Musically, Eurovision is a hopeless cause, you say. Not so, we say. Honest-to-goodness good songs find their way into the competition all the time. Some are winners; some were too cool to win. These are songs we would choose to listen to even if they hadn’t been entries in the Eurovision Song Contest. Our focus is 2006 and later.
Sopho Khalvashi: From the official video for “Visionary Dream”
1. Sopho—Visionary Dream (Georgia 2008). Is it techno? Is it electronica? Is it Georgian folk? Who knows, but it is super.
2. Malcolm Lincoln—Siren (Estonia 2009). Post-punk goodness and goofiness.
3. Ani Lorak—Shady Lady (Ukraine 2007). Fabulous dance music, fabulous diva.
4. Urban Symphony—Rändajad (Estonia 2009). Classy. Pleasing to the ear and the eye.
5. Dima Bilan—Believe (Russia 2008). Big song, well performed.
6. Serebro—Song #1 (Russia 2007). Pure pop, right down to the naughty Catholic-school girls.
Milan Stankovic wants to play with your look
7. Milan Stankovic—Ovo je Balkan (Serbia 2010). We dare you to not like it.
8. Marija Šerifovic—Molitva (Serbia 2007). Anthem.
9. Brinck—Believe Again (Denmark 2009). We admit a certain fondness for Ronan Keating.
10. Vânia Fernandes—Sehnora do Mar (Negras Aguas) (Portugal 2008). Epic story-telling.
11. Izabo—Time (Israel 2012). Jangly and Bowiesque, ”Time” was 2012′s too-cool-for-Eurovision entry. The song needs to be considered on its merits separate from the performance. Izabo performed it with a charmingly disinterested air that probably did the song no favors when it came time to vote.
12. Loreen—Euphoria (Sweden 2012). A terrific Swedish pop song masterfully staged.
