Eurovision Song Contest 2021

ACitizenErased · 28-02-2021 03:43PM

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Who do we reckon will win Melodifestivalen? I've only listened to Tusse, The Mamas, Dotter and Eric Saade because I'm assuming it's between those four. Tusse is actually the favourite but I don't think I can see it winning. Dotter has a nice song but will inevitably be compared to the superior Bulletproof. Same thing with The Mamas really, In The Middle is missing the bouncy, fun factor of Move, but I expect they'll get a few sympathy votes after missing out last year. I reckon Eric Saade should be the one to go for. Staging is good and the song is catchy enough. Whoever they choose I don't think they have a winner on their hands, but I think Every Minute would have a shot at top 5 in the final.

Hope it's Dotter, love Little Tot.

LordBasil · 01-03-2021 12:43AM

SF1 looks to be potentially the strongest ever since the 2 Semi Finals were introduced in 2008 and unfortunately Ireland is drawn in the first half. Going on what we know so far, likely qualifiers will be;

Lithuania
Sweden
Cyprus
Russia (especially if Little Big)
Malta (unless they pick a terrible song but I just can't see Destiny not being in the final)

Which means there would be 5 slots left. I would rule out Slovenia and Israel so it will be a battle royale between the rest for qualification, of the songs we know;

Ukraine have great track record but Go_A might alienate juries.

Ireland has stronger entry this year and seems to have been well received and Lesley will be using the guy who did ESC winning staging for 'Heroes'. If she can deliver a strong vocal and captivating performance she has a chance. Running order will be crucial.

Croatia has a good song too and seems to be popular but she could get overshadowed by Cyprus, Azerbaijan and Malta.

Norway will be the only male vocalist in the 2nd half but will the staging be a turn off and the song may be a bit too 90s boyband.

Of the songs we haven't heard yet;

Azerbaijan will likely throw the kitchen sink at their staging. Efendi is a capable performer so I'd say they are a likely qualifier.

North Macedonia will likely have limited appeal.

Belgium, if Hooverphonic send something better than last year's sleeping pill they could be in contention.

Australia are jury darlings but again will depend on the song.

Belarus, no idea but their record is patchy. Rumours that it will be their 2019 entrant Zena who qualified for that year's final.

Romania, Roxen isn't the most charismatic performer so again song will be vital.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict the remaining qualifiers as Azerbaijan, Australia, Norway, Ukraine with one of either Romania, Croatia or Ireland taking the final spot.

A really tough and unpredictable SF, if Lesley qualifies it will be an even bigger achievement than either Brian Kennedy (2006) or Ryan O'Shaughnessy (2018) qualifying from their tough semi finals. She would also be only the second woman to qualify for Ireland since the semifinals were introduced, the first was Niamh Kavanagh in 2010. Lesley has been a great ambassador for Ireland over the past year and has put in a great amount of work so I hope she pulls it out of the bag.

04-03-2021 10:40AM

Two more of Ireland's semi opponents released, and Lesley's task hasn't gotten any easier.

Belgium:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EQyG1Yjlgw

I really like trip-hop so this definitely appeals to me. I love the intro, wasn't sure about the chorus at first but it grew on me. Ends somewhat abruptly, will need to pull that off on stage. But overall an improvement on last year.

Romania:

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

I hated last year's (mostly due to the lyrics) and I think this is an improvement. Bit heavy on the autotune though.

A snippet of Australia's entry was played on radio, with full song released soon Link to reddit.

Obviously have to wait for full track to judge properly but my first impression on this one is that it just seems a bit shouty and hyperactive. Maybe it'll work on stage with the visuals.

ACitizenErased · 04-03-2021 10:59AM

That Belgian entry is incredibly flat, same as last year with Hooverphonic, there's no change in tempo. Very stale.
Romania's is decent but as you said, full of autotune.

04-03-2021 09:35PM

Two more released:

Moldova

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zvnsvxA3to

Glitzy, trashy, camp Europop....which means it will probably do very well. :pac: Not really my cup of sugar tea but the instrumental hook is undeniably catchy, and there's definitely an audience out there for it. If the live performance is any good then I can see it doing quite well with the televote. Definitely more likely to get out of a semi than last year's entry.

