Two weeks after the grand final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, the participating songs have been making waves across the charts in Europe and beyond.
Loreen
Leading the pack is Sweden’s Loreen, the winner of the contest with the song “Tattoo”. After winning Melodifestivalen 2023, “Tattoo” debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart. Following its Eurovision win, it climbed to number one in nine other countries, including Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands. This success was not a flash in the pan: the song was noted for being the first Eurovision entry in over 27 years to spend two weeks inside the top five of the UK Singles Chart.
“Tattoo” made a formidable debut on the Billboard Global 200 at No. 15 and soared from No. 146 to No. 7 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. tally in the week ending May 18. The ballad generated 32 million official streams and sold 12,000 downloads worldwide. Impressively, this makes “Tattoo” the highest-charting Eurovision song in the history of both charts.
Cha Cha Cha
Sticking with the Billboard charts, Käärijä’s “Cha Cha Cha” debuted at No. 13 on Global Excl. U.S. and No. 27 on the Global 200, with 24.4 million streams and 4,000 downloads sold worldwide. Käärijä also found success in his native Finland and elsewhere, including Poland, Iceland and, surprisingly, Sweden, despite Loreen’s home-field advantage. The popularity of his song boosted other Eurovision entries. The first official Top 50 sales and streaming chart released in Finland after the contest contained 15 songs from the 2023 contest.
Norway’s Alessandra followed with “Queen of Kings”, charting at Nos. 29 and 58, respectively, with 19.5 million streams and 5,000 downloads sold in the Billboard charts. In Norway, Alessandra’s song took the top spot, followed by Loreen’s “Tattoo” at number 4.
Further country-chart details indicate a broad reception for Eurovision songs. In Belgium, Loreen and Belgium’s own Gustaph featured in the top 50 of the main charts in both Flanders and Wallonia. In Germany, three of this year’s entries, including Loreen’s “Tattoo”, Käärijä’s “Cha Cha Cha” and Alessandra’s “Queen of Kings”, made the country’s top 20. The Irish chart also showed a strong reception, with several 2023 songs cracking the top 100 and Loreen’s “Tattoo” reaching number 3.
The Italian charts, often relatively insulated from the Eurovision effect, also saw several 2023 songs in the top 100, suggesting that the momentum from Italy’s hosting in 2021 might have carried over. Despite not performing exceptionally in the contest, the Netherlands saw a significant presence of 2023 hits in its charts, with Loreen’s “Tattoo” taking the top spot.
Wait and see …
Chart success, however, is not a one-week affair, and longevity on the charts is often a more significant indicator of a song’s impact. While these initial numbers are promising, the real test will be whether these songs can maintain their positions or climb higher in the coming weeks. As of now, Loreen appears on 21 Hits of the World charts, reaching the top 10 on 15 of them, followed by Käärijä on 17 charts, with 11 top-10 placements, and Alessandra’s “Queen of Kings” on 14 rankings, with eight top-10 placements.
