Loreen’s ‘Tattoo’ Leads Eurovision 2023 Rush on Billboard Global Charts
Written by djfrosty on May 24, 2023
It’s that time of year again! Thirty-seven countries around Europe competed in the 67th annual Eurovision Song Contest, searching for the greatest new piece of songwriting on the continent. On May 13, Sweden’s Loreen took home top honors for “Tattoo,” sending streams and sales for the song soaring. It leads a pack of titles from the competition on Billboard’s May 27-dated global charts.
“Tattoo” debuts on the Billboard Global 200 at No. 15, while shooting from No. 146 to No. 7 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. tally. In the week ending May 18, the ballad generated 32 million official streams and sold 12,000 downloads worldwide, according to Luminate, up by 245% in streams and 737% in sales from the week prior.
Not only is Loreen the first woman to win Eurovision twice (following her victory with “Euphoria” in 2012), “Tattoo” instantly becomes the highest charting Eurovision song in each chart’s two-and-a-half-year history. It surpasses Måneskin’s “Zitti E Buoni,” which hit No. 10 on Global Excl. U.S. and No. 22 on the Global 200, following its victory in 2021. The Italian band later reached the top three of both lists with its cover of The Four Seasons’ 1967 hit “Beggin’.”
Finland’s Käärijä follows with this year’s Eurovision runner-up, “Cha Cha Cha.” The song debuts at No. 13 on Global Excl. U.S. and No. 27 on the Global 200, with 24.4 million streams and 4,000 downloads sold worldwide. Norway’s “Queen of Kings” by Alessandra is next, at Nos. 29 and 58, respectively (19.5 million streams; 5,000 sold). Israel’s Noa Kirel arrives on Global Excl. U.S. at No. 153, while Italy’s Marco Mengoni’s re-enters Global Excl. U.S. with “Due Vite” at No. 174, after reaching No. 32 following its victory at Sanremo, previewing Eurovision, in February.
Eurovision’s three entries on the Global 200 matches hauls from 2022 and 2021, while the count of five on Global Excl. U.S. marks a decline from last year’s six and 2021’s seven. Still, Loreen, Käärijä and Alessandra boast three of the four top streaming figures for charted competing songs following the contest’s final round in that spain. Below the 32 million for “Tattoo” are Måneskin’s “Zitti E Buoni,” which drew 30.1 million global streams in the week ending May 27, 2021; “Cha Cha Cha” (24.4 million) and “Queen of Kings” (19.5 million).
Meanwhile, this year’s group of chart entries averaged 3.6% of their streams from the U.S. and 96.4% from beyond, with each hitting Billboard European Hits of the World charts. Unsurprisingly, Loreen leads again, as “Tattoo” crowns lists in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Here is a look at top 10 ranks for this year’s charting Eurovision titles on the latest Hits of the World surveys.
Käärijä is also No. 1 on four lists, including his native Finland, Poland, Iceland and, perhaps unexpectedly, Sweden, despite Loreen’s home-field advantage. There, “Tattoo” is No. 3, while Alessandra’s “Queen of Kings” is No. 7.
Ultimately, Loreen appears on 21 Hits of the World charts, hitting the top 10 on 15. Käärijä follows on 17 charts, in the top 10 on 11. Next is “Queen of Kings,” on 14 rankings (eight top 10 placements), while “Unicorn” is on four international tallies (two top 10s). Plus, Mengoni is No. 19 in Iceland.
On Iceland Songs, the group nearly pulls off a clean sweep, as Käärijä, Loreen and Alessandra line up at Nos. 1-3, with Kirel at No. 5.