With less than a week to go until the final of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, we’re taking a look at all of the contenders for this year’s crown!
Taking place in Rotterdam following the cancellation of the event in 2020, we’re super excited to see all of the over-the-top performances and find out just who will carve out their own place in Eurovision history.
Here are the top five contenders and favourites to win the Eurovision Song Contest 2021…
Italy - Måneskin with Zitti e Buoni
With their last victory being way back in 1990, Italy will be over the moon if they manage to meet expectations and take the title of winner home this year.
Rock band Måneskin - who finished as runners-up in the 2017 season of Italian X Factor - are representing the country, after winning the Sanremo Music Festival 2021.
Having already reached Number 2 on the Italian music charts, their song Zitti e Buoni is looking like it could go one step further and reach the top of the leaderboard once all is said and done this coming Saturday (May 22nd, 2021).
France - Barbara Pravi with Voilà
Appearing a whopping 62 times to-date, France are one of the frontrunners of this year's competition and will be hoping to pick up their first, first place, since 1977.
Their contender, Barbara Pravi, is no stranger to the world of Eurovision. She composed Valentina's track J'imagine, which won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020, and now will get to take to the stage in her own right as part of the main contest.
Though Voilà failed to crack the top 100 in France, it's still making waves with people around Europe thanks to its dramatic and intense vocal arrangement. We wouldn't be surprised to see it run away with the judges!
Malta - Destiny with Je Me Casse
Maltese singer Destiny is also no stranger to Eurovision, having won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015. Now, following her participation in Britain's Got Talent back in 2017, she'll return to the spotlight in front of her biggest audience to-date.
Unfortunately, Destiny did miss the official Eurovision 2021 opening ceremony, due to members from two other country delegations testing positive for coronavirus. As they stayed in the same hotel as Destiny, she remained there under the strict pandemic restrictions set out.
Whether or not this will have any effect on her performance come finale night remains to be seen, but we’re sure that everybody watching on Saturday (May 22nd, 2021) will judge solely based on that night!
Iceland - Daði og Gagnamagnið with 10 Years
A member of the Icelandic delegation has tested positive for coronavirus, but we're hoping that this doesn't mean the country won't be able to compete when this weekend rolls around. It’s a personal favourite for many people so, to see it missing from the competition would be a disaster!
Daði og Gagnamagnið are a unique band, to say the very least! Daði was set to represent Iceland at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, ahead of the event being cancelled due to the pandemic.
He's already topped Iceland's music charts with his song Think About Things alongside the band, whilst this year's entry 10 Years reached top three.
Bulgaria - VICTORIA with Growing Up Is Getting Old
VICTORIA is another competitor who was due to compete in Eurovision back in 2020, before coronavirus got in the way and brought the event to a screeching halt. Fortunately, she's been asked back to take another shot at the competition; and for good reason!
Growing Up Is Getting Old will undoubtedly be one of the favourites on the night; it’s relatable and you’ll be singing it long after your first listen. That sounds like the perfect formula to a top contender to us.
After being forced to withdraw from the competition in recent years due to limited finances, Bulgaria winning this time round would perhaps be quite poetic.
What about the UK?
James Newman’s track Embers is undoutedly one of the best British entries to the Eurovision Song Contest we’ve heard in some time, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the competing countries and those voting are going to give us the support we would need to even touch the top of this year’s leaderboard.
Let’s face it; we’re not the most lovable country in the competition and that’s unlikely to change any time soon! Still, we’re proud of our contender James Newman and hope he gets some good results, in any case.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 takes place on Saturday, May 22nd, 2021, broadcast on BBC One.
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