Rise Like a Phoenix

"Rise Like a Phoenix" is a song recorded by Austrian singer Conchita Wurst, written by Joey Patulka, Alexander Zuckowski, Julian Maas, and Charlie Mason. It represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 held in Copenhagen, resulting in the country's second win in the contest.

"Rise Like a Phoenix"
Single by Conchita Wurst
from the album Conchita
Released	18 March 2014
Recorded	2013
Genre	Operatic pop
Length	3:01
Label	ORF-Enterprise
Songwriter(s)	Charlie Mason Joey Patulka Ali Zuckowski Julian Maas
Conchita Wurst singles chronology
"That's What I Am" (2012) "Rise Like a Phoenix" (2014) "Heroes" (2014)
Music video
"Rise Like a Phoenix" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2014 entry
Country	Austria
Artist(s)	Thomas Neuwirth
As	Conchita Wurst
Language	English
Composer(s)	Joey Patulka Alexander Zuckowski Julian Maas Charlie Mason
Lyricist(s)	Joey Patulka Alexander Zuckowski Julian Maas Charlie Mason
Finals performance
Semi-final result	1st
Semi-final points	169
Final result	1st
Final points	290
Entry chronology
◄ "Shine" (2013)
"I Am Yours" (2015) ►
Song presentation
file help
Official performance video
"Rise Like a Phoenix" (Semi-2) on YouTube "Rise Like a Phoenix" (Final) on YouTube "Rise Like a Phoenix" (Reprise) on YouTube

Background

Conception and selection

Composer Alexander Zuckowski had originally composed the song for another project, however, every major record label in Austria had refused to produce "Rise Like a Phoenix". Following a request from Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) about possible song contributions, Zuckowski immediately thought of suggesting "Rise Like a Phoenix", reasoning, "I knew that with this song still something great was going to happen". It was entered into the ORF internal selection process for Eurovision.

On 10 September 2013, ORF announced that it had internally selected singer Conchita Wurst as its performer for the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.^[1] On 18 March 2014, ORF announced "Rise Like a Phoenix" as the Austrian entrant for the contest.^[2][3]

Release

The song was released by the ORF on 18 March 2014. The accompanying music video was premiered on YouTube on the same day, while the song was offered on the ORF website for download.^[2][4] On 21 March, Wurst made the first live performance of the song, on the ORF show Dancing Stars.^[5][6]

Eurovision

On 8 May 2014, the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest was held in B&W Hallerne in Copenhagen hosted by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) and broadcast live throughout the continent. Wurst performed "Rise Like a Phoenix" sixth on the evening. After the grand final it was revealed that it had received in its semi-final 169 points, placing first and qualifying for the grand final.^[7] On 10 May 2014, she performed the song again in the grand final eleventh on the evening.^[8] At the close of voting, it had received 290 points finished in first place and winning the contest.^[9] It was Austria's second win in the contest, its first being in 1966.

Aftermath

On 31 March 2015, Wurst performed the song in the Eurovision sixtieth anniversary show Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits held in London.^[10][11]

As the winning broadcaster, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) gave ORF the responsibility to host the following edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The contest was co-hosted by Wurst herself, who opened the first semi-final on 19 May 2015 performing "Rise Like a Phoenix".^[12]

Critical reception

Stern gave the song a rating of four out of five. 1966 Austrian winner Udo Jürgens said the song was "a well-composed song with a beautiful musical bow", and as the lyrics suggest, "rises from the ashes".^[2]

Track listing

Digital download^[13]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Rise Like a Phoenix"	3:01

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Austria	18 March 2014[13]	Digital download	ORF-Enterprise
Europe
United States
United Kingdom	11 May 2014[14]

Charts history

Weekly charts Chart (2014) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[16] 8 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[17] 19 Denmark (Tracklisten)[18] 6 Euro Digital Songs (Billboard)[19] 13 Finland Download (Latauslista)[20] 2 France (SNEP)[21] 39 Germany (GfK)[22] 5 Hungary (Single Top 40)[23] 9 Iceland (RÚV)[24] 8 Ireland (IRMA)[25] 10 Italy (FIMI)[26] 26 Luxembourg Digital Songs (Billboard)[27] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[28] 10 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] 3 Scotland (OCC)[30] 18 Slovenia (SloTop50)[31] 13 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[32] 8 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 27 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 2 UK Singles (OCC)[35] 17 UK Indie (OCC)[36] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2014) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[37] 19

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[38]	Platinum	30,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone.