Fly on the Wings of Love

"Fly on the Wings of Love" is a song by Danish pop-rock duo Olsen Brothers, which was the winner of Eurovision Song Contest 2000, performing for Denmark in English. The song was performed fourteenth on the night, following Spain's Serafín Zubiri with "Colgado de un sueño" and preceding Germany's Stefan Raab with "Wadde hadde dudde da?". At the close of voting, it had received 195 points, placing first in a field of 24. The Olsen Brothers were afforded an international hit with "Fly on the Wings of Love", most notably in Sweden, the Eurovision 2000 host nation, where "Fly on the Wings of Love" reached number one. In the performers' native Denmark, their native language rendering, "Smuk som et stjerneskud" ("Beautiful as a shooting star"), earned them a number-one hit.

"Fly on the Wings of Love"
Single by Olsen Brothers
from the album Wings of Love
Released2000
Length3:05
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Jørgen Olsen
Producer(s)Stig Kreutzfeldt
Eurovision Song Contest 2000 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Jørgen Olsen, Niels Olsen
As
Language
English
Composer(s)
Jørgen Olsen
Lyricist(s)
Jørgen Olsen
Finals performance
Final result
1st
Final points
195
Entry chronology
◄ "This Time I Mean It" (1999)
"Never Ever Let You Go" (2001) ►

Background

"Fly on the Wings of Love" is a love ballad, with the singers describing the beauty of a woman. Unusual for any pop song (even more so for one in the contest), 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 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, being named one of the best entries at the Congratulations special in late 2005. The brothers in fact performed part of the song onstage and were greeted with rapturous applause (perhaps due to the special's location in Copenhagen). Renārs Kaupers, hosting the show, made several references to "being beaten by a pair of Danish brothers" (which his band Brainstorm was).

The song is also 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.

The song was succeeded in 2001 as winner by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton representing Estonia with "Everybody".

It was succeeded as Danish representative at the 2001 contest by Rollo & King with "Never Ever Let You Go". The Olsen Brothers have additionally performed "Fly On The Wings Of Love" at the Romanian national Final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, on 6 March.

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Sweden (GLF)[14] Platinum 30,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

XTM and DJ Chucky version
"Fly on the Wings of Love"
Single by XTM and DJ Chucky presents Annia
Released2000
GenreEurotrance[15]
Length2:59
Label
  • Cyber Music (Spain)
  • Serious (UK)
Songwriter(s)Jørgen Olsen
Producer(s)DJ Richard and Johnny Bass
XTM singles chronology
"Fly on the Wings of Love"
(2000)		 "Give Me Your Love"
(2005)

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.

Chart performance

Upon its release in Spain, the song reached number two on the PROMUSICAE chart on 20 January 2001, behind "Love Don't Cost a Thing" by Jennifer Lopez.[16] It stayed in the top 20 for nine weeks.[17]

Two years after its original release, on 26 May 2003, the cover was released in the United Kingdom.[18] 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.[19] 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.[19] 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.[20] It eventually received a Silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry in 2016 for sales and streams of over 200,000.[21]

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.[22] In Ireland, the single reached number one for two weeks in August 2003,[23] spent 24 weeks in the top 50, and ended 2003 as Ireland's 11th highest-selling single.[24] The cover found moderate success in the Netherlands, climbing to number 31 in February 2004 and logging 19 weeks on the Dutch Singles Chart.[25]

Track listings

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other cover versions
  • In 2000 Danish producer Holger Lagerfeldt released a cover version under the name DJ Cookie with vocals by Linda Andrews.[34]
  • In 2002 German trance group Topmodelz consisting of Pulsedriver and SveN-R-G vs. Bass-T released a cover version on Aqualoop Records.[35]

References
  1. "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  2. "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  3. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 24. 10 June 2000. p. 13. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  4. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 26. 24 June 2000. p. 11. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  5. "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  6. "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  7. "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love". VG-lista.
  8. "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love". Singles Top 100.
  9. "Olsen Brothers – Fly On The Wings Of Love". Swiss Singles Chart.
  10. "Chart Log UK". Chart Log UK – 1994–2010. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  11. "Års Hitlister 2000: IFPI Danmark: Singles Top 50" (in Danish). IFPI Danmark. Archived from the original on 16 November 2001. Retrieved 8 April 2021 – via Musik.org.
  12. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2000" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  13. "Årslista Singlar, 2000" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  14. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  15. O'Brien, Jon (13 May 2016). "21st Century Eurovision winners: Where are they now?". Metro. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  16. "Single Top 100 20/01/2001". Spanishcharts.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  17. "XTM & DJ Chuckie presents Annia – Fly on the Wings of Love" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  18. "New Releases – For Week Starting 26 May 2003: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 24 May 2003. p. 25. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  20. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2003" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  21. "British single certifications – XTM & DJ Chucky pts Annia – Fly on the Wings of Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  22. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 12 October 2003 – 18 October 2003". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  23. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Fly on the Wings of Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  24. "Best of singles 2003". IRMA. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  25. "XTM & DJ Chuckie presents Annia – Fly on the Wings of Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  26. 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)
  27. 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)
  28. 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)
  29. 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)
  30. 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)
  31. "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 12 June 2003". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  32. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  33. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  34. "DJ Cookie - Fly On The Wings Of Love (CD, Maxi) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  35. "DJ Bass-T* Presents Topmodelz - Fly On The Wings Of Love at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
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