Grotesque and amusing performances have always been a part of Eurovision. What started as a humorous and marginal phenomenon has recently evolved into a veritable empire with Käärijä, Joost Klein, and Tommy Cash. Are the representatives of the “back row” a passing fad, or are they the new face of Eurovision?
Imagine a classic fairytale: the odd kid in class, the one who sat in the back row and disrupted, suddenly rises like a phoenix, transforming from the class’s problem child into a star with a dizzying success story. Such myths have accompanied many famous people throughout history, but until a few years ago, it seemed impossible for them to break through in the world of Eurovision, certainly not to win, at most to be included under the niche and infamous title “Joke Entries.” In 2023, a young Finn from the suburbs of Helsinki conquered the stage and put the members of the “back row” at center stage as a vibrant Eurovision empire. Was this a short-lived and inherently problematic episode, or the beginning of an era in which the audience decides to put the “problem children” at the forefront as the next Eurovision legends? An opinion article.
Early Years: Novelty, Humor, and Uniqueness
In 1979, Eurovision landed in Jerusalem, along with the West German delegation, which sent the group Dschinghis Khan to the competition in Israel with the song “Dschinghis Khan.” The German song grotesquely and comically presents the story of the great historical figure, that cruel and determined Mongol commander. This was one of the first times a country sent an amusing and theatrical performance to Eurovision.
Eurovision, which began as a classic and formal music event, was introduced to a slightly different performance on the competition stage—one that broke boundaries, sometimes ridiculed, and defied—to attract attention, distinguish the performance as exceptional, and leave a mark on the competition’s history. The story of Dschinghis Khan brought Germany an impressive achievement—fourth place out of 18 participating countries. “Dschinghis Khan” laid the foundation for the future arrival of the “back row” members, as the appearance of something new in Eurovision almost never indicates a one-time event.
Germany remains one of the strongest countries in the art of trolling in Eurovision, continuing to celebrate on stage (but less often with the trophy in hand) with songs like “Guildo hat euch lieb” by Guildo Horn in Eurovision 1998, or “Wadde hadde dudde da?” by Stefan Raab in 2000. Nevertheless, these songs managed to enter the top 10 and paved the way for those who followed.
Seven years later, at Eurovision 2007, Ukrainian drag singer Verka Serduchka took to the competition stage in Helsinki and finished just short of victory, in second place, with the song that would become an eccentric Eurovision classic, “Dancing Lasha Tumbai“. Although Serbia took home the trophy with the song “Molitva“, the status of the
“back row” members began to solidify, with a gap of 33 points.
For about a decade and a half, all the theatrical trolling singers failed to achieve what Finland did at Eurovision 2023.
Green Sleeves Revolution: Käärijä Changes Eurovision History
On February 25, 2023, Finnish rapper Käärijä won the Finnish Eurovision pre-selection “UMK 2023” with the song “Cha Cha Cha,” which he took to the competition in Liverpool. The song won a sweeping victory in the pre-selection and managed to drive all of Europe wild. Finland, until then a mediocre country in Eurovision with one win in 2006, aimed for the highest peak in 2023: victory. With a loyal army of fans, a mobilized public vote in his favor, and tens of thousands of enthusiastic viewers screaming “Cha Cha Cha” in the arena in Liverpool, it seemed that the victory for the first time in Eurovision history would be given to a member of the “back row,” and what could be perceived as a humorous, rhythmic, and addictive trolling song would become one of the most beloved songs of all time in Eurovision.
Käärijä was already perceived before the live shows in Liverpool as a “naughty kid” who came to mess things up and take the trophy from the “serious and conservative establishment” (we’ll get to that soon, and the guessers will wait). “Cha Cha Cha” ceased to be a wild party song but was shaped as an anthem that breaks boundaries and conventions, with a magnetic and animalistic performance that could make even the most closed and quiet ballad lovers fall in love with the man dancing with iconic green sleeves. The end is known to all: Sweden’s Loreen, the legendary winner of Eurovision 2012 with the song “Euphoria“, returned with her song “Tattoo“, won the jury vote, and won the highest number of points in Eurovision in Liverpool. The loyal audience that trusted in its love for the “back row” kid, who raised his head and threatened the Swedish Eurovision legend, was disappointed.
Here the question arises—did the disappointment not deteriorate into hatred? Is the disappointment justified by the audience’s inability to overcome the voting method and decide by a majority of votes who their winner will be? Did those feelings of anger and defiance towards the European Broadcasting Union not quickly turn into whispers of booing and network brawls that clouded the atmosphere of the competition and caused it to become a battleground based on personal opinions and musical taste? Did the love for the loyal representative of the “back row” not go too far? Perhaps the next representative can answer this question better.
Chaos: Joost Klein and the Watershed Moment
Having been defeated the year before, the “back row” members received the ultimate representative for them: Joost Klein was announced as the representative of the Netherlands and later released his song “Europapa” to the world. What seemed at first hearing like a strange song that would not go far exploded into an unbelievable phenomenon: within a few days of its release, it became the most-watched Eurovision 2024 clip on the Eurovision YouTube channel, with millions of listens on various platforms and a massive fan base that fell in love with the special and grotesque song that the Netherlands sent to the competition in Malmö.
