ESC 2021 Hosts - Luis Braga

EUROVISION 2021 – THE HOSTS

This May 2021, Eurovision 2021 will take place in Rotterdam and to introduce us all to the show and

songs, it was decided by the organization to select those who would have been the hosts for the

Eurovision 2020, that unfortunately was canceled. Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet…

Edsilia Rombley:

Probably the one host that needs no introduction to Eurovision fans. Edsilia was in

Dublin for ESC 1997 representing the Netherlands and placing 4 th and tried her luck again in 2007, in

Helsinki. But this last time she placed 21 st among the 28 countries in the semi-final and did not qualify for

the grand final. This Amsterdam born singer is also an actress and presenter/tv host and one of her latest

works is the song “Als Ik Weer Bij Jou Ben”, released this 2021.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4OpvsSVqww).

Chantal Janzen:

Chantal is a famous musical actress with a wide television career as well. Born in

Tegelen in 1979, she played Belle in the Dutch Musical version of “Beauty and the Beast” and Jane in the

Dutch Musical version of “Tarzan”, among other famous musicals. At the moment, Chantal is the host to

“Oh, wat een jaar!” and “Beat the Champions” TV shows. Chantal Janzen won the Televizier-Ster award

for best TV presenter an impressive 5 times!

Jan Smit:

Dutch singer, actor and TV host, Jan is also a football director (FC Volendam)!

He sings mostly in Dutch in a genre named as Volendam music. In 2017 he joined The Toppers, the

Dutch representants in the Eurovision 2009. Other than his showbiz career, he is also an ambassador for

the SOS Children's Villages. He is very successful not only in the Netherlands but also in other European

countries, especially in Germany where recently we won the smago! Award, an important prize in

Germany schlager music, as part of his current musical band Klubbb3.

Nikkie de Jager:

Last, but not least, Nikkie is, at the moment, the biggest Dutch internet celebrity.

Described as a makeup artist and beauty vlogger, she gained popularity in 2015. In 2021, her YouTube

channel has 13.8 million subscribers and over 1.4 billion video views. She was selected last year to be the

online host for the Eurovision 2020 and we could see Nikkie on the “Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light”

Special broadcast on may 16th 2020. This year it is like Nikkie got a promotion, from online host to

regular host.

North Macedonia - Matt MacD

North Macedonia National Selection Review - Matt MacDonald

Vasil's heart was broken as were so many of ours when Eurovision 2020 was canceled. Possibly as a result of that, his 2021 entry, "Here I Stand," is a much more somber song than "You" was. It is also more of a theatrical number and in a style that many have compared to being a Disney-type song.

 Regardless, it is clear that this song means so much to Vasil personally. In fact, he said that "Here I Stand" was "inspired by my personal journey. They say that every human being carries at least one song within themselves. 'Here I Stand' is that song for me." 

 "Here I Stand" also allows him to show off the power of his vocal cords much more so than he was able to do with "You" a year ago. 

 It is, of course, not known how Eurovision jury members and televoters will respond to him, but, in my opinion, this has a solid chance of doing well with the jury members but likely will not grab the attention of televoters enough for that score to be nearly as high. 

 Regardless, "Here I Stand" is, as he mentioned at the start of the official music video, "the one" for him. He sings, "Trust your heart," and that is what he did in choosing this song. 

 Vasil, who lived in the United States from 1997-2004, will perform "Here I Stand" during the first half of the first semi-final on May 18.

Czech Republic - Lee R

Czech Republic - omaga by Benny Cristo review by Lee Rogers

The last we left the cancelled Eurovision Song Contest 2020, Benny Cristo had been selected to represent Czech Republic through a national final process. All the songs were great choices, and despite that, people felt his song was a surprise choice. With the cancellation, countries were left to decide what to do for 2021. Obviously, the Czechs announced quickly on 13 May 2020 to keep Benny Cristo through an internal selection, giving him the opportunity to represent his country on the stage that he missed in 2020.

While the fandom was hopeful for a small national selection process for his song, the Czechs announced on 4 January 2021 that the song would also be selected internally. This was the best decision considering the dire economic and social situation during the pandemic. Benny Cristo aka Ben Cristovao already has success as a rapper in the Czech Republic and his 2020 song Kemama was quite the upbeat toe tapper. Thus, fans were expecting his new song with a bit of excitement. We need more uplifting songs at this point.

The song was then teased in early February, with the final tease being on 14 February as they released a snippet and a short video of Benny filming his video. The release came on 16 February as we were introduced to his song entitled omaga. One would have to hear the song to know the pronunciation, which is coincidentally close to the pronunciation of that interjection where I am from in the southern US. (D? There's supposed to be a D at the end of that?).

Omaga is fast-paced, with a self-confident and driven beat that exudes the "drageur" nature of the lyrics. It is quite commercial, and yet, it still reflects his personal style embodying his roots from his Angolan father. It has personality with the music trying to represent the emotions of the conversation between him and his on again off again girlfriend. The intro starts on a lighter note as if he is trying to sweet talk a little. Then the beat drops as the message changes to a more confident stride trying to explain himself. The twists and turns in the beat represent to me the twists and turns he tries to make to win back his girlfriend. It is cleverly written to me. However, in the end I would still walk away from him if I were the girlfriend. Omaga those lyrics. *cough* *cough*I think he is trying to sound like a pick up artist that's got no game. Hmmm.

While people take note of dance tracks such as Loco Loco, El Diablo, Sugar, Tick Tock and the like, his dance track has its own originality that hopefully will not be forgotten in May. He is already a seasoned professional with great stage prescence. He *wants* to be there and wants to represent Czech Republic on stage. Hopefully, he will continue the streak of Grand Final qualifications.

