Charlotte Nilsson Eurovision 1999 Sweden Take Me To Your Heaven

After a three-week break, #EurovisionAgain returned on Saturday evening for the first time since it switched from weekly to monthly rewatches. But despite the new schedule, everything else remained as before. And this time Eurovision 1999 was the retro song contest of choice.

Scroll down to watch Eurovision 1999

As always, there was a new fan vote, although the winner stayed the same — Sweden’s Charlotte Nilsson with “Take Me To Your Heaven”.

Charlotte Nilsson wins #EurovisionAgain 1999

Listed below are the results for #EurovisionAgain 1999. The rankings are based on the votes of all those who decided to vote for their favourites while rewatching the Eurovision 1999 grand final on Saturday 18 July.

In brackets, we’ve included the differences between the new fan vote and the original result from 21 years ago.

#EurovisionAgain 1999 results

  1. Sweden: Charlotte Nilsson “Take Me to Your Heaven” (=)
  2. Iceland: Selma “All Out of Luck” (=)
  3. Croatia: Doris Dragović “Marija Magdalena” (+1)
  4. Germany: Sürpriz “Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs’e seyahat” (-1)
  5. Netherlands: Marlayne “One Good Reason” (+3)
  6. United Kingdom: Precious “Say It Again” (+6)
  7. Belgium: Vanessa Chinitor “Like the Wind” (+5)
  8. Estonia: Evelin Samuel & Camille “Diamond of Night” (-2)
  9. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Dino & Béatrice “Putnici” (-2)
  10. Turkey: Tuğba Önal & Grup Mistik “Dön Artık” (+6)
  11. Cyprus: Marlain “Tha’nai Erotas” (+11)
  12. Israel: Eden “Yom Huledet (Happy Birthday)” (-7)
  13. Austria: Bobbie Singer “Reflection” (-3)
  14. Lithuania: Aistė “Strazdas” (+6)
  15. France: Nayah “Je veux donner ma voix” (+4)
  16. Slovenia: Darja Švajger “For a Thousand Years” (-5)
  17. Denmark: Trine Jepsen & Michael Teschl “This Time I Mean It” (-9)
  18. Spain: Lydia “No quiero escuchar” (+5)
  19. Malta: Times Three “Believe ‘n Peace” English (-4)
  20. Norway: Stig Van Eijk “Living My Life Without You” (-6)
  21. Portugal: Rui Bandeira “Como tudo começou” (=)
  22. Ireland: The Mullans “When You Need Me” (-5)
  23. Poland: Mietek Szcześniak “Przytul mnie mocno” (-5)

Watch Eurovision 1999 online

#EurovisionAgain may be over for now, but the Eurovision 1999 grand final remains online… for now You can watch the full show on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.

However, it is only available for an unspecified “limited time”. Based on past #EurovisionAgain uploads, this will probably remain online for one week after the YouTube premiere date.

But why? Before 2004, the copyright for each show belonged to the respective broadcasters. In the case of 1999, that’s Israel’s KAN. For now, the Israeli network has opted to make the show available only temporarily.

From 2004, the rules changed with the EBU taking over ownership of the rights. Hence, the uploads of contests from 2004 onwards have remained online.

#EurovisionAgain is scheduled to return on Saturday 15 August at 21:00 CEST.

What is #EurovisionAgain

Throughout the first 15 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eurovision Again team organised mass rewatchings of classic contests on Saturday evenings. The EBU soon came on board and began publishing previously unavailable entire show uploads on its YouTube channel.

The rewatches have since switched to monthly affairs, now taking place on the third Saturday of each month.

As well as organising rewatches, the Eurovision Again team has also added a fundraising element for various LGBTQ+ charities. Details can be found here.

What do you think? Did Charlotte deserve to win the rewatch? Has “Take Me To Your Heaven” aged well? Let us know in the comments.

Follow all of our Sweden Eurovision news.

