Ghoulian

Another top notch group where I couldn’t give all the great songs top scores, but the sheer slick tightness of “Break My Stride” and storytelling genius of “The Killing Moon” win out. 9 Echo And The Bunnymen The Killing Moon By far their most streamed song, with chords based on "Space Oddity" backwards and wonderful poetic lyrics 9 Matthew Wilder Break My Stride Only hit for this US singer: an incredibly well written, infectious track that doesn't sound quite like anything else 8 Fiction Factory (Feels Like) Heaven Only Top 40 for this Scottish group and like some in the last group it's an extremely pretty and atmospheric song 8 The Smiths What Difference Does It Make? For now a bigger hit than "This Charming Man" and another excellent track with a darker and nihilistic feel to it 7 Simple Minds Speed Your Love To Me Their 4th Top 20 and it's a really gorgeous one: a gutsy and exhilirating song with a sense of motion and freedom 7 Cyndi Lauper Girls Just Want To Have Fun A Robert Hazard song adapted into a female perspective and her 1st hit: it is a fun and powerful overexposed song 7 Madonna Holiday Her 1st hit: a brilliantly crafted, significant song that will have 2 Top 5 runs separate from this, but not one I love 6 The Alarm Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke This doesn't grab me like "68 Guns" and the vocals are on the raucous side, but it's still a strong and hearty track 6 Thomas Dolby Hyperactive! This certainly does feel hyperactive and it's a fun and unusual sounding track, but one that I like rather than love 5 ABC S.O.S. Only just scraped the Top 40 and nowhere near the strength of earlier hits, but it still has a nice warmth to it 5 Elbow Bones And The Racketeers A Night In New York Only hit for this US big band style group: it's fairly standard but has sweet vocals and jazzy instrumental parts 4 Rick Springfield Human Touch Only Top 40 for this Australian singer who had had much more success in the US: this is fine but not remarkable 3 Musical Youth Sixteen Their last hit with Jody Walter of Shalamar: not a bad song by any means but I can't really enjoy the child aspect 3 The Manhattan Transfer Spice Of Life Their last hit, a long time after the previous one, and there's nothing spicy about it at all: quite a dull soul track 1984 Group 3: #1296 04/02/1984 Queen Radio Ga Ga 2 4-{2}-2-4-7-16-28-37-60->9 #1297 04/02/1984 Duran Duran New Moon On Monday 9 12-{9}-9-20-22-45-70->7 #1298 04/02/1984 Thompson Twins Doctor Doctor 3 18-5-{3}-3-5-9-19-26-39-58->10 #1299 28/01/1984 Juan Martin Love Theme From 'The Thorn Birds' 10 41-25-12-{10}-24-32-57->7 #1300 19/11/1983 Shannon Let The Music Play 14 55-51-61-50R(8)-35-27-19-{14}-15-14-21-27-31-47-71->15 #1301 28/01/1984 Nik Kershaw Wouldn't It Be Good 4 53-38-32-14-9-{4}-4-4-6-12-21-38-51-66->14 #1302 11/02/1984 Madness Michael Caine 11 26-13-{11}-16-22-33-46-66->8 #1303 11/02/1984 Marillion Punch And Judy 29 {29}-32-36-54->4 #1304 04/02/1984 Rockwell Somebody's Watching Me 6 52-30-15-7-{6}-6-9-17-26-36-63->11 #1305 04/02/1984 Nena 99 Red Balloons 1 58-31-11-2-{1}-1-1-2-11-20-39-64->12 #1306 04/02/1984 Swans Way Soul Train 20 41-34-{20}-23-27-44-73->7 #1307 04/02/1984 Break Machine Street Dance 3 50-36-27-16-11-5-{3}-3-8-13-19-34-48-67->14 #1308 11/02/1984 Ultravox One Small Day 27 37-29-{27}-33-43-67->6 #1309 04/02/1984 Slade Run Runaway 7 54-40-34-19-10-{7}-14-20-32-53->10

Len of these two

My notes: Year Artist Song Language Final Points Semi Points Notes 2004 Aleksandra and Konstantin "My Galileo" English Failed to qualify 19 10 An odd twang to her vocals but it's a pleasant enough country style song 2005 Angelica Agurbash "Love Me Tonight" English 13 67 Top 10 2006 Polina Smolova "Mum" English 22 10 A rocky song but find it a little jarring and stompy 2007 Koldun "Work Your Magic" English 6 145 4 176 Top 10 2008 Ruslan Alehno "Hasta la vista" English Failed to qualify 17 27 This one is trying to be punchy but somehow falls a little flat 2009 Petr Elfimov "Eyes That Never Lie" English 13 25 Top 10 2010 3+2 feat. Robert Wells "Butterflies" English 24 18 9 59 A "Whole New World" style syrupy duet that isn't for me 2011 Anastasia Vinnikova "I Love Belarus" English Failed to qualify 14 45 Top 10 2012 Litesound "We Are the Heroes" English 16 35 Top 10 2013 Alyona Lanskaya "Solayoh" English 16 48 7 64 I really dislike this - it has a budget summer holiday feel to it 2014 Teo "Cheesecake" English 16 43 5 87 Top 10 2015 Uzari and Maimuna "Time" English Failed to qualify 12 39 Top 10 2016 Ivan "Help You Fly" English 12 84 Top 10 2017 Naviband "Story of My Life" Belarusian 17 83 9 110 Quite an odd duet by a married couple: it has a nice folky feel but feels a little limp overall 2018 Alekseev "Forever" English Failed to qualify 16 65 Top 10 2019 Zena "Like It" English 24 31 10 122 Top 10 2020 VAL "Da vidna" (Да відна) Belarusian Contest cancelled This isn't too bad but the production has something of the tropical house about it

“The Cure” is one of the best chart hits of the year - shame it couldn’t have been her #1. ❤️

“On 2nite” is pretty rubbish oops - I much prefer the original “Get It On Tonite”.

This Sombr song isn’t sounding anywhere near as good as any of his big 4 on 1st listen.

OK finally something that makes it vaguely worthwhile tuning in. Sounding pretty good.

The bottom end sometimes has some great new entries! Today it has some new entries.

Ours is both our longest and shortest ever.

I’d have had both “Caravan Of Love” and “Reet Petite” towards the top - the former is one of the great Christmas hits and the latter one of the best songs of the whole 1950s!

I can see why the hits at the end of the year are often slightly worse than average but not why those at the beginning of the year seem to be so good, especially in these ‘80s years. Anyway it’s not eaay separating the top few and “Relax” ends up being the casualty as it’s a record I admire rather than love. “Here Comes The Rain Again” I think I like even more than “Sweet Dreams…”, and the China Crisis song I didn’t know but is a sublime discovery. 9 Eurythmics Here Comes The Rain Again From the intro with the plucked straings to the bubbling synths, this is a sublime, sensual and ethereal track 9 China Crisis Wishful Thinking Their biggest chart success: this is a big warm hug of a track, where every second of listening is a sheer joy 8 The Icicle Works Love Is A Wonderful Colour Only Top 40 for this UK band whose other 6 chart entries will all miss, and it's a very thrilling and rousing song 8 Frankie Goes To Hollywood Relax 531st #1: this has a much harder edge than the other high scorers here, but is certainly a hugely significant hit 8 The Police King Of Pain Amazingly this is already their last totally new hit: an excellent 4th single about Sting's separation from his wife 7 Snowy White Bird Of Paradise Only Top 40 for this former Thin Lizzy member, with a lovely understated prog rock track with great guitar work 7 Big Country Wonderland Another well performing and really strong single from them, with big lush production and soaring heartfelt vocals 7 Lionel Richie Running With The Night Another unusually good Lionel single: the guitar parts and production here are really very rich and atmospheric 6 Gloria Gaynor I Am What I Am Her last Top 40 which originally appeared in the musical "La Cage Aux Folles": it's a lovely self affirming anthem 6 Eartha Kitt Where Is My Man Her 1st hit since 1955 incredibly: I find this on the one hand silly but also quite a fun song done in her unique style 5 John Lennon Nobody Told Me From John And Yoko's final new album and originally intended for Ringo, it's quite a nice song but nothing more 4 Whitesnake Give Me More Time Another Whitesnake hit that I struggle to remember how many times I hear it: it's not bad but just standard rock 3 Shaky And Bonnie A Rockin' Good Way This is certainly more in Shaky than Bonnie's style: a jolly but throwaway duet that doesn't leave much impression 2 Joe Fagin That's Livin' Alright (From 'Auf Wiedershen Pet') Only Top 40 for this UK singer used as the Sitcom theme: I'm sure it works in context but here I find it a little grating 1983 Group 2: #1282 14/01/1984 Cyndi Lauper Girls Just Want To Have Fun 2 50-23-10-{2}-3-4-8-13-20-32-41-67->12 #1283 14/01/1984 Fiction Factory (Feels Like) Heaven 6 56-28-12-{6}-8-16-26-34-55->9 #1284 21/01/1984 Matthew Wilder Break My Stride 4 31-14-5-{4}-5-6-12-18-25-34-58->11 #1285 21/01/1984 The Alarm Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke 22 34-{22}-22-28-48-71->6 #1286 14/01/1984 Musical Youth Sixteen 23 55-35-34-27-{23}-30-41-62->8 #1287 14/01/1984 Rick Springfield Human Touch 23 47-39-31-{23}-24-40-56->7 #1288 14/01/1984 Madonna Holiday 6 53-40-29-13-7-{6}-13-18-26-35-56->11 #1289 28/01/1984 Echo And The Bunnymen The Killing Moon 9 17-{9}-11-25-40-66->6 #1290 28/01/1984 Simple Minds Speed Your Love To Me 20 {20}-21-35-56->4 #1291 28/01/1984 The Smiths What Difference Does It Make? 12 26-20-13-{12}-18-21-30-39-53->9 #1292 21/01/1984 The Manhattan Transfer Spice Of Life 19 68-33-26-{19}-22-30-36-54->8 #1293 21/01/1984 Thomas Dolby Hyperactive! 17 45-35-29-20-{17}-22-29-46-72->9 #1294 21/01/1984 ABC S.O.S. 39 44-{39}-40-53-72->5 #1295 14/01/1984 Elbow Bones And The Racketeers A Night In New York 33 66-47-40-{33}-33-33-33-41-56->9

Country 7: Belarus Belarus joined the contest in 2004 and participated every year until the cancelled contest in 2020. Their 2021 entries were twice rejected for including aggressively pro government lyrics before they were suspended from the EBU. I thought I might struggle to find 10 songs to rank here. Actually while there’s nothing that’s likely to make my all time ranking the 10 are all pretty decent I think. There isn’t an obvious style to Belarusian entries: they’ve gone down standard poppy, folky and slightly more rocky avenues.

It doesn’t greatly bother me either way because Canada is a country like Australia who I’m pretty sure will slide into Eurovision with no fuss or issues. I’d feel similarly about New Zealand, but there probably aren’t that many non European countries beyond that who could join without changing the vibe of the whole thing. I do take the point though about the EBU diverting attention from their failure to address the issues within their existing membership.

Boo MGMT deserved to be in the final with Sugababes

Went for Debelah Morgan - another one that’s nice enough but doesn’t have that much to it really.

This thread started at the very beginning and will hopefully make it to 1979 eventually, but I ran out of steam in 1972! 😔

2 Efendi - Mata Hari (2021, 20th) Some of the returning artists in 2021 struggled to produce a song as good as their 2020 one, but I think this is even slightly sharper than the already really good previous effort. The backing “ma ma ma ma” in the chorus reminds me of “Poker Face” and the “Mata Hari” cry is really effective. The song uses a traditional wind instrument called a zurna and a folk drum called a naghara. I’m not sure why it didn’t do better in the contest but it’s another one that still gets played and appreciated far more than its placing would suggest. 1 Sabina Babayeva - When The Music Dies (2012, 4th) This is already the 2nd, and quite likely not the last, winner from 2012. It’s quite ironic that between their two top 2 finishes in 2011 and 2013, one of which wasn’t deserved by the song and the other of which was highly suspicious, there sits this gem that if anything is under appreciated. There’s a strong Azerbaijani folk element in the backing which adds to the intensity. It’s a very emotive and excellently performed ballad that builds to a beautiful climax.

1984 Group 1: #1268 26/11/1983 Frankie Goes To Hollywood Relax 1 67-55-54-55-46-46-35-6-2-{1}-1-1-1-1-2-3-6-16-21-23-21-29-29-31-26-24-21-17-16-11-5-3-2-2-3-3-3-6-7-12-20-22-29-41-47-50-66-71-68R(17)-58-64-74->52 #1269 03/12/1983 Lionel Richie Running With The Night 9 54-41-45-41-41-36-22-{9}-16-24-39-58->12 #1270 24/12/1983 Snowy White Bird Of Paradise 6 47-47-40-19-{6}-7-19-22-39-53->10 #1271 07/01/1984 Shaky And Bonnie A Rockin' Good Way 5 57-13-{5}-5-11-16-35-45-68->9 #1272 07/01/1984 Joe Fagin That's Livin' Alright (From 'Auf Wiedershen Pet') 3 43-18-4-{3}-3-6-7-17-24-42-62->11 #1273 24/12/1983 The Icicle Works Love Is A Wonderful Colour 15 64-64-52-28-{15}-19-31-51->8 #1274 14/01/1984 The Police King Of Pain 17 32-{17}-21-44-72->5 #1275 14/01/1984 China Crisis Wishful Thinking 9 36-16-{9}-15-17-37-44-75->8 #1276 24/12/1983 Gloria Gaynor I Am What I Am 13 72-72-56-38-24-{13}-17-15-23-32-45-71->12 #1277 03/12/1983 Eartha Kitt Where Is My Man 36 59-46-44-43-43-46-39-37-{36}-39-55->11 #1278 14/01/1984 Whitesnake Give Me More Time 29 40-{29}-30-42->4 #1279 21/01/1984 John Lennon Nobody Told Me 6 11-{6}-14-21-41-62->6 #1280 21/01/1984 Big Country Wonderland 8 13-{8}-10-14-21-37-51-72->8 #1281 21/01/1984 Eurythmics Here Comes The Rain Again 8 20-11-{8}-10-18-29-40-61->8

Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman. I found the “La Da Dee…” like a demonic incantation and it absolutely terrified me. I remember being nervous that it would come on whenever the car radio was on and I’d have to put my fingers in my ears. I think it’s a good record now!

“Louder” is a real burst of energy . “Promises” is great and still sounds fresh, and “Guilt” by them is even better. Glad that they have both done quite well with you.

Week 26: 1 1 Olivia Dean Man I Need 1,339,000 2,440,000 2 2 Sam Fender and Olivia Dean Rein Me In 1,225,000 1,910,000 3 4 Raye Where Is My Husband! 865,000 1,470,000 4 3 Dave featuring Tems Raindance 862,000 1,100,000 5 5 Alex Warren Ordinary 837,000 3,020,000 6 6 Olivia Dean So Easy (To Fall In Love) 780,000 1,160,000 7 7 Bella Kay Iloveitiloveitiloveit 763,000 8 8 Huntr/x, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami & KPop Demon Hunters Cast Golden 734,000 2,070,000 9 9 Taylor Swift The Fate Of Ophelia 725,000 1,470,000 10 10 Zara Larsson Lush Life 719,000 3,760,000 11 11 PinkPantheress Stateside 661,000 790,000 12 12 Djo End Of Beginning 653,000 1,840,000 13 13 Olivia Dean Nice To Each Other 617,000 1,390,000 14 15 Tame Impala Dracula 579,000 710,000 15 14 Bruno Mars I Just Might 575,000 16 16 Sombr 12 To 12 562,000 1,090,000 17 17 Sombr Homewrecker 545,000 18 18 Sienna Spiro Die On This Hill 524,000 690,000 19 20 Zara Larsson Midnight Sun 490,000 590,000 20 19 Taylor Swift Opalite 490,000 900,000 21 21 Alex Warren Fever Dream 485,000 22 22 Harry Styles Aperture 475,000 23 26 Harry Styles American Girls 461,000 24 23 Dominic Fike Babydoll 460,000 1,200,000 25 25 Disco Lines and Tinashe No Broke Boys 458,000 1,180,000 26 24 Sombr Back To Friends 457,000 1,370,000 27 27 Milky Just The Way You Are 432,000 540,000 28 28 The Killers Mr Brightside 431,000 7,230,000 29 29 Michael Jackson Billie Jean 426,000 3,950,000 30 30 Sabrina Carpenter Manchild 407,000 1,220,000 31 31 Ravyn Lenae Love Me Not 395,000 1,540,000 32 36 Ella Langley Choosin' Texas 395,000 430,000 33 32 Dominic Fike White Keys 391,000 400,000 34 34 Fleetwood Mac Dreams 390,000 4,330,000 35 33 Goo Goo Dolls Iris 390,000 4,950,000 36 35 Olivia Dean The Hardest Part 386,000 1,110,000 37 38 Benson Boone Beautiful Things 381,000 3,310,000 38 37 Chappell Roan Pink Pony Club 381,000 2,190,000 39 39 Justin Bieber Daisies 367,000 870,000 40 40 Olivia Dean A Couple Minutes 362,000 540,000 41 42 Olivia Dean Dive 357,000 1,020,000 42 43 Sombr Undressed 356,000 1,230,000 43 41 Haven featuring Kaitlin Aragon I Run 356,000 460,000 44 44 Olivia Dean OK Love You Bye 347,000 850,000 45 45 Justin Bieber featuring Nicki Minaj Beauty And A Beat 344,000 1,580,000 46 46 Fleetwood Mac Everywhere 333,000 4,500,000 47 49 Olivia Rodrigo Drop Dead 332,000 48 47 Teddy Swims Lose Control 330,000 3,140,000 49 48 Olivia Dean Baby Steps 321,000 500,000 50 55 Michael Jackson Beat It 311,000 2,550,000 51 50 Noah Kahan The Great Divide 310,000 56 58 Myles Smith Stargazing 300,000 2,110,000 59 59 Sonny Fodera, D.O.D. and Poppy Baskcomb Think About Us 293,000 390,000 60 60 Prince & The Revolution Purple Rain 290,000 2,060,000 67 65 Olivia Dean Let Alone The One You Love 275,000 450,000 69 68 Bad Bunny DtMF 271,000 460,000 70 71 Sean Paul featuring Keyshia Cole (When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me 270,000 560,000 73 72 Fleetwood Mac Landslide 265,000 1,860,000 78 78 Michael Jackson Dirty Diana 259,000 1,390,000 80 82 Michael Jackson Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough 254,000 1,950,000 86 87 Drake featuring Wizkid & Kyla One Dance 244,000 5,130,000 87 88 Harry Styles Sign Of The Times 243,000 2,440,000 88 83 Olivia Dean I've Seen It 242,000 390,000 91 95 Hozier Too Sweet 232,000 2,420,000 92 91 Kehlani Folded 232,000 490,000 93 94 Stereophonics Dakota 231,000 2,990,000 94 93 Sabrina Carpenter House Tour 231,000 470,000 95 - Michael Jackson Human Nature 230,000 650,000 97 97 Fleetwood Mac Silver Springs 229,000 940,000 - 100 Tate McRae Just Keep Watching 224,000 690,000

