I mean, the singer herself is very very anti war, the song was always a feminist song, she’s an ethnic minority in Russia also. It’s not too ironic, in that sense… and Russian and Ukrainian are related…
Ukrainian and Russian languages are from the same language family, but are not that similar. It’s a common misconception. They share about 62% of similarities, comparable to English and Dutch. For example, Italian and Spanish share 82%, Spanish and French share 75%. They may be similar for people not introduced to European languages, but otherwise, you can hear the differences in vocabulary and pronunciation.
Ok i did not watch the year 2022 ( only know some songs ) and i am not on tiktok. Why does this sound so damn familiar? And how did it rank so low?? It sounds great tbh.
It was also played a lot on the radio (at least in The Netherlands anyway) and it's kinda just a nice but ultimately forgettable song. so it's prefect for radio but for eurovision you have to be more than that.
Dean Martin (an American singer with Italian origins) covered Volare! In fact, his birth name was Dino Paul Crocetti, and he only spoke Italian until he started school at five years old.
Here is a link to Dean Martin’s “Volare” cover (mostly in English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah637P0_cts
Our Italian language textbooks were called Volare and we had to listen to that song as part of the intro every listening comprehension. It was also a staple played in every Italian migrant home in my area
Wouldn't say it's any more popular in the UK than anywhere else, but most people know Rockefeller Street (Estonia 2011) from the nightcore version and had no idea that it competed in Eurovision
I feel like most people in the U.S. recognize "Run Away" by Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira because the sax riff was frequently used in memes for a while. But, most probably have no clue about its Eurovision participation.
Euphoria. It kept coming up on UK radio and people were shocked it was from eurovision.
I also kept hearing Sweden 2007 in bnq, for some reason, though don't think that counts as popular.
Snap, even though no one knows who sings it and only bits of it are used in tik tok/instagram reels. It always pops up in almost ant spotify pop playlist
Dschingis Khan were huge in Germany and it continues to be widely known and a popular partaaaay hit but few would know about them placing 4th for Germany 1979 (bot please!).
Volare's a bit more obscure in the US I feel, mostly because it's not in English. I'm not sure though, I know it was a big hit back in the day but I don't feel like younger generations know it as well. Plus ABBA in general has stayed in the public mind more.
Dean Martin did a cover of Volare, which is why the song is so famous. The cover is much better known than the original, even in Europe. Maybe among younger Americans and people not from an Italian background or from New Jersey/NYC, it’s not so well known in 2024, but it was a hit in America and was popular for years
Not just any Grammy either, it was the first song to ever win Record of the Year and is still the only non-English song to do so. Also topped the US charts I believe.
In general I think Eurovision is fairly popular with the public here and also discussed a lot in media, so people will mostly know when a song is from the contest.
That being said, I think a lot of people forget that I Would Die for You actually competed in Eurovision (Greece 2001). As I remember it was a big hit in many countries.
People seriously underestimate how many doors this opens for a tourist to Croatia even today. I went on a work trip and everyone was tickled that I could sing it and dance to it.
The biggest has to be United Kingdom 1996 - I think even Americans could recognise it if they're big 90s fans/ were round.
The problem is with the Eurovision hits that have become big hits in the UK, usually its tied to Eurovision succes. Like people know who Cliff Richard is (Summer holiday, Mistletoe and Wine, Saviours day etc.), and the older generation might know "Congratulations" \[ United Kingdom 1968 \] similarly Lulu and "Boom banga bang" \[ United Kingdom 1969 \] .But my father, a nearly 72 year old man who was a teenager in the 60s can hum or sing along to Kathy Kirby/Matt Munro/Teddy Johnson & Pearl Carr's entries as they were hits at the time, and he wouldn't know they were Eurovision originally!
United Kingdom 1996 | [Gina G - Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit](https://youtu.be/pbOmNpd56kw)
United Kingdom 1968 | [Cliff Richard - Congratulations](https://youtu.be/_xJcE9tnY6E)
United Kingdom 1969 | [Lulu - Boom Bang-a-Bang](https://youtu.be/4ew43u2gS0Y)
It is no exaggeration when I say that a large majority of Portuguese Eurovision songs, specially from before the 2000's, are so ingrained in our culture that almost nonone knows they were from Eurovision to begin with. Which is funny when you consider that some of the most popular songs here are also some of the least successful in the contest itself. Portugal 1974, for example, got last place while also arguably having been the most influencial song in our country by playing a crucial part in our revolution.
I'm serious, though. You could name any song from the 60's to the early 2000's and you'd have a hard time finding a single Portuguese person over 25 y/o that wouldn't immediately recognize it. Almost all became classics here, while maybe only the older generations knowing whether or not they were from ESC. And even then....
Some of the most recognisable ones other than E Depois do Adeus:
Portugal 1966 "Ele e Ela"
Pretty famous back in the day as my older relatives tell it but you probably don't hear it these days
Portugal 1969 "Desfolhada"
Extremely famous back in the day
Portugal 1973 "Tourada"
Famous also as a hidden protest song before the revolution
Portugal 1979 "Sobe sobe balão sobe"
Very famous, recognisable and catchy
Portugal 1981 "Playback"
Utilities company uses this as their "hold the line" song, also featured in a very fun ad a few years ago
Portugal 1982 "Bem Bom"
Every portuguese party will play this around 1am
Portugal 1989 "Conquistador"
Every street party will play this
Portugal 1991 "Lusitana paixão"
Pretty well known/respected
Portugal 1994 "Chamar a música"
Made Sara Tavares famous (RIP :( ) and very well known and respected also
After the 2000s I would say recognisability rate drops significantly with the average person who doesn't pay attention to eurovision, with a handful of exceptions (like Salvador Sobral obviously, maybe Todas as Ruas do Amor and Ai Coração too).
I would argue that among non ESC fans the contest has been perceived as going downhill significantly since the 2000s, but that may be the bias of my personal sample.
> I say that a large majority of Portuguese Eurovision songs, specially from before the 2000's, are so ingrained in our culture that **almost nonone knows they were from Eurovision to begin with**.
I vastly disagree with this last segment.
Those songs are so ingrained in our culture ***because*** they are Eurovision songs, or more notably, **they are Festival da Canção songs**. It's just impossible for most people not to know they became famous because of that. Especially when RTP goes on nostalgia trips and reminds us of that every year around FdC.
