The winning countries: 7 x Ireland, 6 x Sweden, 5 x Netherlands, 5 x United Kingdom, 5 x France, 5 x Luxemburg, 4 x Israel, 3 x Denmark, 3 x Norway, 2 x Germany, 2 x Spain, 2 x Italy, 2 x Switzerland, 2 x Ukraine, 2 x Austria, 1 x: Russia, Belgium, Monaco, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Greece, Estonia, Letvia, Serbia, Yugoslavia, Finland, Portugal.
But then you won with one of the most beautiful entries of all time. and that magical moment, when Salvador Sobral sung with his sister Luisa the winning performance. i will never forget. later i´ve seen salvador sobral at a concert, and it was one of the best concerts of my life.
@@happyhawaii0711 So glad to hear it, I hear so much hate to his song for some reason, even though he won both juries and televote lol. It was indeed a magical moment :)
ABBA'S Waterloo (1974) was one of the rare Eurovision winners that was a huge hit in North America. Reaching #6 on Billboard Hot 100 in the US, #7 in Canada.
France hasn't actually dominated. But the French language used to dominate the beginning of the competition. French is spoken in many European countries. Not just France. (Luxembourg, Switzerland, France, Monaco, Belgium) The wins are divided between those countries. Luxembourg winning most. Also, many non French speaking countries have decided to sing in French instead of English or their native tongue. (You can sing in any language you want)
4 victories for Luxembourg was with French singers, 1 by a Greek singer. Monaco's victory had a French singer too. It wasn't a domination of France, but a domination of the French singers until early 80s.
Incorrect. Each country had to sing in their own language (or any natively spoken language) until a rule change in 1973. Since then English has dominated as the language of choice.
Incorrect again, the language rule changed back in the 80's and you had to sing in your country's language until 1997, then yes it was free for all, even with made up languages
@@ImFrancis01 Dude after not knowing ABBA and then you didn't even recognize Celine Dion i thought it was a lost cause for you. Seriously though there are also some famous songs that didn't win though. For example Italy in 1958. That song is heard by most people and many don't even know it was a Eurovision song.
Bro, Luxemburg is a country, I think you thought that was France winning, because they always won singing in french, but, actually, is a independent nation who's official language is french. But, apart of that, I invite you to watch Eurovision next week, specially the Grand Final, on may 22th, it's a great show!!
OMG, right? Like... ABBA is second best selling band ever existed (just behind The Beatles) and how he didn't even heard about them? 😅 ABBA IS THE BEST BAND EVER EXISTED FOR ME 🤩😍🤩😍🤩
@@ImFrancis01 a world Cup match is on par but depends whose in the final. So it might be a huge watch in the countries playing but not necessarily the entire world.
I'm actually surprised you never heard Euphoria and Heroes. They were huge radio hit (and not every winner is hit lol). At least here in Europe, thought it could be similar in US 🤔
Also the basics about ESC, it’s a song competition not a singing one so when looking at Eurovision entries everything is taken into account, voice, staging, lyrics, message, the energy of the performer. Being over the top and dramatic usually pays off in ESC, the whole event is just a big party that keeps Europeans from going at war with each other (there is also a geo-political side to voting, but that’s a can of worms for another time). Also NEVER take ESC too seriously, it’s a fun festival to bring families and friends together and in the end the voting is the most entertaining part of the night, usually people make bets, rankings with their friends and families, most of us that watch it regularly even throw Eurovision parties and it’s ingrained in European culture, most of us watching it since we were between the ages of 5 to 10.
The Eurovision started with 7 countries in 1956. There are now 39 countries that take part (the latest country added was Australia!).There is a rap by Russia in the final this year. There is also an American Song Contest that will feature all 50 states competing against each other starting from 2022z
@@ImFrancis01 I was going to suggest the same thing. There are vids which give a short preview of all the 2021 entries. Would be great to see your reaction.
@@ImFrancis01 It became unfair, because everyone is used to listening to music in English, so that's why the UK and Ireland won so many times in a row. Now you never know who could win because there is no language barrier anymore
No its not an annual singing competition The clue is in the name - Eurovision SONG Contest - each song submited is an newly written song which has not been previously published/recorded.
Everybody’s talking about how they are shocked that you didn’t recognize ABBA or Celine Dion, while I’m just freaking out over the fact that you actually said “Netherlands” and not Holland. Like wow dude, there are soo many people who don’t know that Holland isn’t the Country (like even countries next to the Netherlands haha)!
Well I live at the dutch border - and even though I know the difference between holland and netherlands - many dutch people that I talk to say they are from holland (even though they do not live close to the province of north nor south holland).
Ireland went on a crazy run in the 90s. 4 wins and two 2nd places in 6 or 7 years, not to mention the Norwegian entry that won inbetween had an Irish violinist. Riverdance was also introduced to the world during Eurovision at this time. Haha...also Lordi gets everyone!
7:13 the most important act of all times in Eurovision Song Contest ABBA win in England 1974 with your iconic song "Waterloo" It's the first victory to Sweden It's the first worldwide hit to ABBA It's a change in Eurovision history It's the begining of a Legend in rock & pop music history: ABBA, the most important and revolutionary group beside BEATLES And after years "Waterloo" still was voted the Best Song in all editions of Eurovision Song Contest
@@ImFrancis01 I see You react "Dancing Queen" now I hope to react "Waterloo" at this Eurovision Song Contest in UK 1974 this week is Eurovision 2021 and new pools shows "Waterloo" the Best or/and Most Popular song of all Eurovision history
Two acts started a worldwide career after eurovision: ABBA (1974) and Celine Dion (1988). pretty sure you know some of their songs. i´m glad you know "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence(2019), who is still on charts after 2 years, one of my favourite winners of all time.
