Hard Rock Hallelujah
Encyclopedia
"Hard Rock Hallelujah" is a song by the Finnish
heavy metal
band Lordi
, which won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with 292 points. 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. It held the record for most points until it was beaten by "Fairytale
" by Alexander Rybak
of Norway
with 387 points three years later when the scoring method changed. "Hard Rock Hallelujah" was also released as a single
in 2006, reaching the #1 spot in Finland and also peaking in the UK Top 40 at #25.
GSA edition:
GSA Special limited DualDisc edition:
fan walking through the corridors of a school
, singing softly along to the song playing on her headset. She reaches an entrance to the gym, where she stands watching the cheerleaders practice. Suddenly, the lights flicker and go out, and a wind starts to blow. As the chorus starts to play, the doors to the gym are blown off of their hinges by Mr. Lordi, who enters and crushes the now-screaming cheerleaders with a wave of his hands killing them. There is a fiery flash, and the entire band appears in the centre of the gym, playing the song.
The fan is terrified, but approaches Mr. Lordi as he points to her, singing "... you will see the jokers soon'll be the new kings". He raises the dead cheerleaders as zombie
s, and they stand around the fan pumping their fists in the air along with the music. The end of the video shows the fan, now confident and unafraid, leading the zombies through the school halls as students run away. She stops and punches the air with her fist as the zombies rush around her towards a group of students who are trapped by the closed main doors.
The video was directed by Pete Riski
. The fan is played by Leina Ogihara.
Another version was filmed specially for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
opening, directed by Antti J. Jokinen. Video starts with titles: "Arctic Circle, Finland, Rovaniemi
". A troll crawls through the snow mountains and frozen lakes, when the ice cracks up with the fountain of cold water. Mr. Lordi and the band play in a hut at the deep dark forest, and then they set the woods on fire with pyrotechnics. Lines of flame draw Lordi's symbol—the monster mask.
's Tina Karol
with Show Me Your Love
and preceding the Netherlands
' Treble
with Amambanda
. At the close of voting, it had received 292 points, placing first in the 23-strong field and qualifying for the final.
In the final, it was performed seventeenth, following Greece
's Anna Vissi
with Everything
and preceding the Ukrainian entry. Having led the voting for most of the telecast, it ultimately received 292 points again, winning the competition, breaking the previous record (held by Ruslana
with Wild Dances
) for the highest points tally in Contest history as well as achieving the unusual feat of emulating its semi-final performance exactly.
Commentators were generally positive about the band and the song, with even the notoriously acerbic Terry Wogan
seeing it as something of a good thing for the Contest (Although he sarcastically compared Mr. Lordi to Roy Wood
).
It is the second Eurovision song with the word hallelujah
in its title. The first one is Israel's Hallelujah
, which got first place at the 1979 Eurovision Contest
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
, 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 26 May 2006 the Guinness World Record of karaoke
singing was broken when approximately 80,000 people gathered to sing "Hard Rock Hallelujah" in Helsinki
, Finland, to celebrate victory in Eurovision.
, on the BMG
label. Download sales for the previous week were therefore eligible to be counted for the 4 June 2006 Official UK Singles Chart, which led to the single to chart at #59. It made a small but significant impact in the Top 40, peaking at #25 in the 11 June 2006 chart as the band's only single so far to ever be released in that country. The single also starts off-beat.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Lordi
Lordi
Lordi is a Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band, formed in 1996 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume-designer, Mr. Lordi. The band is known for wearing monster masks and using pyrotechnics during concerts...
, which won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with 292 points. 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. It held the record for most points until it was beaten by "Fairytale
Fairytale (Alexander Rybak song)
"Fairytale" is a song written and composed by Norwegian violinist/singer Alexander Rybak, and the first single from Rybak's debut album Fairytales...
