Typically you would not put Eurovision and the United States in the same sentence. But more recently there are greater connections forming between with the United States of America and the Eurovision Song Contest.
In 2016 the Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast live in the United States for the first time on Logo TV. The 2016 Contest featured US singer Justin Timberlake as a special guest who performed his hits 'Rock Your Body' and 'Can't Stop the Feeling!'. More recently the queen of pop, Madonna, was a guest performer at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv.
Then came the release of the Eurovision Netflix film, 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga', which has strong American ties. It was directed by American director David Dobkin, known for directing 'Shanghai Knights' and 'Wedding Crashers', and was produced and written by American actor Will Ferrell, who also starred in it with Rachel McAdams. 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga' managed to broaden the Eurovision brand globally with its success on Netflix.
Earlier this year the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that the 'American Song Contest' which is set to debut in 2021. The 'American Song Contest' is a spinoff of the Eurovision Song Contest where all 50 states of the United States are expected to participate in a song contest.
But there have been links between the United States and the Eurovision Song Contest decades and decades earlier!
It may come as a surprise but Eurovision songs have charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart all the way back in 1958, when the chart first began. Even more so covers of Eurovision songs have managed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 with various degrees of success.
At Aussievision we thought we would have a deeper look at this connection and we complied all the Eurovision songs and Eurovision cover songs in Eurovision history (Yes we checked well over 1800+ songs - it took us months!) that have made an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The Billboard Hot 100 chart is music industry standard record chart in the United States, which is published weekly. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in the United States.
We ranked the Eurovision songs in order of their peak positions and duration on the Hot 100 chart.
Our list covers all 28 songs that we found that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as per the “#RecordsAndCharts… a deluxe must chart archive” database, which you can check out here. It includes 12 original Eurovision entries (shown with an asterisk *) and 16 artists who covered Eurovision songs over the last six decades.
Interestingly for the Australian readers we can reveal two Eurovision entries with very strong Aussie connections that have charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 and made our list.
We have included videos to all the top 10 ranked songs.
Let’s begin!
28. 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.
27. 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.
26. Manny Kellem, His Orchestra & Chorus - 'Love is Blue' - 1968 - No. 96 - 1 week at peak - 2 weeks on chart
Manny Kellem, His Orchestra & Chorus' only appearance on the Hot 100 is their cover of Vicky Leandros’ ‘L’amour est bleu’ in 1968. ‘L’amour est bleu’ is Leandros’ first entry where she represented Luxembourg in 1967, and it finished in 4th place at the Eurovision Song Contest. The songs popularity grew globally after the Contest, being covered many times, including Manny Kellem, His Orchestra & Chorus version being one of five of those covers to chart on the Hot 100.
25. 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.
24. 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.
23. Connie Francis - 'Al di lá’ - 1963 - No. 90 - 1 week at peak - 5 weeks on chart
In 1963 American entertainer Connie Francis released an album called ‘Connie Francis Sings Modern Italian Hits’, it was an album which featured cover versions of popular Italian songs released from 1958 to 1962 with several songs from Sanremo and the Eurovision Song Contest. The album featured the Domenico Modugno penned ‘Addio, addio’ by Claudio Villa which finished in 15th place at Eurovision, ‘Romantica’ by Renato Ranucci which finished in 8th place at Eurovision and Betty Curtis’ ‘Al da là’ from 1961 which finished 5th in the Contest. Francis’ rendition of ‘Al da là’ was the only single release from the album and reached No. 90 on the Hot 100. Francis’ had over 50 singles to chart on the Hot 100 with three No. 1 singles, ‘My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own’ and ‘Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool from 1960 and ‘Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You’ from 1962.
22. 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. 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.
21. Patti Page - 'Say Wonderful Things' - 1963 - No. 81 - 1 week at peak - 7 weeks on chart
Pop and country singer Patti Page spawned many hit singles in the US even charting back in 1950 at No. 1 on the Most Played by Jockeys and Best Sellers in Stores charts. In 1963 Page covered Ronnie Carroll’s UK Eurovision entry 'Say Wonderful Things’ and peaked 10 spots higher on the Hot 100 than Ronnie Carroll did. Page’s cover of 'Say Wonderful Things’ was taken off her album of the same name released in 1963.
20. 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.
