"Everybody"
Single by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton
Released	2001
Genre	Pop
Length	3:00
Label	Universal
Composer(s)	Ivar Must
Lyricist(s)	Maian-Anna Kärmas
Eurovision Song Contest 2001 entry
Country	Estonia
Artist(s)	Tanel Padar and Dave Benton
With	2XL
Language	English
Composer(s)	Ivar Must
Lyricist(s)	Maian-Anna Kärmas
Finals performance
Final result	1st
Final points	198
Entry chronology
◄ "Once in a Lifetime" (2000)
"Runaway" (2002) ►

"Everybody" is a song recorded by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton, along with 2XL, with music composed by Ivar Must and lyrics written by Maian-Anna Kärmas. It represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 held in Copenhagen, resulting in the country's only ever win at the contest and the first victory by one of the countries that debuted in the contest in the 1990s after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Background

Conception

"Everybody" was composed by Ivar Must with lyrics by Maian-Anna Kärmas. Lyrically, the song is simply an invitation to party, with the duo singing that "every night's a Friday night".^[1]

Eurovision

On 3 February 2001, "Everybody" performed by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton, with 2XL providing the backing vocals –Lauri Pihlap, Kaido Põldma, Sergei Morgun, and Indrek Soom–, competed in Eurolaul 2001, the national final organised by Eesti Televisioon (ETV) to select its song and performer for the 46th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition so it became the Estonian entry for Eurovision.^[2] Tanel had previously provided backing vocals for Estonia's 2000 entry, "Once in a Lifetime" sung by Eda-Ines Etti, his girlfriend at the time.

On 12 May 2001, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen hosted by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Padar and Benton, along 2XL, performed "Everybody" twentieth on the evening, following Germany's "Wer Liebe lebt" by Michelle and preceding Malta's "Another Summer Night" by Fabrizio Faniello.^[3]

At the close of voting, the song had received 198 points (12 from Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom), with the win coming at the head of a twenty-three-song field.^[4] Benton became the first black contestant to win the contest and, to date, is the oldest person to do so. The song was followed as Estonian representative at the 2002 contest, held in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, by "Runaway" by Sahlene.

Track listings

CD single^[5]

1. "Everybody" (Original Version) – 2:56
2. "Everybody" (Instrumental) – 2:56

CD Maxi-single^[6]

1. "Everybody" (Original Version) – 3:00
2. "Everybody" (Pierre J's Radio Mix) – 3:39
3. "Everybody" (Pierre J's Club Mix) – 7:06
4. "Everybody" (Instrumental) – 2:57

Charts

Weekly charts

Legacy

Maarja-Liis Ilus has recorded a cover version.

References

External links

• "Everybody" at Discogs (list of releases)