Top 30 WTF Eurovision Songs

Meaning "party" in Montenegrin - and the band Who See certainly brought that to Eurovision. We love a good Eurovision staging and when you combine it with rapping astronauts, you know you're in for a treat. Things got crazy when the singer popped up with killer vocals and continued to bring the house down. Despite this being performed in 2013, people are still revisiting it to this day, with many commenting that "Igranka" was ahead of its time and would’ve easily made it to the finals. Unfortunately Montenegro withdrew from Eurovision in 2023, and it’s unknown whether they’ll grace us with a banger like “Igranka” again.

This performance might not be as flashy as some of the other ones, but Croatia sure does know how to make everyone talk. These performers managed to blend classic Croatian vibes with good old rap. And the best part? They showed that your age doesn’t matter when it comes to music. The staging was quite simple, with a single dancer, musicians, and the two performing acts. Kraljevi Ulice and the rapper, 75 Cents. Yup, you heard that right. C’mon, it wouldn’t be “Eurovision” if at least one of the performers didn’t have a name that made everyone giggle. They didn’t make it to the finals, but they did have a memorable performance.

It’s rare to see a school-like setting on the “Eurovision” stage, but the UK made sure to change that. Musician Daz Sampson took the stage with dancers dressed like school girls, and spoke of trials and tribulations of being a teenager. It’s a cute song with a catchy chorus - definitely one of “Eurovision” guilty pleasures. Don’t be ashamed to admit it, we all got one! “Teenage Life” ended up finishing in 19th place in the final performance. It’s a pretty decent score considering luck isn’t always on the UK’s side when it comes to “Eurovision.”

Ok, there’s a good chance this one will get stuck in your head. “Who the Hell is Edgar?” graced us with its presence in 2023 when Austria’s Teya & Salena brought down the house. Their eccentric performance, an ode to Edgar Allan Poe, was well-received and they even had the crowd joining in at the catchy chorus. And, in case you were wondering, the line about 0.003 refers to how much Spotify pays their artists for every listen. In the end, they placed 15th, but don’t let that fool you - you’ll be humming ‘Poe Poe Poe Poe’ for the rest of the day.

It’s no “Twilight,” but “Vampires Are Alive” is “Eurovision’s” version of a good old vampire tale. Switzerland brought a LOT of people on stage, along with the artist, DJ BoBo, who was already known for his Eurodance tracks at the time. The performance told the story of, well, vampires being alive and being forever young. That’s pretty much it. But it was catchy, different, and it’s definitely one of those performances “Eurovision” fans can’t get out of their heads every once in a while. Unfortunately, “Vampires Are Alive” never qualified for the finale, but hey, they made this list and that’s something, right?

Alright, first we had vampires, now we have wolves. This one is a little bit confusing because the band is actually called Pirates of the Sea. And yeah, they were performing a song called “Wolves of the Sea.” With a pirate theme. The whole thing seemed like great fun - they brought plenty of energy, which is something every “Eurovision” performer should have. “Wolves of the Sea” had a playful and whimsical charm, but they didn’t manage to score enough points with the judges to secure a win. They placed 12th, but the song remains a “Eurovision” classic.

Ahh, who could possibly forget this one?! Back in 2022, Norway was the talk of the town with this performance. As far as “Eurovision” goes, “Give That Wolf a Banana” scores pretty high on the WTF scale. The choreography, the yellow theme, and wolf masks really bring it all together and show us exactly what “Eurovision” is about. Being unique and eccentric is always a good thing here! They placed 10th, but let’s be honest, all “Eurovision” fans still talk about this performance to this day. Someone give that wolf a banana already!

Alright, this is the second time Croatia made it to our list. In 2017, Croatian artist Jacques Houdek took to the stage and performed a beautiful ballad. But, the plot twist was that he was a solo… but also a duet? He was singing with two distinctive voices and pretty much duetted himself. It was a unique way to show off his talent and it definitely created a memorable "Eurovision" moment, complete with dramatic staging. “My Friend” ended up finishing in the unlucky 13th place, but it did leave a lasting impression on the “Eurovision” fanbase.

#22: Cha Cha Cha

When you think of “Eurovision” 2023, you think of Käärijä and the absolute tune that is “Cha Cha Cha.” We love when this contest does neon and Finland definitely brought a lot of it on stage that year. “Cha Cha Cha” mesmerized “Eurovision” fans with its energy, colors, and, of course, one of the catchiest choruses ever. Just listen to that crowd singing along! This was a fan favorite that year - so much so, the crowd’s chants kept interrupting the hosts during the voting. It ended up placing second, but it’s the number one in the hearts of many. “It’s crazy, it’s party!”

