I was at the 1996 contest and the atmosphere at the after party was a little bleak. Most delegations couldn’t understand why Ireland has done so well. Sandra Kim was there and said ‘strange result’. Gina G shrugged off the poor placing and arrived wearing a princess crown! She was about to top the UK charts and the song was a hit in Europe and the USA. 1996 proved that the juries were stuck in a safe world of dreary ballads. The move to televoting arguably saved the contest.

That scoreboard and the whole virtual reality concept was badass they were so ahead of the time with that one.

1996 was definitely the start of a transition period for Eurovision that, for me, didn't really end until 2007. The Early 2000s were the weirdest, imo. 1999-2003 all had various shades of weird, from the Postcards of 1999 and 2002 to 2001 managing to go through most of the show IN RHYME.

The song that won is beautiful. You forgot the phenomenon that was Riverdance (though not a song in the contest) and it influenced Eurovision. The Polish song is stunning. Thanks to Eurovision, at that time, we were able to discover new sounds from Eastern Europe and I love Balkan music (one of the best in the whole contest is Lane Moje by Ad Hoc Orchestra). Letting all these countries in improved the quality of the contest. Estonia and Ukraine have been a real revelation over the years.

Oslo 1996 is one of my favorite Eurovision Song Contests of all time. Not only because the song quality was extremely strong, but also because the production was so atypical for the time. It was extremely refreshing to get a different take on how to do Eurovision in the middle of all the RTÉ-produced contests in the mid-90s. I love everything about this show, from the opening number, the postcards, the pacing, the interval act, the unique scoreboard, and the ending melody during the credits. A solid 10/10 from me.

One More Time wasn't a duo, but a trio, there were three people in the group. ABBA-Benny's son Peter Grönvall, Peter's wife Nanne Grönvall and Maria Rådsten.

the problem with the Eurovision contest is very simple: They can't decide if it's a contest for the best song or the best singer. more specificially, the best composition or the best performance. And they know it. And they refuse to resolve it. They like the ambiguity. They can use it to their advantage.

For me, Eurovision between 1990 and 1993/4 is like an independent mini-decade where the 80's page was turned but the 90's didn't truly kicked in. You can see first glimpses of 90's sounds in 1994 but it's only starting in 1995 /96 that you can genuinely feel them at Eurovision. And in a way, the 90's Eurovision era goes up to 2002 (but then again all the 2000's music up to 9/11 was pretty much a 90's aftermath) and 2003 is the first true 2000s year at Eurovision.

Those 1996 special effects during the performances wouldn’t be seen again until 2016… not to say about that amazing scoreboard. 1996! Was definitely a great contest.

Some other reasons why it was weird: It’s the only contest officially called Eurosong rather than Eurovision Song Contest. The songs were shot in 16:9 but broadcast in 4:3, leaving the image windowboxed when viewed on modern displays. It features two instances of a vocalist missing their cue (Austria and Finland) The current General Secretary of the UN features in Portugal’s postcard. Also, Israel’s song in 1996, despite its admittedly terrible performance, is a huge guilty pleasure of mine!

This was a very interesting and needed video. '96 was a really unusual edition to say the least. Also: it was the only time that the contest was referred shortly as "Eurosong" in the logo and by the hosts, instead of "Eurovision". Anyways, great video, keep up the good work. You indeed need more subs. Greetings from Turkey!

