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"Fly on the Wings of Love" is a song recorded by Danish pop-rock duo
Olsen Brothers Olsen Brothers () were a Danish rock/pop music duo, formed by brothers Jørgen (born 15 March 1950) and Niels "Noller" Olsen (born 13 April 1954), both from Odense, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. They formed their first band, The Kids ...
–Jørgen and Niels Olsen–, with music composed and lyrics written by Jørgen Olsen. It in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2000 The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 13 May 2000 at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden and presented by Kattis Ahlström and Anders Lundin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ( ...
, held in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, resulting in the country's second win at the contest. The song was an international hit, most notably in Sweden where it reached number one. The original Danish-language version "Smuk som et stjerneskud" was a number-one hit in their native Denmark.


Background


Conception

"Fly on the Wings of Love" was composed and written by Jørgen Olsen. It is a love ballad, with the singers describing the beauty of a woman. Unusual for any pop song its lyrics strongly imply that this is a beauty which has improved with age – a theme made more explicit in the Danish original "Smuk som et stjerneskud". The
Olsen Brothers Olsen Brothers () were a Danish rock/pop music duo, formed by brothers Jørgen (born 15 March 1950) and Niels "Noller" Olsen (born 13 April 1954), both from Odense, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. They formed their first band, The Kids ...
recorded the song in Danish, English, and German –as "Weil nur die Liebe zählt"–.


Eurovision

On 19 February 2000, "Smuk som et stjerneskud" performed by the Olsen Brothers competed in the of the
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix Dansk Melodi Grand Prix (), also known as Melodi Grand Prix or simply DMGP, is an annual music competition organised by the Danish public broadcaster DR since 1957, which determines for the Eurovision Song Contest. The festival has produced ...
, winning the competition. As the festival was used by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) to select its song and performer for the of the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
, the song became the , and the Olsen Brothers the performers, for Eurovision. On 13 May 2000, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the
Globe Arena Avicii Arena, originally known as the Stockholm Globe Arena and previously as the Ericsson Globe, but commonly referred to in Swedish simply as Globen (; ), is an indoor arena located in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov district of Stockholm ...
in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
hosted by
Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television aktiebolag, Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksd ...
(SVT), and broadcast live throughout the continent. The Olsen Brothers performed "Fly on the Wings of Love" fourteenth on the evening, following 's " Colgado de un sueño" by
Serafín Zubiri Serafín Lizoain Vidondo (born 20 April 1964 in Pamplona, Spain) better known as Serafín Zubiri is a singer, composer and piano player. Biography Zubiri is a blind singer and pianist who has represented Spain twice in the Eurovision Song Co ...
and preceding 's " Wadde hadde dudde da?" by
Stefan Raab Stefan Konrad Raab (born 20 October 1966) is a German entertainer, television host, television producer, and businessman. From 1999 to 2015, he hosted the late-night talk show, late-night comedy talk show ''TV total'' on ProSieben. He also creat ...
. At the close of voting, the song had received 195 points, placing first in a field of twenty-four, winning the contest. The song was not expected to score highly, as it was an old-fashioned ballad and performed by two of the oldest performers to enter the contest. In spite of this, it led the voting from start to finish –a feat not achieved since
ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...
won in 1974– and became a great favourite among fans of the contest. The song is memorable for the vocoding effects given to the voice during the final chorus, which allow it to sound something like a robot. These effects were the subject of a protest by the n delegation, however they were not found to be against the rules and the result stood. The song was succeeded in the as winner by " Everybody" by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton representing . It was succeeded as Danish representative in 2001 by " Never Ever Let You Go" by Rollo & King.


Aftermath

"Fly on the Wings of Love" was one of fourteen songs chosen by Eurovision fans and a
European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...
(EBU) reference group, from among the 992 songs that had ever participated in the contest, to participate in the fiftieth anniversary competition '' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'' held on 22 October 2005 in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
. The brothers in fact performed part of the song onstage and were greeted with rapturous applause –perhaps due to the special's location–.
Renārs Kaupers Renārs Kaupers (sometimes anglicised as Reynard Cowper; born 1 September 1974) is a Latvian pop/rock singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter who is the vocalist of the band Prāta Vētra (known internationally as Brainstorm). Biography Kaupe ...
, hosting the show, made several references to "being beaten by a pair of Danish brothers" –which his band Brainstorm was–. On 6 March 2010, the Olsen Brothers performed the song at the for Eurovision. On 31 March 2015, they performed it in the Eurovision sixtieth anniversary show ''
Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits ''Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits'' (also known as ''Eurovision's Greatest Hits'') was a live television concert programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation (BB ...
'' held in London. On 13 May 2025—the 25th anniversary of the original Eurovision win—Jørgen Olsen performed a rewritten version of the song titled "United by Music" with altered lyrics during the credits of the first semifinal of the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
in Basel.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Cover versions


