This week the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Rotterdam. Especially for this occasion, we present the ten biggest Eurovision Song Contest hits per decade until Saturday. Today is the 90s.

The 1990s saw the beginning of a new era for the Eurovision Song Contest. The Berlin Wall had just fallen, making the differences between previously communist Western and Eastern Europe much smaller. Eastern European countries also wanted to participate, but as this would result in too many participants, the worst performing countries were excluded for one year to give new countries a chance. For example, the Netherlands was not allowed to participate in 1995 because Where is the Sun by Willeke Alberti had finished too low the previous year. In the late 1990s, televoting was introduced and live orchestras were phased out. Moreover, during this decade we saw the Eurovision Song Contest being accepted by the gay community.

On results Willeke Alberti And Mrs. Einstein After that, the Netherlands performed very well in the 1990s during the interesting points tally in 1998 Heaven & Earth by Edsilia Rombley for the final win in a long time and ultimately finished in fourth place behind Malta, England and winners Israel. English Imaani going with contemporary Where are you scored the biggest Eurovision hit of the year. However, the award for the biggest Eurovision success of the decade goes to the Dutch entry from 1996: First Time Maxine & Franklin Brown. They finished seventh during the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo.

Internationally, Ireland dominates. Between 1992 and 1996, the country managed to finish at the top of the leaderboard four out of five times. The Irish entry did not become a major Top 40 hit. The only Irish entry in the top 10 below is from 1996: Voiced by Eimear Quinn. The biggest international Eurovision achievement of the decade came a year later thanks to the winner Love Shines Bright by Katrina & The Waves. The success of Ireland, England and Malta has also drawn criticism, as these countries are the only countries that have made a profit in submitting English songs. Therefore, in 1999, the language rule was abolished along with live orchestras. This takes away some of the appeal of the Eurovision Song Contest, but also results in other countries ranking highly. More on that tomorrow.

1. Maxine & Franklin Brown – First Time (288 points)

7th place in 1996 on behalf of the Netherlands
#6 in Top 40

2. Katrina + Waves – Shining Love (272 points)

1st place in 1997 on behalf of Great Britain
#4 in Top 40

3. Imaani – Where Are You (164 points)

2nd place in 1998 on behalf of Great Britain
#8 in Top 40

4. Edsilia Rombley – Heaven & Earth (136 points)

4th place in 1998 on behalf of the Netherlands
#12 in Top 40

5. International Fund – Diva (111 points)

1st place in 1999 on behalf of Israel
#11 in the Top 40

6. Ruth Jacott – Peace (106 points)

6th place in 1993 on behalf of the Netherlands
#16 in Top 40

7. Clouseau – Surrender (98 points)

16th place in 1991 on behalf of Belgium
#17 in the Top 40

8. Toto Cutugno – Insieme: 1992 (95 points)

1st place in 1990 on behalf of Italy
#18 in Top 40

9. Secret Garden – Nocturne (85 points)

1st place in 1995 on behalf of Norway
#13 in Top 40

10. Eimear Quinn – The Voice (82 points)

1st place in 1996 on behalf of Ireland
#22 in Top 40

_{(Photo: Franklin Brown / Wikimedia Commons / Franklin Brown / CC BY-SA 3.0)}

(20/05/2021)