Mainshow's Eurovision Rankings + Alltime list

[Mainshow]

Stockholm, Sweden 2016

After having the opportunity to attend all live shows from 2011 to 2015, I was really happy to watch the semi finals with my family and the final with some friends in a tiny theatre (whilst enjoying a buffet). After the shock of Xavier Naidoo (rightfully) not representing Germany, I was really happy that Jamie-Lee represented us. I can still remember how the New York Times applauded her entry being the "most modern one" and I still believe that we had one of the best compositions that year. Unfortunately, Europe didn't agree... Back then, I hated all the discussions and debates concerning Russia, Ukraine and how the Eurovision got political that year. I voted for both entries - "1944" received the most votes, though.
Initially, I had ranked the other country as my #1 but the latest posts of their singer forced me to exclude his entry. I will not tolerate facism and genocide.
Europe should still be ashamed of giving poor Gabriela a big fat , though.


Jamala- 1944
Nina Kraljić - Lighthouse
Jamie-Lee - Ghost
Justs - Heartbeat
Gabriela Gunčíková - I Stand
Michał Szpak - Color Of Your Life
Jüri Pootsmann - Play
Samra - Miracle
Greta Salóme - Hear Them Calling
Francesca Michielin - No Degree Of Seperation

Current all-time ranking:
01 89 [10x]
02 67 [12x]
03 60 [10x]
04 59 [8x]
05 57 [8x]
06 56 [9x]
07 48 [9x]
08 45 [7x]
09 44 [6x]
10 39 [7x]
11 36 [6x]
12 31 [5x]
13 29 [6x]
14 29 [5x]
15 28 [5x]
16 28 [3x]
17 27 [4x]
18 25 [4x]
19 24 [5x]
20 23 [4x]
21 20 [4x]
22 20 [4x]
23 20 [2x]
24 19 [3x]
25 18 [3x]
26 17 [4x]
27 17 [4x]
28 17 [3x]
29 17 [2x]
30 16 [4x]
31 15 [4x]
32 14 [4x]
33 14 [3x]
34 13 [4x]
35 12 [3x]
36 11 [2x]
37 9 [3x]
38 9 [2x]
39 8 [2x]
40 8 [1x]
41 8 [1x]
42 7 [1x]
43 4 [2x]
44 2 [1x]
45 1 [1x]
46 0 [0x]
47 0 [0x]
48 0 [0x]

 

[Gera11]

I had the same top 3 as you before May, but then we got that "LoveWave" hot performance and went right to the top. And I dropped completely after the live performances lol

Bless you for being hopeful for Jamie-Lee.

 

[Mainshow]

I had the same top 3 as you before May, but then we got that "LoveWave" hot performance and went right to the top. And I dropped completely after the live performances lol

Bless you for being hopeful for Jamie-Lee.

What a lovely coincidence that we had the same Top 3! #taste
Yeah, the Croatian live performance was quite mediocre and her voice also sounded exhausted. My ranks aren't based on live performances, though - otherwise, I would have needed to include "LoveWave" as well. Actually, I hate this song. It was even part of my Bottom 5 before the contest but that performance was everything. I even ended up voting for her because seriously, I thought she had the best performance of that night.

Poor Jamie-Lee. She didn't deserve to end up being last - I even attended that Eurovision party with my German flag

 

[ESC94]

@Mainshow

Puh, 2016 is probably the year I have thought the least about to be honest.

Once more I have to disagree with your top, I really hate entry "You Are The Only One" and thought that the whole performance was just too overblown and actually didn´t fit to the song at all. For example he was hovering on an ice floe through space. I mean, WTF??

The winning title from is only slightly better for me. I agree with many of you that it was something different, but Jamalas performance was kinda painful for my ears, especially at the end when she did this "AHHHAUUA,AHHHAUA", she sounded like she´s giving birth to a child on stage. I also think that "1944" gave the whole contest a very heated up atmosphere, which was absolutely not necessary in my opinion.

I can already see that most of you will disagree with this, but that´s simply my opinion. So please don´t hate me!!