XTM and DJ Chucky version

In 2000, Spanish dance act XTM recorded and released a version of the song featuring DJ Chucky and vocals from Annia. It became a hit between 2000 and 2003, peaking at number two in Spain, number one in Ireland, and number eight in the United Kingdom.


Chart performance

Upon its release in Spain, the song reached number two on the AFYVE chart on 20 January 2001. It stayed in the top 20 for nine weeks. Two years after its original release, on 26 May 2003, the cover was released in the United Kingdom. It debuted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart on the week beginning 1 June, then reached its peak of number eight the next week. Over the next ten weeks, the song fluctuated around the top 20, eventually spending two more weeks at number eight before dropping out of the top 20 on 24 August and the top 100 on 12 October. Due to its longevity on the UK chart, "Fly on the Wings of Love" finished 2003 as the country's 32nd best-selling single, outselling every song that peaked at numbers four to seven. It eventually received a Silver certification from the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) in 2016 for sales and streams of over 200,000. The song was also highly successful on the
Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
, where it entered and spent four weeks at its peak of number three. It spent 12 weeks in the top 10, 16 in the top 40, and 20 in the top 100. In Ireland, the single reached number one for two weeks in August 2003, spent 24 weeks in the top 50, and ended 2003 as Ireland's 11th highest-selling single. The cover found moderate success in the Netherlands, climbing to number 31 in February 2004 and logging 19 weeks on the
Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...
chart.


Track listings

* Spanish 12-inch single :A1. "Fly on the Wings of Love" (DJ Richard & Johnny Bass De La Cruz remix) – 5:49 :A2. "Fly on the Wings of Love" (Colossos nix) – 4:38 :B1. "Fly on the Wings of Love" (XTM remix I) – 5:58 :B2. "Fly on the Wings of Love" (XTM remix II) – 6:08 * Spanish maxi-CD single # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (DJ Richard & Johnny Bass de la Cruz radio remix) – 3:33 # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (DJ Richard & Johnny Bass de la Cruz remix) – 5:49 # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (XTM radio remix I) – 3:47 # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (XTM remix I) – 5:58 # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (XTM radio remix II) – 4:00 # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (XTM remix II) – 6:08 # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (Colossos radio edit) – 3:24 # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (Colossos mix) – 4:38 * UK 12-inch single :A1. "Fly on the Wings of Love" (original 12-inch version) :AA1. "Fly on the Wings of Love" (
Flip & Fill Flip & Fill are an English electronic dance music duo, based in Manchester, England, consisting of the producers/remixers, DJs Graham Turner and Mark Hall. They are signed to the Filtrate record label. Career Having released tracks since 20 ...
remix) * UK and European CD single # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (radio mix) # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (Flip & Fill remix) # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (original 12-inch version) # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (video) * Dutch CD single # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (radio edit) – 3:15 # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (XTM radio edit) – 3:47 # "Fly on the Wings of Love" (video clip) – 3:00


Charts


= Weekly charts

=


= Year-end charts

=


Certifications


Other cover versions

* In 2000, Danish producer Holger Lagerfeldt released a cover version under the name DJ Cookie with vocals by Linda Andrews. * In 2002, German
trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
group Topmodelz consisting of
Pulsedriver Slobodan Petrovic Jr. (born 22 February 1974 in Trappenkamp) is a Yugoslav- German electronic dance music DJ, producer and is the founder of Aqualoop Records in 2000. He is best known by his alias, Pulsedriver. Career Early life and career I ...
and SveN-R-G vs. Bass-T released a cover version on Aqualoop Records.


References


External links

* {{authority control 2000 songs 2000 singles 2003 singles Animated music videos Congratulations Eurovision songs EMI Records singles Eurovision Song Contest-winning songs Eurovision songs of 2000 Eurovision songs of Denmark Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Sweden