Reporters in Rotterdam

Problems around Dutch voting

Yesterday evening many people in The Netherlands, who voted by text message, did not receive any confirmation of their votes. Strangely enough they only got the confirmation in the night, with the message that their votes were received and they were too late with their vote. As many Dutch viewers complained about this, EBU decided to investigate everything. The outcome of this investigation was that there was a technical malfunction at Dutch provider T-Mobile. EBU decided not to count in the votes as this is a problem of T-Mobile, not of the EBU. Furthermore, the entire voting went well. If this is the end of the story or not… we don’t know it yet.

Malta and Switzerland winners semifinals

The results of both the semifinals are known. Malta won the first one and Switzerland the 2nd one. Where the qualifiers of the 2nd semifinal were very clear (number 11, Denmark, follows with a distance), it was a close call at the first semifinal. Norway was 10th with 115 points while Croatia was 11th with 110 points. The full results are: 1st semifinal Malta, 325 pts. Ukraine, 267 pts. Russia, 225 pts. Lithuania, 203 pts. Israel, 192 pts. Cyprus, 170 pts. Sweden, 142 pts. Azerbaijan, 138 pts. Belgium, 117 pts. Norway, 115 pts. Croatia 110 pts. Romania, 85 pts. Slovenia, 44 pts. Australia, 28 pts. North Macedonia, 23 pts. Ireland, 20 pts. 2nd semifinal Switzerland, 291 pts. Iceland, 288 pts. Bulgaria, 250 pts. Portugal, 239 pts. Finland, 234 pts. Greece, 184 pts. Moldova, 179 pts. Serbia, 124 pts. San Marino, 118 pts. Albania, 112 pts. Denmark, 89 pts. Austria, 66 pts. Estonia, 58 pts. Poland, 35 pts. Czech Republic, 23 pts. Georgia, 16 pts. Latvia, 14 pts. photo credits: EBU

Italy wins the 65th Eurovision Song Contest

Italy has just won the 65th Eurovision Song Contest. Måneskin sang the song “Zitti e buoni”. It is the 3rd time that Italy won the Eurovision Song Contest. Italy was closely followed by France , with expert jury winner Switzerland in 3rd place. The full result is: Italy, 524 pts. France, 499 pts. Switzerland, 432 pts. Iceland, 378 pts. Ukraine, 364 pts. Finland, 301 pts. .Malta, 255 pts. Lithuania, 220 pts. Russia, 204 pts. Greece, 170 pts. Bulgaria, 170 pts. Portugal, 153 pts. Moldova, 115 pts. Sweden, 109 pts. Serbia, 102 pts. Cyprus, 94 pts. Israel, 93 pts. Norway, 75 pts. Belgium, 74 pts. Azerbaijan, 65 pts. Albania, 57 pts. San Marino, 50 pts. The Netherlands, 11 pts. Spain, 6 pts. Germany, 3 pts. United Kingdom, 0 pts. A shocking thing was that no less than 4 countries ended up with zero points at the televoting. All the countries who got no points (The Netherlands, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom) were placed directly in the final. photo credits: EBU

In the spotlights: Italy – Måneskin

One of the favorites for the win is Italy, represented by Måneskin. As one of the already placed finalists, they will perform live for the first time tonight. But who are they? Måneskin consists of the members Damiano David (Singer), Victoria De Angelis (Bassist), Thomas Raggi (Guitarist) and Ethan Torchio (Drummer). In 2016, when they were still students at the liceo Scientifico J.F. Kennedy in Monteverde, Rome, they decided to form a band. The band’s name was chosen when they had to register for Pulse, a local music competition for emerging bands. They needed a name, and Victoria, who is half Danish, came up with the name Måneskin (“moonlight”). They would then come up with a “real” name later on. However, this never happened. The PulseContest marked a turning point in their career since they had to start writing their own songs. In 2017, the group became known domestically by finishing second in the eleventh season of the Italian version of X Factor. Måneskin in 2017 Their debut single “Chosen” was released by Sony Music on November 24, 2017 and reached number 2 on the Italian FIMI Singles Chart. It was included in the extended piece of the same title, released in mid-December 2017, and mainly consisted of covers previously performed at X Factor’s live shows. The EP was certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry. On March 23, 2018, the band released their first Italian-language single “Morirò da re” (I will die like a king), which continued their commercial success. Måneskin’s first full studio audio, with “Morirò da re” (Come home) and preceded by the ballad single “Torna a casa”, was released on October 26, 2018. Both the album, entitled “Il ballo della vita” (Dance of the life), as the single “Torna a casa” topped the charts in Italy. To promote the album, the band released a documentary entitled This Is Måneskin. The film premiered on October 26, 2018 in Italy. Måneskin won the Sanremo Music Festival 2021 with the song “Zitti e buoni” (Shut up and be still) which, in short, is about those who want to progress by nurturing their uniqueness. It doesn’t matter who is talking (without knowing what they are saying). Winning the Sanremo Festival gave them the right to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam. Måneskin is in the top 3 in the polls. Tonight we will know whether they will be able to take the victory to Italy. Good luck Måneskin! In Cooperation with Eurovision Artists Photo-Videocredits: EBU

What can we expect and who will win tomorrow?

After a film with, again, beautiful images of the Netherlands, and yes, a role for Duncan Laurence, we go to the flag parade. DJ Pieter Gabriel accompanies the artists musically with his own adaptation of the worldwide hit “Venus” by Shocking Blue, also a hit from Dutch soil. Presenters Edsilia Rombley, Jan Smit and Chantal Janzen sing the song. We open with Cyprus; often an uptempo pop song is chosen to open, this year too. Albania takes the cursed second place. However, Albania is not one of the potential winners anyway, so the second place remains where it is. Israel follows; she once bursted out in tears when the Eurovision song contest was canceled, but now Eden Alene is in the final, followed by Belgium. Hopefully Hooverphonic will remain in peoples memories in the beginning of the broadcast. The advantage is that the song may stand out even more after an uptempo song. However, Russia follows with a striking act and then Malta. What that does to Malta’s chances is a big question mark, but it is not favorable. Certainly not because Portugal will follow after Malta; they are the surprise of the contest. We wouldn’t even be surprised if Portugal ends up very high; The Black Mamba isn’t Salvador Sobral, but still. The end of the first block is formed by Serbia; The fact that the three ladies are through to the final was no surprise, but it will probably not be much more there. Or is Serbia lucky that all other countries of the former Yugoslavia are not there? While advertisements are watched in some countries, the rest of Europe sees Nikkie Tutorials showcasing three winners of the #Eurovisionchallenge. Valentina, who won the junior Eurovision this year, will also say something. Emmelie De Forrest, Jamala and Duncan Laurence talk about their trophy. After that, Chantal Janzen and Jan Smit will make an appeal to share your photo of how you watch the Eurovision song contest. The second block is opened by the United Kingdom. That is usually not something to be happy about. People are still refilling the glasses or sitting on the toilet. By the way, yesterday in the Dutch tv-show Op1 you could see how British journalists are already busy putting the blame for a low score apart from themselves, even before the contest is over. However, the UK entry is completely insignificant to Greece that performes next. Greenscreen is certainly not new, but it is smart to use it. In quality, however, the Greek entry is far surpassed by that of Switzerland. According to many, one of the strongest voices of the festival. Still, the song may soumd a little too much like “Arcade” to be a winner. Also a top song, possibly even a winner, is Iceland. Would it give Daði og Gagnamagnið sympathy votes that they are not allowed to be present live? The Icelandics are in any case followed by the not too strong entry from Spain, although, to be honest, it must be said that the singing of Blas Cantó improves with each rehearsal. Moldova will then take office. But it is still doubtful whether the name of Filipp Kirkorov (composer) will be good for a high score. Germany is a “love it or hate it” entry that can go in any direction. And after a song about a middle finger, the director has chosen to put the other middle finger song right after it. The song from Finland turned out to have a lot of fans yesterday. Whether it helps them on the scoreboard? We’ll know tomorrow night. And then we see Edsilia Rombley at the top of the comment booths to chitchat with various commentators. Chantal Janzen and Jan Smit refer to the time when there was still a live orchestra. They promise an orchestra with a top DJ. In the meantime, Bulgaria is ready with Victoria on her rock. Another strong entry. Then we see Lithuania again. At the bookies, the yellow-clad men have fallen somewhat; not because they are not good, perhaps because a large number of countries have an even stronger entry. And then Chantal Janzen announces Duncan Laurence, who speaks to the viewer in a video. Why so soon? Well, it gives the crew time to prepare the scenery of Ukraine. A trip, as Dutch commentator Sander Lantinga called the entry. of Ukraine We can imagine why. It would not surprise anyone if Ukraine ends up in the top of the rankings. Immediately after that, another top favorite follows: France. Take a good look, because this could well be the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. To be honest, the entry from Azerbaijan is fairly insignificant. Anyway, the King’s Commissioner in Friesland Arno Brok and Mayor of Leeuwarden Sybrand Buma give a voting advice: stim Azerbaijan (vote Azerbaijan, but in Frisian language). It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence, but after Azerbaijan, Norway will perform. All week, something seems to be going on between the Azerbaijani Efendi and the Norwegian TIX. It is very worthy to lsearch for #efentix. Then NikkieTutorials and Edsilia Rombley take the floor and announce some entre-acts and… the entry of the Netherlands. Jeangu Macrooy is praised for his cast-iron voice. He seems to slightly do better among bookmakers. But after the Netherlands, another top favorite (there are quite a lot this year) follows: Italy. Would the glam rock-leaning group win the Eurovision song contest? We do not consider it impossible. Sweden is not one of this year’s top favorites. The entry is just not strong enough for a top score. Finally we see San Marino. And then the rule of applies: world stars do NOT win the Eurovision song contest. Whether it’s Cliff Richard, t.A.T.u., DJ Bobo or Bonnie Tyler, it doesn’t work. A high position is definitely not impossible, San Marino will break its own record for sure. Then a spectacular entre act:follows: a classical orchestra of toung people and Afrojack accompany Wulf and Glennis Grace while