The Netherlands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osE3fnQ5LkA

I'm not sure what to make of this one. I liked Grow but it felt like an odd choice for Eurovision as it was so introspective and understated. This one is definitely more "Eurovisiony" but I don't like it as much; it feels like it's missing something. Maybe it'll come to life more on the night of the Final but otherwise I think mid-table is the best they can hope for.

yerwanthere123 · 04-03-2021 09:55PM

Haven't listened to any of today or yesterday's reveals yet, I'm falling behind! Doesn't sound like I'm missing much anyway. Lithuania is really the only one so far that I can say is a top 5/10 contender.

Rjd2 · 04-03-2021 11:38PM

The Cyprus song is cool, but I hope that Lady Gaga's lawyers are not watching.:o

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I

LordBasil · 05-03-2021 10:13AM

Armenia have withdrawn from ESC 2021

https://eurovision.tv/story/armenia-withdraws-from-eurovision-2021

05-03-2021 10:21AM

Australia

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

Ok, I actually like this more than I thought I would based on the snippet. The quality of the staging and the live vocal will make or break this one; it will either come off as really fresh and vibrant, or a hyperactive mess that just assaults the senses.

gmisk · 05-03-2021 03:09PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Australia

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

Ok, I actually like this more than I thought I would based on the snippet. The quality of the staging and the live vocal will make or break this one; it will either come off as really fresh and vibrant, or a hyperactive mess that just assaults the senses.

Oh that is really good!

05-03-2021 11:28PM

Serbia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSTMz-_kbVQ

More Eurotrash. It's louder, less catchy and less enjoyable than Hasta La Vista, which was one of my least favourite of last year's songs. >_< Maybe fun in a nightclub (remember them?) in Belgrade when you've already very tipsy, but not anything I'd want to listen to of my own accord.

They'll likely be competing with Moldova for a lot of the same votes, and I think "Sugar" is catchier; the good news for both of them is that Armenia have pulled out, who would probably have also been pitching for the same votes.

yerwanthere123 · 06-03-2021 02:39AM

Playing catchup on the last few days.

Slovenia
I imagine this will bomb in the televote, it's only hope is if she knocks the vocals out of the park and gets some jury love.

Belgium
It's.. grand? Feels like it could be track 5 on a middling album. I can't see any staging potential or where this would get votes tbh.

Romania
Actually really like this on first listen? Will be interested to see how they stage this. Got Carly Rae Jepsen 'Run Away With Me' vibes at times.

The Netherlands
I thought it started well and faded pretty quickly. Unless they elevate it with some really fun staging, I just can't see who's gonna vote for this.

Moldova
Definitely very 'eurovision' isn't it. It's actually not as bad as I'd anticipated based on the initial reactions? Can see it doing well in the televote, although if it's as silly and twee as the music video is they might put people off.

Australia
It's just.. weird? Very unusual song structure. Don't know what to think of it. I expect they'll stage the hell out of it.

Serbia
Your standard fare Eurovision 'bop'. Might sneak a qualification amongst weak competiton?

johnire · 06-03-2021 02:24PM

Understandable.

LordBasil wrote: »

Armenia have withdrawn from ESC 2021

https://eurovision.tv/story/armenia-withdraws-from-eurovision-2021

Quantum Erasure · 06-03-2021 05:40PM

Rjd2 wrote: »

The Cyprus song is cool, but I hope that Lady Gaga's lawyers are not watching.:o

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I

That's the least of their worries...

https://www.buzz.ie/music/protests-in-cyprus-break-out-over-eurovision-entry-420863

Protesters gathered outside the broadcaster's station, some holding signs with the messages: “We’re protesting peacefully, no to El Diablo,” “Repent and return to Christ” and “Christ saves, Diablo kills."