Otherwise that year wasn´t as good as 2015. I can still remember that I loved "Sound of Silence" from and was kinda angry when Dami didn´t win, but with a few years distance I can understand why many users here don´t like it. The chorus is kinda repetitive and on stage she appeared a bit "cold" if you know what I mean.

Otherwise my personal favourites were who were really underrated, with a bop as good as"Love Injected", with a huge comeback and with a cute little song in French.

Well, once again finished last, I wasn´t surprised that it didn´t do well, but the last place was really undeserved!! Maybe the whole performance didn´t come together for the viewers, she standing in a dark forest in this Anime like costume singing a song about an ended relationship. Fortunately Xavier Naidoo didn´t represent us, always hated his music and since last year he has come out as an conspiracy theorist!!

 

[mauve]

@Mainshow

Well, there´s a lot to write about.


2011: Well, with a few years distance this was a very mediocre year songwise, I personally hate "Running Scared" with a burning passion. This was also the year of the "crashed fan favourites". So many songs were hyped before the contest and viewed as a potential winner like , , and , and all of them performed far worse than expected. My personal favourite this year was "Taken by a Stranger", but Maja Keuc and "No One" were closely behind.

2012: A better year songwise, with an ok song from . But my personal favourite from this edition will always be "Kuula" by Ott Lepland, I still love it as much as in 2012, even though Nina Zili from and Pastora Soler from were also real queens for me.

Loreen and "Euphoria" were also alright, but for some reason this song faded rather quickly for me.


2013: For me the weakest year songwise in the last decade. Most of the songs were boring average in my opinon, and I´m really sorry for disagreeing with you once more, but I still don´t get the love for "Igranka".

Marco from was really great and would have been a worthy winner as well, but my personal queen was Margaret from , this was just electrifying!! I also enjoyed Anouk from , but you can´t listen to "Birds" all that often in my opinion.

Back in 2013 I kinda liked "Only Teardrops" from , but like the year before the song faded really quickly, even more than "Euphoria" , it´s rather dull and repetitive and I really doubt that the song would have won in stronger years like 2012, 2014 or 2015.

Cascadas song was ok, nothing groundbreaking but quite solid. The 21st place was a bit harsh, even though the performance was rather underwhelming and Natalie not as self confident on stage as usual.

2014: A really interesting year songwise with many different styles. Even though I agree with you that the juries were too harsh on the song itself is still just ok for me. I kinda like it, but nothing more.

And could someone tell me why was such a big favourite before the contest?? For me "Not Alone" was just boring average, and the dubstep part at the end didn´t fit to the rest of the song for me. The unlikable presence of him didn´t help either.

That year won for the first time after 48 years. I was really happy for them and for Conchita as well after all the homophobic bullshit before. I liked the song as well, even though I´m usually not that into these Bond style ballads.

My personal favourite though were and "Calm After the Storm". If there´s an example for a magic moment when you just sit silent in front of the TV because you´re soo impressed than it´s this one. It was my parents favourite as well and I was happy when gave . You can still hear the song on the radio here, which rarely happens with other ESC songs.

Elaiza were ok, even though I´m still not sure whether I like "Is It Right" or not. They did their best, but performing between and didn´t help.

Otherwise I really liked the emotional "Silent Storm" from , "La mia citta" from and "Dancing in the Rain" from the most.

On the other end of the scoreboard finished last for the first time, rightfully deserved in my opinion. I wasn´t a big fan of "Moustache" before the contest, but the performance in the final was like watching a car crash on a highway. You shouldn´t look but you have to because it was soo bad.

I completely forgot about Ott Lepland – Kuula. Breathtaking song! Was also in my top 5 that year.

Also agree that 2013 was rather a weak year, but I always try to see the positive, so I still enjoyed that year.

But as for „Birds“ by Anouk, this isn't mine at all. I thought it was overrated actually. A bit boring in my ears.

And as for Elaiza, they didn't deserve to be so at the bottom. The song wasn't fantastic, but okay. I saw them performing the song live a year later by chance at a festival in Berlin. It sounded good!

