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Ex-winners: Does it pay off to return?

Every now and then previous Eurovision winners want to try it again and this year we have Ireland's Niamh Kavanagh. She won back in 1993 with wonderful In your eyes and tries again this year with It's for you. Let's see how it has been for the previous returning winners in the past....
So far only Johnny Logan, also for Ireland, has managed to win Eurovision twice; in 1980 with What's another year and in 1987 with Hold me now.
Italy's Gigliola Cinquetti came close in 1974 with Si as she was only beaten by ABBA. She won ten years earlier with Non ho l'etá. Also Lys Assia for Switzerland and Elisabeth Andreasson for Norway have scored a second place after their win. Lys took part three years in a row and came 1-8-2 in 1956, 1957 and 1958. Elisabeth on the other hand won with Hanne Krogh in 1985, came 6th with Jan Wener in 1994 and finally went solo in 1996 and scored a 2nd place. 
Isabelle Aubret won in 1962 for France with Un premier amour and went on to score a third place 6 years later with La source.
Another French lady, Anne-Marie David first won for Luxembourg in 1973 with Tu te reconnaitras and then also scored a third place 6 years later for her native France with Je suis l'enfant soleil.
Israel's first winner Izhar Cohen returned in 1985 with Olé olé and came 5th after winning in 1978 with A-ba-ni-bi.
Same fate for Sweden's Carola who won in 1991 with Fångad av en stormvind and came 5th in 2006 with Invincible.
Sometimes it doesn't go that well. Corry Brokken won for the Netherlands in 1957 and the year after came to shared last place. Hanne Krogh who won with Elisabeth Andreasson returned with another group Just4Fun in 1991 but scored only 17th. 
Even worse for Sweden's Charlotte who won as Nilsson in 1999 with Take me to your heaven but didn't even make the final in 2008 as Perrelli with Hero The juries saved her though, and eventually she made 18th in the final. Surely not what she was expecting.... So, generally returning goes well. Don't you think?

Comments

ESCFORUMS said…
Everything that was mentioned above pretty much confirms that it really depends on the song, not the artist. The majority of viewers don't remember prior winners so the them they are 'unknowns'.

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