133 Comments
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Ag89
Ag89
3 years ago

This was the first Eurovision I watched and of course the whole family watched. I was super confused with the voting and at that time didn’t really understand why the same bunch of countries was getting highest points.
I know people in my house wanted Iceland to win while I was not impressed. 🙂
Anyway, after 21 years I would say Croatia was the best by huge margine and I hope they will go back in time and find new motivation for ESC because Croatia was killing in 90’s with fantastic songs.

Last edited 3 years ago by Ag89
JDS
JDS
3 years ago

Was Maria Magdalena (or equivalent local spelling) the only repeated song title from the 1990s. Austria’s 1993 entry had the same title.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago

What do people think of Charlotte’s alternate version of her winner? The one that actually featured on her album. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJkY3RJ7304

Last edited 3 years ago by Jonas
Pontus
Pontus
3 years ago

Slovenia 16th, Denmark 17th, Poland last…. eh fans should NOT be voting. Horrible

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago
Reply to  Pontus

I love that early stage in the voting where Slovenia was in the lead. How epic it would have been…

Last edited 3 years ago by Mr Vanilla Bean
Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago

Ireland gave Slovenia their 12 points. A jury. Not televote. Juries do have some worth…

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

If they are fair and have no ulterior motives. Someone always seems to have those. I think Austria gave no points to Germany for ‘Ein bisschen Frieden’. Like, come on, seriously? And you know those special countries we have these days that don’t care about fair play. But yeah, that counts for televoting as well. But juries are actually hand picked, so there’s no excuse for the scandals we keep getting.

Marc
Marc
3 years ago

Austria gave 0 to Nicole and Celine.
The ultimate year was 1985 when Germany could have won and both Austria and Switzerland gave nothing and gave the win to Norway (who got all 12 from Nordic friends)
1981 is another case

Last edited 3 years ago by Marc
Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Marc

Marc – you’re not right on all of that either. No, Austria and Switzerland didn’t give anything to “Für Alle.” Neither did Greece, Italy, or Turkey, and only one country (Cyprus) actually gave them 12. Meanwhile, Germany and Austria each only gave Switzerland one point, Switzerland only gave Austria one point (Germany was significantly more generous and gave them 10), Switzerland wasn’t one of the higher scorers for Norway (six points), and Germany also gave Norway 12. Turkey didn’t give Norway anything and Greece only gave them a point, so I don’t see any kind of conspiracy here. Also, Finland… Read more »

Joe
Joe
3 years ago

No no no. Austria gave Germany one point. It was Luxembourg that didn’t give them anything (and curiously, both of them gave twelve to the UK).

Pontus
Pontus
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

i know. Slovenia was really good

Pontus
Pontus
3 years ago

i remember that and i liked it haha.

PP77
PP77
3 years ago

I like more Croatia version from their national final Dora 1999. With that version, they would collect more points.

stommie
stommie
3 years ago
Reply to  PP77

Agree. The drums and percussion should have been on the backing track in Jerusalem.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

Btw, while they didn’t confirm at the time how long the 1999 edition will remain online for, they have now confirmed on Twitter that it will be a week (as usual).

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

Stupid question time- why didn’t Croatia check the rules on computerised backing vocals before going to Jerusalem?

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

Maybe they didn’t think this was a thing they needed to check?

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

If they were doing something that hadn’t been done before, then then really should checked.

stommie
stommie
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

Dora 1999 is on Youtube. There is an orchestra but you can also hear the choir on the backing track, and there is one female backing.
https://youtu.be/mvcdCJ4RoZE?t=5191

Last edited 3 years ago by stommie
Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

The EBU didn’t know anything about it until Eurovision week. They had assumed that Croatia would have backing singers to replicate the sound. They hadn’t. People complained. Doris was already in Jerusalem rehearsing…a complete disqualification would be harsh. The EBU didn’t know what to do, so the performance went ahead – she was punished later. That’s my understanding.

