Support ESC Insight on Patreon

12 must see Eurovision clips of the past decade Written by on January 4, 2011 | 2 Comments

Nowadays, every Eurovision song comes with its own promotional clip.  Whether it be filmed at its National Final, or blown out to a big-budget film production, there are plenty of beauties to be seen.

Is there a better way to start the year (and the decade) off with some of those classic videos from the last ten years? Of course not, so after some debate, in no particular order, are ESC Insight’s twelve must-see songs to start the new year off with a Eurovision bang!

1. Work Your Magic – Dmitry Koldun (Belarus, 2007)

Looking back it appears that Goth style was the order of the day in 2007, and no clip from that year demonstrates that more than ‘Work Your Magic’. A dark, evil looking mansion complete with impressively large fireplaces and crazy black and white dressed women… it could be a Nine Inch Nails video! However the appearance of a very spray-tanned, bleached teeth Koldun in fact makes it come out looking a bit more Backstreet Boys. Still, a very slick video in a style that was very much in vogue at the time.

2. Be My Valentine (Anti-Crisis Girl) – Svetlana Loboda (Ukraine, 2009)

Awarded by the fans as the best Eurovision clip of 2009, this is in fact a compilation of previous Loboda clips interspersed with live footage and a partly filmed clip with Svetlana on her ‘hell machine’. For something hastily put together as promotion, it looks amazing, is thoroughly entertaining, and was in fact so well edited it had me fooled that she wasn’t actually singing the same song for the first ten times I watched it.

3. Shake It – Sakis Rouvas (Greece, 2004)

Poor Sakis, he doesn’t seem to be able to handle the water. Drinking some, walking on , dancing around or swimming in it. Whether you find this sexy or just damn right funny, it is the quintessential Greek Eurovision clip of the decade. The scenery is stunning, and the trail of dancing women on the caldera seems to be a precursor for certain scenes in the movie ‘Mamma Mia’. As a final note, see if you can’t pick the sponsor for this video.

4. Visionary Dream – Sopho (Georgia, 2007)

For Georgia’s first foray into the world of Eurovision, they chose to promote their country; its sights, traditions and beauty. It may have some obvious stock footage shots ripped straight from the 1993 Tourism Board video, but for the most part this clip, along with Sopho, is gorgeous. Lush green valleys, tall black stone monuments, traditional dancers – the video achieves what they set out to do – we’re sucked into wanting to go to Georgia. Tbilisi next year, anyone?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt0QpkTFopE&feature=related

5. Believe – Dima Bilan (Russia, 2008)

Welcome to the world of overly melodramatic Hollywood style short films, condensed into just a 3 minute Eurovision clip.  As the story goes, our singer Dima sees a tv special regarding a sick boy and gathers his friends (violinist Edvin Marton, and world-champion ice-skater Evgenii Pliushchenko) to hold a fundraising concert.  Whether this video pulls your heartstrings depends on whether you’re willing to go with the idea that Dima is down-to-earth celebrity rather than the superstar he believes he is.  Nevertheless, its big budget, impressive to watch, and now the on-stage performance in 2008 makes a bit more sense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rhef0Zt47s

6. Wild Dances – Ruslana (Ukraine, 2004)

Eurovision has its Thunderdome meets Xena Warrior Princess moment in the form of ‘Wild Dances’ By Ruslana.  The winner of the 2004 Eurovision contest also had a winner on its hands with the best Eurovision clip of the year.  Despite looking like it was filmed in a disused water plant straight out of Tank Girl, her and her handsome warrior dancers provide a beat we could all dance to.

7. Illusion – Krassimir Aramov (Bulgaria, 2009)

Whatever you may think of this song and its performance on the Eurovision stage, Krassimirs clip is offically epic!  Many other clips have run with the medieval theme and failed (see ‘My Galileo‘ by Alexandra & Konstantin for a case in point), but this one stands alone for its particular fighting scenes and ahem its soft porn. As seen in this clip, Krassimir was born to be king of the castle, but obviously not for the live stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI-G-LIXM48

8. Sweet People – Alyosha (Ukraine, 2010)

Up until the point this filmclip was released, I don’t think anyone truly rated nor understood the point to Alyosha’s song.   Filmed in the ruins of the off-limits nuclear reactor town by Chernobyl, the visuals of the singer wandering through the deserted and decaying city left a very powerful impression on every viewer.   An important message to us all about the damage humans cause to the environment, mirrored and clearly demonstrated through the medium of video, and an example for media students around the world of how song and video can complement each other.

9. Divine – Sébastien Tellier (France, 2008)

If you are looking for just one music video to brighten your day with a bit intentional humour (as opposed to the unintentional humour of Sakis), this would certainly be the Eurovision-related selection.  Tellier amuses no end with his cleverly pieced together cut-shots of lookalikes catching microphones in various odd-ball situations (library, massage parlour, ferris wheel, 7-11 hold-up and being chased by women down a dark alley).   It also remains the only Eurovision-related filmclip I’ve ever seen screened on Australian music television, and so rates a special mention here.

10. Lejla – Hari Mata Mari (Bosnia, 2006)

Like ‘Visionary Dream’ above, this clip also promote the country of the artist – in this case, the unusually beautiful Bosnia – and the traditional ways of life to which it still clings.  There’s an added poigancy to this video however, with the Mostar Bridge featuring heavily in its visuals, having been rebuilt in the years prior to this entry.  Beautiful, haunting and historical, it brings a tear to the eye of even the most hardened Eurovision fan.

11. Hard Rock Hallelujah – Lordi (Finland, 2006)

The anthem for a rebellious and hard rocking generation has it all – explosions, a cute ‘rock n roll angel’ schoolgirl (who I hope is called Carrie – Ewan), a bunch of zombie cheerleaders, and of course  the orc-a-like band members performing at their best.   Its pure MTV entertainment, straight out of the Joss Whedon playbook, slick and visually brilliant… and somewhat wasted on the Eurovision masses.

12. Playing With Fire – Paula Selling and Ovi (Romania, 2010)

What better to finish the selection than with the best Eurovision clip of 2010?  Other than the fact it features an amazing tune and is very colourful, there are two amazing reasons to watch.  Firstly, this cutting-edge filmclip reportedly uses the same technology as the multi-million grossing film ‘Avatar’.  Secondly, it also features the gorgeous Selling in about six different costumes, including her black leather catsuit.  Meow!


Thankfully there’s no more heated debate over this list in the Insight Offices (Ewan really wanted to point out Lordi’s one-off video that opened the 2007 Contest in Helsinki), but we’re sure you have your own favourites we missed. Let us know!

About The Author: Sharleen Wright

Sharleen Wright is the co-founder of ESC Insight and a freelance journalist and researcher. She has previously worked for numerous community radio stations in Sydney Australia, and contributed to the wider world of comedy holding production and promotions roles at both the Edinburgh Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Her written words have appeared online, as well as The List magazine, and numerous fanzines on the topics of television and specifically, Eurovision . She is currently based in Australia and undertaking research on food and event tourism. You can follow Sharleen on Twitter (@sharly77) and Facebook (facebook.com/sharleenwright).

Read more from this author...

You Can Support ESC Insight on Patreon

ESC Insight's Patreon page is now live; click here to see what it's all about, and how you can get involved and directly support our coverage of your Eurovision Song Contest.

Have Your Say

2 responses to “12 must see Eurovision clips of the past decade”

  1. Vasko says:

    I think that “Water” (Bulgaria 2007) also deserves to be added in the list 🙂

  2. Cecily Roberts says:

    Thanks for that – loved the Greece 2004 video – I haven’t seen that before!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *