David Watt – 22/05/2020
Tonight is the Eurovision 2021 Grand Final, so get your flags, wine and continental cheese board at the ready – have we got a show for you! But in order to have a show we needed 10 more songs from Thursday’s semi-final to make it through.
The competing songs were:
- San Marino: Adrenalina – Senhit
- Estonia: The Lucky One – Uku Suviste
- Czechia: Omaga – Benny Cristo
- Greece: Last Dance – Stefania
- Austria: Amen – Vincent Bueno
- Poland: The Ride – RAFAŁ
- Moldova: Sugar – Natalia Gordienko
- Iceland: 10 Years – Daði Freyr & Gagnamagnið (Dress Rehearsal footage used as members of the delegation tested positive for Covid-19)
- Serbia: Loco Loco – Hurricane
- Georgia: You – Tornike Kipiani
- Albania: Karma Anxhela Peristeri
- Portugal: Love is on My Side – The Black Mamba
- Bulgaria: Growing Up is Getting Old – VICTORIA
- Finland: Dark Side – Blind Channel
- Latvia: The Moon is Rising – Samanta Tīna
- Switzerland: Tout l’universe – Gjon’s Tears
- Denmark: Øve os på Hindanden – Fyr og Flamme
The qualifiers were announce in random order, once again, to maintain suspense. Contestants drew the half they would perform in, in the grand final, at the qualifiers press conference immediately after the show and then producers created the final running order.
Qualifying – Albania (First half)
The first country announced to go through, this calmer ethnic number (which still has plenty of moments for dancing) is a nice little addition to the final. It continues Albania’s streak of qualifying when sending native language songs, similar to how they were presented in Festivali I Këngës (the music festival which doubles up as the Albanian song selection these days). Seemingly this authentic touch resonates with voters and sent an ecstatic Anxhela to the final!
I have no voice left really, because I was screaming all the time
Anxhela Peristeri
Qualifying – Serbia (First half)
After all the former Yugoslav countries were wiped out in the First Semi-Final, Serbia managed to qualify in this one! Standing out as a girl group in this competition and bringing a vocally excellent dance pop song (in Serbian with both Spanish and English words for good measure) their song Loco Loco has since gone viral on YouTube and Spotify. This implies to me that there is a strong televote backing across Europe for this song and having many of its neighbours (and linguistically similar countries) eliminated, it may also have an even stronger concentrated televote.
“It was energetic.”
“Yeah! We live for this!”
Ivana Nikolić and Ksenija Knežević (of Hurricane)
Qualifying – Bulgaria (Second half)
Accompanied by a picture of her father, Bulgaria delivered an emotional and heart felt moment in the semi. This was rewarded with the next spot in the final and a continued presence towards the top of the betting odds. This song will likely have the power to connect to both juries seeking a modern sounding chart hit alongside televoters who feel the power of the deeper connotations and emotions of the song.
If they (the audience) can feel it, that means the world to me
VICTORIA
Qualifying – Moldova (Second half)
Then came a surprise (well not really but a little). Natalia had been sitting around the 11th predicted qualifier for a while now and I certainly worried about this song in the semi’s running order due to the sheer number of fun danceable tracks. However, Moldova once again proved the sceptics wrong and overcame the odds. Delivering some long notes (to meme creator’s delight) she will have likely bagged some points with the jury. Combine that with the fun, tongue-in-cheek sensual nature of the song and yeah it’s enough of a crowd pleaser to push her through. Definitely the guilty pleasure of the season for me.
It’s just beginning!
Natalia Gordienko
Qualifying – Portugal (First half)
Last semi, I referred to Belgium as the pure class that jurors simply couldn’t ignore. I believe Portugal filled that niche this time. Panning from a grey-scale camera into some gorgeous warm orange tones, this song is nostalgic comfort food. I have never been a fan of his vocal style – it’s probably a bit marmite – but it was undeniably controlled and polished. What I do love about this song however, is the jazz undertones which fill the instrumental. Overall it is just a very refined and easy-listening number which will add a bit more musical character to the final.
It doesn’t matter which language. Music is a universal language.
Tatanka (of The Black Mamba)
Qualifying – Iceland (First half)
Stuck in their hotel rooms after an unfortunate positive corona test (get well soon), rehearsal footage had to be used for Iceland. Credit has to go to the host broadcasters for making the transition between songs pretty seamless and it definitely didn’t feel like the group weren’t there. Ultimately, they qualified and I am so glad they did as they have been potential winners in my eyes since they were confirmed to be representing Iceland again. Will the quarantine situation affect them in the final though? Ugh, it is too early to say but I wouldn’t be surprised. Hopefully at the very least the whole band feels alright today, even if they cannot perform.
We’re making the best out of the situation that we can
Daði Freyr
Qualifying – San Marino (Second half)
Flo Rida, Senhit and Adrenaline! It still feels like a weird dream but the smallest participating country qualified once more, having secured their famous rapper’s participation. Senhit and her team managed to make the number so fun and energetic that this had to be a major televote song! As for how well the collaboration paid off, I’d say the two artists gelled very well on stage and bounced off the energy of the crowd. Hopefully even jurors backed this song due to the big name involvement as I for one can’t wait to see if this gets San Marino’s best result in the final.
Just to feel the ‘adrenaline’ of everything going on, it’s been phenomenal
Flo Rida
Qualifying – Switzerland (First half)
Another of the big favourites to win the whole show, it’s no surprise seeing Switzerland advance. Vocally he was exquisite and I’m sure his song will have plucked the heart strings of both jurors and televoters alike. The staging whilst maybe not to everyone’s taste is certainly memorable as well!
That’s why I’m making music, it’s to touch people
Gjon’s Tears
Qualifying – Greece (First half)
Green screens are great for making things disappear… but Stefania didn’t want to disappear from the contest! She pulled off a great performance, singing well despite the many things going on stage around her. Credit also has to be given to the backing dancers quick changing. I’m still not sold on the staging – it’s very gimmicky but it will stand out to a casual audience. Juries should also respect her vocals. Surprisingly, a lot of dance songs from the first half of the semi managed to survive and progress, so I’m sure Stefania was relieved to be called.
I was actually freaking out because they hadn’t said Greece
Stefania
Qualifying – Finland (Second half)
The last song to make the final was of course Finland. Normally at least one rock song qualifies from the semis and with Italy being an automatic qualifier, I don’t think anyone was particularly surprised to see this progress. What Blind Channel managed to do was make the Ahoy feel like it is hosting a rock concert and not Eurovision and this atmosphere adds a lot to their song. It will definitely have had a niche both with jurors and one amongst televoters.
It’s typical Blind Channel, like we’re always late
Joonas Porko (of Blind Channel)
Missing out on the final then was Estonia, Czechia, Austria, Poland, Georgia, Latvia and Denmark. Whilst it is the end of the road for them in this year’s contest, I am excited to see what they do next and follow their music in the years to come. Hopefully, most of your favourites made it to the final?
But wait we aren’t done yet! It’s Saturday and Eurovision day, which means the running order is out and hopefully you have all the snacks you need for 21:00 CEST tonight! I must admit the running order has some more questionable choices but we are still set for a great show! Hear what I think about it below:
I can’t wait for the results! Let me know your predictions in the comments and we will see if you are right. But don’t worry, here at ESC Essence we will have plenty more Eurovision related content to keep you going until the next one. The climax of the 2021 season is just around the corner… and then the 2022 season can begin. I don’t know about you but I have a feeling it will be a great one!
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