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Following calls for him to withdraw from and boycott the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s inclusion amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Olly Alexander explained why he will still be participating in the annual competition on Friday (March 29).
In a statement posted to his Instagram, Alexander responded to activist group Queers for Palestine, who wrote the singer an open letter asking him to withdraw from the contest. “I wholeheartedly support action being taken to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the return of all hostages and the safety and security of all civilians in Palestine and Israel,” he wrote. “I know some people will choose to boycott this year’s Eurovision and I understand and respect their decision.”
The “Dizzy” singer continued, saying that he took “a lot of time to deliberate” over the correct course of action, and decided that withdrawing from Eurovision “wouldn’t bring us any closer to our shared goal.” Alexander said he and a number of other contestants spoke and decided that “by taking part we can use our platform to come together and call for peace.”
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In its original open letter, Queers for Palestine applauded Alexander’s “vision of queer joy and abundance you’ve offered through your music, and share your belief in collective liberation for all,” then asked him to “heed the Palestinian call to withdraw from Eurovision … There can be no party with a state committing apartheid and genocide.”
Alexander also shared a statement from a collective of other Eurovision participants — signed by himself, Ireland’s Bambie Thug, Norway’s Gåte, Portugal’s Iolanda, San Marino’s Megara, Switzerland’s Nemo, Denmark’s Saba, Lithuania’s Silvester Belt and Finland’s Windows95Man — saying that they “stand in solidarity with the oppressed and communicate our heartfelt wish for peace, an immediate and lasting ceasefire and the safe return of all hostages.” They added that they felt “it is our duty to create and uphold this space, with a strong hope that it will inspire greater compassion and empathy.”
Queers for Palestine later responded to Alexander’s decision, saying that while they “welcome” responses from both the singer and his fellow contestants, they found both statements lacking. “When [Alexander et al] use that voice to downplay the genocide in Gaza by vaguely calling it a mere ‘situation,’ they misuse their power. When they choose to ignore the call for a boycott issued by the largest Palestinian coalition, in historic Palestine and in exile, they risk condescending to the people who are being occupied and massacred and are asking for our solidarity.”
This is not Alexander’s first time sharing his thoughts on the ongoing war in Gaza. Shortly before he was announced as a participant in Eurovision 2024, the singer signed an October 2023 open letter from LGBTQ activist group Voices4London calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and calling out Israel as an “apartheid regime.” After Alexander was announced as the U.K.’s representative for the annual contest, a source for the Conservative Party spoke to The Daily Telegraph to criticize the BBC for choosing the singer as a representative for the U.K., calling the decision “either a massive oversight or sheer brass neck from the BBC.”
Read both of Olly Alexander’s full statements below:
With the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest less than seven weeks away, production in host country Sweden has kicked into high gear. Taking on the role of showrunner, Per Blankens has produced 10 seasons of Idol in Sweden; seasons 13 and 14 of American Idol; and the annual Melodifestivalen in Sweden, the competition the country uses to select its Eurovision entry.
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Billboard spoke to Blankens via Zoom to get an early preview of this year’s pan-European song competition.
You grew up in Sweden, a country that has a long-lasting love for Eurovision. What is your earliest memory of the contest?
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I was only two years old when ABBA won (in 1974 with “Waterloo”), but I was 12 when Herrey’s won (in 1984 with “Diggi-Loo, Diggi-Ley”), so I have a definite memory of that year. I have great memories of Eurovision because back in the day the whole family would gather in front of the TV and it would be the special event and amazing show that it still is today. Once in a year, it showed up and you saw all these different countries and different people and different outfits and different songs. So I watched it from a very young age.
I was going to save this question for last, but since you mentioned them – this is the 50th anniversary of ABBA winning Eurovision and everyone is expecting the four members to participate in some way in the 2024 contest. What can you tell me about that possibility?
We’ve had discussions with ABBA and about ABBA, but do we think that they will sing “Waterloo” together on the stage live? Not sure about that, but for sure there’s going to be an ABBA component in the shows from Sweden this year.
I tell people I’ll be surprised if they perform. I won’t be surprised if they’re there.
I feel the same as you. I’ll be surprised if they perform. We’ll see if they’re going to be there. They turn down a lot of stuff and my personal reflection is they do that because they want to have people’s memories be the way they were in their heyday. The group only lasted for eight years and during those eight years, they came out with a tremendous amount of songs. If you look at the song list, it’s 25 or 30 hits. It’s amazing how productive they were and that’s what they want people to remember. So I understand why they are cautious, but we’re hoping to do something together.
When you were asked to produce this year’s Eurovision, what were your thoughts about taking the job?
When Sweden won in 2015, they asked me then, but I was living in the U.S. and I couldn’t figure out a way to make it work, because you really need to be in the production office and be very hands-on. So I had to decline and have regretted that ever since because it’s the world championship in television-making with all the resources and all the fun and all the nationalities and all the viewers. That’s something that if you had the chance, you would want to be engaged in. When Loreen won last year, I was hoping that they would ask me again and they did. After we won in early May 2023, SVT (Sweden’s national broadcaster) sent out a feeler to me and then a month later it was decided. I told my bosses at Idol, “I still have another six months, but after that, I’m going to do Eurovision.” I’ve done Idol for so many years, so there weren’t any hard feelings. They congratulated me and said they understood this was something I wanted to do.
People always ask me, “What does a producer do?” I tell them it’s different on every show. As a producer, what are your responsibilities for Eurovision 2024?
I am the showrunner. My title is show producer. We do have an executive producer. Ebba Adielsson is in charge of the whole thing and that would mean the event and security and sponsors and staff, you name it. And then there is our contest producer, Christer Björkman, and he is in charge of all the delegations and all the artists and the songs and realizing what they want to do on stage and help them create what they want to present. As the TV producer, I put all of this into the framework of a show. So my responsibility would be running orders, posts, graphics, music and the actual broadcast. I approve the stage design and all of the interval acts and the segments and the postcards. Everything that’s not the competition. The production is huge. It’s one of the biggest (in the world). I’m in charge of the actual show and the rules of the competition and the spokespersons that are going to show up and deliver the points. I get to do the fun stuff. Everybody else is very stressed out. Figuring out how much stuff you can put in that arena without it imploding, that’s not my responsibility.
And all of this comes under the aegis of the European Broadcasting Union, an alliance of public broadcasters from all over Europe and beyond. How do you interact with the EBU?
A country wins and then as congratulations, you get to produce the show next year. Some countries are excited. Some countries are terrified because it is a big event. SVT has done it before. It will be the seventh time, which is a record apart from Ireland, and we did it in recent years as well, so there are some colleagues and coworkers who were part of it last time, which is always great. The EBU gives you the paperwork and off you go. Then there are a lot of meetings which I’m not a part of, but the other grown-ups make decisions about budgets and so forth. And then when it reaches me, I come up with the angle for this year. If we want to make any changes to the format (we take them to the) reference group, which is a Eurovision board made up of former executive producers from previous years, and the EBU’s Martin Osterdahl, who happens to be Swedish.
You go in front of that board and you present what you want to do and maybe you get some homework and then you go back to the board in the next meeting and things get approved or rejected. Right now we have a lot of contact with the EBU on a daily basis about everything from how long the graphics should be on screen to how big the songs need to be, things that that EBU keeps track of. It’s a very complicated technical production in terms of a worldwide broadcast. Each country puts an overlay of their own graphics because we have tele-voting, and there’s not the same phone number in each country. Each country has a commentator and most of them are there (at the venue). Some are commentating from home. They also have a spokesperson who’s going to show up and there are uplinks that need to be booked for that. So we interact with EBU in many ways but now that we’re so close to the production all the big stuff is decided and now we’re getting the practicalities in place.
With less than two months to go before the live broadcast of the two semi-finals on May 7 and 9 and the grand final on May 11, where are you right now in the process?
All 37 delegations visited Malmö a couple of weeks ago to meet with Christer and his team and introduce their artists, who were not present. They had the opportunity to introduce their creative thoughts about their performances. Either they want to do it exactly the way it looked back home in their own (national final) or they want to do something else. Our production is providing the lights and the stage and if there’s something to be built or if you need live elephants, we need to provide that. We’re writing scripts. We’re dry rehearsing all the intro acts. We’re also trying to get all the paperwork in place because it’s such a nightmare to clear all the music worldwide. That takes time.
I think we’re in a good place. We haven’t moved to Malmö yet. That’s going to happen on April 16. The whole production office moves down there and we won’t get on the actual stage until very late in rehearsal, at the end of April. It will be the beginning of May before all 37 countries come down and occupy the stage.
You mentioned making changes in the broadcast. Can you tell me what they are?
One change that was brought up early on was to make the broadcast shorter. Last year’s U.K. show ran four hours, 14 minutes. It’s hard because there are so many songs and we need time for the voting and it’s also the time for us to entertain the world so you don’t want take out too much.
We did get through another change: starting the voting when the show begins. That’s something I introduced on American Idol. That means you don’t have to wait until for all 26 songs to be performed before you can start voting. Because of the length of the show, it gets very late into the night in some parts of the world before you can start interacting and chances are that you dozed off or went to bed. But if you can start when the competition starts, then you’re interacting. I think that’s also how the kids want it these days. One way of doing that is to make sure we’ve already seen all the performances before and that means that the five big countries that are already qualified for the final, and the host nation, get to also be on stage in the semi-finals. Instead of putting them as interval acts or as a block at the end, I wanted to intertwine it within the rest of the performances. I’m sure it will go smoothly in the broadcast to explain to the viewers that 15 of these performances need your votes to go to the finale. Three of them don’t need your votes because they’re already qualified. We have the hosts and we also have the commentators, and we also have graphics to explain the difference when you see it. So those are the biggest changes so far in the show.
Will having the big five and the host country perform their full songs in the semi-finals make those shows longer?
A tiny bit longer. It all depends how many countries are participating, so it has varied over the years. Last year we ran about two hours. This time, we’re going to end up at two hours and 10 minutes.
You mentioned shortening the grand final. Do you have a target time for that live broadcast?
The allotted time is four hours. Every year, it’s been longer and longer and longer. The question is, what can we do to keep it under four hours. We’ll see when everything is in place and we’ve timed everything.
There are 26 performances. It all depends on how much stuff the artists want to bring on stage and take it out and bring it in again. Where can you find the seconds you need? Even though the voting starts when the first performance begins, it will still be open after the last performance. We won’t close it, so people can either decide if they want to vote when they see something they like or do they want to watch the whole thing and then decide, like it’s been in the past. So starting the voting early doesn’t mean that the show is going to be shorter. Just having the spokespersons from the different countries takes about an hour to go through all their votes. That can obviously be done more efficiently, but why? It’s part of the show. It’s good entertainment and it’s part of what I remember I thought was funny when I watched the show as a young person. I was watching all these people showing up from different parts of the world. So you don’t want to take out too much, but obviously what you can do to make it more efficient, that would be great.
For decades, Eurovision was a worldwide phenomenon, with live broadcasts to non-participating countries like China and Uruguay. But somehow the U.S. was left out of the equation. Do you think the U.S. is more aware of Eurovision today? And did Will Ferrell’s movie for Netflix help?
Regarding Americans watching Eurovision, it has transitioned in recent years. Ever since Måneskin and Duncan Laurence and Loreen won, that has turned Eurovision into a totally new thing. Artists are still coming to entertain, but it’s transitioned into something that really has an impact on popular culture and you can become a star by winning Eurovision, which was not always the case. But then again think of ABBA celebrating 50 years now since they started with Eurovision and we get to produce it in Sweden on the 50th anniversary. It’s amazing.
My understanding is that Americans have known about Eurovision always but haven’t been that interested. Now because there was a show called American Song Contest, they understand the format and can participate, plus many Europeans are living in the U.S. The Will Ferrell movie for sure helped. That was an amazing movie. And apparently, he is a super nice fellow because he hung around in Portugal when they hosted Eurovision (in 2018). People who met him said he was the sweetest man and very funny, very kind to remember people’s names.
I thought last year’s show, produced by the BBC in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine, was one of the best shows ever. Has that influenced you in any way?
As a television producer, you always want to top the previous year but it’s going to be hard because the BBC broadcast was so spectacular. Very flawless, beautiful, the hosts were great and the fact they did it together with Ukraine was beautiful. I have watched the three shows (two semi-finals and a grand final) many times and took notes and if we’re lucky, we’ll live up to that standard. I met (last year’s) producer in Malmö and I thanked him for a beautiful show. And they had the coronation of King Charles that same week, so it was a busy time for BBC.
Some countries don’t want to do Eurovision two times in a row because of the expense. When Sweden claims victory for the eighth time, it will set the all-time record for the most wins in the 68 years of the contest. Any thoughts about having Eurovision come back to Sweden in 2025?
If that happens, it’s going to be amazing. I know that (Sweden’s national final) Melodifestivalen was not holding back. It has happened before that countries won twice in a row or even three times in a row. So it could happen and if it does, we’ll be up and running and we’ll make another spectacular edition.
Having heard all the songs and seeing the videos, any thoughts about the overall quality for the 2024 competition?
