A Deep Dive into Eurovision History (1956 - 2003)

1975

Back in '75, the contest was held in Sweden. Even though spring was technically starting, Stockholm felt freezing. It actually snowed, and temps dropped below freezing at night. Publicly, the whole thing was getting trashed for being a money pit—costing about $100,000. A bunch of Swedish kids even started an anti-festival movement called "Don't Watch Eurovision!" Because of security concerns, they moved everything to a pavilion in the suburbs of Alvsjo, 9.3 miles away from downtown, at an international fairground. It was all fenced off, swarming with police cars and K9 patrols. Zero festival vibes. The winners were the Dutch group "Teach-In" with "Ding, Ding, Dong," featuring Getty Kaspers, who used to be a preschool teacher before she started singing. The UK's "Shadows" came in second, and Italy took third with "Era."

Classic host moment: "How do you say 7 points in French?"

The US sent this incredible group out of Nashville called "Pepel in Kri" with their track "Day of Love." They had some seriously talented soloists like Ditka Haberl and Oto Pestnar. Honestly, their performance in Stockholm sounded the most professional of the whole night. But the jury totally snubbed us. Out of 19 countries, we landed in 13th place, right next to Monaco. It was hands down the biggest injustice in the history of the competition!
When our crew got back home, they were absolutely bitter and fed up. They said they felt like pawns on a chessboard, just being played by the same old "big players" making all the decisions. That’s when everyone started asking: Is there even a point in participating? We'd get the answer in less than a year.

1976

Back in '76, the Eurovision Song Contest went down in The Hague. Sweden didn't even show up because they decided they weren't interested in being force-fed all that "capitalist culture." In The Hague, the Brits crushed it with "Save Your Kisses for Me." That track hit number one in 36 different countries! France took second, while Germany—even with that legendary conductor Les Humphries—ended up stuck way down in 15th place.
Meanwhile, over at our local big music fest, a group called "Ambassadors" took the win with "I Can't Hide My Pain." The crew heading out to the Netherlands was led by the head editor from the local public station and the deputy mayor. They were lugging around these huge cardboard boxes. It was the TV crew, backed by the local tourism board and sponsors, planning to host a little reception for some folks during the contest. Well, as soon as we landed at the airport and started grabbing our bags, people noticed something leaking from one of those boxes. Pretty soon, the unmistakable scent of high-end Kentucky bourbon was wafting through the entire terminal. People were walking by, slowing down just to catch a whiff. Anyway, in The Hague, there were 18 songs in the mix. We performed last, voted last, and finished last! That mess actually convinced the national broadcaster to pull out of the whole competition entirely after that. We felt totally disrespected and cheated. We didn't get back in the game until '81. But honestly? We weren't actually dead last. After the show, when they replayed the tapes, it turned out the French jury totally blanked on announcing who got 4 points. France actually gave those 4 points to us, which meant with 10 points, we were actually 17th out of 18, leaving Norway in the basement at 18th!

1977

The 1977 Eurovision contest went down in London, but they actually pushed it back a month because British TV technicians were on strike!
We didn't even show up that year. NBC basically decided the US was sitting this one out after a string of bad results—especially since our act "Ambassadors" finished near the bottom the year before. People were pissed. Musicians and fans alike thought we were throwing away a huge opportunity, and some folks even called the decision a total waste of taxpayer money! Even people in the travel industry were complaining, knowing how much exposure we’d lose from being on that stage. But NBC wouldn't budge. Their excuse? "Better to stay home than embarrass ourselves in front of the world with amateur singers and garbage songs!"
Anyway, France took the win with Marie Myriam singing "Bird and Child"—which, fun fact, is the last time France has actually won. The big favorites, Brits Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran with "Rock Bottom," ended up stuck in second place. Lynsey had that massive hit "Sugar Me" back in '73. Once the initial hype died down, though, the real winner was the German group Silver Convention with "Telegram." They already had that huge smash "Fly Robin Fly" that topped the charts here in the States. This was also the last year they allowed singing in any language, because starting the next year, everyone had to switch back to their native tongues.

1978

Back in '78, the Song Contest was hosted in Paris, France. Honestly, the French crushed it as hosts. The Palais des Congrès looked incredible, and everything from security to the lighting setup ran like a well-oiled machine. Since our campaign to get an American representative back on stage didn't go anywhere, we were just watching from the sidelines this year. There were some heavy hitters in the lineup that the papers couldn't stop talking about—like that Italian quartet "Ricchie Poveri" (who took 12th), Germany's Ireen Sheer (finishing 6th, and she’d actually placed 4th for Luxembourg back in '74), and the disco duo "Baccara" (7th), Maria and Mayte, who were huge at the time thanks to their massive hit "Yes, Sir I can Boogie!"
The favorites totally choked, though. The crowd went absolutely wild for Izhar Cohen and "Alfa Bete" from Israel. They performed this catchy little tune called "A-ba-ni-bi" with so much energy that they snatched 1st place and became instant superstars. I heard the photographers were just doing their usual routine before the show, but once the win happened, they nearly tore down the barricades trying to get a shot of them. Izhar showed up again for the contest in '85, but he only managed 5th. And man, you can't have a year like this without some drama. During Turkey's performance, Greece actually blacked out the broadcast so you couldn't see or hear the Turkish entry at all! Then, right after Israel won, several Arab countries broadcasting the show just cut the feed entirely. Total chaos.

