See This Year's Eurovision Song Winner

Swedish singer Loreen wins annual competition with 'Tattoo'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 14, 2023 5:30 AM CDT

Swedish singer Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with her power ballad “Tattoo” at a colorful, eclectic music competition clouded for a second year running by the war in Ukraine. The diva from Stockholm beat acts from 25 other countries to take the continent’s pop crown at the final of the competition in Liverpool, England, per the AP. Loreen, 39, previously won Eurovision in 2012 and is only the second performer to take the prize twice, after Ireland’s Johnny Logan in the 1980s. It’s Sweden’s seventh Eurovision victory, matching Ireland's record.

“I am seriously overwhelmed," Loreen said. “This is so beautiful.” She said returning to the contest that helped make her a star was “like coming back to a family. We’ve had an 11-year-long relationship. We know each other by now.” Britain hosted Eurovision on behalf of Ukraine, which won last year but couldn’t take up its right to hold the contest because of the war. Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine as the contest was underway, and Ukrainian media reported a strike in Ternopil, home town of Ukraine’s Eurovision entry, Tvorchi.

Now in its 67th year, Eurovision bills itself as the world's biggest music contest—an Olympiad of party-friendly pop. Competitors each have three minutes to meld catchy tunes and eye-popping spectacle into performances capable of winning the hearts of millions of viewers. Loreen's anthem of intense love had been the bookies' favorite and won by far the most votes from professional juries in Eurovision's complex voting system. She faced a strong challenge from Finnish singer Käärijä, a wildly energetic performer whose rap-pop party anthem “Cha Cha Cha” won the public vote.

(More Eurovision stories.)

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