It’s back to Spain for “Gwendolyne,” the number 74 song on our Eurovision Top 100 countdown.
Some of you may be aware that yes, there have been celebrities who have performed at the Eurovision Song Contest. Some of them were celebrities prior to singing at the contest, and some became as such after Eurovision. Nevertheless, there are few names bigger in the world of modern music than Julio Iglesias.
Needless to say, for those who become stars thereafter, the juries do not always suss that out. Eurovision does not have a perfect record of aligning with who is going to be a huge star and who is not. In 1958, the juries whiffed on Nel blu, dipinto di blu, which ended up winning several Grammy Awards and is still heard over 60 years later. As for 1970, they gave a respectable placement to Julio Iglesias, but not the one you might expect from arguably the most successful Spanish-language singer of all-time.
Vital Information: “Gwendolyne”
| Song | Gwendolyne |
| Performed By | Julio Iglesias |
| Written By | Julio Iglesias |
| Country | Spain |
| Year | 1970 |
| Language(s) Performed In | Spanish |
| How It Fared | 4th Place (8 Points) |
| Was It Fair? | Not really |
What I Liked
His resume is well known today, but even back in 1970, the talent was obvious. His singing to start the song was very soft and reassuring, while at the same time being quite nice. He eventually turned up the volume and the energy but sang with very strong, consistent vocals throughout.
I’ll include this here as well: The lyrics started out a bit dirty, from our perspective, as he sang about his lover Gwendolyne. How so, you ask? The first lines were “So deep inside of me / I keep the warmth / Which you make me feel.” Now, you can read those a few different ways, and it’s obvious which way we did.
Other Facts
- Iglesias was one of four singers at this contest who either wrote or co-wrote his own entry.
- Spain received its points from Italy, Luxembourg, and Monaco.
- Julio performed ninth in the running order out of 12 songs. As a side note, this was a small contest with 12 entries, but three of them made it onto this Top 100 list.
- Tied for fourth, this was Spain’s third top-five finish in a row. They had won Eurovision the two prior years.
Ready to Listen to “Gwendolyne?”
Here was Julio’s Eurovision performance from 1970.
