Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad was a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician and actor known internationally as Ted. Gärdestad began his acting career in 1966 and began playing music in 1971, signing with Polar Music. Assigned with in-house producers Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, Gärdestad released his first single, "Hela världen runt," in late 1971 and worked closely with the four members of ABBA to create his debut album Undringar (1972). As Polar Music's best-selling solo artist, he continued to work with the group members throughout the 1970s, releasing three more albums Ted (1973), Upptåg (1974) and Franska Kort (1976), which were moderately successful. In 1978, Gärdestad released his first English-language album, Blue Virgin Isles, which did not have success internationally, as his predecessor albums had in his home country.
"Waterloo" is the first single from the Swedish pop group ABBA's second album of the same name, and their first under the Atlantic label in the US. This was also the first single to be credited to the group performing under the name ABBA. The title and lyrics reference the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, and use it as a metaphor for a romantic relationship. The Swedish version of the single was backed with the Swedish version of "Honey, Honey", while the English version featured "Watch Out" on the B-side.
Barbro Margareta Svensson, known by her stage name Lill-Babs, was a Swedish singer, actress and television host. From the early 1950s until her death in 2018, she was one of Sweden's best-known and popular singers. She represented Sweden in the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest in Cannes with the song "April, april". She was also well known for the song "Är du kär i mej ännu Klas-Göran?".
"J'aime la vie" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, performed for Belgium by Sandra Kim. Belgium had finished the 1985 contest in last place, and thus achieved the rare turnaround from last to first in the space of one year. The song also marks the only time to date that Belgium has won the contest. The song was also included on Kim's album J'aime la vie in 1986. When released as a single, it topped Belgium's singles chart for seven weeks and was the country's best-selling hit of 1986, and it also reached the top 20 in Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden.
"Dors, mon amour" is a love song written in French by Hubert Giraud, composed by Pierre Delanoë and performed in 1958 by André Claveau as France's entry and the winner of the pan-European Eurovision Song Contest, gaining other versions and minor commercial success.
"Non ho l'età ", usually given as just "Non ho l'età", was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1964, held in Copenhagen. It was performed in Italian by Gigliola Cinquetti representing Italy. Like all previous Italian Eurovision entries, the song had also won that year's Sanremo Music Festival. Cinquetti was sixteen years old, making her the youngest Eurovision winner in history until 1986 when Belgium's Sandra Kim won the contest with "J'aime la vie" – initially claiming to be fifteen, it was later revealed that Kim was only thirteen. In 1990, the EBU made a new rule requiring contestants to be aged 16 or older before the contest; this age rule still operates.
"Merci, Chérie" was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, performed for Austria by Udo Jürgens with lyrics in German and partially in French. It is an earnest ballad in which the singer, as he leaves her, thanks his lover for good times and positive memories.
Siw Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist is a Swedish schlager singer and actress popular in Scandinavia and West Germany. She had a number one hit in West Germany in 1964 with "Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht", and on 18 July 1964 she became the first Swede to have a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, when "Sole Sole Sole", a duet with Italian singer Umberto Marcato, entered the chart, peaking at No. 58.
"Parlez-vous français ?" is a song recorded by Spanish disco duo Baccara, written by Rolf Soja, Frank Dostal and Peter Zentner. It is best known as the Luxembourgian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, held in Paris.
"It Hurts" is a song recorded by Swedish singer Lena Philipsson. It was written by Thomas "Orup" Eriksson and produced by Anders Hansson for Philipsson's studio album Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan (2004). It is the best known as the winning song of Melodifestivalen 2004, where it was performed in Swedish as "Det gör ont", and as Sweden's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, where it finished in fifth place with 170 points.
Sweden chose their entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 through Melodifestivalen 1961. The song "April, april", performed once with Siw Malmkvist, once with Gunnar Wiklund, won. However, none of them was considered acceptable for singing in ESC, so Lill-Babs was chosen as representative instead. In the contest, once more held in Cannes, she finished in 14th place.
The Hearts of Soul, also known as Dream Express and LBS, were a Dutch-Belgian musical group that originally consisted of the Indonesian-born Dutch sisters Bianca, Patricia and Stella Maessen. Belgian singer and composer Luc Smets joined the group in 1975. The group is known for representing the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1970 and Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977.
Barbara Alexandra "Sandra" Reemer was an Indo-Dutch singer and television presenter. She represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest on three occasions, tying with Corry Brokken for most appearances representing the country.
Xandra is a given name or a nickname for Alexandra. Xandra (Zandra) is the feminine equivalent of Xander (Zander).
"Satellit", known in English as "Satellite", is a soft rock song written by Swedish composer and singer Ted Gärdestad and lyricist Kenneth Gärdestad. Originally performed by Ted, the song was performed in its native language as the Swedish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, finishing in 17th place.
Marcha, also known as Marga Bult, is a Dutch singer and television presenter, who has been a member of the groups Tulip, Babe and Dutch Divas and is also known for her participation in the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest.
The Netherlands was represented by Sandra Reemer, with the song "The Party's Over", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague, following Teach-In's victory for the Netherlands the previous year. The song was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 18 February. This was the second of Reemer's three Eurovision appearances for the Netherlands: she had sung in the 1972 contest in a duo with Dries Holten (Andres), and would also take part in the 1979 contest under the name of Xandra.
The Netherlands was represented by Xandra, with the song "Colorado", at the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 31 March in Jerusalem. The song was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 7 February. Although it was claimed at the time that Xandra was the name of a six-piece band, in reality it was merely a name adopted by Eurovision veteran Sandra Reemer, who had previously represented the Netherlands in 1972 and 1976. The cover sleeves on the various domestic and international record issues of "Colorado" for example all pictured Reemer on her own without any "band members".
The Netherlands was represented by duo Sandra and Andres, with the song "Als het om de liefde gaat", at the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 25 March in Edinburgh. Sandra and Andres, an established act with five previous top 10 hits to their name, were internally selected by broadcaster NOS to be the Dutch representatives and the song was chosen at the national final on 22 February. Sandra.
Melodifestivalen 2018 was the 58th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which selected Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The competition was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 3 February and 10 March 2018.
"Colorado"