You should ask Christer because I’m neutral in the competition. I think that it sounds great and it all stands out and there’s a good mix of groups and boys and girls. It’s going to be a spectacular year. I think as a viewer it will be an amazing show. I won’t single out anyone, but there are some artists who are standing out in a good way, and also in a fun way.
Finally, you are in a unique position as someone who has produced Idol in Sweden and the U.S. as well as Eurovision to answer this question: why have so many Idols from all over Europe, especially Sweden, represented their countries at Eurovision? In Sweden, I’m thinking especially of Måns Zelmerlöw, who won with “Heroes” in 2015, Loreen who won with “Euphoria” in 2012 and “Tattoo” in 2023; plus entrants Anna Bergendahl in 2010 and Robin Stjernberg in 2013. And many Idols from Sweden, like Danny Saucedo and Lisa Ajax, have competed in Melodifestivalen.
I think Idols go far in Melodifestivalen is because the audience knows them and are in the habit of voting for them. But they also need to stand out and be super great and a lot of them are, like Måns and Loreen. A TV technical thing can also be that they are already used to learning choreo, cameras, instructions, staging and output very quickly. They know that once you get up on that stage you have one shot. An Idol season prepares them, as they have to do that on a weekly basis and that could be the extra mile needed in a competition with 25 other artists. But obviously they need a great song as well.
A wide-ranging group of more than 400 musicians, actors, agents and managers and studio executives signed an open letter to the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest rejecting attempts by some participating countries to bar Israel from participating in this year’s event. Among those lending their names to the letter from the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community for Peace were: Helen Mirren, Liev Schreiber, KISS’ Gene Simmons, Scooter Braun, Boy George, Sharon Osbourne, Emmy Rossum, Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing, Diane Warren and Selma Blair, among many others.
The letter supports the European Broadcasting Union’s commitment to including Israel in this year’s contest amid calls last month from Swedish and Finnish artists demanding Israel’s exclusion from the contest over their belief that including the country “undermines” the spirit of the competition. The letters cited Israel’s ongoing response to the deadly Oct. 7 surprise assault on the nation from Hamas militants in which more than 1,200 Israelis — mostly civilians — were murdered, sexually assaulted and attacked and more than 250 were taken hostage.
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“We have been shocked and disappointed to see some members of the entertainment community calling for Israel to be banished from the Contest for responding to the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” the letter reads. “Under the cover of thousands of rockets fired indiscriminately into civilian populations, Hamas murdered and kidnapped innocent men, women, and children.”
Artist manager Braun added, “Music is a place for unity not division. It is a language that should always bring us together. Artists should never be discriminated against for who they are, who they love, or where they’re born. These boycott efforts do nothing but distract from the uplifting and unifying power of music – something we need now more than ever.”
KISS’ Simmons, who was born in Israel to a Holocaust survivor mother, wrote, “Music unites people from all backgrounds. It’s the one language that everyone can understand. It’s a beautiful thing and a great way to bring people together. Those advocating to exclude an Israeli singer from Eurovision don’t move the needle towards peace, but only further divide the world.”
Last month’s letter from a group of more than 1,000 Swedish artists — this year’s Eurovision will be held in the the Swedish city of Malmö from May 7-11 — requested that Israel be barred from participating over it’s “brutal” response to the Hamas attack, citing the “humanitarian disaster” in Gaza.
“We who sign this are 1,000 artists who believe in music as a unifying force. The Eurovision song contest began as a peace project with the ambition to unite countries and citizens through music,” read the Swedish letter, whose signers included Robyn, First Aid Kit and Fever Ray. “Allowing Israel’s participation undermines not only the spirit of the competition but the entire public service mission. It also sends the signal that governments can commit war crimes without consequences. Therefore, we appeal to the EBU: Exclude Israel from the Eurovision song contest 2024.”
To date, the 130-day war has reportedly led to the deaths of more than 28,000 Palestinians, the destruction of much of the Gaza Strip’s infrastructure and the displacement of more than one million Gazans. The Swedish letter joined earlier, similar requests to exclude Israel from more than 1,400 artists in Finland and Iceland.
The open letter from Creative Community for Peace — the first public call of its kind from the entertainment industry voicing unequivocal support of Israel’s inclusion in the contest — highlights Eurovision’s ability to unify people from diverse backgrounds and music’s power to effect positive change in the world.
Other signatories to the open letter include: Julianna Marguiles, Ginnifer Goodwin, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., Skylar Astin, Atlantic Records Group CEO Julie Greenwald, Universal Music Publishing Group CEO Jody Gerson, Warner Records CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck, Patricia Heaton, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Disturbed’s David Draiman, Tom Arnold, Columbia Pictures chairman Tom Rothman and MRC co-founder/co-CEO Modi Wiczyk.
