Eurovision Song Contest 2021 - The Grand Final Part One - The songs
Hello and welcome to our review of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final! 26 songs will be competing to be crowned Europe's favourite song. For this first part, I am joined by James, who will also be reviewing the songs, and giving his feedback. We will also be adding our scores to the final leader board, to see if there is any changes. So, without further ado, lets start the show!
We get our fabulous foursome of hosts, Edsilia in a beautiful blue gown that makes her skin glow, Chantal dazzling in a golden number, Jan in a slightly muted suit, and Nikkie in a purple gown, the colour is beautiful on her, but the dress makes her look a lot wider than she actually is, the sleeves just don't do anything for her. I can't decide who is best dressed between Edsilia and Chantal. I think Chantal edges it, just by how architecturally interesting the dress is, coupled with the fact her hair styled to the side gives it a asymmetrical quality.
Our first entry tonight is from Cyprus. The song is "El Diablo" performed by Elena Tsagrinou. As I said in the Semi Final, it's a mediocre song, staged in fantastic way, so you remember it. It's clean, on brand, with Elena in Silver, and all the backing dancers contrasting in red. Love the reflective background and the flaming El Diablo sign at the end, although it probably could have been revealed in a quicker or more interesting way. I will say though, I felt the vocals of the opening were not great when she was laid down, but she got back into it quickly.
James - Very pop, with some dirty dancing. Very red, and burst into a bit of a lady gaga sound. Thought there was too much sexy dancing and not enough lyrics to form a song, but it was a bit catchy.
Anxhela Peristeri is representing Albania this year, with the song "Karma". It's what I would call a traditional Albanian Eurovision entry, red & black staging, passionate and powerful vocals, a beautiful woman giving us complex Albanian lyrics, while the audience is roasted alive by the pyrotechnics. It's a formula that generally does Albania well and gets them to the final. She performs it well, but I've got to say, the outfit needed looking at it. The crotch area needed hiding a bit, it's a little distracting. I'm not even interested in women, but I can't stop staring at her crotch. Also the tights, why are her legs a different colour to her arms? Otherwise, really well performed. And I am very jealous of her hair!
James - Fiery song, sung with power and the wind machine. Thought it was quite fun although I had no understanding of what was going on. I didn't not enjoy it.
Me - that's quite the double negative!
James - I did enjoy the song, I just don't know any Albanian!
Our next entry is "Set me free" from Israel. This is Eden Alene, who is a really fun performer to watch, she's got a fun charisma about her. It's got slick choreo, a Eurovision record setting note, and they really work the spaces available too. There's a great mix of English & Hebrew lyrics, and I love her vocals. Again, same complaint from the Semi Final, there needed to be some more backing vocals in the end chorus, to fill the gaps between the whistle notes and the end of the song, just to give it a bit of a punchier end to it. But otherwise, loved it!
James - Cheesy & predictable, didn't feel like it developed into anything for me, lost interest and was more interested in what the backing dancers were doing.
Belgium is next, and it's Hooverphonic with the song "The Wrong Place". I feel like it's a song I shouldn't like, it's got a dark gritty vibe to it, but I think that's why I like it. There's an almost country twang to it, and it feels very intimate. I feel at times the vocals are not as strong as the Semi Final, it sounded like a couple of slight wobbles in the first verse. The backing vocals are brilliant, and really give the song the fuller sounding sound (if that makes any sense). It's not the wall of sound that their 2020 entry "Release Me" had, albeit with a different singer. The camera angles work well, and there's a constantly feeling of wanting to know who it was that has done this to her, almost like someone in the band has betrayed her. Overall, I really like it, it's a bit different to what else is on offer tonight.
James - Felt as though the vocals struggled in the first bit but settled on, felt there was an odd dynamic onstage, with the individual members on stage not interacting with each other. Felt like a ballad, but a bit flat overall.