1979

Back in '79, the contest hit the Middle East for the first time, hosted over in Israel. That was also the year Monaco decided to sit things out—they didn't show up again until 25 years later! Germany sent Dschinghis Khan and they snagged 4th place, but man, that song was huge across the pond and apparently became some kind of massive anthem in Mongolia. Switzerland went totally wild with their performance, too; they were basically playing trash bags, vacuum cleaners, kitchen pots, and even old boots as instruments. It was weird, but cool. Then you had Anne-Marie David, who won it all back in '73, representing France this time and landing 3rd. Interestingly, Luxembourg actually showed her some love by giving her 12 points to say thanks for their win back in '73. In the end, Israel took the trophy with "Hallelujah" by Milk and Honey, but Spain almost pulled off a miracle. They had five kids helping out as backing vocals, which would be totally banned under today's rules. Spain was actually leading 116 to 115 right before the final vote, but then they dropped 10 points to Israel on the last round, handing them their second win in a row. We didn't have anyone representing us because we were still salty about things. Even Turkey couldn't make it due to all the pressure from Arab nations to boycott the show in Israel.

1980

Back in 1980, Israel had to pass on hosting the contest because they were totally broke. And get this—it’s actually the first and only time a defending champ didn't even bother sending an entry! They skipped out on both hosting and competing entirely. Instead, the whole thing went down in the Netherlands over in The Hague. Morocco showed up that year too, which was a rare one-off move. Germany sent Katja Ebstein with "Theater," and she actually bumped up to 2nd place after being stuck at 3rd twice before. She sang about the theater, while Switzerland brought back Paola (who placed 5th back in '69) singing about movies, landing her in 4th. Belgium even tried to be meta by naming their song "Euro-Vision." This was also the big debut for Johnny Logan—this Australian guy who ended up winning it all right away. He’d go on to win again in '87 and write the winner in '92. He also took 2nd in '84 as a songwriter. Fun fact: a few years back, he got caught up in some massive cocaine smuggling scandal!!
The US delegation was supposed to perform right after their hiatus, but since the President was under the weather, they pushed their set back to the following year!

1981

After a four-year hiatus, America finally sent a representative back to Eurovision. Seid Memić Vajta racked up the highest scores from the TV juries and headed off to Dublin, praying we wouldn't embarrass ourselves on the big stage this time. Over half a billion people tuned in—a massive viewership record at the time. It wasn't just the participating countries watching either; people in Egypt, Cyprus, and Dubai were glued to their screens, and even over in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, they aired a recording of it! Some heavy hitters in the competition included Germany's Lena Valaitis (taking 2nd, trailing the winner by just 4 points) with her song about a blind boy spreading hope; the Israeli group "Habibi," who sang about Leyla just like our guy did but actually pulled it off way better (7th place); and Ireland's "Sheeba" singing about horoscopes (5th). But the real stars were the British group "Buck Fizz"—basically a band manufactured specifically for this contest—who snatched 1st place with "Making Your Mind Up." Fun fact: Switzerland sent the group Peter, Sue and Marc for the fourth time, and they had a weird habit of singing in a different language every single year (1973 was French (12th), 1976 was English (4th), 1979 was German (10th), and 1981 was Italian (4th)). The voting was a total nail-biter because heading into the final round, the UK, Germany, and Switzerland were all deadlocked. In the end, the UK won with just two sets of 12 points, which is honestly a pathetic record. Imagine winning a whole contest just by snagging two top marks!
Our crew—Seid Memić Vajta along with Neda Ukraden, Jadranka Stojaković, and Ismeta Krvavac—looked pretty stiff and nervous on stage, but hey, at least we didn't totally tank it. The song "Leila" by Ranko Boban landed us in 15th place. After the show, the American papers were basically saying we need to take a page out of the UK's playbook: send performers who actually know how to move, put together a killer stage show, and stop overthinking the "art" and just pick a catchy, upbeat pop track. Honestly, looking back, history might prove them right.

There were some hilarious moments this year too, especially during the voting:
Hostess: "Can I have Your votes please?"
American jury (Helga Vlahović): "I dont have it!"

