Merry Christmas, y’all! To celebrate everyone’s favourite time of year, wiwibloggs has put together a playlist of 34 banging Christmas tunes by Eurovision-related artists. Now grab your Santa hats, crack open the eggnog and turn up the speakers!
Cascada – “Last Christmas”
To get this Christmas party started, Cascada (Germany 2013) is whipping out the tinsel in their cover of the Wham classic, “Last Christmas”. Sticking to their magic formula, the song is a glorious piece of eurodance perfection.
Frostroses – “Of Elves”
To celebrate 10 years of the Icelandic Christmas concert, Frostrosir, countless Eurostars joined hands to record “Of Elves”. We’ve spotted Eiríkur Hauksson (2007), Euroband (2008), Hera Björk (2010) and Matthías Matthíasson (2011) – can you spot anyone else?
Sean Banan – “Gott nytt jul”
Sean Banan (Sweden NF 2012, 2013) would like to wish a merry Christmas to all – even the “blind, fat, deaf or ugly”. A personal highlight is the line “Hey Santa Claus, come and bring your ho ho hoes,” followed by an epic key change.
Zoë – “La nuit des merveilles”
This year’s Austrian representative, Zoë, kicks off the festive season by transporting us to a winter wonderland on “The Night of Wonders”. She doesn’t let sleighbell jingles and churchbell chimes take away from her identity, with her French language and fiddle shining on throughout the uplifting ballad.
Lisa Ajax – “Santa Bring My Baby to Me”
Melodifesivalen finalist and 2017 returnee, Lisa Ajax decks the halls in her latest single, the peculiarly named, “Santa Bring My Baby to Me”. Is she hinting at a teenage pregnancy scandal? Has she in fact already given birth and had her newborn kidnapped by St Nicholas? No — she’s just a released a ruddy good pop song (co-written by the one and only Robin Stjernberg, by the way).
Robin Bengtsson – “That’s Christmas to Me” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
Hotter than mulled wine and cooler than Lapland, Robin Bengtsson adds his contribution to the Swedish Christmas. Also rumoured to make a comeback to Melodifestivalen in 2017, he reserves time to release a two-side Christmas single, featuring stripped-back covers of Pentatonix’s “That’s Christmas to Me” and the ol’ classic, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.
Dolly Style – “Tänd ett ljus”
Barbie meets nutcracker in Molly, Holly and Polly’s brand new single, “Light a Candle”. Two-time Melodifestivalen competitors, Dolly Style, have toned down their usual harajuku-on-acid style for a sweet a cappella cover of the classic Swedish hymn. Judging on historical data, we can confidently predict that all the girls will want this Christmas is a new Polly.
Cliff Richard – “Mistletoe and Wine”
Next is an absolute classic: Cliff Richard’s (UK 1968, 1973) “Mistletoe and Wine”. He serves up enough cheese to start a worldwide mice infestation.
Nox – “A tél dala”
Now we’re off to the Carpathian mountains, where Nox (Hungary 2005) are giving us some serious flute action. “The Winter Song” is about love, peace and Christmas spent with family.
https://youtu.be/1LNj-u8_z1A
Rihards Berzins – “Reizi Gada”
The lights are out in Riga’s Christmas market, and Rihards Berzins (Latvia NF 2015) is giving us Justin Bieber realness in his festive single, “Once a Year”.
Litesound – “Shooting Star”
Singing about a relationship breakdown, Litesound (Belarus 2012) takes a refreshing break from trumpets and sleigh bells in their rock ballad “Shooting Star”.
Femke Meines – “Kerst Met Jou”
Bringing the tempo right back up we have Femke (Netherlands JESC 2012) who wants a “Christmas With You”.
Pasha Parfeny & Aliona Moon – “Aleluia”
Two Moldovan Eurostars – Pasha Parfeny (2012) and Aliona Moon (2013) – duet in a stripped back Romanian language cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. Their voices blend together beautifully and take us all the way to Bethlehem and back.
Hurts – “All I Want for Christmas Is New Year’s Day”
Hurts (who were approached to represent the UK in 2012 before being dumped for Engelbert Humperdink) won’t be putting on their fluffy Santa hats this year. For them it’s all about the chance of a fresh start on new year’s day. Nevertheless, their song contains enough church bells to keep us happy!
Luara – “Christmas Wish”
The snow machines are out and the candles have lit Luara Hayrapetyan’s (Armenia JESC 2009) crib. Her smooth R&B ballad reminds us what Christmas is all about – staying in and eating s’mores.
Alexander Rybak – “Tell Me When”
Spending Christmas away from your loved one and need a song to cry to? Well, Alexander Rybak (Norway 2009) is coming to the rescue with a live performance of the touching “Tell Me When” – violin solo included.
Günther – “Christmas Song”
Of course Scandinavia’s most outrageous casanova, Günther (Sweden NF 2006), has released a Christmas record! Expect dwarves, bikinis, and lines as beautifully crafted as “Ding dong, it’s a Christmas song”.