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Although I’ve never seen her listed anywhere with the reduced points. She remains 4th everywhere. So I suppose there was no actual punishment? Would have been tricky if Croatia had won though.

stommie
stommie
3 years ago

She kept her ranking in the 1999 contest. The deduced points only affected the relegation system, (that was abolished in 2004 I think).

stommie
stommie
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

I guess that back then the preparations for the acts were a lot less strict. Nowadays the delegations have to send their staging plans weeks before the contest to the organising broadcaster and everything is planned in advance. The same way the delegations have to hand over the sound tapes at a very early stage. I guess the time limits were much shorter back then (less competing countries, no semis), who knows, maybe the tapes arrived in Jerusalem together with the delegations.

Marc
Marc
3 years ago

Some facts. All televotings voted for the following entries but..
– Sweden: all but Croatia
– Iceland: all but Croatia, Slovenia and France
– Germany: all but Cyprus
– Croatia: all but Denmark, Norway and UK
– Israel: all but UK
– Estonia: all but Croatia and Cyprus
(Some countries didn’t use televoting as usual)

Last edited 3 years ago by Marc
Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Marc

Cyprus not voting for Germany kinda makes sense. Croatia had weird taste, and their televotes were often outliers back in the day (for three years in a row they didn’t give the winner anything).

Joe
Joe
3 years ago

I was exhausted after the final wrapped up (it was around 1:30 in the morning!), but then there were videos of Duncan and the delegation still popping champagne and performing again at Euroclub, so I guess for others the party could go all night!

Joe
Joe
3 years ago

Just posted my thoughts – hopefully it’ll be approved soon. As ever, I’m a little long-winded, but I have a lot to say about 1999.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Oof, and looking it over, I definitely should’ve watched for repeating the same little tics over and over. To quote Sir Terry, “Forgive me, Mother!”

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

I also confused Nayah for Sandrine Francois somehow. Oy!

Joe
Joe
3 years ago

1999! This contest happened about three weeks after I was born (the next one would happen on my first birthday!), and isn’t it serendipitous that twenty years to the month, I’d be celebrating my birthday at Eurovision in the same country, just a different city? But obviously, this isn’t about me. It’s about the last Eurovision of the twentieth century, a Eurovision very different from the ties-and-tails, orchestrated contest held at the beginning of the decade, hosted in a country that didn’t even exist by 1999. Israel, as ever, make for amiable hosts, and even if this one’s more modestly-budgeted… Read more »

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

1999! This contest happened about three weeks after I was born.

Christ, you make me feel old.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

I figured at least one person would have that reaction.

Badwoolfgirl
Badwoolfgirl
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

You think that’s old? I was born in 1991 when Carola won Eurovision for Sweden!

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

BTW, to be more specific: Tuba Önal was the singing voice for Nala in The Lion King, Pocahontas, Mulan, AND Anastasia (a Disney princess by extension)! A Turkish Lea Salonga/Liz Callaway if there ever was one! For those curious (and I’m sure you are), this means she shares roles with: Rita (Israel 1990 – Pocahontas) Guri Schanke (Norway 2007) and Anita Skorgan (Norway 1977/1979/1982 – Guri was the speaking voice of Pocahontas and Anita did the singing! An interesting Eurovision double-whammy considering they both can sing!) Edyta Górniak (Poland 1994 – Pocahontas) Svala (Iceland 2017 – Anastasia) Anita Skorgan again… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by Joe
Ashton
Ashton
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

WHOA!! No offence, but I thought you were way older because of the very intelligent way you phrase things (not saying that younger people can’t do the same, I myself am under 20).

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Ashton

Lol no worries! I get that a lot (the “sounding older” thing, I mean). I use words good, what can I say?

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago

I had to go check out the French UFO woman after reading about that cult thing. And omg, she really looked manic on stage. And she had lots of lipstick on her teeth. haha And in the NF performance, she sang really badly and even forgot parts of the lyrics. Like, how bad were the others for France to choose that? It’s a UFO mystery.

