"We Are the Winners" was the 2006 entry

Eurovision Song Contest 2006

The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...

 into the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

 for Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, sung by Lithuanian all-star group LT United

LT United

LT United is a six-piece alternative-pop musical group created in 2006 for the sole purpose of representing Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006...

.

The song, thematically reminiscent of Queen

Queen (band)

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

's "We Are the Champions

We Are the Champions

"We Are the Champions" is a power ballad written by Freddie Mercury, recorded and performed by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. One of their most famous and popular songs, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems...

", is a cheery tongue-in-cheek

Tongue-in-cheek

Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...

 celebration of their supposedly inevitable victory at the Eurovision Contest in the form of a football chant

Football chant

A football chant or terrace chant, is a song or chant sung at association football matches. They can be historic, dating back to the formation of the club, adaptations of popular songs, or spontaneous reactions to events on the pitch. They are one of the last remaining sources of an oral folk song...

, with the chorus repeating "We are the winners of Eurovision / We are, we are! [...] So, you gotta vote, vote, vote for the winners!".

We Are The Winners was one of the few Eurovision songs to get booed

Booing

Booing is an act of showing displeasure for someone or something, generally an entertainer, by loudly yelling boo! or making other noises of disparagement, such as hissing. People may make hand signs at the entertainer, such as the thumbs down sign...

. As Lithuania had not qualified for the final at the 2005 contest

Eurovision Song Contest 2005

The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...

, the song was first performed in the semi-final. Here, it was performed 18th, following the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

' Treble with Amambanda

Amambanda

"Amambanda" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed predominantly in an imaginary language but with some words in English by Treble...

and preceding Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

's Nonstop with Coisas de nada

Coisas De Nada (Gonna Make You Dance)

"Coisas de nada " was the Portuguese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in Portuguese and English by Nonstop....

. At the close of voting, it had received 163 points, placing 5th in the 23-strong field and qualifying Lithuania for the final.

In the final, the song was performed 14th, following Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

's Hari Mata Hari

Hari Mata Hari

Hari Mata Hari is a popular music band from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hari Mata Hari is the stage name for the singer Hajrudin "Hari" Varešanović. The group originated from the city of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The group has performed over 1,000 concerts and sold 5,000,000...

 with Lejla

Lejla

"Lejla" was the Bosnian and Herzegovinian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in the country's native language by Hari Mata Hari...

and preceding the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's Daz Sampson

Daz Sampson

Darren "Daz" Sampson is a British dance music producer, musician and singer-songwriter.Up until 2006, when he represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest, Sampson was best known for his commercial dance music, often reworkings of older songs as a solo act and as a member of various...

 with Teenage Life

Teenage Life

"Teenage Life" was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, which was sung by Daz Sampson in English.On 4 March 2006, Sampson had won the BBC show Making Your Mind Up with the song "Teenage Life", which was written and produced with John Matthews from the Cuban Boys, who were...

. At the close of voting, it had received 162 points, placing 6th in a field of 24 and giving Lithuania an automatic final berth at the next Contest. Its best points haul was from the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. At the after show press conference, winners Lordi

Lordi

Lordi is a Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band, formed in 1996 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume-designer, Mr. Lordi. The band is known for wearing monster masks and using pyrotechnics during concerts...

 sang the chorus of We Are The Winners as they entered.

Perhaps fittingly for a football chant-style song, LT United also recorded a version for the 2006 Football World Cup with slightly altered lyrics ("We are the winners/Are you with us", for example). This recording appeared to be intended for any team to adopt, since Lithuania did not qualify for the finals of World Cup 2006. The refrain of the song was performed live by Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams

Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...

 during his show in King Baudouin Stadium

King Baudouin Stadium

The King Baudouin Stadium is a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. It was inaugurated on 23 August 1930 as the Stade du Jubilé or Jubelstadion in the presence of Prince Leopold. It was built to embellish the Heysel plateau in view of the Brussels International Exposition...

 (Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

) on June 13, 2006.

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Finnish Singles Chart	14