In the last two days we’ve been hit with a lot of updates for the 2021 Eurovision song contest, and we’re here to break them all down for you! This time we have news from across Europe, so let’s dive on in shall we?
RTVE Announces National Final for Blas Cantó‘s song
This year the Spanish broadcaster is allowing you to decide Blas’ Eurovision entry. Their 2021 Eurovision Gala is set to take place next month and will feature only two songs selected by both RTVE’s Eurovision team and Warner Music Spain. While Blas may not have been part of the shortlist decision he was part of the songwriting process, helping to compose both songs.
It is promised that both entries will be different from one another, and that the result will be decided by a 100% by the public. Voting will be open via the RTVE website, the RTVE mobile app, SMS messaging, and telephone. The selection show is set to air live on RTVE1 and will be available internationally.
Elena Tsagkrinou reveals song release date on Instagram
Elena took to Instagram earlier this week to announce the release date of her Eurovision song “El Diablo”. The song will be revealed on February 24th which means we will get three Eurovision songs in one week (Cyprus on 2-24 with Finland and Norway selecting on 2-20). Her team is currently working to shoot the music video for Elena’s song, and if “Fuego”, “Replay” and “Running” are any indicator – the video will be a masterpiece.
The song is written by Eurovision familiars Laurell Barker who has written Stones (Switzerland, 2018), Sisters (Germany, 2019), She Got Me (Switzerland, 2019), Bigger than Us (UK, 2019), and Empires (Poland, 2020) and Thomas Stengaard who co-wrote Sisters with Laurell, but also wrote Wear Your Love for Germany’s Aly Ryan, Only Teardrops (Denmark, 2014), and You Let Me Walk Alone (Germany, 2018). Also joining the song-writing team is OXA from Brazil and swedish composer Jimmy Thörnfeldt.
Australia’s Montaigne has selected her Eurovision entry
Despite her song JC Ultra being shut down by her team – Montaigne confirmed this week that she has her 2021 entry on lock. Speaking about the song she said: “I can’t say anything more about it yet, I have been told not to but it’s very good. Just believe me when I say that. I’m very excited about it, I think it is going to lend itself to some cool visual stuff and to some nice energy amongst the people. And that’s all I have to say for now I think.”
Montaigne received a call from Grammy Award winning composer Diane Warren – the creative mind between the UK’s most successful entry in the last two decades, It’s My Time by Jade Ewen. It is currently unknown if Montaigne has chosen this song, or an entry that she has written herself – but we’ll find out in the next two months!
Daði Freyr and RÚV announce release date
Another Eurovision artist has revealed when their Eurovision song will be released to the world – this time it’s Daði Freyr and Gagnamagnið of Iceland! The broadcaster announced on their website that the entry would be finalized in the coming days by Daði, but won’t be released globally until March 13th. This is the day right before Eurovision entries are traditionally due to the EBU by and also coincides with the final show of Melodifestivalen 2021.
The group are already working on the song’s staging and outfits for Eurovision, and Daði said this experience has been extremely different compared to his preparations for Songvakeppnin in 2017 and 2020. “We know that we are going into the real competition so it can be justified to put everything into it. I have a lot ready that I did not have last time. “You can plan things further ahead instead of going to the preliminary competition without knowing if we will move on,” he said to RÚV. He is taking this seriously though, as he added: “This is a competition so we have the mentality to win this.”
RÚV also announced that on February 27th and March 6th they will air a documentary series about the group and their history together. The series will focus on how they came to be a group together, their initial success at Songvakeppnin 2017, the 2020 contest and viral success, and the attention they have received since the contest was cancelled.
Belarus
Tensions are running high in Belarus, where political unrest has occurred since mid 2020 over the results of their presidential election. Belarussian and former Eurovision artists like Naviband and VAL have been attending protests against the government, and VAL’s participation for Eurovision 2021 ended because of this.
However the unrest has not ended. There is currently a campaign to remove BTRC from the European Broadcasting Union due to it’s involvement in the political situation facing the country. In addition national final veteran NAPOLI stated that she will not participate in the selection this year – ending her 7 year appearance streak.
That has not stopped UK artist Daz Sampson from submitting. He released his song Give You Love this week featuring Katya Love which he sent to BTRC for their open submission call in hopes that it goes to Eurovision. You can listen to the song below.
Another artist has confirmed that they have submitted an entry for BTRC to consider. Kanza’s song “Braids” has recently gained a lot of traction on social media and has created a lot of counter commentary about how she is engaging in cultural appropriation of Black culture. While it is currently unknown if the song will be considered for Eurovision by the Belarussian delegation, one thing is certain – there could be major fallout should the song go to Rotterdam.
Vincent Bueno announces his creative team for Rotterdam
ORF and Vincent have been extremely quiet since they confirmed him for Eurovision 2021, but it looks like they’ve broken the silence slightly. Vincent posted on Instagram early this week to discuss how his Eurovision song was coming along in Zürich, Switzerland. He appeared alongside co-producer and backing vocalist Pele Loriano. You can watch his 3:30 minute update on his Instagram account here.
Pele comes with a lot of Eurovision experience, co-writing Sisters, Bigger Than Us, and She Got Me with Laurell Barker in 2019. He also co-wrote and produced Lithuania’s 2019 song Running With Lions. He also served as the Music Director for Die Entscheidungsshow in 2018, the Swiss national selection for Lisbon. His staging will be handled by Austrian legend Marvin Dietmann who staged Rise Like a Phoenix in 2014 and Nobody But You in 2018.
What do #YOU think of this Eurovision news? Let us know on our social media accounts, in the comments, or on our forum page!