@@ImFrancis01 Well it is the Italian rock band Måneskin that won the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Zitti E Buoni" Check it at UA-cam with /watch?v=RVH5dn1cxAQ
Eurovision is basically a network of tv channels which was set up to swap news stories between them. Back in the 1950s tv was still in its infancy (the first transmission from France to the UK, which are only 22 miles apart, was only in 1950), and they thought up this song contest as a fun way to test the technology. In 1956 they started with only 7 competing countries, each with 2 songs (the UK’s entry arrived too late so they’ve only competed since 1957!), but by the late 1980s it had spread to most of western Europe and around the Mediterranean (Morocco competed once, but generally the Arab countries won’t compete in a year Israel’s in it). Although it was communist, Yugoslavia competed since the 1970s and actually won in 1990, just a few years before the country collapsed in the civil war. After the Iron Curtain fell in 1989/90 the ex-communist countries to the east joined in over the next few years (they’d had their own “Intervision Song Contest” before this), so the number of participating countries exploded (Yugoslavia split into 6 countries, and the USSR now has 10 countries competing from where it was, and Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, and Azerbaijan have all won, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, and Georgia haven’t) - this led to the introduction of semi-finals to cut down the length of the final show (but it was atill 4 hours long this year). From the 60th anniversary show, Australia was invited to participate too, because they’ve been very keen on the show for decades!
That"pretty boy good vocals" Irish winner 1980 is the king of the Eurovision Song Contest and a legend. Johnny Logan won twice, in 1980 and 1987. He also composed the winning song 1992. I believe you must have heard Abba the winner in 1974, Sweden and Aleksander Rybak winner 2009, Norway those are the two who have come the most well known for the world afterwards, Also Conchita Wurst, winner 2014 but she preforms more as Tom Neuwirth now days, I think.
1992 song Johnny composed was sung by Linda Martin - who also sang "Terminal 3" which Johnny composed and came second in 19884 - So Johnny composed 2 winners and 1 runner-up
Did you know the singer of belgium (Sandra Kim) won at only thirtheen years old and you actually have to be fiftheen years old to participate and the song is still know everywhere in belgium j'aime la vie (i love live)
There weren't any age regulations at the time. But in the song she sang "J'ai quinze ans ...." which means "I am fifteen"..." therefore the audience thought she was 15 but there had already been contestants before and after her who were also quite young. Luxembourg in 1969 send a 12 year old. After Sandra Kim won there was a discussion about age regulation. In 1989 there were 3(!) contestants who were minors. For France they send a 11, almost 12 year old. Israel also had a 12 year old and another country send a 16 year old. After that year age regulations were enforced. Contestants have to turn 16 in the year of the contest.
@@ImFrancis01 well, firstly because these is the amount of countries on the continent, secondary, because with time and TV, which was introduced the year when ESC started, the contest gained popularity. Therefore with years countries wished to win it. In 90's was the biggest boom , due to falling of the Berlin wall and a lot of Eastern block countries entered the contest. Israel were added in the 70's and one year when they did not took part due to religious holiday Morocco entered for the first and last time (the ended last that year), on the 60'th contest Australia, as big fan of the show was invited as a guest, and if public liked they were promised further invitation (to clarify countries which might take part in the contest MUST be part of EBU, otherwise, because Australia is part of commonwealth ,i.e. Great Britain they are allowed and for now the invitation will last until 2023 (unless Australia decide to withdraw)). In future many fans hopes for Kazakhstan to enter main ESC, but for now they and Kosovo are not allowed, due to not been part of EBU. Many countries withdrawn (especially small ones) - Monaco, Luxembourg and Andorra due to no chance to win and huge expenses to participate. The money problem made to withdraw Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro. Hungary and Turkey withdraw due to and i quote pro-LGBT+ social politics of the contest, and neighbours favoritism, and demanded for ESC to change those things in order to come back. Some countries come and go from year to year depends on their financial or political situation, for example Belarus was banned this year due to sending very political pro-Lukashenko song, twice. After the first time they were given chance to change the song to any other non political and they send another political one. Some countries due to political conflicts withdraw- Armenia this year. So it is a very complex thing. :) I hope i helped. P.S.: sorry for the long text!
FunFact: The 1986 winner (Sandra Kim) actually won the competition illegally because she was only 13 yo instead of the required 15. Now is the required age 16 btw
The rules changed a bit throughout the history. First it was a jury vote, then for some time televote (voting by phone), now it's combination of both. In the beginning countries to send entries in their own language too.
@@ImFrancis01 Now it's combination of both - voting by phone/internet and jury vote (that was reintroduced after people complained countries vote for their allied countries :D)
@@ImFrancis01 I think one reason people voted for their neighbors... because well, for example the Balkans have simmilar languages and taste in music. They probably heard the singers on radio many times before, so they vote for what they know. Same with Scandinavia.
When Dana of EIRE won 1970, reportedly the head of RTE (Ireland's broadcasting network) said to Dana, 'How dare you win... We can't afford it!' Also Madrid '69 had four winners, simply because the Eurovision committee realised they had no plans for what happens if there's a draw! After this, a contingency was made for a revote to happen in case of a draw.
Countries like France and the UK had a pretty big advantage at the start because you were only allowed to sing in your native language back then. Less spoken or more generally unappealing languages did not do as well.
As you say there was no Eurovision in 2020 beacuse fo COVID-19. But we had 41 qualifying songs for 2020. We should not ignore the quality. Many of the artists are the same because many countries decided sending the same 2020 artist but with a new song
Hi. I just watched your video, and I had a lot of fun doing so. I live in Latvia, which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002, and I was the Latvian voice for the contest during the 2000s. Just a couple of notes. In the early years, you were right, there were not many countries competing. As the number of countries expanded, especially after the breakup of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, the contest had to introduce semifinals because there were just too many for a single concert. I don't know if you watched the 2021 contest, but 10 acts from each semifinal proceed to the finals, and the big five countries of the EBU -- UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy -- get a bye straight into the finals because they are the ones that provide the most financing for the EBU. Apart from that, the first Swedish group that you saw and said that you had not recognized any songs -- that was ABBA, and I would imagine that you have at least heard of them. And the first winner for Switzerland in 1988 -- that was Celine Dion. So anyway, thanks for an enjoyable 20 minutes!
What I noticed is that you have genuine curiosity and expressive comments. I really really like to know which three you loved the best in all the winners you watched after those few second snippets. It would be fascinating.
I don´t think you will ever see hip hop winning the Eurovision since it´s quite an american culture. Each country represent something about the artist, but mostly about their country.
