2021

Australia: not on site in Rotterdam

This morning, EBU announced that the Australian delegation will not be able to fly to Rotterdam for the Eurovision Song Contest. Due to the situation around COVID19, Australian participant Montaigne can not perform her song “Technicolour” live on stage in Ahoy. Instead, the live-on-tape recording of the song will be shown during the first semifinal, and depending on the results maybe again in the final. In an earlier stage, Sietse Bakker, executive producer of the Eurovision Song Contest, already stated that it would be difficult to get the Australian participant in Rotterdam. In an interview with eurovision.tv, Montaigne expressed that this does not make her very sad. “I have the preternatural ability to let go of opportunities that don’t come through. Like water off a duck’s back.” She will, however, keep on campaigning for the song. The fact that she will not travel to Rotterdam gives her the opportunity to follow the voting with her dearest friends and family.

Road to Rotterdam: Romania

Roxen was supposed to represent Romania last year with “Alcohol you”. The choice for Roxen, without a preselection with multiple artists, was due to the number 1 hit she had in Romania in November 2019.Roxen is 21 years old. In her short career she released several singles that were successful in the Romanian Airplay charts. It was no surprise, then, that Roxen was internally re-selected to represent her country. The song she will sing this year is called “Amnesia”.

Road to Rotterdam: Israel

Eden Alene won the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel last year. The Ethiopian-Israeli singer would then sing “Feker libi”, a song with a title in Amharic, the language of Ethiopia. When it became known that the Eurovision song contest was canceled, she was told about it live on television. She burst into tears.The Israeli broadcaster again chose Eden Alene for this year. “Set me free” was chosen from several songs. photo: Itay Bezaleli

Road to Rotterdam: Croatia

Her full name is Albina Grčić, but she leaves her last name at home for the occasion. She participated in the X-Factor but withdrew when she was allowed to continue only as part of a girl group. At The Voice Hrvatska she did better: she reached no less than a 3rd place.This year she won DORA, the Croatian preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Tick-tock”. photo: © HRT

Road to Rotterdam: Ireland

Irish Lesley Roy had 2 hits in the United States in 2008. After that she was mainly busy writing songs for others. She did release a few singles herself, but they were not a success. In 2020 it all changed: Lesley Roy was internally selected for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “The story of my life”. It took a while, but in the end Irish broadcaster RTÉ chose her again to go to the contest in 2021. She will sing the song “Maps” in Rotterdam.

Road to Rotterdam: Australia

Montaigne’s real name is Jessica Cerro. She started singing 9 years ago, but she had to finish school first. After several 45″singles she released her debut album in 2016. Three years later a second album came and in 2020 she was chosen to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately, as we know, this was canceled. The Australian broadcaster quickly expressed confidence in Montaigne, which is why she will be singing the song “Technicolor” this year.

Road to Rotterdam: Russia

For a long time, Russia was very secretive about the submission. In the end, Manizha’s “Russian woman” was chosen from a preliminary round with three songs. Manizha was born in Tajikistan but soon moved to Moscow. In addition to making music, she draws attention to feminism, LGBTI + rights and domestic violence. It meant that not everyone in Russia was happy with her selection.

Road to Rotterdam: Slovenia

Ana Soklič has been active as a singer since 2004. Initially she was performing under the flag of the project Diona Dimm. She also participated in EMA, the Slovenian preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2020 she had a final breakthrough in her own country. With her song “Voda” she was chosen to represent her country at the contest in Rotterdam. When ESC was canceled, the Slovenian broadcaster soon announced that it had renewed confidence in Ana. This year she brings the song “Amen”.

Road to Rotterdam: Lithuania

The Roop is a three-man band from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. They had previously participated in the Lithuanian preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Last year they won “Pabandom iš naujo!“. Their song “On fire” was one of the songs to beat in the international final, but unfortunately the party was canceled due to the cancellation of the contest itself. This year’s Lithuanian preselection was a sham: no one expected a winner other than The Roop. It is likely that more than only the three band members will be on stage in Rotterdam. We will wait and see if the yellow remains or not… photo: instagram