Top 30: Music videos of ESC songs [Part 3 – The Top 10]

As you guys know, I’m taking you through the thirty best music videos that accompany Eurovision songs to the Contest. Yesterday, we found out which songs just missed out on the top 10 in the second part of the countdown and today, we’ll find out which music videos have which video have managed to get a place in the top 10. So which video is our #1? Well, keep reading to find out!

‘Taken By A Stranger’ has an amazing music video, but is it our #1?

Over the course of fifty-nine years, Eurovision has seen nearly 1,200+ songs, each of which have had their own music video. Obviously, as time has gone on and technology has improved, the music videos have become more and more – how shall I put it – extravagant. So in this countdown, most of the music videos featured are from the past few years, but we do love the golden oldie videos, so we’ve included some of the videos from the earlier days of Eurovision. Got it? Great, let’s get started!

10 – Remedios Amaya – “¿Quién Maneja Mi Barca?” (Spain 1983)

It’s fair to say that here at ESC Views, we do love the singing-goat sound-a-like that is Remedios Amaya and her *amayzin* song . The music video for “¿Quién Maneja Mi Barca?” is a lesser form of the three previous tourist videos we’ve already featured on the countdown. The reason why the video is so high on this top is because she basically gave us the jist of what she was going to do/wear on stage in Munich.. as well as the fact that the beach she was standing on was also pretty cute. When it came to the actual Contest, she had to ditch the drum machines that were used in the studio version, but the orchestra compensated for with all the woodwind instruments. I just love this video and it really is a fun one to watch.. whether anyone agrees with me has yet to be seen.

9 – Luminița Anghel – “Let Me Try” (Romania 2010)

‘Let Me Try’ has a video that is just fantastic. First of all, it’s nice that Sistem decided to be in the music video and not just be in the instrumental.. and on stage too (we also got to see some of the tricks they would see on stage in Kyiv). The video is set in some desert with Luminița laying down, sitting up and singing the song with the drummers behind her. It’s nothing spectacular, but it does raise a couple of questions. For example, when the sky is passing very quickly while she’s singing (around 0:18 in the video), does that mean that it was partly recorded on a greenscreen? Well, either way the video is really good and that third place is obviously deserved, and the song had the video to match.

8 – Hannah Mancini – “Straight Into Love” (Slovenia 2013)

This video was request by James to be featured in the top 30 and to be honest, I can’t blame him! It is a really modern music video to accompany the underrated track ‘Straight Into Love’. The video does look a little bit like the music video for Andra’s song “Something New”, a video I go into detail about in our Possible Artists article for Romania. Hannah stands in front of multiple backgrounds and just looks cute while she sings the song; sometimes wearing a decent outfit and sometimes not. But technically, she’s not the only thing worth watching in the video. Oh no,  the video has another trait should make you sit up and watch! The video is packed with particularly appealing men (sometimes with a shirt, sometimes without) and I think it’s fair to say we all have our favourite one: my one’s the guy under the shower and James’ is the man in the bath – if that’s the same guy, AWKWARD! Which is yours? Tell us when you ‘ve finished reading!

7 – Krista Siegfrids – “Marry Me” (Finland 2013)

Never in all my life have I laughed at a man being taken hostage and being forced to get a tattoo; Krista Siegfrids is the best bride at Eurovision ever! The video basically shows Krista going to a spa with her girlfriends to get her fiancé and basically drag him up the aisle, if necessary, and at least the video ends with everyone doing the ‘ding dong’ dance – who doesn’t?!. Can I just point out a few funny moments in the video? At 2:08, the grooms face is just priceless – he’s like: “OMG, WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE WEARING?! WHAT AM I DOING HERE?!” and at 2:16, the priest behind Krista makes a facial expression saying: “Yeah buddy, this is what you’ve signed up for!” Man, I just love this video and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard at music video. Krista, you babe, you are fantabulous!

6 – Alyosha – “Sweet People” (Ukraine 2010)

The music video for “Sweet People” was released a matter of weeks before the Contest in Oslo and boy, didn’t they make an amazing video! The video features Alyosha going around the ruined city of Pripyat and seeing how it’s changed since 1986 when the city was evacuated because of the nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl. She also stands in front of a screen where distressing images of the environment being damaged are shown (such as dolphins swimming from a net, trees being cut down etc). She also picks up a little child who’s been left on a pile of rubble,  but that part was shot in Kyiv, as Alyosha thought that if the kid saw Pripyat, it wouldn’t be safe. It does get the message across that we have to stop the stuff we’re doing in order to save the world – a message that’s echoed in the lyrics of the song. It’s a fantastic, eye-opening video for an eye-opening song.

5 – Lena – “Satellite” (Germany 2010)

There wouldn’t be a countdown if Lena wasn’t part of it! ‘Satellite’ is indeed the Eurovision Song Contest’s most viewed music video, with the video clocking up nearly 41 million views on Youtube over the past three years. The video is a very simple one, with Lena singing the song with a simple spotlight and her dancing around the Unser Star für Oslo studio. What makes the video so great is that Lena is completely herself in the video and that she didn’t need to follow the whole concept that Eurovision brings; thousands of dancers, a large dance routine or any of that. Maybe one of the reasons why everybody loves the song is because of the video; I know I do! It’s a decent, radio-friendly song with a simple video that captures our attention. Need I say more about it?

4 – Paula Seiling & Ovi – “Playing With Fire” (Romania 2010)

The music video for ‘Playing With Fire’ has the best animated graphics of any Eurovision video. In the video, we get to see Paula and Ovi really having the fight they talk about in the lyrics to ‘Playing With Fire’.. kind of. The fight is basically a virtual one where they’re trying to kill each other in RPGs (Role Playing Games) and in the end they become two dancers who dance around a town with some futuristic robots. The video is one of the best of recent times (of course it’s not our #1, but it’s the best from 2010) and the fact that it was released a mere month before the Contest in Norway gave them a little bit of an advantage, as it would make them more memorable. Well done guys!

3 – Loreen – “Euphoria” (Sweden 2012)

The obvious winner of Eurovision in Azerjibban Azerbaijan, the music video for ‘Euphoria’ was released two months after her triumph in Baku. In the video, Loreen is in control of nature somehow and she uses the elements to her advantage as she can start and stop a thunderstorm (after a few seconds of awkwardness, as the storm had not ended by the time she had her hands in the air) and make it snow, even though it’s not cold at all or anything.. nobody let her near a weather report please! The video gained immediate attention in the Eurovision world and this year, it was partly imitated by our own Emmelie de Forest in the video for “Only Teardrops” as of the 30th of November 2013, the video had accumulated nearly 17.8 million views on Youtube. I bet Loreen’s very EUPHOOOOOORIC about that!

2 – Zlata Ognevich – “Gravity” (Ukraine 2013)

Only just missing out on our #1 spot, the Queen that is Zlata Ognevich has the best music video of the Contest this year. Even if the video was made avec greenscreen, Zlata still looks like a queen in the video! Although, I’m intrigued to know how that magical island manages to float in the sky.. is it lighter than the bubble that surrounds it? Anyway, Zlata is adoring every sort of animal that one can name – butterflies, dragonflies, birds and even a unicorn! And when she’s floating that bubble with the diamonds, I would be grabbing them all and selling them, not adoring them! In all seriousness though, the video is amazing graphically and to tell you, she looks cute all the time in that video; at around 1:23, she pulls a pose that reminds me of a swan.. maybe she IS a swan? Just don’t let Björk get her hands on her, or this will happen!

So, after three days, we’ve gone through 29 of the best Eurovision music videos, and now the time has come to reveal the top video. And the #1 is….

1 – Lena – “Taken By A Stranger” (Germany 2011)

Lena?! Being featured twice in one countdown?! This is, so far, only the second time she’s been mentioned twice in one article (well, in our article about Germany, she featured quite heavily) and well, there’s a reason why ‘Taken By A Stranger’ is our number 1. First of all, how sexy is Lena in the video?! It’s like what an interviewer said to Lena when she was having a press conference in Düsseldorf: “From a peppy new-girl-on-block to mysterious, something more of an enigma.” Next, the dancing sperm dancers. Like the ‘Shady Lady’ dance routine, I know this routine off by heart too and when there are multiple dancers, you just wanna jump in and do it, like a flashmob! Then, we come to the girl herself. Lena sings the song with such a dark atmosphere and when she’s sat with the dog on her lap, that makes her look like she’s the titular “stranger”. As well as that, the trick photography used in the video such as the false reflections like at the beginning of the first chorus are also what makes the video so amazing! All these factors added up give us “Taken By A Stranger” and now, it’s the number 1 music video in ESC Views’ Top 30! So what do you think of our top then?

Your views:

What’s your favourite music video?

With our countdown completed, what did you think of the top?

Greta Nürmburg from Germany: I love the video for “Glorious”, I think it’s the best music video ever! I also like “Satellite” too.

Jón Haukrsson from Iceland: “L’enfer et moi” has a great music video! I also love Anggun’s video “Echo(You and I)”, for a few reasons too 😉

Matthew Hilton from the United Kingdom: Songs like “Zjarr e ftothë” have good music videos! I also like the video for Hanna in 2007, her song was rocking!

So, like the other people mentioned in the countdown, everyone has their favourite music video. But what’s yours? And what do you think of our top 10? Who would you have added or taken away from the countdown? Be sure to tell us what you think by commenting below and enjoy the Junior Eurovision tonight!!

Top 30: Music videos of ESC songs [Part 2]

As you guys know, I’m taking you through the thirty best music videos that accompany Eurovision songs to the Contest. Yesterday, in the first part of the countdown I took you through places 30 – 21 and today, we’ll find out which music videos have just missed out a place in the top 10. So which videos are making it on this part of the countdown? Well, keep reading to find out!

Margaret Berger’s new video has just been released – but where on our top has it been placed?

Over the course of fifty-nine years, Eurovision has seen nearly 1,200+ songs, each of which have had their own music video. Obviously, as time has gone on and technology has improved, the music videos have become more and more – how shall I put it – extravagant. So in this countdown, most of the music videos featured are from the past few years, but we do love the golden oldie videos, so we’ve included some of the videos from the earlier days of Eurovision. Got it? Great, let’s get started!

20 – Jessy Matador – “Allez Ola Olé” (France 2010)

The summer anthem that is ‘Allez Ola Olé’ had two videos produced, but for the purpose of this top and the fact that this version is better than the first one, we’re using the second version. This is basically what one imagines when they hear ‘beach party’ – sunbathing, dancing with a huge boombox, women in bikinis; it’s basically a straightman’s fantasy. There’s also a chance that in this video, you can see the prototype of twerking.. do you get what I’m saying? The song does get you moving and the video is appealing in many ways, so the combination is actually a great one. And may I say, that butt of his? I shall say no more..

19 – Hera Björk – “Je Ne Sais Quoi” (Iceland 2010)

The undisputed ‘fanwank’ of 2010, Hera Björk’s video for the CHOON that is “Je Ne Sais Quoi” is both so cute and yet a little bit weird at the same time. It seems that she’s brought the wrong outfit to the swimming pool! In all seriousness, it does seem she’s met the love of her life , the receptionist/cleaner/lifeguard. She does plunge herself into the pool from a high diving board just to get the man’s attention, but if that’s she’s got to do to get her man, then I’m not gonna complain. Those extra shots of her singing with her hair and make up also give the song a really euphoric atmosphere, and the song/video are a great combination and because of these, she’s made the top. Well done Hera!

18 – Kleopatra – “Olou Tou Kosmou I Elpida” (Greece 1992)

This music video for ‘Olou Tou Kosmou I Elpida’ is – once again – like the video for ‘Lejla’; a tourist video for the country. The video is shot in a stereotypical village associated with Greece, with all the houses on the hill looking over the sea.. am I describing Crete here? Anyway, Kleopatra is singing through random little alleyways in the town, all the while, a man is playing the electric guitar at random places in the village.. is that really needed in a traditional song? When one looks at the lyrics, they see that the song talks about the uncertainty of the modern world and that the song will point the way to the world’s hope.. Maybe the video could be a metaphor to keep yourself in touch with your roots? Everyone has their own interpretation of it, but either way, the video is a cute one and that’s why it’s on our top 30.