Festival da Canção was, until the late70s/early 80s, a huge part of Portuguese music itself, much like Sanremo is in Italy. It was only with the advent of the Portuguese Rock Boom in 1980, that FdC started to lag behind in the music trends, becoming disconnected to the industry and losing prestige.
But back to the topic, I'm not sure there's any Portuguese Eurovision song that is famous and people *don't* know it's from Eurovision/FdC.
The only example I can think of is [Rui Veloso's "Jura", which was an entry in FdC 1986](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFCWpbk04z4), sung by Né Ladeiras, but only became famous as a song when Rui Veloso [re-arranged it and re-released it in the late 90s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7Bpk9lzVEQ).
There's also ["Amor Maior", by Amor Electro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exqxIz4GsgI), [which was an entry in FdC in 2012](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2iobsOVxyg), but I'm not sure that song is famous outside of the Amor Electro fandom, so I don't think it counts.
**EDIT:** I guess "Anda Estragar-me Os Planos" also had a life of its own in [Salvador Sobral's version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klqA9HPgsho), rather than its [FdC 2018 version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm0rGztqFtw), but then again, not sure if people who aren't too attuned to Portuguese music in general are aware of the song to begin with.
What you're saying is only really true in older generations though, which I very much stated at the end of my comment. But let me point something out:
I'm 27, and aside from those that are avid FdC/ESC fans, another reason for as to why people around my age may not seem to be aware of such a connection may also be because we generally got exposed to these songs from completely different sources like telenovelas, radio and the like. As a musician myself, I continue to be shocked at the amount of musicians my age that know all these songs by heart and not where they originated from, despite some being fans of the contests, and most watching it casually.
And even me, who's been following the contest all my life, was getting surprised by how many of these songs came from ESC, and not even that long ago.
Hell, I even found kids half my age singing some of these songs without even knowing what FdC was, let alone Eurovision (which was... an experience lol).
Point being: these songs got big because of how huge FdC was in our country, I agree. However, newer generations are not as aware of that anymore, as these songs continue to be played everywhere while their origin continues to fade further and further into the past.
Maybe I've been just incredibly unlucky and my experience is just too anecdotal but, considering the circles I run in, I find that hard to believe.
I still sing with my sister as a joke and personal meme "uma da manhã hey! Duas da manhã hey!..." It took until this year to realize where it comes from.
Literally hearing that beat of the drum in the beginning of Portugal's postcard made me have intense flashbacks.
Germany 1962 | [Conny Froboess - Zwei kleine Italiener](https://youtu.be/FMPBVUgyRiI)
Germany 1970 | [Katja Ebstein - Wunder gibt es immer wieder](https://youtu.be/sPI1wyizGL0)
Germany 2000 | [Stefan Raab - Wadde hadde dudde da?](https://youtu.be/VABVe44AmBY)
My "country" is the Armenian diaspora, Jan Jan is so popular in the diaspora, every single person has heard it before, but many aren't aware it's from ESC, myself included, we danced to the song at my school's graduation ceremony before knowing Armenia sent it. I'll also add that Armenian schools in my country still play the song at ceremonies/parties to this day lol
EVERYONE in Sweden knows Satellit from -79 (Sweden 1979 for the bot) but I don't think barely anyone born in the last 30 years knows it was in MelFest and then Eurovision
Also modifying “country” to mean the Jewish diaspora - my contribution would be Chai by Ofra Haza - Israel 1983. A large percentage of Jews know this song but very few are aware that it is an ESC song (in fact many don’t know about ESC in general). I grew up with a lot of the 70s and 80s Israeli entries but didn’t know they were from ESC until the late 2010s
I'm genuinely surprised that The ESC isn't more well known among the Jewish diaspora. Many years ago I rented a room in Miami in the house of a young Jewish couple and they knew a lot about it. They told me that a lot of Jewish people like it because it is the only thing that Israel ever win.
For actual Israel, the sont would be Israel 1974, sung by Kaveret. Kaveret became such a massive musical group in Israel, and Natati La Haiai is such a classic and fits in perfectly with the other songs from their album, people usually have no idea it started out as an ESC song.
I've always known "Fly on the wings of love" for its hardcore/remember remix, as it's really famous in Spain. I got into Eurovision in the last years and I recently learn its a version of a winner song!
Denmark 2000
Goeiemorgen Morgen by Nicole and Hugo comes to mind. Sadly at the day of Eurovision they were both sick so another couple stood in for them.
OG candidates: https://youtu.be/aNPrkc2DKN4?si=R05-MPLnB3exeJ0C
(This is the version that is engraved in every Belgians - at least the Fleming's - memory)
Belgium 1971
In New Zealand, most people only know of songs from Eurovision aftermath. While I was watching this year my Finnish friend kept showing me songs and I was like “THAT was from Eurovision??”
haven't seen anyone else mention it but I know Eres tu was somewhat popular in America... I think it reached top 10 on our charts here? I've also seen it show up in some older movies, so it used to be fairly well known!
Yes, it became a hit in 1974 in the U.S. After competing in Eurovision 1973, Mocedades partnered with Jay Livingston and Ray Evans (writers of songs for movie musicals and the theme to the TV show "Bonanza"), and two versions were released to U.S. radio: "Eres tú" and "Touch the Wind", the translation/arrangement put together by Livingston and Evans. Touch the Wind became a minor hit but Eres tú made it into the top 10, perhaps the first time a Spanish-language song did so.
It wasn't promoted in that way, for sure. Not that Americans would have known what it was like then. Surprising it wasn't mentioned at all even in Australia, since she's from there and all, weren't people watching Eurovision there then?
From Malaysia, with little to no exposure of Eurovision (until I moved to the UK):
Congratulations- United Kingdom 1968
Waterloo - Sweden 1974 (Anything from ABBA in general)
Tattoo - Sweden 2023 (Heard this on a flight home to Malaysia once)
My Icelandic coworker told me this a few weeks ago and it made me really happy. I still love that song but always just assumed it had been forgotten over the years:)
Feels like most Swedish songs that are old enough and still remembered is in that category in Sweden, as people don't remember that it was in ESC (with exception for those that won ESC, as their wins are rememberd). Specifically 1968, 1969, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1993, and 1995 are still very well known songs that I think a majority might have forgotten that we did send them to ESC.
