MALTA 2021

The Maltese song was revealed on March 15th, with the video being uploaded to the Eurovision youtube account. Destiny, who was due to be their entrant in 2020 after winning X Factor Malta, was internally reselected to appear in 2021.Her song is titled "Je me casse" (I break)

The video is a mish mash of various scenes and situations with Destiny in a number of different outfits and hairstyles - all of which look fabulous! At some points she is singing to a topless man (as you do) as well as having a number of different backing dancers around her, also in different states of costuming. There doesn't seem to be a specific storyline to the video apart from near the end when Destiny is looking rather presidential and shouting  through a loudhailer.

The song starts with a very catchy, repetitive and funky bassline. Destiny's vocal style really suits this  style of song as her voice contains so much character you don't need many instruments. The parts of this song thought are short and sharp and soon enough we are in the pre-chorus which is more chanted/spoken before getting into the chorus proper which is rather plain compared to everything before it. The outro of chorus has a terrible brass earworm running through it which makes it sounds a bit silly. We then return tot the start of the cycle after just over a minute. After the second rendition of teh chorus we have a rather long bridge - I say long in comparison to all the other bits in the song - and then a final chorus which ends a little too abruptly.

As a child, Destiny participated in various singing competitions in Malta and the Mediterranean region including SanRemo Junior in Italy. In 2015 she came to worldwide prominence by winning Junior Eurovision with "Not My Soul" In 2017 she entered Britain's Got Talent, qualifying to the live shows but not reaching the final. In 2019, Destiny came to Eurovision as a backing singer for Michela Pace who won the chance to represent Malta by winning X Factor Malta. The next year Destiny took part on the competition herself winning the competition and was therefore was supposed to represent Malta in 2020.

This song has so much promise and potential but a couple of production decisions have killed this song for me. I love the start and the verses, but from there things start to unfurl. The chanting parts before the chorus are totally unnecessary, as well as including some super basic rhyming which makes it sound a little tacky. As for the chorus, it's not bad; I almost wish that the verses were actually the chorus and vice versa (I don't know if that is actually possible) Also, I don't actually understand why the words "Je me casse" are in the song at all. The meaning of the phrase doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the song plus - unless it's just to make the 'excuse my French' gag or curry favour with Francophiles - I don't get why it's in French at all. I end up listening to this song feeling a little crestfallen. Destiny is Premiership standard but this song is barely in the Vanarama National League. That all said and done, she will perform the hell out of this and the those who have been with her throughout her jESC/ESC journey will support her to the end.

ARTIST - Destiny
SONG - Je me casse (I break)
WRITING CREDITS - Pete Barringer, Malin Christin, Amanuel Dermont, Nicklas Eklund 

AZERBAIJAN 2021

The Azeri song was revealed on March 15th, with the song's premiere on youtube. After the cancellation of the 2020 contest, Efendi was invited back for 2021 with another internally selected song. She will be singing "Mata Hari"”.

The video is rather simplistic, focusing on Efendi,who is dressed in a little black dress and a very high ponytail. The feeling is very soft focus and there is a warm glow to the visuals. She is joined in the shots by some female dancers who are dressed in a similar way. There are motifs of backlit spotlights and differing sizes of glowing lights which give it a Bond-like spy quality. There is a bit of armography that goes along with this but does look quite pedestrian at times.

The song starts with a mass shout of "Mata Hari before the atmospheric Eastern sounds in backing creeps in. Efendi chants over it with the repetitive first verse. Half way through a beat come in to help the song build. Then comes in the pre-chorus with its shameless plug of last year's song "Cleopatra", the repetition on the mystic chanting before hitting the chorus. This art is possibly the most basic with the repetition - in different guises - of the title. The beat peters aout again to repeat the cycle once again. Just before the two minute mark we have a bridge which is basically a descotrucedt chorus with more 'Mata Hari's and drumming rhythms which then leads into a short instrumental that sounds suspiciously like the one from "My Number One" We then have a shortened pre-chorus before a final chorus but the backing track seems to be at double speed and has  rather random electric guitars on it. The song finishes with another chant of "Mata Hari".

Efendi, first name Samira,  is a popular Azeri singer. Like many Eurovision contestants, she is from a reality show/singing competition background having taken part in the Azeri version of Pop Idol in 2009 and The Voice of Azerbaijan in 2016 coming in third place. She also participated in the show Böyük Səhnə which selected their Eurovision competition in 2014, however she did not make it to the final.

This is pretty disappointing. It's like they have tried to stretch the themes and tropes from their 2020 song and tried to fit them into an identikit song without it seeming like a total ripoff. I am not sure if the delegation had this written especially to sound as much like "Cleopatra" as possible OR if this similarity was due to pure laziness or lack of inspiration. I find this massively misses the mark and the last minute is a mess of sound and structure. As much as the song is badly constructed, there is no doubt in anybody's mind as to what the title of the song is ! On a visual point of view the lighting and quick cuts of the camera create almost all the movement and tension on screen.  I am starting to suspect they are trying to cover up Efendi's lack of talent, or  lack of confidence, in dancing. If this is true it will be interesting to see what happens on stage. Most people coming back from last year have changed things up or changed tack completely but this has just stuck fast and it already feels old.

ARTIST - Efendi
SONG - Mata Hari
WRITING CREDITS - Luuk van Beers, Tony Cornelissen, Josh Earl, Amy van der Wel

GEORGIA 2021

The Georgian song was revealed on March 15th, with the song's premiere will taking place on the 1TV channel. Back in January it was confirmed that last year's act, Tornike Kipiani, had been reselected to represent Georgia. His internally selected song is titled "You".

The self-directed music video is shot in different places around Georgia. The video is very elemental with Tornike walking along a shoreline, climbing over man made boulders, looking out from a boat and walking through a lush green forest. There is a lot of focus on details with some sharp detailed views against others that are more dream-like with a lot of slow motion views. He is also seated on stage in an empty auditorium singing the song with views of a very wafty ballerina.

In essence, this is in a Viennese Waltz tempo (to put it in Strictly terms) but there is a lot of gliding over the bars which makes it a little unusual to the ear. The format of the song is more akin to three verses with repeated some lines within. The song starts with a short atmospheric intro which doesn't really give anything away as to how the song would progress. Tornike's voice is very low, slightly hushed over the top of the guitar. For the next verse he moves up an octave and uses a much stronger voice but not shouty. For the final stanza he moves back down to the hushed tone before belting out the 'my love' part. There is then a brief instrumental with some rhythmic 'oooooohing' on top before another repetition of the 'my love' part but this time much stronger but not quite a cry or shout. The end slightly peters out and is a little underwhelming.

Tornike Kipiani formed his first band when he was 19 not intending to become its vocalist but ended up filling that gap. In 2014, Tornike won X Factor Georgia, where his mentor was Tamta, who would later appear at Eurovision for Cyprus. In 2017, Tornike (with Giorgi Bolotashvili) tried to represent Georgia at Eurovision with an industrial dance song. In 2019, won Georgian Idol with one of the prizes being the chance to represent the country at Eurovision.

