page_title: Vanilla Ninja
section_title: 2005: 3rd album and Eurovision
hierarchical_section_title: Vanilla Ninja / History / 2005: 3rd album and Eurovision
caption_attribution_description: Lenna Kuurmaa playing Live
context_page_description: Vanilla Ninja was an Estonian all-female rock trio which enjoyed chart success in a number of countries across Europe, especially in Estonia, Germany and Austria.
  The group formed in 2002 and released their self-titled debut album Vanilla Ninja, containing songs in both English and Estonian, the following year. After their debut single "Club Kung Fu" was released in 2003, the girls had many hits in Central Europe, including "Tough Enough", "When the Indians Cry", "Blue Tattoo" and "I Know". They also entered Estonian national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003 and 2007, failing both times, but proved successful in 2005, when they represented Switzerland with the song "Cool Vibes". The group finished 8th in the Eurovision Song Contest final, despite topping the leader board at the half-way stage. Vanilla Ninja were very popular in their native Estonia and have had a brand of both ice cream and curd snack named after them, marketed exclusively in their homeland due to their celebrity status in Estonia.
  The group released four albums in various countries across Europe — Vanilla Ninja was released in 2003, Traces of Sadness in 2004, and Blue Tattoo and Best Of in 2005.
context_section_description: Following the success of the "Blue Tattoo" single in November and December 2004, the group would take a three-month break from releasing material in order to tour Asia. In 2004 the group had reportedly set an ambitious target of "conquering the world", and the tour proved to be successful in helping them to begin to do that, winning new fans in countries such as Japan, China, Malaysia and Thailand. The group also played a key role in VIVA's 2004 "Your Stars For Christmas" show, singing a re-worded version of "When The Indians Cry" called "Light Of Hope".
  In May 2005 the group returned to the charts, releasing a new song called "I Know", which featured a mildly controversial video based around domestic abuse. The song was again successful, peaking at #13 in Germany and #17 in Austria. Two weeks after its release their third album, Blue Tattoo, was released in various European countries and proved to be as successful as the previous album, charting at #4 in Germany and, unsurprisingly (as it included the Eurovision song "Cool Vibes"), Switzerland.
  During their hiatus in order to tour Asia the Swiss Eurovision song had been completed and had been announced as being called "Cool Vibes". A short song, in order to comply with Eurovision regulations, the track received mixed response. Many saw it to be a good pop-rock song, but many believed it was not the girls' best, and that it was not the type of song suitable for Eurovision.
  The song failed to get off to a good start, though, as the song was banned from the German charts after writer and producer David Brandes was accused of manipulating the charts by buying thousands of copies of his artist's singles. Among the songs he had allegedly bought many copies of were the groups "When The Indians Cry" single, and the German Eurovision entry "Run and Hide" by Gracia. Soon after Gracia was fired by her record company, and the two artists (along with "Virus Incorporation") were banned from the charts for initially three weeks. The girls came out unaffected, although it would be a blow for the songwriter and may have meant the high position of "When The Indians Cry" was helped by the mass-buying of singles by Brandes.
  Due to Switzerland getting no points in the semi-final of the 2004 contest, Vanilla Ninja had to compete in the Eurovision semi-final on May 19, 2005. Against artists such as Wig Wam, Luminita Anghel and Zdob şi Zdub the competition was difficult, but the group progressed to the final and were given good odds of 10/1 for winning the contest. The group's performance in the final on May 21 was, according to some, not as good as it could have been, although those criticising the performance also criticised the song (believing a song similar to "When The Indians Cry" or even "Club Kung Fu" would have been better).
  In the voting, however, the group did well in the early stages. Despite not representing their native Estonia, their home country responded well and gave the group the full 12 points (Estonia's entry, Suntribe's "Let's Get Loud", had been eliminated in the semi-final). Latvia also gave the group 12 points, whilst Germany rather surprisingly only gave them four. Austrian voters were even less impressed by the performance, not giving any points to the group at all.
  Despite leading at the one-third stage, Vanilla Ninja eventually slipped down the leader board and finished 8th. The result allowed Switzerland to achieve their best result for years and automatic qualification for next year's final, but for the group it was a disappointment considering their popularity and good odds for winning the contest.
caption: Lenna Kuurmaa singing "Cool Vibes".
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