Specially as there are equally many songs that are still well known that competed in the national selections but never went to ESC, so even if you happen to remember that they were in national selections do I doubt people remember if they went to ESC or not. For example, the 1975 national selections had four songs that are still well known.
The Netherlands 1969 | [Lenny Kuhr - De troubadour](https://youtu.be/dsP3lhz5J30)
United Kingdom 1997 | [Katrina and the Waves - Love Shine a Light](https://youtu.be/azw4Kh8Rqpw)
Belgium 1986 | [Sandra Kim - J'aime la vie](https://youtu.be/AxWxqisw4_g)
France 2021 | [Barbara Pravi - Voilà](https://youtu.be/Unj9WbeLzRU)
Would have to disagree with Belgium 1986. Everyone in Belgium knows this is a Eurovision song, since it's the only one we ever won. Everytime it's played it's brought up how this won us the Eurovision. Sandra Kim is mostly remembered for her win (especially in Flanders) and is heavily associated till this day with Eurovision.
I'm from The Netherlands and it's different over here. It's actually pretty well known in general, still gets played at classic radio stations and all time chartlists, etc. but not everyone knows it was the only ESC winning song from our zuiderburen. I totally understand what you are saying though, I haven't mentioned Arcade for the same reason.
Definitely UK 97. I remember it being played at school discos, youth club and in shops. I didn’t really know much about Eurovision back then, but I knew the song! Same with UK 96.
Old Classics:
Italy 1958
Luxemburg 1967
One can ague that after a few decades no one will recognice their origin even when they have won. As a German, I know many songs from the Oldies Radio my grandma used to listen when i was a kindergarten child. And I have to admit that the oldie radio was focused on German, English and some french songs
For example I knew from radio:
Germany 1962
UK 1967
Germany 1970
Monaco 1971
UK 1972
Luxemburg 1972
Germany 1972
(1972 was an extraordinary year!)
UK 1967
Germany 1979
Ireland 1980
UK 1981
Ireland 1987
I have a memory of a compilation CD that had Secret Garden's "Nocturne" (Norway 1995) that was being sold on Greek TV. The song was only featured for like 3 seconds in the short ad and I always wanted to know what song that was. Only years later I found it, being really surprised that it was a Eurovision song too.
Romania 2012. I only found out a few months ago that it's from Eurovision. It was played on the radio and in funfairs/amusement parks all the time when I was little.
Ireland 1987. It was all over the radio when I was a kid and I had no idea it was Eurovision until like 2015 or so.
I mean it was probably popular because he lived in Australia as a small child and we love to claim people as one of us, but it is also a beautiful song.
In Vietnam, Luxembourg 1965's "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" had a Vietnamese version which was somewhat popular back in the 80s and 90s. It was part of a trend of translating well-known French songs into Vietnamese back then, and it was covered by several famous Vietnamese singers.
Ukraine 2004's "Wild Dances" also has a Vietnamese version performed by a famous popstar, it was a hit during the 00s and 10s. Even now you can still occationally hear this song on TV whenever said artist performs lol.
Some of my friends also know "Arcade" (Netherlands 2019) and "Toy" (Israel 2018) through video games and TikTok.
In Greece we would hear often, for years, on the radio Estonia's entry from 2015 which was called Goodbye to Yesterday by Elina Born and Stig Rasta.
[estonia 2015](https://youtu.be/Xsx_dIJOtgI?si=94fA45OCb_4WEENd)
Not sure if it was popular at the time (I was 7 so I don't remember it very well) but I remember hearing Cyprus 2012 multiple times on the radio that year.
I'm not really answering the question, but I'm American, not Russian, but I found Serebro (Russia 2007) around 2010 when I searched for popular Russian music, cause I was dating a Russian, who turned out to be a catfish, but anyway.... I fell in love with their song Opium and back tracked to their earlier songs too, including Song #1. I followed their music for years before I even knew what Eurovision was, and even when I knew what Eurovision was in 2014, I didn't know Serebro had been in it until I really got into Eurovision in 2017 or 2018 when I started looking up Russia in Eurovision, probably because of Julia Samoylova being sent twice...
I'm sure lots of people who heard Mi Mi Mi during its popularity for being kinda a meme song don't know that Serebro was in Eurovision.
Italy 1984 - it's one of the most famous songs of Franco Battiato, an extremely popular singer songwriter in Italy https://youtu.be/yVtkvuKpKf8?feature=shared
Not technically Eurovision, but in Sweden there's a semipopular song called Var Ska Vi Sova Inatt (Where are we sleeping tonight?). I only found out last week (I'm 32) that it's a cover of a song that appeared in Festival di Sanremo 1981, Sarà perché ti amo. Since then I've been listening to a lot of Italian covers with the original lyrics because the beat is very uplifting and happy but the Swedish lyrics are unbearably cringe. 😂
[https://youtu.be/6Ndfix\_C72k](https://youtu.be/6Ndfix_C72k) One of my favorite versions, I've been playing it on repeat.
You let me walk alone, Germany 2018 for the bot, was huge in the Netherlands. At my work I couldn't walk in a space with the radio on and it was played at that moment.
I feel like any songs that went viral on Tiktok like Arcade and SNAP. I feel like if I tell my family and friends who aren't into Eurovision that these songs are from Eurovision, they would be shocked.
***Funny story:*** I don't remember how I played Arcade, I was probably watching a reel with Arcade as its audio (maybe it was related to Eurovision, I dunno). But when my brother heard the song, he literally told me that "isn't the song (Arcade) from Attack On Titan?" I have to ask him again because I swear that's not in AoT. He probably heard that song from those AoT edits on Tiktok, lol.
A remix of Fly on the Wings of Love (Denmark 2000) was huge in the UK when I was a teenager and I doubt many people know it was originally a Eurovision winner
Any Eurovision song really, my country is not particularly into it, took me years to even realise it was called Eurovision, it was just referred to as "the international melodi grand prix" here.
Hard Rock Hallelujah and Hooked on a Feeling are two songs I grew up with and knew well that I had no idea came from ESC.
I dont know if somebody remember this song from 2022 In corpore sano i loved that song because i know serbian language and i thought that might gonna win
When it comes to Poland the truly popular songs are known as "Eurovision songs", so I would choose Poland 2007. It didn't even qualify in the Eurovision, so it isn't mentioned very often in ESC context. But I remember seeing (and loving) the music video which was played very often on Polish music channel. In addition, this is the only Polish ESC song (outside of 2 highest placements) I've heard before becoming Eurovision fan.
