In 2005 Vanilla Ninja participated in Eurovision Song Contest that took place in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. They were selected to represent Switzerland by the three Swiss broadcasters and the chosen song was “Cool Vibes”.
This country is known for being represented at ESC by different artists, who are not originally Swiss (for example Celine Dion), so it was not a surprise. The broadcasters SF DRS, TSR and TSI set submission period for interested artists to submit their applications until October 15th 2004. Artists of any nationality were able to apply; however, only those with television and live stage experience, with at least one music video and one CD which placed among the top 50 in an official chart were eligible. On November 9th 2004 the broadcasters informed that Vanilla Ninja was chosen to represent the country. The band performed the song on the national television on March 5th 2005. It all resulted in a scandal, because the idea of a foreign band representing Switzerland was not to everyone’s liking. However, the truth was that Swiss artists were afraid to take part in the contest – had they got bad results, it could easily end their careers. It was no secret that the latest Switzerland entries at ESC kept being failures.
Because in 2004 Switzerland had failed to qualify for the next year, the band was forced to perform in semi-finals. The semi-final took place on May 19th 2005 and “Cool Vibes” got to the 8th place with 114 points. They got 12 points from Estonia, 10 from Finland, 8 from Lithuania and Belarus, 7 from Latvia, 6 from Germany and Iceland, 5 from Poland, Cyprus, Slovenia, 4 from Sweden, 3 from Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Greece, Israel, Macedonia, 2 from Portugal, Monaco, Ireland, Romania, Norway, Serbia and Montenegro, Denmark, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and 1 point from Austria and Malta.
The final was held 2 days later, on May 21st. With 128 points, Vanilla Ninja finished 8th. It was a big success and to this day is said to be one of the best entries for Switzerland, with a score that high. “Cool Vibes” received 12 points from Estonia and Latvia, 10 from Belarus and Finland, 8 from Lithuania and Monaco, 7 from Iceland and Russia, 6 from Poland and Slovenia, 5 from Sweden and Ukraine, 4 from Cyprus, Germany, Portugal, 3 from Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, 2 from Israel and 1 point from Andorra, Denmark and Malta. Even nowadays “Cool Vibes” remains the fan’s favourite and one of the best entries at Eurovision ever.
Watch the final performance here:
And the semi-final performance here:
Source: Wikipedia