World Song Contest

55 countries took part in the 55th edition of the World Song Contest. Some countries made their come back like Slovakia and Trinidad & Tobago (under the CARICOM rule, which states that CARICOM can be represented by one of the countries of the community, except if this country is already in the game). Both of them qualified for the final. Trinidad & Tobago was only one of the countries from America qualified. In fact all of them, except Brazil, found a place in the final. Africa was the least succesful with only one of four representatives in final. Asia also had a hard time.

After he failed with Sigur Rós for Iceland in WSC .54, Jon Thor Birgisson also failed with his boyfriend in WSC .55. Jónsi & Alex didn't manage to qualify. Other big names did better as both Tokio Hotel, for Liechtenstein, and Australia's Natalie Imbruglia made it to the final to join British band Muse. All of them also reached the top 10.

After its first victory in WSC .54, F.Y.R. of Macedonia found the bottom of the rankings with a last position, while Quebec and Puerto Rico reached their best result ever. It was also their second top 10 position.

It was not only a top 10 position for United Kingdom, but also a top 5 position for the third time in a row, finishing second behind Natalie Imbruglia and the song Want for Australia. This was the second victory for Australia, after WSC .06 and the fourth for Oceania. Andorra had to be third but as no votes were received it lost 33% of the points and gave the bronze to Japan.

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THE WINNER

Country: Australia
Artist(s): Natalie Imbruglia
Song: Want

Born in Sydney, Australia, on February 4, 1975, Natalie Imbruglia was one of four sisters and grew up in a tiny beach town. After becoming a teen actress and landing a spot on the Australian soap opera Neighbours, Imbruglia decided that she would rather be a singer, and moved to London in 1996 to try her luck. It was a wise move, as she was soon signed to the RCA U.K. label. Deciding to release a single before her full-length debut, the track "Torn" was issued in 1997, and no one could have predicted its wild success. Produced by former Cure member Phil Thornalley and written by Ednaswap, the single spent a total of 14 weeks at number one, sold over a million copies, and broke the record for most airplay in U.K. history. Her debut album, Left of the Middle, was a major hit in Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. upon its release in early 1998. Follow-up singles "Smoke" and the album's title track did moderately well, but never achieved massive success like "Torn." After whirlwind praise, Imbruglia disappeared for the rest of the '90s. She found herself battling writer's block while trying to compose material for a sophomore effort, but finally succeeded and, in 2001, released White Lilies Island in the U.K. The album's debut single, "That Day," was a favorite among radio play. In April 2005, Imbruglia released her third studio album Counting Down the Days to the UK, which in its first week of sales hit number one on the album charts. The first single from this album “Shiver” became her longest running single on the UK Charts since her debut "Torn" and also topped the UK Airplay charts for several weeks. After "Counting Down the Days", she switched labels and released a greatest hits CD “Glorious: 1997-2007”, which included five new tracks. Imbruglia’s fourth album, "Come To Life", followed in 2009.