@@ImFrancis01 Because he is famous even in europe people know of him and they hoped to get more votes because of it from the younger people. San Marino is very small as well and usually they dont even make the finals so it wasnt a complete disaster for them. It has happend before that countries chose already famous people to compete to get an advantage e.g. Germany sent Lena again the next year bc she already won once or Ireland sent one guy 3 times and he won all 3. Cant think of another example right now but it happens more often than youd think
Great video! I’m surprised you haven’t heard Waterloo before though!😳 Maybe you’ve heard Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia or Gimme Gimme since they are the most famous ABBA songs world wide?:)
Just to clarify one thing, it is a song contest, not a singer contest. Because you made a remark on individual contestants and groups. Whose up there doesn't matter, it is about the song. That is, it should be, but it is appears to be also about presentation, politics and statements. That's what makes it fun too. It can be camp, but it is entertaining. It started after WW-2, to allow European countries to compete in a peaceful manner. That's why they came up with song competition. Just so you understands where it is coming from. For many people the most fun part is the giving of the scores. Switching to all the capitals of the participating countries and seeing the professional juries giving the final points. And lately that is completed with the points coming from televoting, which completely can change the outcome. Altogether a very exiting event. Especially when you are sitting at home with a group of people, watching and making your own top 5 and see if it plays out that way. And of course also giving nasty comments on the performances, singing qualities and clothing of the participants. Thats part of it too.
The progression off music and what genre that is popular throughout the years are very prominante in this video. However, bare in mind that it only shows the winner. When you say I haven't seen any hip-hop, it's because a song like that has yet to win. But so many genres have graced us with their prescense through out the years such as pop, rock, jazz, country, ballads, hip-hop and more. Seeing as you caught on that some countires appear more than others on this list, perhaps you'd like to see their countrys representative throughout the years? :)
4:56 "france" Luxembourg: are we a joke to you??? (We're an independent country and our native language is luxembourgish, i don't know why they always sang in french back then) (Loved your reaction tho)
Hey @Drogbajr 003, There are three live shows. 2 semi-finals with around 17 countries in both, where 10 countries will qualify for Saturday's final. In the final, there are 6 pre-qualified songs. These are called The Big-5 (Italy, Spain, Germany, UK, and France) because without their payment it won't be able to have a Eurovision. Alongside the Big-5, also the host country is pre-qualified. The reason is that the host country organized such a big event (200 million viewers) and is rewarded for organizing. The winner is based on 50-50 jury and televoters. Every country gives its top 10 points. the number one gets 12 points, number 2 gets 10 points, number 3 gets 8 points and places 4-10 get 7 to 1 points. The winner is the country with the highest amount of points.
I think it is really interesting to see a American react tot this use ass competition, in Europa almost everyone knows all the songs. I like how you give your honest opinion, and not all the France songs are actually from France but in Europe the most spoken language I think is France so that’s why. Also yes it has been evolved in 1956 (the first ever held contest) there were only 7 countries with each 2 songs. This year there were 39 participants of the 50 countries who can participate. If you have any questions left ask me, you can say I’m a huge fan who almost knows everything about this contest.
@@ImFrancis01 honestly you are missing out! I'd love to see a video reaction or something on ABBA, because they are the Kings and Queens of Eurovision. So many famous people became succesful thanks to Eurovision, like ABBA, Celinde Dion, Katrina and the waves (well technically they were already famous, but got even more famous after winning, just like Olivia Newton John who was in second place)
In the beginning the competition was one about the songwriting/composing of the songs and not the singers that presented the songs it was called the "eurovision de la chanson". Nowadays it expanded very much (even australia is part of it now, don't know why though 😅 maybe because they still are part of the british commonwelth?) and it's more about the singig/entertainment than the songwriting aspect. I still enjoy it very much and love watching it. Yes i'm outing me 😄
Yes it should 😄 it still is considered a song contest not e singing contest, but honestly, it doesn't do so anymore. You saw the change from plain singing to big show and entertainment and since the viewers can vote too (which wasn't the case in the beginning) it's not the same anymore. If you watch the last two contests (2019 and 2021) you can see that very clearly because they changed the voting system. Now you can see the difference in the votings of the jury (which are music professionals) and the viewers very clear 💁♀️ the voting of the viewers also is often politically influenced.
Even in countries like Russia is mandatory sometimes to learn French from first or second grade if the school is with profound french language learning and second, third grade if a average school, but,keep in mind even in UK or Sweden they have to learn a second or third language german but it depends on students wish mostly.
The competition was first a celebration of peaceful cooperation in Europe. Now it is a big big fest, there is strong LGBT aspect to it (it's so so so campy. There are some controversies with "block voting" (people voting for their neightbors). In the beginning there was just few countries competing, now it's over 40 including Australia.
@@ImFrancis01 hope you are learning that there is a big wide world outside of the US as most Americans seem to think that the world starts and finishes in the US
This year, the 1st semi-final is on the 18th of may, the 2nd semi-final is on the 20th of may and the final on the 22nd of may. For you in US, it will be, i think, on the night, for example, the final will be in the night between the 22nd and the 23rd of may. In Europe it will be the 22nd of may at 9h00 pm and it last around 3h45 mn so, will finish around 0h45 am on the 23rd of may. In the 1st semi-final, 16 countries wiill participate and 10 of them will qualify for the final (chosen by jury & televoting) In the 2nd semi-final, 17 countries will participate and 10 of them will qualify for the final (by jury & televoting again) In the final, the 20 countries qualified + the host country (this year, the Netherlands) + the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain & UK) will participate and the jury & the televoting of each country participating will choose the winner The Big 5 are the 5 countries that give the most of money (excepting the host country) to organize Eurovision so, they get a special spot in the final to thanks them to allows the organization of the contest. Please, react to the eurovision 2021 recap and please, watch at least the final to fully understand it. If you want to look at other contest to fully understand it, i suggest you 2009, 2016, 2018 & 2019. 2009 was one of the best year in term of level of songs. 2016 was my favorite year, it was almost perfect. 2018 was one of the best year in term of level of songs. 2019 was the last contest and was a good year too. Please, watch the 2016 final, it was perfect, the level of the songs was very high, the stagings were amazaing, the best hosts ever, the introduction of a new voting system, interval act perform by Justin Timberlake and last top 10 (to date) of my country (France)
To be fair, ABBA wasn't as big in the US as they were in Europe, Latin America, Australia and Japan. They only had one Billboard #1 (Dancing Queen). And that was ~20 years before he was born.
Dana International who won for Israel was (and still is presumably) a transgender woman, then we had the "bearded lady" who won with fly like a phoenix. I love the diversity that is accepted in Europe.
Part of the reason you don't recognize the songs is that the songs have to be original. So you won't hear a cover of an old favorite. And... well... let's just say the way the winner is decided (which has changed several times) isn't exactly a good indicator of a song's future popularity.
You have never heard of ABBA? Not even Mamma Mia? they literally have 2 whole movies that only use their songs (mama Mia (2008) and Mamma Mia Here We Go Again (2018) both with Meryl Streep
The 1961 song was written to relate the love between two men. But, as at the time it was frowned upon, the authors had made sure that the lyrics could be taken for a heterosexual couple. The singer was gay himself, but few knew it. Without the 1965 female singer, Frank Sinatra probably would never have performed "My Way". Because the original song "Comme d’habitude" was written by a singer (Claude François) after the female singer (France Gall) left him.
The winning countries: 7 x Ireland, 6 x Sweden, 5 x Netherlands, 5 x United Kingdom, 5 x France, 5 x Luxemburg, 4 x Israel, 3 x Denmark, 3 x Norway, 2 x Germany, 2 x Spain, 2 x Italy, 2 x Switzerland, 2 x Ukraine, 2 x Austria, 1 x: Russia, Belgium, Monaco, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Greece, Estonia, Letvia, Serbia, Yugoslavia, Finland, Portugal.
so you telling me Ireland is just killing it!
@@ImFrancis01 yes....but, the last victory was in 1996.
@@ImFrancis01 the but they not successful since the start of the 00's
@Happy and @Yovel I wanna see Ireland win now
@@ImFrancis01 not gonna happen. Very high chance that they not even qualify to the final this year
Abba: "...."
Celine Dion: "...."
Olsen Brothers: "I've heard of them!"
That alone deserves a thumbs up :D
Probably he didn't pay attention.
Dima, udo lindenberg, maybe nicole
(forgot the name from the dude from ire land and couple more sry)
I noticed that too 🤣🤣🤣…
"First time I've seen Portugal". Yeah, it took us 53 years to win Eurovision!
At least you guys have won it
But then you won with one of the most beautiful entries of all time. and that magical moment, when Salvador Sobral sung with his sister Luisa the winning performance. i will never forget. later i´ve seen salvador sobral at a concert, and it was one of the best concerts of my life.
That must have been one amazing moments
@@ImFrancis01 That is exactly what I wanted to say.
@@happyhawaii0711 So glad to hear it, I hear so much hate to his song for some reason, even though he won both juries and televote lol. It was indeed a magical moment :)
ABBA'S Waterloo (1974) was one of the rare Eurovision winners that was a huge hit in North America. Reaching #6 on Billboard Hot 100 in the US, #7 in Canada.
have to check it out
ABBA also sung Dancing Queen. Kinda surprised you did not recognize them.
You also missed Celine Dion in 1988.
yeah i missed celine Dion
France hasn't actually dominated. But the French language used to dominate the beginning of the competition. French is spoken in many European countries. Not just France. (Luxembourg, Switzerland, France, Monaco, Belgium) The wins are divided between those countries. Luxembourg winning most. Also, many non French speaking countries have decided to sing in French instead of English or their native tongue. (You can sing in any language you want)
I can see why earlier they were so dominate
4 victories for Luxembourg was with French singers, 1 by a Greek singer. Monaco's victory had a French singer too. It wasn't a domination of France, but a domination of the French singers until early 80s.
Incorrect. Each country had to sing in their own language (or any natively spoken language) until a rule change in 1973. Since then English has dominated as the language of choice.
Incorrect again, the language rule changed back in the 80's and you had to sing in your country's language until 1997, then yes it was free for all, even with made up languages
Gobsmacked that you didnt recognized ABBA and Celine Dion... 😳🤔
please don't smack me 😬
Hahaha.. 🤣 Music goes in mysterious ways ❤
yeah it does lol
@@ImFrancis01 or fairytale HAHA
I was also like WHAAAAT? No reaction???? :D
It's funny you mentioned that you don't know any of the songs right after ABBA
haha I have been told
@@ImFrancis01 Dude after not knowing ABBA and then you didn't even recognize Celine Dion i thought it was a lost cause for you.
Seriously though there are also some famous songs that didn't win though.
For example Italy in 1958. That song is heard by most people and many don't even know it was a Eurovision song.
haha well I am making it up with discovering them
Omg I love ABBA
It was funny that Toy was the one he had heard of.
Bro, Luxemburg is a country, I think you thought that was France winning, because they always won singing in french, but, actually, is a independent nation who's official language is french.
But, apart of that, I invite you to watch Eurovision next week, specially the Grand Final, on may 22th, it's a great show!!
yeah that's what I thought so too. I am glad someone else won it beside France that year
@@ImFrancis01 actually we have 3 national languages.. german, french and our language luxembourgisch and most people also speak english
yeah but France Gall is french though
that's actually pretty amazing, I love countries with multiple languages spoken in them
I'm shocked you've never heard Waterloo by ABBA. No particular reaction for Celine either? Thought her appearance may have surprised you.
Her appearance wasn't how I imagine her hahaha
@@ImFrancis01 Celine Dion was 22 at that time, and didn't even speak english at the time
OMG, right? Like... ABBA is second best selling band ever existed (just behind The Beatles) and how he didn't even heard about them? 😅 ABBA IS THE BEST BAND EVER EXISTED FOR ME 🤩😍🤩😍🤩
350 million people watch this each year! The most watched event int he world after the Olympics.
How about the world cup?
@@ImFrancis01 a world Cup match is on par but depends whose in the final. So it might be a huge watch in the countries playing but not necessarily the entire world.
that's true just a thoght
It’s just the most viewed non sports event
@@newlife8484 nah mate eurovison isnt on par, the world cup is seen by a lot more
I'm actually surprised you never heard Euphoria and Heroes. They were huge radio hit (and not every winner is hit lol).
