Revisiting the Rankings: 25

Overrated: Slovakia 2011
Sure, it's got a very contemporary production, but the song itself is kind of droning and repetitive.

Underrated: Netherlands 2010
It's nowhere near current, but it's instantly memorable and danceable. It sure got the crowd hopping at Melkweg. And it had an excellent dance cover.

Trivia: Georgia 2008 is really ironic in hindsight on so many levels.

Other Songs: Moldova 2006, Turkey 2007, Belgium 2009, Austria 2012, United Kingdom 2013

Revisiting the Rankings: 26

Overrated: Denmark 2006

The lyrics are sloppy English and the verses are nearly identical.

Underrated: San Marino 2012

This song captures the zeitgeist of 2012 better than no other song of its year (except maybe “Euphoria”). It too has sloppy English, but it grapples with hot topics such as internet addiction, disconnection from in-person communication in favor of online communication, and catfishing. Also it has the perfect amount of so-bad-it's-good.

Trivia: Estonia appeared twice at 26^th place (2007 and 2013).

Other Songs: Israel 2008, Slovenia 2009, Poland 2010, Bulgaria 2011

Revisiting the Rankings: 27

Overrated: Romania 2008

The other songs are much more lively than this dated dirge.

Underrated: Albania 2006

It reminds me a little of Amadeus's song “Anastacia” from the 2010 Finnish preselection. This is a lot livelier and emotional than I remember.

Trivia: Only 2 out of these 8 countries performed in the 2013 final, as 3 didn't qualify and 3 didn't even compete.

Other Songs: Poland 2007, Serbia 2009, Portugal 2010, Germany 2011, Turkey 2012, Bulgaria 2013

Revisiting the Rankings: 28

Overrated: Germany 2007
I disliked it in 2007 for its lyrical content and while that's still objectionable now, it's also not pleasant to listen to. In comparison to Italy 2011, with which it shares a genre, it's a lot harsher sounding. Part is from the language but this also has an annoying sing-talky quality that's very showtuney, which barely works for me even in a language I do understand.

Underrated: Norway 2008
Not only did it do a lot better in comparison to the rankings, but this turned out great on stage. Dark and (relatively) classy with smooth vocals and choreography. A lounge song that felt intimate in a ten-thousand seat lounge.

Trivia: Spain appeared twice at 28th place, in 2006 and 2010.

Other Songs: Belarus 2009, Armenia 2011, Malta 2012, Austria 2013

Revisiting the Rankings: 29

Overrated: Cyprus 2008
The other seven songs at least have a nice melody. This one doesn't.

Underrated: Albania 2012
I didn't realize how wrong I was originally about this song until I saw it performed live. What a powerful performance by an amazing voice.

Trivia: France 2009 is both underrated and overrrated to me. It's stronger than I realized at first but it's not top 10 material like it was to a lot of other fans, not to mention its placing in the contest.

Other Songs: Israel 2006, Portugal 2007, Georgia 2010, Turkey 2011, Belgium 2013

Revisiting the Rankings: 30

Overrated: Cyprus 2006
It tugs uncomfortably at the heartstrings in an uninspiring ballad. Latvia 2010 covers the same topic but it has charm and uniqueness.

Underrated: Italy 2011
This is a sweet, charming piece of jazzy pop. It hits a sweet spot of inoffensive pleasantness yet uniqueness and I can see why it did so well in the contest.

Trivia: I've mentioned it before, but Israel 2012 is the only performer I've seen live in a different year from their Eurovision participation.

Other Songs: Hungary 2007, Lithuania 2008, Switzerland 2009, Latvia 2010, Albania 2013

Revisiting the Rankings: 31

Overrated: Ireland 2008

Not that funny then, and even less funny now. Since Ireland made it to the final the past four years and did top ten one of them, this just comes off as really bitter and scared. Sure, it was after

Not to mention, Dustin rattles off the names of 18 Eastern European countries at the very end of the song, some of which had qualifying records much worse than Ireland after that year (among them, Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, (FYR) Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia). Ouch.