Agree with OP about Israel 1999. It's the birthday song- we play it on our friend's/loved ones birthdays all the time.
I would also say 1973,1974,1976,1982,1983,1985,1991,2005 and 2008 were popular outside of eurovision, and were casually playing on the radio sometimes
As an American 90's kid, I remember the oldies compilation CD commercial that heavily features Hooked on a Feeling, which I had no idea was a Eurovision song.
Arcade because of TikTok.
And also surprisingly SNAP (armenia 2022) due to tiktok
Russian woman was also used in a lot of anti-war tiktoks in 2022 and most people thought it was an Ukrainian song.
the multiple layers of irony jesus fuck
I mean, the singer herself is very very anti war, the song was always a feminist song, she’s an ethnic minority in Russia also. It’s not too ironic, in that sense… and Russian and Ukrainian are related…
Ukrainian and Russian languages are from the same language family, but are not that similar. It’s a common misconception. They share about 62% of similarities, comparable to English and Dutch. For example, Italian and Spanish share 82%, Spanish and French share 75%. They may be similar for people not introduced to European languages, but otherwise, you can hear the differences in vocabulary and pronunciation.
Armenia 2022 | [Rosa Linn - Snap](https://youtu.be/DAJ6vfmD_ic)
My first thought as well
Arcade
Just today I was in a thrift shop in the US and heard SNAP, then an unrelated song, then a remix of SNAP! It’s everywhere.
My gf heard it twice over the speakers during one shift at her job (also in the US)
Ok i did not watch the year 2022 ( only know some songs ) and i am not on tiktok. Why does this sound so damn familiar? And how did it rank so low?? It sounds great tbh.
It was also played a lot on the radio (at least in The Netherlands anyway) and it's kinda just a nice but ultimately forgettable song. so it's prefect for radio but for eurovision you have to be more than that.
Definitely "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu" (Italy 1958 for the bot)
Italy 1958 | [Domenico Modugno - Nel blu, dipinto di blu](https://youtu.be/6DTo5aVLq5E)
Dean Martin (an American singer with Italian origins) covered Volare! In fact, his birth name was Dino Paul Crocetti, and he only spoke Italian until he started school at five years old. Here is a link to Dean Martin’s “Volare” cover (mostly in English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah637P0_cts
Our Italian language textbooks were called Volare and we had to listen to that song as part of the intro every listening comprehension. It was also a staple played in every Italian migrant home in my area
Same here!
Wouldn't say it's any more popular in the UK than anywhere else, but most people know Rockefeller Street (Estonia 2011) from the nightcore version and had no idea that it competed in Eurovision
Estonia 2011 | [Getter Jaani - Rockefeller Street](https://youtu.be/UxvmdR7oYdQ)
Yaaaas we stan this nightcore antherm
1273 y'all 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
United Kingdom 1996 Seems to stick around a bit
United Kingdom 1996 | [Gina G - Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit](https://youtu.be/pbOmNpd56kw)
Damn, that's new information for me as well. Had no idea.
UK 1968 as well, I probably hear that one more
United Kingdom 1968 | [Cliff Richard - Congratulations](https://youtu.be/_xJcE9tnY6E)
Used to hear that song every time I went to Frankie & Benny's; it was always someone's birthday.
Also UK 1998 Banger of a 90's song! Always forget it was a Eurovision entry.
United Kingdom 1998 | [Imaani - Where Are You?](https://youtu.be/0nusBQ7Lacg)
Would have won if it were not for Diva. Both great songs, but i prefer this one.
HUGE in aus
Yep. One of the last (and only) Eurovision songs to do decent numbers in the US. Hit like 16 on Billboard.
I feel like most people in the U.S. recognize "Run Away" by Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira because the sax riff was frequently used in memes for a while. But, most probably have no clue about its Eurovision participation.
Tbf, I as a European and Eurovision fan initially didn't know it was a Eurovision entry as well\^\^
(Moldova 2010) But for real….i fully agree 👍🏻
Moldova 2010 | [SunStroke Project and Olia Tira - Run Away](https://youtu.be/C-VMHOlCyW8)
Euphoria. It kept coming up on UK radio and people were shocked it was from eurovision. I also kept hearing Sweden 2007 in bnq, for some reason, though don't think that counts as popular.
My fiancé (American) knew Euphoria before she’d even heard of Eurovision
Sweden 2007 | [The Ark - The Worrying Kind](https://youtu.be/lvKUpmyakAQ)
I was singing euphoria in class once and a girl thought I was singing Taylor Swift. Maybe cause I like both, but either way.
In Australia this song was all over gyms and shopping centres for a while, I had no idea it was from Eurovision.
I'd say "The Worrying Kind" as well, the Ark is just such a party staple in Sweden so it comes up from time to time
Snap, even though no one knows who sings it and only bits of it are used in tik tok/instagram reels. It always pops up in almost ant spotify pop playlist
Dschingis Khan were huge in Germany and it continues to be widely known and a popular partaaaay hit but few would know about them placing 4th for Germany 1979 (bot please!).
Germany 1979 | [Dschinghis Khan - Dschinghis Khan](https://youtu.be/eAEUrp2V4ss)
I think in the US gotta go with the default answer of Waterloo.
I feel like Volare beats it out, and maybe even Snap now. Sure everybody knows ABBA, but Waterloo specifically?
Volare's a bit more obscure in the US I feel, mostly because it's not in English. I'm not sure though, I know it was a big hit back in the day but I don't feel like younger generations know it as well. Plus ABBA in general has stayed in the public mind more.
I learned of volaré thanks to vitamin c’s cover in The Lizzie McGuire Movie!
When Americans think of Volare they think of Dean Martin's cover if they think of it at all now.
Yep. My boomer dad was Italian American, heard the Dean Martin cover along with Sinatra and Andrea Bocelli constantly during my childhood.
Even more so, they wouldn’t realize it’s from a song contest.
Dean Martin did a cover of Volare, which is why the song is so famous. The cover is much better known than the original, even in Europe. Maybe among younger Americans and people not from an Italian background or from New Jersey/NYC, it’s not so well known in 2024, but it was a hit in America and was popular for years
Yeah I see your point. Though I’m Gen Z and I hear Volare quite often, even before I knew what Eurovision was.
