How effective is the Eurovision Song Contest in unearthing hit songs, propelling them to chart success, and catapulting the careers of its participants? Can we simply point to the international stardom achieved by Abba (1974) and Celine Dion (1988) as evidence of its success? If so, why is the name of the iconic musical singer Colm Wilkinson (Ireland 1978) not often mentioned in the same breath?
Is it fair to consider Rosa Linn’s “Snap” as a Eurovision success story, given that it only became a viral hit months after the Song Contest? While one-hit wonders like ‘Arcade’ may momentarily bolster the Contest’s reputation, a fleeting moment of fame is hardly enough for an artist to establish a lasting career.
The record industry already has a long-standing method of deciding if someone is a hit… if they’re a hit they’re in the charts. If they sell songs, they chart. If the song charts, it’s a success. And if the next song charts as well, they’re a star.
If the Eurovision Song Contest can create success, the Contest’s songs should be charting not just regularly, but charting more than the industry average.
How Shall We Measure Success?
If we’re going to explore the chart success of the Eurovision Song Contest, we need a suitable yardstick to place alongside it to see just how much of a difference the Song Contest can make. If you consider the Contest as “a special skill you use to make a hit record,” is there a superstar with their own unique skill in making hits out there?
How about songwriter Desmond Child?
He’s in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, has four Grammy nominations, a Primetime Emmy Award, won a Latin Grammy, has been in the business since the mid-seventies and worked with countless artists. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. He has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and has won a Latin Grammy Award with five more nominations …and he’s written for The Muppets.
That’ll do nicely.
How Do Their Discographies Compare?
In his own words, Childs has written over 3,000 songs, around 1,2000 songs have been recorded, 70 were Top 40 hits, with 7 Number One songs. That’s a celebrated career to be proud of.
Let’s see how that stacks up against the Eurovision Song Contest.
The total song count is completely out of whack. With around 10,000 songs submitted to broadcasters annually, we’re comfortably over 200,000 songs in the 21st century alone. It’s fair to say that songs written for Eurovision far outstrip those by Desmond Child’s pen. Let’s set this one aside.
Next up would be recorded songs. Child’s career started in 1975 and has around 1200 songs. Between 1956 and 2023, 1,721 songs were submitted to the EBU and the Eurovision Song Contest. If you wanted to start the clock in 1975, it would be 1431, but we’re going to take the full catalogue of Child and the Contest because we’re in the same ballpark and have a large enough sample size.
To The Charts!
In this fun exercise, we’re just looking at the UK Charts up . It is one of the most prestigious charts in the world; it’s well documented, and the data is easily analysed. It should give us a good indication of the success that the modern Eurovision Song Contest claims.
We have our marker from Child’s discography of 70 Top 40 hits and 7 Number Ones from 1200. Let’s look at Eurovision’s slash score, and let’s take a look at it in two parts.
UK Entries In The UK Charts
Of the 67 entries made by the BBC to the Eurovision Song Contest, 45 (a shade over two-thirds) have reached the Top 40. Of those, 20 reached the Top Ten, and five reached the coveted Number One spot
- ‘Ooh Ahh… Just A Little Bit,’ by Gina G (1996)
- ‘Making Your Mind Up,’ by Bucks Fizz (1981)
- ‘Save Your Kisses For Me,’ by Brotherhood of Man (1976)
- ‘Congratulations,’ by Cliff Richard (1968)
- ‘Puppet On A String,’ by Sandie Shaw (1967)
Every Other Eurovision Song In The UK Charts
For entries submitted by other broadcasters, 39 have reached the Top 40, 17 to the Top Ten, and four to Number One.
- ‘All Kinds Of Everything,’ by Dana (1970).
- ‘Waterloo,’ by Abba (1974).
- ‘What’s Another Year,’ by Johnny Logan (1980).
- ‘A Little Peace,’ by Nicole (1982).
The Final Chart
Desmond Child, on 1200 songs, has a Top 40 success rate of 5.83 percent, and a Number One success rate of 0.583 percent.
The Eurovision Song Contest, on 1721 songs, has a Top 40 success rate of 4.88 percent, and a Number One success rate of 0.523 percent.
While the actual victory goes to Desmond Child, the numbers are close enough to say that the Eurovision Song Contest is roughly equal to one of the biggest names in the music industry. On average, you’ll find just as much success at the Song Contest as you would hiring one of the industry’s most successful names.
Yes, the Song Contest is successful in finding hits. But it doesn’t find significantly more hits than you would expect from similar sample sizes in the music industry. It can showcase your music, it can offer an international stage, and it can hand artists more promotional opportunities than most TV gigs in the world.
But it’s no better at making you a star than the man who wrote ‘Livin’ Da Vida Loca.’
A Final Thought…
For those of you wondering what happens if their paths cross, Desmond Child has penned two songs for the Eurovision Song Contest… Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Believe in Me‘ (United Kingdom 2013), and The Rasmus’ ‘Jezebel‘ (Finland 2022).
They finished 19th and 21st, respectively.