Last edited 3 years ago by Mr Vanilla Bean
Joe
Joe
3 years ago

Did NOT know that when I did my write-up. Didn’t think it was that bad but wow.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

Yes! I noticed the lipstick too!

Esc addict
Esc addict
3 years ago

The holidays and the life in Austria seem to be so annoying at the point of hating or mocking everything….. and everything coming from France especially it’s again better, most of the time without justifications, but why then….. it’s an UFO mystery…….

Last edited 3 years ago by Esc addict
RavensHeart
RavensHeart
3 years ago

Interestingly the broadcast contains numerous appearances of the BBC Archives watermark suggesting the contest was indeed lost when IBA dissolved, and BBC was able to provide the copy. Although legally must now belong to Kan

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  RavensHeart

Not necessarily. Kan gave their permission, but let’s not assume the broadcaster always supplies the broadcast. Remember when the BBC 1974 show was on #EurovisionAgain and suddenly it broke into German commentary? Where did that come from?

stommie
stommie
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Dutch commentary. There is no copy of the 1974 contest completely without commentary. So they combined several sources.
https://twitter.com/stijnsmulders/status/1262113770068983809

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

Dutch, right. I misremembered. Thanks.

Crystal
3 years ago
Reply to  RavensHeart

From what I gathered from the official Eurovision website, the EBU and its member broadcasters have managed to preserve all but two of the full shows: Preparing for Eurovision Again each week was not as easy as it might look. The Eurovision Song Contest archive has been carefully put together over the past few years. With help from many member broadcasters, the EBU has managed to save every show available, apart from the Contests of 1956 and 1964, which sadly got lost over time. It is a possibility that the earliest contests were preserved by kinescope (recording through a camera… Read more »

stommie
stommie
3 years ago
Reply to  RavensHeart

No, I have a copy of this contest from the Dutch broadcaster and it also has the BBC Resources watermark.Yesterday someone wrote on twitter that it has to do with the fact that the BBC provided the score board and the technology behind it was the same as the one in Birmingham.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

Yes, it was the same deal the year after in Stockholm. The BBC assisted with stuff like that so they put their name on it (same as when you see the little Microsoft logo in 2015).

Charles
Charles
3 years ago

It’s a never ending party that starts with the debut of rehearsals, goes on during rehearsals, reaches its peak during broadcasting nights … but then it just refuses to die down due to Pride month, event in which these songs get some sort of after-live since the music industry couldn’t care less about the contest musical content whatsoever.

NickC
NickC
3 years ago

I have mixed feelings about Croatia. While it was the best song, that pre recorded vocals business turns me off a bit. I am not against them, i just do not like cheating. So my vote goes to.. Iceland

HarpyDarper
HarpyDarper
3 years ago

The show was slowly moving towards arenas rather than conference centres at the time, but it looks like the organizers wanted Jerusalem. It looked a bit of a step backwards size wise but I’ve Googled the place and am quite impressed how they fitted that stage in there, and the commentary booths at the back must have been a bit pokey. Productions looks like how I’d expect something from 1999 to look like, compared to today’s expectations. Very little internet back then, less stuff around the contest, smaller reach. Was there much controversy about it being there at the time?… Read more »

Badwoolfgirl
Badwoolfgirl
3 years ago

I’ve always wanted to see this contest after we had 1997 and 1998 consecutively. I was worried it wouldn’t happened because it was owned by KAN’s defunct predecessor, but it looks like it inherited all IBA content. If a month is what it takes to get permission rights from other broadcasters for older contests and present high-quality copies, then it’s worth it.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Badwoolfgirl

I think there is a good chance we’ll see 1979 at some stage too.

stommie
stommie
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

Is already in excellent quality on YT
https://youtu.be/aKtjAT1V9VQ

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

Trivia: this is the latest date (to date) that Eurovision has ever taken place (May 29th).

