Top 250 2021

TOP 250 2021

The ESC Top 250 in facts and figures

After four weeks of voting and waiting in suspense, everyone was able to hear on December 31st, that Loreen was at the very top of the ESC Top 250 for the tenth(!) consecutive time. Before we give you the full results, here are some interesting facts and figures about this year’s edition.

To start, we can proudly announce that the record amount of votes has been shattered once again for this edition. We received 8,594 lists sent by fans across the whole world, which combined ensured yet another more than successful edition. Which country has the most entries in the ESC Top 250 this year? Which decades did well? You can read all about it in this article.

Countries with the most entries in the list

Sweden has the highest number of entries with 25 songs in the ESC Top 250. The highest ranked Swedish song is of course Euphoria by Loreen, still your number one. A nice second place is reserved for Italy with thirteen songs in the Top 250. 2021 winners, Måneskin, are the highest Italian entry at number two. The third place in terms of entries is shared by Portugal and Spain, with ten songs each in the list. Highest ranked Portuguese song is still Amar pelos dois, although it tumbled down seventeen places. Best Spanish entry is Dime by Beth at number nine. With nine songs each in the Top 250, both Norway and Ukraine are fourth in the standings. Spirit In The Sky by KEiiNO is again the best Norwegian entry in seventh place on the list. Shum by Go_A comes in at number three, making it the best Ukrainian entry. No fewer than three countries close the top five: France, Germany and Serbia with eight numbers each in the ESC Top 250. The highest ranking for France is the number two of 2021. Barbara Pravi ends with Voilà in fifth place in the list. Satellite by Lena is at number 48 as the best German entry and at number eleven is, without anyone expecting it, Kruna as best Serbian entry.

For the sake of being complete and as a Belgian website, we would also like to mention that The Netherlands has seven entries in the Top 250 with Arcade by Duncan Laurence at four as the highest entry. Our own country, Belgium, closes the year with four entries. Loïc Nottet falls twelve places with Rhythm Inside and is at number 23 the best Belgian entry.

Which decade is best represented?

We are happy to report that at least one song from every decade has made it to the ESC Top 250 this year. Let’s take a look decade by decade:

  • Only one song from the fifties made it to the list. Nel blu dipinto di blu by Domenico Modugno from 1958 fell 39 places this year to number 178.
  • Six songs from the sixties got enough votes to make it onto the list. The highest ranking is for Poupée de cire, poupée de son by France Gall from 1965, at number 61.
  • The seventies took in nine spots with the highest ranking yet again for the 1974 winner, Waterloo from ABBA, at number 20.
  • Fifteen songs from the eighties made it to the list with Céline Dion’s Ne partez pas sans moi as the most voted entry at number 85.
  • On to the nineties with 29 songs of this decade in the ESC Top 250. Ranked highest, and coming 19th in the list, is Nocturne by Secret Garden.
  • The zeroes have 49 entries, of which the 2003 entry, Beth, scores best with Dime at number nine
  • Just like last year, the highest number of songs in the ESC Top 250 stems from the 2010s. No less than 104 songs made it to the list. It’s a surprise to literally no one that Euphoria by Loreen is the highest placed entry from the past decade.
  • We have of course entered a new decade this year, the new Roaring Twenties. No fewer than 37 songs made the list. The highest ranking is for the winner of 2021, Måneskin, entering the top ten at number two.

Risers, fallers and newcomers

Biggest riser this edition is the song De mallemolen by Heddy Lester. The 1977 Dutch entry rose from number 1100 to number 233, an increase of 867 places. Where an entry can rise enormously, there is of course an entry that has made the biggest fall within the list. Cleopatra by Efendi, the Azerbaijani entry of 2020, dropped 157 places, from number 75 to number 232. The highest newcomer, as mentioned earlier, is Måneskin with Zitti e buoni entering the list at number two.

Best scoring songs from the 21th century per year

  • 2000: Brainstorm – My Star – Latvia (234)
  • 2001: Antique – Die for You – Greece (53)
  • 2002: no song from 2002 made it into this year’s list.
  • 2003: Beth – Dime – Spain (9)
  • 2004: Željko Joksimovic – Lane moje – Serbia & Montenegro (34)
  • 2005: Helena Paparizou – My Number One – Greece (31)
  • 2006: Lordi – Hard Rock Halleluja – Finland (44)
  • 2007: Marija Šerifovic – Molitva – Serbia (22)
  • 2008: Mor be Ötsi – Deli – Turkey (93)
  • 2009: Alexander Rybak – Fairytale – Norway  (15)
  • 2010: maNga – We Could Be the Same – Turkey (27)
  • 2011: Eric Saade – Popular – Sweden (109)
  • 2012: Loreen – Euphoria – Sweden (1)
  • 2013: Emmelie de Forest – Only Teardrops – Denemark (41)
  • 2014: Sanna Nielsen – Undo – Sweden (12)
  • 2015: Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes – Sweden (16)
  • 2016: Jamala – 1944 – Ukraine (14)
  • 2017: Salvador Sobral- Amar pelos dois – Portugal (21)
  • 2018: Eleni Foureira – Fuego – Cyprus (6)
  • 2019: Duncan Laurence – Arcade – The Netherlands (4)
  • 2020: Diodato – Fai rumore – Italy (13)
  • 2021: Måneskin – Zitti e buoni – Italy (2)

Some other fun facts about the ESC Top 250 of 2021

  • There are 36 winners in the list, with eight of them making the top 20.
  • 50 different countries have at least one song in the top 250. Only two countries are not to be found this year: Andorra and Morocco.
  • The only year from the 21st century without any songs in the ESC Top 250 is 2002. More years with no entries are: 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1985 and 1986
  • The number 1 received 646 times douze points, where the number two received 617 times the highest amount of points.
  • No less than 23 entries for the 2021 edition of Eurovision made the list.
  • There are 78 songs in this year’s list that were not in it last year.