
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).
| 1 | Spain | Amaral: Días De Verano | 111 pts |
| 2 | Ireland | Secret Garden feat. Brian Kennedy: You Raise Me Up | 106 pts |
| 3 | Denmark | Mew: Snow Brigade | 92 pts |
| 4 | United Kingdom | Nerina Pallot: Everybody's Gone To War | 90 pts |
| 5 | Andorra | Diana Navarro: No Te Olvides De Mí | 87 pts |
| 6 | Japan | Onitsuka Chihiro: Infection | 86 pts |
| 7 | Greece | Antique: Follow Me | 81 pts |
| 8 | Sweden | Linda Bengtzing: Jag Ljuger Så Bra | 81 pts |
| 9 | Turkey | Sertab Erener: Storms | 80 pts |
| 10 | Russia | Gorod 312: Ostanus' | 75 pts |
| 11 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | HARI Mata HARI: Kada Izgorim | 71 pts |
| 12 | Italy | Elsa Lila: Valeria | 71 pts |
| 13 | Iceland | Stuðmenn & Stefán Karl: Reykjavík | 64 pts |
| 14 | Monaco | Mylène Farmer: L'Amour N'Est Rien | 63 pts |
| 15 | Germany | Yvonne Catterfeld: Glaub An Mich | 61 pts |
| 16 | Cyprus | Michalis Hatzigiannis: O Vithos Sou | 58 pts |
| 17 | Malta | Chiara: Sail Away | 57 pts |
| 18 | Australia | Rogue Traders: Voodoo Child | 57 pts |
| 19 | Poland | Goya: Tylko Mnie Kochaj | 53 pts |
| 20 | Austria | Pumali Panthers: In Style And In Rhythm | 53 pts |
| 21 | Estonia | Ines: Iseendale | 50 pts |
| 22 | Serbia & Montenegro | Luna: Prognoza | 49 pts |
| 23 | Romania | Sanda Ladosi feat. Jamal: Khalini | 49 pts |
| 24 | Portugal | The Gift: Driving You Slow | 48 pts |
| 25 | Canada | Isabelle Boulay: Je Voudrais | 44 pts |
| 26 | France | Bébé Lilly: Allo Papy | 42 pts |
| 27 | Finland | Turisas: Sahti-Waari | 41 pts |
| 28 | United States of America | Paul Oakenfold feat. Brittany Murphy: Faster Kill Pussycat | 41 pts |
| 29 | Israel | Maya Buskila: Rak Al Tagid | 40 pts |
| 30 | The Philippines | Kyla: If The Feeling Is Gone | 36 pts |
| 31 | Belgium | Larry: Smile | 34 pts |
| 32 | Venezuela | Tecupae: Tierra Santa | 34 pts |
| 33 | Norway | Marit Larsen: Don't Save Me | 32 pts |
| 34 | F.Y.R. of Macedonia | Maja Sazdanovska: Bez pravila | 29 pts |
| 35 | Croatia | Colonia: Ti Da Bu Di Bu Da | 29 pts |
| 36 | Bulgaria | Rushi Vidinliev : Never Stop 2 Rock | 26 pts |
| 37 | The Netherlands | Treble: Ramaganana | 25 pts |
Eva Amaral and Juan Aguirre met each other for the first time in Zaragoza, while they were looking for a discographic company. Eva was studying Art and Juan was playing music with his band. Both of them had the same tastes, the same music influencies, so the posibility of creating a new project together was born. They called themselves after Eva's surname, "Amaral". Their music mixes a lot of styles, such as rock, pop, grunge, and even the portuguese fado. Eva's expressive voice and the intimate guitar sounds from Juan made them famous all over Spain. In 1997, they began playing in clubs around Madrid, with a lot of success, they signed a contract with Virgin records. Their first album "Amaral", made them famous. But the best way to make them famous was their second album "Una pequeña parte del mundo" ("A little part of the world"), with the collaboration of Bunbury. The success allowed them to release their third album "Estrella de mar" ("Starfish"). This album was a fast hit, one of the most sold album in Spain. Songs like "Sin ti no soy nada" ("Without you I'm nothing"), or "Toda la noche en la calle" (All night in the street), became classic hits in the spanish music history. They went on tour around Spain and South America, receiving superb critics and selling 5 million copies of this Album. A record! They have received a lot of awards, such as the MTV "BEST GROUP" in 2002, and a lot of PREMIOS AMIGO (awarded by the Spanish academy of music). Their last album "Pájaros en la cabeza" (Birds on the head), released in 2005 and recorded in London, has been massive. Whole Spain has played, listened and sung their singles, "El universo sobre mi"(The universe over me), "Dias de verano" (Summer days), and "Marta, Sebas, Guille y los demás" (Marta,Sebas,Guille and the others). Simply one of the best band in Spain!!
Official Website: www.amaral.es
Lyrics
No quedan días de verano para pedirte perdón
para borrar del pasado el daño que te hice yo
Sin besos de despedida y sin palabras bonitas
porque te miro a los ojos y no me sale la voz
Si pienso en ti siento que esta vida no es justa
Si pienso en ti y en la luz
de esa mirada tuya
No quedan días de verano el viento se los llevó
un cielo de nubes negras cubría el último adiós
fue sentir de repente tu ausencia como un eclipse de sol
¿por qué no vas a mi vera ?
Si pienso en ti siento que esta vida no es justa
Si pienso en ti y en la luz de esa mirada tuya
esa mirada tuya...
Es de esos días de verano
vivo en el reino de soledad
nunca vas a saber como me siento
nadie va a adivinar como te recuerdo
Si pienso en ti y siento que esta vida no es justa
si pienso en ti...
esa mirada tuya (x2)
No quedan días de verano (x4)
English translation
There aren't more Summer days, for forgiveness
To erase from the past,the pain I made to you
Without goodbye kisses,without beautiful words
Because I look on your eyes, and i can't speak
If I think of you, I feel that this life isn't fair
If I think of you, and of the light
Of your look
There aren't more Summer days,they're gone with the wind
The sky full of dark clouds, covered our last goodbye
It was like feeling suddenly your absence,it was like a sun eclipse
Why don't you come to my side ?
If I think of you,I feel that this life isn't fair
If I think of you,and of the light
Of your look...
It's like one of those Summer days
I live in the kingdom of loneliness
You will never know how I feel
Nobody will guess how I remember you
If I think of you,I feel that this life isn't fair
If I think of you...
Of your look...(x2)
There aren't more summer days (x4)
nunca vas a saber como me siento
nadie va a adivinar como te recuerdo
Si pienso en ti y siento que esta vida no es justa
si pienso en ti...
esa mirada tuya (x2)
No quedan días de verano (x4)