I feel like I have to offer this song a HUGE apology. When I first heard this song I was absolutely *aghast*. This was wholly due to my own perception and hopes as to what this song was going to be. I was hoping/expecting loud guitars, shouty vocals, manic lyrics;what I got was so far away from this that I just could not compute. Having left the song on the back burner of a week and listened to it again - this time with an emptier mind. This is a really beautiful song and has a very heartfelt sentiment and makes it very individual. It kind of reminds me of a hymn akin to "Annie's Song" by John Denver and has that cross-genre appeal which shows very clever songwriting. However as a eurovision entry I fear this is going to get left behind. Unless there is some kind of visual moment that pull on the heartstrings I don't really know who would vote for this or why. That said and done, I am actually really glad that it's here.

ARTIST - Tornike Kipiani
SONG - You
WRITING CREDITS - Tornike Kipiani

ICELAND 2021

The Icelandic song was revealed on March 12th, with a live performance of their song during the RUV show "Straumar" with the official audio released a few days later. Back in November, the Icelandic broadcaster announced that last year's act, Daði Freyr and Gagnamagnið, had been internally selected to represent Iceland  this time with the song also internally chosen. Their song is called "10 years"

During the live show Daði is not only backed by Gagnamagnið but has a string section, live band and a children's choir, the last two obviously won't be on stage at Eurovision. The groups are sporting their customary green outfits with pixelated faces. Daði is centre stage with his two backing singers to his left and his three 'instrumentalists' to the right. As ever there are also some over-stylised dance moves to go with the song.

After a short string lead intro the synth bass and beat come in under the first verse. As it progresses the instrumental becomes more full with a clearer beat and funky style. During the pre chorus there is a brief lull where Daði shows of his amazing low vocal range but also provides the push the chorus needs to get going. The chorus feels rather short and could do with a repetition or two first time round to get it firmly in your head. We then have another verse followed by a brief synth instrumental which gives the gang a good bit of time to goof around a bit! Afterwards there is a shortened chorus sung with a choir and almost no instrumentation at all, providing enough of a low point to push the power of one last chorus to the finish.

Daði learnt to play drums and studied piano and bass guitar in his youth and formed the band RetRoBot with his school friends and released their one and only album in 2013. In 2014 he left Iceland to study music production in Berlin where hi still lives today. Daði's next project was Gagnamagnið, his super cool backing band which contains his sister, wife and three friends. They took part in Söngvakeppnin 2017 coming second. They won the 2020 Söngvakeppnin competition and planned to represent Iceland last year.

To be fair there is really not very much to say about this entry, unless you have never heard of "Think About Things"! This new song is in Daði's signature style and includes all of the aural and visual memes and tropes we've come to expect from hi performances. Unfortunately Daði's main competition is with himself. - comparisons to "Think about things" are bound to be made and personally this doesn't quite have the immediacy that his 2020 effort had. In particular the backing track doesn't quite have the required punchiness or hook that I was hoping for.  Also I feel like the chorus isn't earwormy enough and doesn't get enough repetitions to get firmly into your head. Ultimately though, this style of song really stands out on the Eurovision menu this year. What Daði has on his side is his popularity in Eurovision and away from Eurovision. A lot of people - rightly or wrongly - will vote for him no matter what. I suspect with many of the returning artists that some televoters may be voting for last year's entry as much as this year's effort.

ARTIST - Daði Freyr and Gagnamagnið
SONG - 10 years
WRITING CREDITS - Daði Freyr Pétursson

SWEDEN 2021

The Swedish Final  (Melodifestivalen) was held on March 13th at Annexet in Stockholm, hosted by Christer Björkman, Måns Zelmerlöw & Shima Niavarani. Before the final there were 5 semi-finals to get the long list of 28 down to a final of 12. The winner was chosen by a combination of 8 international juries (50%) & a public vote (50%) where the public vote came from age-related phone app uses and televoters. consisted of a mobile phone app where users were split into one of 7 age groupings (7/8) & televoting (1/8). The winning act was Tusse with the song "Voices".

The stage has a dark feeling and some of the backdrop and floor resembles rain, waterfalls and puddles. You can see as Tusse walks along the catwalk that the water is moving as if he was actually wading through it which is a clever touch. Tusse is joined on stage by 4 dancers dressed in various black outfits. Tusse is wearing a red suit accessorised with some statement rings and an amazing jewelled necklace.

The song starts off rather mellow with an atmospheric intro. This continues under the first verse and ore-chorus although there is also a very minimalistic beat which gathers pace as the chorus comes. Here the beat is more pronounced and not just on the beat. This works well with the rather monotone delivery and longer held notes of the chorus. This then contrasts brilliantly with the chanting of the post chorus which is a really good earworm. This pattern repeats again which gets us to 2.15, here there is a short bridge at the song  shrinks back down to a more ethereal sound made more unusual by Tusse using his lower register. This is contrasted even more by the chorus coming in with a key change finishing with the post chorus on the live ' a million voices'

Tousin Michael Chiza, a.k.a Tusse, was born in Democratic Republic of Congo. Due to war in his homeland his family fled the settling in a Ugandan camp but Tusse was eventually brought to  Sweden, alone, at just 8 years old. In 2018 he participated in a Swedish talent show called "Talang" making it the semi finals. The next year he entered Swedish Idol 2019 this time becoming the overall winner. After this he released a number of songs sung in English and Swedish.

This song has a great anthemic quality and it's clever use of rhyme and rhythm means it stays in your brain for the longest time. This song really reminds me of "Only Teardrops" in its make up and tone. For me, the parts that shine are when Tusse is doing the chanting or where he has that little jump in his voice which makes the song sound so unique. Part of me just wishes they had pushed the song a little further toward being a bit more African sounding. I fear that the clinical clean production of the song and its predictable nature puts me off. As much as this is a good steady dependable Eurovision song, there is nothing about it that I particularly want to vote for. As we have seen of late, the jury vote has been much more pro-Sweden than the televote but the song is less 'pop-polished' than some of their previous efforts and the wholesome message may also curry come favour in the current climate.

ARTIST - Tusse
SONG - Voices
WRITING CREDITS - Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt, Anderz Wrethov

LATVIA 2021

The Latvian song was revealed on March 12th, with the premier of its video showed during a documentary called "Kā uzvarēt Eirovīzijā?" (How to win Eurovision?) with the video available via online platforms soon after.  After the cancellation of the 2020 concert, Samanta Tina was once again selected to represent Latvia, this time with an internally selected song. She will be singing "The moon is rising"

Most of the video takes place in what looks like a disused and derelict hall. She is flanked by numerous dancers all wearing different clothes. At the start Samanta is wearing a rather unusual combination of knee high white boots with a long white shirt over which is a brown jacket although she is seen wearing a couple of other outfits. There are also some darker shadowy edits where you can see Samanta surrounded by lasers and can just see her outline. Throughout the song there is a lot of synchronised dancing - in particular the crown handography - all performed with a lot of attitude.

The song starts with the main line from the chorus and also goes to a very jarring high note. The verses have a very staccato, syncopated rapping feel to them and the tune for each part is very repetitive. When we finally get back to the refrain at the start of the song this is then followed up by an over-long 'pa-ra-ra parade' section. We then have a second verse and ere the Spanish style guitar is more prevalent which gives is a slightly softer feel to it. There is then a bridge which again is repetitive and chanted. We then have a part instrumental-part altered chorus followed by the 'pa-ra-ra' chant to the end"

Samanta is a serial national final competitor - having attempted to sing for Latvia five times, Lithuania once and eventually winning the Latvian national final in 2020. At the start of her career she took part in other singing competitions including Golden Voices and Slavianski Bazaar. She also participated in the Voice Lithuania, finishing in the final 8.

You can see the links between this song and her 2020 song and I suppose this shows how she is comfortable with this style of music. However there is a good chance that if you *didn't* like her first one, you won't be liking this either! For me this is just noise. The parts kind of work together but at times it feels that they are fighting against each other rather than complimenting. Also the balance of the lengths of the parts doesn't work either. The big notes in the 'chorus' makes me feel really uneasy and I sense that when I see her on stage I will be so on tenterhooks about her reaching the notes, enjoying her actual show might not be an option. I am also extrapolating that her stage show will be something like the video - which will be interesting with just 5 other dancers - so unless they use parts of the video to beef up the numbers this might feel a bit empty in spirit. 

ARTIST - Samanta Tina
SONG - The moon is rising
WRITING CREDITS - Aminata Savadogo, Samanta Tīna, Oskars Uhaņs

POLAND 2021

The Polish song was revealed on March 12th, via the TVP youtube channel. A few days earlier it has been revealed that TVP were internally selecting a new artist - not rolling over their 2020 selection - and internally selecting the song. Going to Eurovision is Rafał Brzozowski with "The ride"

The video is very stylised, something which would be something easily replicable with video screens. Rafał starts in a car pulling up outside a dimly lit nightclub he is then joined by some smartly dressed male dancers who follow him inside. The interior is dark and full of brightly coloured neon signs, mostly with names of cities and places on them. Part way through he is then joined by female dancers with long ponytails and wearing pink trouser suits. There is a lot of gestural choreography from Rafał and lots of very sharp cuts in the video which creates the movement rather than if coming from him himself.

The song is an 80s style up-tempo song with a steady beat and synthesised backing track. This is a very straightforward song which goes verse/chorus/verse/chorus which takes us  to just over the 2 minute mark. Here there is a short bridge with basically works as a mini verse before ending with a final chorus. The bridge is rather non-descript and could do with more aural clues to make it stand out, ideally letting the backing track fizzle out to make the pow back to the end chorus more noticeable.

Rafał did not start out to be a singer as he initially studied as a PE teacher. He was also an active wrestler until a spinal injury put a stop on this. His musical break came with participation in the long running talent show "Szansa na sukces" which led to him to perform with the groups Emigranci and Mono. In 2011 he entered "The Voice Poland" being eliminated just before the final but this led him to release a slew of singles and albums all in Polish. Away from singing, he has participated in Dance with the Stars Poland, presented the Polish versions of Wheel of Fortune, Name that Tune and The Voice Seniors.  In terms of Eurovision, he came second in the preselection show of 2017 and presented Junior Eurovision in 2020 in its altered format.

I actually don't think this is a bad song but did need plenty of listens before bedding in. The tempo of the song works well afor the radio and the tune is rather easy to remember. My main reservations centre around Rafał's performance. First the vocals are quite embedded in the mix and I fear it is going to be hard to replicate this live even with pre-recorded vocals. Also the fact that Rafał does so little dancing and moving to a song that is rather danceable suggests he can't. Unless he styles himself as some sort of mannequin or robot I am not sure how this is going to work. Also the glasses look might not go down well with the televoters as we generally like to see all of peoples faces. Like many Polish entries, this might squeak through with a bit of diaspora support.

ARTIST - Rafał Brzozowski 
SONG - The ride
WRITING CREDITS - Thomas Karlsson, Johan Mauritzson, Joakim Övrenius, Clara Rubensson

NORTH MACEDONIA 2021

The North Macedonian song was released on March 11th, with the video being premiered on youtube. Vasil was reselected by the Macedonian broadcaster, MRT to represent the Balkan nation with another internally selected song. His song is called "Here I stand"

The music video is filmed in the National Gallery of Macedonia in Skopje, surrounded by artwork by past and present Macedonian artists. This is intercut with footage of Vasil and the orchestra recording the song. The setting is absolutely glorious and dramatic however this has got him into a little bit of hot water as one exhibit in the museum (now edited out) looked like the flag of Bulgaria - even though the artist herself said the artwork is a triptych inspired by Jesus and is actually cream, green and orange - many people didn't like it :/

After a couple of piano notes the first verse starts and as we will discover this is the one and only verse in the song and takes us to just over half a minute As the song progresses the backing track becomes more and more full with instruments added throughout. We then have 2 renditions of the chorus; the first being straight forward, the second with Vasil doing some extended runs while the choir continues on. This then leaves about 40 seconds to the end. The song regroups and becomes small again before Vasil hits the big note and the choir chants the chorus underneath to the finish.

Vasil Garvanliev has been in the singing business since he was a child - he released his first album aged just eight!  In his early teens his family to the United States and he joined the Chicago Children's Choir becoming their main soloist and has performed with numerous musical theatre and pop acts. After some time in Italy and the UK he gained a scholarship at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto in 2004. From here on he performed extensively in Canada as a baritone. Vasil settled back to Macedonia where he juggled a opera and pop/jazz career including being credited as a backing vocalist for Chance the Rapper and releasing his own songs in Macedonian. Vasil is no stranger to Eurovision having taken part in Skopje Fest and singing backing vocals for Tamara in 2019.

The song is VERY musical theatre and overly dramatic but I think the build up, flow and level of emotions has blocked the flow of the song writing. There are too many places where I think the song is going to go in one direction and doesn't. In particular the chorus has too many odd phrasings and frankly goes on for too long. The long note at the end would be a perfect quiet ending for such a bombastic song but the addition of the choir is too much. All in all, the song ends up being an intro, two long choruses and an outro which just isn't the right formula for a Eurovision song. I feel like any people in the jury, especially of a musical theatre persuasion, will enjoy this but that doesn't make it memorable or give it impetuous to vote for it. Ultimately I think a lot of people are going to see this as rather old-fashioned - even cheesy - and not something that the modern televoter will vote for. It's a nice song, just not quite right for this.

ARTIST - Vasil
SONG - Here I stand
WRITING CREDITS - Vasil Garvanliev

UNITED KINGDOM 2021

The UK song was released on March 11th, with its UK first play on BBC Radio 2 and the video reveal soon after. James Newman, who had been internally selected to represent the UK last year, was reselected after the cancellation of Eurovision 2020. The song, like last year, was also internally selected and is called "Embers"

The music video follows James driving a retro red car through the twisty countryside. Then it cuts to an night-time scenario which is where more of the action takes place. James is dressed in a dark top and trousers and a rather large coat, however he still moves about a fair bit and seems to be enjoying himself. He is singing the song (along with brass section and dancers) in an industrial setting almost like a lockdown drive-in disco situation. The end minute is filed with lots of smoke, fireworks, reddish lights and lots of overhead drone shots.

The song starts with a very, very brief trumpet intro - which I think they could get rid of and start straight in with the first verse. The end of the pre chorus ends with another trumpet flourish which provides a high point so the chorus can grow again. The main part of the chorus is great, especially with the choir repeating the lines afterwards. However the middle section of the chorus feels a it too subdued and needs beefing up or totally dropping out in the backing track to make it a feature rather than an odd bit. The brass bits between the verses and choruses are really uplifting and provide a great earworm! After another verse and chorus round we have a short bridge which is actually just an abridged chorus in James' lower tone with little music in the background which is then followed by a final burst of the trumpet earworm to finish.

James, and younger brother John, have well celebrated music careers as singers, producers and songwriters. James co-wrote Rudimental and Ella Eyre's UK number 1 "Waiting All Night" and won a Brit Award for co-writing "Waiting All Night". He has also written tracks for Calvin Harris and Toni Braxton and provided vocals for tracks by Armin van Buuren and DJ Matoma .After the cancellation of Eurovision 2020, he released his debut EP which included "My Last Breath".

This is a really good contrast to his 2020 song and you can see that he has learn from his experience and tried something a little different this time round. It certainly stands out as a modern contemporary song rather than the more retro bangers we already have in place. The song also has a happy dance feel to it which is also great on balance. The song itself is not that complicated so I would hope James could belt this out. I would also hope he has some sort of dancing brass section as I think this would give it another visual quality to it. If anything, I would say my main concern about this song is if it is actually going to get votes. This is the type of song that is not going to be right at the top of people's rankings but low enough down that they just don't quite vote for it and I fear that it' lack of a 'call to arms' might let it down. Whatever the result this has a good chance of being a radio hit in the summer.

ARTIST - James Newman
SONG - Embers
WRITING CREDITS - Conor Blake, Samuel Brennan, Tom Hollings, James Newman, Danny Shah

BULGARIA 2021

The Bulgarian song was revealed on March 10th, via an online show called "A little dramatic concert" . After the cancellation of the 2020 concert, Victoria was once again selected to represent Bulgaria the next tear. 6 songs were in the running, all from her 'a little dramatic EP and after feedback from fans and critics her song was then internally selected. Her song is called "Growing up is getting old".

The video starts with a lengthy intro via a newsreader, inspired by the cancellation of last year's Eurovision. It has a retro feel with the television set, clothes and the slightly brown sepia tone the setting has. The plot seems to revolve around Victoria looking at some of the  objects around the house which inspire feelings of nostalgia and childhood. Part way through she song she sees a vision of her younger self follows her to the garden where they embrace. Once the song has ended Victoria picks up her suitcase and leaves.

The song is a very gentle ballad with orchestral qualities which accentuates Victoria's very softly spoken singing style. The short stringed introduction sets the tone as the first verse is accompanied only by violins which is very unusual for this year. This is followed by a shortened version of the chorus which has much more orchestration. This goes straight into another verse with enhanced backing vocals. We then finally have a full chorus followed a short bridge. There is then some repetition of the song title ending with a final chorus - almost acapella but with slightly different lyrics to finish.

Victoria is best known in Bulgaria for her appearance on X Factor Bulgaria in 2015 where she placed sixth. A year later she started releasing music in both Bulgarian and English. In 2018 she spent some time in America where she wrote her first self-penned English language song. In 2019 she began her Eurovision journey as she was unveiled as their 2020 participant which would then roll over to 2021.

First of all I feel like I have to address the elephant in the room which was that I found Victoria's 2020 entry a bit of an enigma - one I didn't have the passcode too. This entry, however, is less schmaltzy, less Disney and (most importantly) has a much better ending - one that this time doesn't make me want to burst out laughing inappropriately. Although I quite like her 2021 song, it has taken me well over a week of listens for it to bed in and finally make itself understood. I feel like this genre of song is a little divisive and not for everybody's ears. I also wonder if the sophisticated lightness of touch in the lyrics may be too clever to be noticed in a cold reading situation like this. The chorus hinges on the listener understanding the play on words therein and this is not always clear on a first listen, especially if you don't really know what you listening out for. I think that simplifying the structure of the song would enhance its character much more and make it a much straightforward listen. I almost feel like this is a much longer song that has been ripped up in the wrong way to make it fit the time limit. This will do well but I almost feel like this is just missing the mark.

 

ARTIST - Victoria
SONG - Growing up is getting old
WRITING CREDITS - Oliver Björkvall, Victoria Georgieva, Helena Larsson, Maya Nalani

GREECE 2021

The Greek song was released on March 10th with its video premiering on the official Eurovision youtube account. Last year's Greek representative, Stefania, was selected again, and her song was once again selected internally. The song she will sing is called "Last dance"

At the start Stefamia is on a street wearing a plain top, light coloured trousers and trainers. She runs to the top of a building and jumps off only to be saved by landing on the back of a Pegasus. She is then taken to a strange land where she meets and embodiment of Atlas who is holding up the heavens. As she touches his face the column he is holding lights up, starts spouting water and the statues around her turn to life. Stefania herself is now wearing a black sequined top and a silver skirt. This then turns into aTron-esque silver as the song she too is made of light. However we then realise that she's still on the street looking at a traffic control and it has all been a dream...

The song starts off slow with a long verse and long prechorus however the pace picks up in the chorus proper. From here is has a very 80s/Flashdance feel and very much in the ilk of some of the retro sounds in the charts. The chorus has very few lyrics which are repeated a lot but also feels rather short especially as there is so much oh-oh-oh-ing after it too. the second verse this time is up-tempo but is followed by a shortened pre-chorus which brings in a short break before getting back up to speed. Then comes a short bridge before an even shorter chorus. The song ends on a rather shouty "Let's Dance" which might come across a bit too much when live.

Although representing Greece, Stefania is actually from The Netherlands, however her parents are originally from the Evros region of Greece. Despite being one of the youngest contestants, she is very experienced on the stage. in 2013 she took part in The Voice Kids in Holland and then joined a famous children's' choir. In 2016 she performed at Junior Eurovision for The Netherlands as part of the girl band Kisses and came 8th. She then started a solo career which included some publicity in Greece and recently she has broadened her horizons having acted in a couple of Dutch TV shows and movies.

The problem that this song has is that there are a) some many female up-tempo numbers and b) so many 80s tunes that it just feels like one of many. I'd say this possibly feels a bit more 'retro' than some of the other female led bangers that with the right styling this might come across more authentic than others. The other issue is that the song structure focuses too much on the build up at the start that the end of the song feels like a bit of a mad rush. Without sounding too stereotypical, the song itself doesn't seem very Greek, which many of their entries have done. Why the pre-chorus at the start had to be 4 lines long, I don't get. Shortening it would allow for a proper full chorus at the end AND would get away with the over used fire/wire rhyme. I much prefer this to "Supergirl" which was a little underwhelming. However its chances of standing out don't look good considering the similar competition already on the menu. I think it's chance really will depend on how well she can actually belt this out.

ARTIST - Stefania
SONG - Last dance
WRITING CREDITS - Diverno, Dimitris Kontopoulos, Pavlos Manolis, Anastasios Rammos, Gabriel Russell, Sharon Vaughn

SWITZERLAND 2021

The Swiss song was released on March 10th with its video being premiered on the official Eurovision youtube account. Last year's representative Gjon's Tears had been reselected internally, and like last year, he co-composed the song. The song he is singing is called "Tout l'univers" (The whole universe)

At the start of he music video, Gjon is lying in a road at the site of a road accident. The camera blurs into another shot of Gjon on the road but in a different position. We then see Gjon behind the wheel of the car driving through space but then the camera starts to shoot through a sunny mountainous twisty roadway. The views get more daring: darting speedily in lots of different directions until the camera is inside the car having the accident from the start of the song. Gjon gets up, runs towards the car and gets someone out - however he is getting himself out of the car - plot twist!