Great video! 1996 is definitely an interesting year to look at, especially with all the things which would never happen again in Eurovision. I hold a bit of a soft spot for it, because it was the first vintage Eurovision year which I watched in its entirety. Though I understand why the divergence with contemporary music (we also hardly got to see grunge, alternative rock, or hip hop--Love City Groove aside), I loved the ethno-balladery of 1990s Eurovision. There was a certain depth to it all, and it was really cool to see more traditional influences within the contest where they had failed otherwise (e.g. Panagia Mou, Panagia Mou and Quien Maneja mi Barca). Even then, there were pop songs which melded traditional influences, such as with Bandido (flamenco), White and Black Blues (calypso), and Ellada, hora tou Fotos (tsifteteli) RE The Voice winning: I think this was Ireland's best winner, even though it wasn't a commercial hit. I thought it was quite majestic and had a bit of bite towards it if you look at the lyrics carefully. It might seem outdated in 1996, but it hasn't aged a day since. (That said, if there was a televote that year, who do you think would've won--both the televote, and with a 50/50 system). Though that being said, I think everybody could agree that Planet of Blue should've made it through the pre-qualifying round. P.S. I hope you do a video of 1991 at some point; that year is filled with loose ends and exploding strings.

the whole concept of the stage was like a factory they had 3 stages that are not gonna happen never again, Gina G wore a Paco Rabanne mirror dress that was designed for Cher, but she didn't want it cause it was too short for her, and till this day song "oooh Ahhh just a little bit " is the only Eurovision song that got Grammy nomination, Kasia was robbed song was amazing!

Great video! Unlocked loads of 90s VHS-tracking based memories 😅 It certainly was an iconic year, and very reflective of the time: the youth and attitude of the time eager to break through (eh UK) while still shedding the feels of the previous decade. The super futuristic scoreboard (there's a bit where Ingvild is a step ahead of the operators gently signalling to open the "doors" which was a very nice effect) -- again an example of the modernity this contest tried to grab of the decade (and Norway's wealth too given that wasn't cheap technology!) And interesting to note how such a pivotal year with its pre-qualification ended up with egg on the faces of organisers re Germany's non-qual, causing major changes (Big 4, Televoting the year after, semi's to come 8 years later, etc etc). Great video and analysis. Looking forward to other "Weird Eurovision Years" if you cover them!

Lovely to hear another Irish KZfaqr! Fascinating insight into a Eurovision topic I didn’t know about

This was a very interesting video. I look forward to any more potential Eurovision analyses!

For CRO: Doris Dragović would later tie Maja as the country's best placed entrant as an independent country until 2024, when Baby Lasagna finished 2nd in Malmö.

As an Israeli I remember 1996 national selection and it was sooo weird. There were some strange acts that year. That was the only song that was normal. The lady BTW never had a career or anything and that song barely played on the radio.

Den Vilda is such an underrated song.

An interesting and strange year indeed, after that night it was apparent that changes had to be made in order to save the contest, since big nations lost interest in it. At least I can tell that from Germany. The time from 1990 on was a desaster for us, the results were poor as hell (remember how well we did in the 80's) and the only successful entry by Ralph Siegel became a non-starter in the German charts, the public interest for it was nonexistent. The 1995 was a true desaster, leading to the change of responsibility from MDR to NDR. And then we finally had a relatively fresh entry - and it got kicked out of the contest. Oof, that was not fair. Especially because the quality of the songs was bland in the final. The ARD was pissed about that, and hid the show on the regional channel, and the commentation of Ulf Ansorge was pretty rough and rude, leading to outraged calls by viewers. Definitely not a highlight of our Eurovision history. I personally adore the contests between 1993 and 1998, they're all masterpieces on their own, but this one doesn't appeal to me at all. Forgettable songs over and over, the most monotone Top 3 ever and the favourite UK getting a truly disappointing score. I love the Irish song, it was a deserved winner, yet not the right one at the same time. The design and atmosphere felt completely off, I like cold settings like in 1986, but all this rusty metal and steel had no appeal at all, it just felt strange. The hosts were okay, but I can't get too well with them either. It's a final I do not enjoy returning to, something I can't say about the previous and subsequent years. The only good thing about it was that it accidentally started a new era of Eurovision by its poor quality. Definitely one of the weirdest ESCs ever.

Great video! I'd love to see more of these!

I’ve heard 1996 described before as “the contest that pissed everyone off”.

