Jill Johnson

Basic information

Date:

9 May 1998

Venue:

National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, United Kingdom

Broadcaster:

BBC

Presenter(s):

Ulrika Jonsson and Terry Wogan

About the contest:

Following the limited introduction of public televoting the year before, 1998 saw a big expansion of that system of voting with almost every country adopting this way of awarding its points. Only those countries not technically able to use such a system continued with juries. In case of problems, even the countries using televoting had a jury as a backup. The dangers of televoting became clear when a campaign in Germany in support of Guildo Horn sent Germans abroad so they could vote for him in an effort to boost his placing.

Another landmark event involved the orchestra. Ever since the first contest in 1956, an orchestra had been used to provide a totally live musical experience. This contest would be the last time an orchestra was needed; some countries even used a backing track instead anyway.

Dana International was the subject of much discussion a long time before boarding the plane to Birmingham. He/she became the first transsexual Eurovision singer, a fact which caused much controversy but it seems no publicity is bad publicity.

One of the most remembered events of the show was host Ulrika Jonsson’s apparent faux-pas when she was talking with 1957 winner, Corry Brokken, who was giving the Dutch results. Ulrika was heard to comment that Corry had won the contest a long time ago, the insinuation being that Corry was getting on a bit. In fact, what happened was that Corry herself made that comment but, as the audience were cheering her loudly, Ulrika repeated it knowing that no-one would have heard what Corry said.

Danijela and José Cid (as part of Portuguese group, Alma Lusa) were both making their second appearances in the contest, while Chiara and Edsilia Rombley would be seen again in future years.

Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Denmark, Russia and Iceland missed out on participation as their average points over the previous five contests was less than all other countries. This allowed room for Belgium, Finland, Israel, Romania and Slovakia to return from a forced absence in 1997. Italy’s withdrawal meant Macedonia could make it’s debut.

Trivia:

Greek composer, Yiannis Malachias, had some very particular ideas about how he wanted his song to some across on screen. To that end, he made a nuisance of himself to the organisers. So much so, that, after being warned about his conduct, he was stripped of his accreditation, leaving him unable to enter the NIA.

About the songs:

Danijela	Croatia - Danijela - Neka Mi Ne Svane (Croatian) Music/Lyrics: Petar Graso, Remi Kasinoti/Petar Graso, Remi Kasinoti Conductor: Stjepan Kalogjera Danijela was the lead singer of Magazin when they represented Croatia three years earlier. Now a solo artist, her tender ballad builds steadily while remaining calm throughout. It will always be a fan favourite.
Dionysia	Greece - Dionysia and Thalassa Group - Mia Krifi Evaisthissia (Greek) Music/Lyrics: Yiannis Malachias/Yiannia Valvis Conductor: n/a Greek entries usually sound distinctive because of the unique sound of Greek music. This time, a more cosmopolitan rock sound was tried but, while Dionysia’s performance was genuine, the song just wasn’t strong enough to score heavily.
Marie-Line	France - Marie-Line - Où Aller (French) Music/Lyrics: Marie-Line Marolany/Marie-Line Marolany Conductor: n/a African rhythms had brought France some success early in the decade. The formula was tried again in an effort to lift them above some of the lower placings they had experienced since then.
Mikel Herzog	Spain - Mikel Herzog - ¿Qué Voy A Hacer Sin Ti? (Spanish) Music/Lyrics: Alberto Estébanez/Mikel Herzog Conductor: Alberto Estébanez While this is a song worth listening to, it lacks the punch of other Spanish entries, a bit Spanish ballad by numbers.
Gunvor	Switzerland - Gunvor - Lass Ihn (German) Music/Lyrics: Gunvor Guggisberg, Egon Egemann/Gunvor Guggisberg Conductor: n/a The last song that involved Egon Egemann was very strings based with emphasis on his solo violin. The same formula is applied here to less effect and a worse result. With more countries using televoting instead of juries, it was never going to be the favourite song of enough viewers to get many votes, and ended up with no points at all.
Katarína Hasprová	Slovakia - Katarína Hasprová - Modlitba (Slovakian) Music/Lyrics: Gabriel Dusík/Anna Wepperyová Conductor: Vladimir Valovic Katarina looked very graceful in her long, black evening dress. Her song is just as graceful and is a well constructed ballad which never goes over the top.
Sixteen	Poland - Sixteen - To Takie Proste (Poland) Music/Lyrics: Jaroslaw Pruszkowski/Olga Pruszkowska Conductor: Wiesiek Pieregorolka Just when you think the Polish song is going to limp along from beginning to end, it comes to life for the instrumental. That point comes a bit too late in the song to change the minds of those already turned off by it.
Dana International	Israel - Dana International - Diva (Hebrew) Music/Lyrics: Tzvika Pik/Yoav Ginai Conductor: Tzvika Pik Did all the publicity help Dana to win? This one was the complete opposite of the sweet innocent Dana who had brought Ireland its first victory in 1970. The styling and the song were loaded with camp, and if leaving a lasting impression became important with the advent of televoting, Diva certainly does that.
Guildo Horn	Germany - Guildo Horn - Guildo Hat Euch Lieb (German) Music/Lyrics: Stefan Raab/Stefan Raab Conductor: Stefan Raab The stage simply wasn’t big enough for Guildo! His performance took him into the audience and up the scaffolding at the side of the stage. Within the crazyness of the song were hints of jazz and blues, though they easily missed in the fun of it all.
Chiara	Malta - Chiara - The One That I Love (English) Music/Lyrics: Jason Paul Cassar/Sunny Aquilina Conductor: n/a This is the first of Chiara’s three appearances in the contest and she laid down a marker for what was to follow; a gentle, inoffensive ballad which came closest to giving her a win.
Charlie	Hungary - Charlie - A Holnap Már Ném Lesz Szomorú (Hungarian) Music/Lyrics: István Lehr/Horváth Conductor: Miklós Malek Perhaps fed up with putting in a lot of effort for little reward, this was to be the last song Hungary entered for seven years. Charlie’s dreary blues number was never going to encourage viewers to reach for a pen to write down the phone number.
Vili Resnik	Slovenia - Vili Resnik - Naj Bogovi Slisijo (Slovenian) Music/Lyrics: Matjaz Vlasic/Ursa Vlasic Conductor: Mojmir Sepe The tone is set immediately. Tinkling piano gives way to acoustic guitar before Vili’s angst filled voice takes over to tell the story in this wonderful, emotive ballad.
Dawn Martin	Ireland - Dawn Martin - Is Always Over Now? (English) Music/Lyrics: Gerry Morgan/Gerry Morgan Conductor: Noel Kelehan While the melody of the Irish song is reasonably memorable, there isn’t really enough in the arrangement to support it. Consequently, Is Always Over Now? struggles to move away from the start line.
Alma Lusa	Portugal - Alma Lusa - Se Eu Te Pudesse Abraçar (Portuguese) Music/Lyrics: José Cid/José Cid Conductor: Mike Sergeant José Cid, who wrote and performed Portugal’s 1980 entry, returned as part of the specially formed Alma Lusa. Together they gave us another very jolly ditty and chirpy performance.
Malina Olinescu	Romania - Malina Olinescu - Eu Cred (Romanian) Music/Lyrics: Adrian Romcescu/Liliana Stefan Conductor: The 15th song of the night bowls along efficiently, and while it never sparkles, Eu Cred does enough (just) to keep the listener interested. It isn’t often that a singer is alone on the Eurovision stage, but Malina coped well without support from backing singers.
Imaani	United Kingdom - Imaani - Where Are You? (English) Music/Lyrics: Scott English, Simon Stirling/Scott English, Simon Stirling Conductor: James McMillan Not for the first time, the United Kingdom entered the most contemporary song of the contest. It’s a pop song that has aged well and bears repeated hearing. It is also worth saying Imaani executed her duties as ‘host singer’ very professionally, dealing well with the demands made on her time.
Michael Hajiyanni	Cyprus - Michael Hajiyanni - Genesis (Greek) Music/Lyrics: Michael Hajiyanni/Zenon Zindilis Conductor: Costa Cacoyannis Bursts of brass create an epic feel to the song, while the Greek language gives it the sound of a prayer to the Gods.
Edsilia Rombley	The Netherlands - Edsilia Rombley - Hemel En Aarde (Dutch) Music/Lyrics: Eric van Tijn, Jochem Fluitsma/Eric van Tijn, Jochem Fluitsma Conductor: Dick Bakker It had been 23 years since the last Dutch victory. They must have fancied their chances of breaking that run with Edsilia’s modern and catchy song. Her performance was also worthy of the top spot.
Jill Johnson	Sweden - Jill Johnson - Kärleken Är (Swedish) Music/Lyrics: Bobby Ljunggren, Hakan Almquist/Ingela ‘Pling’ Forsman Conductor: Anders Berglund Jill sang a tender and sensitive ballad in a way that suggested she didn’t have a nervous bone in her body. In doing so, she pitched her performance at exactly the right level for the song.
Mélanie Cohl	Belgium - Mélanie Cohl - Dis Oui (French) Music/Lyrics: Philippe Swan/Philippe Swan Conductor: n/a The Belgians tried a young singer with the cute factor in the hope of achieving their second win. Her funk tinged pop song was a pre-contest favourite.
Edea	Finland - Edea - Aava (Finnish) Music/Lyrics: Alexi Ahoniemi/Alexi Ahoniemi Conductor: Olli Ahvenlahti Bravely having a go with something a bit different, Finland entered a song which can best be described as earthy and sounding like something Enya might come up with if she was feeling energetic.
Lars A. Fredriksen	Norway - Lars A. Fredriksen - Alltid Sommer (Norwegian) Music/Lyrics: David Eriksen, P K Ottestad/Linda Andernach Johannesen Conductor: Geir Langslet Despite the amount of percussion, Alltid Sommer still sounds slightly limp and laboured. Lars did his best and was rewarded with a generous place in the final scoreboard.
Koit Toome	Estonia - Koit Toome - Mere Lapsed (Estonian) Music/Lyrics: Maria Rahula, Tomi Rahula/Peter Pruuli Conductor: Heiki Vahar Koit remained seated at the piano for the whole performance. He probably had difficulty summoning up enough energy as his song is a rather uninspired, lifeless ballad.
Tüzmen	Turkey - Tüzmen - Unutamazsin (Turkish) Music/Lyrics: Erdinc Tunc/Canan Tunc Conductor: Ümit Eroglu Think of Turkish music and you think of high tempo, ethnically flavoured tunes. Unutamazsin is a welcome break from that style, and the piano based ballad is proof that the Turks can also do sensitive and emotional.
Vlado Janevski	Macedonia - Vlado Janevski - Ne Zori, Zoro (Macedonian) Music/Lyrics: Grigor Koprov/Vlado Janevski Conductor: Alexandar Dzambazov As well as performing Macedonia’s debut, Vlado co-wrote it as well. Self belief was not lacking in him but in fairness, his Balkan ballad still sounds good many years after. As an added bonus, the English version is good as well, succeeding where many fail in having a sensible lyric.