#maneskin in russia 2021

[escgentsph]

Belated happy birthday to Maneskin's lead guitarist - Thomas Raggi (Italy, 2021)! Have a rocking fabulous birthday.

Then happy birthday to Alexey Vorobyov (Russia, 2011). May your year ahead be as harmonious and full of joy as the creations you craft. 🎂🎉🥳

[langnling14]

#eurovision

With Eurovision only a week away the use of #eurovision has emerged. The hashtag is being used to create a community for fans to share their excitement. #eurovision has been used on multiple platforms such as twitter and TikTok to promote the competition. As seen on TikTok a number of trends have been shared such as ranking the songs for 2023, as well as ranking songs that have previously won over the past 10-15 years. Throughout the weeks leading up the artists all share posts about who they are and what country they represent using #eurovision. Likewise, this year on Instagram all the artists can be seen reviewing their top 5 Eurovision songs. Engagement like this encourages the audience to participate and comment their favourite songs.

The use of the #eurovision can help promote awareness to artists and their cultures. Eurovision has the ability to increase the profile of artists that go on the show. The 2021 winners Maneskin went to number 9 in the global charts and were trending over multiple streaming platforms. They are currently going on a world tour in which they are performing at the O2 arena in London. Likewise, artists that have not won still can benefit from Eurovision for example, Rosa Linn from Armenia placed 20th in the competition however has the second most streamed Eurovision song ever with 623 million streams on Spotify.

Along with artists #eurovision can promote different cultures. Each country is able to promote themselves through a variety of means. Each country has the ability to sing in their native language. Once a song goes viral it can help promote language learning. Duolingo tweeted that the week after Maneskin won Eurovision there was a 56% increase in the number of new learners for Italian.

#eurovison can also promote cultures by showing off traditional clothing worn on stage, as well as any cultural references made within interviews.

Another reason to favour #eurovision is the deeper meaning behind some of the songs competing. For example, Russia’s entry in 2021 was called Russian Women, performed by Manizha. Lyrics featured in the song express many stereotypes that Russian women face, such as appearance, age and growing up without a father. However, Manizha challenges these stereotypes singing “Every Russian woman needs to know you’re strong enough to break the wall!”. This was a controversial song for Russia however, the use of #eurovsion was able to spread a message on behalf of those facing these stereotypes. (https://www.rbth.com/arts/333813-what-does-mean-manizhas-performance)

#eurovison can also be used for comedic purposes such as spreading memes. On the night of Eurovision final, many often use the hashtag to make comparisons or jokes about the songs or outfits by each artist. For example:

[definitelynotdamiano]

Damiano in Russia, 31.08.2021

[chiefmeltedcheesebarbarian]

If you don't have at least 3 eurovision contestants that you would give your kidney for them, we can't be friends

[sunnysunshinesstuff]

I’m pretty sure that after last night’s pre party Maneskin, Go_A and Manizha have claimed in many people’s top 10. It was about time. 

[studyvibes]

Another new translation of Maneskin interview

I planned on translating the interview last week, but the day I was free the whole area where I lived had an issue with the WiFi, so through out the week, when I had a bit of free time I translated the interviewer piece by piece.

The translation is of this video: https://youtu.be/4Meslb_X9Fg

I thought it was best to include the video of the interview because there are videos and images relevant to their answers.

So this interview is by the VK which is basically like Russian Facebook.

In the original video the host speaks in Russian and Maneskin reply in Italian with Russian subtitles shown.

(Text which is bold and in brackets during the translation are some notes I added, to add come context)

Interviewer: For the first time, Maneskin is visiting Moscow, who are the winners of Eurovision. And today we are welcoming them in our studio. Guys, hello. (If you translate exact its: Guys, big hello to you)

Maneskin: Thank you very much

[0:17] Interviewer: The site Kontakte is one of the biggest sites in Russia and also one of the biggest music platforms in Russia, where people listen to your music. In our top charts of most listened songs you are one of the very few international musicians/bands that are included in the chart. In general the chart includes mostly songs in Russian language, so this shows how very popular you are in our country.

Maneskin: That’s very nice!

Interviewer: Please tell me - your international success just happened in 3 months: charts in Russia, charts in Billboard, I think this is the first time ever since ABBA that a musician/band became famous even in America after Eurovision. How did your life change in this span of 3 months?