16:28 I love how this comment was immediately rendered out of date in the contest after the video was uploaded with Croatia getting 2nd this year. Also, I think someone at RTE was listening to 19:10.

I am deeply impressed by the knowledge and tremendous analysis of this ESC 1996 year. Now I see this edition in a different light. Still a couple of songs remain my favourites.

Very interesting piece, didn’t know many of the facts! Still - this is one of my most favorite editions of the contest x

1996 was also the only time when Gernany didn't participate in the final.

uhm both Russia and Romania made it to the final in 2015?? the fact that planet of blue didn't make it... I just.... so spot on about how out of touch with current music eurovision was at the time, although I think that started earlier and lasted longer, 90s was the most extreme. I do love the ethno ballads though.

13:40 I think you could've added that pre-recorded instruments were allowed since 1973 but they had to also be seen being "performed" on stage. I've heard a lot of people say that all music was performed live in the 90s but that's not true.

Of course, FRA would not sing in Breton again until 2022 with Alvan/Ahez.

And here we are in the year 2024 and looks like Ireland had found the formula to be relevant again - they just had to send a person who's into weird demonic stuff, screaming and shouting the letter 'I' multiple times. That's "Doomsday Blue" by Bambie Thug in a nutshell. And we will enter into X-Files territory as Ireland finished 6th in the jury vote, 6th in the televote and 6th overall which makes 666. The 2024 Eurovision Song Contest was weird for a boatload of reasons which I won't be touching on here as they aren't relevant here.

Ooh Ahh (Just A Little Bit) was actually a hit in the US, charting on the Hot 100. No Eurovision song would do this until 2021.

8:18 Besides that, both of them sound like ABBA's 'Angel Eyes' anyway

I love this kind of video. This was several years before my time, so it's all new to me. But can I request one thing for future videos? Be careful with audio mixing. I had to turn the volume up and down over and over again as the music was notably louder than your commentary.

I remember watching this edition of Eurovision just because "Ooh Aah (Just A Little Bit)" was the first British song i'd heart in years at the time, that i truly loved. It sounded great for 1996 and was probably slightly ahead of its time (if you check out The Great British Song Contest of that year, the majority of the songs were incredibly dated/poor quality. The only other rival in the 'dance-pop' genre was Lois' 'i just want to make love 2 u'. As much as i loved that track, it was so dated in comparison and wouldnt have sounded out of place at the 1994/1995 contest). There have been a few songs that ive felt were ahead of their time both in sound, or in their staging/styling. The next one to blow my socks off was the (at the time) unfortgettable performance by Paul Oscar in 1997 with 'Minn Hinsti Dans' for Iceland. Superb staging, great concept and awesome sound, but although certain countries and artists had started pushing the envelope and challenging the dowdy and often stuffy nature of the competition, the Eurovision lovers just didnt get it and found it too raunchy and didnt reward it. The audiences just couldnt shake off that puritanical attitude and werent ready to leave behind the songs about love and heartbreak.

You missed one part, the Norwegian spokesperson also did the points on the stage, something that was never done again.

In 1995, the ESC in Germany had already reached a low point with 4 million television viewers. All four Irish winners in the 1990s were off the charts. After their shocking failure to qualify in 1996, Germany came close to not taking part again. The ESC was in the emergency room. In Germany it was brought back to life with Guildo Horn and 12.7 million TV viewers. Personally, I don't like the 1996 contest either. Ingvild was really annoying. The many slow ethno ballads took any drive out of the competition. To yawn. The Netherlands, UK, Finland, Turkey and the Non-Qualifiers Germany and Denmark are the few songs I like to listen.

Gina G ohh ahh would go down has a classic of the 90s

Under one of the my comments regarding use of CGI for 1996 ESC where I mentioned the use of then top of the art Silicon Graphics Onyx supercomputer for video processing an engineer that actually was a member of a team working on the show in its comment retold the details of entire production. It's true, despite quantum-leap in computer generated graphics quality and performance an artificially generated voting stage was never used again.