At least here in Europe, thought it could be similar in US 🤔
no that's not how things are here unfortunately hahaha
Also the basics about ESC, it’s a song competition not a singing one so when looking at Eurovision entries everything is taken into account, voice, staging, lyrics, message, the energy of the performer. Being over the top and dramatic usually pays off in ESC, the whole event is just a big party that keeps Europeans from going at war with each other (there is also a geo-political side to voting, but that’s a can of worms for another time). Also NEVER take ESC too seriously, it’s a fun festival to bring families and friends together and in the end the voting is the most entertaining part of the night, usually people make bets, rankings with their friends and families, most of us that watch it regularly even throw Eurovision parties and it’s ingrained in European culture, most of us watching it since we were between the ages of 5 to 10.
that's a lot of criteria and lots of things to take into account
"I believe we'll have a drastic change around like 2010"
Me: wait for Lordi in 2006 lol
haha you're still waiting
1969 had 4 Winners: Spain, UK, Netherlands and France. This was due to the voting system, which has changed through then
that's wild, that it's that many
The Eurovision started with 7 countries in 1956. There are now 39 countries that take part (the latest country added was Australia!).There is a rap by Russia in the final this year. There is also an American Song Contest that will feature all 50 states competing against each other starting from 2022z
it has come a long way
You should react to the recap of the eurovision songs 2021!
I will try my best to do that!
@@ImFrancis01 I was going to suggest the same thing. There are vids which give a short preview of all the 2021 entries. Would be great to see your reaction.
I was going to do that but got so busy with work
just watch the real thing. Including the semi finals. 38 songs......... The show around nthe whole shebang. it is a happening
In the old days songs had to be in the national language and performed with a live orchestra.
That sounds actually pretty good! I wish they could still do it now
@@ImFrancis01 It became unfair, because everyone is used to listening to music in English, so that's why the UK and Ireland won so many times in a row. Now you never know who could win because there is no language barrier anymore
I am glad it's become very diverse so others can have the opportunity to win it.
This yr 2021, there actually will be an orchestra in the finals!
@@womenfrom0202 really???
11:26
The song is about ending of the cold war. It's called "Together: 1992". The singer hope that in 1992 Europe finally be united.
that's great! unity is a good thing for the whole world
You only heard the last two ones because that’s when Americans started popularizing it in the US, reacting on youtube.
Yeah I can see that's the case
Welcome, bienvenue to the Best and biggest TV show!
It seems like it is!
Eurovision is one of the best things in existence
No its not an annual singing competition The clue is in the name - Eurovision SONG Contest - each song submited is an newly written song which has not been previously published/recorded.
Everybody’s talking about how they are shocked that you didn’t recognize ABBA or Celine Dion, while I’m just freaking out over the fact that you actually said “Netherlands” and not Holland. Like wow dude, there are soo many people who don’t know that Holland isn’t the Country (like even countries next to the Netherlands haha)!
Well I live at the dutch border - and even though I know the difference between holland and netherlands - many dutch people that I talk to say they are from holland (even though they do not live close to the province of north nor south holland).
I think he only knew it ws the Netherlands because it came up on the screen
Ireland went on a crazy run in the 90s. 4 wins and two 2nd places in 6 or 7 years, not to mention the Norwegian entry that won inbetween had an Irish violinist. Riverdance was also introduced to the world during Eurovision at this time.
Haha...also Lordi gets everyone!
I'm saying! Ireland just came out of nowhere and dominate!
@@ImFrancis01 What can I say? We're just a bunch of mad lads
@Anna I don't mind it
7:13 the most important act of all times in Eurovision Song Contest
ABBA win in England 1974 with your iconic song "Waterloo"
It's the first victory to Sweden
It's the first worldwide hit to ABBA
It's a change in Eurovision history
It's the begining of a Legend in rock & pop music history:
ABBA, the most important and revolutionary group beside BEATLES
And after years "Waterloo" still was voted the Best Song in all editions of Eurovision Song Contest
I didn't know that!
@@ImFrancis01
I see You react "Dancing Queen"
now I hope to react "Waterloo" at this Eurovision Song Contest in UK 1974
this week is Eurovision 2021
and new pools shows "Waterloo"
the Best or/and Most Popular song of all Eurovision history
it's on it way
Yeah it started out in 1956 with only 6 countries participating and this year there's 41 countries in total.
that's a lot of countries!
39 this year. They disqualify Belarus and Armenia couldn't make it bc of situation with Azerbaijan.
awe that's unfortunate
5:16 Oh hunny, you'll never see us win again
that's sad 😥
Two acts started a worldwide career after eurovision: ABBA (1974) and Celine Dion (1988). pretty sure you know some of their songs. i´m glad you know "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence(2019), who is still on charts after 2 years, one of my favourite winners of all time.
And Riverdance was just an interval act when Ireland was hosting in the mid-90s and they went on to a world tour for years (still going, in fact)
that's insane!
@@john-richardelliott4039 Laurence
Make it 3x for Italy. They won just this week.
I have to check out the most recent
@@ImFrancis01 Well it is the Italian rock band Måneskin that won the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Zitti E Buoni" Check it at UA-cam with /watch?v=RVH5dn1cxAQ
I have to check it out
Eurovision is basically a network of tv channels which was set up to swap news stories between them. Back in the 1950s tv was still in its infancy (the first transmission from France to the UK, which are only 22 miles apart, was only in 1950), and they thought up this song contest as a fun way to test the technology. In 1956 they started with only 7 competing countries, each with 2 songs (the UK’s entry arrived too late so they’ve only competed since 1957!), but by the late 1980s it had spread to most of western Europe and around the Mediterranean (Morocco competed once, but generally the Arab countries won’t compete in a year Israel’s in it). Although it was communist, Yugoslavia competed since the 1970s and actually won in 1990, just a few years before the country collapsed in the civil war. After the Iron Curtain fell in 1989/90 the ex-communist countries to the east joined in over the next few years (they’d had their own “Intervision Song Contest” before this), so the number of participating countries exploded (Yugoslavia split into 6 countries, and the USSR now has 10 countries competing from where it was, and Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, and Azerbaijan have all won, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, and Georgia haven’t) - this led to the introduction of semi-finals to cut down the length of the final show (but it was atill 4 hours long this year). From the 60th anniversary show, Australia was invited to participate too, because they’ve been very keen on the show for decades!
That"pretty boy good vocals" Irish winner 1980 is the king of the Eurovision Song Contest and a legend. Johnny Logan won twice, in 1980 and 1987. He also composed the winning song 1992. I believe you must have heard Abba the winner in 1974, Sweden and Aleksander Rybak winner 2009, Norway those are the two who have come the most well known for the world afterwards, Also Conchita Wurst, winner 2014 but she preforms more as Tom Neuwirth now days, I think.