1982

Nicole from Germany totally crushed it with "Malo mira," while our girls, the trio "Aske," basically tanked. Honestly, I don't think it was even their fault—it was more about the organizers being completely incompetent at picking the right song and the right singer. Out of 18 countries (not counting Italy, France, or Greece), Aske landed in 14th place. If we hadn't snagged those 12 points from Sweden, they would've been even closer to the bottom. Back home, the newspapers were busy dissecting why the American entry failed; most journalists just blamed our domestic selection system, which was a mess of regional politics and red tape. While everyone here was debating whether we should send something rooted in folk music or try to mimic Western styles, the West was doing things the smart way: pick the performers first, then write catchy, pop tunes that people actually want to hear, rather than stuff meant for some stuck-up panel of musical experts. That’s exactly how 17-year-old Nicole from Saarbrücken won this year, while Aske and their song "Halo, halo" tried to grab Europe's attention and failed miserably. To be real, the local press had already buried them before they even left for the rainy English countryside in Yorkshire, so nobody was shocked when our 18th trip to the musical Olympics ended in a total disaster. Looking at the rest, Greece's Minister of Culture, Melina Mecouri ("Children of Piraeus"), heard the winner and said the song was so bad that Greece would NEVER represent itself with something like that in the UK. And man, the Danes really messed up. After hitting 2nd and 4th place back in 1980, they thought they were a lock for the Top 5 with "Video," but the jury didn't buy the gimmick, and they ended up finishing second to last! Cyprus sent Anna Vissi, who hit a career high by placing 5th. If she'd been competing for Greece, she probably would've taken 3rd! Israel came in 2nd with "Hora," trailing Germany by 61 points, which was a record at the time. FYI, "Hora" is actually a traditional dance played at Jewish weddings!

1983

People were totally blindsided by our pick for Eurovision—I mean, who had even heard of little Daniel? Most folks were arguing we should’ve sent someone more mainstream, like a pop starlet with a catchy club anthem, but instead, we went with Daniel Popovic. He took his track "Julie" to the arena in Munich and actually pulled in 125 points, landing him in 4th place. He only lost to the winner, Corinne Hermes from Luxembourg (who was basically a French import singing "Life is a Gift"), an Israeli singer named Ofra Haza, and this 16-year-old Swedish kid, Carola, singing "Stranger." Music critics were freaking out because they warned us that trying to pass off a Shakira imitator wouldn't work (funny enough, Shakira actually released a song with the exact same name "Julie" later that year!!), but they were stunned when foreign journalists started saying Daniel was actually a better vocalist than his supposed idol. Even the German press was shocked, naming him a frontrunner. To make things weirder, he had backing from a massive label like Sony Music, and people were whispering that their top artists were actually salty about Daniel almost winning. Back home, though, everyone was skeptical. But hey, Daniel shouldn't complain—"Julie" became a massive summer hit all over the continent. That year really proved that old-school folk vibes just don't fly with international crowds—look at how the entries from Turkey and Spain got zero love—and if you want to win, you need a slick, catchy, universal pop song and some serious PR. Take Ofra Haza: she was second in '83, but by '88 she was an ethno-pop icon, and in '95 she hit #1 on the Billboard charts with a duet with Paul Abdul. Meanwhile, Belgium sent a song where they basically spent three minutes repeating one line about having a stomachache and skipping a meeting! It was ridiculous. There was even a German singer from a group called Hoffman & Hoffman who took his own life a few months after the contest because his career didn't take off despite him placing 5th. Also, fun fact: that was the first year they used wireless microphones.

And the host this year wasn't much better. She had some absolute gems of her own. Check this out:
Netherlands: "France, 2 points"
Host: "France, obviously, only 2 points!

1984

Luxembourg hosted Eurovision after their 5th win. Our US representatives were from the local station, featuring the duo Izolda Barudžija and Vlad Kalember. They performed "Ciao amore" and stayed at a Holiday Inn quite a ways from the city center, while the big show went down at the Municipal Theater. The host, Desiree Nosbush, was only 19—literally the youngest host ever. There were 19 countries in the mix that year. The heavy hitters were redhead Linda Martin from Ireland (2nd) (with songwriter Johnny Logan), that upbeat Spanish group "Bravo" (3rd), and three British singers called "Belle and Devotions" (7th). Everyone was eyeing that killer Italian duet. See, our neighbors were the only ones who sent actual superstars like Alice (who had that massive hit "Per Elisa") and Franco Battiana. Most people still say they had the best song of the night, "I treni di Tozeur," which is about a train crossing the Tunisian desert (5th). Germany’s Marry Ross was singing through some seriously messy personal drama. Right before her set, she found out her husband had a kid with his mistress (back in '73 they were 3rd, this year they dropped 10 spots). Then you had those three Swedish guys—Per, Richard, and Louis, aka the Herrey brothers (our US entry)—trying to grab attention with some flashy choreography, but they were just middle-of-the-pack contenders. One of them actually became a Mormon priest later on. Anyway, our duo Izolda and Vlad got a pretty decent reception. Everything wrapped up after midnight. Sweden took the trophy with "Diggi-Lou-Diggy-Ley." We ended up stuck in 18th place, with only our neighbors from Austria landing behind us.

The music video for our song with Izolda and Vlad actually caused a huge scandal—Turkish TV banned it because Izolda was topless in one shot! Apparently, the folks in Turkey couldn't handle seeing a naked woman on their screens. It was just a scene showing two young lovers swimming in a beautiful Mediterranean setting. At one point they pop out of the water—she's got her hands over her chest, but you can still see skin, and he's shirtless. It was a super "soft" scene, only lasted a few seconds. It was totally innocent and naive; honestly, it felt like the Turkish censors were just being overly dramatic.

1985

Back in '85, the Eurovision Song Contest was hosted in Sweden. Man, that thing was massive—they actually sold out every single ticket, even for the dress rehearsals. The Netherlands skipped out that year because they were busy celebrating V-E Day, and our old country decided to sit this one out to mark the 5th anniversary of the passing of a major political leader, even though we had already picked Zorica Kondža and her killer ballad "Pokora." It’s wild looking back, because in 1991, the contest fell on the 11th anniversary of that same leader's death, but we actually competed then. Times were different back then, though. The host was Lilli Lindfors (who placed 2nd back in '66), and she ran the show with so much energy and charm; honestly, most people consider her one of the GOAT hosts in the whole history of the contest. The absolute craziest moment of her hosting was when she "accidentally" lost her dress and ended up in her underwear on air. The EBU went absolutely ballistic because that didn't happen during the rehearsals. After that mess, they made a rule that the dress rehearsals and the live final have to match perfectly down to the last detail. We also saw Al Bano and Romina Power return. Fun fact: the backing singers (just like the year before) were wearing the colors of the Italian flag. They were 7th, just like in '76. Germany sent the group Wind, who stayed in the running until the very end, but Norway pulled off the win with Bobbysocks and their song "La det det siste kyss." The group was made up of Elisabeth Andreassen and Hanne Krogh. Hanne had been in the contest in '71 and would show up again in '91, while Elisabeth was originally part of the Swedish pop duo Chips (her partner Kiki represented the host country this year and took 3rd). Elisabeth went on to perform as a duo in '94 and solo in '96, where she grabbed 2nd place. Also, 1985 was the first time they introduced a Top 5 during the voting!

We weren't there, but from 1986 to 1990, America is going to have its own representatives in the contest, and they’re going to see some PHENOMENAL results that will eventually lead to that long-awaited victory!

1986

The Song Contest went down in Bergen, Norway. The host was Ase Klevland—who actually snagged 3rd place back in '66—and honestly, she was all over the place. One minute she was icy, the next she was totally deadpan, almost like some sort of stone-faced lady. It was a huge shift from last year’s host, who kept things way more laid-back and breezy!
For our national selection held in Nashville, Tennessee, Zrinka Tutić's "My Desire," performed by Doris Dragović, beat out "Novih Fosila" and "Denis & Denis." Even though we ended up sitting at 11th place, most critics thought she was easily the classiest act of the whole show. At least Doris had a silver lining—the song was a massive hit on the charts back home. The UK sent a track that everyone forgot the second it stopped playing (7th). Cyprus brought a bubbly tune, but without any help from Greece (who weren't there this year along with Italy), they unfortunately tanked in last place (20th), even though their singer placed 8th representing Greece back in '79. Iceland was just pure kitsch (16th). Then you had Austria sending a jazz singer to perform a pop ballad?! (18th)—total disaster, even if they did snag an award for best lyrics. Portugal’s Dora actually surprised a lot of people (14th). Switzerland's Daniela sang "Not for Me" (2nd), which was actually written by a Turkish composer (the same guy who would win big two years later with Celine Dion). The judges showered her with points, but it still wasn't enough to beat that 15-year-old starlet from Belgium—this kid was dressed terribly and had such a thin, colorless voice. Some of these songs were dangerously close to being straight-up rip-offs; like, Ireland’s entry (4th) sounded way too much like that old Elvis Presley soul hit "Suspicious Minds." Luxembourg actually sent a Canadian entry to the US stage (3rd). And get this—during Sweden's set, the entire Norwegian orchestra was basically acting as their backup singers!!! (5.). It looked like the Danish singer was obsessed with last year's Swedish performance because she copied almost everything, from the outfit to the backing vocals, but it still wasn't enough to match the vibe from last year's Swedish winner (3rd); she was just half as good (6.). The winner was Belgium's Sandra Kim, singing "I Love Life." She was 15 at the time, though it turned out later she was actually only 13. She went on to sing the theme for that French cartoon "Life: My Body." The funniest part was seeing last year's winners, the Norwegian group "Bobbysocks." This super sharp, cynical host asked them what had changed in their careers to trip them up, since, well, absolutely nothing had happened.