19. The McGuire Sisters - 'Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)' - 1958 - No. 80 - 1 week at peak - 1 weeks on chart
The McGuire Sisters rendition of 'Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)’ is one of four covers of the infamous Eurovision song from Italy to make it in our list and chart on the Hot 100. The McGuire Sisters' version peaked at No. 80 in 1958. The Ohio group are more well known for their No. 1 singles ‘Sincerely’ and Sugartime’.
18. Bobby Vinton - 'Save Your Kisses for Me' - 1976 - No. 75 - 1 week at peak - 3 weeks on chart
Bobby Vinton has over 40 Hot 100 hits to his name, including four No. 1’s from 1962 to 1964. In 1976 three weeks after Brotherhood of Man released 'Save Your Kisses for Me’ in the US, Vinton released his own cover version which peaked at No. 75. The original version peaked a lot higher.
17. Ray Charles Singers - 'This is My Prayer' - 1965 - No. 72 - 1 week at peak - 4 weeks on chart
Ray Charles Singers had six singles on the Hot 100, with two of those covers of Italian Eurovision songs. The first in our list is 'This is My Prayer’ a cover of Gigliola Cinquetti’s English version of the 1964 Eurovision winning song ‘Non ho I’età (per amarti)' which was released by Ray Charles Singers in 1965. It peaked at No. 72.
16. Claudine Longet - 'Love is Blue (L'amour est bleu)' - 1968 - No. 71 - 2 weeks at peak - 9 weeks on chart
This entry by the French-American singer, actress and dancer, is the second cover of Vicky Leandros’ 1967 Eurovision entry ‘L’amour est bleu’ in our list. Claudine Longet’s version was released in 1968 and peaked at No. 71 for two weeks. It was Claudine Longet’s highest placed single on the Hot 100.
15. Al Martino - 'Love is Blue' - 1968 - No. 57 - 4 weeks at peak - 7 weeks on chart
Al Martino’s two Eurovision covers make it in 14th and 13th place in our list. Martino was known as “one of the great American pop crooners” and is well known as Johnny Fantone, yes that singer in The Godfather film. He had 31 hit songs on the Hot 100, with his most successful single being ‘I Love You Because’ in 1963 peaking at No. 3, which is a cover of Leon Payne’s 1950’s country music hit. When it came to Eurovision covers his cover of Vicky Leandros’ 1967 Eurovision entry ‘L’amour est bleu’ made it to No. 57 and his cover of Domenico Modugno’s 'Nel blu dipinto di blu’ reached No. 33.
14. Al Martino - 'Volare' - Italy - 1975 - No. 33 - 1 week at peak - 10 weeks on chart
13. Duncan Laurence - 'Arcade' - The Netherlands - 2019 * - No. 30
'Arcade' becomes the first Eurovision song to hit the Billboard Hot 100 in 24 years! 'Arcade' finally broke the drought with Eurovision entries featuring in the Hot 100, check out our article here for more.
12. Ray Charles Singers - 'Al-Di-La' - 1964 - No. 29 - 2 weeks at peak - 6 weeks on chart
The Ray Charles Singers’s second Italian Eurovision cover to hit the Hot 100 was ‘Al-Di-La’. A cover of Betty Curtis’ 'Al di lá’ from 1961 which finished in 5th place at Eurovision. The Ray Charles Singers 1964 version become their second best charting song on the Hot 100 at No. 29. Their best charting song on the Hot 100 was ‘Love Me With All Your Heart (Cuando Calienta El Sol) which peaked at No. 3.
11. 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.
10. Matt Monro - 'Walk Away' - 1965 - No. 23 - 1 week at peak - 9 weeks on chart
Matt Monro represented the United Kingdom at the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest with ‘I Love the Little Things’ which finished runner up. He managed international success in the 1960’s and 1970’s. He scored three singles on the Hot 100. His second best charting single was a Eurovision cover of ‘Warum nur, warum?’ which was the Austrian entry from 1964 by Udo Jügens. Matt Monro released the English version cover 'Walk Away' in 1965, with lyrics by the infamous Don Black, with whom Monro attended the Eurovision Song Contest. Don Black is known for his work with Andrew Lloyd Webber and several James Bond theme songs.
9. The Dells - 'I Can Sing a Rainbow / Love is Blue' - 1969 - No. 22 - 1 week at peak - 10 weeks on chart
In 1969 the Illinoisan group The Dells, released a medley of two cover songs. ‘I Can Sing a Rainbow’ by Peggy Lee from the 1955 film ‘Pete Kelly’s Blue’ and ‘Love is Blue’ the English version of Vicky Leandros’ 1967 Eurovision entry ‘L’amour est bleu’. Their medley peaked at No. 22. They had two top 10 singles on the Hot 100 with ‘Stay In My Corner’ and ‘Oh, What A Night’ both peaking at No. 10 in 1968 and 1969 respectively.