The song starts with sparse piano packing while Gjon sings the verse softly and seems quite melancholy. The chorus starts in a similar vein with the chorus in his trademark falsetto but the piano is accompanied by an ethereal echo/hum in the background which gives it a haunting yet slightly optimistic feel. However the chorus seems to slowly unwinds and falls back into a  amore minor key  but this time with the slight haunt of a beat in the background The second verse again ends with one of his signature high notes but the chorus this time has a tribal syncopated drum beat AND choir.

Although Gjon does not have an extensive chart career he has participated in many singing shows. Aged just 12, Gjon appeared on "Albanian's Got Talent" placing third in the final. It was here his habit of crying after his performances which got him his stage name. In 2012 he then reached the semi-final stage of  "Die grössten Schweizer Talente". Then in 2019 he took part in "The Voice: la plus belle voix" in France where he was mentored by Mika and again got to the semi finals.

This is an immense piece of music. In some ways you can see some of the song writing links to his 2020 entry but you can also see how he has added some extra facets to make the the production really captivating. The joining up of the different parts of the song shouldn't work but they do. The chorus in particular is very catchy and even in French you start learning the words very quickly. Its sparse lyrics and anthemic chanting makes it really stand out. I hope that some of the visual aspects of the video such as the drone shots make it onto the backdrop. I was kind of scared that Gjon would not be able to top last year's masterpiece... how wrong was I...

ARTIST - Gjon's Tears
SONG - Tout l'univers (The whole universe)
WRITING CREDITS - Wouter Hardy, Xavier Michel, Gjon Muharremaj, Nina Sampermans

AUSTRIA 2021

The Austrian song was released on March 10th with its premiere play on Hitradio Ö3 followed by the video release online. Last year's representative Vincent Bueno had been reselected internally, as had his song., which is called "Amen"

The video mainly takes place in a number of different 'rooms'. There is some opening of doors which coincides with changes in the song. There is also a strange analogy going on with a crow which then morphs from a plain black crow to a multi-coloured one when Vincent finally escapes from his rooms and into the open air.

As you can probably tell from the pared down video the song is pretty straight forward too. The song starts off softly with piano and guitar backing. As the chorus starts the beat starts up and helps the chorus build from the rather sombre verse. This beat stays on during the second verse although his vocals are softer and breathy. I feel like this shouldn't quite work but actually helps the song keep its momentum. After this there is a short bridge which takes the beat away before the last rendition of the chorus. For this one though, Vincent sings the first bit slow and hushed before the beat comes in about this time with a choir helping with the chorus which feels like it is going for the big finish but finishes with Vincent singing the title of the song as the backing fades away,

Bueno started dancing at the age of 4 and later graduated in music and performing arts at the Vienna Conservatory of Music. His big break came in 2008 when he won the Austrian reality show “Musical! Die Show” showing that he could act sing dance and entertain. Over the weeks he performed a range of song from different musicals such as Hair, Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, Grease and Miss Saigon and in the end won over  two thirds of the phone in votes in the final. In 2009 he took part in Austria’s version of ‘Strictly’ coming 7th and had his first taste of Eurovision taking part in the Austrian national final in 2016.

This is rather awkward as there is already another song called "Amen" on the showlist, but for me is is by far the better. Even on a technical point of view, the title of the song is prominent in the chorus, repeated often as is also the first and last words that comes out of Vincent's mouth. The beat really builds and you get a real feeling that every word means something. The video is a little confusing but I could imagine the kind of black turning into technicolour vibe being quite clever or even something about opening and shutting doors on the backdrop. It's also nice to see something totally different from Vincent considering his 2020 song was a Justin Timberlake style up-tempo song and shows that he is really versatile. Last years one probably had its hopes pinned on televotes while this might be hankering after the jury vote and if I'm honest Imuch prefer this once.

ARTIST - Vincent Bueno
SONG - Amen
WRITING CREDITS - Tobias Carshey, Ashley Hicklin, Jonas Thander

RUSSIA 2021

The Russian Final was held on March 8th at the Channel One TV Studios in Moscow, hosted by Yana Churikova. The winner was chosen by SMS voting. The winner was Manizha with "Russian Woman".

At the start of the song Maneza is wearing a large coat which is grey and has what looks like ethnic patterns on it. Part way through which she takes this off  revealing a red jumpsuit with the words 'Russian Woman' in Cyrillic on the back. She is also sporting a very lovely head scarf which gives her an air of Rosie The Riveter. She is joined on stage by  backing singers who surround her like a box. There are occasional fire blasts from the side while the backdrop changes between patterns, signs of nature and words from the text.

The track starts with an unusual chirping beat which definately already has that Eastern European quality. Manizha  starts the singing over this in a slightly low talky tone. The backing track then oomphs up a bit with brass tones and the choral singing. From here the verse goes a bit free form and you start to wonder what is going on. The backing track then changes into a different breakbeat with a Slavic tone which ushers in the English based chorus. This then goes straight into another verse which again is a bit freeform - although he body language is very entertaining! We then have a rather grand orchestral/anthemic bridge which has a choral Russian feel to it. After this comes a slightly elongated English chorus before another rendition of the choral part. The song ends with an energetic dance break over the instrumental

Manizha was born in Dushanbe, Tajakstan but the family fled to live in Moscow in due to the Tajikistani Civil War, subsequently settling in Moscow. As a teenager, Manizha took part in singing competitions such as Rainbow Stars, the Ray of Hope festival and the Five Stars music competition. She has joined a number of musical groups over the years such as Ru.Kola, Assai and Krip De Shin. When she finally decided to do solo projects, Manizha began studying gospel music in both London and New York City. She has two albums to her name, released in 2017 and 2018.

From what we know, this national final was produced in a very short amount of time and for her and the team to create such a good show is impressive - with an extra 2 months what else could she come up with? Manizha has great stage presence and moves well on the stage. We already know that she is planning to rewrite parts with a bit more English to get over the meaning of the song a bit more. At times I feel like there are too many 'bits' and that a little more flow and connection between them is needed, especially as the chorus is so different. Maybe by keeping those bits in a tidier order might help. That said the overall beat and the instrumentation is absolutely gorgeous and is a bop in itself. I wonder if the title of ‘Russian Woman” is going to put people off voting, just like finding a song called a song called “I love Belarus” a bit of a push to vote for. I am not sure this this is going to be troubling the top of the leader board but is certainly a different genre to make this years mix a lot more interesting.