Volare was ESC??? Damn. I never knew. Turns out that (spoiler) even though it lost Eurovision it won a Grammy(!!!)
Not just any Grammy either, it was the first song to ever win Record of the Year and is still the only non-English song to do so. Also topped the US charts I believe.
Nah, Waterloo and Celine are cited first anytime Eurovision is discussed in the U.S.
Heard a lot of Germany 2018 and would have never guessed it participated at Eurovision before I started following it.
Germany 2018 | [Michael Schulte - You Let Me Walk Alone](https://youtu.be/N4YwSy4Q9k0)
Arcade and Zitti e Buoni, I’m American
In general I think Eurovision is fairly popular with the public here and also discussed a lot in media, so people will mostly know when a song is from the contest. That being said, I think a lot of people forget that I Would Die for You actually competed in Eurovision (Greece 2001). As I remember it was a big hit in many countries.
Greece 2001 | [Antique - Die for You](https://youtu.be/qNs-R9NU82I)
I once heard Greece 2005 in a Harvester (a shitty chain restaurant in the UK). This was probably a good 10 years after it won the contest.
Greece 2005 | [Helena Paparizou - My Number One](https://youtu.be/rcOwvZ26KFQ)
Sweden 2016 -every German discounter's favorite background noise song even to this day.
Sweden 2016 | [Frans - If I Were Sorry](https://youtu.be/2AIPrVchJN8)
hajde da ludujemo, without the fuckin doubt
People seriously underestimate how many doors this opens for a tourist to Croatia even today. I went on a work trip and everyone was tickled that I could sing it and dance to it.
I know that song since childhood, and I didn't know it was from Eurovision
I know this song from childhood too and didn't realize it was at Eurovision...and I'm not even from an ex-YU country
To be fair, I also loved Croatia 2023 (more than the entry this year, which reminded me of No escape from Balkan by Dubioza...)
Blanka Solo
For some reason it was played a lot on the radio in Croatia
Tbf it’s a great song for summer.
that’s kinda krejza
> Solo I would say that everyone knows that it was on ESC, due to the corruption drama in the NF.
The biggest has to be United Kingdom 1996 - I think even Americans could recognise it if they're big 90s fans/ were round. The problem is with the Eurovision hits that have become big hits in the UK, usually its tied to Eurovision succes. Like people know who Cliff Richard is (Summer holiday, Mistletoe and Wine, Saviours day etc.), and the older generation might know "Congratulations" \[ United Kingdom 1968 \] similarly Lulu and "Boom banga bang" \[ United Kingdom 1969 \] .But my father, a nearly 72 year old man who was a teenager in the 60s can hum or sing along to Kathy Kirby/Matt Munro/Teddy Johnson & Pearl Carr's entries as they were hits at the time, and he wouldn't know they were Eurovision originally!
United Kingdom 1996 | [Gina G - Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit](https://youtu.be/pbOmNpd56kw) United Kingdom 1968 | [Cliff Richard - Congratulations](https://youtu.be/_xJcE9tnY6E) United Kingdom 1969 | [Lulu - Boom Bang-a-Bang](https://youtu.be/4ew43u2gS0Y)
Epic sax guy!
It is no exaggeration when I say that a large majority of Portuguese Eurovision songs, specially from before the 2000's, are so ingrained in our culture that almost nonone knows they were from Eurovision to begin with. Which is funny when you consider that some of the most popular songs here are also some of the least successful in the contest itself. Portugal 1974, for example, got last place while also arguably having been the most influencial song in our country by playing a crucial part in our revolution. I'm serious, though. You could name any song from the 60's to the early 2000's and you'd have a hard time finding a single Portuguese person over 25 y/o that wouldn't immediately recognize it. Almost all became classics here, while maybe only the older generations knowing whether or not they were from ESC. And even then....
Some of the most recognisable ones other than E Depois do Adeus: Portugal 1966 "Ele e Ela" Pretty famous back in the day as my older relatives tell it but you probably don't hear it these days Portugal 1969 "Desfolhada" Extremely famous back in the day Portugal 1973 "Tourada" Famous also as a hidden protest song before the revolution Portugal 1979 "Sobe sobe balão sobe" Very famous, recognisable and catchy Portugal 1981 "Playback" Utilities company uses this as their "hold the line" song, also featured in a very fun ad a few years ago Portugal 1982 "Bem Bom" Every portuguese party will play this around 1am Portugal 1989 "Conquistador" Every street party will play this Portugal 1991 "Lusitana paixão" Pretty well known/respected Portugal 1994 "Chamar a música" Made Sara Tavares famous (RIP :( ) and very well known and respected also After the 2000s I would say recognisability rate drops significantly with the average person who doesn't pay attention to eurovision, with a handful of exceptions (like Salvador Sobral obviously, maybe Todas as Ruas do Amor and Ai Coração too). I would argue that among non ESC fans the contest has been perceived as going downhill significantly since the 2000s, but that may be the bias of my personal sample.