Kim
Kim
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

What was The earliest date the contest was held (in recent times)? Also was there a reason why it was so much later?

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Kim

1994 was the last Eurovision (to date) held in April (April 30th).

I don’t why it was so late in 1999, but quite scary that we were just 3 days away from a June contest!

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

Don’t know why*

Kim
Kim
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

I do wish they brought back hosting at different dates. It’s more spontaneous than having the same time on the same month.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  Kim

^ Is that why they gave up hosting? I thought it was just because of the two-in-a-row pressure – the 1979 broadcast had put enough pressure on them. They hadn’t even gone to colour TV at that stage. I think they only pulled out after the Netherlands had agreed to host, and the broadcast date had been set. If they were going to host, they never would have picked that date anyway. I could be wrong…

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

I think it was a bit of both. Israel turned down hosting again due to expense, then the EBU had trouble finding a replacement (both runner-up Spain and pinch-hit host the UK said no), and by the time the Netherlands agreed to do it, they had a hard time picking a date and couldn’t change it even when Israel said it was impossible for them to compete on Yom HaZikaron.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Kim

Not only did Israel not host in 1980, they had to withdraw because of Remembrance Day, thereby making them the first country to not defend their Eurovision title.

Due to WWII ending in May, in the 1980s and 1990s (when the Contest moved to May), war remembrance days tended to often rule out countries in certain years (Netherlands in 1991 for example) as the dates clashed.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

The Netherlands had to pull out twice because of it (1985 and 1991). The only two contests the Netherlands missed for reasons other than relegation. Similarly, Yugoslavia didn’t compete in ’85 either because of the anniversary of Tito’s death, and France’s president died right before the ’74 contest so they also had to pull out.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Lately, there’ve been a couple of contests where Israel was pre-drawn for a certain semi because the other was either Yom HaZikaron or Israeli Independence Day (which I believe meant they didn’t even show the first semi in 2016).

Maya G
Maya G
3 years ago
Reply to  Kim

Not quite. IBA declined to host for the second year in a row after the government refused to award them extra funds for that purpose. If they had agreed to host it in 1980 they would obviously set a convenient date. Since the Netherlands took the gig, they scheduled it to a date convinient for them, which coincided with the Israeli Remembrance Day, which is why Israel didn’t participate.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Maya G

Call me crazy, but Israel pulling out was also the only reason Morocco debuted, right?

Maya G
Maya G
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

I don’t have any knowledge about it but it makes sense.
Since 1980 Israel and Morocco formed financial ties and for a while also diplomatic ties, Israelis are free to tour Morocco and vice versa, so I guess Israel is not the reason for Morocco’s absence from the contest.

Maya G
Maya G
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

Being Israeli, I remember the talk around the date for the contest in 1999. Other than the national holidays, there was another issue. The Oslo Accords were signed in between Israel and the Palestinian authority in the early nineties, they determined an interim period in which Israel and the PA were supposed to reach a permanent settlement within this period. In fact, the interim period was set to expire on May 4th 1999 and no permanent settlement was reached. There was a fear that this would not go smoothly, so they set the contest for the latest day possible in… Read more »

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Maya G

It’s really interesting to hear that. It seemed to be the most drama-free of Israel’s hosting gigs on the surface.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Maya G

I’d forgotten about 2010, I was on a gap year in Australia and 2010 passed me by. To this day, I’ve never seen it. It may be a Eurovision Again year soon!

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

I do recall some media referring to the 1999 contest as “the battle of the Marlaynes” as both Netherlands and Cyprus were early favourites.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago

What was so bad about showing the Swedish delegation with one jury left? We wanted to see their reaction and we got it!

Selma deserved to go through in 2005. The one semi-final system worked against her.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Yeah, okay the stage version did it no favours. Just judging on the studio version, though, it’s great!

Also that was actually the moment when Sweden won – they were mathematically ahead and couldn’t be caught. A bit like when Conchita was officially announced the winner with fanfare with three countries left to give their votes.

Badwoolfgirl
Badwoolfgirl
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

I can’t stand it when the winner is technically declared before all the votes have finished even it’s mathematically true.

Maya G
Maya G
3 years ago
Reply to  Badwoolfgirl

I actually prefer that over playing dumb about an obvious truth everyone is aware of.
I really liked it in the 2013 contest when they started announcing the winner when it was a done deal, I felt it was more respectful to my intelligence as a viewer. Anyway, I prefer the current system for keeping the suspense until the very last moment.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago

I wonder how well Diamond of Night would have done if it had come just a few years earlier, during the orchestra days. It could have won.

123
123
3 years ago

Since Croatia didn’t win this, they will never win Eurovision.

Last edited 3 years ago by 123
Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  123

They already have…in a way. A Croatian act won, and the following contest was held in Zagreb.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  123

I said that about Portugal in 2008 and Netherlands in 1998, so don’t lose hope!

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

Wasn’t there a rumour at the time Amina was going to be the female singer?

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

I’m not saying you do! I’m just making the comment as I seem to recall that rumour, and maybe someone else reading does too.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

I recall at the time being unimpressed with the IBA staging in ’99 but I don’t recall thinking it was a poor year song-wise, but last night I was so underwhelmed by the quality of songs

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

Regarding the fashion, why did most women in ’99 wear a skirt with trousers underneath??

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

I doubt she wore a wig. A bit risky considering her final head swirl.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

I thought she looked so pretty here, what happened between then and 2008?

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

Nine years of life. Career highs and lows. Marriage. Motherhood. Stress. She announced her break-up shortly after the contest – so it was a tough time. I think she looked fine, though.

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

I’m not sure if Charlotte is one of those people…she pulled out of the 2000 contest because they wouldn’t give her enough self-promotion time on the broadcast. She changed her name mid-career. She came back to Melodifestivalen after her non-qualification in 2012. All admirably self-confident!

JDS
JDS
3 years ago

As Rob Holley said in his tweet, the move to monthly gives them more time to speak to broadcasters about opening up their archives, so hopefully we will see more older shows now. I have to admit I never thought we’d see 1999 with IBA being defunct. Maybe it’s rose-tinted glasses, but i don’t remember the songs in ’99 being so crap. I found it hard to pick a top 10. Estonia was my favourite then, and it’s my favourite now. Those postcards were f*cked-up, a few times during the evening I thought I was having hallucinations. Yigal was really… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by JDS
Badwoolfgirl
Badwoolfgirl
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

I guess KAN must have inherited all the IBA content since it was credited in the video for permission. I wonder if next month we’ll get the 2000 contest from SVT, or another random year. I guess it depends who EBU can negotiate within a month. Contest years I would like to see: Any year from the 50s and 60s because we haven’t had those yet, but I guess my most anticipated years would be 1965 and 1969. If 1969 is next or down the line, you guys are going to find the outcome really wild–a four-way tie! I can’t… Read more »

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Badwoolfgirl

I doubt we’ll see 2000 next month, they tend not to show them in order. 1996 seems to be a popular request for a lot of people, I’d be ok with it but I’m not desperate for it. I think they’ll have to do 2012 at some stage, same, I’d be fine with it but not overly mad for it. I’d like (a) 1985, the 80s have been shown once so far, it’s been under-represented (b) 1979, and now we know IBA/KAN are open to releasing their archives, I think it is likely we’ll see it too (c) 1993 as… Read more »

Jonas
Jonas
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

I hope they don’t feature 2012. Loreen is great, of course, but it’s an hours-long promotion of a horrible regime. Skip it!

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

That’s good point but there does seem to be a lot of affection for Sweden on Eurovision Again.

Which is kind of ironic as SVT hasn’t (so far) been generous with its archive.