ARTIST - Manizha
SONG - Russian Woman
WRITING CREDITS - Ori Avni, Ori Kaplan, Manizha

SAN MARINO 2021

The San Marinese song was released on March 7th, via the Eurovision youtube channel. Senhit, who had been internally selected for last year's cancelled contest, was reselected again for this edition. Last year a sudden poll was launched to choose between two possible entries but this year the song was also internally selected. The song she is singing is "Adrenalina" (Adrenaline)

The version released is officially Senhit featuring Flo-Rida and he appears in the official video. The chances of Flo-Rida actually appearing at Eurovision is honestly negligible ! Whether she appears with someone else doing the rap or omits it completely we will have to see! There are plenty of drone shots of different views which are at changeable speeds. Some of the video takes place outdoors with dancers on or around a massive pink compass needed Senhit is also seen wearing a plethora of different outfits and sporting a number of hair colours - and she suits them all! The parts with Flo-Rida are very obviously super imposed in.

The song is in the vein of female up tempo songs like "Fuego" but this has a very definite south Mediterranean feel; slightly Middle Eastern leaning, especially in the intro. During the first verse the beat stays in but the rest of the instrumentation goes out. Unusually we go straight into the chorus - the beat peters out and a more atmospheric feeling and then the instrumental comes in again. Verse 2 offers more of the same but this time the instrumentation is a little bit more full and this continues into the chorus. 90 seconds into the song and we've had two verses and choruses! Here the rap part comes in and the beat mirrors some of the breaks and rhymes in the rap which really works to keep your interest and makes the 30 seconds go pretty quickly. It also helps the last chorus really pop.

Although born and raised on Bologna, Senhit began her career starring in musicals such as Hair and The Lion King throughout Europe. She returned to her homeland in the mid 2000's to begin her recording career and released three albums within 4 years. Ten years ago, Senhit had her first brush with Eurovision, representing San Marino in 2011 with the song "Stand By" and was to rerun to Eurovision last year with "Freaky!". During the last 12 months she has also been tantalising us with her 'Freaky Road Trip to Rotterdam" with her Eurovision cover versions

This is a really catchy and engaging song with plenty to latch onto. This female banger has a slightly unique sound, having not gone down the heavily trod 80s path but also not fooling the the 'Fuego' bath with something heavily Spanish feeling too. I really enjoy the simplicity of the song stricture and proves that huge build-ups to a chorus is just a waste of time! This song feels  'real' and authentic and Senhit's visuals look great and could quite easily be transferred to the Eurovision stage. Whether or not Flo-Rida is part of these plans we will have to see. We do know, however, that the rap part IS staying in so possibly a alternate, closer-to-home replacement might need to be found... This song is radio friendly, catchy, fun and Senhit is here to win!

ARTIST - Senhit
SONG - Adrenalina (Adrenaline)
WRITING CREDITS -   Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Malou Linn, Suzi Pancenkov, Eloise Ruotsalainen, Kenny Silverdique, Thomas Stengaard, Jimmy Thörnfeldt, Dillard Tramar, Chanel Tukia,  Senhit Zadik Zadik 

ITALY 2021

The Italian final (Festival della canzone Italiana di Sanremo) concluded on March 6th at the Teatro Ariston of Sanremo, hosted by Amadeus & Fiorello. The festival lasts 5 evenings with different rounds and demographics of voting happening each night. On the Saturday evening, the public was able to vote for their favourites and after the the different voting results had been put together, the top 3 songs were placed in a 'superfinal'. Here, the overall winner would be decided from a combination of demoscopic jury (33%) press jury (33%) and televoting (34%). The winning act had first refusal to go to Eurovision, and during the winners' press-conference they confirmed they would be accepting the invitation. The winning act was Måneskin with the song "Zitti e buoni" (Shut up and behave)

During the four nights that they performed this song they wore a number of different outfits in a range of different colours, usually with all members of the band in the same outfit. The set up of the stage was generally the same with the lead singer front and centre, a guitarists on each side and the drummer at the back. The guitarists and singer move about quite a bit and interact with each other around the stage. The lighting and backdrop of Sanremo is rather basic and for the most part the stage was dark with plenty of red flashes against a dark background.

The song starts with one of the signature guitar riffs and and a pretty beefy drum beat then lead singer Damiano comes in with his monotonous verse. Not sure if this could be classed as rap, especially with such a raspy tone to his voice. The verse part is rather prolonged, almost like 2 verse in one and the backing track builds throughout the song. The chorus runs straight in from the verse and here the note are held for a tad longer making the rhythm stand out from what has gone on before. Then there is a instrumental break before the next verse which is pretty non-stop - the tempo and cadence of the  Italian language really lends itself  to this part. After another chorus there is another different instrumental where the strings of the orchestra really stands out. Then there is a extended bridge which mirrors this backing track and slows the pace down before a final chorus.

All the members of the band went to the same high school in Rome when they decided to set up a band. One of the founding members, guitarist Victoria, is half Danish hence the Nordic-inspired band name (forever pronounced wrongly throughout!)  which means Moonshine. Their big breakthrough came in 2017 when they participated in the 11 series of X Factor eventually coming second. Their chart record is rather impressive with five top 10 singles and their debut album going 3x Platinum. Their second album will be released in the coming days.

The song has some great earworms. The guitar riffs are really infectious and work well on their own and with singing on top of it. They must be given some credit for a half decent stage show under rather restrictive circumstances and staging but also that the live result is actually not that dissimilar to that of the the studio version. I can imagine given a bit more scope in the staging this could be visually stunning The whole thing is really catchy and if proably the best rock song out of the songs we already have on the setlist and i can imagine this doing really well. Obviously the Sanremo songs have additional live orchestral backing and the studio version is obviously more guitar based. It will be interesting to see in the reworking of the song (which will have to happen as it is just a few seconds too long) if they add some strings to give the song more ooomph. This did well in the Italian televote as their fans we well versed on voting for them during their stint on X Factor. Europe-wide, however, I don't see this as a winning song but could potentially cipher votes from acts that might purely on its originality

ARTIST - Måneskin
SONG - Zitti e buoni (Shut up and behave)
WRITING CREDITS - Damiano David, Victoria De Angelis, Thomas Raggi, Ethan Torchi

PORTUGAL 2021

The Portuguese Final (Festival da Canção) was held on March 6th at the RTP TV Studios in Lisbon, hosted by Filomena Cautela & Vasco Palmeirim. Before the final there were two semi-finals selecting the top 5 from each semi-final The winner was chosen by televoting (50%) & 7 regional juries (50%) However, there was a tie at the end of the voting, the televoting portion of the vote took precedence. Going to Eurovision is The Black Mamba with "Love is on my side"

The band is spread out on stage, which may or may not be due to COVID planning. As we look at the stage, the singer is front and centre with two guitarists either side, a pianist on out left and a drummer on the right. They are all dressed rather smartly in shirts, ties and some of them suit jackets too. The lead singer is also porting a rather fetching hat. The setting is made more memorable by use of a black and white film filter during the first minute. There are also small montages of old clips on the back screen which gives it a slightly retro and laidback feeling.

The tune and feeling of the song is akin to "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera as well as Justine Pelmelay's Dutch song from 1989. The start is very melancholic and atmospheric and has a nice orchestral feel. This fades out to just piano as the first verse starts, however the transition from verse to chorus is a little awkward especially as the chorus is so repetitive. There is then another verse and chorus which leads into a guitar led part which has the backing singers carrying on with the chorus the song then winds down to the last line of the chorus which the lead singer sings.