Italy - San Remo night 3 - Ilya M

Sanremo’s third soiree was all about covers and duets. On this night, the contestants covered a song from the rich repertoire of Italian classics. They could invite a guest singer to perform with them. Their performances were being judged by the Sanremo orchestra, and the scores for the night were factored into the general chart.

Unlike Eurovision, where the show runs on a tightly choreographed schedule, Sanremo runs on a seemingly infinite schedule. There is no sense of rush, and apparently no time constraints either. As always, each of the five nights went on for over five hours, well past 1 AM. The lineup of competing acts was diluted by various guest appearances, comedy skits, and commercial breaks. Tonight’s guests included Vittoria Ceretti, a successful Italian fashion model, and the Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time.

By this third night, the two hosts, Amadeus and Fiorello, seemed more at ease on stage – they must have gotten past the initial shock of speaking into an empty theatre with no live audience. Let’s remember that during the planning stages of the contest, Amadeus even threatened to quit if the show went ahead without a live audience – he stayed on, but that goes to show how important having an audience was to the organizers.

Some colorful, funny-looking balloons with smiley faces on them were attached to all the seats in the theater, in place of a real audience – apparently the idea came from the mayor of Sanremo, who felt bad for the hosts. Fiorello made a joke of the situation by suggesting that there is a phallus-shaped balloon hidden among the rest. He spent a great part of night roaming around rows of seats looking for this special balloon, to no avail.

One of the most visually striking performances of the night was by the musical guest Achille Lauro, known his extravagant fashion style, together with Emma Marrone. Covered in golden spray paint from head to toe, Achille embodied an ancient Greek statue, performing his song Penelope in an ode to Greek mythology. White ionic columns and golden palm trees decorated the stage complemented this over-the-top visual masterpiece. If you are curious, you can watch Achille’s performance here: https://bit.ly/2OfanDt

Later in the night, Fiorello made a joking remark that Amadeus had forgotten about him, because he hasn’t been called on stage for several hours. Then, in a bizarre twist, Fiorello handed Amadeus an electric razon, asking him for help shaving his mustache, as he got fed up looking like Massimo D’Alema, Italy’s former prime minister who also wears a mustache. Amadeus kindly obliged and shaved Fiorello’s mustache.

At the end of the show (and closer to 2am local time), the scoring chart for the covers night was revealed: Ermal Meta came in 1st place, followed by Orietta Berti, and Extraliscio feat Davide Toffolo.

Take a look at some of my favorite performances of the night:

Maneskin with Manuel Agnelli - Amandoti

https://bit.ly/3rGo0tB

Gaia with Lous and the Yakuza – Mi sono innamorato di te

https://bit.ly/30wJ360

Extraliscio feat Davide Toffolo – Medley Rosamunda

https://bit.ly/2ONVVlq

Iceland - Tony P

In 2020, Daði Freyr and his band “The Data” had one of the favourite songs, “Think About Things”, and a good publicity kick along from the Netflix movie “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga”.  Iceland’s chances in the contest that year were hotter than that volcano of theres that no one can pronounce.  Unfortunately COVID put an end to Daði and Iceland’s dream.

So Söngvakeppnin was placed on hold for 2021 with RÚV internally selecting Daði og Gagnamagnið to represent Iceland at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam. 

Daði og Gagnamagnið formally released their song “10 Years” on Saturday 13 March 2021, cheekily immediately after the final of Sweden’s Melodifestivalen.  There was a live performance on RÚV’s tv show Straumar which was very much on brand with dad dancing and pixel art jumpers.

It’s difficult to strike gold twice and “10 Years” doesn’t quite reach the heights. It’s disco inspired again but not quite a memorable.  It reflects on the 10 years of him being together with wife and fellow band member Árný Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir.  The song features a choir of fans who Daði Freyr had asked to send in recordings of themselves singing several different vocal parts that he had written.

Daði og Gagnamagnið certainly do have a good thing going and 10 years should do well in Rotterdam.

https://youtu.be/ORDK1XQToAY

Cyprus National Selection Review - Alan Wilson

Cyprus ran as fast as they could from Sandro and internally selected Elena Tsagrinou to represent them at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021.

The Cypriot broadcaster (CyBC/RIK) announced Elena and the title of her song “El Diablo” on 25 November 2020 and we had to wait until 24 February 2021 for the debut of the song and music video.

 Elena is 26 and was born in Athens, Greece.  She is well known in the Greek music scene from her early days as lead singer for the band OtherView through to a very successful solo career.  Look out for songs like “Paradeisos”, “Amore” and “San Lava”.

 Elena has also had some success in television being involved with several reality music TV shows.  Her latest venture is a show called “K-POP Stars”, which is shown on MAD TV, a leading music channel in both Cyprus and Greece. 

 Onto “El Diablo”, a song produced by her record label Panik Records (think Eleni Foureira) and written by Jimmy “Joker” Thornfeldt, Laurell Barker, Oxa, and Thomas Stengaard.

 So we have a banger which is heavily influenced by Lady Gaga and Rita Ora. Very current, very catchy. The lyrics refer to the conflicts of good and evil and falling in love with someone that is as bad as the devil.

 The music video released on Panik Records website is a visual feast with high production values albeit with the odd shampoo commercial thrown in.  True to form for Cyprus.

 Cyprus has confirmed that Elena’s Eurovision staging will be overseen by Marvin Dietmann who was the stage director for Conchita’s winning performance in 2014.

