good eurovision songs: part one

For a lot of people, the ESC is a joke.  It's full of terrible Europop tunes that incorporate horrible choreography and hideous outfits.  While yeah, this is definitely true for many of entries, there are some great tunes that are overlooked by the general viewing public after being blown away (and not in a good way) by some of the more "interesting" entries.  It's definitely a shame this is happening, because a good amount of songs coming from the ESC are far better than what is on the charts currently (really, if I hear "I Got it From My Mama" again I'm going to lose it)

First song that comes to mine is 2004's "Stronger Every Minute" by Lisa Andreas (representing Cyprus).

Let's put this lightly: 2004 was a terrible ESC year.  Well, at least in the semi-final.  No, actually in the final too.  There were only a handful of songs that I even liked, let alone could stand on their own outside of the contest, because let's face it - as much as ESC fans love some of the entries, they are definitely ESC-specific - by sticking to a well crafted formula that has worked for previous acts over the development of the contest.  The semi-final of the ESC in 2004 was particularly horrible, and while you had Greece and Ukraine at least raise the bar back to back halfway through, I wasn't really captivated by anything until the Cypriot entry.   After all the usual spectacle involved in the majority of the entries, this stripped down ballad was refreshing and absolutely beautiful, a definite highlight of the 2004 contest.  Lisa was also only 16 during this performance, amazing.

"Stronger Every Minute" came in 5th in the contest, tied with Sweden's Lena Philipsson.  Lisa's career didn't really benefit from the contest (sadly) but she seems to still be recording music, she's also a few months younger than me and I still can't believe that.