17 – Helena Paparizou – “My Number One” (Greece 2005)

“My Number One”s video is probably what marked the bridge between how the quality of music videos over the course of the noughties has improved. First of all, the dance troupe; very well needed! They appear everywhere in the video: when she’s actually dancing along with the troupe, when she’s leaning sexily on a sports car, when she does a bit of dancing with her ass. As well as them, those random guys and girls who are just watching her sing through that weird screen; emm.. weird much? Those points being said, Helena’s outfits are stunning. I mean, I’m no fashionista but I know when someone looks good in an outfit! Plus, that dancing she does on her own was pretty good too. It’s a great music video, all in all, but they could have improved on that green screen in certain parts.

16 – Margaret Berger – “I Feed You My Love” (Norway 2013)

So yeah, the picture did trick you a little bit, but Margaret Berger’s official video for “I Feed You My Love” is finally out! Of course, being the latest music video to be released, we don’t have as much time to analyse why the video deserves to go on the countdown, but I’ve watched the video enough times to tell you why. The video, like ‘Suus’, is very much an artistic video where Margaret’s been swishing her hair around (not as sexily as Elitsa, as I discussed yesterday), jumping and doing some interesting hand movements.. maybe she took some inspiration from Glennis Grace? Compared to the first video, this is more or less what the song doesn’t get across, and because it’s so dramatic and the song gives the video more of an atmosphere, she deserves this spot. Well done Margaret!

15 – Cascada – “Glorious” (Germany 2013)

Music videos usually catch our attention in one extravagant form or another, and Cascada definitely delivered on that front when they released the video for ‘Glorious’. The video features Natalie, in a very swank dress with a large train (that’s the long bit at the end of a dress, not the form of transportation), walking … and walking.. and singing, sometimes with confetti raining down on her! The video also shows a few ballet dancers  doing their thing in the video too; I’m not exactly sure why they’re in the video, but they’re probably used as a visual metaphor to live life while you still have the chance. So when it comes to the reason why it’s on the video.. it’s an amazing video for an amazing song, and if Europe didn’t make it become a well-known fanwank, we could have been heading for Germany next year and not Denmark.. Oh well, I guess the best song wins! Well, not all of them…

14 – Anastasiya Prikhodko – “Mamo” (Russia 2009)

Ruslana lookalike Anastasiya Prikhodko really has to stop messing with voodoo. The video for “Mamo” definitely tells a story as it progresses. Four sets were used in the video; each set representing one of the four seasons. In the video, she also manages to defy some form of physics by rolling multiple stones into one. She also ends up tearing the wedding dress she was wearing through most of the video in the final scene.. is that not a waste of money? You get the idea though that they song is about love and how it can turn so suddenly. I don’t know why she tied her hair up though when she performed on home soil in Moscow, she’s got really luscious hair! C’est la vie I guess.. OH, speaking of French..

13 – Amina – “C’est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison” (France 1991)

It’s fair to say that it’s no wonder that France came joint first with Sweden back in 1991 and if the Eurovision rules that are enforced now were being used back then, we would have been heading for France in 1992 instead of Sweden. “C’est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison” – frequently shortened down to “Le dernier qui a parlé” – is easily distinguishable, as it has that African influence from the word go (That’s understandable, as Amina herself is from Tunisia) and in the music video for it, it seems that the video was indeed shot in Africa, with some of the shots including fishing the old-fashioned way and the odd eagle even popping up! It’s no wonder why it did so well, the song is just really catchy and it has that “everything-will-be-okay” feel to it. Great video indeed! And may I say those ‘eeoh, eeoh’ bits are just so amazing to hear. I just love the song!