Week 26: 1 1 Olivia Dean The Art Of Loving 385,000 660,000 2 2 Harry Styles Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. 334,000 3 3 Michael Jackson The Essential 334,000 2,430,000 4 4 Fleetwood Mac 50 Years: Don't Stop 215,000 2,050,000 5 5 The Weeknd Highlights 178,000 1,760,000 6 6 Ed Sheeran +-=÷x (Tour Collection) 169,000 680,000 7 8 Alex Warren You'll Be Alright Kid (Chapter 1) 159,000 460,000 8 7 Sabrina Carpenter Man's Best Friend 159,000 460,000 9 9 Noah Kahan The Great Divide 137,000 10 10 Oasis Time Flies... 1994-2009 136,000 2,550,000 11 11 Linkin Park Papercuts 134,000 530,000 12 12 Noah Kahan Stick Season 132,000 850,000 13 23 Olivia Rodrigo You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love 131,000 14 13 Sabrina Carpenter Short n' Sweet 131,000 1,020,000 15 14 ABBA Gold 124,000 6,270,000 16 15 Fleetwood Mac Rumours 122,000 3,680,000 17 16 Elton John Diamonds 121,000 2,050,000 18 17 Raye This Music May Contain Hope 118,000 19 18 Taylor Swift The Life Of A Showgirl 116,000 760,000 20 19 BTS Arirang 116,000 21 22 Michael Jackson Thriller 114,000 4,860,000 22 21 Oasis (What's The Story) Morning Glory 110,000 5,730,000 23 20 Tate McRae So Close To What 109,000 370,000 24 24 Arctic Monkeys AM 103,000 2,430,000 25 26 Drake Iceman 102,000 26 27 Michael Jackson Bad 102,000 4,550,000 27 25 Eminem Curtain Call: The Hits 100,000 3,630,000 28 29 Olivia Rodrigo Sour 98,000 1,350,000 29 28 Sombr I Barely Know Her 97,000 190,000 30 30 Olivia Rodrigo Guts 96,000 790,000 31 31 50 Cent Best Of 50 Cent 90,000 860,000 32 32 Pitbull Greatest Hits 90,000 710,000 33 33 Maroon 5 Singles 88,000 1,080,000 34 34 Queen Greatest Hits 83,000 3,290,000 35 37 Calvin Harris 96 Months 80,000 310,000 36 36 Red Hot Chili Peppers Greatest Hits 79,000 2,390,000 37 35 Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard And Soft 79,000 670,000 38 38 Katy Perry Teenage Dream 78,000 2,110,000 39 39 EsDeeKid Rebel 76,000 150,000 40 40 Oasis Definitely Maybe 76,000 3,090,000 41 41 Bruno Mars Doo-Wops & Hooligans 75,000 2,500,000 42 42 Post Malone The Diamond Collection 75,000 570,000 43 43 Rihanna Good Girl Gone Bad 73,000 2,600,000 44 45 The Beatles 1967-1970 72,000 1,400,000 45 44 Sam Fender People Watching 72,000 350,000 46 46 OneRepublic The Collection 72,000 120,000 47 47 David Bowie Legacy 71,000 1,220,000 48 48 Charli XCX Brat 70,000 600,000 49 50 Green Day Greatest Hits: God's Favorite Band 70,000 810,000 50 49 Ed Sheeran ÷ 69,000 4,550,000 53 56 Teddy Swims I've Tried Everything But Therapy 67,000 160,000 56 53 SZA SOS 66,000 790,000 57 58 Zach Bryan With Heaven On Top 66,000 58 57 Chappell Roan The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess 66,000 630,000 62 62 Avicii Avicii Forever 63,000 130,000 63 69 Harry Styles Harry's House 63,000 990,000 64 65 Whitney Houston I Will Always Love You 62,000 690,000 65 63 Bad Bunny Debí Tirar Más Fotos 62,000 130,000 69 66 Don Toliver Octane 61,000 71 64 Mumford & Sons Prizefighter 61,000 72 70 Olivia Dean Messy 61,000 180,000 73 72 Taylor Swift The Tortured Poets Department 60,000 1,050,000 74 74 Lily Allen West End Girl 59,000 140,000 75 75 CoCoMelon Nursery Rhymes By CoComelon 59,000 410,000 78 78 Gorillaz The Mountain 58,000 79 80 Madonna Finally Enough Love - #1s Remixed 58,000 360,000 81 79 Bruno Mars The Romantic 57,000 82 81 Fred Again… USB 001 EP 56,000 230,000 83 83 The Killers Rebel Diamonds 56,000 300,000 87 87 Taylor Swift Folklore 55,000 1,040,000 89 90 Little Mix Between Us 54,000 720,000 90 89 Gracie Abrams The Secret Of Us 54,000 380,000 92 92 Ariana Grande Eternal Sunshine 53,000 390,000 96 98 Nirvana Nirvana 50,000 1,610,000 99 - Sam Smith In The Lonely Hour 49,000 3,170,000 100 96 Charli XCX Wuthering Heights (OST) 49,000 - 100 Robbie Williams Britpop 48,000

