Incredibly, 2015 is almost up. And that means one thing — the return of our annual Top Tracks countdown! As usual, the team from wiwibloggs voted for their favourite 2015 releases and recordings by and featuring Eurovision stars. Songs which competed at Eurovision or national finals were excluded (they’ve been analysed to death in our jury reviews), as were artists who’ve yet to compete on the Eurovision stage (sorry Iveta, Sergey and friends). After considering well over 100 songs, we finally settled on our top 50. And now we’re ready to share it with y’all. We’re publishing five tracks daily over the course of ten days. Then on Christmas Eve we’ll announce our number one, giving you just enough time to send any last requests to Santa.
What song will join Loreen’s “We Got The Power” and Emmelie De Forest’s “Drunk Tonight” in our Hall of Fame? The countdown continues!
Our top tracks of 2015: (45-41)
45. Kállay Saunders Band “Victory”
What we said: Hungary’s Kállay-Saunders is fierce and fearless. Last year he went “Running” into the issue of domestic violence, and now, in the official video for “Victory,” he is dancing with the wolves. And guess what? We’re howling with delight. It’s not just because the song slays. It’s also because it marks the first official video for the Kállay Saunders Band. Kállay plays the part of a sexy beast with 16 wolves around him. He looks like a fashion-forward Tarzan. We can see the fire in his eyes, and he could be the king of the jungle (at least he’s already the king of our hearts). (Judit)
44. Kristína “No. 1”
What we said: Slovak pop princess Kristína has traded in her forest friends for a slinky gold dress and a movie set, with the release of her new single “No. 1″. The video shows Kristína singing alongside a band and catching the attention of a man at a bar – before she leaves with someone else. Who can blame them for staring — Kristína is looking HOT! The song has a nice throwback feel and Kristína really gets into the “role” – she’s very much like a Slovakian Caro Emerald. She also seems much more confident in her voice than she did at Eurovision. (Chris)
43. Cascada “Reason”
What we said: Produced by Lina Schütze with a video filmed on the sunny Spanish island of Mallorca, Cascada’s latest single “Reason” has got us all seeing red. And we mean literally, the video is shot almost completely in a red filter. But Natalie still looks as gorgeous as ever, especially with her dazzling blue eyes. “Reason” evokes memories of the old school Cascada that will be familiar to die-hard fans, and combines with electronic trance to breathtaking effect. (Anthony)
42. Anouk “New Day”
What we said: “New Day” is easy listening with a funky edge, and it’s all about letting the good times roll: “Making love under the lemon trees, lay in my arms, yeah, it’s all for free, skinny dipping in the river flow, no, we’re not ready to go home, oh no.” The video features cheerleaders, dancers, cyclists and basketball players doing their thang — which largely consists of dancing and voguing for the camera. We’re cool with that. (Daphne)
41. The Common Linnets “We Don’t Make The Wind Blow”
What we said: The storm failed to blow them to the top of the table at Eurovision 2014, but the band have managed to harness the wind and make their way to Hollywood. “We Don’t Make The Wind Blow”, is not only the first cut from their sophomore album, it also features on the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed US mini-series Wayward Pines. The show documents strange goings-on in small town America. Aptly, the song overflows with menace and suspense. From the opening guitar riff it’s evident that the serenity of “Calm After The Storm” is long gone. In fact this is borderline rock. There’s a rawness and an edge that we haven’t heard before. (Padraig)
How’s the list shaping up? Do these rank among your best songs of 2015? Let us know below.
Molly Sanden, gosh my autocorrect 🙁
Thanks Ella, I had it wrong, but Phoenix is from Molly Saunders.
As for the rest a big chunk of these is already displayed throughout the countdown, the missing ones are:
Diamonds – Margaret Berger (has to be top 5)
Phoenix – Molly Saunders (Pretty sure it’s there)
Empathy for Khojali – Nigar Jamal
Traffic lights – Lena (pretty sure it’s there)
My Heart – Alyosha
Something Right – Molly Peterson
I’m sure a song from anna Rosinnelli will be there
I’m still not sure what the other one is. Maybe Stupid from Ace wilder
AM Casablancas, I think you mean Molly Sanden for Phoenix. When I read your comment I freaked and and searched for it hoping for new material from Molly Smitten-Downes but found nothing. Oh well. Still though, it is a very good song.
And I agree with you with looking forward to the rest of the chart, as the songs really brings out the true artist/singer from the past Eurovision entrees. That is my favorite part about Eurovision, not the song they sing, but what other material they have previously released or will release.
the Russian characters didn’t appeared but these are the songs I meant:
I will not – Polina gagarina
My heart – Alyosha
Time to go home – LOBODA
I liked the common linnets, I wasn’t expecting to but it’s just so good, also I already new about Anouk’s new day, one of my all time favorites and Kristina was just so cheerful. I don’t know how to feel about Kallay Saunders Band and I really REALLY dislike Cascada, she is total Europop but this is a bit old for my taste. I’m still waiting for some others: Empathy for kojali (broken dreams) – Nigar Jamal ? ?? ???? – Polina Gagarina Diamonds – Margaret Berger Fuck it I’m young – Kallay Saunders Band Phoenix – Molly Smittens Something… Read more »
The Common Linnets song is part Don’t Fear the Reaper, part Midlake. Still, it’s a really good song, and I’m interested to see the 40 songs by Eurovision artists that are better.
I hope Bash Na Tebe is on here!
Isn’t Cascada’s Reason just revamped old song of them?
@#Glorious Yes and no. Technically it’s a revamped version of a 2004 recording from a side project called Diamond. But as far as we’re aware, neither song was widely available until 2015. So on that basis we’ve allowed Reason into the countdown.