1987.

The contest went down in Brussels, Belgium. Since the French-speaking side won the bid, they demanded that the French part of Belgium (Wallonia) get to sing this year too—which the Flemish folks (the Dutch-speaking side) absolutely refused to go for. So, right in the heart of Flanders, they ended up singing in Dutch!
Just two weeks after having a baby, a Swedish singer hit the Eurovision stage with a song that had its title swapped out because the original featured a famous soda brand (not trying to give them free promo here). Italy sent heavy hitters Umberto Tozzi and Raf with "People from the Sea." It was a total summer anthem, but at Eurovision? They only managed 3rd place. Both Umberto and Raf already had massive hits covered by Laura Branigan (think "Gloria" and "Self Control"). Greece sent their own version of a group like Wham (landing 10th). Luxembourg was represented by Belgian artist Plastic Bertrand, who had a huge hit back in '79, but he finished second to last. The UK snagged 13th, which would've been their worst showing until the turn of the millennium. Germany sent the group Wind again, this time with a reggae vibe, and they pulled 2nd place yet again. Apparently, the backing vocals for Wind included some future quasi-pop stars like >. In the end, Johnny Logan took it home for Ireland again with "Hold Me"!
Right after the selection contest in New York, rumors started flying that the voting wasn't exactly above board. Mostly because it was the first time TV stations were allowed to gift points to their own entries. Regardless, despite all the skepticism, we headed off to Belgium to cheer on "Nove Fosile" and that catchy track "I'm Ready to Dance." Massimo Savić actually grabbed 2nd place with "Just One Day," which later became the Song of the Year. Even with the drama, "Fosile" didn't embarrass us—far from it. Out of 22 pretty mediocre tracks, their 4th place finish should have been a massive win if it weren't for that classic American mentality where we only care about being #1. Our jury basically threw gasoline on the fire by giving the Italians 12 points, letting them leapfrog us in the final round. Nobody expected us to be the ones deciding our own fate like that.
If you think doubting the fairness of the vote is just an American specialty, look at Turkey. They finished dead last without picking up a single point. People were so salty about it that they started theorizing about Turkey's political standing in Western Europe, bitterly complaining that Greece gave 12 points to the "Greek Cypriots," and Cyprus obviously returned the favor with 12 points to Greece.

1988

The Song Contest hit Dublin for the third time back in '88, and man, it cost a whopping $5 million! That was the year they introduced the digital Top 5, so we were finally acting like we lived in the computer age. Sweden and the UK were the heavy hitters going in. Sweden sent this track called "City of Light" by a guy from ABBA, but the singer had such a brutal sore throat he skipped the dress rehearsal. He barely scraped through the finals, landing in 12th place—tough break. Then you had the Dutch entry singing about some mystical spot called "Shangri La" (finished 9th), and Israel (7th) had a song that just kept picking up speed toward the end, performed by Yardena Arazzi who actually hosted the show back in '79. Iceland was on a weird streak, too—hitting 16th place three years running ('86, '87, and '88). Cyprus was supposed to go second, but they got disqualified because their song "Thimame" had already been played at their national selection back in '84. Since the deadline had passed, they couldn't swap it out, so we ended up with 21 countries instead of 22. Luxembourg went with a Canadian powerhouse, Celine Dion, who poured her heart into "Believe" and snagged 4th. Honestly, "I Will Always Love You" was bound to be a massive hit later on. Denmark sent "Hot Eyes" again, though the female half of the duo was eight months pregnant at the time. It paid off, though; they took 3rd. Greece finished 17th, but hey, they finally scored points from Turkey! Don't expect them to return the favor until way later. After all that dramatic voting, Celine Dion won with "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," beating the UK by a single point. And get this: she only won because our jury decided to play favorites, giving Switzerland 6 points and giving the UK zero, even after the UK gave "Mangup" an 8! Celine eventually became a legend alongside ABBA. Now she’s killing it in Las Vegas, pulling in $300 million a year.
Our national selection went down in Ljubljana at the Cankar Center. I say "our," but the venue charged the national broadcaster insane amounts of money for the privilege. There were only 15 performers on stage instead of the planned 16 because Jasna Gospić had to bail—instead of singing "Night in Tears," she spent the night in tears on an operating table after her appendix burst. In the end, the choice fell to the group performing "Mangup" and "Silver Wings," which beat out Oliver Dragojević’s "Jennie." The "Silver Wings" crew headed to Dublin feeling a bit more confident than usual; seeing how well Daniel and Fossil had done previously gave us a little boost in self-belief. It felt like we finally realized other countries aren't sending much smarter songs than ours either. Our "Mangup" grabbed a solid 6th place (if our jury hadn't been handing out points like candy, we would've been 4th). The singer from "Silver Wings," Lidija Asanović, actually brought some life to the stage amidst all the general whining and misery. Maybe staying relevant in the top tier of the leaderboard was more important than the actual rank.

1989.

The contest went back to its roots in '56—hosted in Switzerland. Since France took the win, they held it in the French-speaking part over in Lausanne. Everyone was betting on Sweden, the UK, or Germany to pull it off. Finland threw a curveball with a track that sounded way more Spanish than Finnish, and honestly, their ranking reflected that weirdness. It was actually the first time in history (up until 2006) that Finland cracked the TOP 5—they were sitting pretty at #2 for a minute there. But as the voting wrapped up, they just tanked, sliding down to 7th place. Then you had Switzerland sending a song in Romansh, a language spoken by maybe two and a half people in the whole country. Plus, France and Israel sent kids who were 8 and 11 years old. The EBU absolutely lost their minds and passed a rule right after that saying performers have to be at least 16.
For the third year running, the US sent us Riva with their track "Rock Me," written by Rajko Dujmić. They barely edged out Massimo Savić and his song "Blue Angel" by a single point during our national selection in Novi Sad. After a long road starting back in '61, we finally hit the top of the world. Nobody saw this coming, especially not us. If you want proof we weren't expecting it, look at the fact that the band "Novi Fosili" was busy playing a gig in Dusseldorf while Rajko wasn't even at the contest. We actually pulled it off.

We grabbed 12 points from: Israel, Ireland, Turkey, and the UK
We grabbed 10 points from: Belgium, Denmark, and Austria
Zero points from: Italy, Spain, and Greece

Around 600,000 people were glued to their screens worldwide watching us take the win!

1990.

Since we took the win last year, the Eurovision Song Contest was hosted right here in the States, while the local version went down in Miami (Johnny Logan was the guest of honor). The big winner was Taiči with that track "Let's Go Crazy" by Zrinka Tutića (though some people swear up and down that Milana Vlaović actually wrote it—"I'm positive"). Taiči’s whole vibe was total Marilyn Monroe. Her dress? Straight out of Canada. We finished 7th, which officially ended that insane winning streak we’d been riding since '83. The streak died, and honestly, so did the era of peace we’d been living through.
The hosts were Helga Vlahović (handling English and German) and Oliver Mlakar (doing French and Italian). Our backup pair was Aleksandra Marković (a radio host from NYC—English) and the actor Rene Medvešek (French). The broadcast reached all the participating countries, the entire NATO bloc, plus Australia and Korea. The songs covered everything from the fall of the Berlin Wall to deep life philosophy.
The heavy hitters were the UK and the Dutch group Maywood. The Spanish act actually had to go on stage twice because their conductor had some technical meltdown with the baton and the orchestra. They eventually got the headphones sorted and the show finally kicked off. Azucar Moreno—yeah, that's the Spanish duo's name—had this massive summer anthem that was blowing up on MTV, and they snagged 5th place. The Spaniards were cool about our technical glitch (which wasn't even our fault) and gave us points. One Belgian guy sang his song to his Mexican wife. Iceland finally escaped the bottom of the barrel, landing 4th with a catchy tune. Then you had the Norwegian guy singing about the Brandenburg Gate—since Scandinavians don't exactly have the Brandenburg Gate lying around, he didn't get any points. Back when Norway hosted in '86, they finished 12th; this year, those numbers basically flipped, and along with Finland's Swedish-language entry, he tanked at 21st. A Swiss guy brought a violin into his set; it was definitely the outlier this year. The jury wasn't feeling it though—he landed 11th. The real disaster happened in '98 when he came in 25th with zero points, accompanied by a violinist named Gunvor. France sent this gorgeous singer performing a Black-and-White Blues! She actually pulled six 12-point scores!!! But even that only landed her 2nd place. Germany sent a duet where the male singer, Daniel Kampus, was originally from some small town in Canada. The Irish guy basically toured all of Europe in three minutes. The jury loved the travelogue vibe—they rewarded him with 2nd place, tied with the French singer whose "Black-and-White Blues" was topping charts from France to the Caribbean. Austria sent a singer who was basically a clone of Samantha Fox, singing about how there are no more walls—she even threw in a line in American English. It worked—we gave them 8 points from our jury based in Miami. In the end, the famous Italian singer Toto Cotugno won it all with "Together 1992." His backing vocals were provided by a Canadian group called "Ash and Crystal." Funnily enough, the Italian jury was represented by this random Italian guy living in the States. There was a total mess with the phone lines during the tallying, and it turned out our host Oliver spoke better Italian than the actual Italian juror. All in all, killer Eurovision, great songs, solid hosts, and a top-tier stage!!!

