Ghoulian

2 Evridiki - Ime Anthropos Ki Ego (Είμαι άνθρωπος κι εγώ) (1994, 11th) Evridiki Theokleous represented Cyprus 3 times in 1992, 1994, and 2007, and was very unlucky to never quite get a top 10 finish, coming 11th, 11th and 15th in the final respectively. I’m not so keen on the 2007 entry but the 1992 one is very nice and I placed it 9th. This is another level entirely though - such a commanding performance. And I love the Greek sounding instrumental which reminds me of “Zorba’s Dance”, and the way the song ebbs and flows. 1 Eleni Foureira - Fuego (2018, 2nd) As @RobBot said I can’t always be trusted to go for the obvious pop banger, but in this case it is absolutely the winner. The song starts conventionally but creeps up on you , and then you get to the “ah-yeah ah-yeah ah-yeah” and the brilliant post chorus instrumental and you’ve got magic. In the final it was a very clear 2nd place, some 100 points ahead of 3rd but not really coming close to challenging Netta. It’s rightly gone on to be one of the most played and well loved runners up though.

Oh darn mine is American too! No issue with Paddington getting the form earlier.

Well that’s our first ever contender hype, but we’d just be very happy to get a third q.

Yeah don’t worry - it’s amazing the amount of work you’ve put in to this and all the researching of alternative answers you’ve done!

That one was difficult! Not convinced Bryan Adams is a better answer than Billie Eilish: seems almost exactly the same situation, but fair enough! 😉 (Note the UK chart is a songs chart since 2007 so the 2 versions of “Guess” will have been combined: there isn’t a non hit version.)

Week 36: 1 1 Olivia Dean Man I Need 1,726,000 2,830,000 2 2 Sam Fender and Olivia Dean Rein Me In 1,655,000 2,340,000 3 3 Alex Warren Ordinary 1,081,000 3,260,000 4 4 Raye Where Is My Husband! 1,060,000 1,670,000 5 5 Dave featuring Tems Raindance 1,022,000 1,260,000 6 6 Olivia Dean So Easy (To Fall In Love) 965,000 1,340,000 7 7 Bella Kay Iloveitiloveitiloveit 944,000 8 8 Zara Larsson Lush Life 911,000 3,950,000 9 9 Huntr/x, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami & KPop Demon Hunters Cast Golden 907,000 2,240,000 10 10 Taylor Swift The Fate Of Ophelia 883,000 1,630,000 11 11 PinkPantheress Stateside 794,000 920,000 12 12 Olivia Dean Nice To Each Other 777,000 1,550,000 13 13 Djo End Of Beginning 761,000 1,940,000 14 14 Tame Impala Dracula 750,000 890,000 15 15 Sombr Homewrecker 742,000 16 16 Bruno Mars I Just Might 714,000 17 17 Sombr 12 To 12 704,000 1,230,000 18 18 Zara Larsson Midnight Sun 699,000 800,000 19 19 Sienna Spiro Die On This Hill 670,000 840,000 20 22 Ella Langley Choosin' Texas 655,000 690,000 21 21 Alex Warren Fever Dream 646,000 22 20 Harry Styles American Girls 645,000 23 23 Michael Jackson Billie Jean 635,000 4,160,000 24 24 The Killers Mr Brightside 616,000 7,420,000 25 25 Dominic Fike Babydoll 588,000 1,330,000 26 26 Taylor Swift Opalite 585,000 990,000 27 27 Sombr Back To Friends 572,000 1,480,000 28 28 Disco Lines and Tinashe No Broke Boys 565,000 1,290,000 29 29 Harry Styles Aperture 561,000 30 30 Milky Just The Way You Are 540,000 650,000 31 31 Fleetwood Mac Dreams 534,000 4,470,000 32 32 Goo Goo Dolls Iris 531,000 5,090,000 33 33 Benson Boone Beautiful Things 519,000 3,450,000 34 35 Olivia Rodrigo Drop Dead 516,000 35 34 Sabrina Carpenter Manchild 512,000 1,320,000 36 36 Ravyn Lenae Love Me Not 510,000 1,650,000 37 37 Chappell Roan Pink Pony Club 496,000 2,300,000 38 38 Dominic Fike White Keys 492,000 500,000 39 39 Justin Bieber featuring Nicki Minaj Beauty And A Beat 490,000 1,730,000 40 41 Olivia Dean The Hardest Part 484,000 1,220,000 50 51 Prospa & Cloonee Free Your Mind 423,000 59 63 Olivia Rodrigo The Cure 390,000 60 61 Oasis Wonderwall 390,000 5,710,000 62 67 Ariana Grande Hate That I Made You Love Me 386,000 65 66 Malcolm Todd Earrings 379,000 410,000 68 69 Calvin Harris And Clementine Douglas Blessings 368,000 1,010,000 72 75 Harry Styles Sign Of The Times 364,000 2,560,000 79 91 Shakira & Burna Boy Dai Dai 355,000 87 100 Olivia Rodrigo Stupid Song 340,000 93 96 Taylor Swift I Knew It, I Knew You 334,000 98 - Stella Lefty Boston 329,000 - 99 Bad Bunny DtMF 323,000 510,000