In the spotlight: Malta – Destiny Chukunyere

One of the favorites for the win is Malta, represented by Destiny Chukunyere. But who is she? Destiny was born in Birkirkara on August 29, 2002, and attends school in Ħamrun. Her mother is Maltese, her father is the former Nigerian professional football player Ndubisi Chukunyere. Chukunyere starts singing at the age of nine. In 2014 she came third in Kanzunetta Indipendenza and won the Asteriks and Sanremo Junior music festival in Italy. In the summer of 2015, Chukunyere took part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, which was held in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. She won the festival, with 185 points, with the song “Not my soul”. She became the second Maltese to win the festival, after Gaia Cauchi two years earlier. For her achievement, she was awarded the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika (Medal for Outstanding Achievement) in December 2015 from the President of Malta, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. Destiny in 2015 In 2020 she won the second season of X Factor Malta, which immediately earned her a ticket for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Maltese public broadcaster decided to select her internally to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song “Je me casse” The song has a clear message. “Je me casse” is a French pronunciation that means “I must go.” With the song she wants to inspire women to never doubt themselves; if you believe in yourself you can achieve great things. Destiny is in the top 3 in the polls. Tomorrow we know if she manages to bring the winning of the Festival to Malta for the very first time in the history of the Festival. Good luck Destiny! In Cooperation with: Eurovision Artists Photo-Videocredits: EBU

