Hard Rock Hallelujah
| "Hard Rock Hallelujah" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Hard Rock Hallelujah" is a song by the Finnish heavy metal/hard rock band Lordi, which won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with 292 points, a record in the history of Eurovision. It was also Finland's first placement in the top five. It was voted as the most popular Finnish Eurovision entry in the forty years the country has participated [1]. "Hard Rock Hallelujah" was also released as a single in 2006. With a sound reminiscent of 1980s hard rock hits (such as produced by KISS and Europe), the song preaches of the impending 'arockalypse', and that we should be ready for the day of 'rockoning'.
Video
The video for "Hard Rock Hallelujah" depicts a stereotypical female hard rock fan (played by Leina Ogihara) walking through the corridors of a high school, humming along to the song which is playing on her headset. After a while she reaches the gym, where the school's cheerleaders are practicing. Suddenly the lights go out and a ghostly wind starts to blow. Before the chorus starts to play, the doors to the gym hall get blown off their hinges, and Lordi enters, knocking down the cheerleaders in the process.
After the chorus, Lordi summons the fan over to the group where he encourages her to make the rest of the students join the band's fan group, probably in preparation for the "Arockalypse", and to help her he gives her command of the cheerleaders (who have been zombified). The fangirl starts to slowly force the rest of the student body through the school building by walking down the corridor, zombies in tow.
The video ends with the students trying to escape through the main doors, as the zombies rush past the fan, who is punching the air with her fist in synch with the chorus.
The video was directed by Pete Riski.
Eurovision performance
The semifinal and final performances of "Hard Rock Hallelujah" at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest were similar; the lead singer, Mr. Lordi, stated before the final that the only planned changes were that "We'll scream louder. And turn the amps up." The performance took place on a fairly bare Eurovision stage, with banks of video monitors in the back displaying abstract images of fire, and the band in their usual monster costumes.
Mr. Lordi, the lead singer, performed the first verse while wearing a top hat with the flag of Finland on it; he also wielded a microphone, the handle of which was attached to the handle of a two-headed battle axe. During the final verse, while he was singing the lyric "Wings on my back / Got horns on my head", a set of large, bat-like wings unfolded from Mr. Lordi's back. During the whole performance, the band members remained relatively stationary, with the exception of guitarist Amen, who hopped back and forth energetically. Drummer Kita and keyboard player Awa generally remained behind their instruments, bassist Ox stayed by his microphone, and Mr. Lordi wore very large platform shoes.
The song had frequent use of pyrotechnics, similar to Rammstein, starting with flames bursting from the stage during the song's introduction, and bursts of sparks, particularly during the chorus. The final chorus of the song had an extended pyrotechnic display, with the whole stage covered in sparks, including jets shooting from the ends of the guitar and the bass as they were being played, and from the two-headed axe (now detached) that Mr. Lordi held up above his head.
The encore performance after they were announced the winners was much simpler, as the pyrotechnics were obviously not available and Mr. Lordi's wings did not unfurl.
On May 26th, 2006 the Guinness World Record of karaoke singing was broken when approximately 90,000 people gathered to sing "Hard Rock Hallelujah" in Helsinki, Finland to celebrate Lordi's victory in Eurovision. [2]
Release as single
The song was released as a physical single with the week starting June 5, 2006, in the United Kingdom, on the BMG label. Download sales for the previous week were therefore eligible to be counted for the June 4, Official UK Singles Chart, which led to the single to chart at #59. It reached #25 in the June 11, 2006 chart.
Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria | 3 |
| Belgium (Flanders) | 2 |
| Belgium (Wallonia) | 21 |
| Denmark(Download) | 3 |
| Europe | 7 |
| Faroe Islands | 2 |
| Finland | 1 |
| Germany | 5 |
| Greece | 11 |
| Ireland iTunes Music Store | 1 |
| Ireland | 4 |
| Netherlands | 27 |
| Norway | 9 |
| Slovenia | 3 |
| Sweden | 9 |
| Switzerland | 5 |
| United Kingdom | 25 |