Guy Sebastian – “All I Want For Christmas Is You”
Two Christmases ago, Ivi Adamou showed us exactly how you don’t cover a Mariah Carey megahit. Enter Guy Sebastian (Australia 2015). We would like to dedicate his funky remake of the song to all those unfortunate enough to have experienced Ivi’s Hallowee- errr… I mean Christmas, “treat” two years ago.
Haddy N’jie – “Happy New Year”
Finishing on a sombre note, we have Haddy N’jie (2010 host) with her not-so-ernest “Happy New Year”. The chilling ballad speaks of the fear of ending up alone – something especially dangerous for Haddy while she’s hanging out in the Norwegian tundra wearing nothing but a wedding dress!
Céline Dion — “Christmas Eve”
Taking us right back to the 24th of December 1998, it’s everyone’s favourite chanteuse Quebecoise, Céline Dion (Switzerland 1988). Only Dion could rhyme “I can see” with “Christmassy” and still sound classy.
Staysman & Lazz — “Se Så Glad Nissen Er”
If you remember Staysman & Lazz (Norway NF 2015), then the refrain of “look how happy Santa is, he comes down the chimney without clothes, oh are there some naughty women here, women here, women here” shouldn’t surprise you.
Greta Salóme — “Ég vil komast heim um jólin”
All Greta Salóme (Iceland 2012, and 2016?) wants this year is to “Come home for Christmas”. Let’s just hope she hasn’t checked the weather forecast recently :/
Miro & Nevena — “Vsichko, Koeto Iskam”
Boys and girls, prepare yourselves for a Christmas miracle as Miro (Bulgaria 2010) and Nevena make it snow indoors with the jolly number, “All I Want”.
Ulrik Munther — “Shine a Light”
If like me you’re a fan of a-capella choirs imitating church bells, then Ulrik Munther (Sweden NF 2012, 2013) and his cover of the Swedish Christmas classic “Tänd ett ljus” are perfect for you.
Cezar — “Craciunul Magic”
It’s got sleigh bells. It’s got a key change. It’s got a marching drum band. And best of all, it’s got a fully grown man singing soprano. Enough said.
Lissa Wassabi — “Mi s Toboi”
The Christmas chaos may have all of us in meltdown mode, but Lissa Wassabi (Ukraine NF 2014) is taking it easy in her sweet little tune, “You and I”.
Eleftheria Eleftheriou — “Kane Mia Efxi”
This December, Eleftheria Eleftheriou (Greece 2012) has swapped her ‘Aphrodisiac’ with some good old mince pies and is urging listeners to “Make a wish” at the most magical time of year.
The Darkness — “Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)”
Next up, a Christmas rock anthem by The Darkness (UK NF 2007). And what would I say if the BBC told me he was attempting to represent the UK again this year? “Don’t let the bell end.”
Tangels ft Nika Zorjan & April — “Nekaj V Zraku”
The Slovenian trio of Tangels (Maraaya’s old band), Nika Zorjan (NF 2012) & April (NF 2011) can sense “Something in the air”. Is it frankincense? Myrrh? The sweet aroma of steaming mulled wine? Most likely a stray piece of Miro’s fake snow tbh.
The Makemakes — “Please Come Home for Christmas”
Looking and sounding as hipster as ever, The Makemakes would like to see their loved one back for the 25th this year. Or at least “if not by Christmas, then by New Year’s night” (she’s clearly not that special).
Jon Henrik Fjällgren — “Jag är fri (Manne Leam Frijje)”
Sledging us all the way up to the forests of Lapland is singer/reindeer-herder Jon Henrik Fjällgren (Sweden NF 2015). Rumour has it that Jon has been spending December with Father Christmas himself as inspiration for his upcoming album.
Elena Gheorghe & Adi Cristescu — “Polul Nord”
Elena Gheorghe (Romania 2009) is a lucky lady: her boyfriend appears to have exothermic powers! “I’d feel warm next to you even at the north pole,” she says. Well whoever you are, you are invited to my house ASAP because right now I’m bloody freezing!!
Gerai Gerai & Miss Sheep — “Christmas is Calling”
The presents are under the tree, and for Gerai Gerai & Miss Sheep (Lithuania NF 2013), “Christmas is Calling”. Sadly for most of us, the only thing that’s calling is telesales personnel.
Sanna, Shirley & Sonja — “Another Winter Night”
Three Scandinavian angels unite to give us one hell of a power ballad. The song builds and builds and builds until they explode in the final chorus like over-roasted chestnuts. De-lish.
Mélanie René — “Silent Night”
Finishing with a 200-year old classic, Mélanie René (Switzerland 2015) gives us Andean realness with her panpipe infused cover of “Silent Night”. We swap between scenes of war, poverty, pollution and Mélanie wrapped up in a bed sheet, putting a modern twist on the ancient hymn.
Oh go on then, here’s a little bonus gift for y’all — a hidden gem from the 2014 Belarusian preselection. It seems that Mr Pryahin had forgotten that, despite the Eurofest auditions being held in December, Eurovision actually takes place in May. Poor guy…
Thanks for sharing these songs 🙂
Looks like a lot of work to create this playlist, the result is very nice.
Some of those were quite fun.
Go Litesound!