Australian DJ and pop singer, Gina G, represented the UK in 1996. Her song, "Ooh Ahh... Just a Little Bit," only finished in eighth place at the competition, but it went on to be a number-one hit in many countries. In America, the song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Recording.
Those back-up dancers are just perfect. Everything about this performance is so fun and wonderful and 90s, but Europe wasn't quite ready for this kind of high-energy pop. Audiences wanted ballads in the 1990s, and Gina G was just a little before her time. But she did help start a trend that would bring Eurovision into the new millennium with a techno-dance beat.
Gina G attempted a return to Eurovision in 2005, but she did not make the final selection. She continues to produce music under her own record label and lives in the UK.
Carola Häggkvist is a Swedish singer and performer. She competed at Eurovision three times: in 1983, finishing third; in 1991, winning the contest; and in 2006, finishing fifth. To this day, Carola is a superstar in Sweden.
Ireland
has won Eurovision seven times, more than any other nation. In the
1990s, Ireland dominated the competition and is the only country to
win in three consecutive years, 1992, 1993, and 1994. There was
something inexplicable about the late 1980s and 1990s that made
people go crazy for Irish ballads.
According to esctoday.com, Valentina Monetta will be representing San Marino again in 2014!
There will always be a place in my heart for Valentina because of her first entry, 2012's "The Social Network Song (Oh-Oh-Uh-Oh-Oh)," which was a hot mess. And when she returned to Eurovision this year, she took a very different approach. She did well (finishing 11th out of 17 in the semi-finals), but not quite enough to qualify for the finals.
Will 2014 be Valentina's year? And the first year for San Marino to make it to the finals? I think the Sammarinese are onto something. We wish you the best of luck, Valentina!
Born in Switzerland in 1924, Lys Assia was the winner of the first-ever Eurovision Song Contest, held in 1956. She began her career as a dancer, but eventually transitioned to singing.
She returned to Eurovision in 1957 and 1958 to compete again for Switzerland, and she remains an important figure in the contest to this day. Every few years, she'll come out with a new song and attempt to re-represent her homeland.
Most recently, she teamed up with hip-hop group, New Jack, and recorded "All In Your Head." Switzerland decided to pass on this entry, unfortunately. Many were hoping that this mess would make it to the finals. But she's 89 years old, so good for her anyway.
Sluts are a proud tradition at Eurovision. Girls with high heels, tiny dresses, and big hair are a staple of the performances. Guys stand in front of wind machines until their shirts are literally ripped open, exposing toned, shiny abs underneath.
I love sluts. Sluts rock. The following are some of my favorite Eurovision sluts.
It's like American Idol, except every European country is allowed to send one song. And they participate in a week-long contest that happens once a year. There's no judging segment, and every country gets to call in a vote for a song. And you can't vote for your own country. And the votes are tallied live. And you know ABBA, right? They won in the '70s.
But what I don't often mention is that Eurovision has been around for almost 60 years. It was started in 1956, as a way of reuniting war-torn Europe after WWII. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) still runs Eurovision, and any country who is a member of the EBU can participate. This is why nations like Israel and Azerbaijan, which are not technically in the continent of Europe, can compete.
Since Eurovision was created to bring peace, songs that are controversial or political are usually not accepted. That is why a lot of Eurovision songs are pop ballads about love, having fun, and being silly with your friends. It's traditionally light fare. In 2007, an Israeli band called Teapacks was almost disqualified because some thought their song, "Push The Button," was about nuclear war.
Every year, more people around the world watch Eurovision than The Superbowl or the Academy Awards. Which is why it's so crazy that most Americans have never heard of the contest.
I first learned about Eurovision in college, when a friend who studied abroad in London came home with his own obsession. He said to me, "You need to see this," sat me down in front a TV, and popped in a DVD copy of the 2006 contest (which was held in Athens, Greece; a Finnish monster rock band called Lordi won that year). And that was it for me, I was addicted.
The reason I love Eurovision is because it's full of DRAMA and SPECTACLE. Some entries are genuine, soulful ballads, and some are just fluffy pop music. And sometimes, Scandinavian men wear head-to-toe monster costumes and play a song about being saviors of rock 'n' roll. To me, Eurovision is just the most fun thing in the world.