The band has been around for just over a decade and have three albums to their name, each released in 2010, 2014 and 2018. Their style of music seems to have international appeal and they have travelled extensively on tour through Europe, the USA, South America and Africa. The majority of their songs are in English although they have recorded some tracks in their native tongue.

This song really stand out from the crowd, whether you like the song or not. It's feel is a bit bluesy, jazzy sometimes a bit country and I feel like certain jurors and general viewers will enjoy this song a lot. It has a lot of repetition which helps it get in your head and the lead singers voice and presence on stage is also very memorable. I also think this will sound very much at home on any adult contemporary radio station in the world.  I feel that the backing track could be made a little more full to make those transitions more flowing. This is the very first time Portugal have sent a song totally in English and I don't think this fact should be taken lightly. In a country where they have real pride in their national song traditions, for a song like this to get jury and televote support means the song must be well thought of. I hope this does well purely on the basis that this is something different to a lot we've seen up to now.

ARTIST - The Black Mamba
SONG - Love is on my side
WRITING CREDITS - Tatanka

DENMARK 2021

The Danish Final (Dansk Melodi Grand Prix) was held on March 6th at the DR TV Studios in Copenhagen, hosted by Tina Müller & Martin Brygmann. The winner was chosen solely by SMS and mobile app; firstly to select a top3 then a second round to select the winner. The winner was the duo Fyr & Flamme (Fire & Flame) with the song "Øve os på hinanden" (Practice on each other)

The setting is VERY eighties with a Tron-esque grid of colour. the guitarist, Laurits, is already on stage on his plinth while Jesper strides on confidently during the intro, Laurits is blond and wears a silver  jacket and blue satin trousers, Jesper has a violet jacket, white vest and grey trousers. The backdrop changes throughout the song, going from a moving grid type affair to a strobing pulsating triangle. Jesper does a bit of dancing during the song, although nothing highly choreographed and during the last minute he comes off his podium and dances around the rest of the stage and singing to the camera.

The song begins with a strong eighties guitar/synth intro and feels genuinely retro rather than a modern take on the genre. The first verse does not have a typical form or rhythm to it and you can find it hard to memories or have feelings towards. The pre-chorus however has a much more memorable sound but comes and goes too quickly. The chorus is a little underwhelming and doesn't seem to more the song onto a different plane from where it has already gone - in fact the short instrumental after the chorus has more character than the chorus itself. After a shortened second  verse, we go into another pre-chorus/chorus combination. After this the song seems to loosen up a little more into a bridge and final chorus. The song then ends with a final burst of instrumental.

The duo of Jesper and Laurits has been together for around 4 years although it looks like they have only been releasing music in the past 2 years. Laurits has some solo music available on spotify and is also the lead singer of another Danish band called The Grenadines. Jesper is best known in Denmark as an actor, including a lot of comedy and satire roles. The band seem to take themselves seriously as a band who make 80s style music, although many have wondered if this is some kind of 'act' or 'joke' because of Jesper's background.

One of the things that is slightly tricky about this liver national final performance is that they used a live band during the show, something that won't be used during Eurovision itself. Having listened to the studio version, the backing track is a more coherent and bring through that 80s feel. The big problem is that this song goes nowhere. even of it was in English the tune is not particularly memorable and the song as a whole is really nothing special. The national final performance with the podiums felt rather odd and at first I though it may have been a COVID intervention until Jespers danced behind him on his! The outfits are absolutely terrible and the whole stage could do with filling up with other instrumentalists or dancers. I don't see this troubling the scoreboard.

ARTIST - Fyr og Flamme
SONG - Øve os på hinanden" (Practice on each other)
WRITING CREDITS - Laurits Emanuel

 

ESTONIA 2021

The Estonian Final (Eesti Laul) was held on March 6th at Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, hosted by Tõnis Niinemets & Grete Kuld. Before the final there were two semi-finals with 6 qualifying from each. The winner was chosen in two rounds: first to find a top 3 using a 50/50 televoting/jury split then the winner was chosen solely by televoting. The winner was last year's Estonian entrant, Uku Suviste, with the song "The lucky one".

The staging of this is simplistic and helps deliver the message of the song. The stage is rather dark and Uku looks tiny amongst the darkness. He is wearing a white buttoned shirt and dark trousers with an undone bowtie around his neck and kneeling on the floor. There is a clever insert where it looks like Uku has fallen backwards and the stage turns to water but is actually a video clip. He walks forward onto the stage where chains are hanging all around him which seems like an odd shift of metaphors having just had the water one. Slowly, the back drop starts to light up, with more underwater shots in between, and as the song gets to the end flashes of pink start appearing on the backdrop before turning totally dark.

The singing starts almost immediately with Uku singing in a very low hushed tone. The backing track is very atmospheric making the whole thing rather mysterious and intriguing. During the second part of the verse his voice is more full but still with a sense of mystery. The bridge has an unusual mix of long held notes followed by short sharp rhyming parts which certainly catches your ear.  The chorus has a good mix of choir and synth beats although feels a bit mid tempo. However this section is rather short compared to the amount of time it takes to reach it. Verse 2 is much shorter and this time goes straight into the chorus which doesn't quite have the power as before. Strangely the bridge then comes after the chorus and really builds up to the final chorus.

Uku comes from a bit of a showbiz family; his father being a tv producer and his mother being an opera singer. In fact many of his close family are opera singers but Uku studied pop and jazz in Estonia before studying for some time at Berklee College in America learning the art of modern song writing and production techniques. In 2012 Uku took 3rd place at the New Wave contest and started a brief career in musicals. He's also participated in the Voice Russia, getting to the semi-finals. This song is his 4th entry in Eesti Laul with two wins and one second place to his name which cements him as one of the competition's most successful participants.

Compared to his winning song last year, it's in the same vein but slightly less annoying! I enjoy the build up through the first verse, bridge and chorus but that takes up over half the song so the second half feels rushed and squeezed which undoes all the good work. I wonder what difference it might make if the bridge was put after the second verse and had a double chorus after it. Personally, I like the water motifs but would lose the chains (unless there were chains visible when underwater maybe..?) In a sea of female bangers, a song like this could stand out as something safe and more stereotypically Eurovision for the casual waters at home but I wonder if the entry is powerful enough to get people to actually vote for it.

ARTIST - Uku Suviste
SONG - The lucky one
WRITING CREDITS - Dimitris Kontopoulous, Uku Suviste, Sharon Vaughn 

SERBIA 2021

The Serbian song was released on March 4th, via the Eurovision youtube channel. The group Hurricane who won Beovizija last year was invited to represent the nation in 2021 Unlike last year this year's entry was internally selected. The song they are singing is called "Loco Loco" (Crazy , Crazy)

The video has three main settings - singing in the bath, singing sola and singing altogether in a stereotypical might club. The video has an 80s tinge to it and the night club scenes even have a filter on them to look slightly blurry like old archive footage. They also have very full on make up and masses of curly hair, shoulder pads, leopard print, feathers, shiny fabrics, large earrings and sunglasses. When in the bath they are wearing little but this is  obscured by the disco balls in the tub with them. All these different sections are cut rather finely, changing plenty and often, possibly to emphasise the change of person singing and the craziness in the title. 