 “El Diablo” has been well received amongst the fans and features high in the betting odds and community scoreboard. Although some “good Christians” back in Cyprus have expressed some grumblings about the theme and content of the song with various protests and petitions.  Which is GREAT for publicity!

Denmark National Selection Review - Chris Zeiher

The return of a live orchestra!  100% public vote to decide the winner!  Controversy around last year’s winners not making the cut!  Seriously, the Danes had a bit going on this year in the lead up to their Eurovision selection vehicle Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.   Hype around the 8 competing acts seemed to get a bit lost in the weeks preceding the show as a debate about last year’s winners, Ben & Tan, absence from this year’s line-up sucked up the pre-contest oxygen.

Staged at DR Byen, the headquarters for Danish public broadcaster DR in super-chic Copenhagen, Dansk Melodi Grand Prix was a slick affair that far exceeded expectations.  The 15-piece live orchestra added some serious depth to each performance and transformed relatively middle-of-the-road offerings into something quite special.  And the staging was superb.  Each act looked like they we’re performing inside a glam pinball machine or jukebox which perfectly suited the telecast.

After the 8 acts performed their offerings the Danish public was asked to vote for their favourite songs with the top 3 from the televote to return for a super-final.  Early faves Cosmic Twins and Emma Nicoline failed to make the cut and were sent packing leaving a testosterone heavy super-final.

The Danish public opted for Chief1 & Thomas Butteschøn’s jaunty “Høst over skyerne”, Jean Michael’s accessible if not a little generic “Beautiful” and Fyr & Flamme’s 80’s disco-tinged pop ditty “Øve os på hinanden” as their favourites to compete again in the super-final.

Once the superfinal votes were tallied it was a close run thing with the camptastic duo of Fyr & Flamme taking the victory and securing the ticket to represent Denmark in Rotterdam later this year.   At the time of writing it was undecided whether the duo will sing their 80’s anthem in their native tongue or not.        

Final Standings after the Super-final….

1st – Fyr & Flamme -“Øve os på hinanden” (37% of the votes)

2nd – Jean Michael ‘“Beautiful” (34% of the votes)

3rd – Chief1 & Thomas Butterschøn – “Høst over skyerne” (29% of the votes)

Estonia National Selection Review (Semi-Final 1) - Wayne Ralph

Eesti Laul 2021 kicked off with Semi-final 1 on 18th February. It involved 12 songs battling it out for the first 6 positions in the Final. There are two rounds of voting with both jury and public being combined to pick the first four artists and then a further vote by the public to select an additional 2. 

The hosts of the show were the returning Tõnis Niinemets and newbie Grete Kuld. Unfortunately, there was no audience due to the COVID pandemic…though rumour has it they may return for the Final.

The first 12 contenders were:

Song 1 - Tanja “Best Night Ever” https://youtu.be/OJzvjOqVcrU

You may remember Tanja, she represented Estonia at Eurovision in 2014 and had another go at Eesti Laul in 2019 as part The Swingers. Geez, Tanja really delivered on stage with a very energetic performance and her vocal was almost as tight as her spiral perm. Great start to the show.

Song 2 - Hans Nayna “One By One” https://youtu.be/jIjkCCbQ9dE

Hans is from Mauritius and is not an unattractive man. Probably one of the best commercial songs of the night which almost allows you to excuse his bare feet.  Enunciation would help lift this. 

Song 3 - WIIRALT “Tuuled” https://youtu.be/X6TDGzobuNE

Wiiralt is giving us some Estonian country and has the obligatory fake cacti on the stage. Watch for the disturbing belly reveal at the 2:20 mark. It’s competent, think Waylon but just a tad more authentic.

Song 4 - Kéa “Hypnotized” https://youtu.be/6z-uuo8SAgE

Kea had “Lonely Boy” in 2016 and finished 9th out of 10 in the Final. She had vocal issues then which have followed her into this 2021 entry. But she is looking very glam on her pink chaise lounge and really sells this easy listening nordic pop number.

Song 5 - Andrei Zevakin & Pluuto “Wingman” https://youtu.be/2n8MgM51MtA

The guys have staging based on their official video. It’s relaxed hip hop if that’s even a thing? Fireworks at 1:45 and all done by 2:30...at least they are efficient.

Song 6 - Karl Killing “Kiss Me” https://youtu.be/dO3A8UCmw9I

Karl kill’s quite a few notes along the way.  We’ve seen and heard this solo boy with guitar thing many a time. Not much range.

Song 7 - Nika Marula “Calm Down” https://youtu.be/8pZb8wY8l5k

Nika has the song and performance of the night but unfortunately she’s missing one small thing...we”ll get to that later. It’s another short one at only 2:26 long but she soars high with a solid effort.

Song 8 - Egert Milder “Free Again” https://youtu.be/VU7aZirtBaQ

Egert finished 4th with his song “Georgia (On My Mind)” last year and “Free Again” draws from the same well. It’s all very Mumford and Sons with some interesting guitar thumping and dodgy vocals.  

Song 9 - Tuuli Rand “Üks öö” https://youtu.be/Vna2kvydP5E

Tuuli is living her life...unfortunately we have to watch (and hear) her do it. Barbara Dex is snatched.
Song 10 - Koit Toome “We Could Have Been Beautiful” https://youtu.be/ZLL1-cOb_Fc

Koit’s a familiar face at Eurovision, representing Estonia in 1998 and 2017 (poor Verona). His vocal is mostly on point with a beautiful “flowy” song. Staging is A LOT and I think should be simplified going forward. 

