Vincent: 65 years of history
My rankings haven’t changed much since last year, to be quite frank, as I try to resist much of the recency bias. My tastes and old-fashionedness make my Top 10 quite diverse in terms of years, a bit less so in terms of genres, or countries/languages, as songs which I tend to prefer are songs which I can quickly understand (and I speak French, English and Italian). But it certainly fits me.
- Insieme : 1992 (Italy 1990)
- Refrain (Switzerland 1956)
- Non mi avete fatto niente (Italy 2018)
- C’est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison (France 1991)
- La Source (France 1968)
- Arcade (The Netherlands 2019)
- Rise Like A Phoenix (Austria 2014)
8 Points: Euphoria (Sweden 2012)
Like many Eurovision fans, I love “Euphoria”. But it’s not just out of hype. Like many people, I like the melody, I like the performance, I like listening to the song. But I also like and love its structure. Because it is built like a sort of euphoria too. The starting horns symbolise the trigger of the emotion, then the first verse and lines slowly building up to the chorus, like a moment out of time and space, just like such feeling would build up to finally explode and gives you the most impressive energy, the will to sing, or run, or shout, without shackles, like the chorus makes you feel. And a true, authentic, good euphoria lasts for a short period of time, an hour or two, sometimes easily revived, just like the chorus comes back. An everlasting piece of art indeed.
10 Points: Molitva (Serbia 2007)
There is something deeply good, softly enjoyable about Molitva’s melody. It is just one of the nicest thing there is for one’s hear. It naturally grows powerful over 3 minutes, and strikes you with vocal and emotional might in the end. The story is heartfelt, authentic, and feels personal for Marija. As for the performance, it suits the song perfectly.
Honorable Mention: Spirit In The Sky (Norway 2019)
My my, how unoriginal right ? I love it but I couldn’t put it in my “all time Top 10”, yet I wish to make it appear because I have a bit of a bound with this song. I first attended a Eurovision event during the 2019 season, Eurovision in Concert, in Amsterdam, and of all the songs I’ve listened to, danced to and sung along to during these hours of music and party, “Spirit in the Sky” was the one that got me dancing and singing the most. Nothing was better than shouting “I hear you calling me at niiiiiiiiiiiiiiight” !
12 Points: Rock’n’Roll Kids (Ireland 1994)
My favourite song of the contest, something that hasn’t changed in years. The best story ever told. Yes, it is specific to them, yes it talks of a specific period and isn’t afraid to use cultural references. And nothing’s softer than Paul Harrington singing “Jerry Lee was big and Elvis too”. It works anyway because through their story (which, assumedly isn’t completely theirs, with their ages not matching the song), we can hear the story of all our childhoods, or young years. We’re all the kids of a time we cannot not yearn for, and I’ve never found a song better than this one to sing it. It’s poetry, it’s relatable, it’s beautiful, soft, it’s just two guys, a guitar, a piano, no orchestra, no props. It’s the best.
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