Four Eurovision Song Contest songs entered the UK top 10 simultaneously for the first time.
Loreen’s Tattoo, who won the competition for Sweden in 2023, scored the highest new entry this week at number two.
Finland’s Cha Cha Cha from Käärijä, which came in second place in the contest, ended up in sixth place, becoming the first all-Finnish song in the chart.
I Wrote a Song by UK’s May Muller and Queen of the Kings by Norway’s Alessandra reached number nine and 10.
Muller’s track fared poorly in this year’s competition, finishing second to last, but the song enjoyed strong support from UK radio stations.
The official charts company said the last and only time two or more Eurovision songs were in the top 10 at the same time was in 1982.
German entrant Nicole topped the chart that year with A Little Peace, while the UK’s Bardot reached number two with One Step Further.
Kaarija’s Cha Cha Cha landed at number six, marking the first time an entirely Finnish-language song has charted in the UK
The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was held in Liverpool as last year’s winners Ukraine were unable to host following Russia’s invasion. The competition was watched live by an average audience of 9.9 million viewers.
After hearing about her UK chart success, Lorraine said: “I’m absolutely blown away by all the love and support I’m getting right now, especially from my UK friends who have been with me since day one.”
“The UK has become my second home and getting a new peak there with Tattoo means everything to me. Thank you for being a part of the journey. We made history together.”
However, this week’s number one went to a non-Eurovision song. Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding took the top spot for a sixth consecutive week with their single Miracle.
Last year’s Eurovision winner – Stefania of Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra – entered the UK chart at number 38, stayed for a week, then disappeared. And this has been the pattern for years.
In fact, Sam Ryder aside, the last time a Eurovision song entered the UK top 10 was in 2014, when Dutch band The Common Linnets reached number nine with the folky, atmospheric ballad Calm After the Storm (they finished second in the real competition ).
So to have four Eurovision songs in the top 10 is unprecedented. There was clearly an unusually high level of interest from the country as Liverpool hosted the contest – but it also shows how Eurovision has lost its reputation for expensive new songs and started spewing out genuine pop hits (a phenomenon that the UK has admittedly been very slow to catch on to) .
As in the contest, Sweden’s Loreen leads the field, improving on the third position of her previous Eurovision winner, Euphoria, in 2012.
Muller’s track I Wrote A Song reached number nine despite finishing second in the competition
Kaarija’s OTT party anthem Cha Cha Cha becomes the first Finnish-language song to enter the UK top 10; and there is rehabilitation for May Muller from the United Kingdom. She faced the ignominy of coming in second to last in the competition, but proved her song was catchy enough to become a real streaming hit.
Norway’s Alessandra, meanwhile, managed to build momentum during the week, picking up enough additional streams to jump from No. 12 on the midweek chart update to No. 10 on Friday.
There is some concern that Muller’s result on Saturday will make other British acts reluctant to enter Eurovision next year. Based on this evidence, they need not worry.
In a statement to the Official Charts Company, Finland’s Käärijä said reaching the UK top 10 “feels amazing”.
“I’m just a normal guy from Finland!” he said. “I made a song and people like it, I’m very grateful for that. To be in the UK top 10 is just crazy. I know it’s not easy to get there, especially with a Finnish song.
“To all my fans in the UK I want to say thank you for all your love and support. I hope I can come back one day and do my own show there!”
Meanwhile, Müller said: “It’s been a strange few days but it’s been such an amazing end to my Eurovision journey. I’m so grateful.”
The Jonas Brothers, filmed in concert in New York last week, were one of three new entries in the top five on the album chart
Further down the chart, last year’s UK entrant Sam Ryder’s single Mountain debuted at number 35, marking the singer’s second top 40 hit.
BBC Radio 2 Eurovision presenter Scott Mills said: “The fact that Eurovision is making such an impression on the official rankings shows how much the UK has invested in this year’s competition.
“It became much more than a race; it turned into a week-long festival and party thanks to Liverpool fully embracing it.”
In the album chart, Ed Sheeran takes the top spot with – (Subtract), while there are new entries for Potter Payper at two, the Jonas Brothers at three and Lovejoy at five.
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