Eurovision 2021: The Acts We Know So Far *

*This is a collaborative post.

After last year’s competition was postponed, the 2021 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is less than 100 days away! It may seem so long ago now, but in 2019, Duncan Laurence won in Tel Aviv, with his song ‘Arcade’, and ultimately, this year’s Eurovision will be held in Rotterdam. While not all of the 41 participating countries have announced their entries or songs, making the latest Eurovision 2021 odds fairly unpredictable at this early stage, let’s take a look at everything we know so far.

Semi-final 1

Australia

Montaigne was supposed to represent Australia at last year’s contest, before it was cancelled. It’s believed she won’t be singing ‘Don’t Break Me’, which was her chosen song for last year – but her new song will be internally selected.

Azerbaijan

Over the years, Efendi has entered many singing competitions and came third in The Voice of Azerbaijan. She was due to represent Azerbaijan in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, and took to Instagram to announce her participation this year.

Belgium

Belgian band, Hooverphonic, were formed in 1995, and were due to participate in last year’s contest. Since then, Luka Cruysberghs left the band and, on the same day, Geike Arnaert announced her return.

Cyprus

Greek singer, and former member of the band OtherView, Elena Tsagrinou will represent Cyprus this year. The 26-year-old decided to go solo in 2018 and it was revealed in November that she will be singing ‘El Diablo’ (‘The Devil’).

Ireland

Lesley Roy is the singer/songwriter representing Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest. Like others, she was due to feature at the 2020 edition, and will be revealing her new song next month.

Israel

Eden Alene is a former winner of The X Factor Israel and after winning the 2019 national selection show Rising Star, the 20-year-old won the right to represent Israel at the 2020 ESC. She will return for this year’s spectacle, with her song ‘Set Me Free’ which will be sung in English.

Lithuania

Pop/rock group, The Roop, have attempted to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest on two occasions, and it appears to be third time lucky for the trio from Vilnius. They released their competing song ‘Discoteque’ in January and not only landed the right to represent Lithuania, but also a number 1 chart hit.

Malta

Winner of 2015’s Junior Eurovision, a former contestant on Britain’s Got Talent and the Maltese edition of The X Factor, Destiny was due to represent Malta at last year’s contest and returns, although her song has not yet been decided. She was also a backing singer for Malta’s entry in 2019.

North Macedonia

Vasil started singing at the age of seven, and is a former choir soloist and a classical opera singer, now developing a pop career. He tried representing Macedonia back in the 2007 ESC and failed to qualify, but was selected to feature at last year’s, and subsequently this year’s contest.

Romania

Roxen was internally selected to represent Romania in 2020, and has been called back. Her music style has been described as ‘deep house’, and she has two number 1s under her belt already.

Slovenia

Ana Soklič won EMA 2020 for the right to represent Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest, with her winning song ‘Voda’. Her song for 2021 is yet to be revealed.

Ukraine

Electro-folk band Go_A will be representing Ukraine, after qualifying for last year’s contest. They were due to sing ‘Solovey’ then, but have chosen ‘SHUM’ to be their song for the 2021 ESC. Both have been released as singles.

Semi-final 2

Albania

Anxhela Peristeri is a singer/songwriter, who came through Albania’s selection process, Festivali i Këngës, and will be singing ‘Karma’ in Albanian.

Austria

Vincent Bueno is an Austrian singer of Filipino descent. He previously won ORF’s musical talent show, Musical! Die Show, and was the backing singer for Austria’s 2017 entry.

Bulgaria

Victoria Georgieva (also known as a VICTORIA) is a former winner of X Factor Bulgaria and will be releasing her debut EP this month. It’s believed there are five songs that could potentially be chosen for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Czech Republic

Czech artist Benny Cristo previously won the national final ESCZ 2020. He will be singing a different song from his 2020 entry, which will be internally selected. Cristo is also a professional snowboarder and Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist.

Georgia

Georgian singer Tornike Kipiani previously won the first season of X Factor Georgia and after being victorious in Georgian Idol, he was selected to represent his country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.

Greece

The Greek-Dutch singer is no stranger to the ESC, having performed as part of girl group Kisses at the 2016 edition of Junior Eurovision. In her younger days, Stefania appeared on The Voice Kids in the Netherlands. The 18-year-old was due to appear at last year’s contest, but will be singing a different song for 2021.

Iceland

Singer Daði and his group, Gagnamagnið previously entered the 2017 Söngvakeppnin to represent Iceland at Eurovision, but were unsuccessful. They returned last year, with their chosen song being announced next month.

Latvia

Samanta Tīna previously auditioned to represent her country a mammoth five times and it was sixth time lucky for the singer and composer. She also took part in the Lithuanian process in 2013 and 2017. Samanta Tīna is the returning act from last year and her song will be revealed next month.

Moldova

Natalia Gordienko returns to Eurovision, after previously featuring alongside Arsenium and Connect-R in 2006 with the song ‘Loca’. She placed 20^th out of 24 countries that year, with a points’ total of 22. She is participating as a solo artist this time.

San Marino

Italian singer Senit previously represented San Marino at the 2011 ESC, but failed to progress from the semi-final. A decade later and she returns, hoping to do better.

Serbia

Girl band Hurricane will represent Serbia. Main vocalist Sanja Vučić previously represented her country in the 2016 edition, finishing 15^th with 115 points. The trio were due to perform ‘Hasta La Vista’ in 2020, but will now be selecting a different song.

Switzerland

Gjon Muharremaj, known by his stage name Gjon’s Tears, will represent Switzerland at Eurovision 2021 – having been previously selected last year. The 22-year-old has appeared on many TV talent shows.

Grand Final

France

Barbara Pravi won France’s national selection programme Eurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez! with her song, ‘Voilà’ – which she will be singing in Rotterdam. The singer/songwriter previously wrote the 2019 and 2020 entries for Junior Eurovision.

Germany

Jendrik Sigwart won over two independent juries in Germany’s multi-stage selection process, to represent his country in Rotterdam. While his song will be announced later this month, he has been documenting his ESC journey on social media.

Netherlands

Surinamese singer Jeangu Macrooy was due to represent the Netherlands in 2020, and the hosts have decided to stick with their act. His previous entry only peaked at 48 in the Dutch charts, and his 2021 song is yet to be announced.

Spain

Blas Cantó rose to prominence as member of Spanish boyband Auryn, and now embarks on a solo career. He was due to perform ‘Universo’ at last year’s cancelled contest and his new song is yet to be announced.