12 – Anouk – “Birds” (Netherlands 2013)

“Birds” was very much a love/hate song and even here at ESC Views, it’s split opinions – I’m more of a fan of the song and James hates it with a passion. But as much as we either love or hate it and Anouk herself, there’s no denying the video was very memorable! As part of a mega release of her music videos for Sad Singalong Songs (which I did a review for, if you wanna read it), she had to do a music video for ‘Birds’ and in the video, she portrays a ballet teacher who isn’t exactly impressed with the lead dancer (who is actually Igone de Jongh, the lead ballerina of the Dutch National Ballet) and in the end.. well, let’s just say that she does something terrible. The music video does bring you along with the storyline and when you reach the climax of the video, it’s perfectly timed with the key change. It really is a good music video and I think it deserves this spot.. I don’t know about you though!

11 – Ani Lorak – “Shady Lady” (Ukraine 2008)

First of all, before I get even started, I think there was some subtle decision to make that frame of the video the thumbnail; I mean, COME ON! Anyway, for Ani Lorak, sex definitely sells. There are countless shots of her chest throughout the video – some with a bra, some without. She obviously knows how to make a man want her; it’s a good trait to use in the future, I can tell you now. She also knows her way around a dance routine as well! *I’ll let you in on a secret* I think I’m the only one who knows that entire dance routine inside out (If you know it, tell me below, so then I know I won’t be alone!) and whenever I watch that video I can’t help but dance along! She is definitely one of the sexiest Ukrainians I know (although Svetlana Loboda is a worthy contender too) and she completes this part of our top 30, but what’s your favourite music video?

Your views:

What’s your favourite music video from a Eurovision song?

What do you think of our top 30 so far?

Ilias Kozantinos from Cyprus: I adore the video for “L’enfer et moi” and “Be My Guest”. They are absolutely amazing and I can never not watch them!

Frederick Ulriksson from Sweden: There are some videos like “J’aime la vie” that I think should be every music video. Videos like that are what actually tell us stories. I love them!

Patrick Herrington from the United Kingdom: “Believe In Me” by Bonnie Tyler has a great music video and I also like Witloof Bay’s video too. They are what I enjoy watching.

So, once again, I see that the fans have loads of favourite music videos; all personal to them. Frederick should really look back to the first part of the countdown, and maybe some of the videos mentioned by the fans could feature in our top 10! But what’s your favourite music video? And what do you think of our countdown so far? Be sure to tell us your opinion below and make sure to tune into ESC Views tomorrow, when we’ll be finding out the best music video from a Eurovision song!

Top 30: Music videos of ESC songs [Part 1]

Hey guys and welcome back to ESC Views! It’s been a while since James‘ top 30, so I think it’s time we should do another one, do you think? Great! Well, in this top, we’re going to countdown the thirty best music videos that have been released to accompany the *amayzin* songs they were made for. For this countdown, we had to pick thirty out of over one thousand videos to choose from, but which of the videos have we put on the countdown from 30-21? Well keep reading to find out who made the cut!

“Sanomi” finished 2nd in ESC 2003… but where will its music video end up in our top 30?

Over the course of fifty-nine years, Eurovision has seen nearly 1,200+ songs, each of which have had their own music video. Obviously, as time has gone on and technology has improved, the music videos have become more and more – how shall I put it – extravagant. So in this countdown, most of the music videos featured are from the past few years, but we do love the golden oldie videos, so we’ve included some of the videos from the earlier days of Eurovision. Got it? Great, let’s get started!

30 – Joan Franka – “You and Me” (Netherlands 2012)

A cute little video, Joan Franka starts our top 30 with the video to her cute country song “You and Me”. We had already seen bits and pieces of the video when it was used as the partial background to her performance in the national final, but film a few shot of Joan playing her guitar and add a new part with the children grown up and you’ve got a new music video for her to use after she wins. I have to admit, it is a cute accompaniment to the song and it does show a storyline that does show childhood sweethearts etc, as Joan describes in the lyrics. If she had used the video as the background to her performance in Baku.. maybe she’d do the exact same as she did without it, but either way, the video works for the story of the song and it’s a great way to kick off this mega-countdown!

