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Fly on the Wings of Love

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"Fly on the Wings of Love"
Single by Olsen Brothers
from the album Wings of Love
B-side"Smuk som et stjerneskud"
Released2000
GenrePop rock[1]
Length3:05
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Jørgen Olsen
Producer(s)Stig Kreutzfeldt
Eurovision Song Contest 2000 entry
Country
Artist(s)
  • Jørgen Olsen
  • Niels Olsen
As
Language
English
Composer(s)
Jørgen Olsen
Lyricist(s)
Jørgen Olsen
Finals performance
Final result
1st
Final points
195
Entry chronology
◄ "This Time I Mean It" (1999)
"Never Ever Let You Go" (2001) ►

"Fly on the Wings of Love" is a song recorded by Danish pop-rock duo Olsen Brothers –Jørgen and Niels Olsen–, with music composed and lyrics written by Jørgen Olsen. It represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000, held in Stockholm, 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

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Conception

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"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 recorded the song in Danish, English, and German –as "Weil nur die Liebe zählt"–.[2]

Eurovision

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On 19 February 2000, "Smuk som et stjerneskud" performed by the Olsen Brothers competed in the 31st edition of the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, winning the competition. As the festival was used by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) to select its song and performer for the 45th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, the song became the Danish entrant, and the Olsen Brothers the performers, for Eurovision.[3]

On 13 May 2000, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Globe Arena in Stockholm hosted by Sveriges Television (SVT), and broadcast live throughout the continent. The Olsen Brothers performed "Fly on the Wings of Love" fourteenth on the evening, following Spain's "Colgado de un sueño" by Serafín Zubiri and preceding Germany's "Wadde hadde dudde da?" by Stefan Raab.[4]

At the close of voting, the song had received 195 points, placing first in a field of twenty-four, winning the contest.[5] 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 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 Russian delegation, however they were not found to be against the rules and the result stood.

The song was succeeded in the 2001 contest as winner by "Everybody" by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton representing Estonia. It was succeeded as Danish representative in 2001 by "Never Ever Let You Go" by Rollo & King.

Aftermath

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"Fly on the Wings of Love" was one of fourteen songs chosen by Eurovision fans and a European Broadcasting Union (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.[6] 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, hosting the show, made several references to "being beaten by a pair of Danish brothers" –which his band Brainstorm was–.[7]

On 6 March 2010, the Olsen Brothers performed the song at the Romanian national final for Eurovision. On 31 March 2015, they performed it in the Eurovision sixtieth anniversary show Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits held in London.[8][9]

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Sweden (GLF)[23] Platinum 30,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

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XTM and DJ Chucky version

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"Fly on the Wings of Love"
Single by XTM and DJ Chucky presents Annia
Released2000
GenreEurotrance[24]
Length2:59
Label
  • Cyber Music (Spain)
  • Serious (UK)
Songwriter(s)Jørgen Olsen
Producer(s)DJ Richard and Johnny Bass
XTM singles chronology
"Fly on the Wings of Love"
(2000) 		"Give Me Your Love"
(2005)

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

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Upon its release in Spain, the song reached number two on the PROMUSICAE chart on 20 January 2001, behind "Love Don't Cost a Thing" by Jennifer Lopez.[25] It stayed in the top 20 for nine weeks.[26]

Two years after its original release, on 26 May 2003, the cover was released in the United Kingdom.[27] 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.[28] 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.[28] 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.[29] It eventually received a Silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry in 2016 for sales and streams of over 200,000.[30]

The song was also highly successful on 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.[31] In Ireland, the single reached number one for two weeks in August 2003,[32] spent 24 weeks in the top 50, and ended 2003 as Ireland's 11th highest-selling single.[33] The cover found moderate success in the Netherlands, climbing to number 31 in February 2004 and logging 19 weeks on the Dutch Singles Chart.[34]

Track listings

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other cover versions

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  • In 2000 Danish producer Holger Lagerfeldt released a cover version under the name DJ Cookie with vocals by Linda Andrews.[43]
  • In 2002 German trance group Topmodelz consisting of Pulsedriver and SveN-R-G vs. Bass-T released a cover version on Aqualoop Records.[44]

References

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  1. ^ Petridis, Alexis (11 May 2023). "All 69 Eurovision song contest winners – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Denmark 2000 - "Fly on the Wings of Love"". The Diggiloo Thrush.
  3. ^ "Denmark: Melodi Grand Prix 2000". Eurovisionworld.
  4. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2000". Eurovision Song Contest. 13 May 2000. SVT / EBU.
  5. ^ "Official Eurovision Song Contest 2000 scoreboard". Eurovision Song Contest.
  6. ^ Bakker, Sietse (16 June 2005). "The 14 songs for Copenhagen". ESCtoday.
  7. ^ "Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision Song Contest. 22 October 2005. DR / EBU.
  8. ^ "Fly on the Wings of Love" on YouTube at Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits
  9. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits". Eurovision Song Contest. 3 April 2015. BBC / EBU.
  10. ^ "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  11. ^ "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 24. 10 June 2000. p. 13. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 26. 24 June 2000. p. 11. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  15. ^ "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  16. ^ "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love". VG-lista.
  17. ^ "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love". Singles Top 100.
  18. ^ "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love". Swiss Singles Chart.
  19. ^ "Chart Log UK". Chart Log UK – 1994–2010. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  20. ^ "Års Hitlister 2000: IFPI Danmark: Singles Top 50" (in Danish). IFPI Danmark. Archived from the original on 16 November 2001. Retrieved 8 April 2021 – via Musik.org.
  21. ^ "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2000" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  22. ^ "Årslista Singlar, 2000" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  23. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  24. ^ O'Brien, Jon (13 May 2016). "21st Century Eurovision winners: Where are they now?". Metro. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Single Top 100 20/01/2001". Spanishcharts.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  26. ^ a b "XTM & DJ Chuckie presents Annia – Fly on the Wings of Love" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  27. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 26 May 2003: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 24 May 2003. p. 25. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  28. ^ a b c "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  29. ^ a b "The Official UK Singles Chart 2003" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  30. ^ a b "British single certifications – XTM & DJ Chucky pts Annia – Fly on the Wings of Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 12 October 2003 – 18 October 2003". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  32. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Fly on the Wings of Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  33. ^ a b "Best of singles 2003". IRMA. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  34. ^ a b "XTM & DJ Chuckie presents Annia – Fly on the Wings of Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  35. ^ Fly on the Wings of Love (Spanish 12-inch single sleeve). XTM. Cyber Music. 2000. VLMX 364-3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  36. ^ Fly on the Wings of Love (Spanish maxi-CD single liner notes). XTM. Cyber Music. 2000. VLCDMX 364-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  37. ^ Fly on the Wings of Love (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). XTM. Serious Records. 2003. SER6212, 9807477.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  38. ^ Fly on the Wings of Love (UK & European CD single liner notes). XTM. Serious Records. 2003. SER62CD, 9807476.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  39. ^ Fly on the Wings of Love (Dutch CD single liner notes). XTM. United Recordings. 2003. UTD3015.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  40. ^ "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 12 June 2003". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 13 June 2019.[permanent dead link]
  41. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  42. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  43. ^ "DJ Cookie - Fly On The Wings Of Love (CD, Maxi) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  44. ^ "DJ Bass-T* Presents Topmodelz - Fly On The Wings Of Love at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
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Preceded by Eurovision Song Contest winners
2000 		Succeeded by
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