Song 11 - Kristin Kalnapenk “Find a Way” https://youtu.be/qP6Gzv1Q2uM

Kristin is well suited to this jazz club/whiskey bar number. It suits her voice. Simple staging to start until she decides to turn into an acrobat half way through. Strong!

Song 12 - Ivo Linna, Robert Linna, Supernova “Ma olen siin” https://youtu.be/qK4ck3DpZ-0

Well Ivo is still alive then. 5th at Eurovision in 1996 with Maarja-Liis Ilus and 5th at Eesti Laul in 2017. This time he’s brought his son along, perhaps handing over the baton once and for all. This song is all cool and moody…almost embarrassed to say that I like it.

So, getting through to the Final were:
First 4

Karl Killing “Kiss Me”

Egert Milder “Free Again”

Koit Toome “We Could Have Been Beautiful”

Ivo Linna, Robert Linna, Supernova “Ma olen siin”

Next 2

Hans Nayna “One By One”

Andrei Zevakin & Pluuto “Wingman”

Somehow Estonia managed to out-do the sausage fest from last year and ended up with an all male selection for the Final. Not a good look. Poor Nika.

Now it’s over to David for Semi-final 2. 

Estonia National Selection Review (Semi-Final 2) - David Dewhurst

This is my first time reviewing Eesti Laul. 156 entries for this year’s contest, 24 selected for the two semi-finals. Songs are selected for the Final based on the First round (jury and televote) qualfiers and Second round (televote-only) qualifiers. Last year’s winner, Uku Suviste, had an automatic entry to the Semi Final. The Final is on 6 March.

I was struck by the high calibre of the songwriting, in particular. Even though this is only a Semi Final, Estonians are spoilt for choice, given the variety and quality of the performances. That said a number of songs, whilst good, are somewhat ‘cookie cutter’. 

I’ll let you judge for yourself from the clips provided. Under each song, I’ve put what came to mind when I heard it for the first time.

Sissi - “Time” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkju-RG7Djk&ab_channel=EestiLaul

Wow, such a wonderful gospel voice.

Second round (televote-only) qualifier

Gram-Of-Fun - “Lost In A Dance”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNMQErvJkP8&ab_channel=Gram-Of-FunOfficial

Quality! Great beat; good to work out to in a spin class

Kadri Voorand - “Energy”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9ZJwbKT6z8&ab_channel=EestiLaul

Loved the piano; reminded me of Oleta Adams

First round (jury and televote) qualifier

Helen - “Nii kõrgele”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GeQZTi7XQU&ab_channel=EestiLaul

This song was full of visual distractions; I couldn’t see the connection between Helen and her backing dancers. Despite the wings this song never flew high, for me.

Redel - “Tartu”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpAwF8afRhI&ab_channel=EestiLaul

Visual, notable for a backing dancer flying in

Second round (televote-only) qualifier

Rahel - “Sunday Night”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH4fhlLWlpo&ab_channel=EestiLaul

Good beat but the song over powered Rahel’s voice

Uku Haasma - “Kaos”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIx8d8QKY4w&ab_channel=EestiLaul

Chilled, melancholy voice with a beautiful guitar sound

Heleza - “6” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKBLqfwBdPs&ab_channel=EestiLaul

Heleza has an heaven sent voice. Staging and her outfit did not do her justice. Her official video is enchanting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4vCudY7lgU&ab_channel=HELEZA

Uku Suviste - “The Lucky One”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exs8GsIrkJQ&ab_channel=EestiLaul

A worthy follow up to his entry last year, though reminiscent of Mans Zemelow

First round (jury and televote) qualifier

Alabama Watchdog - “Alabama Watchdog”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmbnIcPh84c&ab_channel=EestiLaul

Tonight’s soft rock entry

Jüri Pootsmann - “Magus melanhoolia” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX87S27cjAA&ab_channel=EestiLaul

This song makes the most of Juri’s voice; a real contender

First round (jury and televote) qualifier

Suured Tüdrukud - “Heaven’s Not That Far Tonight” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQtWAE43D_g&ab_channel=EestiLaul

This duet has a throwback 80’s feel, a heady mix of Donna Summer and Bobby Socks from 1985!

First round (jury and televote) qualifier

Estonia National Selection Review (Grand Final) - Wayne Ralph

12 songs made it to the final of Eesti Laul 2021. A familiar format with two rounds of voting, firstly both jury and public being combined to pick the top three artists and then a further vote by the public to select the winner.

The 12 contenders were:

Song 1 - Egert Milder “Free Again” (Jury 1, Public 1, Total = 2) https://youtu.be/-CHA01_BHo4

Poor Egert is still thumping his guitar but his vocal has improved for the final.

Song 2 - Suured Tüdrukud “Heaven’s Not That Far Tonight” (Jury 2, Public 6, Total = 8) https://youtu.be/D6jot5dVzDY

Love this.  We all need mums/aunts like these two. Should have opened the show.

Song 3 - Hans Nayna “One By One” (Jury 6, Public 0, Total = 6) https://youtu.be/xOGwRDPndP0

Swapped the white shirt for a black one. More solid than the semi but still hasn’t found his shoes.

Song 4 - Ivo Linna, Robert Linna, Supernova “Ma olen siin” (I am here) (Jury 0, Public 2, Total = 2) https://youtu.be/0F9YuF0fReQ

Supercool and relaxed again. Ivo is doing well for 71.

Song 5 - Karl Killing “Kiss Me” (Jury 8, Public 0, Total = 8) https://youtu.be/_LTqG4mISmw

More competent from floppy haired Karl, but vocal still struggles when it needs to get out of first gear.

Song 6 - Uku Suviste “The Lucky One” (Jury 3, Public 12, Total = 15) https://youtu.be/aBv8W_IgaZ8

Uku delivers one of his better vocals over these last two years at Eesti Laul.  Though it’s not a high bar.

Song 7 - Sissi “Time” (Jury 12, Public 3, Total = 15) https://youtu.be/B6AsEYqJwlk

Sissi crushes it.  This lady has the chops to go far. 

Song 8 - Jüri Pootsmann “Magus Melanhoolia” (Sweet melancholy) (Jury 7, Public 8, Total = 15) https://youtu.be/O9t3XfGkgFE

Tighter camera angles and more focus from Jüri.  I suspect his leather pants would have some fans ;)

Song 9 - Redel “Tartu” (Jury 0, Public 7, Total = 7) https://youtu.be/y8mmF8BwTlA

A treat for the ears and the eyes. Iconic Eesti Laul!

Song 10 - Koit Toome “We Could Have Been Beautiful” (Jury 4, Public 10, Total = 14) https://youtu.be/ie4mg2G6xsM

Much better outfit for Koit but his vocal doesn’t quite have the oomph.

Song 11 - Andrei Zevakin & Pluuto “Wingman” (Jury 10, Public 4, Total = 14) https://youtu.be/3KXkrZomh6U

If you thought it looked familiar, it was!  The boys had to replay their semi-final performance as they were in COVID quarantine.

Song 12 - Kadri Voorand “Energy” (Jury 5, Public 5, Total = 10) https://youtu.be/35PnjSu15Mc
Well put together package from Kadri. Strong!

So, getting through to the Top 3 (all with 15 points) were:

• Uku Suviste “The Lucky One” (46.1%)

• Sissi “Time” (29.4%)

• Jüri Pootsmann “Magus Melanhoolia” (24.5%)

And winning through with 46.1% of the public vote was Uku Suviste. As it turns out he is the lucky one and gets to represent Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021!  

Finland National Selection Review - Aaron Paraiso

On the 13th of January, the nine competitors of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) were revealed to the public. Over the coming days, all of the songs were revealed one by one.

On the 20th of February, the UMK final took place in the city of Tampere with no live audience. This time the show was hosted NOT by Krista Siegfrids, but Antti Tuisku - a popular singer in Finland who placed 3rd in the first edition of Finnish Idols back in 2003. He was a surprising choice as a host, being known mainly as a singer, but he did well. He also managed to dazzle viewers with his range of outfits worn throughout the show. The show opened with Erika Vikman, UMK's runner up from last year and Antti performing a duet together.

Pandora and The Teflon Brothers opened the show with the song "I Love You", featuting a large spaceship on stage with them.

Aksel Kankaanranta, last year's winner, then performed his song "Hurt" with a moody stage setting of large rocks and mist.

The Estonian Laura Põldvere then took to the stage with her song "Play" featuring giant chess pieces as props.

Old time singer Danny then performed "Sinä päivänä kun kaikki rakastaa mua" with a dark misty setting featuring a piano decked with candles, symbolising his funeral.

The artist Oskr then sang "Lie", giving a dramatic performance featuring water drops on a plexiglass of some sort. Surely, him looking out from his room to the rain outside.

Blind Channel then gave their performance with the song 'Dark Side'. The act was moody with dark colours and dim lighting, and they gave an extremely energetic performance.

Last up was Ilta with her song 'Kelle mä soitan". She played a white piano of a very interesting design, while sitting atop a sort of platform.

With the last competitor having performed, Antti Tuisku performed another song. Haloo Helsinki!, a local band, then performed as an interval act.

Germany National Selection Review - Kate Krause-Boger

Germany does not send Ben Dolic again. Instead they are sending Jendrik Sigwart. But who is he? When you first come accross Jendrik you are reminded of 2 hyperactive Irish twins who took part in ESC twice. Their energy level seems to be the same. However, in contrast to Jedward, Jendrik can actually sing. He has a muscial education and has been on stage in various musicals. He also created his own songs, releasing them on youtube. So how did Germany get to pick this Hambuger? Apparently Jendrik is really keen on Eurovision and missed out on his chance in 2020, starting to campaign on TikToc to get selected for 2021 even though there was no call to action from the broadcaster. However, his quirky persona, with ukulele and tap dancing got noticed and one thing let to another and now we have the young blond representing Germany.

Leading up to the release of the song, Jendrik released multiple videos about the production of the video - appareantly all selfmade, low-budget. Those videos in themselves are quite entertaining if you have time and you can endure German at the speed of light, check them out.

Now about the song " I don't feel hate" it is an upbeat number with - as you might have guessed ukulele and tap dancing. The song writen by Jendrik tackels the issue of haters in the world and the message seems to be, if you are hated on, rather than hating, feel sorry for the hater; be your own person.

The music is like the video all over the place with so many imputs that your mind struggles to catch up with everything. Will this fair well in ESC2021? It is a rather catchy song - but unless DE gets to perform as one of the last 5- it might get forgotten. Sidenote: Would you not love to have this song played right after Finland? (they go: "Put your middle fingers up. Take a shot, throw it up and don't stop. I'm living that life on the dark side" and then Jendrik follows with "you can wiggle with that middle finger, it'll never wiggle back to you cause I don't feel hate")

Georgia National Selection Review - Steve Stigwood

Within 24 hours of Eurovision 2020 being cancelled, the Georgian broadcaster GPB announced that their 2020 representative -Tornike Kipiani - would remain as Georgia’s entrant and compete in Rotterdam in 2021.