For me the highlight was the interval act. Beacon Burning. Brilliant. Amazing film. I loved it. One of the best intervals ever.

This is so brilliantly presented and put together. Hilarious yet very informative.

Other contests to write about.. 1985 - super slick production (could easily be produced in the mid 90s!) 1991 - the mess… 1999 - one of the worst editions ever

ESC 1996, everything went great, rather. Enjoyed it very much. One of the best ESC contests ever.

Very well researched and presented. The story is told very well. For me 96, not a great year for production and songs, similar to 92.

What was the title of the English version of the Danish entry? Did it chart by them? Absolutely love this video thanks for posting

What do you mean "Tattoo doesn't count"? (When speaking of 2nd places that didn't get any 12p)

11:47 damn, i thought that was intentional because that unironically sounds good imo

awesome video

At least we got Gina G! 💜

Now that everyone sings in English, you can understand how shit the lyrics are.😂

3:07 one and only?🤔

Morten Harket should have participated with his intro song «Heaven’s Not For Saints». It’s a gem❤

One could also argue that the winning song was about the troubles in Northern Ireland... and that has never happened in Eurovision again... does 2007 count? 🤔

For a long time Slovakia was my favorite but now i was introduced to Estonia and i immediatly fell in love with it. Imagine being in a log cabin in a dark forest near a lake while raining and drinking hot chocolate while listening this song🤩

🇷🇴Romania's decade of pain: 1993: Didn't qualify 1994: 21st 1995: Relegated 1996: Didn't qualify 1997: Relegated 1998: 22nd 1999: Relegated 2000: 17th 2001: Relegated 2002: 9th (first top 10)

Speaking of going the distance before "Go the Distance" does anyone else think the Austrian gospel song sounds suspiciously like "Zero to Hero" and "A Star is Born"?

cool video!

Greece was so weird in the 90s, the odds were rlly good (91,93,95,97) not counting 99 ofc because idk what that was, but the evens were just so bizarre

Forgive my ignorance, but who are you referencing at 8:30?

18:40 please, Dervish and Eimear are the two best Irish songs in ESC.

So why exactly was it weird? sorry mate but at some point you just recited data on who participated with what rating in the 90s

Fun fact: Belgium was the hot favourite to win 1996 Eurovision Song contest previous the night of the final

8:33 why was there a clip of Burak Aydoş?

To this day Just A Little Bit is the only Eurovision song nominated for Grammy

I love Eurovision Song Contest 1996! ❤

from what I remember because Germany was not qualified they broadcasted that in one of the third programs and the presenter/translator made terrible jokes and remarks about the contestants.

I'm not sure it's just money with RTE, it's that they tweak their submission demands, by selecting the artist some years, how can that person sing a song not suited to their personality even if the internal jury picks it. Surely provide a range of available performers? They don't want demos now, it's less about song writing, but who has a computer program and box room recording space to satisfy something more convenient and slick. You have to provide your own singer now, if you're a tone deaf lyric writer. These other rules by EBU about 50 views on You Tube disqualifying a submission, it's too uptight, yet a winning song got performed to a full theatre before one contest. They want mp3 at this many bites or below. I can't be bothered, it's probably wiser to send your effort to France's TV for automatic entry to the finals. Good informative video. I think they had 3 stages and some countries were concerned about the lighting on one stage? I think there was a documentary on that year as well.

When I was born

No Australian has represented the UK again in the contest history, they did represent some other countries tho...

Estonia was 8th in 1997:) Not 7th

12:28 was Mono Yia Mas used in the Greek version of Disney's Hercules?

Sometimes I wonder what would've happened to the Big 4/5 if Germany actually qualified for 1996.

Just love the lack of sense of humour in the comments.

still mad about Germany. should have won the whole damn contest!

The Voice was my fav song of the 90s and it’s amazing that Eimarr can still hit the notes in modern performances

The same lack of transparency back then remains today... Plus more geopolitical double standards. As a fan, its disheartening. So much is decided behind closed doors.

