I was introduced to Eurovision by an old friend from university in Canada way back in 2010, yet I never actually watched the show, just listened to a bunch of songs he gave me from this year and the year before. Back then I didn’t think much of the song contest, but my sudden craving for non-English songs and certain world events in 2022 eventually got me into checking out the song contest! As partially a thank-you to the friend who introduced me to Eurovision, I’ve decided to listen to and rank all the songs featured in the 2010 contest!
This is my first full ranked review I’ve published, and keep in mind I’m a Japanese person with no ties to Europe (besides being able to speak English and French), so I might have missed some important cultural contexts behind certain songs! My tastes also lean a bit rock and alternative, while I’m not so much a fan of ballads, so keep that in mind as well while reading this review. Also, the rankings have nothing to do with the "certain world events" I mentioned earlier (even though it seems reflective of them in this particular ranking).
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| Estonian contestant giving glances at the camera (Official ESC YouTube channel) |
Also note that I've used the names of the countries as of 2010, if you were wondering about countries now known as North Macedonia or Türkiye.
Link to playlist (not in order, sorry): https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhcBOnqL4lysuSPA7s0gNVJtZYVPzMWOU
39. Peter Nalitch & Friends - Lost and Forgotten (Russia)
Not the most memorable track and if it weren’t for the fact that it actually qualified to the Grand Final, the title of the song would actually be quite an apt description for this folksy ballad (not Russian folklore, but guitar folk-pop). The "sliding"-sounding backing vocal chants don't seem to help either.
38. 3+2 feat. Robert Wells - Butterflies (Belarus)
Gospelly piano ballad. Nice vocals and cool costumes with butterfly wings but I think it’d have benefitted from more complex harmonies a little earlier on in the song.
37. Femminem - Lako je sve (Croatia)
Pop ballad with strings from this trio of female vocalists. Nice choreography, but not too exciting musically.
36. Thea Garrett - My Dream (Malta)
A ballad that sounds a bit 90s rather than 2000s/2010s with a nice live performance featuring a very flashy winged dancer.
35. Josh Dubovie - That Sounds Good to Me (United Kingdom)
It’s a cute, uplifting song with a nice singer, but the backing vocals…I’m sorry, but they don’t “[sound] good to me”.
34. Filipa Azevedo - Há Dias Assim (Portugal)
Low-key gospelly piano ballad which is, well, just that. Kind of getting Disney vibes on this one.
33. Jon Lilygreen & the Islanders - Life Looks Better in Spring (Cyprus)
Mostly acoustic pop which sounds like something you’d hear at a hotel bar.
32. Harel Skaat - Milim (Israel)
Maybe it’s because I’ve not heard some Hebrew songs from Israel in recent memory, but I’m really enjoying hearing the Hebrew language here! Unfortunately he goes a little off-key towards the end, and given that it’s a ballad (which isn’t to my usual taste music-wise) I don’t find it as exciting.
31. Marcin Mrozinski - Legenda (Poland)
Dramatic-sounding bilingual ballad with Polish influences. I love the traditional costumes the dancers are wearing!
30. Il pleut de l’or - Michael von der Heide (Switzerland)
The title, which translates to “it’s raining gold”, unfortunately reminds me of the phrase “golden shower” that made its rounds back in 2016 thanks to a former questionable president of a non-European country, which brings this song down a bit. Otherwise it’s a decent enough francophone electropop, but I don’t think I’ll come back to it often.
29. Niamh Kavanagh - It’s for you (Ireland)
The 1993 Eurovision victor has returned for this edition with a standard ballad, but you can definitely tell she’s a professional with how she manages to captivate the audience with just her voice. I like the flute break in the middle, adding just a little bit of ethnic flavor.
28. maNga - We Could be the Same (Turkey)
Heavy synth-rock with way too many strobes in the live performance and a crazy robot dancer almost trying to saw her hand off! I wonder if the dancer’s why they did so well that year? For me it’s a bit too many strings to really be able to get into the song.
27. Didrik Solli-Tangen - My Heart is Yours (Norway)
It’s a ballad for the host and automatic qualifier Norway, but with much more impactful vocals and an actual progression in the music than the fellow balladeers.
26. Sieneke - Ik Ben Verliefd (Sha-la-lie) (The Netherlands)
Catchy carnival fair-influenced music and staging to match. Not a bad song at all, I like this feel-good atmosphere Sieneke and the backing dancers and vocalists brought to the performance!
25. Jessy Matador - Allez Ola Olé (France)
Very upbeat number that could soundtrack a World Cup game…which apparently it actually did for the French team in FIFA that year! Quite the fun performance to watch as well.
24. Kuunkuiskaajat - Työlki ellää (Finland)
Finnish folk featuring accordions! I quite enjoyed this number to the point I was clapping along with them when it came on during my first watch of the semifinals.
23. Milan Stanković - Ovo je Balkan (Serbia)
Interesting hairstyle and fun upbeat track with Balkan flavor.
22. Safura - Drip Drop (Azerbaijan)
The male backing dancer has an all-black outfit with a red tie which reminds me of Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day. Otherwise it’s a decent enough pop ballad which sounds absolutely nothing like the band.
21. Tom Dice - Me and My Guitar (Belgium)
Cute acoustic pop which kind of reminds me of early Ed Sheeran, even though this performance predates his debut. Definitely a track for folk-pop lovers.