Tornike was born in Georgia in 1987, is a father of 3 children and a practicing Architect. He has a solid singing history having been XFactor winner in 2014, Georgian Idol winner in 2019 ( where he was mentored by ESC singer Tamta, Cyprus 2019), and a previous shot at ESC preselection in 2017. He formed his own band when he was 19 and says he has “accidentally” become a vocalist after he couldn’t get a lead vocalist for his band many years ago.

His song for 2021 is “You”. It is a pop rock ballad that he composed and it is completely different from his powerful raspy 2020 rock shoutfest “Take Me As I Am”. Although he has surrendered much of his unique singing style for the introduction in this lilting ballad, I found it a welcome change to the other entries in the Eurovision line-up this year.

This love song opens with soft guitar and Tornike’s gentle vocals, but with each layer gradually added to the musical score- percussion, strings, girls choir and finally rock band - it builds to a climax showcasing his uniquely powerful and controlled performance. He is a versatile artist.

His artistic director for staging in Rotterdam is Emilia Sandquist ( having completed numerous Melodifestivalen assignments) and I hope she does not add too much to distract from Tornike’s performance. Sometimes simple is best and his “stand and deliver” approach makes an easy listening but powerful statement. I like it a lot, and much more than his previous song in 2020.

Georgia’s best placings have been 9th in 2010 and 2011, however I am predicting Tornike will make the finals and hopefully place higher on the scoreboard. Good luck Georgia.

Greece National Selection Review - Alper Yurtseven

This year, Stefania will represent Greece with her song “Last Dance”.

Stefania Liberakakis, known simply as Stefania, is a Greek-Dutch singer, and a former member of the girl group Kisses that represented the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2016.

In 2020, Greek broadcaster ERT internally selected Stephanie to represent Greece in Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song “Supergirl”.

Stefania is returning to Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with her new song “Last Dance”.

Here are some highlights from Stefania’s resume:

• In 2013, Stefania was a contestant in the third season of the Voice Kids in the Netherlands.

• In 2016, she represented the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Valletta as part of the girl group Kisses. The group performed the song “Kisses and Dancin" and came 8th out of 17 countries.

• In 2018, she released her first solo single “ Stupid Reasons.

• 2019 was quite productive for Stefania as she released three more singles: Wonder, I’m Sorry (Whoops!) and Turn Around.

Here is some brief info about her 2021 entry:

“Last Dance” was released on March 10, 2021. It was written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, songwriting team Arcade and Sharon Vaughn. Stefania will be accompanied on stage by four male dancers while Fokas Evangelinos will be the choreographer and the artistic director of the entry.

The music video was filmed in Athens in February 2021. Konstantinos Karydas, who directed the official music video of “Supergirl” last year is again the director of this year's video. The video clip has sci-fi/fantasy and Greek mythology elements, and elegantly showcases the song's message that everything in life is transient and each end brings a new beginning.

My personal review:

Last year, Stefania was making a clear transition from the Junior Eurovision Song Contest to Eurovision Song Contest with her teenager persona in “ Supergirl”. She has made a successful transition to young adulthood this year. Although surprisingly “Last Dance” does not have any local Greek sounds, the flow is smooth and upbeat. Overall it is a pleasant and catchy tune. Best of luck to Greece in Rotterdam!

Ireland National Selection Review - Niall Drennan

After the cancellation of the contest last year, Irish Broadcaster, RTE, did not immediately commit to sending its 2020 representative, Lesley Roy, to represent Ireland in 2021. Instead, they invited her represent the country in 2021 provided that she had the right song.  After thinking about it, Lesley said that it would be “hypocritical” of her not to have another try given the lyrics of her 2020 entry, Story of My Life, were about picking yourself up after difficult experiences.

In the latter half of 2020, Lesley devoted herself to song writing and worked with various other songwriters and music producers across Europe including previous Eurovision alumni such as Jowst (Norway 2017) and Lasse Piirainen from Norma John (Finland 2017).  Lesley also attended a song-writing session in Stockholm to work with other producers in songwriters and tweeted that she was “digging down deep to find that song”.

In September, Lesley had the song.  She submitted it to RTE who loved it on first listen.  Lesley had to sit tight until December before RTE officially confirmed her as Ireland’s 2021 artist.  Fast forward to late February 2021 when it was announced that Lesley’s song is called Maps and it premiered on RTE Radio on 25 February.  Maps is an uptempo song with an uplifting feel to it.  The song was written and produced by Lesley along with Lukas Hallgren, who also produced Switzerland’s 2019 entry, She Got Me.

In the first week of its release, Maps, went straight in at number 3 on the Irish music charts, something unheard of for an Irish Eurovision song.  Maps appears to have gone down really well with lots of positive feedback from fans.  Hopefully come May, Lesley’s Maps helps her to find a way to the Grand Final in Rotterdam.

Video for Maps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6ZUBzqPxds

Israel National Selection Review - David McKean

Israel has spoken! 

Eden Alene has been selected for Eurovision 2020 in a hard-earned battle of teen talent. But will they match a suitable song to her voice ahead of the big show in May?

The Selection Process

Last year Israeli Broadcaster KAN confirmed the plan to again select the Israeli artist through a selection show for Eurovision 2020. "The Next Star for Eurovision" ("HaKochav Haba") started filming in September 2019 and commenced airing twice a week in November. Hosted by Assi Azar (one of the excellent ESC 2019 hosts) together with model Rotem Sela, “Next Star” involved a marathon competition over many weeks to filter through the amazing talent Israel has to offer. “Next Star” was to identify the specific artist that will represent Israel in Rotterdam with the song selection for that winning artist to be chosen through a second competition called “Next Song”. 