7:55 that's what Sweden is the best at 😀

Germany were a loss to the final - Planet of Blue looked fun. God Iceland was crap that year along with Spain.

Not him trying to "keep out his opinion" but then shitting on a cool hairstyle a minute later as though it was relevant💀

8:33 Esmer yarim wtf? Why did you put 1993 Turkey? 😂

Eimear and Morten were rizzing each other up at the end

Gina G ...still an anthem on a good night out

I can't stop laughing at "she wore a striking green dress and had red hair that I assume was dyed." It's the most unnecessary thing to comment on but I love that you did! Great video 💞

14:22 "Alle agenten zijn klootzakken" Why would you say that?😮

Hard to hear when you talk fast with low tone and vocal fry trailing off with no projection of your voice "DING!!" way to loud! My girlfriend just asked me if I had a timer on.

Probably one of the best top three ever: Ireland, Norway and Sweden! And of course Croatia in 4th. UK was a good radio song but not live.

Q wea la raquel castillo en la portada

Did you really say "imperialistic scum?" I'm married to an Irishman and I think what my country did to the Irish over the centuries was terrible...but seriously???

“Imperialist scum”, rude! No need for that.

'Imperialist scum'? Are you trying to annoy people?

Since the eastern countries joined it is not the same anymore. We should have kept them outside

The clown that couldn’t take a joke

The one and only Macedonia?? you queen need to open some history books asap

One of my favourite contests in terms of quality of songs, as long as you discount the horrible entry from the United Kingdom. Each to his own.

Imperialists scum??? 😮

"Yeah, get used to that disappointment, imperialist scum." Totally out of order comment. 😡👎