 

[mauve]

2015: again many similarities, my most fave songs were
Goodbye To Yesterday: one of my all-time favorites
A Monster like me
Aminata - Love Injected
and actually
Edurne - Amanecer

 

[mauve]

2016. Oh my. This wasn't really my year. There wasn't many songs I could really support with my heart. Jamala was okay, so was Dami, and Sergej I did not like.

The songs I still liked most were
Midnight Gold, Pioneer and Color Of Your Life, I think.

And as for Ghost, I actually liked it and she never deserved the last place. She had a lovely voice and yes, her Manga-style staging was eccentric, but I felt sorry for her.

All in all, 2016 was a rather ESC-year to forget - for me.

 

[tomos2019]

That's an interesting insight into what it's like attending live Mainshow, I have thought about going before but wouldn't have thought about that. Knowing me I would probably rather go to the ABU TV Song Festival given the music is a bit more to my taste these days!

 

[Mainshow]

@Mainshow

Puh, 2016 is probably the year I have thought the least about to be honest.

Once more I have to disagree with your top, I really hate entry "You Are The Only One" and thought that the whole performance was just too overblown and actually didn´t fit to the song at all. For example he was hovering on an ice floe through space. I mean, WTF??

The winning title from is only slightly better for me. I agree with many of you that it was something differnt, but Jamalas performance was kinda painful for my ears, especially at the end when she did this "AHHHAUUA,AHHHAUA", she sounded like she´s giving birth to a child on stage. I also think that "1944" gave the whole contest a very heated up atmosphere, which was absolutely not necessary in my opinion.

I can already see that most of you will disagree with this, but that´s simply my opinion. So please don´t hate me!!

Otherwise that year wasn´t as good as 2015. I can still remember that I loved "Sound of Silence" from and was kinda angry when Dami didn´t win, but with a few years distance I can understand why many users here don´t like it. The chorus I kinda repetitive and on stage she appeared a bit "cold" if you know what I mean.

Otherwise my personal favourites were who were really underrated, with a bop as good as"Love Injected", with a huge comeback and with a cute little song in French.

Well, once again finished last, I wasn´t surprised that it didn´t do well, but the last place was really undeserved!! Maybe the whole performance didn´t come together for the viewers, she standing in a dark forest in thes Anime like costume singing a song about an ended relationship. Fortunately Xavier Naidoo didn´t represent us, always hated his music and since last year he has come out as an conspiracy theorist!!

I respect your opinion - You don't have to go hide yourself - No one will "hate on you"

Personally, I think that "1944" is one of the most impressive songs in Eurovision - It combines the sound of a duduk - played by an Armenian musician - as well as the Azerbaijani Mugham singing style (which has been awarded as part of our Oral Heritage by the UNESCO). The sound might me alien to most Western and Central European ears but to me, it's just beautiful, extra-ordinary and out of this world. That's part of the reason why I love Eurovision - that it gives the opportunity to showcase different aspects of different cultures. Actually, "1944" is the epitome of transcultural learning - it also gives an insight into history, emotions, etc.

is a well-produced Euro-Pop track. It's neither a masterpiece nor serving for any teaching purposes but I just love its beat and melody - It's so powerful and makes me wanna go full "Eurovision"-mode.

Dami Im was close to make my Top 10 - I love her voice, her performance was brilliant and the song is well-produced but I dislike its chorus. It's too repetitive and lazily-written.

Glad we agree with the other favourites - I did like Austria, Italy and Bulgaria as well.

 

[Mainshow]

That's an interesting insight into what it's like attending live Mainshow, I have thought about going before but wouldn't have thought about that. Knowing me I would probably rather go to the ABU TV Song Festival given the music is a bit more to my taste these days!

I didn't want to kill your excitement regarding attending a Eurovision edition live, though. I didn't have such problems before - maybe getting tickets for seats would be better - I just don't get it why people want to pay 700+ Euros nowadays just in order to not be entertained by the performances and prefer chatting and being on Grindr and so on instead?

 

[Mainshow]

@mauve
I'm glad you like "Kuula" that much as well! But seeing so many similarities in 2015 is even better! Actually, I did enjoy listening to Amanecer as well but overall, I think that the production and arrangement of that song is better than its melody (which could have been a bit more memorable). It was one of the better Spanish entries recently, though.

2016: "Pioneer" was great as well! - It was my favourite in A Dal and I was so happy Freddie won and got the chance to represent his country in Eurovision! - "Color Of Your Life" is a very old-fashioned, cheesy and cliché ballad... but it was still so impactful. I would say it's one of my guilty pleasures.. I am glad the televoting did support it that much so that, in the end, Poland got a well-deserved #8 place.
Jamie-Lee.. Poor her... I can still remember her interview after the contest.. like saying she doesn't mind finishing last and she is now waitomg for some "international offers".

 

[Mainshow]

Kyiv, Ukraine 2017

"Celebrate Diversity" - A lovely slogan which wasn't really fitting for a year in which most countries decided to perform their songs in English as well as ditching ethnic elements. Seeing win made me hope for Eurovision turning back to more diversity in terms of languages and styles again. That said, 2017 was quite a good year offering me many entries to like and unfortunately, not all of them could have been placed as part of my Top 10, for example: , , , and

After beeing constantly part of my Top 10 since 2009, finally ended up being my favourite. Apart from being a flawless dark pop anthem, "Skeletons" offered one of the most impressive stagings in Eurovision history. I was amazed how they matched the lyrics so perfectly as well as using so many symbols. It was pure art! - deserved a better placing and I'm still a bit sad that the juries tried to rob and .

The biggest grower: - I didn't really like it at first but ended up voting for them! It's such an uplifting and empowering tune! Makes me feel alive + what a great moment it was to finally see Belarus submitting a song in its native tongue!

FINALLY, receives some points in my all-time ranking! Unfortunately, "Blackbird" surprisingly didn't end up being part of the juries' Top 3 and didn't qualify


Dihaj - Skeletons
Artsvik - Fly With Me
Alma - Requiem
Franceso Gabbani - Occidentali's Karma
Robin Bengtsson - I Can't Go On
Salvador Sobral - Amar Pelos Dois
Norma John - Blackbird
Naviband - Story Of My Life
Joci Pápai - Origo
Kristian Kostov - Beautiful Mess

Current all-time ranking:
01 89 [10x]
02 69 [9x]
03 67 [12x]
04 60 [10x]
05 59 [8x]
06 56 [9x]
07 54 [10x]
08 52 [8x]
09 44 [6x]
10 39 [7x]
11 36 [6x]
12 31 [5x]
13 30 [5x]
14 29 [6x]
15 29 [5x]
16 28 [5x]
17 28 [3x]
18 27 [4x]
19 25 [4x]
20 24 [5x]
21 23 [4x]
22 20 [5x]
23 20 [4x]
24 20 [2x]
25 19 [5x]
26 19 [3x]
27 19 [3x]
28 18 [3x]
29 17 [5x]
30 17 [4x]
31 17 [3x]
32 17 [2x]
33 16 [4x]
34 14 [3x]
35 13 [4x]
36 12 [3x]
37 9 [3x]
38 9 [2x]
39 8 [2x]
40 8 [2x]
41 8 [1x]
42 8 [1x]
43 4 [2x]
44 4 [1x]
45 2 [1x]
46 1 [1x]
47 0 [0x]
48 0 [0x]

 

[ESC94]

@Mainshow

I´m sorry to correct you, but that´s not the flag of .

 

[Mainshow]

Lisbon, Portugal 2018

I might be in the minority here but personally, I think that 2018 was the most amazing Eurovision ever in terms of music. I liked most of the entries, had so many favourites and it feels simply wrong to not give any points to , , , , and - Even though I thought that was vocally stunning that night, I simply couldn't and still can't connect to this song at all.