1992 song Johnny composed was sung by Linda Martin - who also sang "Terminal 3" which Johnny composed and came second in 19884 - So Johnny composed 2 winners and 1 runner-up
I am discovering a lot of them out
You should check last 20 years individually they are all cool songs and lots of content
I will definitely will be checking them out
Did you know the singer of belgium (Sandra Kim) won at only thirtheen years old and you actually have to be fiftheen years old to participate and the song is still know everywhere in belgium j'aime la vie (i love live)
There weren't any age regulations at the time. But in the song she sang "J'ai quinze ans ...." which means "I am fifteen"..." therefore the audience thought she was 15 but there had already been contestants before and after her who were also quite young. Luxembourg in 1969 send a 12 year old. After Sandra Kim won there was a discussion about age regulation. In 1989 there were 3(!) contestants who were minors. For France they send a 11, almost 12 year old. Israel also had a 12 year old and another country send a 16 year old. After that year age regulations were enforced. Contestants have to turn 16 in the year of the contest.
winning it that young is insane!
The ESC started at the beginning with only 7 countries, and by 2021 almost all 47 EU countries took place in it, some left, some never left.
That's a big expansion
@@ImFrancis01 well, firstly because these is the amount of countries on the continent, secondary, because with time and TV, which was introduced the year when ESC started, the contest gained popularity. Therefore with years countries wished to win it. In 90's was the biggest boom , due to falling of the Berlin wall and a lot of Eastern block countries entered the contest. Israel were added in the 70's and one year when they did not took part due to religious holiday Morocco entered for the first and last time (the ended last that year), on the 60'th contest Australia, as big fan of the show was invited as a guest, and if public liked they were promised further invitation (to clarify countries which might take part in the contest MUST be part of EBU, otherwise, because Australia is part of commonwealth ,i.e. Great Britain they are allowed and for now the invitation will last until 2023 (unless Australia decide to withdraw)). In future many fans hopes for Kazakhstan to enter main ESC, but for now they and Kosovo are not allowed, due to not been part of EBU. Many countries withdrawn (especially small ones) - Monaco, Luxembourg and Andorra due to no chance to win and huge expenses to participate. The money problem made to withdraw Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro. Hungary and Turkey withdraw due to and i quote pro-LGBT+ social politics of the contest, and neighbours favoritism, and demanded for ESC to change those things in order to come back. Some countries come and go from year to year depends on their financial or political situation, for example Belarus was banned this year due to sending very political pro-Lukashenko song, twice. After the first time they were given chance to change the song to any other non political and they send another political one. Some countries due to political conflicts withdraw- Armenia this year. So it is a very complex thing. :) I hope i helped. P.S.: sorry for the long text!
no thank you this was very insightful!
Luxembourg, Ireland, Spain and Israel are the only countries that have managed to win the contest in two consecutive years.
And Ireland is the only one to win it THREE IN A ROW.
okay! they are doing great then
Actually Ireland won 4 times in 5 years! Also Johnny Logan is the only person to win twice (and once as songwriter).
Great reaction, hope you'll watch this night's Grand Final! This year the competition is fierce!!
I will check it out
FunFact: The 1986 winner (Sandra Kim) actually won the competition illegally because she was only 13 yo instead of the required 15. Now is the required age 16 btw
You saying that you've never heard any of the songs right after ABBA hurt hahahahah
I really haven't haha
The rules changed a bit throughout the history. First it was a jury vote, then for some time televote (voting by phone), now it's combination of both. In the beginning countries to send entries in their own language too.
well so modernize it now so many people can votes
@@ImFrancis01 Now it's combination of both - voting by phone/internet and jury vote (that was reintroduced after people complained countries vote for their allied countries :D)
well I could see why now other countries would vote for their allies but the best should always win that's fair competition
@@ImFrancis01 I think one reason people voted for their neighbors... because well, for example the Balkans have simmilar languages and taste in music. They probably heard the singers on radio many times before, so they vote for what they know. Same with Scandinavia.
makes sense also
When Dana of EIRE won 1970, reportedly the head of RTE (Ireland's broadcasting network) said to Dana, 'How dare you win... We can't afford it!'
Also Madrid '69 had four winners, simply because the Eurovision committee realised they had no plans for what happens if there's a draw! After this, a contingency was made for a revote to happen in case of a draw.
Luxembourg and Monaco are countries even though they speak french. So France didn’t win that much
that makes so much sense now
Your reaction to 2006 Lordi/Finland was worth of waiting. :) Didn't Regognize Celine Dion 1988?
I did not recognize Celine Dion :(
@@ImFrancis01 Yes, maybe only voice is regognizable. At that age of 18 with that curly hair and 'lampshade' skirt completely not. :)
hahaha you're funny
Countries like France and the UK had a pretty big advantage at the start because you were only allowed to sing in your native language back then. Less spoken or more generally unappealing languages did not do as well.
Greetings from Finland and thanks for your reaction 😀😷😅❤
Thank you too!
As you say there was no Eurovision in 2020 beacuse fo COVID-19. But we had 41 qualifying songs for 2020. We should not ignore the quality. Many of the artists are the same because many countries decided sending the same 2020 artist but with a new song
Hi. I just watched your video, and I had a lot of fun doing so. I live in Latvia, which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002, and I was the Latvian voice for the contest during the 2000s. Just a couple of notes. In the early years, you were right, there were not many countries competing. As the number of countries expanded, especially after the breakup of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, the contest had to introduce semifinals because there were just too many for a single concert. I don't know if you watched the 2021 contest, but 10 acts from each semifinal proceed to the finals, and the big five countries of the EBU -- UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy -- get a bye straight into the finals because they are the ones that provide the most financing for the EBU. Apart from that, the first Swedish group that you saw and said that you had not recognized any songs -- that was ABBA, and I would imagine that you have at least heard of them. And the first winner for Switzerland in 1988 -- that was Celine Dion. So anyway, thanks for an enjoyable 20 minutes!
thank you very much for the insightful comment
@@ImFrancis01 You are very welcome.
