Eurovision’s Greatest Hits: Wiwi Jury reviews Lordi with “Hard Rock Hallelujah”

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 transported back to Athens 2006 to witness the Arockalypse – that’s right, Finland’s first ever victory with Lordi and “Hard Rock Hallelujah”. Are we still digging the monsters nine years later? Read on to find out…

Anthony: Heavy metal wasn’t something you’d normally associate with Finland, but that all changed with Lordi. Their monster costumes looked so impressive, they’re complete shoo-ins for for best Halloween costumes. Considering Eurovision is normally made up of pop songs and ballads, the group really stood out.

Score: 8.5/10

Angus: You can’t dislike Lordi can you? “Hard Rock Hallelujah” was the paradigm shift that shook the contest loose of its cheesy Europop and monotonous power ballad image. It is still instantly recognisable and in a league of its own amongst the Eurovision winners. Lordi succeed in bringing out the rock groupies in us all!

Score: 9/10

Judit: The Eurovision Song Contest is a very special competition. In 1956 nobody thought that one day a group of monsters would win with a hard rock anthem. They’re weird and scary but I love them and the song. I’m not a rock girl but this is on my playlist. They deserved the victory and it was proof that ESC is not just about euro-pop.

Score: 9/10

Chris: Lordi should not have won Eurovision under any normal circumstance. They were a rock band singing a song called “Hard Rock Hallelujah”, accused in the media of satinism, dressed entirely in monster prosthetics. Yet they’re probably one of the best winners ever. Everything was just right in this performance. They embraced Eurovision and the fans embraced them: Conchita may have taught us to ignore the differences between us in 2014, but Lordi set the precedent in 2006. Who cares if they weren’t your typical Eurovision winner? They came and they conquered with what may go down as one of the best performances in ESC history.

Score: 10/10

Mikhail: I might not like metal, but I can’t deny that this song is something unique. The whole performance was well constructed, right down to every tiny detail. Lordi had everything in their song: melody, energy, and a great climax. All this, combined with the special effects and costumes, made for something unforgettable. It’s no surprise that they won.

Score: 8/10

Liam: Can’t say I like metal, but this is a whole different story. It was something unique, different, memorable. An amazing accomplishment considering that this is Finland we’re talking about!

Score: 10/10

Ramadan: Such an overrated winner. I remember watching them on SBS and they were just scary creatures giving me a headache. Didn’t deserve to win.

Score: 1/10

Patrick: Lordi – a name we all know. They were amazing, their staging, their song and their look. I’m not a fan of the genre but this all worked really well. And people didn’t just vote for the weird look, the song itself is brilliant. A great, memorable chorus and a stunning show. Finland’s first victory was much deserved!

Score: 8/10

Padraig: In a televote age dominated by throwaway pop and scantily clad girls and boys, Lordi broke the mould in more ways than one. They smashed all the perceived Eurovision formulas, they demolished the myth that the contest was lost to the East, and most importantly, they annihilated their competition. And beneath all this destruction and monster garb, they actually had a decent song. Change the lyrics slightly, sing in a less gruff tone, remove the masks and you have a great pop anthem. Don’t let the costumes fool you, this deserved to win.

Score: 8.5/10

Sami: Musically, it’s not the best Eurovision winner. But it’s by far the coolest one. Who would’ve thought in the ’90s that a monster rock band would win the whole contest? The song is catchy and the show is amazing, unique and memorable. I’m very proud that this came from my home country.

Score: 8/10

All 17 members of our jury rate each song. However, we only have room to share 10 written reviews. Here are the remaining seven scores.

Denise: 4/10

James: 9/10

Josh: 8/10

Kristín: 9/10

Robyn: 9/10

Sopon: 10/10

William: 8/10

The highest and lowest scores are removed before calculating the final score. We have dropped a low of 1 and a high of 10.

THE WIWI JURY VERDICT: 8.4/10

SEE THE LATEST EUROVISION’S GREATEST HITS REVIEWS AND RANKINGS

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