ALEKSEEV - Forever
AWS - Viszlát Nyár
Lea Sirk - Hvala, ne!
Ryan O'Shaughnessy - Together
Elina Nechayeva - La Forza
Aisel - X My Heart
Eugent Bushpepa - Mall
Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro - Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente
Netta - Toy
Sanja Ilić & Balkanika - Nova Deca

Current all-time ranking:
01 89 [10x]
02 74 [10x]
03 67 [12x]
04 61 [9x]
05 60 [10x]
06 56 [9x]
07 55 [9x]
08 54 [10x]
09 52 [7x]
10 45 [8x]
11 36 [6x]
12 31 [5x]
13 30 [5x]
14 29 [6x]
15 29 [6x]
16 29 [6x]
17 29 [5x]
18 28 [5x]
19 28 [3x]
20 27 [4x]
21 25 [4x]
22 24 [5x]
23 24 [3x]
24 23 [5x]
25 23 [4x]
26 20 [5x]
27 20 [4x]
28 19 [3x]
29 19 [3x]
30 18 [4x]
31 18 [3x]
32 17 [4x]
33 17 [2x]
34 14 [3x]
35 13 [4x]
36 12 [3x]
37 9 [3x]
38 9 [2x]
39 8 [2x]
40 8 [2x]
41 8 [1x]
42 8 [1x]
43 4 [2x]
44 4 [1x]
45 2 [1x]
46 1 [1x]
47 0 [0x]
48 0 [0x]

 

[ESC94]

@Mainshow

What was you main issue with 2018?? I feel this song a lot, especially since the death of my father last year.

And once again I don´t like your Nr. 1 at all, for me was just an audiovisual disaster.

 

[Mainshow]

@Mainshow

What was you main issue with 2018?? I feel this song a lot, especially since the death of my father last year.

And once again I don´t like your Nr. 1 at all, for me was just an audiovisual disaster.

I (fortunately) don't have such a strong connection to the song, lyrically.
Also, I heavily dislike the stupid piano in the chorus. I honestly think that the arrangement was lazily-produced and sounds unpolished. They didn't come up with any interesting melody for the piano which is the main force of the arrangement.They basically just "break the chords" and that's it. It annoys me so much.
My mother actually fell in love with his music - I bought her his last two albums for Christmas and honestly, I enjoy listening to them as well. He's such a good musician but his Eurovision entry remains being my least favourite one. I simply don't get it, I guess.

ALEEKSEV has become one of my favourite non-English-speaking/singing artists and "Forever" is the perfect song, imo. I love the melancholy (prefer the song in Russian, though). I don't think he was as bad as Eurovision fans claim him to be. He was nervous - so was Blanche back in 2017...His performance - like Azerbaijan 2017 - was quite theatrical - in the sense, that it portrayed the actual lyrics of the song... which one may perceive as cheesy but to me, it totally made sense.

 

[ESC94]

@Mainshow

Well, you know I really like you, but especially regarding I strongly disagree. He was really bad vocally, the whole performance reminded me of this cheesy movie adaptions of Rosamunde Pilcher who are usually broadcast on "Das Erste" in and who no one under the age of 70 watches. And especially the end of the performance with this painted roses looked really disgusting and more like he was lying sore.

Sorry for being pretty harsh right now, but I simply fail to the see the appeal of this car crash.

 

[Mainshow]

No worries.. I especially love the end of the performance since it perfectly depicts the song's lyrics. The lyrical I sings about loving somehone unconditionally even though it makes him lose his mind. Love is basically messing around with him, he's losing sense of reality, etc. It totally makes sense, that's the appeal - One might argue with the overall outcome of that idea/design/staging but overall, it was one of the few cases in Eurovision when the actual lyrics have been portrayed on stage.
The red dancer being like Amor/Eros/the God of love shooting that arrow, awarding the lyrical I a rose (symbol of love), him wearing white (symbol of innocence), the dancer continueing dancing, spinning around (symbolising the lyrical I being not able to clear his mind, feeling gravity etc.).

Of course, it can be perceived as utterly camp and cheesy but oh well, I love it when the delegations actually think of the song's lyrics (Azerbaijan 2017 did it on a way more progressive and professional level, though).