What I noticed is that you have genuine curiosity and expressive comments. I really really like to know which three you loved the best in all the winners you watched after those few second snippets. It would be fascinating.
I really was curious this is new to me and i love it. I love discovering new music
I don´t think you will ever see hip hop winning the Eurovision since it´s quite an american culture. Each country represent something about the artist, but mostly about their country.
that makes a lot of sense now! I would have thought one country might adopt it
@@ImFrancis01 this year San Marino brought Flo Rida on their track, it didn’t go down well
why would they do that?
@@ImFrancis01 Because he is famous even in europe people know of him and they hoped to get more votes because of it from the younger people. San Marino is very small as well and usually they dont even make the finals so it wasnt a complete disaster for them. It has happend before that countries chose already famous people to compete to get an advantage e.g. Germany sent Lena again the next year bc she already won once or Ireland sent one guy 3 times and he won all 3. Cant think of another example right now but it happens more often than youd think
Great video! I’m surprised you haven’t heard Waterloo before though!😳 Maybe you’ve heard Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia or Gimme Gimme since they are the most famous ABBA songs world wide?:)
Also fyi, the Eurovision song contest started in the 50s to unite a war torn Europe:)
I kept expecting him to go "WOW" when he saw ABBA lol And he just goes "I never heard of these songs" exactly on Waterloo 🤣🤣🤣
I haven't haha
Pretty decent and respectful reaction. I enjoyed it.
Thank you very much!
This year's competition is next week! Semi finals are on Tuesday and Thursday and the final is on Saturday!
I am so excited for it!
Just to clarify one thing, it is a song contest, not a singer contest. Because you made a remark on individual contestants and groups. Whose up there doesn't matter, it is about the song. That is, it should be, but it is appears to be also about presentation, politics and statements. That's what makes it fun too. It can be camp, but it is entertaining.
It started after WW-2, to allow European countries to compete in a peaceful manner. That's why they came up with song competition. Just so you understands where it is coming from. For many people the most fun part is the giving of the scores. Switching to all the capitals of the participating countries and seeing the professional juries giving the final points. And lately that is completed with the points coming from televoting, which completely can change the outcome. Altogether a very exiting event. Especially when you are sitting at home with a group of people, watching and making your own top 5 and see if it plays out that way. And of course also giving nasty comments on the performances, singing qualities and clothing of the participants. Thats part of it too.
I now know more about the song contest now, It was my first time watching it
The progression off music and what genre that is popular throughout the years are very prominante in this video. However, bare in mind that it only shows the winner. When you say I haven't seen any hip-hop, it's because a song like that has yet to win. But so many genres have graced us with their prescense through out the years such as pop, rock, jazz, country, ballads, hip-hop and more. Seeing as you caught on that some countires appear more than others on this list, perhaps you'd like to see their countrys representative throughout the years? :)
4:56 "france"
Luxembourg: are we a joke to you??? (We're an independent country and our native language is luxembourgish, i don't know why they always sang in french back then)
(Loved your reaction tho)
Well the songs they sent in Luxembourgish flopped tbh
@@fz7091 i'd rather flop with something authentic than win with something most of us hate tbh
You know that Spain, Netherlands,France, and uk won in the same year since they all had the same amount of points
Glad to see you enjoy it all 😁🥰🥰🥰
I do!
Hey @Drogbajr 003, There are three live shows. 2 semi-finals with around 17 countries in both, where 10 countries will qualify for Saturday's final. In the final, there are 6 pre-qualified songs. These are called The Big-5 (Italy, Spain, Germany, UK, and France) because without their payment it won't be able to have a Eurovision. Alongside the Big-5, also the host country is pre-qualified. The reason is that the host country organized such a big event (200 million viewers) and is rewarded for organizing.
The winner is based on 50-50 jury and televoters. Every country gives its top 10 points. the number one gets 12 points, number 2 gets 10 points, number 3 gets 8 points and places 4-10 get 7 to 1 points. The winner is the country with the highest amount of points.
It clashes with my work schedule, I am trying to figure a way I can watch it or just make a stream out of it.
Hip hop: see last part of the San Marino entry of this year.
okay I will
I think it is really interesting to see a American react tot this use ass competition, in Europa almost everyone knows all the songs. I like how you give your honest opinion, and not all the France songs are actually from France but in Europe the most spoken language I think is France so that’s why. Also yes it has been evolved in 1956 (the first ever held contest) there were only 7 countries with each 2 songs. This year there were 39 participants of the 50 countries who can participate. If you have any questions left ask me, you can say I’m a huge fan who almost knows everything about this contest.
No comment when Luxemborough sang - don't think he know who they were
nope I didn't
I'm still flabbergasted when people don't know ABBA. Like, no Dancing Queen? No Mama Mia? No Super Trouper? So many megahits!
nope I didn't know
@@ImFrancis01 honestly you are missing out! I'd love to see a video reaction or something on ABBA, because they are the Kings and Queens of Eurovision. So many famous people became succesful thanks to Eurovision, like ABBA, Celinde Dion, Katrina and the waves (well technically they were already famous, but got even more famous after winning, just like Olivia Newton John who was in second place)
USA is planning for 2021 to have first American song contest that will be same as Eurovision but with 50 American states.
That would be interesting to see
Please don't call it an American Song Contest because it doesn't include any single country outside of the USA.
In the beginning the competition was one about the songwriting/composing of the songs and not the singers that presented the songs it was called the "eurovision de la chanson". Nowadays it expanded very much (even australia is part of it now, don't know why though 😅 maybe because they still are part of the british commonwelth?) and it's more about the singig/entertainment than the songwriting aspect. I still enjoy it very much and love watching it. Yes i'm outing me 😄
hahaha you're funny but songwriting/composition should still mean a lot
Yes it should 😄 it still is considered a song contest not e singing contest, but honestly, it doesn't do so anymore. You saw the change from plain singing to big show and entertainment and since the viewers can vote too (which wasn't the case in the beginning) it's not the same anymore. If you watch the last two contests (2019 and 2021) you can see that very clearly because they changed the voting system. Now you can see the difference in the votings of the jury (which are music professionals) and the viewers very clear 💁♀️ the voting of the viewers also is often politically influenced.
The most winners are from Ireland.