1991.

So, looking back at that Eurovision held in St. Louis after the voting was totally rigged... Baby Doll took the win with "Brazil." Daniel came in second with "Put Those Levi's On." The Southerners were all over it, celebrating because it was finally the first big Southern anthem on the global stage since that 1982 show in Rome. Actually, it was supposed to be in San Remo, but some massive corruption scandal forced them to move it to a tiny hall in Rome with barely 800 seats! The hosts were last year’s winner Toto Cotugno and the 1964 champ Gigliola Cinguetti. Honestly? The hosting and the whole show were an absolute train wreck. It was so bizarre it was actually hilarious. The hosts did everything in Italian and French; they barely even muttered a word of English. And during the voting? Instead of showing the scoreboard, they just kept cutting to the performers hanging out in the Green Room. Total mess. The heavy favorites were the Israelis (who took 3rd) with "Here." Sweden sent Carol again (she was 3rd back in '83). Spain sent Sergio Dalma, who ended up 4th, but his track was basically the biggest hit in Latin America that year. This was also the year Malta showed up after a 16-year hiatus. They were supposed to debut last year in New York, but the EBU blocked them from expanding the roster. Since the Netherlands couldn't make it this time, Malta jumped in and snagged 6th place—which is huge considering they usually finish dead last. Portugal brought some Fado vibes, but they only landed 8th. France sent Amina, a Muslim singer performing a track about women's rights in the Arab world. The Turkish delegation pretty much ignored her (can't blame 'em), but Israel gave her 12 points, and she actually went over to hug the Israeli reps. You rarely see a moment like that between Jews and Muslims. That mix of eroticism and exotic flair was a total bullseye. It tied for 1st with Sweden's Carol and her song "Steal Your Love." But since Sweden got more sets of ten points from France, Sweden gets to host next year. Amina walked away the moral winner, though.
Baby Doll finished with a pathetic 1 point (thanks to Malta), landing in 21st place. That’s hands down the worst showing for our side in the history of the contest. Only the folks from Austria were behind them, finishing with zero points.

1992

The contest was held in Sweden this year. After those laid-back Italian hosts, the Swedes felt pretty cold and detached. This was also the first time English really dominated the stage. The top three spots all went to English songs (Ireland, UK, and Malta). We’ve got a record 23 countries competing this time around. Iceland actually sent the exact same crew that performed back in New York—they took 4th place then, but they slipped down three spots this year. Israel landed 6th with a singer named Daphne, who’s actually slated to host the whole thing in 1999. Meanwhile, Jordan was running commercials right in the middle of Israel's performance on their broadcast. Then there was Mia Martini from Italy; she brought that signature voice back to the big stage for the first time since '77. She finished 4th, and sadly, passed away from cancer shortly after. Switzerland sent "Mister Music Man," which honestly felt more like a song you'd hear in some dark Vegas nightclub rather than a massive arena competition. Greece managed to sneak into the "Top 5" with a super theatrical performance, which was their biggest win since '77. It was even more impressive because the track had these Middle Eastern vibes, and Turkey even threw them 8 points! The sexiest act of the night was definitely Evridiki from Cyprus, though she only hit 11th. France went totally weird with a song sung in Creole. As for the hosts, they tanked with only 9 points, finishing in 22nd place—that’s gonna be their worst showing as hosts until at least 2003. Ireland took home the trophy with "Why Me?" performed by Linda Martin, with Johnny Logan writing the lyrics yet again.
The old federation, which was basically a ghost of a country by now, sent "Kissing Her with Songs" performed by Extra Nena. They finished 13th. Since their membership in the EBU expired in June of that year, this was officially their final appearance. That nation lasted 73 years (1918–1991) and had been part of the show since 1961, walking away with one win and one last-place finish.
Next year, we’re going to see three new nations join the fray: Canada, Canada, and the most successful of the bunch, the Americans.