I started watching Eurovision in 1992, I have never missed a Contest since. I agree wholeheartedly with @BridgLondon and @imrustyokay. Eurovision was basically a musical parallel universe by 1980, never-mind 1996. ESC by that point was incredibly dated, most 1980s songs were only giving lip service to contemporary music. The Carpenters would not have looked out of place in 1970s and 80s Eurovision. With no disrespect to Linda Martin, a passionate advocate of the Contest to this day, ‘Why Me?’ the 1992 winner is an incredibly safe choice. The 1990 Norwegian last-place entry ‘Brandenburger Tor’ by Ketil Stokkan survives in Eurovision memory because it is high energy, camp fun and means what it says. Ketil has far more authenticity than the safe schlager so common in the Contest at the time. The 1980s can be summarised by a run of style over substance entries such as Yugoslavia’s model of synchronised dance moves to slightly out of date pop music, a couple of throwback winners with manufactured groups Bucks Fizz for the UK in 1981 and Bobbysocks! for Norway in 1985, a last hurrah for Luxembourg in 1985, kids competing and a couple of meaningful wins with Nicole for Germany in 1981 and Celine Dion for Switzerland in 1988. The fact that Eurovision didn’t really produce any major stars except for ABBA and Celine before recently should indicate the standard of acts competing. Lots of B and C-tier fare reliant on gimmicks and the more established acts tended to be people who appealed to parents not teenagers who actually buy pop music like Cliff Richard (UK 1968), Julio Iglesias (Spain 1970) or Olivia Newton John (UK 1974) so it sounded old. The format did not reward more challenging songs either, which is what you’d think a Contest decided entirely by music professionals and aimed squarely at a middle-class, older audience should be doing. France did not win in either 1990 or 1991 despite sending really interesting songs. Denmark had to settle for 5th place and the UK for 10th in 1995 despite deliberately choosing songs which were atypical for Eurovision, the latter introducing rap to the Contest. It’s telling that even now, rap is considered a risk at Eurovision. Clearly the Juries were looking for a consensus pick, not something with actual cultural value, craft or commercial appeal. And let’s not kid ourselves, a Televote in 1996 is not that likely to have resulted in an Irish win (my guess is that either Norway or Sweden win, Ireland ends up between 2nd and 5th and a Televote probably pushes Gina G to between 4th and 6th from 8th based on chart-friendliness alone). Eimar Quinn sang her socks off, but ‘The Voice’ is very much a “Jury song” in modern terms, a piece of performance art in the same way that Tamara Todevska for North Macedonia in 2019 or Barbara Pravi was for France in 2021. The fact that the EBU did not properly plan for Contest expansion is stunning. The relegation system prevented new countries like Slovakia or Slovenia building momentum, actively protected Germany and acted as a barrier to entry for Romania and North Macedonia. This is blatantly unfair. We know that the USSR seriously considered entering in 1987 and Iceland actually did. That should have told the EBU that there was interest elsewhere in Europe. Counting the USSR, Romania (led by a dictator with western ties) and Czechoslovakia (less repressive, with historic ties to Germany and Austria), plus 1971 winner and 1960s mainstay Monaco, that’s at least 4 possible addition competitors from 1988. Morocco had competed in 1980, Morocco’s relationship with Israel has been largely normalised now making a return possible, so we are up to 5. The Berlin Wall coming down in November 1989 makes an East German entry in May 1990 theoretically possible too. The breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 means that up to 10 more countries became eligible; 11 if we count Kazakhstan who competes in the Junior Contest. So we are up to a total of 15 additional possible additional participants BEFORE the breakup of Yugoslavia and NOT counting microstates such as modern Eurovision darling San Marino or Andorra (the only competing country never to feature in a Final) or the far larger Albania who have not debuted yet. Add them onto the list and that’s 24 additional potential countries AT LEAST. And that’s before we even mention Australia…. Why the EBU didn’t recognise reality before they were caught out in 1993 smells of sheer hubris thinking the Contest didn’t need to change. It clearly did, I am not convinced we would still have Eurovision if it continued as was. The Contest at times resembled a black tie event attended by a well-mannered, middle class audience dressed in evening wear composed predominantly of niche pieces that bear no resemblance whatsoever to the Charts and just happens to be shown on television for those who couldn’t possibly afford tickets to gawp at. The alternative was what eventually emerged, a low-barrier to entry, if fantastically expensive entertainment show that presented fun, accessible music to a mass audience and actively sought to involve them in everyway possible. Even in its pre-1999 incarnation, Eurovision is not cheap to host. Costs require funds to support a growing Contest and that requires effective marketing, something organisers in the 21st century understand. The modern approach gives the greatest chance for the commercial success necessary to survive as an event. It supported advertising sales to grow the audience; supports smaller, less financially able countries to participates; offers an opportunity for smaller countries like Moldova and San Marino to put themselves on the map and stimulates record sales and streaming which incentivises participation for the modern crop of more relevant and emerging talent who compete every year (see Rosa Linn, 20th on the night in Turin 2022 for Armenia, overnight social media star and doing the business in the US now regardless of result on the night). Purists may decry the emphasis on staging and modern chart pop, but it gets bums on seats and ensures the money flows to support participation. Whilst we are bopping to “Poe Poe Poe” from Austria or absorbing the madness of Croatia, this year we can still enjoy the authenticity of updated flamenco from Spain or art rock from Latvia and can now measure the true feelings of viewers via a global Televote with more diverse and wide-ranging Juries judging artistic merit. It’s not a perfect system, the UK and Germany still send entries with minimal real appeal straight into the Final at the expense of entries like ‘Crisalde’ from San Marino in 2013 which are superior, but its it MUCH better than the dated 1980s or the generic and too Televote-driven 2000s. I might not be a huge fan of the Top 3 this year, but there’s plenty in the Top 12 I enjoy and its clear that Italy, Estonia and Lithuania’s live singing and Belgium’s positivity and retro stylings were rewarded a good result. Now if Latvia and Georgia can qualify for the Final occasionally and the UK can be consistently not embarrassing, I will be happy….