You may not know it but the Eurovision Song Contest and the United States have had many connections.
Many US artists have competed in the Contest over its almost seven decade history. More recently US artists Justin Timberlake and Madonna have been guest performers at Eurovision Grand Finals.
Then came the successful release of the Eurovision Netflix film, 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga', in 2020 which was produced and written by American actor Will Ferrell, who also starred in it with Rachel McAdams.
2022 saw the debut of the 'American Song Contest' a spinoff of the Eurovision Song Contest where all 50 states of the United States participated in a song contest.
However links between the United States and the Eurovision Song Contest actually started decades and decades earlier with Eurovision songs charting on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart all the way back in 1958, when the chart first began.
This week marks the 12th Eurovision song to ever chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, with Rosa Linn's 'SNAP' taking over the world.
To honour this feat we have complied a list of the top original Eurovision entries over the last six decades that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as per the “#RecordsAndCharts… a deluxe must chart archive” database, which you can check out here. We ranked the Eurovision songs in order of their peak positions and duration on the Hot 100 chart.
Let’s begin!
12. Cliff Richard - 'Congratulations' - United Kingdom (1968)
No. 99 - 1 week at peak - 3 weeks on chart
Cliff Richard is no stranger to the US Billboard Hot 100 chart! ‘Congratulations’ was Richards sixth single to make a chart appearance on the Hot 100 and the Eurovision runner-up entry for the United Kingdom in 1968. He appeared 19 times overall on the Hot 100, with many singles as Cliff Richard & The Shadows. Richards best performing single on the Hot 100 was ‘Devil Woman’ which peaked at No. 6 for three weeks in 1976. Richards second Eurovision entry for the United Kingdom in 1973, ‘Power to All Our Friends’ which finished in third place, just missed out on the Hot 100 charting at No. 109.
11. Domenico Modugno - 'Piove (Ciao, ciao banbina)' - Italy (1959)
No. 97 - 1 week on chart
'Piove (Ciao, ciao banbina)’ is Domenico Modugno’s second Eurovision entry for Italy, and his second and last appearance in the Hot 100 chart. Modugno gained global notoriety and success following his podium finish in 1958 with 'Nel blu dipinto di blu’, but you’re going to have to wait and see where it ranks in our list.
10. Mary Hopkin - 'Knock, Knock Who's There?' - United Kingdom (1970)
No. 92 - 2 weeks at peak - 4 weeks on chart
Mary Hopkin had achieved great chart success on the Hot 100 before she represented the United Kingdom in 1970 with 'Knock, Knock Who's There?’. The entry came second in the Contest, but it is Hopkin’s sixth and last single to chart on the Hot 100 at No. 92. Her most successful single was ‘Those Were The Days’ which charted on the Hot 100 in 1968 and peaked at No. 2 for three weeks. It was held off the top spot by ‘Hey Jude’ by The Beatles which held the top spot for nine weeks.
9. Ronnie Carroll - 'Say Wonderful Things' - United Kingdom (1963)
No. 91 - 2 weeks at peak - 4 weeks on chart
'Say Wonderful Things’ is Ronnie Carroll’s only single to cross the Atlantic and appear on the Hot 100. He had better success in the United Kingdom where he had six charting songs on the UK singles charts. Interestingly his 1963 Eurovision entry missed the UK charts, his previous Eurovision entry ‘Ring-A-Ding Girl’ charted in the UK at No. 46.
8. Rosa Linn - 'SNAP' - Armenia (2022)
No. 82 - *CURRENTLY CHARTING* - 8 weeks on the chart
'SNAP' is the most recent Eurovision entry to enter the Hot 100. Making its debut at No. 97 on the week of September 3, 2022. On the week of September 17 'Snap' returned to the chart jumping to No. 93.
This Eurovision 2022 song finished in the 20th spot at the Eurovision Grand Final in Turin, but after the Contest it grew in popularity on TikTok charting around the world and finally making its way on the US chart.
7. The New Seekers - 'Beg, Steal or Borrow' - United Kingdom (1972)
No. 81 - 2 weeks at peak - 4 weeks on chart
'Beg, Steal or Borrow’ was one of nine singles for The New Seekers on the Hot 100. The New Seekers was formed after the disbanding of the Australian band The Seekers from the 1960’s. In the new band there were two Australians Peter Doyle and Marty Kristian. They scored the United Kingdom’s seventh runner-up position at Eurovision in 1972 with ‘Beg, Steal or Borrow’ which was co-written by Australian Tony Cole. The band’s highest ranked single on the Hot 100 was ‘I’d Like to Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)' which peaked at No. 7 in 1972 just before they performed at Eurovision.
