Eurovision’s Greatest Hits: Wiwi Jury Reviews Olsen Brothers With “Fly On The Wings Of Love”

Eurovision’s Greatest Hits takes place in London on 31 March. The one-off concert will see a host of past Eurovision stars take to the stage to mark 60 years of the contest. While the show itself will be purely celebratory, we’ve decided to add a little competition to proceedings by ranking and reviewing all 19 Eurovision entries sung by the 15 confirmed acts. Today the Wiwi Jury— our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals — are in Stockholm 2000, ready to “Fly On The Wings Of Love” with Denmark’s Olsen Brothers. Did the crooners deserve their victory? Read on to find out…

Kristín: Aah the Olsen Brothers. They’re a double father figure in Eurovision. I remember when they started introducing the artists and their songs back in 2000, and people seemed to write them off. Two old guys playing guitars and singing about even older women? Puuuhlease!!! Denmark will never see the light of day in this contest. But they came, saw and destroyed. And did so with smiles on their faces. They were truly worthy winners, the song is timeless and I always feel good when I listen to “Fly on the Wings of Love” It is just so damn hyggelig, as the Danes would say.

Score: 9.5/10

Josh: Such a forgettable winner. And it sounds like an awkward rip-off of a song that was sung during the Sydney Olympics (conveniently from the same year). I’m really not a fan.

Score: 5/10

Sopon: Danish entries have never really wowed me, they’ve always come off as mediocre Swedish-style songs. The Olsen Brothers are the sole 21st century Danish representative, and one of the few winners, that I can actually listen to and enjoy continuously. It is a simple song and easy to listen to, but also unique. They brought a different feel to that year’s edition, and the song has become timeless.

Score: 10/10

Robyn: It always surprises me that this song was from 2000. It feels much older, like the sort of thing that would have entertained the formally dressed and well-behaved theatre audiences of the 80s. But while the sophisticated arena pop of recent years is all well and good, sometimes it’s just nice to have an old-fashioned feelgood love song. For three minutes, the Olsen Brothers make everything ok.

Score: 8/10

William: Uniting elements of Phil Collins and The Lion King, “Fly on the Wings of Love” has universal appeal. The friendly brothers are likeable and jaunty and carry the message of their song so well. The chatty verses leading to the chorus seem so sincere I can’t help but smile, even 15 years later.

Score: 8/10

Anthony: Hearing the Olsen Brothers sing in English with their Danish accents felt charming yet at the same time a tad cringey. Starting the new millennium with a very weak year made them look like an instant classic, although I admit I absolutely loved the 2003 dance remix. Hardly a surprise that it actually did better in the UK than the original!

Score: 7/10

Denise: When there are older men participating in a national final, most people never believe that they can actually win. However, the Olsen brothers proved that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. When they walked onto the stage, they looked like real winners. Even though it’s fifteen years ago, they’re still amazing. It seems like they’re having so much fun and that makes them loveable. The autotuned part is also wonderful, and well…. everything about it is great!

Score: 9/10

Chris: This very well may be one of my favourite winners of all time. There’s something just so joyous about this song and the performance: two brothers, both long-time professionals, acting like they’re almost giddy with joy about performing at Eurovision. It’s infectiously brilliant and what’s more, it still stands up against the test of time 15 years later.

Score: 9.5/10

Sami: I really like this song and I also think it’s one of the best winners ever. It’s so catchy, easy to sing along and they seem to be so humble and sweet. The live performance might seem boring, but what else do you need apart from two guys singing an amazing song?

Score: 9/10

Patrick: The Olsen Brothers are one of the best winners ever! This song is still played on the radio stations and I simply love it! It deserved to win and it would deserve to win if it was entered now! Such a lovely song with rythmn and, OMG, such great voices… A masterpiece.

Score: 10/10

All 18 members of our jury rate each song. However, we only have room to share 10 written reviews. Here are the remaining eight scores.

Angus: 2/10

Inaki: 6/10

James: 7/10

Judit: 6/10

Liam: 8.5/10

Mikhail: 8.5/10

Padraig: 7/10

Ramadan: 8/10

The highest and lowest scores are removed before calculating the final score. We have dropped a low of 2 and a high of 10.

THE WIWI JURY VERDICT: 7.88/10

SEE THE LATEST EUROVISION’S GREATEST HITS REVIEWS AND RANKINGS

YOU CAN READ ALL OF OUR 60TH ANNIVERSARY NEWS HERE.