Underrated: Belarus 2013

I gave it crap a few months ago for being dated and unoriginal, but it's still more fun than the other songs at this ranking. It's very Eurovisiony, but so are the other songs. The stage performance with the giant disco ball helps.

Trivia: This is Monaco's only appearance in my years of ranking, as 2006 was its most recent participation.

Other Songs: Austria 2007, Estonia 2009, Romania 2010, Albania 2011, Portugal 2012

Revisiting the Rankings: 32

Overrated: Spain 2011

There's just something so grating about the “woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh” in the chorus.

Underrated: Armenia 2013

The studio version does sound a little like an unfinished demo, which is why I rated it so low. But after seeing it on the Eurovision stage, it became much more moving.

Trivia: Andorra appeared twice at 32^nd place, in 2007 and 2008.

Other Songs: Portugal 2006, Germany 2009, FYR Macedonia 2010, Montenegro 2012

Revisiting the Rankings: 33

Overrated: Cyprus 2009

It takes far too long to get interesting, while the other songs in this group get there a little faster. When it does get interesting, it's not very much.

Underrated: Estonia 2010

It's weird and understated. At first it doesn't really have much of a melody, but it's hypnotizing. The chorus is actually catchy.

Trivia: Cyprus appeared twice at 33^rd place, in 2009 and 2013.

Other Songs: Belarus 2006, Czech Republic 2007, Latvia 2008, Ukraine 2011, Georgia 2012

Revisiting the Rankings: 34

Overrated: FYR Macedonia 2011

It definitely sounds like a bottom 10 song, but it's a lot sloppier than the other 7 songs in this group.

Underrated: Russia 2009

It's dark, cool, and moody in that Russian pop way. And it had a cool performance!

Trivia: Lithuania appeared twice at 34^th place, in 2007 and 2013. On revisiting those songs, I find I like them more than some of their songs from other years.

Other songs: Bulgaria 2006, Croatia 2008, Ukraine 2010, Estonia 2012

Revisiting the Rankings: 35

Overrated: Portugal 2009

Out of this group, it's the least listenable. It was sweet on stage, visually, but not very interesting,

Underrated: Switzerland 2006

At the time I must have found it too cheesy and sentimental, but looking at my top 7 and 8 this year, clearly my opinion has changed. This parody helps, too.

Trivia: Portugal appeared in 35^th place twice, in 2009 and 2011.

On Malta 2013: This is probably the best composition out of this set of eight songs, but I just can't get over the lyrics. This song is about a Nice Guy and a Manic Pixie Dream Girl.

Other songs: Croatia 2007, United Kingdom 2008, Belarus 2010, Germany 2012

Revisiting the Rankings: 36

Overrated: Switzerland 2012.

There are other songs from that year I ranked lower that now I like better. The accent really hurt it.

Underrated: Slovakia 2009

This ballad has some lovely vocal acrobatics that I appreciate more, probably since “Suus.”

Trivia: “We Are the Winners” (Lithuania 2006) kind of dropped off the radar, didn't it? It had a little bit of bitterness, but despite the title it didn't have entitlement, so it was effective.

Other Songs: Albania 2007, Denmark 2008, Malta 2010, Greece 2011, Latvia 2013

Revisiting the Rankings: 37

There were 37 songs in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, the fewest since I started ranking them, so all eight years are represented from now on.

Overrated: United Kingdom 2010

Some of the other songs at this rank sound dated, but this one is both dated and tired. It felt much too amateur for a country that is such a major player in the music industry.

Underrated: Hungary 2013

This turned out a lot better on stage than I thought it would. The instrumental version is one of the best in this year's contest. It sounds like a sleepy town background music from an RPG.

Trivia: Hungary and the United Kingdom are both represented twice at rank 37 (Hungary in 2008 and 2013, United Kingdom in 2006 and 2010).

Other Songs: Armenia 2007, Cyprus 2011, Lithuania 2012