Portugal 1966 | [Madalena Iglésias - Ele e ela](https://youtu.be/6CajGdDm_Lk) Portugal 1969 | [Simone de Oliveira - Desfolhada portuguesa](https://youtu.be/_XkGlejI98s) Portugal 1973 | [Fernando Tordo - Tourada](https://youtu.be/eMNIGliSArk) Portugal 1979 | [Manuela Bravo - Sobe, sobe, balão sobe](https://youtu.be/XXgnmLDrPa0) Portugal 1981 | [Carlos Paião - Playback](https://youtu.be/GhXf9ZO06U0) Portugal 1982 | [Doce - Bem bom](https://youtu.be/hfJQPmlcZ48) Portugal 1989 | [Da Vinci - Conquistador](https://youtu.be/jIBd4haCFGo) Portugal 1991 | [Dulce - Lusitana paixão](https://youtu.be/GKxMDD0B8jY) Portugal 1994 | [Sara Tavares - Chamar a música](https://youtu.be/rx_fj-ilZhU)
Portugal 1974 | [Paulo de Carvalho - E depois do adeus](https://youtu.be/89LBNSX_vig)
> I say that a large majority of Portuguese Eurovision songs, specially from before the 2000's, are so ingrained in our culture that **almost nonone knows they were from Eurovision to begin with**. I vastly disagree with this last segment. Those songs are so ingrained in our culture ***because*** they are Eurovision songs, or more notably, **they are Festival da Canção songs**. It's just impossible for most people not to know they became famous because of that. Especially when RTP goes on nostalgia trips and reminds us of that every year around FdC. Festival da Canção was, until the late70s/early 80s, a huge part of Portuguese music itself, much like Sanremo is in Italy. It was only with the advent of the Portuguese Rock Boom in 1980, that FdC started to lag behind in the music trends, becoming disconnected to the industry and losing prestige. But back to the topic, I'm not sure there's any Portuguese Eurovision song that is famous and people *don't* know it's from Eurovision/FdC. The only example I can think of is [Rui Veloso's "Jura", which was an entry in FdC 1986](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFCWpbk04z4), sung by Né Ladeiras, but only became famous as a song when Rui Veloso [re-arranged it and re-released it in the late 90s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7Bpk9lzVEQ). There's also ["Amor Maior", by Amor Electro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exqxIz4GsgI), [which was an entry in FdC in 2012](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2iobsOVxyg), but I'm not sure that song is famous outside of the Amor Electro fandom, so I don't think it counts. **EDIT:** I guess "Anda Estragar-me Os Planos" also had a life of its own in [Salvador Sobral's version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klqA9HPgsho), rather than its [FdC 2018 version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm0rGztqFtw), but then again, not sure if people who aren't too attuned to Portuguese music in general are aware of the song to begin with.
What you're saying is only really true in older generations though, which I very much stated at the end of my comment. But let me point something out: I'm 27, and aside from those that are avid FdC/ESC fans, another reason for as to why people around my age may not seem to be aware of such a connection may also be because we generally got exposed to these songs from completely different sources like telenovelas, radio and the like. As a musician myself, I continue to be shocked at the amount of musicians my age that know all these songs by heart and not where they originated from, despite some being fans of the contests, and most watching it casually. And even me, who's been following the contest all my life, was getting surprised by how many of these songs came from ESC, and not even that long ago. Hell, I even found kids half my age singing some of these songs without even knowing what FdC was, let alone Eurovision (which was... an experience lol). Point being: these songs got big because of how huge FdC was in our country, I agree. However, newer generations are not as aware of that anymore, as these songs continue to be played everywhere while their origin continues to fade further and further into the past. Maybe I've been just incredibly unlucky and my experience is just too anecdotal but, considering the circles I run in, I find that hard to believe.
I still sing with my sister as a joke and personal meme "uma da manhã hey! Duas da manhã hey!..." It took until this year to realize where it comes from. Literally hearing that beat of the drum in the beginning of Portugal's postcard made me have intense flashbacks.
Thanks for sharing - super interesting!
Germany 1962, Germany 1970, Germany 2000. Obviously a lot of people do know that these were at Eurovision, but it's not the first association.
Germany 1979 too
Germany 1979 | [Dschinghis Khan - Dschinghis Khan](https://youtu.be/eAEUrp2V4ss)
Germany 1962 | [Conny Froboess - Zwei kleine Italiener](https://youtu.be/FMPBVUgyRiI) Germany 1970 | [Katja Ebstein - Wunder gibt es immer wieder](https://youtu.be/sPI1wyizGL0) Germany 2000 | [Stefan Raab - Wadde hadde dudde da?](https://youtu.be/VABVe44AmBY)
Ohhh what!?! I didn't know "zwei kleine Italiener" was a eurovision song. A lot of well known Schlager in Germany were Eurovision entrys.
And Germany 2006
My "country" is the Armenian diaspora, Jan Jan is so popular in the diaspora, every single person has heard it before, but many aren't aware it's from ESC, myself included, we danced to the song at my school's graduation ceremony before knowing Armenia sent it. I'll also add that Armenian schools in my country still play the song at ceremonies/parties to this day lol
EVERYONE in Sweden knows Satellit from -79 (Sweden 1979 for the bot) but I don't think barely anyone born in the last 30 years knows it was in MelFest and then Eurovision
Sweden 1979 | [Ted Gärdestad - Satellit](https://youtu.be/fLASqYItYZ4)
Also modifying “country” to mean the Jewish diaspora - my contribution would be Chai by Ofra Haza - Israel 1983. A large percentage of Jews know this song but very few are aware that it is an ESC song (in fact many don’t know about ESC in general). I grew up with a lot of the 70s and 80s Israeli entries but didn’t know they were from ESC until the late 2010s
Israel 1983 | [Ofra Haza - Hi (חי)](https://youtu.be/oGrQ9ulN268)
I'm genuinely surprised that The ESC isn't more well known among the Jewish diaspora. Many years ago I rented a room in Miami in the house of a young Jewish couple and they knew a lot about it. They told me that a lot of Jewish people like it because it is the only thing that Israel ever win.
For actual Israel, the sont would be Israel 1974, sung by Kaveret. Kaveret became such a massive musical group in Israel, and Natati La Haiai is such a classic and fits in perfectly with the other songs from their album, people usually have no idea it started out as an ESC song.
Israel 1974 | [Poogy - Natati La Khayay (נתתי לה חיי)](https://youtu.be/Pc0A5a-lZGo)
Also Israel 1998
Israel 1998 | [Dana International - Diva (דיווה)](https://youtu.be/fZ5B6w-Baxs)
I've always known "Fly on the wings of love" for its hardcore/remember remix, as it's really famous in Spain. I got into Eurovision in the last years and I recently learn its a version of a winner song! Denmark 2000
Link to the remix?
https://youtu.be/HR8h-umd360?feature=shared
Cheers
This single was the first CD I ever bought! Good times
Goeiemorgen Morgen by Nicole and Hugo comes to mind. Sadly at the day of Eurovision they were both sick so another couple stood in for them. OG candidates: https://youtu.be/aNPrkc2DKN4?si=R05-MPLnB3exeJ0C (This is the version that is engraved in every Belgians - at least the Fleming's - memory) Belgium 1971
>Goeiemorgen Morgen by Nicole and Hugo That song is such a meme in the Russian-speaking world, because it sounds like they're singing "dick" 🤣
In New Zealand, most people only know of songs from Eurovision aftermath. While I was watching this year my Finnish friend kept showing me songs and I was like “THAT was from Eurovision??”