The song starts will a synthesised brass bassline with the name of the song and band in the intro followed by an extended instrumental in the same vein. The first verse is a little less frantic and the backing track is less beat driven which helps create build up for the next parts. The short pre-chorus is more staccato and monotone, almost a bit shouty, and helps the beat build up in response. The chorus has that dancehall bassline while the girls sing repetitive monosyllables which sound a little bit silly to an English ear - but makes total sense in Serbian. The backing track business continues as the instrumental and flows back into another verse, then pre-chorus and chorus. Then flows in a different style of instrumental which is rather minimal but keeping the dancehall syncopation - I can imagine this being a rather pivotal dance break section - which leads into a key change and a final chorus. After some big notes and showy-off vocal gymnastics the name of the song 'Loco Loco' is once again repeated.

Hurricane the band has been together since 2017. Ivana is a successful dancer having won multiple national dance championships as well as duetting with Eurovision participants Jala Brat. Ksenia, is Knez's daughter and was one of  his Eurovision backing singers in 2015. Sanja was a member of the pan-genre band ZAA for five years prior to Hurricane and she also represented Serbia as a soloist back in 2016. Needless to say they already have quite the following amongst fans and have a lot of performing experience between them.

The song is in a very similar vein to their song from last year, but this one lacks any of the of the power of "Hasta La Vista" Yes, it is really great that the girls are singing in Serbian but to get any purchase for a non-Serbian speaker you need good rhythm, repetitive tunes and some charisma from the girls. but this song is overly complicated and you need multiple listens to even think about what is going on. To me, the girls look a bit aloof and sometimes smarmy, like a too-cool-for-school 6th form clique who've 'made a pop video'. Something about this is also missing for me in basic terms of  not sticking in my head. Maybe a conducive dance routine might help emphasise the repeated parts of the song but I am kind of clutching at straws here. I am also hoping their staging is less busy than the video and helps the girls (and the audience) focus on their vocals although I suspect the pre-recorded vocals may well be high up in the mix.

ARTIST - Hurricane
SONG - Loco Loco (Crazy Crazy
WRITING CREDITS - Nemanja Antonić, Sanja Vučić

AUSTRALIA 2021

The Australian song premiered on March 4th, with its first play on Australian radio station Triple J. The next day it was available to find on all online platforms and on the 6th it had its first live performance at Syndey Mardi Gras. The singer Montaigne, who won Australia Decides in 2020, was reselected again for the 2021 edition however this song was internally selected. She will sing the song "Technicolour"

During her performance at the Mardi Gras Montaigne was joined on stage by 2 female dancers. All three of them are dressed in different white outfits although the dancers start with black coats and shed them at the command 'take off your cloaks'. Montaigne was singing live, which in itself was pretty impressive, does some dancing although most of it is on the spot with some armography, foot swivelling and kneeling. It felt rather simplistic and could easily be beefed up with more dancers as well as benefiting from a proper backdrop and props.

The song structure is rather straightforward compared to many of the songs we've reviewed up to now. The verses show off Montaigne's lower register as well as her yodelling technique. Here her voice sounds Celtic, almost Sinead O'Connor like. The yodelling continues in the pre-chorus but her voice seems a little more agitated as the lyrics become more emotional but suddenly breaks off into a more shouty call to arms part and goes straight into the repetitive chorus. We then repeat the verse/pre-chorus/chorus medley before a brief respite with some more vocal runs and some rather high notes before the final chorus which also initiates a rather unexpected key change. 

Montaigne's breakthrough came in 2014 when her song "I am not an end" got good radio play in Australia and was followed up by the release of her EP called "Life of Montaigne". In 2016 she released her album "Glorious Heights" which helped Montaigne win the ARIA for "Breakthrough Artist" which is no mean feat. Her second album came out in 2019 and the next year won "Australian Decides" with Don't Break Me. Her music is very singer-songwriter led however her music is also seen as 'art pop' because of her production style and visual presentations.

Compared to her 2020 entry this is more pop influenced. There are many changes in the song which show off the different facets of her voice but the transitions of the song need a lot of work. The song is much more level in terms of production in the studio version and I feel the backing track needs more rise and fall to make the parts stand out more. In particular, the change from pre-chorus to the technicolour chant needs more of a pow moment between them. I also hope that this staging is not what we are getting at Eurovision. Obviously she'll have more of a backdrop but I also wonder if she'll have more dancers to make the stage come alive more. I also think Montaigne's choreo doesn't fit with the song. perhaps if she has more dancers she might be able to get away with doing less. This all said, her live vocal performance is really outstanding and if she can pull something like this in May she will do herself justice. 

ARTIST - Montaigne
SONG - Technicolour
WRITING CREDITS - Jessica Cerro, Dave Hammer

MOLDOVA 2021

The Moldovan song was released on March 4th, with the release of the official music video on youtube. Natalia Gordienko who had won the Moldovan national final in 2020 was selected to try again in 2021, however this time round her song was also selected internally. Her song is called "Sugar". 

The video is set in a pink studio with a 'sweets' theme. Natalia is dressed in a light blue bodice with a lacy top, blue ankle socks and rather large platform shoes. During the song she is joined my male dancers in pink and female dancers who are dressed as ice cream cones. There is also a shot of a man who she is singing to the song to/about. At the end of the song Natalia rips of the man's face to reveal that his head is made of rainbow cake and starts to eat it.

The song is full of short sharp shifts of rhythm which keeps you on your toes but also makes it lacks flow, build and definition. It starts with a short verse supported by a simple beat and during the pre-chorus the beats become more syncopated. Next is an instrumental brass earworm incorporating a simple dance routine (if not a slight rip off of On Fire from last year) We then have the chorus which is sung using her full voice before another go at the brassy earworm. The next verse is even shorter than the last one (and barely registers) before going straight into the pre-chorus, chorus and brass refrain. The comes a rather oddly placed bridge which really halts the flow before a final brass part to the end.

Natalia Gordienko is a seasoned performer and has been singing and taking part in competitions since she was 15. Back in 2006 she took part in the Eurovision Song Contest taking the stage with Arsenium and Connect-R with the song "Loca" only coming 20th out of 24 songs in the final. Although this was not the best result she came back the next year to place 1st in the prestigious "New Wave" contest which has been the springboard for many Eastern European artists. She has  released many different songs, in English, Russian and Romanian but not with much chart success.

This song has been masterminded by Phillip Kirkorov and Dimitris Kontopoulos who have had a major hand in a number of significant Eurovision entries over the past two decades. and have a definite style of song and visual production. However this really not my style and I find the production of this video really off-putting. I wish Natalia actually sang most of the song rather than the croaky 'ickle gurl' voice she seems to out on for the most part. I also find her styling really far too provocative, not to mention female backing dancers just being a pair of legs while the men get normal costumes. I feel like people will like this song because of the production and the stable it comes from rather than the singing and performing prowess of Natalia herself. As for the song itself, its structure is all over the place and feel like it is several parts put together with no focal point. I wonder if this song is a little too soulless or lacking character and oooomph. Compared to her 2020 song this feels a little tacky and Natalia has turned into a  "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"

ARTIST - Natalia Gordienko
SONG - Sugar
WRITING CREDITS - Mikhail Gutseriev, Philipp Kirkorov, Dimitris Kontopoulos, Sharon Vaughn