Favourite Winners?

[Adrian]

I don't know if there is something like this out there but I would love to know what everyones favourite winners are. I know it is hard to rank them but as of 12/06/13 my top 10 winners stand at:

01. 2007 "Molitva" - Marija Serifovic
02. 1991 "Fångad Av En Stormvind - Carola
03. 2004 "Wild Dances" - Ruslana
04. 1973 "Tu te reconnaîtras" - Anne-Marie David
05. 1977 "L'oiseau et l'enfant" - Marie Myriam
06. 1965 "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" - France Gall
07. 2003 "Everyway That I Can" - Sertab Erener
08. 1985 "La det swinge" - Bobbysocks!
09. 1999 "Take me to your heaven" - Charlotte Perrelli
10. 1968 "La La La" - Massiel

I must give a special mention to 1969, 2000 and 1988. This top ten will probably change as it did whilst writing it. 1998 was number 10 but Massiel took over Dana International in the last seconds

 

[esc87fan]

Here are some of my favorite winners...

1976 "Save Your Kisses For Me" - Brotherhood of Man

2010 "Satellite" - Lena

1987 "Hold Me Now" - Johnny Logan

1974 "Waterloo" - ABBA

1997 "Love Shine A Light" - Katrina and the Waves

2005 "My Number One" - Helena Paparizou

 

[Celia]

These two come to my mind straight away:

1995 Secret Garden - Nocturne
2006 Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah

 

[Yamarus]

Here are mine!

Net als toen - 1957 - Netherlands: I love this song even though it is very old-fashioned. The lyrics are beautiful, romantic and elegiac.

Nous les amoureux - 1961 - Luxembourg: Some people might dispute this, but I see a gay rights subtext in the lyrics and I think it's pretty daring for the time. ESC songs are usually not very militant lyrics-wise, and certainly not so subtle: "ils voudraient nous séparer, il paraît que c'est l'enfer qui nous guette" (They want to keep us apart, they say Hell is what awaits us)

Non ho l'eta - 1964 - Italy: A romantic song with a beautiful melody. The lyrics tell of an enamoured girl begging her beloved to wait for her to be old enough to be with him.

Poupée de cire, poupée de son - 1965 - France: A very modern song at the time, I think it was the Sixties' equivalent to "Euphoria" in Eurovision terms. It's a classic for that reason alone, so catchy and fresh in a contest filled with bland and stereotypical ballads (it hasn't stopped, look at Russia 2013 )

De troubadour - 1969 - Netherlands: This one might not appeal to everyone's ears, but to me it has echoes of Jacques Brel's beautiful music. It so effectively conveys the spirit of the Low Countries, a mix of melancholy and happiness under a grey and rainy sky.

Après toi - 1972 - Luxembourg: Vicky Leandros' song used to be my favourite winner ever, although now I've come to see its lyrics as a bit too dramatic for my taste. It appealed to my younger, more sorrowful self. "After you, I won't be able to live again" is basically what she's saying. Over the top ? Yes, but so powerful at the same time.

Making your mind up - 1981 - United Kingdom: Here it's all about the amazing catchiness of this song. It epitomizes what the ESC was to become in the 1980s, a big kitschfest sometimes ridiculous sometimes unforgetable. "Making your mind up" is certainly one of the best in the lot.

Ein bißchen Frieden - 1982 - Germany: It's a stereotypical ballad, with feel-good lyrics, yes. But those lyrics are so effective, and work so well with the singer's soothing voice and innocent outlook. You believe her when she complains about those "too many words in -isms" in the French version (trop de mots en -isme).

J'aime la vie - 1986 - Belgium: My country's only victory and therefore a de facto favourite. She's so young and fresh, and as every single Belgian I grew up with that song in a corner of my mind, hearing it time and again.

Wild dances - 2004 - Ukraine: For me this is the best song of the televote era, period. It heralded an era of bombastic ethnopop and dance numbers which breathed much need life into the ESC. It's outrageously catchy, it's radio-friendly and it also demonstrates how Eastern Europe really saved the Contest from its own old-fashioned self and helped shape it into what it is now.

 

[Hegepege]

These two come to my mind straight away:

1995 Secret Garden - Nocturne
2006 Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah

Agree And I have to say that for me, Johnny Logans "Hold me now" is my all time fave winner

 

[toinou03]

In chronological order, I'd say :

1960 Tom Pillibi
1962 Un premier amour
1963 Dansevise
1964 Non ho l'eta
1965 Poupée de cire, Poupée de son
1967 Puppet on a string
1969 De troubadour
1973 Tu te reconnaîtras
1975 Ding-a-dong
1980 What's another year
1983 Si la vie est cadeau
1988 Ne partez pas sans moi
1993 In your eyes
1995 Nocturne
1996 The Voice
1997 Love shine a light
2006 Hard Rock Hallelujah
2012 Euphoria

Winners I really dislike...
1970 All kinds of everything
1981 Making your mind up
1982 Ein bisschen frieden
1991 Fangad av en stormvind
1999 Take me to your heaven
2000 Fly on the wings of love
2002 I wanna
2007 Molitva

 

[Celia]

toinou I agree with most of the songs, but what is it about Molitva that you dislike? I'm curious because our taste here is similar apart from this big exception (I adore 2007 )

 

[A-lister]

Well, at first I can start with writing the years I actually agreed on the actual winners:

1956: (Refrain)
1957:
1964:
1974:
1978:
1980:
1982:
2004:
2012:

... so in the 58 editions of this contest, my first picks won only 9 times!

So let's widen the horizons and add the editions/years where I've actually added the winners to my personal rankings (mostly top. 10's, but in some occasions I had fewer songs in my rankings):

+
1964: (#3 in my personal ranking of that year)
1965: (#2)
1967: (#5)
1969: (#3)
1971: (#2)
1973: (#4)
1975: (#2)
1976: (#4)
1979: (#4)
1983: (#6)
1987: (#6)
1989: (#5)
1992: (#9)
1994: (#5)
1995: (#5)
1997: (#10)
1998: (#2)
1999: (#8)
2000: (#4)
2003: (#2)
2005: (#3)
2010: (#2)
2011: (#10)
2013: (#10)

... so out of all 58 winners, all-in-all 33 of those have I ranked in my personal tops of each edition...

And now my top. 10 ranking of ESC winning entries to date:

01: 2004 - Ruslana - Wild Dances
02: 1982 - Nicole - Ein bißchen Frieden
03: 1964 - Gigliola Cinquetti - Non ho l'età
04: 1998 - Dana International - Diva
05: 2012 - Loreen - Euphoria
06: 1994 - Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan - Rock 'n' Roll Kids
07: 1991 - Carola - Fångad av en stormvind
08: 1995 - Secret Garden - Nocturne
09: 2010 - Lena - Satellite
10: 2005 - Helena Paparizou - My Number One

 

[Terence]

If I could narrow them down to chronological 10:

1964
1965
1971
1973
1983
1990
1995
1996
2005
2007

 

[Verjamem]

My all-time favourite ESC winner is "Molitva", but I appreciate most of winners in 80s/90s. After Molitva, my second favourite winning song could be "J'aime la vie".

 

[toinou03]

toinou I agree with most of the songs, but what is it about Molitva that you dislike? I'm curious because our taste here is similar apart from this big exception (I adore 2007 )

I dunno, I never got into it; I find it quite boring actually. In this genre, I really prefer 2007 for instance... Usually as for balkanic ballads, I prefer the ones rather than the ones... I find them more moving !

 

[Adrian]

My all-time favourite ESC winner is "Molitva", but I appreciate most of winners in 80s/90s. After Molitva, my second favourite winning song could be "J'aime la vie".

I always forget how good "J'aime la vie" is! Also your favourite all time winner is so beautiful

 

[Verjamem]

Still I have no idea, why people prefer "Satellite" and "Euphoria" than "Molitva"

 

[Gera11]

2009
1996
1995
2012
1985
2004

 

[Anastasia15]

In chronological order:

1965 (this is also pretty much my favourite ESC-song of all time)

1967

1972

1978

1996

2003

2004

2010

 

[FilipFromSweden]

Top 3:

2012
2013
2010

 

[CC92]

I like quite a few, but and r miles above the rest.
.............................1969 ......1996

 

[Luki]

1978

 

[Paddy]

2010

Not only because of the song also because of Lena and the euphoria about Eurovision here in Germany when she was chosen to represent us and then finally won.

2013

 

[SRBIJA]

2013