Karl
Karl
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

There is a simple reason for that, we have done “too good” in ESC the latest time, some fans can´t accept that. The other topic is indeed strange, SVT has more than enough during MF talking very warmly about that we Swedes is so much in love with this competition. But for some strange reason, SVT has always pointed at EBU when you ask them about seeing older contests, when I explained that EBU was backing EurovisionAgain and that both NRK and RUV (who showed some old contest on their TV channel earlier this spring) has shown or made old… Read more »

HarpyDarper
HarpyDarper
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

The postcards are a little bit Sunday School.

You could attribute Belgium’s place to Legend of Zelda: Ocerina of Time, which was released the previous Xmas. They were riding the zeitgiest

Karl
Karl
3 years ago
Reply to  HarpyDarper

You thinking of that the guy almost played an exact replica of the Ocarina of Time 😉

Stephanie
Stephanie
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

Because it was one of the best songs that year!!! That’s why!!!

Gurl
Gurl
3 years ago

My Top 5

1. Iceland
2. Croatia
3. Lithuania
4. Estonia
5. Sweden

Monica
Monica
3 years ago

Charlotte Nilsson was the best winner in 1999. That song, rock. ???? Love it.

Monica
Monica
3 years ago

Why does a question on my writing shows UP.
I did not put a question on my writing.
Strange..

Ieva
Ieva
3 years ago
Reply to  Monica

Maybe you put some emojis that the page cannot load 🙂

Ieva
Ieva
3 years ago

I’m happy about Lithuania’s climb 🙂 To this day “Strazdas” is one of the acts we are most proud of.

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago
Reply to  Ieva

I’d love to see Aiste back with something similar, but maybe it’s such a special song that it can’t be repeated or matched anyway.

Monica
Monica
3 years ago

Charlotte Nilsson and Sweden won,. ?
I loved that song,. ??

Monica
Monica
3 years ago

I loved sweden, take me to your heaven, with Charlotte Nilsson. The best song won. ?

PP77
PP77
3 years ago

For me that year overrated Sweden,Israel,Estonia,Denmark,Austria,
Underrated Lithuania,Belgium,France,Malta,Turkey,Cyprus,Poland

HarpyDarper
HarpyDarper
3 years ago

I was nine years old at the time, and had never heard of Eurovision (and was on holiday during this time). Nevertheless this edition really reminds me of that year, from it’s production to it’s sound. The UK, Cyprus, Austria, Netherlands and Norway all sound look and sound particularly of that time period, whilst the winner is very ABBA-esque and (I’ve always thought) Christmassy. There seems to be a few sound issues, as some of the vocals are a bit shaky (or just a little under-rehersed). Iceland’s dancers remind me a bit of Inspector Gadget (which had a reboot that… Read more »

Marc
Marc
3 years ago

I love both Dino Merlin entries as well. Better and more interesting than the former winners in 1999 and 2011.
At least to my taste

stommie
stommie
3 years ago

A real transition year. IBA wanted to host in Jerusalem, despite the fact that the city didn’t have a suitable venue. Binyanei Ha’uma was even for that year considered very small. Croatia lost some of it’s relegation points due the prerecorded backing vocals. Cyprus entered the contest as a fan favourite, but crashed and burned on the night itself. The French singer was part of an UFO cult, members of which were present in Jerusalem. Lydia’s rainbow dress by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada was intended as support for gay rights. Both Bosnia-H and Germany send their runner up to… Read more »

stommie
stommie
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

International Raëlian Movement 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raëlism

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

Frightening.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

You’re right, 1999 was unfortunate in that it was stuck between two Eurovision eras, we had no orchestra, free language but still small venues, and voters who just wanted an ABBA impersonator.

stommie
stommie
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

So the advantage the UK, Ireland and Malta had was gone. And it immediately showed in the results.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

