Eurovision Song Contest 2021

09-03-2021 5:32pm

Belarus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RMHKaIsac0

One fewer for Lesley Roy to have to worry about at least! :pac:

It might have a certain amateur-ish charm to it if it wasn't a Lukashenko propaganda song. Might end up being disqualified if it's judged to be a political entry, though you'd have to assume the ESC organisers would have nipped it in the bud before now if that were the case (also disqualifying it would just give Lukashenko more propaganda - "look how disrespectful Europe is to our wonderful musicians")

yerwanthere123 · 10-03-2021 8:58am

Haven't listened to Belarus yet but will when I get home later. Murmurs of it possibly not being allowed due to it basically being a Lukashenko propaganda piece.

Austria, Switzerland, Greece and Bulgaria all to come later. Deadline is Monday so in a few days we'll have a full house. Still don't think we've heard the winner yet.

LordBasil · 10-03-2021 12:07pm

Austria

Ok I suppose. He'll need a strong jury score to have any hope of qualification.

Looking forward to Greece & Switzerland later today. I heard a snippet of Greece, sounds like a big improvement on her song last year. I'm not fussed about Bulgaria.

The past week has been very interesting, particularly Russia and Belarus. I can totally see Belarus being disqualified as the song is a propaganda piece and basically mocks Lukashenko's political opponents and the protestors.

Shaping up to be a very unpredictable year, bring it on!!

yerwanthere123 · 10-03-2021 5:12pm

Belarus

Dunno why but I have a sudden urge to establish a dictatorship and suppress my people. NQ.

Austria

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Switzerland

Unfortunately much weaker than last year, pretty unremarkable I think.

yerwanthere123 · 10-03-2021 5:22pm

Switzerland are shortening in the odds and the initial fan reaction has been very positive, so maybe I'm wrong?

10-03-2021 5:40pm

I'd say Switzerland is solid moreso than spectacular, but still likely to do very well. It isn't as impressive as last year's imo, but a lot of people watching on the night won't be familiar with that song. He seems to be an exceptionally talented vocalist, so if he sounds good live then he may well be on to a jury winner at the very least, and if he can tap into it emotionally then he may well appeal to televoters in the same way Salvador Sobral did. In a year with no obvious winner yet (as we wait to see what Daði Freyr has come up with), this could be in contention.

Austria - underwhelming. I actually quite liked Alive, even though it didn't seem to be particularly popular. Given the weaker semi he might still get through, but it's definitely not a winner.

Greece has also been released:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duqBorqR2sM

Unlike Austria, I think they've definitely improved this year. It's a lot more enjoyable than Supergirl, which got very annoying very fast. It's got a nice 80's synthpop sound to it, but doesn't sound dated. Sure it's a bit generic and it won't win, but as long as she doesn't mess it up live it should be good enough to get into the final.

ACitizenErased · 10-03-2021 6:08pm

Switzerland incredible for the second year in a row. I think that's the winner. He would've won last year too.

LordBasil · 10-03-2021 6:13pm

I found Switzerland somewhat underwhelming. I much preferred his song last year which I felt was more immediate. This year's song reminds me of Blas Canto's song last year 'Universo'. Maybe a live performance will lift it?

Greece is a definite improvement on last year but not as good as it could have been, that being said it's a easy qualifier and will likely finish Top 15 in the final, Top 10 if the performance is strong.

James Newman's song for the UK is called 'Embers' and will be released tomorrow morning. Looking forward to hearing that.

yerwanthere123 · 10-03-2021 9:02pm

Just listened to Greece, decent enough. Definitely getting the 80's vibe too, should sail through to the final pretty easily.

Meanwhile, Iceland has apparently leaked. Was posted online in full but all that currently remains is this two minute clip from Twitter. Overall I think it's decent but not as good as last year. Chorus doesn't pack much of a punch and it just kinda plods along. Possible it may not be the final version though. I'm also assuming that weird voiceover that plays throughout the song isn't supposed to be there.

https://twitter.com/escxvoila/status/1369697690590806018

Initial reaction hasn't been fantastic, they're no longer favourites after initially falling to 6th in the odds, but have since rebounded to 3rd. France (!) are the current favourite to win.

yerwanthere123 · 10-03-2021 9:09pm

Full song now here.

Whitters22 · 10-03-2021 11:00pm

Belarus - Hard to separate what I've read about the messaging from the actual song.

Russia - She is absolutely nuts. Her passion alone should qualify them for the final.

Austria - Very forgettable, will need good vocals/staging.

Switzerland - Definitely has the hallmarks of a contender. Unique vocalist and instrumentally brilliant.

Greece - Really really enjoyed this! A much more mature song than last year and that chorus hook is just gonna stick with me.

gmisk · 10-03-2021 11:38pm

LordBasil wrote: »

I found Switzerland somewhat underwhelming. I much preferred his song last year which I felt was more immediate. This year's song reminds me of Blas Canto's song last year 'Universo'. Maybe a live performance will lift it?

Greece is a definite improvement on last year but not as good as it could have been, that being said it's a easy qualifier and will likely finish Top 15 in the final, Top 10 if the performance is strong.

James Newman's song for the UK is called 'Embers' and will be released tomorrow morning. Looking forward to hearing that.

Looking forward to the UK song I liked his one last year
https://escxtra.com/2021/03/10/james-newman-to-sing-embers-at-eurovision-2021/

yerwanthere123 · 11-03-2021 8:51am

The UK song has leaked on Czech radio. Can't provide the link on my phone but it'll be premiering on radio is less than two hours either way.

Anyway, I think it's quite decent! Not a winner, but I think it could potentially get their best result in a while.