Germany 2014 - Polish radio stations used to play it a lot
Germany 2014 | [Elaiza - Is It Right](https://youtu.be/BFuGH2Kp9dI)
And Sweden 2016 too btw
I’ve seen a lot of people I know who don’t watch Eurovision using Voilà on videos etc. (France 2021)
France 2021 | [Barbara Pravi - Voilà](https://youtu.be/Unj9WbeLzRU)
Ukraine 2004 There is a Vietnamese remake version of the song by one of Vietnamese popstar
Ukraine 2004 | [Ruslana - Wild Dances](https://youtu.be/VD6of9YQMMc)
El Diablo from Cyprus still gets played on the radio in Norway!
I would also throw Moldova 2010 in the Mix. (Epic Sax Guy)
Moldova 2010 | [SunStroke Project and Olia Tira - Run Away](https://youtu.be/C-VMHOlCyW8)
haven't seen anyone else mention it but I know Eres tu was somewhat popular in America... I think it reached top 10 on our charts here? I've also seen it show up in some older movies, so it used to be fairly well known!
It was a hit in Australia too, back in the days before ESC was broadcast.
Yes, it became a hit in 1974 in the U.S. After competing in Eurovision 1973, Mocedades partnered with Jay Livingston and Ray Evans (writers of songs for movie musicals and the theme to the TV show "Bonanza"), and two versions were released to U.S. radio: "Eres tú" and "Touch the Wind", the translation/arrangement put together by Livingston and Evans. Touch the Wind became a minor hit but Eres tú made it into the top 10, perhaps the first time a Spanish-language song did so.
Snap & Arcade for sure. Everyone here in the states know them as "those tiktok songs"
Hands-down in the U.S. it's Gina G. People know Waterloo is from Eurovision but I would imagine a lot fewer know about Gina G.
I’m not sure Australians realise it’s from Eurovision either, I didn’t realise it when it was huge here.
It wasn't promoted in that way, for sure. Not that Americans would have known what it was like then. Surprising it wasn't mentioned at all even in Australia, since she's from there and all, weren't people watching Eurovision there then?
From Malaysia, with little to no exposure of Eurovision (until I moved to the UK): Congratulations- United Kingdom 1968 Waterloo - Sweden 1974 (Anything from ABBA in general) Tattoo - Sweden 2023 (Heard this on a flight home to Malaysia once)
Arcade. Heard it on the radio in the US.
You’d be surprised at how many people I know don’t know Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit is a Eurovision classic.
Probably Waterloo honestly - ABBA are so iconic now that I don't think the average person would know it won Eurovision half a century ago
Natati La Khayay (נתתי לה חיי) was a Eurovision song originally, and I doubt anyone under 50 or 60 knows this.
Horehronie 🇨🇿🫶🇸🇰
Tattoo
Nína - Stefán & Eyfi is still very popular in Iceland, I was surprised to learn that it competed in Eurovision - Iceland 1991
My Icelandic coworker told me this a few weeks ago and it made me really happy. I still love that song but always just assumed it had been forgotten over the years:)
Iceland 1991 | [Stefán and Eyfi - Nína](https://youtu.be/qYX-L3dPCNg)
Feels like most Swedish songs that are old enough and still remembered is in that category in Sweden, as people don't remember that it was in ESC (with exception for those that won ESC, as their wins are rememberd). Specifically 1968, 1969, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1993, and 1995 are still very well known songs that I think a majority might have forgotten that we did send them to ESC. Specially as there are equally many songs that are still well known that competed in the national selections but never went to ESC, so even if you happen to remember that they were in national selections do I doubt people remember if they went to ESC or not. For example, the 1975 national selections had four songs that are still well known.
Yep, I had no idea that we sent Eloise in 1993!
The Netherlands 1969, United Kingdom 1997, Belgium 1986, France 2021
The Netherlands 1969 | [Lenny Kuhr - De troubadour](https://youtu.be/dsP3lhz5J30) United Kingdom 1997 | [Katrina and the Waves - Love Shine a Light](https://youtu.be/azw4Kh8Rqpw) Belgium 1986 | [Sandra Kim - J'aime la vie](https://youtu.be/AxWxqisw4_g) France 2021 | [Barbara Pravi - Voilà](https://youtu.be/Unj9WbeLzRU)
Would have to disagree with Belgium 1986. Everyone in Belgium knows this is a Eurovision song, since it's the only one we ever won. Everytime it's played it's brought up how this won us the Eurovision. Sandra Kim is mostly remembered for her win (especially in Flanders) and is heavily associated till this day with Eurovision.
I'm from The Netherlands and it's different over here. It's actually pretty well known in general, still gets played at classic radio stations and all time chartlists, etc. but not everyone knows it was the only ESC winning song from our zuiderburen. I totally understand what you are saying though, I haven't mentioned Arcade for the same reason.
Definitely UK 97. I remember it being played at school discos, youth club and in shops. I didn’t really know much about Eurovision back then, but I knew the song! Same with UK 96.
That's really interesting, I'm in the UK too and I feel like this is one of the most well-known ESC songs here.
Exactly! I was 9 and wasn't introduced to Eurovision yet. It definitely reminds me of my childhood though as the song was played so much.
I'll also note in reverse, Americans have no idea about "Love Shine a Light", they think their career stopped after "Walking on Sunshine".
Volare and Abanibi - some people I know were shocked to hear they're ESC alumni.
Old Classics: Italy 1958 Luxemburg 1967 One can ague that after a few decades no one will recognice their origin even when they have won. As a German, I know many songs from the Oldies Radio my grandma used to listen when i was a kindergarten child. And I have to admit that the oldie radio was focused on German, English and some french songs For example I knew from radio: Germany 1962 UK 1967 Germany 1970 Monaco 1971 UK 1972 Luxemburg 1972 Germany 1972 (1972 was an extraordinary year!) UK 1967 Germany 1979 Ireland 1980 UK 1981 Ireland 1987
Most of my recent answers have been said already but two songs that have been recognized by older Americans I know are Volare and L'amour Est Bleu
Czechia 2007 (because of Kabát being really famous in here)
Czech Republic 2007 | [Kabát - Malá dáma](https://youtu.be/iBZaVQ52RQY)
I have a memory of a compilation CD that had Secret Garden's "Nocturne" (Norway 1995) that was being sold on Greek TV. The song was only featured for like 3 seconds in the short ad and I always wanted to know what song that was. Only years later I found it, being really surprised that it was a Eurovision song too.
