Who will win the Eurovision Song Contest 2021?

Thanks to Duncan Laurence’s win in Tel Aviv in 2019 this year’s Eurovision Song Contest will be hosted in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The biggest European Musical event was supposed to be held last year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was postponed to this year. Multiple artists returned to represent their country and others were replaced by new artists. But who will be taking the crown on Saturday the 22nd of May? Let’s do a deep-dive into some of the contestants.

Strong, powerful women emerge

There’s no doubt that being who you want to be is a red thread throughout Eurovision. Not only is it hosting a strong LGBTQ+ community, it’s also empowering women that might feel somewhat suppressed in their home countries. Therefore, this year seems to be the rise of strong female singers and most of them have a feminist subject in their songs.

Malta’s Destiny sings Je Me Casse, meaning “I’m Out” is a song about taking your power back in a bad relationship, which resonates with a lot of women out there. Undoubtedly, this song is a strong contestant in winning the whole thing. The uplifting beats and the hook of the saxophone (like Moldova did in 2010, which turned out to be the saxophone meme) make it a very catchy song. Similar to the winner of 2018 Israel’s Netta — Toy, the song is about that female empowerment with a catchy chorus. So perhaps this year it will prevail again. Destiny has already won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and can be the first ever to win the regular one as well too.

Cyprus’ Elena Tsagrinou and her creative team didn’t seem to be original with her music video when it’s clearly inspired by Swedish popstar Zara Larsson’s Love Me Land video. But as uncreative that video might have been, it’s all about the performance at the Semi-final (and Final). Something that Australia’s Montaigne can’t do live. Due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions they are the only ones that did not travel to Rotterdam. However, there is a live performance pre-recorded and that will be aired instead. Both Cyprus’ and Australia’s entries are driven by feminist empowerment.

Hurricane’s Loco Loco is another reggaeton beat-like song with catchy lyrics, however only catchy for Serbian speakers. You can tell it’s a Eurovision song cos there is a modulation at the end of the song, the classic element that was used plenty of times before. Another contestant with a similar beat is Efendi’s Mata Hari, with a catchy hook of ma-ma-ma-mata hari. And, you guessed it, this song is also about female empowerment.

Pleading for equality and accepting yourself is what Samanta Tina’s The Moon Is Rising is singing about in her song. She is literally putting a crown on all females out there. In her music video you will see all kinds of people (lesbians, drag-queens, little people) which will appeal to a diverse audience. With the strong hip-hop beats the message is definitely coming across. Similar to Samantha’s song is next door neighbours Russia. Maninzha’s Russian Woman is a dedication to all kinds of Russan women that live in Russia. Being a refugee as well, she wants everyone to know that acceptance and tolerance is key. Even though the song is mostly in Russian you can still dance to it and sing along with the catchy beats.

Cyprus, Australia, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Latvia and Russia might all be switching around in the Top15 according to the bookmakers. They will probably not win, but for sure there will be streaming a lot after the contest due to their dancy catchy songs. The other female singer that might have a shot at winning the whole thing is Barbara Pravi of France. Her song Voila is all about accepting who you are “Here I am”. The song sounds like a classic French song from the olden days that might do well with the older audience. Is it time for France to win the Eurovision Song Contest again?

The power of copying

And then there’s always artists that copy popular songs. Amnesia by ROXEN of Romania is clearly inspired by the Billie Eilish Darkpop trends. Last year Bulgaria tried to climb onto this same trend as well with the song Tears Getting Sober by Victoria. This year they didn’t really try anything different and are entering Eurovision with the song Growing Up Is Getting Old. Another country that almost quite literally is copying a winner is Switzerland. Gjon’s Tears will perform Tout L’univers, it’s a bold ballad with strong drums that kind of resemble the ones you could have heard in Duncan Laurence’s Arcade, the previous winner. Gjon actually asked the same producer, Wouter Hardy, to help him produce the song. With the added fact that he sings in French, he will for sure have France in the palm of his hands. This song has been on top of the bookmakers top 5 for several weeks now, so let’s see if Wouter can do it again!

Another entry with a Dutch touch is the Greek entry Stefania with her song Last Dance. Born and raised in The Netherlands but with Greek parents she has the privilege to represent Greece. Her song is another great example of trying to copy an existing formula. The song has a slow build up but then explodes in the chorus. With the heavy basic drum beats being the driving force throughout the song. The choir in the background support the powerful vocals of the just 18-year old Stefania. However, can this song stand-out to all the elder forces?

Lesley Roy’s song Maps from Ireland has a very upbeat and catchy chorus. It almost sounds like you have heard this song before. The song reminds me of any OneRepublic song and the vibes are also very similar. Last year she brought a more early Katy Perry type of song, with again a very catchy chorus. She definitely knows what the pop formula is but will this resonate with the Eurovision audience this year? Songs like Heroes and Euphoria (both from Sweden) have proven that you can win with a trendy song.

Tik-Tok Dance Hypes

And then there are dance trends, or rather viral dance moves. Remember when I mentioned the Saxophone guy from Moldova? He became a meme after the Eurovision Song Contest ended. But what if you try to be a meme or at least go viral before the contest? Croatia even incorporated the most popular social media app TikTok into their song name Tick-Tock. When asked if they are going to link a TikTok challenge to the song they fully said yes. What that challenge will be, will be uploaded later this week. Will this help them to get to the final?

Another band that became viral superstars is the band The Roop from Lithuania. Last year they were a big contestant with their song On Fire, with a rather unusual dance routine. This dance routine became so popular on TikTok that it’s almost a shame that they didn’t get to perform it on stage. This year they are coming back stronger than ever with the song Discotheque. And, as suspected, they actually added a TikTok challenge with it called the Fingerdance. Hopefully the storm of popularity will help them with the votes this year.

Speaking of odd dance moves and also another competitor to win is Daði & Gagnamagnið from Iceland. With the song Think About Things last year, they were very memorable. The iconic dance moves that scream simplicity had the bookmakers determine them as potential winners. This year the song 10 Years should do the trick. The dance moves aren’t as memorable and the song might not be as strong as last year. The bookmakers still predict it will at least be in the Top 10 this year. And yes, the dance is simple again and definitely worth a try!

Going viral is what Little Big from Russia is all about. Their famous song Skibidi with the unusual dance moves made them instantly famous. So famous that Russia wanted Little Big to represent them for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. Their song Uno had all the cliche elements (Spanish words, repetition, quirky dance moves) to become the winner. But then the contest got cancelled. Little Big decided not to return for the 2021 edition. Rest assured that there will be plenty of other dance moves acts this year!

So who will win?

When I’m writing this it’s Sunday and the Eurovision has just been kicked off with their Turquoise Carpet where all delegations were introduced and interviewed. Some delegations had to remain in their hotel rooms due to a COVID-19 positive test at the hotel. But who is on top of the charts? According to the bookmakers the Top 3 is: Italy, France and Malta. But this is changing almost daily. It all boils down to the performances in the Semi-Finals (18/20 May) and Final (22 May). This year’s Eurovision Song Contest will undoubtedly go into the books of the most unique event hosted. I am very excited to see who prevails and who will leave the audience in awe. My personal favorites are Malta, Russia and Iceland. Let’s see who will win!