2/7: 1 5 Man I need (1) 2 4 Rein me in (1) 3 2 Stupid song (2) 4 8 Billie Jean (1) 5 3 The cure (3) 6 6 Drop dead (1) 7 7 Hate that I made you love me (1) 8 1 I knew it, I knew you (1) 9 23 American girls (1) 10 17 Ordinary (1) 11 19 Dracula (4) 12 21 Midnight sun (12) 13 26 Choosin’ Texas (23) 14 30 Lush life (3) 15 16 IloveitIloveitIloveit (2) 16 24 Where is my husband! (3) 17 18 Beat it (3) 18 34 Free your mind (18) 19 31 Homewrecker (10) 20 29 Fever dream (4) 21 27 So easy (5) 22 25 Go (5) 23 22 Janice STFU (3) 24 35 Golden (1) 25 40 Stateside (5) 26 39 Nice to each other (5) 27 33 Raindance (2) 28 9 Honeybee (9) 29 41 The fate of Ophelia (1) 30 44 Mr Brightside (10) 31 32 Human nature (9) 32 43 Beauty and a beat (5) 33 - On 2nite (33) 34 42 Material lover (34) 35 50 Talk to you (35) 36 38 Don’t stop ‘til you get enough (3) 37 14 Expectations (14) 38 11 Maggots for brains (11) 39 49 12 to 12 (8) 40 37 Earrings (26) 41 - Dreams (22) 42 10 (10) My way (10) 43 45 Just the way you are (8) 44 46 Babydoll (12) 45 12 What’s wrong with me (12) 46 13 U + me = heart (13) 47 - Iris (3) 48 - Boston (48) 49 - Beautiful things (1) 50 - I just might (7)

I think “Don’t Leave Me this Way” is my favourite of the bottom half. I’m not particularly familiar with the other versions and there’s something quite exhilarating about this one. I think “Every Loser Wins” is my bottom. I don’t really mind “Lady In Red” either though it would still be a few places lower.

5 Fahree featuring Ilkin Dovlatov - ÖzünlƏ Apar (2024, DNQ) I can see why this wasn’t competitive and wouldn’t grab viewers only listening once in a televote only semi. Howeber it has a very beautiful, gentle and authentic atmosphere to it, and I love the backing vocals that seem almost like a call to prayer. 4 Chingiz - Truth (2019, 8th) Outside their 5 year golden period this is their only top 10 finish to date. It’s a very slick and well put together pop song with a really strong falsetto chorus, with shades of Jacko and Timberlake. 3 Efendi - Cleopatra (2020) Like other 2020 entries this possibly suffers from the lack of a competition performance to really make it pop. I do prefer her other song overall, but this is a really great, dynamic and very ethnically authentic track.