 

[ESC94]

No worries.. I especially love the end of the performance since it perfectly depicts the song's lyrics. The lyrical I sings about loving somehone unconditionally even though it makes him lose his mind. Love is basically messing around with him, he's losing sense of reality, etc. It totally makes sense, that's the appeal - One might argue with the overall outcome of that idea/design/staging but overall, it was one of the few cases in Eurovision when the actual lyrics have been portrayed on stage.
The red dancer being like Amor/Eros/the God of love shooting that arrow, awarding the lyrical I a rose (symbol of love), him wearing white (symbol of innocence), the dancer continueing dancing, spinning around (symbolising the lyrical I being not able to clear his mind, feeling gravity etc.).

Of course, it can be perceived as utterly camp and cheesy but oh well, I love it when the delegations actually think of the song's lyrics (Azerbaijan 2017 did it on a way more progressive and professional level, though).

Well, I´m impressed how you try to defend the entry, but actually your explanations confirm me even more in my opinion that this song is crap.

For me performances like 2018 are one of the reasons many people still view the ESC as some kind of "freak show".

Butt well, lets´s stop here ok?? I really like you and I don´t wanna start an argument because of one stupid song.

 

[Mainshow]

Tel Aviv, Israel 2019

Apart from the never-ending interval acts of the Grand Final, I really enjoyed the edition of 2019. Unfortunately, semi final 1's results were kinda messed up living some of my favourites behind (, , ) who were either progressive or very ethnic/folklore whilst letting generic stuff qualify. I couldn't stop feeling angry about these results, for weeks; especially since the "professional" juries were too stupid to make sure that they don't vote upside down. In my opinion, the EBU should guarantee spots for Poland and Lithuania in the final of 2021 because they would have qualified.

Finally, my favourite entry won Eurovision again (last one was "Euphoria" by Loreen). I'm glad this is the last year in which Björkman was responsible for coming up with an unbalanced and unfair running order favouring Big 5 countries whilst giving "Eastern European" countries the death slot. Poor Jonida

A pity "withdrew". Maruv's "Siren Song" would have been part of my Top 10 easily.

My Top 10 hasn't changed over the last two years... the #10 spot has been quite fought for, though. I think I enjoy listening to , and the same.. however, the latter is more powerful, imo, and even though I thought it was quite Eurovision-esque and cheesy at the beginning, it just won me over over time.

deserved to get that big fat - what an embarrassing entry.

Other songs I like which didn't make me Top 10: , , , , , ,

Trivia: After being part of my Top 10 for 10 years (2009-2018), didn't even come close to my Top 15 this time even though I think that "Truth" is a solid entry.


Duncan Laurence - Arcade
Jonida Maliqi - Ktheju Tokës
Mahmood - Soldi
Conan Osíris - Telemóveis
Hatari - Hatrið mun sigra
Luca Hänni - She Got Me
Oto Nemsadze - Keep On Going
Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl - Sebi
Michela - Chameleon
KEiiNO - Spirit In The Sky

Current all-time ranking:
01 89 [10x]
02 74 [10x]
03 73 [13x]
04 63 [10x]
05 61 [9x]
06 60 [10x]
07 56 [9x]
08 55 [8x]
09 54 [10x]
10 45 [8x]
11 41 [7x]
12 36 [6x]
13 34 [4x]
14 31 [5x]
15 30 [6x]
16 30 [5x]
17 29 [6x]
18 29 [6x]
19 28 [5x]
20 28 [3x]
21 27 [6x]
22 27 [4x]
23 25 [4x]
24 24 [5x]
25 23 [5x]
26 23 [4x]
27 20 [4x]
28 19 [3x]
29 19 [3x]
30 18 [4x]
31 18 [3x]
32 17 [4x]
33 17 [2x]
34 14 [3x]
35 13 [4x]
36 13 [2x]
37 12 [3x]
38 12 [2x]
39 11 [4x]
40 9 [2x]
41 8 [2x]
42 8 [2x]
43 4 [2x]
44 4 [1x]
45 2 [1x]
46 1 [1x]
47 0 [0x]
48 0 [0x]