6. Duncan Laurence - 'Arcade' - The Netherlands (2019)
No. 30 - 1 week at peak - 24 weeks on chart
In 2021 'Arcade' became the first Eurovision song to hit the Billboard Hot 100 in 24 years! The Dutch Eurovision winning song finally broke the drought with Eurovision songs featuring in the Hot 100. 'Arcade' peaked at No. 30 on September 2021. The song managed to return to the charts at the end of 2020 when the song became popular on TikTok.
5. Brotherhood of Man - 'Save Your Kisses for Me' - United Kingdom (1976)
No. 27 - 1 week at peak - 11 weeks on chart
'Save Your Kisses for Me’ is one of two original Eurovision winning songs to chart on the Hot 100. It was Brotherhood of Man’s fourth and last single to chart on the Hot 100. They had success years earlier when ‘United We Stand’ peaked at No. 13 in 1970. 'Save Your Kisses for Me’ was their second best ranked entry on the chart.
4. Gina G - 'Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit' - United Kingdom (1996)
No. 12 - 2 weeks at peak - 30 weeks on chart
Australian Gina G has appeared twice on the Hot 100. The first time with her 1996 Eurovision hit 'Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit’. It reached No. 12 for two weeks in 1997. It faired better in the UK where it charted at No. 1 and in Australia at No. 5, on their music singles charts. 'Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit' got Gina G a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording. Her other charting US single ‘Gimme Song Love’ peaked at No. 46 on the Hot 100 in 1997.
3. Mocedades - 'Eres tú' - Spain (1973)
No. 9 - 2 weeks at peak - 17 weeks on chart
Mocedades garnered huge success after their Eurovision performance of 'Eres tú’ which finished in second placed in 1973 beaten by the Luxembourger entry ‘Tu te reconnaîtras’ by Anne-Marie David. 'Eres tú’ was released with an English version called ‘Touch the Wind’. It has gone on to be covered by many artists over the decades including Il Divo, Petula Clark and Thalía. A guitar instrumental version of the song was even featured in the Bank of New Zealand television advertisement campaign in the 1990’s. 'Eres tú’ was the band’s only song to chart on the Hot 100 and peaked in the top 10 at No. 9.
2. ABBA - 'Waterloo' - Sweden (1974)
No. 6 - 1 week at peak - 17 weeks on chart
Surprisingly ABBA only scored one No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 with ‘Dancing Queen’ which peaked at the top for one week in 1977. Their Eurovision winning song 'Waterloo' is one of three other singles that made it to the Hot 100 top 10. They include ‘Take A Chance On Me’ at No. 3, ’Waterloo’ at No. 6 and ‘The Winner Takes It All’ at No. 8. Overall 20 ABBA songs made it in the Hot 100 spanning two decades.
1. Domenico Modugno - 'Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volare)' - Italy (1958)
No. 1 - 5 weeks at peak - 16 weeks on chart
No. 1 in our list is Domenico Modugno’s 'Nel blu dipinto di blu’ also known as 'Volare'. It is the highest ranked original Eurovision entry, the only Eurovision song to reach No.1 on the Hot 100, and it is the most covered song in Eurovision history.
Domenico Modugno flew the flag for Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958 with 'Nel blu dipinto di blu’ which finished in third place. The song became immensely popular around the world, with the single selling exceptionally well in Italy. Due to its domestic success, the single was released across Europe, in the United States and Australia.
In the US, the song debuted at No. 54 on the first ever Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 4 1958. Two weeks later it topped the chart, becoming the second-ever song to take out the No. 1 spot in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It would go on to stay there for five non-consecutive weeks. The single sold over 22 million copies worldwide.
You can read more about the song’s success in our throwback history series 'The story and legacy of ‘Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volare)’.
And there you have it all the original Eurovision songs we managed to track down that have charted on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Are there any songs we missed? With such a vast catalogue of Eurovision covers out there we wouldn’t be surprised if there are more that landed on the Hot 100. Let us know on our socials.
Also check out:
Every Eurovision song to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 Every Eurovision song to chart in Australia
All the Eurovision winning songs that have charted on the UK Official Top 100 Singles Chart All the Eurovision winning songs that have charted on the Swedish Singles Chart
For continued updates on all the Eurovision news follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. All links at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet
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