The music of "Diva" was composed bySvika Pick, with lyrics written byYoav Ginai [he]. The song was produced byOffer Nissim with music arrangements by Alon Levin.[3] It was recorded byDana International in Hebrew and English and was included on her fifth album,Free, released in 1999.
The song is a moderately uptempo number. It is an ode to powerful women of history and mythology:Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory orQueen Victoria,Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and love, and the Greek queenCleopatra are named.[4]
On 9 May 1998, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at theNational Indoor Arena inBirmingham hosted by theBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and broadcast live throughout the continent. The selection of Dana International's song caused so much controversy amongst conservative groups in Israel that on her arrival in Britain, police escorts and security were required continuously. She performed "Diva" in Hebrew eighth on the evening, followingPoland's "To takie proste" bySixteen and precedingGermany's "Guildo hat euch lieb!" byGuildo Horn. She wore a silver blue dress designed by Israeli designerGalit Levi [he] and was backed by four other female singers wearing black. It involved no dancing and no live orchestral accompaniment.[6]
At the close of voting, the song had received 172 points,[a] placing first in a field of twenty-five, and winning the contest.[7] After the results were announced, Dana International caused a stir by arriving to the presentation late after a long delay, because she changed into an extravagant costume designed byJean-Paul Gaultier adorned with bird feathers before performing the reprise. This was Israel's third victory in the contest and, as they had not entered the previous year's contest, they achieved the unusual distinction of having won a contest the year after not competing.
The song became the last entry entirely in a language other than English to win the contestuntil 2007. As the song did not have any live orchestral accompaniment, the interval act was the last time live music from an orchestra was used in the contest, as the 1999 contest lacked the necessary budget and was held in a venue not large enough to hold one.[8] The song was succeeded in 1999 as contest winner by "Take Me to Your Heaven" byCharlotte Nilsson forSweden. It was succeeded as Israeli representative at the 1999 contest by "Yom Huledet (Happy Birthday)" byEden.
Dana International's win is considered influential in making trans identity mainstream, in part because she is trans.[9]
"Diva" was one of fourteen songs chosen by Eurovision fans and aEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) reference group, from among the 992 songs that had ever participated in the contest, to participate in the fiftieth anniversary competitionCongratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest held on 22 October 2005 inCopenhagen.[10] It was re-enacted by Dana International along with six dancers equipped with giant feathered fans and a live orchestra as the original footage was shown in the background. It came 13th in the final voting.[11]
Dana International would go on to participate in the2011 contest with "Ding Dong" placing 15th in the second semi-final and not competing in the grand final.[12] On 31 March 2015, she performed "Diva" in the Eurovision sixtieth anniversary showEurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits held in London.[13][14] On 18 May 2019, she performed it as part of the opening act of the2019 contest grand final held inTel Aviv.[15]
Despite its legacy as a well remembered Eurovision winner, as of 2018, the song was unavailable on digital music platforms (with the sole exception of Scandinavia). Efforts were made to get the rights holders to release the song digitally;[22][23] the efforts finally paid off, as on 11 April 2019 the English version of the song was released, with the Hebrew version following the week after.[24]
^abAfter the broadcast it was announced thatTelevisión Española wrongly tallied theSpanish votes andGermany should have got the top mark – 12 points – instead of being snubbed, as it happened. The mistake was corrected and so Germany was placed seventh overNorway. Israel and Norway both received two points less than originally andCroatia,Malta,Portugal, theUnited Kingdom,Netherlands,Belgium,Estonia andTurkey all received one point less than indicated during the broadcast. Originally Estonia,Cyprus and Portugal had tied for 11th place with 37 points but because Portugal and Estonia received one point less than indicated during the broadcast, Cyprus was placed 11th over Estonia and Portugal.
^Stevenson, Jack (2001). "Eurovision: The Candy-Coated Song Factory". In Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (eds.).Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth. Los Angeles:Feral House. pp. 173–176.ISBN978-0-922915-69-9.In 1998, an Israeli transsexual, Dana International, triumphed over a Maltese farm girl (Chiara) in the last round of voting with a catchy disco tune.
^Diva (UK & Australian CD1 liner notes).Dana International. Dance Pool. 1998. DANA1CD, 666145 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Diva (UK & Australian CD2 liner notes). Dana International. Dance Pool. 1998. DANA1CDX, 666145 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Diva (UK cassette single eleeve). Dana International. Dance Pool. 1998. DANA1MC.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Diva (European CD single liner notes). Dana International.CNR Music. 1998. 5300294.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Diva (European remixes CD single liner notes). Dana International. CNR Music. 1998. 5300306.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Diva (French remixes 12-inch single sleeve). Dana International. CNR Music France. 1998. 3041086.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
