All-time Eurovision top five

When I first added my list of other blogs I planned to include a smattering that covered all three of my slightly peculiar preoccupations, ie. politics, curling and the Eurovision Song Contest. But I was really surprised how difficult it was to track down dedicated Eurovision blogs (as opposed to full-blown websites, of which there are and always have been plenty). So I was delighted when the author of The Eurovision Times followed me on Twitter, thus alerting me to his/her very nice-looking blog's existence! One of the recent posts asks readers for their all-time top five Eurovision songs, which prompted me to get my thinking cap on. This is what I came up with...

1. Is it True? - Yohanna (Iceland, 2009)
2. Je t'adore - Kate Ryan (Belgium, 2006)
3. If I Had Your Love - Selma (Iceland, 2005)
4. Fiumi di Parole - Jalisse (Italy, 1997)
5. In Your Eyes - Niamh Kavanagh (Ireland, 1993)

I was pretty sure of my top three, because I've thought about it before (although in Selma's case I'm going strictly on the studio version), but I'd have probably come up with a different fourth and fifth depending on which day I'd been asked the question. Other possibilities would be -

Diamond of Night - Evelin Samuel (Estonia, 1999)
Once in a Lifetime - Ines (Estonia, 2000)
Se på Mej - Jan Johansen (Sweden, 1995)
Oro - Jelena Tomašević (Serbia, 2008)
Lejla - Hari Mata Hari (Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2006)
Lane Moje - Zeljko Joksimovic (Serbia & Montenegro, 2004)
Tu te Reconnaîtras - Anne Marie David (Luxembourg, 1973)
Je N'ai Que Mon Âme - Natasha St-Pier (France, 2001)
Hemel en Aarde - Edsilia Rombley (Netherlands, 1998)
Il Faut du Temps - Sandrine Francois (France, 2002)

But the possibilities don't end there, because the poll as billed also covers songs from national finals that didn't make it to the Eurovision itself, which could include such forgotten gems as...

Until You Saved My Life - Sister Sway (UK, 1999)
Jutro - Jelena Tomašević (Serbia & Montenegro, 2005)
Kiss Me - Jennie (Finland, 2005)
Þér Við Hlið - Regína Ósk (Iceland, 2006)
Help Me - Emily Reed (UK, 2003)
One Gift of Love - Dear Jon (UK, 1995)
Iseendale - Ines (Estonia, 2006)
Never in a Million Years - Zee Asha (UK, 2002, disqualified)

But the above list is probably a strong clue as to why it's not the best idea to include eliminated national final songs in polls like this - even dedicated Eurovision fans are disproportionately likely to remember songs from their own country!