From The Vault: Ich Troje

In honor of Poland's return to Eurovision later this year (after a two year absence), let's talk about one of my favorite performances, Ich Troje.

Ich Troje is one of Poland's most popular bands. The group was formed in 1996 by Michal Wisniewski, who acts as the primary songwriter and lead singer, and composer, Jacek Lagwa. The members of the group have fluctuated; the female vocalist usually changes depending on who Wisniewski is married to at the time. In 2003, after Poland's public selection process for Eurovision, they were voted to represent their country, and they did pretty well. After receiving 90 votes, they finished seventh in the final.

In 2006, they were back! And they were ready to give Poland its first ever Eurovision victory!

This performance has everything. Vocal grates! Green hair! Sign language! Demure and definitely-not-over-the-top costumes! Enlisting the rapping styles of "O-Jay" Jeglitza from 90s German Euroband, Real McCoy! Scream-singing into the belly of your pregnant wife!!!

Tragically, Ich Troje finished eleventh in the semi-final, so they were not passed onto the final. (They missed it by six points.)

Ich Troje is an entry that sticks with me because they were just so genuine. Yes, the performance is completely overdone, but they were so pumped to be at Eurovision, representing their country again. They didn't know they were being ridiculous, they were just being themselves. 2006 was my first Eurovision, and it was an amazing year. Nearly every act was either genuinely talented, or a big, silly mess.

Welcome back, Poland!

From the Vault: Guildo Horn

In 1998, Germany sent Guildo Horn and his backing band, Die Orthopädischen Strümphe (translation: The Orthopedic Stockings) to Eurovision. Guildo's song was called "Guildo hat euch lieb!" which means "Guildo Loves You!" in German.

Oh, boy. It's all very, very interesting. The lyrics are sugary-sweet, about how Guildo wants to come to your house and cheer you up when you are sad. But they are being sung by a giant, stomping, wild-eyed man, and that can seem like a disturbing sentiment. Still, Guildo and The Orthopedic Stockings finished in seventh place that year.

Alright, I know you're thinking that I messed up the dates, and this is actually a performance from the 1970s. But it's really 1998. In America, The Backstreet Boys and Destiny's Child were making their way up the music charts. In Germany, Guildo wore velvet bell-bottoms and platform boots and sang about "nut bars and raspberry ice cream." That's just some classic German humor for you.

Guildo, unfortunately, hasn't been back to Eurovision, but the composer of this song, Stefan Raab, has. Raab, a German television host, comedian, and musician, is responsible for several more Eurovision entries. He performed a terrible nonsense-rap in 2000 (Germans are just the goofiest!), and mentored the 2010 winner of Eurovision, Lena Meyer-Landrut.

Guildo marked a turn in German entries at Eurovision. For years leading up to this, Germany didn't put much effort into the Contest. Guildo's erratic, enthusiastic performance in 1998 is credited for bringing German attention back to Eurovision and paving a way for their win in 2010.