It’s rare to see a yodeling act on “Eurovision,” but in 2017, Romania made us fall in love with Ilinca and Alex and their adorable yodel song. It’s catchy, it’s cute, and their performance has a lot of energy - what more could you ask for? They really look like they were having the time of their lives on that stage. Just listen to that crowd reaction at the end - who says yodeling is outdated!? The pair made it to the finals and came in 7th place, which is pretty impressive. Brb, need to learn how to yodel.

Alright, this one had a pretty unique staging. “Say Na Na Na” was on “Eurovision” in 2019, performed by San Marino’s Serhat. It stands out from the rest due to its colorful display of lyrics to help the audience sign along. But what makes it belong on our list is the fact that Serhat actually trained as a dentist, and “singing dentist” became a running joke in the fandom. San Marino ended up in 19th place that year, but “Say Na Na Na” went on to having covers in other languages. Safe to say even dentists have a lot of talent!

It doesn’t get any more eccentric than Croatia’s 2023 entry called “Mama ŠČ!” The band Let 3 was already known for its slightly obscene performances and they really brought the house down on the “Eurovisiton” stage. The song is very political, calling out a specific country leader, and condemning his actions. The actual performance is extremely colorful, energetic, and just very “out there” - they even sing the alphabet at some point! You can hear the entire crowd yelling “ŠČ!” throughout. So, even though they ended up in 13th place, Let 3 walked away knowing that they did THAT.




—OLDER ENTRIES (NEW ORDER 11-12 REMOVED)---

Peter, Sue and Marc were Eurovision regulars, representing their country on four different occasions – and in four different languages, no less. But their 1976 song about a failed, creepy-looking clown was possibly nottheir finest hour. The tune is catchy enough, but the clown looks like he could have quite easily doubled for Pennywise in Stephen King’s “IT”. According to the song’s lyrics, when Djambo Djambo plays his organ, children “call it circus in the streets”. And then run away, probably. As fast as they can.

Since booze made its way into the title of this tune, we're guessing the composers had a drink or three before they wrote it. And a few more during the recording. The style is a mixture of folk and ska, and for some reason the musicians decided to perform it in that traditional item of Greek costume … the kilt(!) The song is lots of fun, sure, but there’s a serious message behind the lyrics too, with references to the suffering caused to Greece during the country’s debt crisis. It finished in a creditable 6th place.

Entertainer and comedian Stefan Raab is another fixture of the Eurovision scene. The title to his year 2000 song translates to “What do you have there?”, but don’t worry if you can’t understand the rest of the words – most people from Raab’s home country couldn’t either, since they were partly written in an invented dialect. The song is cheesier than a cheese explosion in a cheddar factory, but you’ve got to hand it to Raab for nailing those tongue-twisting lyrics. Amazingly, the song finished fifth on the night. What were you thinking, Europe?

No countdown of dodgy Eurovision songs would be complete without at least one entry from the UK. For this pick we’ve gone with pop group Scooch and their not-so toe-tapping tune from 2007. The music is as bland as an airplane meal, and the lyrics feature several clunky one-liners - including the embarrassingly infamous “Would you like something to suck on for landing, sir?” The song may be about flying high, but Scooch’s performance crashed badly, with the group finishing 22nd out of 24 acts. We think we’ll take the train next time.

Where do we start with this one? A 2014 entry which was supposed to be a parody of Polish stereotypes, it ended up being remembered for very different reasons. While the vocalists sing about “shaking what your mamma gave you”, the backing performers suggestively carry out tasks such as cleaning laundry and churning butter. In the UK, the public ranked the song as their favourite from the show, but the voting panel put it in last place, with one member comparing the performance to “soft porn”.

When it comes to pure drama, few performances can match this 2013 effort from Cezar. The song starts routinely enough. Then the chorus arrives, and we’re treated to the spectacle of a man singing operatic pop while dressed like a sequined Dracula, and standing in a makeshift sea of blood. Even more bizarrely, the entry was apparently an everyday love song, and not about vampires at all. Only in Eurovision, eh... The song racked up 65 points in the final, and finished in a somewhat disappointing 13th place.

Amadeus is a self-styled “poet and media manipulator”, and so, his 2012 Eurovision entry was a satire about the European Union. The song features such memorable lyrics as “I only got one rule / Always stay cool like a swimming pool.” But unfortunately, Amadeus seemed to have focused so strongly on the wordplay that he forgot to include a melody or any actual singing. And that’s before we even mention the break-dancers and the Trojan horse? Sadly, “Euro Neuro” got knocked out at the semi-final stage. To the surprise of absolutely no one.

