This year at wiwibloggs we are celebrating the festive season with a series of different polls. For the next few days, we’re going to stuff your stockings with a selection of Eurovision votes. Consider this a unique riff on the classic “Twelve Days of Christmas” carol.
Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, you can join us and let us know your thoughts for each and every poll. Today’s question — Who is your favourite Eurovision winner of the 2000s?
Eurovision winners: 2000 to 2009
The 2000s was a decade of change. And we’re not just talking about the creation of the semi-final round in 2004, the introduction of a second semi in 2008 or the return of the jury vote in the 2009 final. Because, bookended between Nordic neighbours Denmark in 2000 and Norway in 2009, all of the other Eurovision-winning countries this decade were first-time champions.
Some had been waiting a long time to taste gold — 28 years for Turkey, 31 years for Greece and 45 years for Finland. Others got to bask in glory almost straight away — two years for Latvia and one year for Ukraine. Serbia didn’t have to wait at all, winning on its first attempt as an independent nation. The podium was also graced by Estonia and Russia, both of which debuted in the previous decade.
Regardless of your taste in music, it cannot be denied that all ten winners were iconic in some shape or form. But who was your favourite winner? Watch and listen to all the performances below and then vote for your favourite in our poll.
I love 2003-2007
2001, 2002, 2008 really we’re dark times what were people thinking especially 2001’s winner ?
All I can say about 2001 is: “Everybody” is funky and it felt right for it to win at the time. Also, ESC hadn’t had an “Eastern winner” until Estonia, so politically it was a very important milestone. But, I understand how when looking back on it now, it can seem out of place.
1.Turkey 2003
2.Denmark 2000
3.Serbia 2007
Helena, Alex, Marija and Lordi. And let’s be honest, there should be two Greek victories on that list.
I would die for you should have won in 2001. I’m right, the whole of Europe was wrong that night. And you can fight me on that one. (Unless you’re saying France, that was the only other song who deserved that victory)
Some great ones to vote for here – I voted for Denmark 2000 (I enjoyed the original and the dance remix), Greece 2005 (for the pop catchiness), Finland 2006 (for the timeless cheesiness you only get in Eurovision) and Norway 2009 (for its unique and classic qualities).
I’ve voted for Finland and Serbia and I believe they were very important to the history of the contest and the fact winners come in all shapes and forms nowadays. “Molitva” is one of the best songs to win Eurovision and its performance remains powerful and symbolic. And Lordi was possibly the coolest winner ever. “Fairytale” was actually the first contact I had with Eurovision. Alexander’s boyish charm may not work with me as it worked back then (and boy, it surely worked!) and the song hasn’t aged well (in opposite of Alexander, who still looks quite the same), but… Read more »
Dinle kinda did it six years earlier, though…
This poll definitely has the right bottom three, but I can’t really put the other seven in order – I like them all.
The best one: 2006
The most overrated one: 2009
The worst one: 2001
why is ruslana so underrated here? GO GO.. GO WILD DANCERS!
Norway!
I picked Finland’s “Hard Rock Hallelujah” because it’s the first Eurovision entry I actually remember hearing and falling in love with in real time. (I had first heard of the Contest in 2003, when I read a CBBC story about Jemini placing dead last at the Contest.) Back in the days of MySpace, I had a German acquaintance I would occasionally correspond with (she was a bit older than me, a single mom with two kids and loved hard rock music) and she so wanted Finland to win (as Germany had strangely sent a country song that year). We were… Read more »
Finland!
Epic win. I started watching Esc as a kid in 2002 with my family and I still remember our reaction that night with Lordi. And how different that win was and felt from what I watched the previous years.
I must say the weirdest entries out of this decade are also the most iconic ones. Hard Rock hallelujah and wild dances are both low-key bops and ‘I wanna’ from Marie N is a guilty pleasure. My first place would be Serbia though with the best balkan ballad to date!