10/9: 1 1 Rein me in (1) 2 2 Man I need (1) 3 3 Dai dai (2) 4 5 Choosin’ Texas (4) 5 7 Great expectation (5) 6 4 Movin’ to the sun (4) 7 6 Boston (6) 8 26 9 to 5 (8) 9 8 Stupid song (2) 10 18 Jolene (7) 11 10 Hate that I made you love me (1) 12 9 Ordinary (1) 13 13 The cure (3) 14 11 Free your mind (8) 15 15 Where is my husband! (3) 16 28 Islands in the stream (7) 17 12 Talk to you (5) 18 14 Midnight sun (8) 19 24 Material lover (19) 20 25 Iloveitiloveitiloveit (2) 21 16 Mr Brightside (10) 22 19 On 2nite (15) 23 17 So easy (5) 24 20 Homewrecker (10) 25 22 Loser (19) 26 29 Die on this hill (12) 27 27 Golden (1) 28 31 Raindance (2) 29 21 Billie Jean (1) 30 23 Lush life (3) 31 42 Fever dream (4) 32 35 Nice to each other (5) 33 32 Drop dead (1) 34 34 Iris (3) 35 30 Earrings (26) 36 33 Animal (25) 37 37 The fate of Ophelia (1) 38 36 12 to 12 (8) 39 38 Dreams (22) 40 39 Dracula (4) 41 40 Bloodstream (40) 42 41 Beautiful things (1) 43 48 Everywhere (4) 44 44 I knew it, I knew you (1) 45 - Training season (5) 46 - My body isn’t ready (46) 47 43 Wonderwall (2) 48 - Sue me (48) 49 45 American girls (1) 50 46 Beauty and a beat (5)

Week 36: 1 1 Michael Jackson The Essential 478,000 2,580,000 2 2 Olivia Dean The Art Of Loving 471,000 750,000 3 3 Harry Styles Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. 384,000 4 4 Fleetwood Mac 50 Years: Don't Stop 289,000 2,120,000 5 5 Olivia Rodrigo You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love 276,000 6 6 The Weeknd Highlights 248,000 1,830,000 7 7 Ed Sheeran +-=÷x (Tour Collection) 229,000 740,000 8 8 Alex Warren You'll Be Alright Kid (Chapter 1) 203,000 510,000 9 9 Noah Kahan The Great Divide 202,000 10 10 Sabrina Carpenter Man's Best Friend 196,000 500,000 11 11 Oasis Time Flies... 1994-2009 190,000 2,600,000 12 12 Linkin Park Papercuts 184,000 580,000 13 13 Noah Kahan Stick Season 174,000 900,000 14 14 ABBA Gold 169,000 6,310,000 15 15 Elton John Diamonds 168,000 2,100,000 16 16 Michael Jackson Thriller 165,000 4,910,000 17 17 Sabrina Carpenter Short n' Sweet 163,000 1,050,000 18 18 Fleetwood Mac Rumours 162,000 3,720,000 19 19 Oasis (What's The Story) Morning Glory 153,000 5,770,000 20 20 BTS Arirang 146,000 21 22 Michael Jackson Bad 145,000 4,600,000 22 21 Drake Iceman 145,000 23 23 Taylor Swift The Life Of A Showgirl 138,000 780,000 24 24 Arctic Monkeys AM 137,000 2,460,000 25 25 Raye This Music May Contain Hope 135,000 26 26 Tate McRae So Close To What 134,000 390,000 27 27 Eminem Curtain Call: The Hits 133,000 3,670,000 28 28 Olivia Rodrigo Sour 131,000 1,380,000 29 29 Pitbull Greatest Hits 129,000 750,000 30 30 Olivia Rodrigo Guts 129,000 820,000 31 31 Sombr I Barely Know Her 122,000 210,000 32 32 Maroon 5 Singles 122,000 1,110,000 33 33 50 Cent Best Of 50 Cent 120,000 890,000 34 34 Calvin Harris 96 Months 113,000 350,000 35 35 Queen Greatest Hits 110,000 3,320,000 36 36 Katy Perry Teenage Dream 110,000 2,140,000 37 38 Katy Perry The Ones That Got The Plays 109,000 38 37 Red Hot Chili Peppers Greatest Hits 109,000 2,420,000 39 39 Bruno Mars Doo-Wops & Hooligans 105,000 2,530,000 40 40 Oasis Definitely Maybe 103,000 3,120,000 54 63 Sienna Spiro Visitor 91,000 66 76 Ariana Grande Petal 83,000 88 90 Sade The Best Of Sade 72,000 390,000 100 - Dua Lipa Live From Mexico 67,000 - 100 Nirvana Nirvana 67,000 1,620,000

I’ve never really been a huge fan of this even before it was horribly overplayed. I’d much rather hear “Hey Brother” or even “I Could Be The One”, both of which I think are much more atmospheric tracks. I guess “Wake Me Up” was groundbreaking in its way at the time - the formula has gone on to be recycled in so much soulless EDM since though.

I missed the first round too but would have voted for Shania. Sophie now.

Well done uhsting and thanks Chez!

5 Ivi Adamou - La La Love (2012, 16th) This didn’t end up doing spectacularly well in the final and the vocals weren’t brilliant. However I still hear the studio version at Eurovision themed events quite a lot, and it’s such a joyous and well written piece of pop that I had to give it a good placing here. 4 Evdokia Kadi - Femme Fatale (2008, DNQ) This was lost in the mix unfortunately. It’s an interesting song with a really retro and playful sense of style, and a theatrical performance that deserved better. 3 Hara And Andreas Konstantinou - Mana Mou (Μάνα μου) (1997, 5th) The 5th place for this makes it their joint second best result, unsurprisingly as it’s very strong. It has a properly Cypriot feel to it and the violin part is great, plus it’s a catchy and compelling duet.

“Dizzy” is a fun cover. I remember seeing it at #1 on TOTP aged 7 and it was all quite entertaining. I remember seeing a live performance of “Don’t Let The Sun…” on TV and the superstar collaboration being a really big deal with Elton only coming on for the second verse. It’s nothing very special though. I think I’d probably have exactly the same top 10. I only really like 5 of them though most of the others have a little bit of nostalgia value. I’d probably go: 17 The Stonk 16 I Wanna Sex You Up 15 Bring Your Daughter… 14 Don’t Let The Sun… 13 Dizzy 12 Do The Bartman 11 Any Dream Will Do

I do like “Happy”: I feel like the energy of it is quite genuine and it has a nice retro aesthetic. Its monster sales were a little baffling though. “Burn” is fine but marked the point when she was losing her quirky shine and just churning out mainstream pop.