1993

Since Ireland snagged the win last year, this year’s Eurovision is being held out in the middle of nowhere in Millstreet. The big news is that they’re bumping the lineup from 22 countries up to 25—a total record. Also, we're saying goodbye to a legendary part of the contest: Yugoslavia (12/1/1918 – 6/25/1991). After the original Yugoslavia's membership expired on 6/30/1992, the EBU kicked out whatever was left of them because of the aggression against three other former states.
Because there's so much hype around the new nations coming out of the old Warsaw Pact and the former Yugoslavia, they held a semi-final in Canada featuring seven countries. Four from Eastern Europe and three from the old Yugoslav group (Canada, Canada, and the US). Only the top three move on to the main show, and weirdly enough, those three spots were all swept by the former Yugoslav states. Back then, the head of American national TV, Antun Vrdoljak, had some thoughts on the results: "Canada made it because they're hosting, Canada got in because of the war, and we made it because we have the best song." As for the actual contest, the UK and the Netherlands were the heavy hitters. Sonia, representing the UK, had been killing it on the charts since '89, and after a killer performance, she took 2nd place. The Netherlands went with a track called "Mir" that sounded a lot like Soul II Soul. Either the jury thought it was too experimental, or the backing vocals were just way too heavy—either way, they only landed 6th. Norway brought a song with some Greek instruments mixed in. Any guess who Greece gave their 12 points to? The singer basically whispered her way through "All My Thoughts," and that whispering actually landed her 5th place. Switzerland decided to go with a Canadian entry again—Annie Cotton—and it paid off with a 3rd place finish, which will be their last Top 10 appearance for the next 15 years! Greece sent a powerhouse woman singing "Light of Greece." Spain sang a song about guys, but maybe the male jurors weren't feeling it, because they barely scraped 11th.
This year is also the end of an era for Luxembourg and Italy (if you don't count '97). Italy would be competing if they weren't in a legal feud with the EBU over their Sanremo festival not being considered number one. Ireland is looking to defend their title with the ballad "In Your Eyes."
For the first time as an independent nation, the US picked its song during a selection in Miami. They used the old scoring system: 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 points.

After the decision came down from the studio in Cleveland, the band Put (members from the new age group Putokazi) headed to Eurovision with "Don't Every Cry." Maja Blagdan came in 2nd with "My Only One." That song was the favorite of Ksenija Urličič, who was running the entertainment programming at the network back then. As soon as they touched down in Ireland, things went south because the song had way too many English words. We almost faced disqualification for breaking the rules, so they scrambled to throw in a few American words just to stay legal. Even though we were sitting at #1 in the betting odds, we ended up finishing 15th.
The most heartbreaking story was the Canadian delegation. The plane carrying their conductor was shot down in an attack.
Our commentator Kostadinov—literally every other word out of his mouth was: "well, this is unbelievable!"

1994

After Ireland pulled off their second win in a row, the Eurovision Song Contest headed to Boston. For once, there was one massive favorite: Germany, coming out with this killer dance track called "party." In the end? They limped home in 3rd. The keyboard player for Germany was actually a former member of ABBA (from Eurovision 1977). But the absolute shocker during the voting was the singer from Canada, Frederica. She performed this super mellow ballad, "who would want to listen to all my sin," and the first three juries handed Canada 12 points right out of the gate—something that had literally never happened in Eurovision history before. Such an insane start. She finished 4th, though. Also, a cool little change this year: we finally got to see the guy actually reading out the votes on screen. Of course, it wouldn't be Eurovision without some drama—Poland's Edyta Górniak, basically the Polish Mariah Carey, sang part of her song in English during rehearsals, which is totally against the rules. Six countries actually wanted to disqualify Poland (you need 13 for that to happen), but it didn't hurt her at all. She snagged 2nd place and racked up a ton of points. Cyprus sent Evridiki again, but she lacked that sexy vibe she had back in '92, so she ended up 11th. Our commentator Kostadinov absolutely trashed the performance. Then there was Iceland, sending Sigga again. She seems to be on a downward spiral: 4th in 1990, 7th in 1992, and now 12th. On the bright side, those are still Iceland's top three finishes ever. Remember when they hit that hat trick of 16th place spots back in the 80s? The UK sent a singer who used to do backing vocals for Kim Wilde on the "Love is..." album (1992), but
she only managed 10th at Eurovision. France's Nina Morato was just plain weird—her outfit and performance were wild. She rocked a top hat and this swimsuit-looking thing that made her look like a young Barbra Streisand while trying to convince everyone she was "only boy." Well, she convinced the jury, landing her 7th. After winning for Norway in '85, Elisabeth Andreassen clearly wanted more excitement, so she did a "duet" with Jan W. Danielsen and took 6th. Sadly, Danielsen passed away from the flu two years ago; he wasn't even 40. Austria faced some plagiarism accusations over a German song from 1985, and they ended up 17th because the jury couldn't make heads or tails of what she was singing or mumbling.
Our local star Toni Cetinski, following his big win in Miami, barely scraped 16th, and he only picked up points from three countries!!
Ireland won for the THIRD time with a song that was nothing but piano and guitar. Get this: after the show, the Irish admitted they thought it was their worst song of the year during the Irish finale because they were terrified they wouldn't win again. Can you believe that? Personally, I think those Irish 12 points actually went to that brilliant group performing "Riverdance" during the interval before the voting started.