20. Eva Rivas - Apricot Stone (Armenia)
A folk-pop number with a bit of ethnic flavor highlighted by the backing dancers. This is one of the songs my friend gave me to listen to back in 2010 so I was exposed to this song a bit before I worked on this review.
19. Sofia Nizharadze - Shine (Georgia)
I believe this is Georgia’s best-placing song to date, before they started going all experimental? It’s another pop ballad with quite the complex choreography, which makes it quite remarkable the singer manages to keep very steady vocals whilst being dragged around by the backing dancers.
18. Hera Björk - Je ne sais quoi (Iceland)
I’m not good with genres, but I think this is house-influenced dance-pop? Much like the Moldovan track, this song feels very much of its time or even ahead of its time, since this kind of genre exploded in around 2011 or 2012.
17. Miro - Angel Si Ti (Bulgaria)
That is a lot of body glitter and “Ohhh, oh oh oh oh” on this upbeat synth pop performance.
16. Aisha - What For? (Latvia)
This alternative pop track features a weird mix of accordion-esque backing track over some dark synth riffs reminiscent of Halsey’s Badlands songs. It also has some rather strange lyrics referencing “Mr God” and “uncle Joe” (whoever that is, the VP of the USA at the time??). It’s definitely an intriguing track in a very strange way.
15. Gjoko Taneski - Jas ja imam silata (Macedonia)
Very Linkin Park-like track with powerful rock vocals and a cool rap bridge, only this one has guitar solos which aren’t that prominent in the Arizonan band. I wish I understood the lyrics so I can actually sing along to it, since this sounds very cool!
14. Anna Bergendahl - This is My Life (Sweden)
This is quite the cute folk-pop ballad, but unfortunately it didn’t qualify, probably due to her sounding a little shaky towards the end. Maybe she was nervous? But I still hope Sweden won’t be afraid to return to sending something low-key like this, since it’s a nice song.
13. Vukašin Brajić - Thunder and Lightning (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
I guess I tend to gravitate towards rock music at Eurovision and this is no exception! Anthemic and highly enjoyable track (albeit with some clunky lyrics) that makes me miss Bosnia and Herzegovina’s presence in the contest.
12. Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira - Run Away (Moldova)
It’s the legendary Epic Sax Guy! I feel like I heard a lot of very similar EDM-esque tracks in university as well around this time so keeping things nice and timely to start the contest, and it still holds up to this day.
11. Giorgios Alkaios & Friends - Opa! (Greece)
Another track given by my friend to check out, an upbeat ethno-pop banger from Greece. I can see this being a hit with Eurofans really looking for songs that culturally represent the country of the performer!
10. Daniel Diges - Algo Pequeñito (Spain)
Spain’s brought a bit of a circus on stage but without very outrageous props, just very flexible and fancily-dressed dancers (and a random stage invader). The music kinda fits a fair too in a way, much like the Netherlands but a bit more sombre in a Spanish waltz style. Props to Daniel for keeping it professional and continuing to perform as normal when the stage invader suddenly appeared.
9. Lena - Satellite (Germany)
This year’s victor here! The singer might have some odd inflections, but otherwise it’s a cute, straightforward pop song that actually gets better with multiple listens.
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8. Chanée & N’evergreen - In a Moment Like This (Denmark)
Another song given by my friend, a cute duet I wouldn’t mind coming back to occasionally. Returning to this song after having taken a break from it kinda reminds me of my time in university because of this, in a good way.
7. Kristína - Horehronie (Slovakia)
This is regarded as Slovakia’s best song to date by the fandom and yet this is a non-qualifier! Such a shame, this folk-pop tune is a fun listen with the performers donning some cool costumes.
6. Malcolm Lincoln - Siren (Estonia)
Somehow I’m quite enjoying this nice piano-driven number with strangely upbeat and odd choreography that doesn’t match the song yet adds character to the performance! I also find the singer giving very direct glances at the camera very entertaining.
5. Paula Seling & Ovi - Playing with Fire (Romania)
I’m quite enjoying the glass piano with keyboards on both ends used as a prop. Paula Seling absolutely nailed the high note at the end of the bridge too! Fun song to listen to despite some clunky lyrics.
4. Ansambel Žlindra & Kalamari - Narodnozabavni Rock (Slovenia)
Well this is wild, a fusion of Slovenian folk and rock-n-roll. Boasting some guitar AND accordion solos which kind of bring to mind Kongos if they went in a more rock-n-roll direction. You’d think there’s more songs like this in ESC but this is the first I’ve heard in this kind of genre fusion.
3. Alyosha - Sweet People (Ukraine)
Powerful vocals on this rock ballad, all without using in-ears! Alyosha also has a commanding stage presence, which made the very simple staging with just her work amazingly. Great performance for a song that was reportedly replaced twice and finalized after the EBU deadline.
2. Juliana Pasha - It’s All About You (Albania)
Cool dark electropop tune featuring violins and excellent call-and-response between the powerful vocalist and the backing singers!
1. InCulto - Eastern European Funk (Lithuania)
It’s hard to believe Lithuania didn’t qualify with such a fun entry featuring enjoyable choreography and lighting displays depicting cute stick figures dancing along to this upbeat and clever satirical song. I could be biased as I tend to enjoy many of Lithuania’s entries, but this is still one of their most memorable songs to date and absolutely deserves to be my winner of the year.
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