10 Theo Evan - Shh (2025, DNQ) I was really surprised that this didn’t qualify: I enjoy the spoken verses and the vocally demanding chorus. 9 Evridiki - Teriazoume (Ταιριάζουμε) (1992, 11th) This is very atmospheric and an artistic performance, plus I really enjoy the shimmering flutes and backing vocals. 8 Anna Vissi - Mono i agapi (Μόνο η αγάπη) (1982, 5th) The only 1980s song to make the ranking: I really like the violins and it’s also a surprisingly atmospheric track for the time. 7 Constantinos Christoforou - Ela Ela (2005, 18th) I like the “ela ela” riff and the rhythm to this: it’s a strong song. 6 Alexandros Panayi - Sti Fotia (Στη φωτιά) (1995, 9th) A strangely compelling performance of an intriguing song with rhythmic changes and intense orchestration.

For a change I am actually going with Elvis first as I don’t get anything from the just one Cornetto song.

BJSC #188 Lankum - Ghost Town From the band: “It’s an honour to be releasing a version of this iconic tune, and it feels eerily relevant to be referencing yet again themes of urban decay, economic hardship and working class frustration.” I know the natural instinct is to groan when finding that someone has covered an untouchable classic, so here’s how we got here. I was searching for more material that fits New Helvetica’s preference for acoustic folk. At the same time I thought and the bosses agreed that it might be worth finding something darker for a contest in Séyetana, especially given the added involvement of Neliönoir. I had not come across Lankum before and found their work totally independently of any prior discoveries on this forum. Initially we settled on the harrowing “Go Dig My Grave”, but found that @Chez Wombat had used it in Unlnown Pleasaures as well as having sent “The New York Trader” to BJSC, before Julian or New Helvetica were entering the contests. I found that Lankum’s only release since the 2023 “False Lankum” album seemed to be this cover, which was released as a stand alone single in 2025. My first reaction was of course that a cover wasn’t going to cut it, but I listened and was truly blown away. I love the care and attention they give to every line of the lyrics, the suspense, the blend of folk and electronic sounds and the way they are true to the spirit of the original while refreshing it for the current world. The other thing to bear in mind is that “covers” are what Lankum do; it’s just that usually they’re reimagining old folk standards instead of a classic hit. This is the first time that New Helvetica has approved the use of non acoustic electronic sounds, but we feel this is still true enough to our ethos and we hope you’ll agree that the effects are really worth it. We recommend that you use the video version to listen, which is even available within the Spotify playlist. Oh and we won’t spoil what happens in the second half, but we recommend you fasten your seatbelt. 💺

I think you’ve mentioned most of the Iron Maiden songs I actually enjoy, plus “The Wicker Man” from the early ‘00s. This one has a remarkable title but is a very unremarkable song.