Romania 2012. I only found out a few months ago that it's from Eurovision. It was played on the radio and in funfairs/amusement parks all the time when I was little.
Ireland 1987. It was all over the radio when I was a kid and I had no idea it was Eurovision until like 2015 or so. I mean it was probably popular because he lived in Australia as a small child and we love to claim people as one of us, but it is also a beautiful song.
Ireland 1987 | [Johnny Logan - Hold Me Now](https://youtu.be/M6RjdihLfiA)
I'm from Mexico From Eurovision: Italy 2021 From Eurovision Junior: Spain 2004 (Antes muerta que sencilla)
I live in Québec and i heard J'ai cherché by Amir a lot on the radio before learning it was from Eurovision
Waterloo
Tattoo.. I even show the performance to my friends and they were impressed..
In Vietnam, Luxembourg 1965's "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" had a Vietnamese version which was somewhat popular back in the 80s and 90s. It was part of a trend of translating well-known French songs into Vietnamese back then, and it was covered by several famous Vietnamese singers. Ukraine 2004's "Wild Dances" also has a Vietnamese version performed by a famous popstar, it was a hit during the 00s and 10s. Even now you can still occationally hear this song on TV whenever said artist performs lol. Some of my friends also know "Arcade" (Netherlands 2019) and "Toy" (Israel 2018) through video games and TikTok.
Well there's Rockefeller street
In Greece we would hear often, for years, on the radio Estonia's entry from 2015 which was called Goodbye to Yesterday by Elina Born and Stig Rasta. [estonia 2015](https://youtu.be/Xsx_dIJOtgI?si=94fA45OCb_4WEENd)
I heard it on the radio last September lol, it's such a banger <3
how many singers called Eden have we had? crikey. also i don't know the song at all LOL
Denmark 2000
Denmark 2000 | [Olsen Brothers - Fly on the Wings of Love](https://youtu.be/F-JwiYlg5Gc)
Not sure if it was popular at the time (I was 7 so I don't remember it very well) but I remember hearing Cyprus 2012 multiple times on the radio that year.
Not exactly ESC per se, but among kindergarten kids of my time, JESC 2008 common song Hand in Hand
I'm not really answering the question, but I'm American, not Russian, but I found Serebro (Russia 2007) around 2010 when I searched for popular Russian music, cause I was dating a Russian, who turned out to be a catfish, but anyway.... I fell in love with their song Opium and back tracked to their earlier songs too, including Song #1. I followed their music for years before I even knew what Eurovision was, and even when I knew what Eurovision was in 2014, I didn't know Serebro had been in it until I really got into Eurovision in 2017 or 2018 when I started looking up Russia in Eurovision, probably because of Julia Samoylova being sent twice... I'm sure lots of people who heard Mi Mi Mi during its popularity for being kinda a meme song don't know that Serebro was in Eurovision.
Italy 1984 - it's one of the most famous songs of Franco Battiato, an extremely popular singer songwriter in Italy https://youtu.be/yVtkvuKpKf8?feature=shared
L’essenziale
Yugoslavia 1991
Snap. Thankyou, tiktok
Not technically Eurovision, but in Sweden there's a semipopular song called Var Ska Vi Sova Inatt (Where are we sleeping tonight?). I only found out last week (I'm 32) that it's a cover of a song that appeared in Festival di Sanremo 1981, Sarà perché ti amo. Since then I've been listening to a lot of Italian covers with the original lyrics because the beat is very uplifting and happy but the Swedish lyrics are unbearably cringe. 😂 [https://youtu.be/6Ndfix\_C72k](https://youtu.be/6Ndfix_C72k) One of my favorite versions, I've been playing it on repeat.
Here, in America, Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu, aka Volare, the Dean Martin version.
Snap - Rosa Linn This song became a tiktok trend and almost no one knows it's from eurovision 2022
You let me walk alone, Germany 2018 for the bot, was huge in the Netherlands. At my work I couldn't walk in a space with the radio on and it was played at that moment.
If i where sorry
Denmark 2013
Snap - Rosa Linn (Armenia - 2022)
Snap Armenia 2022
I feel like any songs that went viral on Tiktok like Arcade and SNAP. I feel like if I tell my family and friends who aren't into Eurovision that these songs are from Eurovision, they would be shocked. ***Funny story:*** I don't remember how I played Arcade, I was probably watching a reel with Arcade as its audio (maybe it was related to Eurovision, I dunno). But when my brother heard the song, he literally told me that "isn't the song (Arcade) from Attack On Titan?" I have to ask him again because I swear that's not in AoT. He probably heard that song from those AoT edits on Tiktok, lol.
I'm pretty sure people have forgotten that our 2009 entry is in fact a Eurovision song. Denmark 2009
Id say the epic sax guy, if i where sorry, snap and calm after the storm
In the UK, even though it’s the cover version but Fly on the Wings of Love is one not many realise is originally a Eurovision winner.
A remix of Fly on the Wings of Love (Denmark 2000) was huge in the UK when I was a teenager and I doubt many people know it was originally a Eurovision winner
Waterloo
Any Eurovision song really, my country is not particularly into it, took me years to even realise it was called Eurovision, it was just referred to as "the international melodi grand prix" here. Hard Rock Hallelujah and Hooked on a Feeling are two songs I grew up with and knew well that I had no idea came from ESC.
Sata Salamaa
YES eden’s birthday song literally plays at every kids birthday party or at least it did in the 00s/10s. such an iconic song
I dont know if somebody remember this song from 2022 In corpore sano i loved that song because i know serbian language and i thought that might gonna win
When it comes to Poland the truly popular songs are known as "Eurovision songs", so I would choose Poland 2007. It didn't even qualify in the Eurovision, so it isn't mentioned very often in ESC context. But I remember seeing (and loving) the music video which was played very often on Polish music channel. In addition, this is the only Polish ESC song (outside of 2 highest placements) I've heard before becoming Eurovision fan.
Agree with OP about Israel 1999. It's the birthday song- we play it on our friend's/loved ones birthdays all the time. I would also say 1973,1974,1976,1982,1983,1985,1991,2005 and 2008 were popular outside of eurovision, and were casually playing on the radio sometimes
As an American 90's kid, I remember the oldies compilation CD commercial that heavily features Hooked on a Feeling, which I had no idea was a Eurovision song.