ACitizenErased · 11-03-2021 12:01pm

I would describe the UK song as 'meh', it's okay, nothing astounding but mid-table-ish.

gmisk · 11-03-2021 12:24pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMDGTsa_Qq0

UK song pretty decent, a lot more poppy than last year.
Could be their highest placing in a while!
Really leaning into the crazy sax thing!
It does sound like a sigala song though....

11-03-2021 12:29pm

I think UK entry is decent. James Newman is probably the best representative they've had for a while; heard My Last Breath playing in Stephen's Green shopping centre last week, which was a bit random. It's not a winner but definitely a step in the right direction for them. Being the UK, most of the negative reaction will come from British people themselves.

Bulgaria (song starts about 40 seconds in)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsmJ2nEV7gI

It's.....fine. Perfectly listenable but a bit dull. I prefer it to Tears Getting Sober (whose appeal I didn't get at all) but don't see it as a contender to win.

yerwanthere123 · 11-03-2021 5:05pm

So Belarus have been told that unless they change either the song lyrics or the song itself they're out.

Whitters22 · 11-03-2021 9:08pm

UK - I quite enjoyed this! The concern might be if James Newman has the charisma to pull off such an up tempo song.

Bulgaria - Another good entry! If you're not a fan of Billie Eilish you likely won't warm to this but has an audience in me and others.

yerwanthere123 · 12-03-2021 12:59am

Nobody thought to post North Macedonia today... but you can kinda see why :pac:

It's very Disney musical from about twenty years ago.

The Bulgarian song isn't bad, I think it builds quite nicely. Think it's more for juries than televoters though, and I also think Tears Getting Sober was better.

Poland and Latvia to come tomorrow, followed by Sweden and Iceland on Saturday. Then just Azerbaijan, Georgia and Malta to follow and we'll have a full house!

Busi_Girl08 · 12-03-2021 9:31am

gmisk wrote: »

UK song pretty decent, a lot more poppy than last year.
Could be their highest placing in a while!
Really leaning into the crazy sax thing!
It does sound like a sigala song though....

Definitely a strong contender, but I genuinely wonder is there going to be a bit of a "Brexit protest" vote this year against the UK?

It would be a shame because that's a really good effort from them.

LordBasil · 12-03-2021 12:02pm

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

Definitely a strong contender, but I genuinely wonder is there going to be a bit of a "Brexit protest" vote this year against the UK?

It would be a shame because that's a really good effort from them.

I doubt there'll be any 'Brexit Protest', a lot of the countries participating in ESC aren't in the EU (Azerbaijan, Russia, Norway, Israel, Australia etc.) and most EU countries don't care about Brexit to let it effect their votes in a song contest. If people like a song enough they'll vote for it regardless of what country it represents e.g. Israel 2018.

UK song is a decent effort, hopefully he can pull it off live.

North Macedonia, I quite liked his song last year but this, What was he thinking? Dreadful.

LordBasil · 12-03-2021 12:05pm

Poland

Quite like the 80s vibe but his vocals aren't the best and I feel it would have sounded better with a female singer.

12-03-2021 9:12pm

Latvia

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

Well this is.....a lot. Three very loud minutes of drama and chaos....but it kinda works? It's completely OTT but it will stand out from the crowd. I have no idea how it will go down with juries but I reckon it could do very well with televoters.

The random dusting of flamenco guitar at the start of the second verse is a nice touch. :pac:

Whitters22 · 12-03-2021 11:59pm

Poland - Really trying too hard to tap into the Weeknd's current throwback vibe especially with the sound, sunglasses and neon. But he just can't carry it.

Latvia - Not keen. I think I prefer Russia when it comes to the mad out there song and performance.

Whitters22 · 13-03-2021 5:40pm

I don't know if many are interested in Melodifestivalen but I gave all the songs a listen ahead of the final later.

I think I'll be cheering on Dotter for the win but I also like Klara Hammerstrom and Alvaro Estrella but I'd say they are outsiders.

I really don't like Eric Saade's song so I hope they don't send that.

I haven't heard any of them live though so will be watching intently tonight.

yerwanthere123 · 13-03-2021 6:04pm

I'm not sure I'll be interested enough to watch the whole thing but I'll tune in for the results I think. It'll be available with English commentary for the first time ever through svtplay.se. Tusse is the heavy favourite with Eric Saade in second place. Whatever happens tonight I think it's between those two.

yerwanthere123 · 13-03-2021 10:04pm

Sweden

So it's Tusse as expected for Sweden. Good song, I quite like it, but think it'll probably finish in the 6-10 range. Hope The Mamas and Dotter keep trying, I'd like to see them both get their moment.

Whitters22 · 13-03-2021 10:29pm

Exceptionally one-sided result in the end. My favourites from the night finished in places 4, 5 and 6 which doesn't surprise me as I haven't been massively fond of the winner since following closely in 2016.

yerwanthere123 · 13-03-2021 10:32pm

Yeah it was a landslide in the end. Surprised Eric only finished 4th in the public vote! Thought Dotter might've finished a bit higher than 5th too.

13-03-2021 10:38pm

Not mad about Sweden tbh. He has a good voice and he's only 19 so fair play to him, but the song sounds so familiar despite not hearing it before. And the "million voices" lyric is a bit too much of a cliche.

Iceland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORDK1XQToAY

It's inevitable that this is gonna be compared to last year, so may as well get that of the way first: is it as good as 'Think About Things'? Probably not. It's not as memeworthy and it won't go viral.

But I still really like it, and really like Daði Freyr, so I hope it does well. Also worth remembering that they might have bigger ideas for the staging in Rotterdam compared to what they can do in a small studio in Iceland.

Eurovision Song Contest 2021

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