I know most people wouldn’t rank the 3 big Frankie Goes To Hollywood chart toppers in reverse chronological order but that is how they line up in my affections. Not only that but I’ve always found “The Power Of Love” to have immense beauty and majesty and it receives my 3rd and final 10 for the year. I’ve surprised myself with the runner up which I wouldn’t have picked out on 1st listen, but I think for a song from a musical it’s really special. 10 Frankie Goes To Hollywood The Power Of Love 542nd #1: one of the most powerful ballads of this kind ever; the lyrics and emotional build to it are epic 9 Murray Head One Night In Bangkok His only Top 40 from "Chess", and a marvellous Benny & Born penned track with quirky rapped verses 8 Paul McCartney And The Frog Chorus We All Stand Together A big Christmas #3 that is sometimes derided, but that I think is a very fun, whimsical and surreal song 7 Madonna Like A Virgin Her 1st Top 3 and the start of a run of superstar success: it's an excellently written song that I don't adore 7 Alison Moyet Invisible Not a big hit but another very strong song from her where her storytelling and star quality shine through 6 Kool And The Gang Fresh Another of their well remembered and highly streamed songs: it's good but very much business as usual 6 Thompson Twins Lay Your Hands On Me Only a middling sized hit and not one of their best known, but a nice spiritual song with an uplifting feel 5 Big Country Where The Rose Is Sown An anti war song with their usual generous and hearty sound, but not quite as effective as previous hits 5 The Kane Gang Respect Yourself Their 2nd and last Top 40 with a cover of a '70s soul song that's nicely done but doesn't bring much new 4 Tina Turner Private Dancer A very good vocal performance here, but I don't entirely enjoy the song with its rather laboured chorus 4 Spandau Ballet Round And Round This isn't bad but it does rather feel like they're running out of steam and it's their last hit for a while 3 Huey Lewis And The News If This Is It 1st minor hit for this US band who will have better to come, but this is rather limp and not memorable 3 Culture Club The Medal Song I don't find this as irritating as "The War Song" but it's another fairly trite and not very interesting track 2 Shakin' Stevens Teardrops Another original track from him that feels a couple of decades older than it is with the lilting dance style 2 Black Lace Do The Conga A 3rd Top 10 for them with this party song about the traditional Cuban dance: I don't get much from this 1984 Group 21: #1556 01/12/1984 Tears For Fears Shout 4 45-35-32-13-10-8-7-5-{4}-5-8-16-23-29-49-75->16 #1557 08/12/1984 Queen Thank God It's Christmas 21 36-{21}-22-32-44-69->6 #1558 08/12/1984 Paul Young Everything Must Change 9 39-17-{9}-9-9-9-9-14-26-41-57->11 #1559 01/12/1984 The Stranglers No Mercy 37 47-40-{37}-44-55-59-68->7 #1560 15/12/1984 Band Aid Do They Know It's Christmas? 1 {1}-1-1-1-1-2-9-17-30-38-37-57-71-24R(39)-6-3-3-4-13-47->20 #1561 15/12/1984 Wham! Last Christmas/Everything She Wants 2 {2}-2-2-2-2-3-8-11-21-33-38-51-67->13 #1562 01/12/1984 The Toy Dolls Nellie The Elephant 4 63-42-16-6-{4}-5-6-14-32-39-54-75->12 #1563 01/12/1984 Gary Glitter Another Rock And Roll Christmas 7 72-56-22-{7}-8-12-31->7 #1564 01/12/1984 Bronski Beat It Ain't Necessarily So 16 53-41-40-33-30-24-19-{16}-23-35-57->11 #1565 08/12/1984 Foreigner I Want To Know What Love Is 1 67-41-26-11-10-4-{1}-1-1-3-5-12-21-30-43-67->16 19/12/1981 Wizzard I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday {1981} 23 61-41-41-68-50R(153)-36-{23}-36->8 #1566 22/12/1984 Council Collective Soul Deep (Part 1) 24 37-{24}-28-26-44-62->6 #1567 15/12/1984 Alvin Stardust So Near To Christmas 29 54-39-{29}-40->4 #1568 15/12/1984 Grandmaster Melle Mel And The Furious Five Step Off (Part 1) 8 73-42-35-30-11-{8}-11-15-28-37-53-73->12 #1569 15/12/1984 Smiley Culture Police Officer 12 66-56-40-34-15-{12}-15-27-36-53->10 #1570 15/12/1984 Sal Solo San Damiano (Heart And Soul) 15 62-49-47-37-17-{15}-19-28-33-55->10

The contest isn’t coming out of this thread too well oops! All those great and interesting entries of yours DNQing and that winning, although it’s OK.

Agree “Under Control” is decent but unremarkable. I don’t like “What About Us” at all, but I only enjoy a few Saturdays songs.

Meat Loat - not an interesting version

“Any Dream Will Do” has a lot of nostalgia from primary school music lessons and the like. I think the performance is fine and I’d rather listen to it than most of Jason’s songs - “When You Come Back To Me” being the only one I really like. I don’t think it will end up much higher in my ranking though.

“Choosin’ Texas” would only be #4 on the tracks chart - not sure the official #1 has been that low outside Christmas?

Not sure the awful “Islands In The Stream” charity cover counts: the original was only #7.