Joost Klein quickly became one of the most prominent names in Eurovision 2024, and his song became one of the biggest contenders for winning the trophy. Despite a mediocre performance (in most opinions) in the semi-final, the Netherlands advanced to the final of the competition—which, as we know today, it had to watch from home. Hours after leaving the stage in the semi-final, Joost Klein became embroiled in one of the most controversial and infamous affairs in Eurovision history when a confrontation between him and a photographer from the Swedish production led to the disqualification of the Netherlands from the Eurovision final on the day of the final itself!
The “problematic child”, a member of the “back row,” failed again to conquer the stage at the Eurovision competition. Although the 2024 edition mainly dealt with Israel and the scandals surrounding its participation, the volatile atmosphere in Malmö ignited a loud and hateful clash from the audience towards the Eurovision organizers, the European Broadcasting Union, and especially the main producer of the Eurovision competition, Martin Österdahl. At the peak moment of every Eurovision, when the camera is pointed at the main producer on behalf of the EBU and he announces that the vote is approved and the results can be revealed, the audience launches a violent booing attack against Österdahl, mainly out of anger over Joost’s disqualification from the Eurovision final. The gates of hell also open on social networks, where dirty clashes break out over Joost’s disqualification from the competition, many of them accusing Israel of his disqualification and many the EBU.
Among other things, it was the affair of the “back row” representative at Eurovision 2024 that made the 68th edition of the competition the most notorious since the founding of Eurovision in 1956. The Swedish police investigation of the case, Joost Klein’s problematic character versus the fiery and burning affection of masses of Eurovision fans and genre fans around the world—all these turned the “back row” member into a symbol that stands at the center of Eurovision and raises the question of whether such a pair of representatives can even succeed in winning the competition beyond the authentic and total love of the audience? Perhaps this type holds great love for the artist, his personality, and his special song, but on the other hand, also fuels hatred, division, and blindness to other opinions?
Looking Ahead: Tommy Cash and the Future of the “Back Row”
We have reached the present, with a look towards the future. And while our faces are turned towards Basel this year, we have already received a “back row” representative for Eurovision 2025. Tommy Cash will represent Estonia in the upcoming competition in Basel in May with his song “Espresso Macchiato.” Some will say it is a bizarre song, some will call it excellent, and some will claim, perhaps rightly, that the days of the trolling songs that infect the audience with love for them are gone. Perhaps Tommy Kash, although the deep connection between him and Joost Klein and Käärijä is evident, will not bring the powerful merchandise and the boundless love that his Finnish and Dutch predecessors received. Is the audience tired of the “back row”? Is the audience fed up with wars, dirty arguments, and scandals? Perhaps the attempt to heal from the murky 2024 season is the reason that Tommy Kash is not managing to stir up the same phenomenon and the same effect? Maybe the song is simply not good enough to fall in love with?
Last week, Tommy Kash and Joost Klein released the song “United By Music.” Not coincidentally, this is also the official slogan of the competition, the same slogan that failed the test posed to it by the 2024 Eurovision season in Malmö. The song is adorned with controversial lyrics that leave no room for doubt, such as “Fuck the EBU, I don’t want to go to court. Less get less, and more get more,” perhaps a violent and completely classic frustration of the “back row” members, who repeatedly fail to integrate with Eurovision as it is and use the stage to draw attention, whether justified or provocative and illegitimate. It is not clear, except for the stylistic and personal connection with Joost Klein, what caused Tommy Kash to collaborate with a defiant and vengeful song against the EBU, the same organization that heads the production of the Eurovision in which he will compete in less than three months.
This combination raises the central issue regarding that specific type that I called “the back row” (everyone has their own name for it): Eurovision has become in recent years, with the development of technology, a huge event whose dimensions sometimes exceed the capacity it can bear and contain. From a classic-elegant event, which brought together formal and respectable singers from the Western European countries, Eurovision in its 69 years has become a huge, large-scale show, containing identity politics, a clash of musical styles, cultures, and opinions, with the intervention of social organizations, governments, social media, and powerful and influential advertising tools.
Such an event, inherently vibrant and from the dynamic forces that clash and turn it into an extravaganza that we all love to be swept away by, puts itself at risk when it meets the “back row”: along with immense, self-evident love, which is its deep base and flows in the blood of music, there is also the fear of an outbreak of anger, conflicts, scandals that can escalate even to police investigations and lawsuits in courts. If we really want to be “United By Music,” we must find the balance between admiration and mutual respect, between representatives competing in Eurovision and human beings, a stage personality who is ultimately flesh and blood. Perhaps we will add to the conclusion a more poignant question on which the whole story probably rests: can Eurovision be a vibrant but also respectful place?
Eurovision 2025: This will be Switzerland’s 65th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Switzerland joined the competition in 1956, being one of the seven founding countries, and has won three times over the years. Its most recent victory was at the last Eurovision in 2025, with Nemo’s song “The Code.” This win follows Switzerland’s previous victory in 1988 with the song “Ne partez pas sans moi,” performed by international singer Céline Dion.