29 – Hari Mata Hari – “Lejla” (Bosnia & Herzegovina 2006)

Well Bosnia really blew the budget in 2006, didn’t they? The music video for ‘Lejla’ is basically like the postcards for the 2012 Contest in Azerbaijan – a tourist video for Bosnia, but it does work well for the Balkan-esque song. The video does include a good deal of shots of Hari Mata Hari singing the song, but as you’ll see, they are in the minority in the video. Also, those weird yellow thread-like lines flowing throughout the video.. em.. what? They do look like the threads used in the Björk video “Cocoon” – although in the Björk video, they do come out of another place.. anyway, it’s basically a tourist video for the country with the song as the soundtrack, but it did show us some nice shots of Bosnia and the song suits it.. so yeah, it’s on the top!

28 – Morena – “Vodka” (Malta 2008)

‘Vodka’ had probably one of the grandest music videos in the past ten years or so; the whole thing did look like it was a scene from an action movie featuring the female version of Tom Cruise – although that is basically what’s talked about in the lyrics. The budget for the video must have been really big if it included *SPOILER ALERT* cars being blown up, underwater shots and a private plane to pick her up after said underwater shots. It’s obvious that the video is visualising what the lyrics are saying, and you can tell that it is action packed; both the song and the video. Since its release, the video has been hilariously parodied by a group of Maltese comedians and shown to Morena on live TV.. she liked it! And if she likes it, both the parody version and the actual video itself deserve a spot.. but just not the number 1. But at least, she’s got a spot on our top 30, with all that action,m she bloody well deserves it!

27 – Vlado & Isolda – “Ciao, amore” (Yugoslavia 1984)

Obviously, because this was back in the eighties, the quality of the music video was horrible, but the reason why the video is in the top 30 is… well, why don’t you have a look for yourself? They two were naked on the beach and then they were naked again for most of the end of the video.. and I think there was a point when Vlado almost died (well, it looked like he was, and Isolda did look like she was checking his pulse)! May I also point out that around 2:03 in the video, something really weird happens when Vlado emerges from the water.. it leaves a lot to the imagination, doesn’t it? Even for the eighties, this was pretty weird, but the sheer fact it was so weird and controversial is what makes it so great.. sure, it only got 18th place of 19 on the night, but that music video will be forever remembered for the naked duo.

26 – Rona Nishliu – “Suus” (Albania 2012)

This music video.. I would deem it to be a bit of a hybrid: a little bit of an actual music video and also a bit like an artistic video. The simplicity of the video and the huge track that is ‘Suus’ make a weird combination, but they work together very well to create this artist masterpiece of a video. It’s a pretty confusing video when you first watch it and it still even confuses me from time to time, but to me, the box Rona is stuck in is a visual metaphor for her feelings and so she’s retreated into her feelings because she’s gotten hurt. As for the children, I have absolutely no idea about what they’re doing in the video, but it’s nice to see them defacing walls and mirrors by drawing a big, long white line with chalk across the room. To conclude, the music video is a visual beauty and the song is just amazing – so much so, that the song was ‘misheard’ by Youtube channel “ilwihid” to create this really funny version of the song – “Marlène“. Enjoy!

25 – Sopho Khalvashi – “Visionary Dream” (Georgia 2007)

Partly leading on from ‘Lejla’, the music video for ‘Visionary Dream’ is also basically a tourist video for the country. It lets us see more of Sopho, as well as sticking in all the cultural shots of traditional dancers, landscapes and the Georgian alphabet (maybe Bosnia should be taking notes?). The song does talk about all the joys of sharing one’s culture and the video does demonstrate that and this is also like ‘Suus’ – a little (and by “little”, I mean microscopic) bit of an art video. Georgia made an amayzin entrance to the Contest six years ago and with both the song and the video itself, they both made an impact on that Contest in Helsinki – if only the video was featured on stage. The cultural aspect of the video is why it’s on here, but Sopho has also featured both in our backdrop top and our USSR top too, so be sure to check those articles out too!