8. Dean Martin - 'Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)' - 1958 - No. 15 - 2 weeks at peak - 13 weeks on chart
One of the best known covers of Domenico Modugno’s 'Nel blu dipinto di blu’ is Dean Martin’s version ‘Volare’. Dean Martin was one of the first artists to cover the song, and had parts of the song translated into English by New York lyricist Mitchell Parish. It was this release that would be responsible for the song achieving its mass appeal worldwide. Both the Modugno and Martin versions of the song charted simultaneously. Martin’s version peaked at No. 15.
7. 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.
6. 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 Lumbourger 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. Mocedades is one of five Spanish acts to chart inside the top 10 in the United States. The other music acts include Los Bravos, fellow Spanish Eurovision entrant Julio Iglesias, his son Enrique Iglesias and Los del Río, who are infamous for the ‘Macarena’.
5. Emilio Pericoli - 'Al di lá’ - 1962 - No. 6 - 1 week at peak - 14 weeks on chart
Emilio Pericoli was an Italian singer who in 1962 entered Sanremo and also released a cover 'Al di lá’ by Betty Curtis, which won Sanremo the year before in 1961, and finishing 5th at Eurovision. It is the second cover of 'Al di lá’ to make our list. The song makes the top 5 in our list charting at No. 6 on the Hot 100. Pericoli’s rendition sold over one million copies world wide.
4. 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' for Sweden 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.
3. Bobby Rydell - 'Volare' - 1960 - No. 4 - 1 week at peak - 15 weeks on chart
The fourth 'Nel blu dipinto di blu’ cover to make it on the Hot 100 and the highest charting cover of the song is by Bobby Rydell. He had 29 singles that reached the Hot 100 and ‘Volare’ was one of four of his songs to make the top 5 of the Hot 100. His cover was released two years after Dean Martin’s version and charted 11 spots higher. Rydell’s highest charting single was ‘Wild One’ which peaked at No. 2 in 1960 kept off the top spot by ‘Theme from A Summer Place’ by Percy Faith.
2. Domenico Modugno - 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' - Italy - 1958 * - No. 1 - 5 weeks at peak - 16 weeks on chart
Just missing out at the top spot at No.2 in our list is Domenico Modugno’s 'Nel blu dipinto di blu’. It is the highest ranked original Eurovision entry, and 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.
Domenico Modugno chart success earned him three award nominations at the inaugural Grammy Awards in 1959. He won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year as the songwriter and the Grammy Award for Record of the Year as the performing artist. Modugno’s wins had further significance: he will forever be the first Grammy winner of Song of the Year and Record of the Year. In addition, ‘Nel blu dipinto di blu’ is also the first and only foreign language release to win those awards and the only Eurovision song to receive a Grammy Award to date. 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)’.
1. Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra - 'Love is Blue (L'amour est bleu)' - 1968 - No. 1 - 5 weeks at peak - 18 weeks on chart
‘Love is Blue’ is the most popular Eurovision entry to make its appearance on the Hot 100 chart. It makes it to the No. 1 in our rankings as it stayed on the Hot 100 chart for two weeks longer than 'Nel blu dipinto di blu’, even though they both remained at the No. 1 spot for five weeks. A total of five covers of ‘Love is Blue’ the English version of Vicky Leandros’ 1967 Eurovision entry ‘L’amour est bleu’ made it to the Hot 100, even though Vicky Leandros’ version didn’t chart itself.
Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra has three hits on the Hot 100, ‘Love In Every Room (Meme Is Tu Revenals)’ at No. 60 and ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ at No. 76. But it would be the instrumental cover of 'Love is Blue (L'amour est bleu)’ that would chart for five consecutive weeks on the Hot 100 that would be Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra most successful single.
Paul Mauriat is a French orchestra leader and conductor Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat who released easy listening songs. The instrumental of 'Love is Blue (L'amour est bleu)' was written by French composer André Popp who also wrote two other Eurovision songs with lyricist Pierre Cour, the Eurovision winning song ‘Tom Pillibi’ in 1960 and ‘Le chant de Mallroy’ the 1964 French entry by Rachel.
And there you have it all the 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:
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