World Song Contest

Who could have guessed the contest would break the record of participants one year after it was launched ? Well it was done this time with 37 countries joining the game. With no qualifying round, it became a challenge to guess which song could win. But some will say we could avoid some great disappointment... with some great songs not going to the final.  This is the kind of things which happen each year in the Eurovision Song Contest. One month after Athens hosted the show, some players still had the nostalgy and decided to give a second chance to their representatives. So did Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Netherlands. We also had 8 other singers related to the ESC (some of them with a song from a national final) including winners Sertab Erener for Turkey and Secret Garden (with Brian Kennedy) for Ireland. This didn't always lead to success, as the Netherlands came last with 25 points, but it helped some countries to reach the top 10.

With Cyprus' come back and 4 of the Balkan's countries, neighbourg's voting became a reality. Greece and Cyprus exchanged their 12 points, while Croatia and F.Y.R. of Macedonia highest points went to their neighbourgs. This can be explained by the languages and the culture which are similar, if not the same... and that the singers are famous in all the countries. Anyway it had no consequences on the final results as none of them won. But Greece probably showed how strategical choices could help to reach the top. When you know that several players come from Greece and Sweden, isn't it a good thing to play with a Greek-Swedish band ?

Another record was beaten in this edition with the first "unreal" singer for France, a one and a half year old baby girl named Lilly. This kind of song sung by an animated character became famous in France thanks to Ilona Mitrecey. Her success gave ideas to producers, and songs of that kind often reached the French top 10. But here, it didn't work that good and a 26th position was all France could reach.

Japan had to show the 3rd place of the previous edition was not a welcome gift. And despite not being in the top three once again, the song managed to reach the 6th position. Some countries which did better than before were Andorra, Ireland and Spain, all reached the top 5 for the first time since their first participation. After a close race, in which Denmark also took part, Spain finally won with the song Días De Verano performed by Amaral, who represented Andorra in WSC .13 (where they finished 7th).

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THE WINNER

Country: Spain
Artist(s): Amaral
Song: Días De Verano

Amaral are a Spanish pop/rock band who began topping the national charts with remarkable frequency after the turn of the century. Comprised of songwriters Eva Amaral (vocals, guitar; born on August 4, 1973, in Zaragoza, Spain) and Juan Aguirre (guitar; born on February 11, 1970, in San Sebastián, Spain), the duo first met in 1993 in Zaragoza, where they were active in separate bands: the former was a drummer in Bandera Blanca while the latter was a guitarist in Días de Vino y Rosas. In 1997, after leaving their respective bands and forming one of their own, the duo moved to Madrid and, in turn, signed a major-label recording contract with EMI. The following year they made their full-length debut with the eponymous album Amaral. The album spawned a series of singles, as did the follow-up effort, Una Pequeña Parte del Mundo (2000), and the band's fortunes rose steadily. Amaral's third album, Estrella de Mar (2002), marked their mainstream breakthrough, peaking at number one on the Spanish albums chart and spawning five chart-topping hit singles ("Sin Ti No Soy Nada," "Moriría por Vos," "Toda la Noche en la Calle," "Te Necesito," "Salir Corriendo"). The follow-up album, Pájaros en la Cabeza (2005), was similarly successful, again peaking at number one on the Spanish albums chart and spawning five chart-topping hit singles ("El Universo Sobre Mí," "Días de Verano," "Marta, Sebas, Guille y los Demás," "Resurrección," "Si Tú No Vuelves"). In the midst of this success, the live video El Comienzo del Big Bang: Gira 2005 (2005) was released. After a few years out of the spotlight, Amaral returned in 2008 with the chart-topping double album Gato Negro/Dragon Rojo and the likewise chart-topping lead single "Kamikaze." Follow-up singles included "Tarde de Domingo Rara" and "Perdóname."