2. Ira Losco - 7th Wonder - Malta 2002 - Finished 2nd in the final - Peaked at #1 in my chart for 4 weeks

 

 

Iraaaaaa...2002 was NOT a classic contest, however, Latvia aside (:puke:) it was the best top five we've had this decade I think apart from 2001...France and the UK excelled with classy ballads, Estonia did well again with chirpy pop but Malta were the real winners. Young singer Ira Losco was hardly among the top favourites before the contest but a good draw twinned with a brilliant performance of the excellent summery feel-good song were enough to give Malta their best ever result of 2nd place, and I do like to think of it as 2002's spiritual winner :lol: Just such a good melody, I never fail to smile when I hear it and it ruled my summer 2002!!! I would suggest that Ira should return to Eurovision but having bought her latest album which is unmemorable rock music, I don't think she should, but the memory of when she was good is one I shan't forget :wub:

Maria is surprisingly number one here :o :o

 

:heehee:

Of course Maira is #1

 

Hold On Be Strong is perfection

1. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong - Norway 2008 - Finished 5th in the final - Peaked at #1 in my chart for 3 weeks

 

 

Over then, to arguably the best Eurovision song of the decade, Norway excelled yet again with a classy contemporary ballad, Hold On Be Strong, sung by former Idols contestant, the generously breasted Maria Haukaas Storeng and written by the incredible Norwegian talent Mira Craig. The song had somehow (despite clearly having been written in 2007) captured the sound and mood of 2008 perfectly fitting in with the Duffy's, Adele's, Gabriella's and Amy's and not even sounding much like a typical Eurovision song, more like an ode to classic Motown soul. Beginning with the classic lyric 'love can be hard sometimes, yes it can catch you off guard like bad crimes', arguably 2008's finest bad lyric if not for Miley Cyrus' See You Again, the song had absolutely everything going for it managing to sound timeless, modern and classy all at once. I expected it to go right over Europe's heads and finish low top 20 but lo and behold, as the results rolled in it became evident that Maria, who had closed the final faultltessly after the best possible draw she could have had, was heading for the top ten receiving mid points from nearly every country as well as the expected high points from Scandinavia. She eventually finished 5th but in my eyes was far better than the 2008 top four put together...Maria got there by the quality of the song alone and it is one of the worthiest top five finishes any of us are ever likely to see in the Eurovision. Aside from that, it soundtracked my entire 2008 not leaving my chart until September, which is unhead of for a Eurovision song...but that's the point, this is so much more than a Eurovision song, and had UK radio not been so snobbish to ignore it, it could have been a massive hit here too, as could the Norwegian follow up single, Mine All Mine, a duet with songwriter Mira Craig. As expected, it never got the chance to be a success, but in my eyes, it's without a doubt noughties Eurovision's finest hour :heart:

recap:

 

1. Maria Haukaas Stroreng - Hold On Be Strong – Norway 2008

2. Ira Losco - 7th Wonder – Malta 2002

3. Charlotte Perrelli – Hero - Sweden 2008

4. Tanel Padar & Dave Benton – Everybody - Estonia 2001

5. Daz Sampson - Teenage Life – UK 2006

6. Alexander Rybak – Fairytale – Norway 2009

7. Vanilla Ninja - Cool Vibes – Switzerland 2005

8. Carola - Invincible – Sweden 2006

9. Birgitta - Open Your Heart – Iceland 2003

10. Scooch - Flying The Flag (For You) - UK 2007

11. Julie & Ludwig - On Again...Off Again - Malta 2004

12. Serebro - Song Number One - Russia 2007

13. Ruslana - Wild Dances – Ukraine 2004

14. Jade Ewen – It’s My Time – UK 2009

15. Malena Ernman – La Voix – Sweden 2009

16. Helena Paparizou - My Number One – Greece 2005

17. Lynn - To Dream Again - Malta 2003

18. Lovebugs – The Highest Heights – Switzerland 2009

19. Lena Philipsson - It Hurts – Sweden 2004

20. Jessica Garlick - Come Back – UK 2002

21. Dimitry Koldun - Work Your Magic - Belarus 2007

22. Fame - Give Me Your Love – Sweden 2003

23. Elitsa & Stoyan – Water – Bulgaria 2007

24. Sahlene – Runaway - Estonia 2002

25. Euroband – This Is My Life – Iceland 2008

26. Texas Lightning - No No Never - Germany 2006

27. Michelle - To Live For Love – Germany 2001

28. Brinck – Believe Again – Denmark 2009

29. Marta Roure – Jugarem A Estimar Nos – Andorra 2004

30. Paolo Meneguzzi – Era Stupendo - Switzerland 2008

31. Corinna May – I Can’t Live Without Music – Germany 2002

32. Kate Ryan - Je T'adore – Belgium 2006

33. Claudia Beni – Vise Nisam Troja – Croatia 2003

34. Christine Guldbrandsen – Alvedansen –Norway 2006

35. Friends – Listen To Your Heartbeat - Sweden 2001

36. Antique - Die For You – Greece 2001

37. Charmed - My Heart Goes Boom – Norway 2000

38. Ines - Once In A Lifetime – Estonia 2000

39. Rollo & King - Never Ever Let You Go – Denmark 2001

40. Natasha St-Pier - Je N’ai Que Mon Ame - France 2001

41. Lindsay D – No Dream Impossible – UK 2001

42. Esther Hart – One More Night – The Netherlands 2003

43. Shiri Maymon - The Silence That Remains – Israel 2005

44. Vesna Pisarovic – Everything I Want - Croatia 2002

45. Ani Lorak – Shady Lady - Ukraine 2008

46. Alsou – Solo - Russia 2000

47. The Ark – The Worrying Kind – Sweden 2007

48. Michelle – Out On My Own – The Netherlands 2001

49. Jemini – Cry Baby – UK 2003

50. Nox – Forogj Vilag – Hungary 2005

Maria is surprisingly number one here :o :o

 

:heehee:

 

no surprises :kink:

 

I'm now having a Maria marathon in tribute, listening to Mine All Mine for the 49389th time :kink:

I'm starting off my thread next week :cheer: :w00t:

 

Quite interesting that all the 2009 entries are Top 30 here! :o

Shocked at Fairytale 6th... I know it's personal taste, but it's not going to win tonight IMHO and will be forgotten soon after... it's barely in my top 10 of this year...

I'm starting off my thread next week :cheer: :w00t:

 

Quite interesting that all the 2009 entries are Top 30 here! :o

 

the really good songs stand right out, but the awful songs are more awful than usual...thankfully, they all missed the final :cheer: