Oh, revamps. Sometimes they save an entry, sometimes they’re an honest attempt to make things better but manage to mess things up. The Germans even have a word for that. It’s time to see which of the Eurovision 2020 revamps had you saying hallelujah, and which ones were, well, Verschlimmbesserung.

This year, excluding revamps made before the national final took place, there were no less than ten entries that went through a post-selection revamp. While some were drastic, changing genre or even language, others were hardly noticeable. And while we sadly won’t hear any of these on the Eurovision stage this May, we still want to know which revamp version you think worked best.

You can remind yourself of all the revamps made for Eurovision 2020 below. Then go ahead and vote in our poll. As always, you can vote for as many songs as you want, but you can only vote once.

Eurovision 2020: Revamped entries

Albania: Arilena Ara – “Fall From The Sky” (née “Shaj”)

Arilena Ara won Festivali i Këngës 58 with the song “Shaj” at the end of December 2019. Albania revealed the revamped version “Fall From The Sky” later on in the Eurovision season. In a similar fashion to their 2016 and 2017 revamps, they translated “Shaj” to English. With the language change, also came a more poppy and vibrant feel to the track.

Following the release of “Fall From The Sky” we asked which version of the song you preferred. The revamped version came out on top, with 60% of voters thinking “Fall From The Sky” was an improvement upon “Shaj”.

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Armenia: Athena Manoukian – “Chains on You”

Following Athena Manoukian’s victory at Depi Evratesil 2020 with “Chains on You”, Armenia made some drastic changes to the instrumentation of the track. While the old production was rather stripped-down, the new version was amped up to the max. Athena received a much better reaction to her song (as well as a higher betting odds placement) following the new version’s release.

“Chains On You” was another song where we asked if you preferred the original or revamped version. There was a clear majority, with 90% of voters choosing the revamp. But, does that mean you think it’s been the most successful revamp of the year?

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Croatia: Damir Kedžo – “Divlji Vjetre”

Damir Kedžo was victorious at Dora 2020 with “Divlji Vjetre”. The subsequent change to the song was also in the instrumental track but wasn’t as drastic as others. Although being a rather slight change in sound, the new version of Croatia’s song offers a more intricate feel.

Czech Republic: Benny Cristo – “Kemama”

Perhaps the most controversial revamp of the Eurovision 2020 season, Benny Cristo’s “Kemama” went through two remixes after winning ESCZ 2020. First, the early revamp saw a change to the intro lines and the addition of new instruments. Then followed the second, which found the middle ground between the two earlier versions.

France: Tom Leeb – “Mon Alliée (The Best in Me)”

France initially left us uncertain as to whether Tom Leeb’s internally selected song “The Best in Me” would be going through a revamp. But on 3 April, the delegation finally revealed “Mon Alliée”, which would have been the Eurovision version of the song. It includes more French lyrics than the original version and has a more acoustic opening before building to a similar climax.

Israel: Eden Alene – “Feker Libi”

Israel’s revamp was one of the most subtle revamps of the 2020 season. “Feker Libi”, which the Israeli public chose for Eden Alene at HaShir HaBa L’Eurovizion, was already packed with various African instruments. Nevertheless, the five-language song had just a tad more put into it. The final version included new instrumental touches in the second verse and new mixing.

Romania: Roxen – “Alcohol You”

After the release of Roxen’s five Selecția Națională 2020 songs, Romania rocketed to the top of the betting odds. The Romanian public eventually selected the ballad “Alcohol You”. A little later down the line, Roxen released a revamped version of the song with new mixing and a stronger final chorus.

Again, following the revamp we asked you to let us know if you preferred the new version over the original. Although a number of voters still leaned towards the original, there was a general consensus by 57% of people that the revamp was an improvement.

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Serbia: Hurricane – “Hasta La Vista”

Serbia’s Hurricane and their song “Hasta La Vista” went through two rapid changes. Although the first revamp took place before Beovizija 2020, the most recent one came in mid-April – making it the last revamp of the season. Both revamps brought improvements in sound quality and added spice to the poppy instrumentals. What didn’t sit right after the first revamp was perfected in the second.

Slovenia: Ana Soklič – “Voda”

Slovenia selected Ana Soklič and her song “Voda” at EMA 2020. The track underwent a revamp that added extra drive and oomph, particularly to the final climax. Originally, the song was a regular low-tempo power ballad, but the new version has a more orchestral, symphonic sound that helps make it distinct from other Eurovision 2020 songs.

Ukraine: Go_A – “Solovey”

Since “Solovey” won the Ukrainian national selection Vidbir 2020, Go_A have made several slight changes to it. While overall the changes focused mainly on the bird whistle instrumentals, the biggest change was to the drop. This offered a new set of sounds and diversified the song.

“Solovey” was the final song where we wanted to get your opinion on the revamp. However, in this poll there was no clear majority, with the results evenly spread between the original, revamp and no preference.

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Poll: Who had the most successful revamp of Eurovision 2020?

So, without further ado, who do you think had the most successful revamp of Eurovision 2020? Who used the changes to benefit their overall product the best, regardless of how major or subtle those changes were? Vote in the poll below to let us know.

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What do you think? Which of these revamps was your favourite? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Vote in more Eurovision polls here

17 Comments
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PP77
PP77
3 years ago

1.Slovenia
2.Armenia
3.Romania

worst revamp Albania, Shaj was 100% better

Jan Neisius
Jan Neisius
3 years ago

? It‘s obviously not Albania

Mr X
Mr X
3 years ago

There´s no doubt – Slovenia !!!

Sorry, I don´t understand the hype about Albania. The english version is very bad and the voice sounds quite aggressive.

Sebastian Rojo
Sebastian Rojo
3 years ago
Reply to  Mr X

I agree, definitely is Slovenia.

Citizen of Memel
Citizen of Memel
3 years ago

I might be a white crow, but Tom Leeb made the best impression out of the list. It’s still a cliché, still a safe song, still a generic pop, but the French language makes it decently sexy and that’s all I need. Slovenia, Serbia, Armenia and Romania did great job as well. Israel, Albania, Ukraine and the Czech republic made it worse with revamped versions while Croatia has pretty dull song and that’s all the nice words I can say about his entry.

Lolek
Lolek
3 years ago

Armenia, hands down!

Tommy
Tommy
3 years ago

Albania and Armenia had the best revamps. Albania created a powerful boom! And Armenia created more ethnic Armenians vibes

Roma
Roma
3 years ago
Reply to  Tommy

What’s ethnic about Armenian entry? Lol. It’s very American.

Jan Neisius
Jan Neisius
3 years ago
Reply to  Roma

What‘s american about it. Literally nothing

Sebastian Rojo
Sebastian Rojo
3 years ago
Reply to  Roma

Wtf american? hahah. That sound is more like jamaican, don’t you think so?

My Tears Are Getting Sober
My Tears Are Getting Sober
3 years ago

People who are against Me Tana fans probably voted for Albania here…

Mia
Mia
3 years ago

Only Armenia had successfull rewamp.

Dawid
Dawid
3 years ago

Someone liked Albania’s revamp…?

Colin
Colin
3 years ago

Easily Armenia! It turned a mid-list song into a top 10 contender. I love both versions of Romanian song, but I’m kinda starting to prefer the revamp due to a nice moment of ”oomph”. Czech Republic only got it right the third time, but I don’t find the versions *that* apart in quality. Albania’s revamp is professionally done and it’s nice, but it did ”clean it up” a bit too much. Slovenia did well too, but it only jumped two places on my list (enough to avoid bottom 10, though). France just turned one problem (artificiality) into another (boredom). I’ll… Read more »

Kosey
Kosey
3 years ago
Reply to  Colin

I really find Armenia an interesting one. The original was messy, so there was a lot of scope to improve it, but for some reason for me the revamp takes it in the wrong direction. I can see how a lot of people will like it – there is more polish, more class, more sophistication. For me though, if I’m reading the lyrics correctly, this song needs to feel more Hatari-like – it needs to feel raunchy, sexy. There is a debauchery in the song that I think is missing in the revamp – it adds sheen when it should… Read more »

Colin
Colin
3 years ago
Reply to  Kosey

It’s certainly way more ”polished”, which given the production quality of the original is a good thing, but I also still sense the raw nature of it all. It is, of course, very individual.

Kosey
Kosey
3 years ago

Roxen and Ana bosh it for me on this one.
With Roxen, the song needed a thrust of intensity and the revamp brings it just at the right time, it complements the stirring emotions of the song really well.
With Ana, the added strings really bring out the feels, the water in my tear ducts welling up as the drama and sensitivity is brought to the fore through the additional elements introduced in the revamp.