In principle, I like the song or not, regardless of the language. But one can count on one’s fingers the winners who sang in their own language without being English. So such a victory gained a lot of weight. Then it must be really a good thing when people liked it and if they didn’t understand.
Turkey and Ukraine.
Sertab, Marija, Helena and Ruslana in that order
I really enjoy reading your comments Tibor!
My first vivid memory comes from Eurovision 2002. One year after, I have in my head the image of a lady with fierce facial expressions winning the contest, she was tied to her dancers. She is, of course, Sertab Erener. That was impactful back then. Next year, Ukraine would send another shocking performance for a 9 year old kid. “Wild Dances” seemed to have been taken out of a film: the costumes, the fire, the dancers. It was wild and I danced to it with my sister for the next months. No other winner that decade really said something to… Read more »
As probably the oldest member of this community who followed ESC carefully in the 00s, here are my two cents for the first 5 contests: 2000: Denmark “flew” under the radar pre-ESC season, and until the final night, no one, literally no one expected them to win. Nobody expected Russia to come second either. That year the big favorite was Estonia (a hype I never understood). While watching the finals, even before the voting, we guessed it would be between Denmark and Russia as those were the best performances of the night. In retrospect, however, I really wish Latvia would… Read more »
Thanks for sharing this recap from the perspective of someone who was involved with the ESC community at the time. I can share mine from the perspective of someone who just very recently saw all four of these contests (There is a possibility I saw them sporadically as a child, but this really revived some long lost memories). So, for me: 2000 – A year with a lot of bad songs, but a couple of good ones too. My only 10/10 rating of the whole 2000-2004 period belongs to Latvia in 2000. What an adorable song! Still, I can totally… Read more »
Colin- I love Israel 2000 and Austria 2000 too, but I have to admit studio cuts were way better than live performances.
2001- I hated Turkey and loved Croatia (funny, aye?)
2002- Croatia sounded way better in Croatian (Sasvim Sigurna, if I remember correctly) and that S&M look did not make her any favors, maybe it was too futuristic at the time.
2003- Norway and Ireland were great… Israel not so much. Croatia was very “Britney”.
2004- for me the worst Croatian entry of all times.
Israel 2000: ”How” was meant in – how was this even a presentable idea? I find a tiny bit of charm in just how inept it was (similar as with Switzerland in 2004), but I can’t find an actual redeeming factors in it – plodding melody, repetitive and unimaginative lyrics, bad vocal performance, amateurish staging – just everything was wrong to the point of being mesmerizing. 😉 2001 – Yeah, this is a nice piece of trivia for the two of us. 🙂 2002 – I find the song better in Croatian, but even then, it’s average at best. 2004… Read more »
Oh i totally forgot celebrate. Hmm.. tough decision. ?
Sorry for reminding you. 🙁
Just to add for Israel 2000 – I am quite happy it exists. This is an anthology song, for sure. It should be studied and admired, because it really feels unique is just how everything went south simultaneously. I still have no idea whether this was a genuine try at quality that went wrong or was this a troll act… In any case, I find it fascinating. 😉
I honestly liked the studio cut. And imagine, it was 2000 and they announced they are bisexual… (way ahead of their time, and very brave). Then on stage, they had Israeli and Syrian flags. I honestly cannot imagine this happening in the current political climate. Ok, I admit they sounded terrible live, but nevertheless, they made history. Sometimes losing feels like Gold.
If you want to hear more about that song, I recommend listening to this recent interview…
https://youtu.be/vkcPNgdnpoE
Sertab and Marija are my picks <3
Please don’t hate me, but I don’t like neither of those 10 winners. Probably because I was just a child in that decade. But I’ll pick one, I think Lordi wasn’t that bad.
They’re all winners, literally.
My playlist says: 2005! So I listen to that one the most. That’s a surprise. 2006 is apparently second. Hmmm.
