Eurovision Song Contest 2006 Hallelujah" was the first ever hard rock song to win the contest, since Eurovision is normally associated with softer pop music and schlager. This was Finland's first victory in Eurovision after waiting forty-five years. It is also noted that they scored the same amount of points in the semi-final and the grand final. The hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens were Greek singer Sakis Rouvas, the Greek representative at Eurovision in 2004 and 2009, and the Greek American television presenter and actress, Maria Menounos. In the semi-final, both the hosts sang Katrina and the Waves' contest-winning "Love Shine
Eurovision Song Contest 1978 record at the time. The winning entry was a love song sung in the Hebrew equivalent of Ubbi dubbi (the title is an expansion of the Hebrew word "ani" אני, meaning "I"). This was Israel's first Eurovision win. The win caused problems for several North African and Middle-Eastern nations that were televising the contest, even though they were not participating. According to author and political commentator John Kennedy O'Connor in his book "The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History", when Israel became the clear winners during the voting, most of the Arabic stations ended their transmission of the contest. Jordanian