" by Alexander Rybak
Alexander Rybak
Alexander Igoryevich Rybak or in Belarusian Alyaksandr Igaravich Rybak , born 13 May 1986 in Byelorussian SSR is a Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist, writer, and actor...
of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
with 387 points three years later when the scoring method changed. "Hard Rock Hallelujah" was also released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 2006, reaching the #1 spot in Finland and also peaking in the UK Top 40 at #25.
Track listings
Finnish edition:- Hard Rock Hallelujah (Euroviscous radio edit)
- Hard Rock Hallelujah (Album version)
- Mr. Killjoy (Previously unreleased track)
GSA edition:
- Hard Rock Hallelujah (Euroviscous radio edit)
- Supermonstars (Anthem of the Phantoms)
GSA Special limited DualDisc edition:
- Hard Rock Hallelujah (Euroviscous radio edit)
- Hard Rock Hallelujah (Album version)
- Mr. Killjoy (Previously unreleased track)
- Hard Rock Hallelujah (music video)
- Blood Red Sandman (music video)
- Devil Is A Loser (music video)
Videos
The video starts with a shy female hard rockHard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
fan walking through the corridors of a school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
, singing softly along to the song playing on her headset. She reaches an entrance to the gym, where she stands watching the cheerleaders practice. Suddenly, the lights flicker and go out, and a wind starts to blow. As the chorus starts to play, the doors to the gym are blown off of their hinges by Mr. Lordi, who enters and crushes the now-screaming cheerleaders with a wave of his hands killing them. There is a fiery flash, and the entire band appears in the centre of the gym, playing the song.
The fan is terrified, but approaches Mr. Lordi as he points to her, singing "... you will see the jokers soon'll be the new kings". He raises the dead cheerleaders as zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s, and they stand around the fan pumping their fists in the air along with the music. The end of the video shows the fan, now confident and unafraid, leading the zombies through the school halls as students run away. She stops and punches the air with her fist as the zombies rush around her towards a group of students who are trapped by the closed main doors.
The video was directed by Pete Riski
Pete Riski
Pete Riski is an award-winning Finnish music video and commercial director who has directed music videos for Lordi, among others. He has directed horror film Dark Floors.Pete Riski is currently a freelance director...
. The fan is played by Leina Ogihara.
Another version was filmed specially for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
opening, directed by Antti J. Jokinen. Video starts with titles: "Arctic Circle, Finland, Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...
". A troll crawls through the snow mountains and frozen lakes, when the ice cracks up with the fountain of cold water. Mr. Lordi and the band play in a hut at the deep dark forest, and then they set the woods on fire with pyrotechnics. Lines of flame draw Lordi's symbol—the monster mask.
At Eurovision
As Finland had not qualified for the final in their previous attempts, the song was performed in the semi-final. Here, it was performed sixteenth, following UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
's Tina Karol
Tina Karol
Tina Karol , born Tatiana Grigorievna Liberman , is a Ukrainian singer. Karol represented Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006.- Biography :...
with Show Me Your Love
Show Me Your Love
"Show Me Your Love" is a joint CD single by TVXQ and Super Junior 05, released on December 15, 2005. The bilingual single in Korean and English peaked at #1 on the MIAK K-pop album charts and sold 49,945 units by the end of the year....
and preceding the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
' Treble
Treble (girl group)
-Biography:The group started in 1995 when Caroline Hoffman and sisters Niña and Djem van Dijk met during a party, where Caroline was performing with a friend. The parents of the van Dijk sisters asked Caroline to become the music teacher of the two girls...
with Amambanda
Amambanda
"Amambanda" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed predominantly in an imaginary language but with some words in English by Treble...
. At the close of voting, it had received 292 points, placing first in the 23-strong field and qualifying for the final.
In the final, it was performed seventeenth, following Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
's Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi , known as Anna Vishy in Cypriot Greek, is a Greek-Cypriot recording artist and actress...
with Everything
Everything (Anna Vissi song)
"Everything" was the song chosen by Greece as its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens.-At Eurovision:It finished in 9th position with 128 points...
and preceding the Ukrainian entry. Having led the voting for most of the telecast, it ultimately received 292 points again, winning the competition, breaking the previous record (held by Ruslana
Ruslana
Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko is a World Music Award winning and MTV Europe Music Award nominated artist, and the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2004....
with Wild Dances
Wild Dances (song)
"Wild Dances" is the name of the song by Ukrainian pop-star Ruslana Lyzhichko . "Wild Dances" was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Turkey....
) for the highest points tally in Contest history as well as achieving the unusual feat of emulating its semi-final performance exactly.
Commentators were generally positive about the band and the song, with even the notoriously acerbic Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
seeing it as something of a good thing for the Contest (Although he sarcastically compared Mr. Lordi to Roy Wood
Roy Wood
Roy Adrian Wood is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands.-Career:Wood...
).
It is the second Eurovision song with the word hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Halleluyah, and the Latin form Alleluia are transliterations of the Hebrew word meaning "Praise Yah". The last syllable is from the first two letters of the name of God, YHWH, written JHVH in Latin). Hallelujah is found primarily in the book of Psalms...
in its title. The first one is Israel's Hallelujah
Hallelujah (Eurovision song)
"Hallelujah" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, performed in Hebrew by Gali Atari and Milk & Honey for Israel....
, which got first place at the 1979 Eurovision Contest
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.Flag of Finland
The flag of Finland , also called Siniristilippu , dates from the beginning of the 20th century. On a white background, it features a blue Nordic cross, which represents Christianity. The state flag has a coat of arms in the centre, but is otherwise identical to the civil flag. The swallow-tailed...
on it; he also wielded a microphone, the handle of which was attached to the handle of a two-headed battle axe
Battle axe
A battle axe is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes...
. 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
Jussi Sydänmaa
Jussi Sydänmaa is the guitarist, and one of the founding members of the Finnish metal quintet Lordi....
, who hopped back and forth energetically. Drummer Kita
Sampsa Astala
Sampsa Astala, is the former drummer for the Finnish metal band Lordi and the lead singer of the glam rock band Stala & So. His Lordi stage name, Kita, comes from the Finnish word meaning "jaws", "gap", or "maw". His Stala & So...
and keyboard player Awa
Leena Peisa
Leena Maria "Awa" Peisa is the current keyboard player in the Finnish hard rock quintet Lordi, winners of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. Peisa's former bands include Punaiset Messiaat and , both of which are from Porvoo.-Biography:Leena Maria Peisa was born in Vantaa although she spent her...
generally remained behind their instruments, bassist OX
Samer el Nahhal
Samer El Nahhal is the current bassist of the Finnish hard rock band Lordi. He goes by the stage name of OX a possible reference to John Entwistle, the bassist for The Who, who was also nicknamed "The Ox." OX plays an Ibanez BTB Bass. His father is Egyptian and his mother is Finnish...
stayed by his microphone, and Mr. Lordi
Tomi Putaansuu
Tomi Petteri Putaansuu , better known by his stage name Mr. Lordi, is the lead vocalist in the Finnish heavy metal/hard rock band Lordi. Mr. Lordi is the singer, songwriter and costume designer for hard rock band Lordi...
wore very large platform shoes.
The song had frequent use of pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
, 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 26 May 2006 the Guinness World Record of karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
singing was broken when approximately 80,000 people gathered to sing "Hard Rock Hallelujah" in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland, to celebrate victory in Eurovision.
Release as a single
The song was released as a physical single during the week starting on 5 June 2006 in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, on the BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
label. Download sales for the previous week were therefore eligible to be counted for the 4 June 2006 Official UK Singles Chart, which led to the single to chart at #59. It made a small but significant impact in the Top 40, peaking at #25 in the 11 June 2006 chart as the band's only single so far to ever be released in that country. The single also starts off-beat.
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Belgium (Flanders) Singles Chart | 2 |
| Belgium (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 21 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
27 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 Singles Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,... |
4 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 1 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... (+150,000 sold) |
5 |
| Greek Singles Chart | 6 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
4 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 9 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 5 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
25 |