’s song “Undo” is one of three Swedish entries and the only Eurovision third placed Swedish entry to make it into our top 20 list. Overall Sweden had a good run in the last decade with seven top 5 placed entries.
Her pop ballad had some tough competition in 2014, in the battle of the ballad’s. She was unable to beat runners-up The Common Linnets with “Calm After The Storm” nor the winning entry “Rise Like a Phoenix” by Conchita Wurst. It was a tough competition!
16. Farid Mammadov - Hold Me - AZERBAIJAN - 2nd place in 2013 - 51.32% (234 points out of 456 - average score 6.15 points)
The most memorable Azerbaijani entry has to be Farid with the man in the glass box who mostly mirrors Farid’s movements during the song. It was an infectious pop ballad and not surprisingly Azerbaijan’s best song of the decade. Their Eurovision winning entry “Running Scared” by Ell/Nikki only just missed out on our top 20 list. “Running Scared” was the lowest scoring Eurovision winning song of the last decade.
15. Duncan Laurence - Arcade - THE NETHERLANDS - 1st place in 2019 - 51.88% (498 points out of 960 - average score 6.22 points)
Thanks to Duncan Laurence, The Netherlands achieved their fifth win in Eurovision history, with their last win being over 44 years ago. The bookies favourite from the moment he released his official music video laying bare his cheeks and all!
Despite being runner-up in the televoting and third place in the jury voting his performance managed 498 points beating Mahmood from Italy by 26 points. In our list “Arcade” is the second best ranked entry from The Netherlands.
14. Dami Im - Sound of Silence - AUSTRALIA - 2nd place in 2016 - 51.93% (511 points out of 984 - average score 6.23 points)
The former X Factor winner and now Eurovision powerhouse, Dami Im made Australia proud. With only Australia’s second ever entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. Dami Im knocked it out of the park with “Sound of Silence” coming in at runners-up position in 2016, and managing to top the Jury voting. Based on our list if Dami Im had competed with the same song and average score in the 2011 or 2019 Contests she would have won.
13. Netta - Toy - ISRAEL - 1st place in 2018 - 52.48%
(529 points out of 1008 - average score 6.29 points)
Israel achieved their overall fourth win in Eurovision history with Netta’s wacky song entry, “Toy”. It is Israel’s best performing song of the decade with their second best entry Nadav Guedj’s “Golden Boy” coming in at number 87 in our complete list. With 529 points Netta has the third highest scoring song in Eurovision history.
12. Buranovskiye Babushki - Party For Everybody - RUSSIA - 2nd place in 2012 - 52.64% (259 points out of 492 - average score 6.31 points)
Buranovskiye Babushki, which was made up of eight elderly women from the village of Buranovo, ‘baked’ their way into the runners-up position in Baku with their infectious blend of ethno-pop and their large spinning oven. In 2012 they were not able to beat the Eurovision winning colossal performance “Euphoria” by Loreen. But based on our list and if these adorable Babushkas retained their average score, and instead competed in the 2011, 2018 or 2019 Contests they would have been the Eurovision winners!!!
11. Lena - Satellite - GERMANY - 1st place in 2010 - 53.95%
(246 points out of 456 - average score 6.47 points)
Germany’s only entry in the top 20 is Lena’s 2010 Eurovision winning song “Satellite”. The hot favourite of the Contest that year gave Germany their first win in 28 years, and second win overall. It was also Germany’s first win as a unified country. It was the first and only win by a “Big Five” country since the Contest rules introduction in the year 2000.
Their next best song in our list is Michael Schulte’s “You Let Me Walk Alone” which came in at 4th place in the 2018 Contest and reached number 83 in our complete list.
10. Jamala - 1944 - UKRAINE - 1st place in 2016 - 54.27% (534 points out of 984 - average score 6.51 points)
“1944” by Jamala is Ukraine’s best Eurovision entry of the decade and Ukraine’s second overall win. In 2016 she achieved the highest ever winning song score at the time with 534 points, now the second highest after Salvador Sorbal’s whopping 758 points with “Amar pelos dois”. It was the first Eurovision song to have Crimean language lyrics. She won the Contest despite receiving the second place in both the jury voting and televoting. Considering a few withdrawals, Ukraine achieved five top 10 places in the Eurovision Contest over the decade.
9. The Common Linnets - Calm After The Storm - THE NETHERLANDS - 2nd place in 2014 - 55.09% (238 points out of 432 - average score 6.61 points)
The Common Linnets entry in 2014 is The Netherlands’ best ranked song of the decade in our list, out performing Duncan Laurence’s winning entry “Arcade” by just 3.21%. Funnily enough if they retained their average score and sung “Calm After The Storm” in 2019, the Common Linnets would have also won the Eurovision Contest that year but with a greater score. Waylon from the duo did return to the Contest in 2018 to have a crack at getting the trophy with the song “Outlaw In ‘Em” but only managed an 18th Eurovision place. He just misses out in being in the top 150 songs in our list.
8. Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops - DENMARK - 1st place in 2013 - 61.62% (281 points out of 456 - average score 7.39 points)
Emmelie scored Denmark’s third Eurovision win, second on Swedish soil, in 2013 with “Only Teardrops”. She was the favourite to win that year scoring 12 points from eight countries and topping both the jury voting and televoting.
Denmark’s next best entry over the last decade is Chanée & N’evergreen's “In A Moment Like This” where in 2010 it came in at fourth place, reaching number 46 in our list.
7. Il Volo - Grande Amore - ITALY - 3rd place in 2015 - 62.39% (292 points out of 468 - average score 7.48 points)
Italy achieved an impressive seven top ten songs since their return to the Eurovision Contest in 2011 and Il Volo is the cherry on top for Italy. The operatic pop trio won the televoting in 2015 but got smashed by the jury voting reaching sixth place and overall being placed at third. They are the highest Eurovision third placed song in our list. If Il Volo retained their average score and competed in the 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018 or 2019 Contests they would have won.
6. Kristian Kostov - Beautiful Mess - BULGARIA - 2nd place in 2017 - 62.50%
(615 points out of 984 - average score 7.50 points)
In 2017 Kristian Kostov smashed it out to the top place in Semi-Final 2 but after momentum built behind Portugal’s Salvador Sorbal the best he could do was claim the runner up place. In the Grand Final Salavdor Sorbal beat Kristan Kostov by 143 points the biggest winning margin of the decade. But this runner up entry is the best result Bulgaria has ever had. Though with his high average score of 7.50 points he would have easily won the Eurovision trophy in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018 or 2019.
5. Polina Gagarina - A Million Voices - RUSSIA - 2nd place in 2015 - 64.74%
(303 points out of 468 - average score 7.76 points)
Polina’s song “A Million Voices” is Russia’s best Eurovision Grand Final song of the decade and the only Eurovision runner up to make the top 5 in our list. Over the decade Russia achieved five top 5 placed songs in the Eurovision Contest. With her high average score of 7.76 she would have easily had won the Eurovision Contest had she instead competed in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018 or 2019.
4. Conchita Wurst - Rise Like A Phoenix - AUSTRIA - 1st place in 2014 - 67.13%
(290 points out of 432 - average score 8.05 points)
Conchita Wurst rose to the top in Copenhagen and won the 2014 Contest. It was Austria’s second win, their first win being in 1966. Her stunning performance and creative use of lighting has become just as memorable as her bearded woman appearance. The James Bond sounding ballad gained 12 points from an impressive 13 countries and 10 points from 6 countries.
3. Loreen - Euphoria - SWEDEN - 1st place in 2012 - 75.61%
(372 points out of 492 - average score 9.07 points)
Loreen’s performance of “Euphoria” was critically acclaimed, and has been hailed by some as one of the greatest performances in Eurovision. She gained the highest number of 12 points awarded to any entry with 18 countries giving it their top score. Her song has left a lasting legacy and still resonates with Eurovision fans, where it has retained the number one position for the last seven years in ESC Radio’s and songfestival.be's ESC250 NYE countdown.
2. Salvador Sorbal - Amar pelos dois - PORTUGAL - 1st place in 2017 - 77.03%
(758 points out of 984 - average score 9.24 points)
Salvador Sorbal’s song “Amar pelos dois”, penned by his sister Luísa Sorbal, together with the story of his health and their touching sibling bond won over Europe and Australia, and won the 2017 Contest. It was Portugal’s first ever win since their debut in 1964. He broke many records including the highest ever score in the history of Eurovision with 758 points, beating the record set by Jamala the previous year. He also scored the highest ever points from the juries with 382 points and his performance is the only song to top both the televoting and jury voting in the second half of the 2010’s.
His performance also received 12 points and 10 points from 54.8% of the overall voting countries, hence achieving the second highest result of 77.03% of possible points.
1. Måns Zelmerlöw - Heroes - SWEDEN - 1st place in 2015 - 77.99%
(365 points out of 468 - average score 9.35 points)
And the winner is…. “Heroes”! Måns Zelmerlöw received points from every single other country that voted, even scoring the full 12 points and 10 points from 58.9% of the overall voting countries (12 points from 12 countries, and 10 points from 11 countries), and hence achieving the highest result of 77.99% of possible points.
At the time it was the third highest scoring song in the history of the contest. It was also the first winning song since the introduction of the split jury - televoting system in 2009, that did not win the televoting.
Did any of your favourites make the top 20 of the best Eurovision songs of the decade?
Is ‘Heroes’ the worthy overall best song of the last decade? Let us know.
Also check out the bottom 20 songs of the last decade here, and the full ranking of Eurovision Grand Final songs here.
Original article published on August 16 2019