The letter notes that Israel has a long and storied Eurovision history — including hosting in 1979, 1999 and 2019 and winning in 1978, 1979, 1998 and 2018 — while offering up a diverse group of contestants representing the Palestinian, Ethiopian and LGBTQIA+ communities. “Furthermore, we believe that unifying events such as singing competitions are crucial to help bridge our cultural divides and unite people of all backgrounds through their shared love of music,” it reads.
“The annual Eurovision Song Contest embodies this unifying spirit. Every year, millions of people across Europe and around the world join in a massive display of cultural exchange and celebration of music. Those who are calling for Israel’s exclusion are subverting the spirit of the Contest and turning it from a celebration of unity into a tool of politics.” Click here to see the full letter.
A group of artists in Sweden, this year’s Eurovision host country, are requesting that Israel be barred from participating in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest over the nation’s “brutal” war in Gaza. In an open letter signed by more than 1,000 Swedish musicians published in the Swedish paper Aftonbladet, the artists decried the “humanitarian disaster” in Gaza in the wake of Israel’s punishing response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel that saw militants killing more than 1,200 Israelis — mostly civilians — and taking more than 250 hostages.
“We who sign this are 1,000 artists who believe in music as a unifying force. The Eurovision song contest began as a peace project with the ambition to unite countries and citizens through music,” read the letter. “Allowing Israel’s participation undermines not only the spirit of the competition but the entire public service mission. It also sends the signal that governments can commit war crimes without consequences. Therefore, we appeal to the EBU: Exclude Israel from the Eurovision song contest 2024.”
Among the signers of the letter published on Monday (Jan. 29) are such acts as Robyn, Fever Ray and First Aid Kit and Malena Ernman, the opera singing mother of teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, as well as hundreds of other dancers, artists, DJs and choreographers. The letter notes that the now 115-day-old war has reportedly led to the deaths of more than 25,000 Palestinians — including 10,000 children — leading to the destruction of “civilian infrastructure, caused inhumane living conditions and forced 85 percent of the population to flee.”
It noted that the International Court of Justice in the Hague recently took up the case of alleged genocide brought by South Africa, ruling that Israel must act to prevent and punish any public incitements to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, to preserve evidence related to any allegations of genocide in the territory, as well as improve humanitarian conditions for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
“The fact that countries that place themselves above humanitarian law are welcomed to participate in international cultural events trivialises violations of international law and makes the suffering of the victims invisible,” the Swedish letter stated. The missive joins earlier similar requests to exclude Israel from more than 1,400 artists in Finland and Iceland. This year’s Eurovision contest is slated to take place in Malmö from May 7-11.
The earlier Finnish note asked the Finnish Broadcasting Company to boycott the competition and refuse to send a Finnish delegation if the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) — which runs Eurovision — doesn’t weigh in to take action. The various efforts are similar to ones made in 2022 following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine; Russia was subsequently banned from that year’s contest after organizers said inclusion would “bring the competition into disrepute.” That year’s edition was won by the Ukrainian rap/folk group Kalush Orchestra. At press time a spokesperson for Eurovision 2024 had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on the Swedish letter.
“We believe that by allowing Israel’s participation, the EBU is exhibiting a remarkable double standard that undermines the organization’s credibility,” read the Swedish letter.
According to The Guardian, the EBU previously announced that Israel would not be excluded from this year’s contest, while emphasizing that the wildly popular, often outrageous musical contest is apolitical and that it is a battle between public service broadcasters, not states. The paper also reported that Iceland’s national broadcaster, RÚV, said its decision on whether to boycott or participate in Eurovision will be made in mid-March by the winner of its song competition, Söngvakeppnin.
Israel, which has been participating in Eurovision since 1973, has won the competition four times, including in 1978 (Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, “A-Ba-Ni-Bi”), 1979 (Milk and Honey, “Hallelujah”), 1998 (Dana International, “Diva”) and 2018 (Netta Barzilai, “Toy”). A recent article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz noted that despite its track record of wins, Israel is no longer the oddmakers’ favorite to win Eurovision this year amid the growing calls for a boycott over the Gaza war; the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation and Keshet are in the process of choosing this year’s Eurovision act via the competition show HaKokhav HaBa (Rising Star).