Reactions: the artists who didn’t reach the final

Seven countries did not reach the final. Most of the disappointed participants already commented on their loss on social media. Here we have an overview of their reactions. Uku Suviste (Estonia) and Benny Cristo (Czech Republic) haven’t commented yet. Vincent Bueno (Austria): THANK YOU! AMEN! Rafal (Poland) has a lot to say: My beautiful adventure with Eurovision has come to an end. It was 3 months of intense work. Not only vocal and dance rehearsals, but also dozens of hours of interviews and talks with people from all over the world.The motto of this year’s competition is #openup. I believe that we all managed to implement this idea! In Rotterdam I have met wonderful artists, people who are open to the world and full of positive energy. We need it so badly in these these hard times. I would like to thank the dancers, the entire Polish delegation, people who are involved in the preparations for the ESC and of course the organizers of this awesome event! We did our best and that is the most important thing! Many thanks for support you sent me every day. It gave me huge boost of energy! You are great! Congratulations to all the amazing artists who will fight for victory on Saturday. Good luck! Tornike (Georgia) did not post any comment but a picture of the welcome goodies he got from the hotel. Samanta Tina (Latvia): AND WE WERE AND ARE THE BEST! WE ARE THE QUEENS! Fyr og Flamme: WHO WAS THERE WON TODAY … Thank you for tonight everyone and see you at home. photo credits: todaytesting.com

In the spotlight: France – Barbara Pravi

One of the favorites for the win is France, represented by Barbara Pravi. As one of the already placed finalists, she will perform live for the first time tomorrow. But who is she? Barbara Pravi (birth name Barbara Piévic) was born on April 10, 1993 in Paris, France. Her family consists mainly of artists and musicians. Paternal grandfather is Serbian. She has adopted the Serbian stage name Pravi (meaning: Real) as a tribute to her grandfather. She started her music career in 2014, after meeting French musician Jules Jaconelli. She started composing songs with Jaconelli. The following year, Barbara signed a contract with Capitol Music France. At the start of her professional recording career, she performed on the soundtrack of the French version of the Swiss film Heidi, then she was cast as Solange Duhamel in the musical show Un été 44 in November 2016, with songs written by Jean-Jacques Goldman , Charles Aznavour and Maxime Le Forestier. In 2017 Barbara released her first official single “Pas grandir”. The single was later included to her debut EP, which was released the following year. From 2017 to 2018, she performed in the 55 Tour, in support of French singer Florent Pagny. At the end of 2018, Barbara decided to change her music style by adopting a more traditional French chanson style. In addition to writing and composing her own songs, she has written for several other artists, including Yannick Noah, Julie Zenatti, Chimène Badi, Jaden Smith, Louane and Florent Pagny. Barbara in 2017 In 2019 and 2020 she composed the French entries for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest; “Bim bam toi” for French teenage singer Carla in 2019 (5th place). “J’imagine”, performed by France’s Valentina, in 2020, became the first French entry to win Junior Eurovision. Barbara is very active in the fight against violence against women, as she herself has survived domestic violence. She has often contributed to music initiatives aimed at promoting charities related to women’s rights. She also participated in the recording of “Debout les femmes”, the official song for the French women’s liberation movement (Mouvement de Libération des Femmes). In previous years Barbara has been regularly asked by “France Télévisions” to be a candidate for the Eurovision Song Contest, but has always rejected it because she felt that she was not ready for it. Until 2020; She took part in the final on January 30, 2021 with the song “Voilà”, composed by herself together with Igit. She won the competition, and now represents France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam. Barbara is in the top 3 in the polls. Tomorrow we will know if she manages to bring the profit to France. Good luck Barbara! In cooperation with: Eurovision Artists Photo-Videocredits: EBU

Qualifiers after the 2nd Semi Final

After tonight’s show, the 10 qualifiers (in random order) are: San Marino – Senhit-Adrenalina Greece – Stefania Liberakakis-Last Dance Albania – Anxhela Peristeri – Karma Moldova – Natalia Gordienko-Sugar Iceland – Daði & Gagnamagnið-Ten Years Serbia – Hurricane-Loco Loco Portugal – The Black Mamba – Love is on my side Bulgaria – Victoria-Growing Up is getting old Finland – Blind Channel-Dark Side Switzerland – Gjon’s Tears – Tout l’univers We will see them back in the grand Final on Saturday.

