The Best At Panem Et Circenses-ing: Eurovision In The 2000s
A Countdown Of My Favorites
Eurovision!
The European singing Olympics.
Entertainment on steroids.
A pre-arena Hunger Games talent show.
An institution.
Growing up in Greece in the 90’s-00’s was a blessing, as in the early 2000s is when the country started getting pretty serious about its Eurovision participation.
It started when “Die For You” by Antique came in 3rd in 2001 and folks were like “shit, we could DO THIS GUYS” (we had only made it twice to #5). We recreated the Paparizou recipe (she was in Antique) in 2005 and won the damn thing.
So, every year, as Eurovision times approached, we’d vote on the song we’d send to the contest (and other times it was non-democratically appointed).
Then, let’s just say that a major part of journalist responsibilities was devoted to reporting all the details of our entry (exclusive look into what the backup dancers are going to wear! inside information from the songwriter’s second cousin!) and reviewing Eurovision politics (e.g. Greece and Cyprus have always reserved the 12 points for each other even when their entries are trash because that’s how Eurovision alliances go).
It’s like if Bravo, Oxygen and the E! Channel all rolled up into one and took over 80% of all media coverage for a few months.
Of course, that’s all pre-financial crisis. When we were the happy (pacified) folks of the European South.
Panem et circenses.
But like, really fun panem et circenses.
So, in order to honor this institution and the never-ending source of wonder, laughter, and eclectic sounds that my friends and I still ironically and/or with pure sincerity share with each other, here are my top 10 Eurovision songs of the 2000s.
PSA: As you will notice, this is not a list of the “best” Eurovision songs, but rather those I enjoyed and still enjoy for various reasons, many of which do not abide with human logic/ music aesthetics
10. Baila El Chiki Chiki (Spain, 2008)
Y’all, I can’t explain this one. It just hurt too much to think of a reality where Rodolfo Chikilicuatre’s pompadour and maiquelyason are not in the Top 10.
9. Dum Tek Tek (Turkey, 2009) & Qélé, Qélé(Armenia, 2008)
I grouped these two together as I constantly mix them up in my head. They follow a very similar formula, and I think that both could have potentially taken the thing home under different circumstances. While both live performances left me wanting more (especially Hadise — we were rooting for you! we were all rooting for you!), these songs were playing literally all over Greece those summers and they were pretty damn catchy.
8. Tornero (Romania, 2006)
Speaking of catchy, I remember listening to Tornero literally the entire summer of 2006. It was that dance-pop Akcent-type Romanian genius infectiousness that tends to spread across Greek beach bars/nightclubs like wildfire.
7. Euphoria (Sweden, 2012)
I had to make an exception in the 2000s rule I made up because, while I had stopped watching Eurovision by that point (I was a respectable pedantic uni student, after all), Euphoria crept up on me and won my damn heart. The set up is gorgeous and ethereal, the song what the repeat button was invented for, and Loreen’s voice out of this world.
6. Die For You (Greece, 2001)
I can still super vividly picture my 11-year-old self making up a routine to this song with my friend Areti and some other friends and thinking it was the dopest shit to happen to my young life. Also, this introduced us to Elena Paparizou, which changed all of our lives for the better.
5. For Real (Turkey, 2004)
While this may not have been the best live performance ever, Turkey took a really cool and interesting turn musically in 2004. They had just won the previous year with Sertab and more traditional Turkish sounds and took the risk to switch things up a bit and it WORKED. It’s one of the few Eurovision songs I have consistently listened to throughout my teenage/young adult/adult life, and not just out of the occasional nostalgia impulse.
4. Wild Dances (Ukraine, 2004)
Ruslana is a damn staple. If you ask anyone to give you their top 3 picks of 2000s Eurovision I bet my life’s worth the common denominator would be Wild Dances (and perhaps Hard Rock Hallelujah, which is not personally my cup of tea but is iconic nonetheless). The energy, the flames, the leather.
3. Deli (Turkey, 2008)
I love this song SO MUCH. My friend Vasilis and I were/are obsessed with this song, and would play it on our Sony Ericsson W810i orange-background mp3 players on repeat. They came in 7th but they’re 3rd in my heart.
2. My Number One (Greece, 2005)
Okay, let’s be honest. This is basically #1. The only reason it was bumped down was the fact that it is so unequivocally amazing that I wanted to end with a more controversial yet dear to my heart choice/underdog.
I’ve already hinted to the fact that Elena is a goddess among mortals. But even all the non-Elena variables were golden. The music, the self-fulfilling prophecy lyrics (that didn’t work out for LT United), the choreography, the perfect fusion of Euro-pop and Greek elements, and finally the momentum from a string of surprising Greek victories (hosting the Olympics, winning a personal record amount of medals in said Olympics and winning the Euro Cup) set up the stage for a sweet victory.
1. S.A.G.A.P.O. (Greece, 2002)
This is it.
This is the best song to have ever been sent to Eurovision.
And this is a hill I’m willing to die on.
Honorable mentions:
- Fairytale (Norway, 2009)
- Secret Combination (Greece, 2008)
- Dancing Lasha Tumbai (Ukraine, 2007)
- Yassou Maria (Greece, 2007)
- Lane Moje (Serbia & Montenegro, 2004)
- Shake It (Greece, 2004)