"Russian Woman" is the entry from (surprise surprise) Russia, and it is performed by Manizha. The song is staged really well, and Manizha has a fantastic charisma about her, and is so interesting to watch. It's a song with heart, encouraging & inspiring Russian Women to be brave and stand up. It's got a real punchy vibe, and ends with a wall of Russian women singing along. It's such a shame that Russia's actions in Ukraine in 2022 do not reflect this. This is also Russia's last entry in the contest, and so it seems a slightly ironic final entry. The song is fun and with a real message. Hopefully the people of Russia will pay heed to it someday, before the Ukrainian rivers turn red with blood.
James - Felt like it was more than just about Russian Women standing up. Random song, but goes into a fun rap, with an old versus new sort of feeling.
"Je Me Casse" is the Maltese entry, performed by the 2015 Junior Eurovision winner Destiny. The song is about female empowerment, and it performed very well, although the up-tempo swing song itself is slightly baffling. It's a marmite song, you either love it or hate it. It's fun, and is staged well, with bright colours, ballet bars and a great transitions. The high note is better than the mangled one from the semi final, but still doesn't sound quite right. Otherwise, a great performance.
James - Bouncy & fun, and felt very Americanised, a bit chavvy in places though. Was very catchy and she has a great voice.
Portugal is next, and they are represented by The Black Mamba, with the song "Love Is On My Side". First of all, I love the staging for this, the old Hollywood, black and white style of the filming. Vocals from the lead singer are crisp with a beautiful rasp to it. There's a great orchestra feel to the song, and the song itself feels like a performance you would pay to go and see. The lead singer uses the stages well, providing a slightly different edge to the end of the song with the guitar. It's also the first fully English language song for Portugal, and they chose a good one to do it with. My only concern, a song like this so early in the show often gets forgotten about, despite the memorable "love is on my side, but maybe not tonight ending". A sublime entry from Portugal.
James - Very classical feeling to it, although the black and white was odd for Eurovision, but a nice touch. Slow song but done in a nice way.
Hurricane are the Serbian entrants this year, with the song "Loco Loco". I won't repeat all my notes from the Semi Final, but it's a fun anthem, with both dance choreo, and hairography. There's good harmonies and the whole thing is a Eurovision party. All I will say, is I don't like it as much as "Hasta La Vista" but there we go, you can't have everything.
James - Sassy, lots of fake hair and boobs, but no idea what was going on, bits of English thrown in with the Serbian. Not bad
Nikkie chats to us, giving us the top 3 videos of home made videos from Eurovision songs, with, unsurprisingly, a drag duo winning the video. We then get a message from Valentina, who won the 2020 Junior Eurovision song contest. We then get a conference call with Jamala, Emmelie de Forest and Duncan Laurence, who show us their trophies. It's a shame more is not shown, instead we are advised to head to the Eurovision website. I might try and find them.
The United Kingdom is next, and we have James Newman, and the song is "Embers". The song is actually a fun track, with a good vibe to it. It's staged nicely, with two giant trumpets, and a group of dancers with brass instruments come on. Vocally, it's not the best, and there's a couple of moments where he sounds rather out of breath, which seems to worsen as we go on. It also takes on a slightly cheesy edge to it. The song seemed to get a lot of airplay in the run up to the contest, which was rather unusual. We won't be last this year, which is good. I'm estimating us to end up around the 15th-20th places, or somewhere in between. Hopefully this will break our bad track record!