As songs, 2001 (funky), 2004 (music), 2006 (rock) and 2007 (native language) all stand out. Both 2008 and 2009 have violins, and 2000 had guitars. Really it just depends on preference. Oh and, 2002-2006 all have the added “choreography plus” element. Lordi wins points for most effort there. 🙂 Yeah, it should probably be 2006, let’s be honest.
I am happy to see you like Lordi. That was the first time my winner actually won and that moment for me extended all the way to 2019, when Duncan won. Retroactively, I have put Serbia first in 2007, but it’s still a tie between them and my winner at the time, Andorra. I just love both entries so much in a different way. Usually, the actual winner tends to be someone from my top 10/15, but not top 5, even though there are exceptions.
Why is everyone hating on Molitva in the comments? It’s a good winner and a well deserved one.Stop hating on other people’s opinion!
Serbia and Finland.
My favourites are:
1. Norway 2009: “Fairytale”
2. Turkey 2003: “Every way that I can”
3. Greece 2005: “My number one”
4. Ukraine 2004: “Wild Dances”
Stermann & Grissemann, right? I remember they tried to represent Austria in 2002, I think, with this bizarre number about “the most beautiful thing in the world”. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that they actually came second. And they had bears on stage for some reason? 2000s, those were different times.
Oh yeah, I guess I still haven’t commented on it. I originally intended to make my usual top 5, but I just didn’t find any other song in the NF very interesting. Well, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I absolutely love “Voila”, it’s my favourite song of this ESC season thus far. I haven’t had enough time to properly analyze it, and there’s a lot to unpack here – the ambiguous lyrics and themes, the multitude of different influences you can hear in that song – Jacques Brel, Barbara, Charles Aznavour, just to name the obvious examples. How… Read more »
Eight of the ten winners from that decade were first time winners. The previous decade (90s) saw no new winners and the following (2010s) had two. Really the 2000s was an epic year for breakthroughs.
Randajad truly deserved to win. even though 2009 was a relatively strong year, Randajad stood far and above the rest. It’s strange how a country can give us an entry as good as that and then give us songs like What Love Is.
I mean, I love La Forza with all my heart but I detest Verona, so I was happy with the results that both got, and in my opinion, deserved. If I can ask, why don’t you like La Forza? It’s nothing amazingly new but the staging was impactful and vocally she did not hit one bad note.
That’s fair. Eugent’s voice is also outstanding. Now I’m wondering, did you like Zero Gravity? It’s still popera technically, but I feels like it leans more pop with opera vocals in it.
So did I. I wanted 2000 and Whatever to win, but Kate’s performance in Tel Aviv made my jaw drop
I also loved zero gravity and hated La Forza.
1) Serbia 2007
2) Finland 2006
3) Ukraine 2004
4) Turkey 2003
5) Norway 2009
6) Greece 2005
7) Latvia 2002
8) Russia 2008
9) Denmark 2000
10) Estonia 2001
My top four change from time to time :p
Greece 2005 is the only answer
My list:
I think that all of them are in my top 15 (top 5 for those from pre-semi years) on my lists. So, to different degrees, I am fine with each of them winning. Still, as Molitva is one of the biggest masterpieces of that era and Lordi were my first personal winners I recall actually winning, those are my picks. I also think that Sertab was the best one in 2003 and that Helena was equally good as her in 2005 (the reason that I had a couple of songs above MNO only shows how good of a year it… Read more »
The more time passed, the more I appreciate Fairytale for it’s iconic stamp on ESC. If the performer wasn’t as likable and as fitting for the song as Rybak was, perhaps that wouldn’t be as strong entry, but it was. I really liked both Iceland and UK in 2009 as well. Sure, Randajad was by far my winner, but as in most years, there’s a number of songs I still listen to, UK and Iceland included. 😉
1. Turkey 2003
2. Norway 2009
3. Serbia 2007
4. Greece 2005
5. Ukraine 2004
6. Finland 2006
7. Denmark 2000
8. Latvia 2002
9. Estonia 2001
10. Russia 2008
Finland and Norway are the best. Most votes for Serbia in this poll come from Balkan anyway, I’m sure of it.