Shaul Greenglick, an Israeli soldier and Eurovision Song Contest hopeful, has died in combat amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The 26-year-old singer was one of three soldiers recently reported dead by the Israel Defense Forces, per The Times of Israel, following Israel’s intensified ground operations in Palestine. The country has been in active war […]
Israel’s former prime minister Naftali Bennett offered an odd piece of advice to Israelis looking to uncover Hamas militants posing as soldiers in the Israel Defense Force. In a message shared with Channel 12 News Israel, Bennett advised viewers to be skeptical of soldiers saying they were with the IDF knocking on their door by […]
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.
Loreen very nearly made it two wins in the space of a week.
Sweden’s representative at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest won by a landslide with “Tattoo”. And in the U.K., “Tattoo” (via UMG International) has made a big impression with music fans, as it gathered momentum through the chart week.
“Tattoo” debuts at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published last Friday (May 19), in a tight race won by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding’s “Miracle” (Columbia).
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According to the Official Charts Company, “Miracle” clocked up a market-leading 5.1 million U.K. streams during the latest seven-day stretch, for its sixth non-consecutive week at No. 1.
Meanwhile, Loreen lands a new career high, beating the No. 3 best for “Euphoria,” her winning entry from the 2012 Eurovision.
“Tattoo” leads a “record-breaking” charge for Eurovision songs in the U.K. top 10, the OCC reports, as Finland act Käärijä’s “Cha Cha Cha” (No. 6 via WM Finland), U.K. entry Mae Muller’s “I Wrote A Song” (up 45-9 via Capitol) and Norway singer Alessandra’s “Queen of Kings” (No. 10 via Universal Music AS) all enter the top tier for the first time, following the recent song contest, the final of which took place held at May 13 at Liverpool’s M&S Arena.
Further down the list, Chicago hip-hop artist Lil Durk bags his third U.K. top 40 appearance as “All My Life” (Ministry of Sound) featuring J Cole starts at No. 17, while east coast drill rapper Lil Mabu cracks the top 40 for the first time with “Mathematical Disrespect” (Lil Mabu), new at No. 27.
Finally, two songs are enjoying revivals for totally different reasons. Florence + The Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over” (Island), which appeared on the English act’s 2009 album Lungs, is on the rise following its sync to Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. It’s up 27-21.
And as the U.K. leg of her Renaissance World Tour gets underway, Beyonce’s “Cuff It” (Columbia/Parkwood Ent) reenters the chart at No. 24.
Sweden’s Loreen overcame strong competition from Finland and Israel to win 2023’s Eurovision Song Contest in a closely fought final that featured guest appearances from Queen drummer Roger Taylor and, in a pre-recorded video, the Princess of Wales.
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39-year-old Loreen, whose real name is Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui, was the fans and bookmakers’ frontrunner going into Saturday’s Grand Final, held in Liverpool, England, on behalf of war-torn Ukraine.
Having previously triumphed in the annual competition in 2012, Loreen is the first woman to win the contest twice. Her song “Tattoo,” a bombastic electro-pop ballad, placed first with 583 points.
“The only thing I feel right now is so much love. Not in my wildest dreams did I think this was going to happen,” said the singer in a press conference that took place immediately after the show wrapped.
Finnish rapper Käärijä, one of the breakout stars of this year’s Eurovision thanks to his song “Cha Cha Cha” and eye-catching costume of spikey black trousers paired with green bolero sleeves, came second with 526 points.
It is the seventh victory for Sweden in the contest’s 67-year history, equalling Ireland as the country with the most Eurovision wins. The first Swedish act to take home the crown was ABBA in 1974 with “Waterloo.” Prior to Loreen, Sweden’s most recent win came in 2015 with Måns Zelmerlöw’s “Heroes.” The only other artist to win Eurovision twice is Ireland’s Johnny Logan, who finished top in 1980 and 1987.
The rest of the top five was made up of Israel (362 points), Italy (350 points) and Norway (268 points).
The United Kingdom is hosting this year’s Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine, which won 2022’s competition with “Stefania” by Ukrainian rap-folk band Kalush Orchestra (the U.K. finished second through Sam Ryder’s “Space Man”). The tag-line for this year’s event is “United By Music,” referencing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The home city of Ukraine’s Eurovision act, Tvorchi, was hit by Russian missiles moments before the act took to the stage in Liverpool, according to reports. Two people were injured in the attack in Ternopil, Western Ukraine, the chief of the regional state administration, Volodymyr Trush, said.
Writing on Instagram after their performance, Tvorchi said: “Ternopil is the name of our hometown, which was bombed by Russia while we sang on the Eurovision stage about our steel hearts, indomitability and will.”
