Eurovision 2011 holds a special place in my euro-pop heart. Although it was the second contest I attended, it was the first where I really threw myself into the press centre and learned the ins and outs of what happens on-the-ground. The theme of “Feel Your Heartbeat” was so cohesive, tying in well with Germany’s place in the heart of Europe and leading to some really memorable postcards. Oooo, Ima get emotional remembering this one!

So, as I’m visiting my family in Atlanta, I thought I’d have my sister watch the Top 3 from that edition of the contest. Azerbaijan’s Ell & Nikki, Italy’s Raphael Gualazzi and Sweden’s Eric Saade each have their lovers and haters, champions and detractors. And so it seemed like a fun exercise to see how Suzanne — who only started watching the show in 2017 — would react to each of them and assess their final placement.

All these years later, which song do you think deserved to win? Were you happy with the actual result back in the day? Let us know what you’re thinking down below!

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friedenau
friedenau
5 years ago

I am glad that Suzanne is not longer “American Woman” lol. That year’s winner was bizarre, I totally believe the rumours that Azerbaijan’ bought all those sim cards and bribed the juries. the song was super weak and the performance lackluster… Italy would have made a much classier winner, or even Sweden, what that amazing show.

Sangfreud
Sangfreud
5 years ago

2011 was only my second Eurovision, so I didn’t know what “worked” in terms of scoring. My early favorites – Norway and Israel – bombed out of their semifinals, and that left Azerbaijan as my last favorite standing. I was happy – and surprised – when it won. Looking back now, the songs that really shine for me are Austria, Slovenia and Ireland. But I still think Azerbaijan earned the win. It’s a lush pop song delivered with understated drama, and whatever Nikki’s vocal failings, they’re more than made up for by Elnur’s sweet voice and puppy dog sincerity. The… Read more »

Jonas
Jonas
5 years ago
Reply to  Sangfreud

I disagree entirely. They had zero chemistry or charisma, had minimal singing talent, a stupid name, and “Ell” made an even worse host the next year. I don’t mean to be too harsh, because for all that, I don’t dislike him…but he is by no means a deserved winner.

Dave
Dave
5 years ago

My personal favourite was Slovenia, but it was criminally underrated by televoting, thank God juries were there. But I also liked Azerbaijan, it’s a very lovely song and staging looked amazing. I disliked Italy really much, I am glad they didn’t win.

By the way, Suzanne is so lovely. I hope you will make such videos with other years too.

ESCFan2009 (male, 22, German)
ESCFan2009 (male, 22, German)
5 years ago
Reply to  Dave

Oh, agree! Maja Keuc did a great job and the low televote is unbelivable. It was really shocking!

SpirK
SpirK
5 years ago

I actually didn’t like none of the top 3. The songs I really liked were Georgia, Slovenia , Ukraine. Estonia and Hungary were really good studio cuts, but both were a huge letdown live. Greece ,Serbia and Germany were also nice. To be fair though, I actually really liked Azerbaijan on first listen, but got bored of it quickly. It was a very lucky win to be honest, they benefited a lot from Turkey’s and Armenias absence.

ESCFan2009 (male, 22, German)
ESCFan2009 (male, 22, German)
5 years ago

Suzanne, you are wrong: Eric is not hot – he is intergallactical the hottest Boy ever <3<3<3

Raoul
Raoul
5 years ago

I never really understood the allure of Saade but I guess I had to be there at the moment…

Kaan
Kaan
5 years ago

I liked Azerbaijan 2011. But God.. There were so many fantastic songs in 2011. It’s just that most of the live performances were absolutely awful. Azerbaijan and Italy were so lucky that year. I actually expected one of them to win after the semifinals. The fact that Armenia and Turkey were out of the finals was a very good sign for Azerbaijan all along. But still Italy could do it too. They were really close. I liked both performances/songs though.

Roma
Roma
5 years ago

Azerbaijan had a nice song in 2011. The staging was really beautiful. There were much better songs tho. But unfortunately most of the fan favorites’ performances were all over the place. So I can understand why Azerbaijan and Italy beat them all. Also Azerbaijan was quite lucky to not have Turkey and Armenia around. They got extra points from Turkish diaspora and ex-USSR countries. But it was a close race between Azerbaijan and Italy anyway.

F@b
F@b
5 years ago

Suzanne is lovely ! ?

F@b
F@b
5 years ago
Reply to  F@b

(The « ? » was a kiss on my phone !)

Jonas
Jonas
5 years ago

Azerbaijan stole this victory. #NeverForget …

“All these years later, which song do you think deserved to win?”

Denmark. Finland. Sweden. Italy…

“Were you happy with the actual result back in the day?”

No.

noone
noone
5 years ago

Back when I was watching it, I thought Jedward (Ireland) would win. Guess they were too crazy to some people. Deserved winner would be Lena – Germany, one of the best, coolest and progressive songs in ESC history. What ruined it, was the staging; the song needed something sexy and mysterious, like smoke and a man in a jazz bar, not 5 dancers in silver condoms.

Dame Tu Conchita
Dame Tu Conchita
5 years ago
Reply to  noone

Maybe they didn’t want to win again hence the dancing condoms on stage.

Sangfreud
Sangfreud
5 years ago
Reply to  noone

The dancers were part of what made it so great, though. Sexy and weird and confusing, just like the song.

Roy Moreno
Roy Moreno
5 years ago

I mean, Running Scared is a very good song, I really like it
However, there are other songs which could have won the contest in my opinion (and besides Italy and Sweden)
Such as: Ukraine, Georgia, Germany were great again that year, so tough to choose a winner from 2011 xD

AZERBAIJAN
AZERBAIJAN
5 years ago

The best winning song in the history of eurovision <3

Herr Frau
Herr Frau
5 years ago
Reply to  AZERBAIJAN

Um… no way LOL. Bit biased if you’re from Azerbaijan!

Herr Frau
Herr Frau
5 years ago

My ideal top 3 in 2011

1st – Hungary
2nd – Sweden
3rd – United Kingdom

2011 was a very odd year. All the bookies favourites (e.g. Hungary, Estonia) ended up in the bottom 5. There was absolutely no way Italy and Azerbaijan deserved 2nd and 1st place, although I prefer Italy’s song.

Mr. Vanilla Bean
Mr. Vanilla Bean
5 years ago
Reply to  Herr Frau

Kati Wolf could have done very well. She dug her own grave with that performance. She gave 10% when she should have give 110%.

Roma
Roma
5 years ago

Hungary had an amazing song that year. But that performance was just terrible.

Mr. Vanilla Bean
Mr. Vanilla Bean
5 years ago

Ideally, the winner would have been none of those. But then again, I do not know who else should have won as for me personally, it was an extremely bad year in terms of song choices. Ironically, I think I would give the victory to Germany even though I totally dislike Lena. Her song was the best. I would have given the victory to Slovenia had they kept the song in Slovenian. The English lyrics were so bad that I disliked the entire act at Eurovision. Bosnia & Herzegovina also had an interesting song but the singer’s thick accent really… Read more »