Sweden wins the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest
May 26 2012 06:42 pm ET
The Eurovision Song Contest came to a close in Baku, Azerbaijan with Sweden's entry "Euphoria" by Loreen dominating the voting by 42 countries. Russia finished in second place and Serbia rounded out the Top 3.
Sweden was picked as the favorite to win the annual music competition before the country had even formally selected its entry through the Melodifestivalen Contest in March. The techno-pop track "Euphoria" was one of the most popular entries ever to emerge from the competition, providing substantial momentum for Sweden in Eurovision. Loreen earned 12 points – the top score possible – from 18 countries. Although this beat Norway's 2009 entry "Fairytale" (16 "douze points"), Sweden was just shy of beating Norway's total points record of 387, scoring 372 points.
Novelty act Buranovskiye Babushki – also known as The Russian Grannies – finished in second place with a respectable 259 points. Their song "Party for Everybody" was one of the biggest crowd-pleasers in the competition and was also tipped to win the Contest. Serbia's entry "Nije Ljubav Stvar" ("Love is Not a Thing") by Eurovision veteran Zeljko Joksimovic finished third with 214 points.
Host country Azerbaijan took fourth place with 150 points with "When the Music Dies" by Sabina Babayeva. Vocal powerhouse Rona Nishliu closed out the Top 5 with her song "Suus" earning 146 points. Albania, Azerbaijan and Serbia each earned four sets of 12 points over the course of voting, however it was clear by the time Georgia revealed their points (the 35th out of 42 countries to do so) that Sweden had clinched the title.
The Eurovision Song Contest will head to Stockholm, Sweden for 2013. The tentative dates are May 14 and 16 for the semi-finals, with the Grand Final taking place May 18.
Full Results
Sweden 372 points
Russia 259 points
Serbia 214 points
Azerbaijan 150 points
Albania 146 points
Estonia 120 points
Turkey 112 points
Germany 110 points
Italy101 points
Spain 97 points
Moldova 81 points
Romania 71 points
FYR Macedonia 71 points
Lithuania 70 points
Ukraine 65 points
Greece 65 points
Cyprus 64 points
Bosnia & Herzegovina 55 points
Ireland 46 points
Iceland 46 points
Malta 41 points
France 21 points
Denmark 21 points
Hungary 19 points
United Kingdom 12 points
Norway 7 points
Mike McComb – TVLatest.com
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