“Europe, unite against evil for the sake of peace,” said the Ukrainian duo.
It is the first time that the U.K. has held the contest in 25 years, although being the host country was no advantage to the country’s entry, Mae Muller. She finished second to last with her track “I Wrote a Song” picking up just 24 points.
26 acts competed in Saturday’s final, held at Liverpool’s 11,000-capacity M&S Bank Arena, including artists from the so-called “big five” countries: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, who automatically qualify for the main show because of their broadcaster’s financial contributions to the event. (The other 20 finalists qualified via two semi-finals, held earlier in the week. Ukraine also got a free pass to the final as reigning winners).
Kalush Orchestra opened the show with a spirited run through their 2022 winning song “Stefania” and new single “Changes,” joined by a procession of drummers wearing pink bucket hats in homage to the band’s frontman Oleh Psiuk.
Prior to arriving onstage, Kalush Orchestra featured in a pre-recorded opening film, part filmed in a metro station in Kyiv, Ukraine, that also contained guest appearances from British stars Joss Stone, Sam Ryder, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and, in a surprise 10-second cameo, a piano playing Princess of Wales.
The princess, who learned to play the instrument as a child, recorded her contribution at Windsor Castle earlier this month, said organizers after the segment aired.
Following the opening performance, the Eurovision Grand Final was a characteristically flamboyant mix of kitsch Euro pop, overwrought ballads, elaborate PVC costumes, and soaring rock ballads, interspersed with a jolt of head-banging glam metal courtesy of Germany’s Lord of the Lost.
Among the highlights were Austria’s Teya & Salena, performing dance track “Who the Hell Is Edgar?,” named after American poet Edgar Allen Poe, and Poland’s Blanka, singing her breezy reggae-tinged song “Solo” backed by a troupe of colorfully dressed dancers.
France’s La Zarra was another crowd pleaser with her disco-flavored torch song “Évidemment,” passionately sung in French.
Blanca Paloma, representing Spain, energetically fused flamenco rhythms with pulsing synths and a sinuous melody, while Norway’s entry — a bodice-wearing Alessandra, singing “Queen of Kings” — drew a rapturous reception from fans inside the sold-out arena.
Israel’s Noa Kirel, one of the country’s biggest pop stars, was one of the strongest female solo acts with her bombastic track “Unicorn,” complete with an energetic 30-second dance breakdown.
The night’s biggest cheers, however, went to Finland’s Käärijä and the contest’s eventual winner, Loreen.
A standout moment from the four-hour-long final was a mid-show interval that saw a number of former Eurovision contestants deliver a medley of songs representing Liverpool’s illustrious musical heritage, beginning with Italy’s 2019 entry, Mahmood, singing John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
Also performing in the mid-show segment were Israel’s Netta, singing Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record),” Liverpool-born Sonia, who came second in Eurovision in 1993, and the Netherlands’ Duncan Lawrence, leading the crowd through a rousing cover of Gerry and the Pacemakers‘ “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Other non-competition performers included 2022 Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder singing his single “Mountain” backed by Queen’s Roger Taylor on drums.
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest was the first in the event’s long history where viewers from countries not taking part could vote, including the United States where Saturday’s final — and the two preceding semi-finals — was streamed on Peacock. Viewer votes make up 50% of the final result, with the remainder determined by a professional jury from each participating country.
As per the two semi-finals, the show’s hosts were British TV personality and singer Alesha Dixon, Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina. Joining them for the final was another U.K. TV star, Irish comedian Graham Norton.
Last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, held in Turin, Italy, was watched by 161 million people across 34 countries, according to organizers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), making it the world’s biggest music competition.
LIVERPOOL, U.K. — On Saturday, 26 music acts from Europe, Israel and Australia — many dressed in a dazzling display of outlandish outfits — will take the stage at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena to compete in the Grand Final of what can justifiably call itself the biggest music competition in the world: the Eurovision Song Contest.
When it comes to music television shows, Eurovision, taking place this year in Liverpool on behalf of war-torn Ukraine, dwarfs them all. More than 161 million people across 34 countries watched last year’s show, held in Turin, Italy and won by Ukrainian rap-folk band Kalush Orchestra, an increase of 7 million viewers (4.5%) from 2021, according to organizers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
In audience terms, that puts Eurovision ahead of the Super Bowl, the biggest annual U.S. television event, which drew 113 million TV and online viewers for February’s contest. Comparing to awards shows, 12.5 million viewers tuned into this year’s Grammy Awards, a rise of 31% year-on-year, while 2022’s MTV Video Music Awards averaged 3.9 million viewers, up 3% on the prior edition. This year’s Brit Awards, the U.K.’s biggest music awards show, also drew a television audience of just under 4 million.