James - Thought he was a weirdo, dressed badly and didn't feel like he was right for the song, and thought the musicians did better. Boring song
Following on is Greece, it's Stefania with "Last Dance". It is still a very over produced track, almost AI created. I hate the backing dancers on the green screen, it feels cheap, tacky and very backwards. The song doesn't feel like it is going anywhere either. She performs well, although whoever dressed her needs to make sure that the line between her catsuit and boots is hidden, it makes her look out of proportion. Bit of a lazy entry overall
James - felt like two halves of a song that don't match. Purple on purple was odd, until I realised why for the Green screen. Song was forgettable, and didn't get the background relevance
Hot favourites Switzerland are next. Gjon's Tears is performing "Tout L'Univers". First of all, the staging doesn't work for me, the layout seems off, and it detracts a little bit from the performance. I get that it is representing the openness of space, but it's a little too high concept to fully come across. The parts where he is waving his arms about and the camera is shaking don't help either. That aside, it's a nice song, but his voice is beautiful. He has a lovely control, moving up and down the notes with ease. Will do well, but the staging needed to be sorted out.
James - Oddly powerful ballad in French, built up some rhythm and power as the song progressed. Voice seemed a little out at times, couldn't work out if it was the style of voice or something else.
Other favourites Iceland are performing next, if you're wondering why the arena looks empty, its because this is a recorded performance from rehearsals, due to a covid case within the band. But don't worry, they are all ok and watching while isolating in the hotel. The song is "10 Years" and is performed by Daði og Gagnamagnið. This is not a song I get, and they are not a group get. The song has disco vibes, and is an ode to the time spent with his wife. There's just something about him, that I don't like, but I can't tell you what it is. The whole delayed end with the fireworks just came off as really arrogant. Anyway, who's next?
James - Possibly less creepy than 2020. Like the fun keyboards, and the electro pop song vibes, but still to slow and odd feeling. Feels, like it was wrote for the wrong era too, almost like it was meant for something years ago.
Spain is next, and it's Blas Canto who is singing "Voy a Quedarme". Interestingly, he has set the record for the largest ever Eurovision prop. So it has at least one thing going for it there. He has a nice voice, and the song is a slow build. It's staged lovely, with the stars behind him, and then the colossal moon. I wonder what scale it is, 1:250,000,000? I'm just not connecting with the song as it speeds up. It's just forgettable, and after a couple more songs, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you anything about it, other than a man singing a strained falsetto note to a giant moon.
James - No backing track to start, with the acapella start, but built up. Felt like a love song, but can't be sure. Picked up a beat, and halfway through started to feel more at home and settled into the performance with a smile.
If you need a little sugary pick up after that, then this is the song for you. "Sugar" is Moldova's entry this year, performed by Natalia Gordienko. This song is such an ear worm, each time I hear it, it takes me hours to get it out of my head. Love the 80's style staging, and the dance breaks are good fun. We have to mention the vocals, she is such a gaspy singer, it's like there is no oxygen in the arena. The constant gasping is so distracting. She's so hypoxic she drops the microphone after the dance break, but deals with it well. She is heavily assisted with the backing vocals, but needed more to smooth it out. She also gives us the longest note in Eurovision history, look at 2021, breaking records left, right and centre. It's not a great note, but there we go. But this is a song contest, and I just love the song, I listen to both English and Russian versions even now!
James - Likes dancing and looked at home on stage, with the dancers. Not many words to it, lot of dancing and not much singing. Backing music felt very Eastern European
Germany is next to perform, and it is Jendrik with the song "I don't feel hate". This is a song you know full well is going to be at the bottom of the leaderboard. It's irritating, and not in a catchy memorable way. The random bursts of like jazz instrumental just throw me off completely, what with the dancing hand (and middle finger) jumping around the place. The whole cartoon vibe clashes with the song and performance, and I'm just glad when it is over.
James - Eurotrash. Not what I expected, went straight into it. Very crazy but not in a good way, What was the point of this, nothing matched up, the song, background etc.
Luckily, Finland is next, and Blind Channel are performing "Dark Side". Finland have returned to their rockier roots for this entry, and it is a breath of fresh air. It's heavy, but sharp & catchy, and gets the energy going. It blasts open at the start, and I am loving it. Not usually my type of music, but it's good fun and nice to have a bit more variety in the final. The grunts were maybe a bit much in between chorus & verses. (grunts? Maybe more like seal noises)
James - Lot of jumping around and movement on stage. Dark, heavy & energic, gave me original pendulum vibes. Nice to understand the lyrics and they performed well, even when running.