In the spotlights: The Netherlands – Jeangu Macrooy

Jeangu Macrooy was born in Surinam. His name is unique, it is a combination of his mother’s name Jeannette and his father’s name Guno. He is the half of a twin, his brother’s name is Xillan. In their youth, Jeangu and Xillan did everything together. If they made a drawing, like children do, Jeangu made one half of it, Xillan the other half. Even if they wrote a song, they wrote it together. They formed a duo together: Between Towers. They thanked their name to the fact that both of them are very tall. The boys released their first and only album together, “Stars on my radio”. When the boys were 19, they went to the Netherlands. Their grandparents lived in the Netherlands, so there was a link already. When they went back to Surinam, Jeangu’s dream became to study in the Netherlands. It was hard to do something without his twin brother for the first time. On the other hand, in the Netherlands he felt free to be openly gay for the first time; a special moment for Jeangu, who went to study in the city of Enschede, in the eastern part of the country. He studied at the ArtEZ Pop Academy. Enschede was the place were it all really started for Jeangu Macrooy in the Netherlands. He met music producer Pieter Perquin (Perquisite) there. Perquisite was a guest teacher. He immediately recognized the talent Jeangu has. They started working together in 2016, which resulted in the EP “High on you”. It resulted in being 3FM Talent (3FM is a Dutch national radio station), in performances in one of the most watched Dutch tv-shows, “De Wereld Draait Door”, and an Edison Pop Award in the catagory Best New Artist. His debut single “Gold” even became part of a commercial on HBO for “Game of thrones”. An album with the name “High on you” followed, and a new highlight in Jeangu’s career followed: he hit the number 1 spot in the Surinam music charts! Again, Jeangu was nominated for an Edison Pop Award, this time in the catagory best album. It was around that time that also something special happened in Jeangu’s personal life: he met his boyfriend Sebas van der Tangen. The two currently live together in Amsterdam. One year later a new highlight in the life of Jeangu appeared. He could play the role of Judas in “The passion”, an annual Dutch show in which the story of Easter is told in Dutch songs. The show is viewed by 3,5 million people. A new album, “Horizon” followed in 2019. A special Horizon-tour was planned for early 2020. And something else came up at the same time. Already in 2019, Jeangu Macrooy was asked whether he might be interested in representing the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest. Jeangu liked the idea, but was waiting for the right song to represent The Netherlands. In early 2020 it was announced that the Dutch selection committee had chosen Jeangu to do the job. In march, he presented his song “Grow” to the audience. In the show “De Wereld Draait Door” Jeangu explains: “Last year, for the first time in my life, I had a period in which I did not know it anymore. I was not comfortable with myself. The song is actually in two parts: the first part is about getting older, growing up and finding out that there are no manuals in life. And that there is no clearly pointed out path to happiness. I was shocked by that; I was angry and frustrated about that. But then there is the second part and it’s about accepting that it’s all highs and lows. That if you go through it, you eventually learn and grow.” But then COVID19 came. The Eurovision Song Contest was canceled. Jeangu’s Horizon tour was canceled as well. Although that was a hard time for Jeangu, he became one of the most visible artists in 2020. He gave a concert on kingsday (the day Dutch people celebrate the birthday of the king). On the 4th of may, when the Dutch commemorate the people who died in Worldwar II, he performed. Jeangu made a new video of his old song “Gold”, where he stated that the day when the slavery has been abolished in Suriname and the Dutch Antiles should be a national celebration in the Netherlands. When the Eurovision Song Contest was canceled, Dutch broadcaster Avrotros immediately came up with a statement: “We will remain #teamjeangu for 2021”. Jeangu was going to write and produce the Dutch Eurovision Song in 2021. It became “Birth of a new age”, a personal story. Some lines in the song were sung in Sranantongo, one of the languages of Suriname. The lines “Yu no man broko mi” were based on a Surinam saying, “Mi na afusensi, no wan man broko mi” (I’m half a cent, nobody can break me). In fact Jeangu says with these lines “I might be very small or not worth anything in your eyes, but you can’t break me”. The message is meant to empower people. “I hope I can let people feel their power”, Jeangu said in an interview with Eurovision hots Nikkie Tutorials. Jeangu hopes that after Eurovision, whole Europe will open up to him. At least he will go back to the studio for new material!