LONDON, UK (Top40 Charts) With the 59th annual Eurovision Song Contest set to take place in Copenhagen this Saturday, OfficialCharts.com reveals the nation's most downloaded Eurovision tracks of all time, and it appears Britain's love for a Eurovision banger knows no borders!
In the new list, unveiled as part of the UK music industry's Decade Of
Digital initiative to mark 10 years of legitimate downloading in the UK, no less than 4 out of 5 of the all-time most downloaded Eurovision songs here in the UK come from beyond our shores.
Sweden got the Eurovision formula nailed?
The Swedes certainly seem to know how to rock a Eurovision voter, having taken home the Eurovision Song Contest gong five times, and that winning formula has translated into selling power, claiming the Swedes the top TWO most downloadedEurovision tracks ever here in the UK.
Loreen's 2012 winning single Euphoria takes pole position on the countdown. The track has sold a cool 211,000 copies in the UK to date, that's more than three times the amount of its closest UK rival - Blue's 2011 entry I Can (3). Euphoria also went on to become a Top 5 chart smash, peaking at Number 3 on the Official Singles Chart - the highest chart placing for a non-UK Eurovision single since Johnny Logan's Hold Me Now in 1987 - while Blue only reached Number 16.
ABBA, who are arguably the most successful act to ever emerge from the Eurovision Song Contest, are at Number 2 in the all-time chart with Waterloo - the track that gave Sweden its first Eurovision gold in Brighton in 1974. But just like Eurostar, ABBA's UK chart domination does not stop at Waterloo; during last year's Eurovision ABBA's Greatest Hits album, Gold, overtook The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to become the UK's second biggest selling album of all time too.
Have our recent UK Eurovision entries been out of tune with the British public?
Us Brits may not be able to vote for our own hopefuls on the night, but we CAN vote with our wallets when we purchase music - the Official Singles Chart is 'the people's vote', chronicling the nation's tastes for more than 60 years. However, even in the digital era with all our UK entries downloadable at the click of a button, we have mostly favoured the songs of our international rivals with 6 out of our Top 10 choices being from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Germany.
With 7 out of the 10 most-downloaded tracks also being winning Eurovision entries, does this mean we are we a nation of glory supporters? Or does Britain just know a decent pop tune when we hear one?
With the UK's two most recent Eurovision
Engelbert Humperdinck and
Bonnie Tyler failing to crack the Official Chart Top 40, it looks like 2014 hopeful
Molly could finally turn it around; Children Of The Universe is ascending daily, sitting at Number 34 midweek - a Eurovision win on Saturday night could catapult it all the way into the Top 20.
Martin Talbot, Chief Executive of the Official Charts Company comments: "Looking at this new analysis, it does seem that we could learn a thing or two from the Swedes! But just goes to show that in today's digital era with a wealth of music readily available at our fingertips, a strong Eurovision entry from any of our rival countries can certainly translate into decent UK sales. That said, good luck for Saturday night, Molly, you show 'em!"
The Eurovision 'digital classics'
As you might expect, the vast majority of tracks in the digital countdown are from the last few years, as digital downloading has surged in the UK. However, over a third of the UK's Official Top 20 Most Downloaded Eurovision Songs Of All Time actually pre-date the digital age.
Pre-digital classics to make the longer Top 20 list include: Bucks Fizz's 1981 winning song, Making Your Mind Up (Number 6), Sir Cliff Richard's Congratulations from 1968 (10), Gina G's Ooh Aah... Just a
Little Bit from 1996 (14), Johnny Logan's Hold Me Now (15), Sandie Shaw's Puppet On A String from 1967 (16), and Brotherhood Of Man's Save Your Kisses For Me from 1976 (18).
The Official Top 10 Most Downloaded Eurovision Songs Of All Time:
1. EUPHORIA - LOREEN - SWEDEN - 2012
2. WATERLOO - ABBA - SWEDEN - 1974
3. I CAN - BLUE - UK - 2011
4. FAIRYTALE - ALEXANDER RYBAK - NORWAY - 2009
5. SATELLITE - LENA - GERMANY - 2010
6. MAKING YOUR MIND UP - BUCKS FIZZ - UK - 1981
7. ONLY TEARDROPS - EMMELIE DE FOREST DENMARK - 2013
8. HARD ROCK HALLELUJAH - LORDI - FINLAND - 2006
9. FLYING THE FLAG (FOR YOU) - SCOOCH - UK - 2007
10. CONGRATULATIONS - CLIFF RICHARD - UK - 1968