That final stage to match song to artist shall be decided on 3rd March.

The “Next Star” Grand Final

On 4th February the grand final took place after a marathon of several weeks of auditions and shows. Reflecting the strength of fresh, young talent in Israel, all of the 4 finalists were 19 or younger:

• Ella-Lee Lahav (16 years old)

• Orr Amrami-Brokman (17 years old)

• Eden Alene (19 years old)

• Gaya Shaki (17 years old)

After consistently impressing during the heats, Ella-Lee went into the grand final as clear favourite. The grand final show had 2 rounds consisting of head to head performances.

First Round

In the first round the four finalists were paired in two duels. From each duel the contestant with the higher score advanced to the second round. At the end of the first round, one of the remaining two contestants was saved by the viewers and the other contestant was eliminated. Singing a powerful version of “where have you been” Eden ended up being saved by the wildcard from viewers, whilst Gaya was eliminated after her underwhelming performance of “My immortal”.

Second Round

The remaining three contestants then competed in a third duel in the second round. At the end of the duel, each judge allocated twelve points to their favourite, ten points to their runner-up and eight points to their least favourite. In addition to the votes of the judges, 300 points in proportion to the votes of the audience were also allocated to the three contestants. In the end, the contestant with the highest number of points won the competition.

Orr, singing “Haim lhiot bah mehhoav" claimed third place with 158 points

Ella-Lee singing “Roar” was second with 182 points.

And winning both Jury and Public votes, Eden was a clear winner with 260 points, singing a classy and confident rendition of “Halo”.

Eden clearly has the goods to product a strong performance in Rotterdam, but I will look forward to hearing her present a song unique to her voice rather than the well-known mega-hits she performed during this competition.

So, who is Eden Alene?

Eden Alene gained great success during "The Next Star", because of her amazing vocals and performances. The 19 years old Eden was born in Jerusalem, to Israeli-Ethiopian parents and brings a delightful blend of diversity to the 2020 competition. She studied ballet for ten years before moving from a religious school to a secular one and studying theatre and taking voice lessons. She also sang for two years with the YMCA Jerusalem Youth Choir, a mixed choir of Jewish and Arab teens. Eden, who currently is an IDF soldier, has considerable experience in the business, having won the country’s X-Factor reality show in 2018 when she was 17 years old. She has since released several singles, including a cover of Eurovision’s 1976 winner “Save Your Kisses for Me” by Brotherhood of Man. Her 2019 song “When It Comes to You” was recorded in Los Angeles with US producer Julian Bunetta.

Latvia National Selection Review - Roy van der Merwe

Samanta Poļakova was born on the 31 March 1989. She is better known as Samanta Tīna.  She is a Latvian singer, songwriter and composer.

After having attempted to represent her country in the Eurovision song contest five times earlier (in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2019), she won the national selection SUPERNOVA in 2020 and was to represent LATVIA in the Eurovision song contest in 2020 that was to be held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands with the song "Still breathing". Due to the contest being cancelled, she will represent her country in 2021 instead with a new song "THE MOON IS RISING". She had also competed in the Lithuanian pre-selection twice (in 2013 and 2017). She was also in the Lithuanian version of THE VOICE. 

On first listen, there’s a lot to take in here. The Vocoder style rhythm track makes for a rather unsettling start which soon morphs into something reminiscent of Lea Sirk – Hvala, ne! complete with a ‘stop the music’ section mid way through before we launch into the second act and a much darker, more forceful tone.

The strong woman message of the song is delivered loud and clear but in a much more creative and artistic way than the similarly themed Russian entry by Manzina.

This is a strong entry from Latvia and the complexity of the song and the fact that it requires multiple listens to fully appreciate, might be a positive in helping it overcome the ‘fatigue’ that many songs suffer from after repeat listens.

Add some decent staging and Latvia could well have a very good chance of progressing to the Final in Rotterdam.

Moldova National Selection Review - Michelle Stigwood

Natalia Gordienko announced to her fans in July 2020 that she would indeed be heading to Rotterdam in 2021, but it wasn’t until 26 January 2021, that Teleradio- Modova (TRM) finally confirmed that Natalia had won the right to represent Moldova again at Eurovision in May 2021. It stated that Moldova would not be having its annual National selection by way of the TV broadcasted show “O Melodie Pentru Europa” due to the ongoing effects of Covid.

Natalia is a seasoned professional artist ( Moldovan ESC entrant in 2006, “Europe’s New Wave winner 2007, and selected Moldovan ESC entrant in 2020) but for her performance in 2021 she has certainly discarded and disrobed! She has tossed out the overdramatic ballad from 2020 and replaced it will a provocative pop offering.

Her 2021 song “Sugar Sugar” is a naughty but nice pop song written and produced once again by “The Dream Team” of Philip Kirkorov, Dimitris Kontopoulos and Sharon Vaughan. It is a truly international team entry with connections to Russia, Greece, USA and Moldova.

“Sugar Sugar” is definately a dance floor number with trendy heavy horn interjections in the chorus ( think Maruv 2020) and will demand a sensual high energy performance from Natalia and her backing dancers. It was been described as a cabaret style take on the sexual candy store, however I think it has more substance than that and have found myself humming this “sweet” melody for a few days now. I am also sure many will be practicing the punctuated thrusting dance moves that this choreography unleashes on the Eurovision universe.

I look forward to seeing “Sugar, Sugar” expertly staged ( think DoReDoS 2018) and impeccably performed by Natalia in Rotterdam and achieving its reward in the final in 2021.

Congratulations Moldova.

