"Euphoria" is a song performed by Swedish recording artist and songwriter Loreen. It was released on 26 February 2012 as the third single from her debut studio album '' Heal'' (2012). The song was written by Thomas G:son,

Peter Boström Peter Boström (born May 19, 1971) is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. He is also known as Bassflow. Boström wrote his first song at the age of seven. In 1992, at the age of 21, he started Bassflow Productions, a production company near ...

and produced by Boström and SeventyEight. It is best known as Sweden's winning entry at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...

held in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. The song won the competition with a total of 372 points, at the time the second-highest point total in the contest's history. The song received the highest number of maximum (12) points of any entry in the contest's history with eighteen countries giving the song their top marks. "Euphoria" received critical acclaim from most music critics. Commercially, the song was an instant success both in Sweden and in the rest of Europe. It debuted at number twelve in Loreen's home country Sweden, before reaching number one, staying there for six weeks. The song has been certified 10 times Platinum, selling 400,000 copies there. Outside of Sweden, the song peaked at number one in 16 countries across Europe, the most chart-topping positions of any Eurovision winner. The song topped the Euro Digital Songs chart weeks after the competition.

Background

The song was written by Thomas G:son,

and produced by Boström and SeventyEight.

Critical reception

Prior to the song contest, it was ranked highly on many prediction polls to win most notably by the OGAE members. The song also received critical acclaim. SameSame praised the song "The heavy bangs, the steely gaze, and that icy-yet-pleading vocal performance in 'Euphoria' all set the tone for what was to complete my Loreen experience." Higher Plain Music wrote "the most straightforward dance track on the album and is still a killer track." Music journalist Deban Aderemi of wiwibloggs noted that'..Loreen's performance transcends borders. It is conceptual, yet so relatable. "Euphoria" provides the perfect template for a thousand remixes. Aderemi then goes on to award Loreen a score of 9/10. EscXtra considered that the string intro from the album version was the best part of the song while calling the song "brilliant." Erika Brooks Adickman from Idolator had described the song as "infectious". The Reflective Inklings had labelled the song as "Song of the Week". They gave it an extended review saying:

Euphoria is undoubtedly the best song of the pack that I have heard so far. It has Swedish elements sprinkled all over it. It is delicately done. The synths offer that aesthetic gloss that only makes the track go higher in terms of approval ratings. Upbeat would be a good way of describing Euphoria. Just like its predecessor (Popular), it can evoke feelings of great positivity onto its listener. Loreen shows tremendous composure in delivering those high notes. Hearing Loreen start slowly in terms of building that excitement in terms of her soon-to-be-sang high notes really got me pumped up.

On 26 May, just before the finals began, it received two

Marcel Bezençon Awards The Marcel Bezençon Awards were first handed out during the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia honouring the best competing songs in the final. Founded by Christer Björkman (Sweden's representative in the Eurovision Song Contest ...

: the Artistic Award presented to the best artist as voted on by the commentators, and the Composer Award for the best and most original composition as voted on by the participating composers (Thomas G:son and Peter Boström). In 2019, Theresa Ziegler, editor-in-chief of The Gap, Austria's longest-standing pop culture magazine, wrote that "Euphoria" was the best pop song of the decade.

Chart performance

Commercially, the song was a success, not only in European markets, but also in the Australian market. In her native Sweden, the song debuted at number twelve on the

Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish ...

. The song then rose to number one, where it stayed for six consecutive weeks. The song has been certified 9× platinum by GLF, selling more than 360,000 units in that country. In Finland, the song debuted at number one, and returned to number one after twelve weeks in the charts. The song debuted and spent a week at number one on the Danish Singles Chart. The song peaked at the top spot in several countries including Austria, Germany, Iceland, Greece and Switzerland. The song has also reached the top-ten in the Media Forest airplay charts from Israel, Moldova and Romania, peaking at number-two, three and seven respectively. The song debuted at number eighty-five on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, where it climbed to number three the following week; this is the highest chart position for a non-UK Eurovision entry since Johnny Logan's " Hold Me Now" in 1987. The single sold 62,148 copies in its first week in the United Kingdom. It has spent 15 consecutive weeks in the UK Top 100, and is the most downloaded Eurovision single in UK history, ahead of " Waterloo" by Sweden's

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

and " I Can" by the United Kingdom's

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

The single has sold 500,000 copies in Germany and 2 million copies worldwide. In Australia, the song had its official debut at number thirty-six. The song also debuted at number four on the Australian Dance Charts.