Eurovision's satanic history
This is not the first time Eurovision has seen a controversial entry that was linked to Satanism.
Finland's 2006 Eurovision winners Lordi, a heavy-metal band inspired by the band Kiss, sparked rumours to satanic links, which was further fuelled by the band's refusal to remove their masks in interviews.
The band received complaints from Christian clergyman in the capital, describing the band's use of the name "Lordi" as "sacrilege"

Whitters22 · 06-03-2021 06:03PM

I have played a bit of catch up and listened to the playlist that's on spotify a couple of times. General thoughts are the standard is reasonable. Most of the songs are decent but a lack of standouts.
And I'm finding myself comparing the songs moreso to their entry last year rather than the other competitors as there are a lot of returning artists.
My favourites are Australia - if her vocals translate live and a strong staging, which I'm expecting is brought, it could be epic!
Finland - Heavy-ish songs have really struggled of late so I'm hoping this bucks the trend.
I wasn't on the Roop's bandwagon last year and this entry isn't much better. Also surprised to see how fancied France are but they rarely deliver on the hype.

yerwanthere123 · 06-03-2021 08:22PM

We'll have four more songs to dissect tonight; Estonia, Denmark, Italy and Portugal will choose their entries.

06-03-2021 09:09PM

Denmark have decided to enter Eurovision 1981:

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

While it's nice to hear them send something in Danish, this is a very weird choice. I presume they wanted something retro but this just isn't catchy enough for that. I'm curious to see if San Marino send another disco tune this year - if they do I reckon it will be catchier (and better sung) and completely overshadow this one.

I don't generally bother following national finals but I saw people on Twitter giving out that this didn't win: Emma Nicoline - Står Lige Her - have to say I really like it and could have been my #1 if it had been chosen.

Estonia have gone with Uku Suviste again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E35RMFfjRZ4

Song is definitely an improvement from last year, though that was a very low bar to start from in fairness. It's not amazing by any means but given the state of SF2 thus far I'd say this might be good enough to qualify.

gmisk · 06-03-2021 10:29PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Denmark have decided to enter Eurovision 1981:

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

While it's nice to hear them send something in Danish, this is a very weird choice. I presume they wanted something retro but this just isn't catchy enough for that. I'm curious to see if San Marino send another disco tune this year - if they do I reckon it will be catchier (and better sung) and completely overshadow this one.

I don't generally bother following national finals but I saw people on Twitter giving out that this didn't win: Emma Nicoline - Står Lige Her - have to say I really like it and could have been my #1 if it had been chosen.

Estonia have gone with Uku Suviste again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E35RMFfjRZ4

Song is definitely an improvement from last year, though that was a very low bar to start from in fairness. It's not amazing by any means but given the state of SF2 thus far I'd say this might be good enough to qualify.

Christ....that Danish song...is...awful...vocals are brutal as well.
The Emma Nicoline song is extremely catchy it would have flown in the contest imo!...it didn't even make the top 3!

Itssoeasy · 07-03-2021 12:42AM

I’ve just listened to Ireland’s Eurovision entry for this year cold and I like it more than last years entry which for obvious reasons never happened. I don’t know how it’s been received here and in other countries but I liked it.

07-03-2021 12:59AM

Portugal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWIaNwwUY8c

Pleasant but forgettable. Kinda reminds me of The Makemakes in Austria 2015....which finished with nul points! While there are certainly worse songs out there, I can't imagine anyone being excited by this or rushing to vote for it. The only real notable thing about it is that it's entirely in English, which is a first for Portugal afaik.

Itssoeasy wrote: »

I’ve just listened to Ireland’s Eurovision entry for this year cold and I like it more than last years entry which for obvious reasons never happened. I don’t know how it’s been received here and in other countries but I liked it.

General reaction has been pretty positive, from what I can tell. I think this song has generated a more favourable reaction than last year's, or pretty much any Irish entry for quite a few years.

Unfortunately Ireland is in the far more difficult of the two semi-finals; if we were in Semi 2 we'd easily get to the final, but in Semi 1 it will still be a very tough battle to qualify.

Whitters22 · 07-03-2021 02:19AM

Denmark - Originally I found it quite refreshing when listening to the studio version that it was in Danish, when is the last time they did that? But upon second listen live it's truly awful and can't qualify?

Estonia - It's much of a muchness with last year.

Portugal - Terribly boring! If you are gonna send a poor song, send it in the native tongue for a bit of originality!

yerwanthere123 · 07-03-2021 03:00AM

Denmark
Difficult to see the motivation behind sending something like this. Singing it in Danish just underlines how old fashioned it is, genuinely wouldn't have sounded out of place 30 years ago. I didn't watch the Danish final but there's surely got to have been better? And to think Ben and Tan didn't weren't even allowed compete this year??

Estonia
Feels like a (slightly better) rehash of last year's not very good effort.