Netherlands National Selection Review - Sascha Stolp

The cancellation of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest was a blow to all of the artists who were set to represent their countries, however missing out on the opportunity to represent your country on home soil seemed even more cruel.

Thankfully Jeangu Macrooy has been given a second chance at representing the Netherlands as national broadcaster AVROTROS, have once again entrusted Jeangu with the responsibility of representing the Netherlands in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam. Jeangu was chosen internally and will be performing his new entry, Birth of a New Age.

Jeangu’s music style can be described as modern soul with elements of gospel. This was clearly felt in his 2020 entry Grow, and now again in his 2021 entry, Birth of a New Age. Both of the entries were written and produced by Jeangu himself and his longtime collaborator Perquisite.

Birth of a New Age is a story of resilience and the beginning of a new era. According to Jeangu, “The song is an ode to everyone who stands up for themselves and dares to celebrate the power of their authenticity”. Birth of a New Age is strong and anthemic. The beautiful vocals builds throughout the song to a powerful gospel backing choir which is sure to stand out of the Eurovision stage.

Birth of a New Age will also bring a new language to the Eurovision Song Contest. For the first time, lines of Sranan Tongo will be sung on the Eurovision stage. The lyrics are inspired by an old Surinamese saying, “Mi Na Afu Sensi, No Wan Man E Broko Mi” which translates to “I’m half a cent, you can’t break me”. (The half-cent is the smallest coin in Suriname, and therefore cannot be broken into smaller denominations).

Jeangu was born in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. Until 1975, Suriname was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and still holds many close ties to the Netherlands.

Jeangu’s musical passion started with a gift of a guitar for his 13th birthday. Jeangu formed a musical duo called Between Towers with his twin brother Xillan and in 2013 they released an album entitled Stars on My Radio.

Jeangu moved to the Netherlands in 2014 to study songwriting at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Enschede. It was here that he met music producer Perquisite and signed to his record label Unexpected Records. Jeangu has released 2 solo albums, High on You in 2017 and Horizon in 2019. He has been nominated for 2 Edison Awards (the Dutch version of the Grammys). In 2017 he was nominated for the Best Newcomer and in 2018 for Best Album (High on You).

National Selections 2021

Czech Republic - omaga by Benny Cristo review by Lee Rogers

The last we left the cancelled Eurovision Song Contest 2020, Benny Cristo had been selected to represent Czech Republic through a national final process. All the songs were great choices, and despite that, people felt his song was a surprise choice. With the cancellation, countries were left to decide what to do for 2021. Obviously, the Czechs announced quickly on 13 May 2020 to keep Benny Cristo through an internal selection, giving him the opportunity to represent his country on the stage that he missed in 2020.

While the fandom was hopeful for a small national selection process for his song, the Czechs announced on 4 January 2021 that the song would also be selected internally. This was the best decision considering the dire economic and social situation during the pandemic. Benny Cristo aka Ben Cristovao already has success as a rapper in the Czech Republic and his 2020 song Kemama was quite the upbeat toe tapper. Thus, fans were expecting his new song with a bit of excitement. We need more uplifting songs at this point.

The song was then teased in early February, with the final tease being on 14 February as they released a snippet and a short video of Benny filming his video. The release came on 16 February as we were introduced to his song entitled omaga. One would have to hear the song to know the pronunciation, which is coincidentally close to the pronunciation of that interjection where I am from in the southern US. (D? There's supposed to be a D at the end of that?).

Omaga is fast-paced, with a self-confident and driven beat that exudes the "drageur" nature of the lyrics. It is quite commercial, and yet, it still reflects his personal style embodying his roots from his Angolan father. It has personality with the music trying to represent the emotions of the conversation between him and his on again off again girlfriend. The intro starts on a lighter note as if he is trying to sweet talk a little. Then the beat drops as the message changes to a more confident stride trying to explain himself. The twists and turns in the beat represent to me the twists and turns he tries to make to win back his girlfriend. It is cleverly written to me. However, in the end I would still walk away from him if I were the girlfriend. Omaga those lyrics. *cough* *cough*I think he is trying to sound like a pick up artist that's got no game. Hmmm.

While people take note of dance tracks such as Loco Loco, El Diablo, Sugar, Tick Tock and the like, his dance track has its own originality that hopefully will not be forgotten in May. He is already a seasoned professional with great stage prescence. He *wants* to be there and wants to represent Czech Republic on stage. Hopefully, he will continue the streak of Grand Final qualifications.

Macedonia National Selection Review - Matt MacDonald

Vasil's heart was broken as were so many of ours when Eurovision 2020 was canceled. Possibly as a result of that, his 2021 entry, "Here I Stand," is a much more somber song than "You" was. It is also more of a theatrical number and in a style that many have compared to being a Disney-type song.

 Regardless, it is clear that this song means so much to Vasil personally. In fact, he said that "Here I Stand" was "inspired by my personal journey. They say that every human being carries at least one song within themselves. 'Here I Stand' is that song for me." 

 "Here I Stand" also allows him to show off the power of his vocal cords much more so than he was able to do with "You" a year ago. 

 It is, of course, not known how Eurovision jury members and televoters will respond to him, but, in my opinion, this has a solid chance of doing well with the jury members but likely will not grab the attention of televoters enough for that score to be nearly as high. 

 Regardless, "Here I Stand" is, as he mentioned at the start of the official music video, "the one" for him. He sings, "Trust your heart," and that is what he did in choosing this song. 

 Vasil, who lived in the United States from 1997-2004, will perform "Here I Stand" during the first half of the first semi-final on May 18.