What makes a song "iconic"?

In episode 203 we discussed what makes a song iconic. Some of the factors include:

• Strong visual identity
• Life outside of the Contest, such as music chart success (particularly in the US) or appearances in other media
• Timelessness

That last factor is tough to quantify. The best method we have: the results from every ESC Top 250 countdown. This annual New Year's Eve fanvote is currently conducted by the folks over at songfestival.be and has been growing every year since 2007. (Note: no countdown was held in 2010.)

All Top 250 Entries

Below is a table of every Eurovision song that has made at least 1 appearance on the ESC Top 250 Countdown. Feel free to play with sorting and grouping—none of your changes will save on our end. These tables are best viewed on Desktop.

All Top 250 Entries by Country

All Top 250 Entries by Year

Eurovision Hall of Fame Entries

In terms of "iconic" or "hall of fame" status, we landed on including songs if they have made at least 10 appearances on the countdown. The chart below groups those entries first as ones with perfect attendance on the chart and then other songs that have reached 10 placements.

On the cusp (9 Appearances)

This last board shows the songs that could join the Hall of Fame list if they make it on to this year's countdown.