Eurovision Song Contest

Loreen entered the song at the

Melodifestivalen 2012 Melodifestivalen 2012 is a Swedish song contest that was held between 4 February and 10 March 2012. It selected the fifty-second Swedish entry to be internationally represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 (ESC 2012). As in the editions be ...

at the

Vida Arena Vida Arena (branded as VIDA Arena) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Växjö, Sweden. The arena opened in September 2011 and is best known as the home arena for the ice hockey team Växjö Lakers. It seats 5,750 spectators. Construction ...

in Växjö where she performed it during the first round of the competition. She automatically advanced to the final after it was among the top 2 song entries that received the highest votes. On 10 March, during the final at the

Globen Arena Avicii Arena, originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena and previously as Ericsson Globe, but commonly referred to in Swedish simply as Globen (; "the Globe"), is an indoor arena located in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov district of Stockh ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, she performed the song once more while being judged by 11 international juries and voted by the Swedish people's televote. These were then combined for a final result. She eventually finished in 1st place and won the right to represent Sweden at the

after receiving the highest points from both the international juries and the televoting, with a grand total of 268 points. It was reported that a record figure of more than 670,000 of the four million viewers called in to vote for her song. Sweden was drawn to compete 11th in the second semi-final on 24 May. The song eventually advanced to the Grand Final and was drawn to perform 17th in the line-up. At the Grand Final, held on 26 May, the song eventually placed first with a total of 372 points, just fifteen points shy of the (then) all-time record of 387, which is held by

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

winner Alexander Rybak with the song " Fairytale". Additionally, it broke the record for having received the most 12 points awarded by 18 other participating countries under the current voting rules of the Eurovision Song Contest. In total, Sweden received points from 40 of the voting 42 countries excluding itself. The only country that did not award any points was Italy. Both her Melodifestivalen and her Eurovision performances were directed by Swedish choreographer Ambra Succi.

Music video

TV music channels initially used the Melodifestivalen 2012 performance as the official music video. Loreen later confirmed the release of an official music video. Loreen tweeted pictures from the set of the music video which was filmed on 13 June 2012. The video premiered on 5 July on Warner Music Sweden's YouTube channel. The video, filmed in a field on the outskirts of Stockholm, features Loreen dancing in a field of tall grass and eventually snow. The snow was emulated for the final performance at Eurovision.

Track listing

*CD single # "Euphoria" (Single version) – 3:00 # "Euphoria" (Carli Remix version) – 5:44 # "Euphoria" (Alex Moreno Remix version) – 6:39 # "Euphoria" (Carli Dub version) – 5:44 # "Euphoria" (Alex Moreno Remix radio edit) – 3:23 # "Euphoria" (Carli Remix radio edit) – 3:50 # "Euphoria" (Instrumental version) – 3:00 *Digital download # "Euphoria" (Single version) – 3:01 # "Euphoria" (Karaoke version) – 3:01 # "Euphoria" (Instrumental) – 2:59 *Digital EP – Remixes # "Euphoria" (Carli Remix version) – 5:43 # "Euphoria" (Alex Moreno Remix version) – 6:39 # "Euphoria" (Alex Moreno Remix radio edit) – 3:24 # "Euphoria" (Single version) – 3:01 *Official promo remixes # "Euphoria (Robin Rocks & Rubio Remix) – 6:03 # "Euphoria (Lucas Nord Remix) – 6:01 # "Euphoria (Lucas Nord Remix Radio Edit) – 3:49 # "Euphoria (Robin Rocks & Rubio Remix) adio Edit– 3:47 # "Euphoria (Drumapella) – 3:01 # "Euphoria (Strings Version) – 3:00 # "Euphoria (Alex Moreno Remix Radio Edit) – 3:25 # "Euphoria (Alex Moreno Remix) – 6:40 # "Euphoria (Martin Wik Remix) – 3:20 # "Euphoria (Carli Radio Remix) – 3:16 # "Euphoria (Carli Remix) – 5:40 # "Euphoria (Tiger & Wolf Remix) – 6:43 # "Euphoria (Stormby Radio Mix) – 3:06 # "Euphoria (Stormby Extended Mix) – 5:49 # "Euphoria (WaWa Radio Edit) – 3:13 # "Euphoria (Acoustic Strings Version) – 4:39 # "Euphoria (Acoustic Guitar Version) – 3:43 # "Euphoria (WaWa Club Mix) – 6:07 # "Euphoria (7th Heaven Club Mix) – 8:41 # "Euphoria (Instrumental) – 3:04 # "Euphoria (DJ Solovey Remix) – 5:32 # "Euphoria (Acapella Filtered) – 3:01