I remember 1999 was the first year I looked up fan sites online (there weren’t many- does anyone else remember Euronet?). It was all Cyprus, Cyprus, Cyprus amongst the fans. Honestly, I don’t recall exactly why she failed so badly, though I think it might have been a few smaller factors coming together – not taking advantage of free language, running order between the two hot favourites, out of tune in places

Maya G
Maya G
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

Up until the 90’s the contest was often held in concert halls, many of them not much bigger than the 1999 venue and quite a few even smaller. It wasn’t this huge event as it is now, the fandom was much smaller and polite and didn’t travel to the host country every year. The the audience was older and more dignified. 2000 was a pivotal year in that respect, the Swedes set a new standard.

JDS
JDS
3 years ago
Reply to  Maya G

It’s interesting actually, you can see some of the audience in tuxedos, and some casual. Just showing again how this edition was stuck between two different eras.

Maya G
Maya G
3 years ago
Reply to  JDS

The casual wear is probably more due to it being in Israel, Israelis are very informal in most aspects of life. With the exception of perhaps their own weddings, most of them dress very casually and consider wearing a button-up shirt as dressing up.

Marc
Marc
3 years ago

I love Croatia (winner), Germany and Bosnia.
Israel was also very good and enjoyable. Made me think of other entries like Estonia 2001 and how people at home will always enjoy and vote for this kind of entries unlike fans.
Estonia was also good.
There were many 90’s sound songs and in that sea, a dated song like Sweden probably stood out more. I prefer Iceland tho.

Last edited 3 years ago by Marc
stommie
stommie
3 years ago

Did KAN inherit the copyright from IBA?

Ana
Ana
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

Obviosly. Did you think that IBA will take the whole Israeli public broadcasting archive to the grave with them? It’s not theirs. It belongs to the public.

Stephanie
Stephanie
3 years ago

Come on!!! You can’t be serious!!! Sweden? Really? I thought the songs of Iceland and Germany were better, but okay… Positive finally some recognition for Belgium, thank you!!!

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago

An interesting year for me because this year produced a couple of evergreens, in my opinion. I’m fine with the top 2. Two catchy songs which are still enjoyable today. It was also the last year to date that uncle Ralph would compete for the trophy with a real chance. Besides the top two, I love Lithuania, Slovenia and Estonia. I suppose Estonia did okay, but Slovenia and Lithuania were terribly underrated.

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago

In fact, Strazdas is Lithuania’s best ever!

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago

Special shout-out to Croatia and boo to a certain petty Norwegian dude.

stommie
stommie
3 years ago

Disagree. Prerecorded backing vocals were not allowed back then. JOS had every right to complain. The fact that twenty years later we have a different approach to certain rules, doesn’t change that that choir had no place on the backing track.

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

What baffles me in this case is how the track got approved and played in the contest then?

123
123
3 years ago

Croatian HoD recently said in an interview that she found out that it was a set up and that they intentionally didn’t say anything until the moment when nothing could be changed anymore…I’m not saying that’s true, but that’s what she said.

123
123
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

Thankfully, Croatia didn’t have prerecorded vocals…Only synthetic sounds that were imitating male voices…The same think Jowst was allowed to do and who is, ironically enough, from Norway…But ofc Jon Ola didn’t have a problem with THAT

Last edited 3 years ago by 123
Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago
Reply to  123

An awful dude through and through. As EBU boss, he never had a problem overlooking numerous of his institution’s own rules.

stommie
stommie
3 years ago

Skamp disagrees.

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

No, she doesn’t.

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

Lithuania 2001. The year of Dr Death and The Tooth Fairy.

stommie
stommie
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

The best act to compete in eurovision ever
https://youtu.be/yr_b_uKmknA

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

Oh, come oooon. Not even the best of its year. Slovenia’s victory was stolen… I don’t know how. Maybe the French UFO lunatic woman from 1999 cursed Eurovision.

stommie
stommie
3 years ago
Reply to  stommie

You are insulting Erica Jennings.