With his wild hair and even wilder clothes, Guildo Horn looks more like a mad professor or a flamboyant, lounge-singing pirate than a pop star. Backed by a group called the Orthopaedic Stockings, he dashes back and forth across the stage before treating us to a cowbell solo. There’s even time for some audience participation before he leaves the stage to go clambering over part of the set. Who said the Germans don’t have a sense of humour? At least, we hope it was all meant as a joke.

Translating to “Dance the Chiki-chiki”, this 2008 effort came from a Spanish comic character wearing an Elvis wig and credited with inventing the ‘vibrator-guitar’. As Rodolfo asks us to “dance doggy-style”, backing dancers pretend to blunder their way through the colourful routine.And, although the performance is apparently packed with political references and gags, it’s the song’s score that’ll most make you laugh. It amassed an astonishing 55 points, meaning it finished comfortably midtable, coming 16th out of 25 entries.

The UK has had a dismal Eurovision record in recent years, but this performance by Liverpool pop duo, Jemini, marked a new low. From the very first note, the singing is so flat it feels like the blooper reel shown during “X-Factor” auditions. Afterwards, the pair claimed that technical faults meant they couldn’t hear their own vocals - if only we could say the same. “Cry Baby” was the first ever English language song to receive “nul points”, though some critics claimed Jemini were lucky to get even that.

Synthpop group Telex are best known for their worldwide hit single, Moskow Diskow. Unfortunately, this Eurovision entry won them far fewer plaudits. The simple melodies and banal lyrics make you wonder if the song was simply thrown together the previous evening. On the plus side, the scarf-twirling choreography is understated genius.[1] After the show, the band admitted that they had wanted to finish last, but their hopes were cruelly dashed by Portugal who awarded them ten points. They finished 17th out of 19.

When this next record starts up, you might think it is just like any other cheesy Eurovision entry. Then the sax player, Sergey Stepanov, steps forward to steal the show completely with an energetic solo. While Moldova finished 22nd in the 2010 competition, Stepanov’s performance was so popular it spawned the “Epic Sax Guy” meme - drawing approval from even Gandalf the Grey. Stepanov eventually returned to the Eurovision stage in 2017, sporting shades and a tux for a brand new track. What a guy.

The outward flamboyance of this German pop group’s performance is matched only by the garishness of their absurdly inaccurate historical costumes. As the Mongol leader canters about the stage seducing everyone by spinning everywhere, his companions heartily sing about him fathering seven children in a single night – with lots of “Ooh!”s and “Ahh!”s thrown in for good measure. Bizarrely, the song has enjoyed success, registering over 100,000 digital downloads in Japan in 2014, having been released in 2006.

“Weird” doesn’t always mean “bad” in Eurovision, as our next entry demonstrates. The only hard-rock band ever to win the competition, Lordi lorded the stage in 2006, belting out Christian messages while dressed in costumes that are part Klingon, part “Predator”. And as this song reaches its epic finale, the frontman unveils his leathery bat wings… Just because he can. Three years later, and 80,000 people set a karaoke Guinness World Record when they gathered to sing the song in Helsinki - that’s how popular it was, and is!

If you’ve been waiting for a performance based on baking, then we bring good news. This bizarre yet endearing entry from six Russian grannies begins with two of them pushing a tray of cookies into a kiln. Then, while the biscuits bake, the women shuffle around the stage and sing about lighting ovens and kneading dough. The grannies came second in the 2012 competition and used their newfound fame to help raise funds for a church reconstruction back home. Bake sales don’t get any bigger (or better) than this.

Hats off to the Irish for slipping a not-so-subliminal message into this track’s title, but it wasn’t enough for them to progress past even the semi-final stage. Performed by a puppet turkey who first appeared on children’s television alongside Zig and Zag, there’s strangely no real attempt to conceal the puppeteer - which only adds to the general confusion. At least the lyrics are just as ridiculous as the rest of the performance, mocking the competition and throwing in a reference to Terry Wogan’s wig.

It may look like our next performers have wrapped themselves in tin foil, but they’re actually wearing costumes designed by Dolce & Gabbana. The lyrics to this song are part Ukrainian, part German, but all gibberish, as the frontman assures us that “dancing is good” and repeats over and over the phrase “seven, seven, one, two”. Conservative viewers in Ukraine were apparently outraged to have a drag act representing them, but Serduchka had the final word, finishing as runner-up on the night.

Someone may need to explain the rules to this Lithuanian pop group, because they made the mistake of proclaiming themselves victors before the voting had even started. Suited, booted and with stick-on smiles, the highlight of their performance is undoubtedly Arnoldas Lukošius giving this amazing impression of an uncle dancing at a wedding. The fact that LT United finished 6th in the competition is testament to just how hilariously unpredictable Eurovision can be. Still, like everything else on today’s list, the song sure is catchy!


Who is your favorite “Eurovision” artist ever? Let us know in the comments!