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Sverrir Bergmann and Halldór Gunnar's version

The

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

ic artists Sverrir Bergmann & Halldór Gunnar recorded a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

of the song in their album of covers titled '' Föstudagslögin''. Their version done as a pop ballad became, in July 2012, a success in

simultaneously with the hit by Loreen herself. Both versions appeared on

Tónlist The music of Iceland includes vibrant folk and pop traditions, as well as an active classical and contemporary music scene. Well-known artists from Iceland include medieval music group Voces Thules, alternative rock band The Sugarcubes, singers ...

, the official Icelandic Singles Chart simultaneously.

Chart history

Sverrir Bergmann & Halldór Gunnar version entered the Icelandic singles chart 27/2012 at #16, rising to #5 in chart 28/2012.

Helen Sjöholm's version

Swedish singer

Helen Sjöholm Marie Helen Sjöholm (; born 10 July 1970) is a Swedish singer, actress and musical theatre performer who lives in Gamla Enskede in Stockholm. She grew up in Sundsvall and started to sing in choirs at an early age, working, among others, with Swe ...

covered the song during the 11th season of the TV4 show Så mycket bättre, a show in which different Swedish artists live together in a house for a few days and cover each other songs. Helen's version, named ''Euforia'', was the closing song for the show and it featured whole new lyrics in Swedish that were written by singer

Tomas Andersson Wij Tomas Andersson Wij (born 6 February 1972, birthname: ''Tomas Per Andersson''), often abbreviated as TAW, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and journalist. Early life He was born on 6 February 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden and raised in the south sub ...

. Its episode premiered on the 19th of December 2020. This version lasts 3:35 minutes.

Other covers

*Singer

Gavin Mikhail Gavin Mikhail (born March 26, 1975) is an American composer, pianist and singer-songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. The winner of the 2007 "Lay It Down and Mix It Up in the UK" fan-vote contest, he has released more than 30 albums and single ...

recorded a version for his album " Some Die Young". * Bengt Hennings recorded the song on their 2012 studio album '' Scenen är vår''. *On 27 May 2012, the song was performed live by the Swedish Royal Guards of the Stockholm Castle. During the Melodifestivalen 2013 finals, the song was performed by

Adolf Fredrik's Music School Adolf Fredrik's Music School ( sv, Adolf Fredriks Musikklasser) is a general municipal junior high school ( sv, grundskola) in Stockholm, Sweden with a focus on choral music, and highly competitive admission based on audition in singing and music ...

with

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign ...

interpretation from the Manilla School, that version was later released for digital download. * Swedish Power Metal band ReinXeed released a cover on their second compilation entitled 'Swedish Hitz Goes Metal Vol II'. * Australian singer Greg Gould released an acoustic version on his EP 'Don't Let Go' on 10 February 2017 which debuted on the Australian iTunes Charts at #16. The music video features true love stories from the LGBTQI community. * German singer

Nicole Nicole may refer to: People * Nicole (name) * Nicole (American singer) (born 1958), a contestant in season 3 of the American ''The X Factor'' * Nicole (Chilean singer) (born 1977) * Nicole (German singer) (born 1964), winner of the 1982 Eurovi ...

, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, recorded a German version on her 2017 album ''12 Punkte''. * On 13 November 2017, Thalia and Miriam performed the song on Gala 3 of season nine of Spanish reality television talent competition Operación Triunfo. * On 8 May 2021,

Floor Jansen Floor Jansen (; born 21 February 1981) is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Jansen first became known as a member of symphonic metal band After Forever, standing as their lead voca ...

performed a heavier rendition of the song at Beste Zangers Songfestival special, on Dutch television. * The song was covered in season 2, episode 6 of Pørni, a Norwegian series starring Henriette Steenstrup, by a band consisting of a vocalist (with banjo), an accordion and a drum.

References

External links