Ready for wild sets, outrageous outfits, and catchy pop ballads? Eurovision, Europe’s biggest music calendar highlight, is almost here – and its popularity remains as strong as ever. Spotify’s data shows that streams of Eurovision playlists increased +594% during Eurovision 2021 with nearly 27M minutes streamed, and 71% of Eurovision playlist streams in 2021 were from listeners ages 13-34.
As well as the official Eurovision 2022 playlist, Spotify is celebrating Eurovision 2022 with legendary Eurovision contestants and personalities curating playlists that shine a spotlight on the music and culture of their home nation. The glittering line-up includes the likes of Jedward presents The Sound of Ireland, Loreen presents The Sound of Sweden, Duncan Laurence presents The Sound of Netherlands,and Conchita Wurst presents The Sound of Austria, Cover art can be downloaded here.
Can Italy do the double?
Last year, Spotify data successfully predicted Måneskin‘s win, with ZITTI E BUONI being the most streamed Eurovision entry between March 2021 and May 2021. And it’s looking like Italy could do the double – with the host country’s entry Brividi by Mahmood and BLANCO currently streamed five times as many times as Sweden’s Cornelia Jakobs with Hold Me Closer in second place, followed by Netherlands’ S10 with De Deipte in third, based on global streams Mar 2021-Apr 2022. Excluding home entries, Brividi is the top song in 70% or 28 out of 40 participating countries. Only four other countries – Spain, Luxembourg, Israel and Ireland – have won twice in a row, with Ireland taking the win three times in a row from 1992-1994.
Will Sam Ryder’s SPACE MAN avoid nul points?
In a spin on more recent Eurovision performances, the UK’s Eurovision song looks like it might avoid the infamous nul points position. Sam Ryder’s SPACE MAN has been in the top five most streamed Eurovision entry tracks of over 65% of voting markets, after he shot to fame by posting his music online during the pandemic. After the UK’s latest nul points with James Newman’s performance last year, the UK has high hopes with Sam Ryder whose poppy bop has surpassed 4M streams on Spotify. The Essex singer, who recently said he was inspired by Eurovision legends Lordi, marked his place as a fan favourite by appearing in the top ten of this year’s most streamed Eurovision entries globally.
Måneskin makes history by entering Spotify’s Billions Club
Last year’s Eurovision served as the launchpad for the eventual global domination of winners Måneskin in 2021. And the fates aligned for Maneskin this month with their track Beggin’ entering the illustrious Billions Club just in time for the anniversary of their amazing Eurovision 2021 success. The band can thank fans the world over – their top five fan markets (by Spotify listenership) comprise the United States at number one followed by Italy, Brazil, Germany and Mexico. Since their Eurovision win, the Italian rock band has seen huge growth with 5,400% more international streams in Jan-March 2022 vs the same period last year.
Support for Ukraine’s entry
Stefania by KALUSH ranks as the top foreign entry song in five of the Eurovision markets, making it the second most common number 1 song after Brividi – and the track has seen over 6M global streams on the platform. In a third of the Eurovision countries, Ukraine’s ‘Stefania’ is either number 1 or number 2, excluding home entries, and it is in the top 10 foreign Eurovision entries for every single other participating country. The track is number 1 in Czech Republic, Georgia, Latvia, Moldova and Poland, and number 2 in Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Estonia, Israel, Lithuania and the Netherlands.
The best of the worst
So what are the best of the ‘nul points’? It’s no secret that, while they bombed on the night, certain ‘nul points’ have ended up being truly iconic with fans… The UK’s James Newman’s 2021 entry Embers tops the list of the most popular Eurovision ‘Nul Points’ entry to date:
- James Newman, Embers (UK 2021) – over 10M streams
- Ann Sophie, Black Smoke (Germany 2015) – over 4M streams
- The Makemakes, I Am Yours (Austria, 2015) – over 2.5M streams
- Jahn Teigen, Mil etter mil – 2009 remaster (Norway, 1978) – over 2M streams
- Monica Zetterlund, En gång i Stockholm (Sweden, 1963) – over 1.5M streams
Fans can also enjoy an expanded catalogue of playlists for every mood and occasion, including Eurovision Winners, Eurovision Party and Eurovision Ballads – featuring entries from previous years – plus playlists by the decade – Eurovision 10s, 00s, 90s, 80s, and Eurovision Gold (featuring songs from 50s, 60s & 70s) – which celebrate the rich musical heritage of the competition.