Damiano: yeah there was a big difference/change.

Damiano: We could say that it was sudden and how we saw everything explode after Eurovision, but we are very happy

Damiano: Ofcourse this means a lot of work is expected because everything that we did before for Italy, we do now around the world. But we are very happy: this what we wanted and why we worked so hard -we are very, very happy/lucky.

[1:30]Interviewer: Going back to Eurovision, I was present at backstage and at the final, sharing happiness about your winning. I’d like to ask, did you know and how did you react to the fact that all artist for the past two weeks were saying that you were the obvious winners, even though the genre of your performance is a complete contrast to most competitor’s songs. How confident were you.

Interviewer: To solidify my words (about being at Eurovision) I have a photo *shows a photo on iPad of Interviewer and Maneskin on the night they won Eurovision*

Maneskin: oh it was you!

Victoria: We weren’t exactly confident. When we went to Eurovision, we thought only about being able to carry our music to a very wide auditorium, but we didn’t expect that we would be able to win - especially with the type of genre we play and sing in Italian - it is not something that appears often in this competition

Thomas: Yeah, that’s true, it was very unexpected and even the people - in Eurovision - were saying “You will win, you will win” - of course to us it was nice, but we completely didn’t expect it. And same with what happened after.

Ethan: (he said something, but they didn’t add a translation to what he said)

[2:45] Interviewer: I’d like to say a few words about our Manizha - Russian Woman (she represented Russia in Eurovision 2021) - were you able to meet her and chat with her? And are you planning to see her in Moscow

Victoria: yes yes, she even sang an Italian song

Damiano: it was something “Ti amo, ti amo”

Thomas: No, no, no, not that one!

Damiano: “Felicità”?

Thomas: No, no. I don’t remember.

Interviewer: (I didn’t hear him but I think he agreed with Damiano)

Maneskin: “Felicità”, yes, “Felicità”!

Damiano: They even sang in multiple voices! (Manizha had back singers with her, who joined her for Eurovision)

Interviewer: So after you won Eurovision, you were congratulated by Eros Ramazzotti, Royal Blood, and Franz Ferdinand. Which congratulation towards you was unusual and unexpected? And what did it mean to you

Victoria: Probably the big groups, which we always listen to, which always inspired us. It was also really nice, already the fact, that they talk about us - it was unbelievable. And because, of course, for us it was very important, that they liked us/valued us. And what most wild/unusual out of is that we got to collaborate with Iggy Pop.

Rest of Maneskin: *agreeing with Victoria’s answer*

Victoria: He is one of our main idols, he is one of the people who created/established punk-rock.

Thomas: Yes, of course, support from big musicians, from people who we listened to from the very start - it’s really wonderful and important/valuable recognition

Interviewer: tell us about your work with Iggy Pop. How did it happen, did he contact you or you were able to reach out to him?

Victoria: We were always huge fans of him. And when everything so well, he saw who we were and what type of music we have, and we asked him, if he would’ve want to produce something together. He said, that he really likes the song “I wanna be your slave.” and wanted to make a collaboration.

Interviewer: I saw that Miley Cyrus made a repost video of where you are performing a cover of her song and said you are her friends. Is there a possible collab with Miley?

Maneskin: Anything is possible.

Damiano: (in English) Who knows

Interviewer: with who would you want to collab?

Victoria: with many, with many! Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, I don’t know.. with so many!

Interviewer: An interesting thing - the group BTS became the symbol of South Korea, making kpop genre popular. You are becoming...you became, the symbol of Italy. Do you feel any responsibility and are you planning on promoting Italian language/ making Italian language popular?

Damiano: We are thinking about making our music, and if our country will choose us to be their representatives, we would be happy. But no, we don’t feel this responsibility, we are thinking of own work/ business.

Interviewer: I can’t not ask very important question which is interesting for the fans - are you preparing an album, can you share some hints/ secrets? Because everyone is waiting for it. And the fact that in one of your songs which was released years back reached the top world wide charts, now we all can’t wait.

Victoria: Its all secret!

Damiano: We can say, that we are preparing new music - this is the secret which we can reveal.

Thomas: Yeah, and we are trying to find time, to write, to work on music. Certainly/undoubtedly, you can expect multiple surprises.