I'm hoping Ireland will win again someday, but unfortunately, it's unlikely🇮🇪
Now for me hope winning 2021 Zwitserland 👍❤️great voice and song and 2 Portugal and 3 fallen angel👍greetings from netherland🖐️
sadly that wasn't the case
Even in countries like Russia is mandatory sometimes to learn French from first or second grade if the school is with profound french language learning and second, third grade if a average school, but,keep in mind even in UK or Sweden they have to learn a second or third language german but it depends on students wish mostly.
that's awesome I wish they have that in the states here
You seemed to ignore poor Luxembourg and label it as France twice.
Well it's actually not a singing competition, it's a song competition!
Yeah, I learn that
Hi from Serbia!
Hello from America
Your face when you got to hard rock halleluyah
Some American: doesn't know any song of ABBA
USA: Has 2 parts of Mamma Mia movie (Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski etc.)
I really don't!
The competition was first a celebration of peaceful cooperation in Europe. Now it is a big big fest, there is strong LGBT aspect to it (it's so so so campy.
There are some controversies with "block voting" (people voting for their neightbors).
In the beginning there was just few countries competing, now it's over 40 including Australia.
well I hope everything is better now with this many countries being involved
In 1965 it's not france but lucsemburg(france gal is the name of the singer)
oh okay I am glad to know that now
The same 1972 ( Vicky Leandros from Greece sung for Luxemburg) and 1973 (Anne-Marie David from France sung for Luxemburg).
I'm actually learning a lot from all this.
@@ImFrancis01 hope you are learning that there is a big wide world outside of the US as most Americans seem to think that the world starts and finishes in the US
its an european songcontest... dont think there will be kpop soon
Who knows? Maybe someone decided it would be a good idea to sing in Japanese. Stranger things have happened.
maybe one day
Surprised u haven’t heard euphoria before, it has more than 100M views on UA-cam I think
At the beginning it was only 7 countries participating so no surprise some double winners in the first years
yeah, it'll be easy to win multiple times then.
This year, the 1st semi-final is on the 18th of may, the 2nd semi-final is on the 20th of may and the final on the 22nd of may.
For you in US, it will be, i think, on the night, for example, the final will be in the night between the 22nd and the 23rd of may.
In Europe it will be the 22nd of may at 9h00 pm and it last around 3h45 mn so, will finish around 0h45 am on the 23rd of may.
In the 1st semi-final, 16 countries wiill participate and 10 of them will qualify for the final (chosen by jury & televoting)
In the 2nd semi-final, 17 countries will participate and 10 of them will qualify for the final (by jury & televoting again)
In the final, the 20 countries qualified + the host country (this year, the Netherlands) + the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain & UK) will participate and the jury & the televoting of each country participating will choose the winner
The Big 5 are the 5 countries that give the most of money (excepting the host country) to organize Eurovision so, they get a special spot in the final to thanks them to allows the organization of the contest.
Please, react to the eurovision 2021 recap and please, watch at least the final to fully understand it.
If you want to look at other contest to fully understand it, i suggest you 2009, 2016, 2018 & 2019.
2009 was one of the best year in term of level of songs.
2016 was my favorite year, it was almost perfect.
2018 was one of the best year in term of level of songs.
2019 was the last contest and was a good year too.
Please, watch the 2016 final, it was perfect, the level of the songs was very high, the stagings were amazaing, the best hosts ever, the introduction of a new voting system, interval act perform by Justin Timberlake and last top 10 (to date) of my country (France)
thank you so much for letting me know! I have to make sure not to miss it
Acutely us time is behind. So when is 9pm in Europe its like 4pm in the east cost and 13 in the west cost
unfortunately I will be at work but I will watch the recap
I can't believe you've never heard of Abba.
you and many people in this video, I have gotten to know them now. I have done a couple of reaction about them
To be fair, ABBA wasn't as big in the US as they were in Europe, Latin America, Australia and Japan. They only had one Billboard #1 (Dancing Queen). And that was ~20 years before he was born.
It's interesting to know that I guess you just assume they were huge everywhere you really do learn something new everyday.
Dana International who won for Israel was (and still is presumably) a transgender woman, then we had the "bearded lady" who won with fly like a phoenix. I love the diversity that is accepted in Europe.
Fun fact:The belgian girl was 13 and I think there was some controversy......ecc...and she lied about her age or something like that
awe no! she was good
There are more countries speaking (singing) French in Europe than just France :-)
Belgium, Luxemburg and Switzerland
monaco
And to be fair, four of the five winners from Luxembourg where actually French (the other one was from Greece, lol)
Yeah, it just didn't cross my mind
Half of the ones you said were french were Luxembourg’s songs not frances
yeah i realize that
You are winning Europe ;)
I sure hope so!
@@ImFrancis01 you are ;)
thank you
Part of the reason you don't recognize the songs is that the songs have to be original. So you won't hear a cover of an old favorite.
And... well... let's just say the way the winner is decided (which has changed several times) isn't exactly a good indicator of a song's future popularity.
I think we should be glad with that rule.
that makes sense now
You have never heard of ABBA, have you been living under a rock?
ARCADE 2019❤️❤️🇳🇱🇳🇱💪🏼💪🏼
To be fair, some countries don't want to win, because hosting the eurovision song contest is expensive.
There are several different countries singing in french. Not just France.
I realize that now
it started with 7 countries and now there are 40 or 39
that's a big growth
You have never heard of ABBA? Not even Mamma Mia? they literally have 2 whole movies that only use their songs (mama Mia (2008) and Mamma Mia Here We Go Again (2018) both with Meryl Streep
oooh, the only thing I don't really like in your video is a chealsea banner (scarf?) in background XD
hey now, can't hate on my team hahaha
The 1961 song was written to relate the love between two men. But, as at the time it was frowned upon, the authors had made sure that the lyrics could be taken for a heterosexual couple. The singer was gay himself, but few knew it.
Without the 1965 female singer, Frank Sinatra probably would never have performed "My Way". Because the original song "Comme d’habitude" was written by a singer (Claude François) after the female singer (France Gall) left him.
I think you are confusing Luxembourg as France
yes i was
Some of them from Luxembourg.
Did you not recognize Celine Dion?
yeah sorry didn't recognize her ☹
How can you not have heard of ABBA!? Start listening!
Most of my favourite songs never won. The rankings never tell the whole story.
2003 TR fist and last win 🥺
oh wow!