Edsilia is now backstage by the commentator booths looking over the arena. We chat to the Danish commentators in their silver outfits, and then the Russian commentators. Yana, Russian commentator came for this beautiful box, and give Edsilia a bunch of flowers. Which is lovely.
Bulgaria is out next entry, and Victoria is performing "Growing Up is Getting Older". This is a charming and beautifully performed song, you can feel the emotion in the air. She's performing on a moving giant rock, in soft orange lighting which beautifully contrasts with her blue suit. The sand is running down, and the falling stars and lighting changes just elevate the staging and the song even more. A really good entry from Bulgaria, and should continue their run of good results the past few years. Just a shame the final spoken word bit didn't quite work as well as in the Semi Final, perhaps the adrenaline & emotion carried her away slightly.
James - Sang quietly, but sang deeply and with soul & emotion. Loved the set with the water ripples around it giving a feeling of isolation. Had a lovely voice.
The Roop are performing "Discoteque" for Lithuania. I will say this, for me, I think they would have won the 2020 contest with "On Fire" and "Discoteque" feels like an inferior part two. Don't get me wrong, this really fun, and I love the performance, the dance routine is fantastic. I was going to try to recreate it, but injuries were certain & severe. Vaidotas is a vocal powerhouse, I could listen to him all day. He is a charismatic and energetic performer. It slightly falls apart performance wise when they are chasing the camera man, but they bring it back into focus. A really good entry, which will make Lithuania the top of the Baltics this year.
James - Gave me Richard O'Brian (from The Crystal Maze) creepy vibes. Was a crazy alternation between sections of the song, and the club feeling section was good, but I did lose a bit of interest towards the end.
Me - That reference to Richard O'Brian absolutely tickled me. Yes he does look like it at times, but Vaidotas is much more attractive (and less creepy)
"Shum" is the Ukrainian entry, performed by Go_A. This is a masterpiece, an almost EDM track fused with traditional rhythms, sung in the white voice vocal technique. It sets the arena alight, and it's how I feel a Ukrainian rave would be like. The staging only increases the reach of the song, the forest setting, then the feeling of motion in the background graphics, increasing the pace of the song. It's incredible, and a song worthy of winning. I'm not sure if we've ever seen or heard anything quite like it on the Eurovision stage. That final note is mesmerising.
James - Not sure what genre that was, powerful vocals, instrumental was good, nice to see a flute. Set was great, but felt on the cheap side because it was bouncing about. Light dancer worked well to add dynamic to it. Liked it as it got faster
Continuing on, we have another country giving us a modern update on their traditional music. Barbara Pravi is performing "Voila" for France. This is traditional French Chanson pop, and a masterclass in it. The darkness with the beams of light keeps your focus, and Barbara's strong vocals over a dramatic backing track. The staging is so simple, but captivating, the occasional graphic of birds or stars. She is alone on stage, but she keeps your focus rooted on her. The end camera work, is a piece of technical brilliance, amazingly done by the camera person. The final is beautiful, and you can see her feeling the emotion as she stands, eyes closed and arms raised. Perfection.
James - Voice was great, very classical French, lighting, camera work was surreal and really highlighted her. Got a bit of the song, but would have been nice to know a bit more about the detail of the song. Very passionate performance.
Azerbaijan is up next, and Efendi is singing "Mata Hari". I'm just going to say it, this is such a lazy song. I could have written, composed it and performed it better. The choreo is lazy, and something a 10 year old could created. It's such a bizarre song, singing about Mata Hari, the executed resistant fighter. The backing dancers look a mess with varying degrees of clothing. I just...I can't even express my disappointment. Perhaps it's because it's a catchy song, but not one I would want to listen to again.
James - The content did not match the song title, the dancing was bewitching in a provocative way, but not in a good way. Not great overall
Tix is representing Norway this year, with the song "Fallen Angel". I understand the direction of the staging, with Tix as a white heavenly angel, and the black angels of hell around him. It's a bit too literal, but then, Eurovision generally speaking is anything but subtle. It made sense, but didn't really go anywhere or build up in the song. The song just screams a 90's boyband B side single. It's just very repetitive and a bit on the boring side.
James - Interesting staging, the lighting led you in and opened up a bit as the song moved on. the song was simple, and needed a bit more too it. Nice, but didn't get into anything nice that would have meant something more.
Host's Netherlands are up next, and Jeangu Macrooy will be hoping for a win on home soil with the song "Birth of A New Age". It starts off with a punch, a beautiful lyric of "Your rhythm is rebellion". It's a song with meaning, and a call for change to something new. I get that. But the song itself it very weak. We don't seem to go anywhere, and it becomes very repetitive after a while. The spoken middle section brought a bit of a fresh vibe to the song, before moving into the final section. But overall, I'm not overly fussed, I feel like it will get forgotten about.
James - Soul singing with a pop edge, found the dancing odd and not connected & balanced with the song, felt a disconnect between the performers, with singers separating to dancers and vice versa.
Italy are up next, with glam rockers Måneskin, and the song "Zitti E Buoni". It's a rockier edge we don't normally see with Italy, who tends to send polished & perfected acts to the contest. Frontman Damiano has a brilliant gritty edge to him and his raspy voice. It's a fun song, and they perform with some gusto. It's not my favourite song of the night, but I do appreciate a different song in a native language, and this ticks both boxes. Also, I think Ethan on the drums might be my crush of 2021? Also, the pyrotechnics were amazing, but I don't think anyone in the first few rows has any eyebrows left!
James - Not what I was expecting, was hard heavy rock, depressive sounding at times, also don't often hear Italian rock. Great use of the stage, played and sung their hearts out.
Our penultimate entry is from Sweden, The song is "Voices" and is performed by Tusse. Strobe light warning! It's a very dull song, and very over produced, something which Sweden never normally struggles with, so it's unusual for them to send a song that's not quite right. It feels like it needs some layers striped off and a bit more of a raw edge to it, so the meaning of the song comes through a bit more. The lighting effects really annoy me, it's getting to the point where I'm looking away because it's hurting my eyes, when we should be seeing his face so we can connect with him on a deeper level. It feels like a junior member of the team took over this entry for Sweden this year. Could we see an end to the run of top 10 positions they have been on the past decade? Quite possibly.
James - Was a bit rap & pop, but didn't quite fit into either. Backing graphics for first half didn't work, almost invisible dancers worked well, coming and going, and using the VT for the million voices worked well.
Our final entry tonight is from San Marino. "Adrenalina" is the song, performed by Senhit, with special guest Flo Rida. Yes you read that correctly. The song is punchy, fun and fast, and a perfect way to end the show with a bang. Senhit performs brilliantly, her vocals are great, even while spinning around on the stage. It needs some more backing vocals in the final chorus, it was a little patchy at times, and the audience doesn't know the song well enough or is loud enough to carry it. Flo Rida adds a fun dynamic to it, and I just wish the backing dancers worse something decent, rather than the opulent rags they are in. Otherwise, this is pop perfection, and should get them a great result.
James - Better atmosphere when Flo Rida joined, staging was fun, and gave it a bit of American style theatre with his name on the side panel. Didn't feel like a Eurovision song.
And there we have it, all 26 countries have performed on the stage. What a great bunch of songs this year. Our hosts join us onstage, and it's time for the most important part of the show, opening the voting lines. And with a burst of fireworks onstage, the lines are open!
Join me in part two, where I will review the rest of the show, including the interval acts & the voting. I will also be discussing the overall contest, as well as sharing both mine and James's votes. Make sure you check it out!
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