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