In 1978 in Paris Jahn Teigen made his first appearance on the Eurovision stage, performing the song Mil etter mil (Mile after mile), which became famous for not receiving a single point from any of the participating nations. This was the first occurrence of zero points with the new, and current, voting system of the Eurovision Song Contest. Despite the obvious lack of international recognition, the song gained a huge audience back in Norway where his countrymen embraced it. The single dominated the national singles chart for more than four months, being among the 10 most-bought singles for no less than 19 consecutive weeks, for five of those also topping the chart for the nation's most popular international hit. After 30 years in the nation's spotlight, this remains his most successful hit. Teigen's runner-up single was called Jeg gi'kke opp, meaning I don't give up, and his first album release the same year was just as self-ironic: This Year's Loser.