What now, it turns out that the Bakan countries have a larger population than the rest of Europe ?!
No but Albania for example won every single poll by far this spring, but there were entries that were clearly more appreciated among Eurovision fans.
So are the votes and taste of Balkan people not valid, should not be counted? Why? Can we then disregard all the Finland and Norway votes as ‘ah it’s only Scandinavians’
Btw Balkan is only 50mil/750mil in Europe (not even counting other ESC countries) so I don’t see how they can outvote anyone (plus half of the countries there do not like each other)
Balkan countries tend to vote for each other more often than Scandinavia or other regions. A lot of Balkan people have this mentality that they need to no-matter-what support their neighbors, like all Serbia juries putting Montenegro first in semi final 1 2019. They support their neighbors even if it means giving up fairness and voting for those who actually deserve it. That’s why the Balkan region had such a negative reputation in Eurovision.
And I’m not from Scandinavia and I votes for Norway and Finland.
The ones that aged the best I would say Turkey, Ukriane, Finland and Serbia.
The ones you forgot are ESC songs are Denmark (it is still a really good song is what i am saying)
The one that you know refer to when talking about ESC is Norway
The others (2001,2002, 2005 and 2008) are quite forgetful…
Turkey, Greece and Serbia are my favorites! But at the end, it had to be Serbia! Masterpiece! <3
Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and Denmark!!
Helena Greece 4 sure.. From the 1st time I heard it I knew it would win, still love it.. Even my Eurovision hating buddies do so it’s a banger
Some great winners here .. cannot stand fairytale any more but it surely leaves the biggest lasting impression.. Also liked Denmark .. However Estonia , Latvia and Russia were all terrible winners and each one of them countries have sent far better non winning songs to Eurovision
2001, 2002 and 2008 were very weak years tho, somebody had to win
2008 was an amazing year with terrible winner.
2008 was a really good year with a good winner, but there were still several stronger songs. For me, it should have been Lisbon 2009.
2008 wasn’t so bad. Israel, Norway, Netherlands (robbed of the final), Finland, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Portugal, and Serbia all had ridiculously strong entries. I really dsilike the winner, however.
You have a point with the latter 4 songs. All absoltuely terrible. How far we have come, right?
omg! How did I forget Complice! My 2008 winner and probably one of the best entries of the 2000s
We disagree a lot when it comes to 2008. 😉 I really love Shady Lady and Vania’s song is an absolute masterpiece (absolutely nothing even remotely alike any Portuguese entry from 2000 to 2011). 🙂 Also, I really liked the Latvian pirates. They were so entertaining. Secret Combination and Qele Qele are both overrated as heck, but they are still solid entries. The Turkey is bad, I know, but I embarrassingly kinda like it. 😉 I’ll give you Estonia in 2008, cause that was just atrocious.
Also, perhaps not a good idea, but considering how much criticism all of us like to pour down in our comments, maybe there should be a poll for the worst entry of the semi era? So many could blow some steam on that one (For me, there is also so many: Switzerland 2004, Portugal 2011, Belarus 2006, Estonia and Belgium in 2008, Netherlands, Belgium and Bulgaria 2009…ect.). Then again, there would probably be a war in the comments, so perhaps not. 😉 😉 😉
Thanks 🙂 Likewise, I always have a fun time in both agreeing and disagreeing with you. 🙂
Dustin’s had a major comeback of late since the confrontation with Niall Horan fans in summer. Can he release an updated version of Irlande Douze Points which replaces the country names with those of various ESC acts?
Well, Serbia was my 4th (only behind Portugal, Switzerland and Albania), so them having a back to back win would’ve been a great option for me as well. 🙂
Serbia!!!