24 – Urban Trad – “Sanomi” (Belgium 2003)

You may be thinking: “What?! What the hell is this song doing on here?!” Well, even if the video wasn’t exactly the best, the song is the reason why it’s our #24; because when combined, they do create.. almost, a dark aura for the song. Sure, some of the shots aren’t exactly relevant, but the video did give us some hints as to we were later going to see on the stage in Riga, such as that dance routine (don’t tell me you haven’t tried it! I know well you have!) and those weird movements that the accordionist made. As well as that, there was dry ice as well to provide for those intimate shots, so the video wasn’t that bad and you have to admit, ‘Sanomi’ was a tune! If only Europe  gave them three more points, we could have been in Belgium for 2004.. but ‘Everyway That I Can’ seemed to please the viewers more, so I can’t complain.. at least they both beat Alf Poier, thankfully!

23 – Sandra Kim – “J’aime la vie” (Belgium 1986)

Sandra Kim.. where do I begin? “J’aime la vie”‘s video has become quite associated with Eurovision and you can see why! Complete with a Walkman and the stereotypical eighties dance outfit, she definitely made her mark on Eurovision with her video.. and her song.. and her age (I go more into detail in our controversial songs top)! She was only thirteen years old when she won the Contest, and in preparation for that, she created that video. Nowadays, to celebrate 25 years of her win, she redid the music video a few years ago and to be honest, not much has changed since then. All in all, the video is iconic because it was redone twenty-five years later, but even the original was just as memorable. It’s a cute video, and that’s all I have to say about that.

22 – Despina Olympiou – “An Me Thimase” (Cyprus 2013)

The second version produced for ‘An Me Thimase’, this video definitely had a bigger budget than the first one, which shows Despina in the studio actually recording the song with some SUBTLE promotion from Cytamobile and Vodafone. Here, we get to see our favourite, Olympiou standing up at random places during the video, walking through a field and even running around like a maniac in a forest too! It’s not exactly the best music video we could have chosen from over a thousand others, but because ‘An Me Thimase’ is such a beautiful song and Despina sings it so well; both in the studio and lip-syncing for the actual music, it gets to go on the countdown and the song has again been misheard by “ilwihid” to create one of the funniest misheard lyrics videos of all time – “I MADE TEA MYSEEEEEEEEEELF!!” Hope you enjoy that one just as good as “Marlène”.

21 – Elitsa & Stoyan – “Water” (Bulgaria 2007)

It’s fair to say that ‘Water’ is the best of the two music videos Elitsa & Stoyan sent to Eurovision, the other being – obviously – ‘Samo Shampioni’, but this video definitely has more of an intensive atmosphere and when you put the song to it, it becomes a celebration of water.. I think that’s what they were trying to get across, anyway! In the video, Elitsa becomes some black-winged angel and she flies through a seemingly endless mountain of clouds, all the while the duo performing with their astonished drum set they used in Helsinki. Elitsa then gets soaked in water and then controls the water like it’s some sort of element. This is a really wet music video and we get to enjoy the trance music while getting soaked in water and just watch Elitsa do her SEXY HAIR SWISH at the end of the video. It really is an action packed video and with the action packed song to match, it’s no surprise it’s created this amazing video. Well done Elitsa, your hair swish is what got you so high.. and the song too.. Sorry Stoyan!

So Elitsa and Stoyan complete the first part of our top 30, but to you, what’s your favourite music video of a Eurovision song?

Your views:

When it comes to Eurovision, what’s your favourite music video?

What do you think of our top 30 so far?

Anders Back-Vilhelmsen from Denmark: When it comes to the best videos I always return to Visionary Dream! I also love Song #1 and Echo (You and I) too.

Svana Lístí Agnarsdóttir from Iceland: ‘Birds’ has a fantastic video! Other music videos I’d put on are ‘Taken By A Stranger’ or ‘Peace Will Come’ – they all have great music videos too!

Bertu Ag from Malta: Gianluca’s “Tomorrow” is definitely my favourite because it’s simple and it’s cute!

So we’ve seen that the fans have music videos they all adore, but some are more poplar among fans than others. For example, some people love the video for ‘Water’, but other think it’s absolutely horrible! So all the fans have different choices about their favourite music video, but what’s yours? Is there a video you can’t get enough of or is there one that you wish never existed? Feel free to tell us what you think by commenting below and I may use a few of those view in Part 2 of the countdown tomorrow!