Eurovision Winners of the 2010s: Where Are They Now?

Top 10 Eurovision Winners of the 2010s: Where Are They Now

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at the Eurovision Winners of the 2010s: Where Are They Now.

For this list, we’ll be going back in time to remind ourselves of the EBU song contest’s champions from 2010 to 2019 and checking in with what they’ve been up to since.

Which 2010s Eurovision winner gets your douze points? Let us know in the comments.

2010: Lena - Germany

It was a tight race between Germany and Azerbaijan in the lead-up to the 2010 competition. But ultimately, Germany’s Lena Meyer-Landrut came out on top with her catchy pop song “Satellite.” The song charted in multiple countries and even went double platinum in her home country. She represented Germany again the following year, finishing in a respectable tenth. While she rose to fame on the “Eurovision” stage, Lena has also released five studio albums. Her first, “My Cassette Player,” went five times gold in Germany. She’s also been a coach on “The Voice Kids,” lent her voice to audiobooks and animations, and participated in the fourth season of the German version of “The Best Singers.”

2011: Ell & Nikki - Azerbaijan

Duo Eldar Gasimov and Nigar ‘Nikki’ Jamal claimed Azerbaijan’s first-ever victory the following year with their stirring ballad “Running Scared.”. While both initially auditioned to represent Azerbaijan as solo artists, they were ultimately submitted as duet Ell & Nikki. After their win, the pair celebrated with a victory tour across the continent. They also had a postage stamp created in their honor. Ell & Nikki continued their alliance after the competition but eventually decided to pursue solo careers. Most recently, Gasimov joined the “The Voice of Azerbaijan” panel. Meanwhile, Jamal was a judge on the Turkish version of “X Factor.” The pair reunited to announce the Azerbaijani jury’s scores at the 2021 contest.

2012: Loreen - Sweden

If you were in Europe in 2012, you probably remember this track dominating the airwaves. “Euphoria” became the decade’s most successful “Eurovision” song via the charts— we guess Sweden excels at producing those! Since then, she’s released two studio albums, multiple singles, and headlined two tours. Loreen has performed at various “Eurovision” events and even joined some of her fellow winners for a cameo in “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.” Outside of music, Loreen is an ambassador for the “Swedish Committee for Afghanistan” and patron of the “World’s Children’s Prize.” She also performed at a gala raising money for Ukrainians following Russia’s invasion. The singer represents Sweden again in Eurovision 2023 with her song “Tattoo.”

2013: Emmelie de Forest - Denmark

2013 saw another win for Scandinavia thanks to Danish singer Emmelie de Forest and her song “Only Teardrops.” The following year she had another hit with “Rainmaker,” which was the contest’s official track in 2014. That year she also released the music video for her single “Drunk Tonight.” In 2021, she followed up with another single, “Typical Love Song.” De Forest has songwriting credits on Denmark’s 2016 entry “Never Alone,” sung by Anja Nissen, and the U.K.’s 2017 entry, “Never Give Up on You,” performed by Lucie Jones. As well as releasing new music, de Forest’s social media shows she often spotlights many crucial causes.

2014: Conchita Wurst - Austria

Does anyone else think that “Rise Like a Phoenix” sounds like it should be a “James Bond” theme song? Conchita grabbed our attention with her look but held it tight with her stunning number and phenomenal vocals. She’s continued using her voice to support the LGBTQ+ community and stamp out discrimination, including performances at the European Parliament in Brussels and the United Nations Office in Vienna. She closed Jean Paul Gaultier’s Couture show in Paris in 2014 as a model and has also modeled for Givenchy. Wurst now performs as two alter-egos, Conchita and WURST. In 2019 she joined Heidi Klum and Bill Kaulitz as a judge on the German drag reality show contest “Queen of Drags.”

2015: Måns Zelmerlöw - Sweden

“Heroes” was catchy AF, but its extraordinary interactive visuals pushed this track over the edge. After a European victory tour and another album, Zelmerlöw joined Swedish TV presenter Petra Mede to co-host “Eurovision” the following year. Their intermission number, “Love, Love, Peace, Peace,” brought the house down. Since rising to fame on the Swedish talent contest “Idol” in 2005, Mans has released eight studio albums and continues to release music and tour, primarily in his home country. In 2023, Mans appeared on the BBC Sounds podcast “Eurovisioncast,” where he seemed to reveal that he wasn’t opposed to representing Sweden again. But for now, Mans stans in Sweden can catch him on tour between 2023 and 2024.

2016: Jamala - Ukraine

Ukrainian singer Jamala moved audiences with this haunting song about her great-grandmother’s deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944. Subsequently, then-Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko bestowed upon her the honor of “People’s Artist of Ukraine.” And in 2016, she was nominated as UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador. Jamala continued releasing music, dropping her fifth album in 2018. In 2022 she joined the Polish version of “Dancing with the Stars.” Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Jamala, real name Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova, evacuated with her kids, leaving behind her husband. She performed at a charity concert in the U.K. that helped raise more than $14 million for humanitarian aid. She also vowed to keep using her voice to fight for her country.

2017: Salvador Sobral - Portugal

Sobral became the first Portuguese contestant to win since the country joined the competition in 1964. He also holds the current record as “Eurovision’s” “highest-scoring winner” with 758 points. Sobral shares his record-breaking win with his sister Luísa, who wrote and produced the winning song, “Amar pelos dois.” Both were also awarded the Order of Merit by the Portuguese President. Sobral can be spotted singing his winning track in the Netflix movie, “The Story of Fire Saga.” And, in 2021, his third album, “BPM,” was nominated for “Best Engineered Album” at the Latin Grammys. The singer also uses his platform to raise awareness for the European migrant crisis and the mistreatment of refugees.

2018: Netta - Israel

Twenty years after Dana International’s win, Israel’s Netta Barzilai brought the competition home with a quirky, upbeat number partially inspired by the metoo movement. This was the country’s fourth win overall and a cluckin’ good comeback, if you ask us. Netta has since traveled the world, bringing her unique sound and positive messages to international audiences. She’s released numerous songs, including “Bassa Sababa,” “CEO,” “I Love My Nails,” and “Playground Politica” with Mr. Eazi, the latter of which was inspired by her childhood in Nigeria. She helped choose Israel’s 2022 Eurovision representative as a judge on the Israeli version of “X Factor.” No matter what she does, she always stays true to herself.

2019: Duncan Laurence - The Netherlands

Laurence closed out the decade with a simple yet powerful and striking performance of his pop ballad “Arcade.” The song found a second life after going viral on TikTok in 2020 and later became Spotify’s most streamed Eurovision song. He later re-recorded it as a duet with American artist Fletcher, marking the first winning “Eurovision” song to crack the U.S. charts in 45 years. Laurence’s first album, “Small Town Boy,” dropped in 2020, and in 2022 he released a single called “Electric Life” from his upcoming second album. He also became a coach on season six of “The Voice Kids Belgium.” Since the pandemic prevented the 2020 contest from taking place, Laurence technically holds the title of “longest reigning Eurovision winner.”