Portugal
Thought it started off well, but it doesn't really go anywhere. Kinda sounds like something you'd hear playing in a hotel lounge that nobody is really listening to.

Not officially confirmed but it'll most likely be Maneskin for Italy.

It's no Soldi anyway :pac: Not really doing anything for me on first listen tbh, but I think there'll be an audience for this.

07-03-2021 10:46AM

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Not officially confirmed but it'll most likely be Maneskin for Italy.

It's no Soldi anyway :pac: Not really doing anything for me on first listen tbh, but I think there'll be an audience for this.

I actually really like this. Very energetic and brash, it's got glam rock, hard rock and pop-punk all mixes together with a really nice snarling vocal. It's gonna stand out on the night, I hope the orchestra elements are kept as the strings add a really nice touch. Assuming they do confirm this is probably gonna move to my #1 spot for now.

Inevitably it will draw comparisons to Finland, the other "rock" entry but I don't care for the Finnish one at all, this one is much better for me.

Side note: when I saw the title of the song I thought it was gonna be about pasta - turns out I was thinking of "ziti" (thank you Carmela Soprano) rather than "zitti" !

ACitizenErased · 07-03-2021 12:57PM

San Marino release their song at midnight tonight - ESC have released a teaser

YES, that is Flo Rida.

gmisk · 07-03-2021 03:12PM

ACitizenErased wrote: »

San Marino release their song at midnight tonight - ESC have released a teaser

YES, that is Flo Rida.

I see this is flying up.....in the odds, it's catchy!

yerwanthere123 · 07-03-2021 03:42PM

So Maneskin are confirmed for Italy

The San Marino clip sounds good on a first listen, may be on course for their best ever result. Flo Rida may as well do Eurovision, I don't think his career has been setting the world on fire for quite a while.

Russia to come tomorrow, hopefully Little Big!

Amik · 07-03-2021 04:52PM

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Not officially confirmed but it'll most likely be Maneskin for Italy.

Officially confirmed this morning.

I'm disappointed but like another poster wrote it's better than the Finnish entry.

I liked the 2nd place Chiamami per nome by Francesca Michielin (Eurovision 2016) & Fedez. Getting a rapper to sing non-rap is probably never a good idea though and it showed live. Studio version is much better. Using autotune is very popular this year. It's allowed at Eurovision?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfVc-ltT0dk

Absolutely love Annalisa and her work but it wasn't her year again. Fantastic voice and Bellissimo personified! Spot the seashell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47g3CrzoNqs

07-03-2021 06:51PM

Full video clip for San Marino:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRAN7AzEKak

With or without Flo Rida, this is gonna do well (supposedly the rap part is gonna be kept in, but it's unknown if Flo Rida will make it to the Eurovision stage or if a replacement vocalist has to be used). It's very Eurovisiony but also wouldn't sound out of place on the radio. It's not really the kind of music I listen to much but it is certainly catchy.

Should easily qualify from the weaker semi, and could get a very good televote. Whether juries will go for it or not will largely depend on how they do the staging and the live vocal but if they pull it off then this could very well be top 10.

reap-a-rat · 07-03-2021 08:12PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Full video clip for San Marino:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRAN7AzEKak

With or without Flo Rida, this is gonna do well (supposedly the rap part is gonna be kept in, but it's unknown if Flo Rida will make it to the Eurovision stage or if a replacement vocalist has to be used). It's very Eurovisiony but also wouldn't sound out of place on the radio. It's not really the kind of music I listen to much but it is certainly catchy.

Should easily qualify from the weaker semi, and could get a very good televote. Whether juries will go for it or not will largely depend on how they do the staging and the live vocal but if they pull it off then this could very well be top 10.

Serious Fuego vibes off that for me.

Always disappointed when it's not Serhat as well.

yerwanthere123 · 08-03-2021 07:46PM

Russia

Well they're not winning this year anyway! In fact I'm not even 100% sure this'll qualify? They've only got four voting allies in the semi and I can't see the juries getting behind it in their droves. They need to send something monumentally sh*te not to qualify (hello I Won't Break) but they might just have done it again.

I like San Marino's song, maybe their second best entry behind Crisalide. Think it'll qualify and possibly deliver their best result to date.

Eurovision Song Contest 2021

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