While many viewers in the United States and United Kingdom have long regarded Eurovision as little more than a kitsch joke with novelty costumes, the song contest’s enormous audience gives it an unrivaled reach as a marketing platform, making the competition – famous for introducing ABBA to the world — an increasingly attractive launching pad for record labels to develop artists.
Netflix 2020 musical comedy film “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga,” starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, further elevated the event’s international profile, introducing its idiosyncrasies to a wider global audience.
But it was the success of Italian rock band Måneskin, whose international career exploded after winning 2021’s contest with “Zitti e buoni” (Shut up and behave) that “changed the game completely” in how executives and labels approach the competition, says Andrea Rosi, CEO of Sony Music Italy, which counts Måneskin on its roster.
Earlier this week, the Italian act played a sold-out show at London’s 20,000-capacity The O2 arena, while the band’s most recent album, Rush!, topped the charts in multiple countries and debuted at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 in January – Måneskin’s highest ever U.S. chart placing.
In the past, Eurovision “was not so important for the Italian market,” and there were some years when it was not televised in Italy at all, says Rosi. “Now the picture is completely different. National television is giving much more space to the [competition] and it brings massive exposure to the artists [taking part] across the world.”
Italy’s entry in Eurovision’s 67th edition, which wraps up Saturday, is Marco Mengoni, already an established star in his home country, who came seventh in the competition 10 years ago and is signed to Sony Music Italy. Rosi is confident that Mengoni’s song, “Due Vite” (Two Lives), a soaring orchestral ballad sung in Italian, will help open up new markets for the artist.
Ahead of the competition, which kicked off Tuesday with the first of two semi-finals, Sony Music Italy worked with its international label partners to devise an extensive marketing campaign to build Mengoni’s profile in Europe. Last month, he played club dates in France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. A larger follow-up European tour, promoted by Live Nation, is scheduled for the fall. This summer, Mengoni will play a series of sold-out stadium shows in Italy, wrapping July 15 at Rome’s Circus Maximus.
Since being selected in February to represent his home nation at Eurovision, Mengoni’s “Due Vite” has topped the charts in Italy and, says Rosi, is now “starting to have traction” in other European countries, including Germany and Switzerland. “It’s been a long time [since] an Italian pop artist has been successful outside Italy,” he says. “We have big hopes for Marco.”
As one of the so-called ‘big five’ countries taking part in Eurovision, Italy’s entry automatically qualifies for a place in Saturday’s grand final because of their broadcaster’s financial contributions to the event. The rest of the big five is made up of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain, while Ukraine also receives a free pass as last year’s winner. In total, 37 countries are taking part in Liverpool across two semi-finals and the main show.
Among this year’s favorites to win is Sweden’s Loreen, who won the competition in 2012. Her 2023 Eurovision entry “Tattoo” has earned around 20 million combined views on YouTube. (The singer’s official Eurovision video has 3.8 million views).
Another hotly tipped act is Finnish rapper Käärijä, whose catchy entry “Cha Cha Cha” has generated around 15 million combined views on YouTube, by Billboard’s calculations. Since being first released in January, the song has been streamed more than 18 million times and has become “the biggest phenomenon ever in Eurovision history in Finland,” says a spokesperson for Warner Music Finland.
The publicity has given a massive boost to Käärijä’s profile. At the start of the year, the artist had around 1,500 followers on TikTok. Following the first semi-final on Tuesday, that number had grown to just under 100,000. Monthly listens on Spotify have jumped from just under 50,000 in January to 1.2 million.
Käärijä is one of four Warner Music entries in this year’s contest – the others being Austria’s Teya & Salena’s “Who The Hell Is Edgar?”, Reiley’s “Breaking My Heart representing Denmark and Polish singer and model Blanka, whose song “Solo” marks her debut for the label. Since its release in November, “Solo’s official video has had 23 million views, while Spotify streams have crossed 10 million — largely fueled by the publicity from Eurovision.
Hubert Augustyniak, head of non-urban A&R at Warner Music Poland, is confident that competing in the competition can help break Blanka outside her home market, where, he says, Eurovision has already made her a “really well-known” star.
“It is not easy to do international marketing when you are a Polish label,” says Augustyniak, “so this is a huge opportunity for us.”