Interviewer: you are a unique group - from the point that your centre/focus is towards all of the members, which is different to other bands where bands are seen as the frontman and the rest of musicians. But each member of your group is seen a big celebrity. Did this happen accidentally or is this the concept you made, and how does your friendship help you with you work?

Damiano: We always tries to avoid the stereotypes of bands/groups, where only the vocalist is recognized/known. We always tried to push not only the group as whole, but also the 4 individuals of the group. And this is probably also happens because of our close friendship. Luckily, nobody feels like they are in the shadows pushed by others.

[7:38] Interviewer: It’s really cool that you change/ remove the stereotypes and create new trends.

Maneskin: We try, We try. We carry our little contribution.

Interviewer: Damiano, I would like to ask you personally a question - from what I am aware of, at the start, the band didn’t accept you into the band, something didn’t work out, could you please tell us in more detail?

*Maneskin laughing at Damiano*

Victoria: He became older, and his voice became magically/suddenly different!

Interviewer: what I understood was that it happened was because you originally sang more pop music, not rock with the band.

Damiano: In reality/to be honest, nothing changed, I stayed pop. Let’s say, I grew, and my voice changed, and I started to sound more earnest/persuasive.

[8:22] Interviewer: How did the band form? You first place of performance was at the street of Rome?

Maneskin: Yes, we started to play in school

Victoria: and since then everything went with the flow. We started to play on the streets, at small establishments, at school - anywhere where we could have an opportunity to perform

Interviewer: what was the hardest in those performances?

Thomas: To find a place where we can perform

Victoria: Yes, exactly, where to perform. And later, it was very small establishments and the audience at the start didn’t take us too seriously. But together as a band we supported each other - in the end, it was our dream, we even liked to perform in front of just a few people, which is why we continued.

Thomas: Exactly, yes. At the start we sometimes performed to an auditorium with a few people, but even then you had to stay convincing/conclusive. Over some period of time, in the crowd, people start to appear who valued our music, what we did. But for me, it was probably, the main challenge was to see, play, perform well and stay yourself in front of 2 or 3 people.

Ethan: Yes, there were times when we performed in front of an audience in which there were only parents. We gave out the same level and the same energy.

Interviewer: I think it is common thing to happen when a musician/ band performs at private party, where Russian musicians performed for one person in the hall.

Maneskin: oh this is something very very private

Interviewer: I think I’ll get in trouble for telling you this, but Little Big told me this story.

*Maneskin recognizing the bands name*

Maneskin: Aaa, Yes!

Interviewer: Ed Sheehan, in his time, took a challenge, he also started from street performing, to make 300 performance in a year. Are you ready to start your world tour and to perform nearly every day?

Thomas: Of course, definitely. The other way it won’t happen.

[10:25] Interviewer: I’d also like to know/ask, if you often spend your time together, as friends, if you have any common hobbies, and what do you do as a break/rest?

Victoria: We practically don’t have any life outside the frame of music, we spend all our time in work. But when we do find spare time, we just go somewhere to relax and have fun.

Interviewer: What simple tip/advise would you give to young musicians which at the moment are street performing but dream to perform in big stadiums?

Victoria: I think, you should continued with your journey and don’t change due to other people’s opinions.

Ethan: Yes, that right. Be always yourself.

Interviewer: your time of fame happened in Italy a few years ago from the show X Factor when you performed the cover from the band the Four seasons on their song “Beggin”. Did you expect that your cover would become a world hit in a few years? And a lot of people associate the song more with you (like more than the original band)

Ethan: Yeah. It’s.... weird!

[11:33] Interviewer: I’d like to show you an interesting photo. The photo illustrates when it was the last time Russia saw Italians. It’s a movie from the year 1974 which is called “the unbelievable journey of Italians in Russsia” do you see any similarity?

*at [11:48] you can see the image of four people: on the left two men happily hugging each other, in the centre a woman, and on the right a tired looking man*

Maneskin: Nooooo *laughing*

Ethan: Wow (the exact words that were written in subtitles were “Да ты что!” Which in Russian is used as an expression of surprise )

Ethan and Thomas point at which person they think they are in the left

Ethan: I am the one in the left

Interviewer: This is actually a very popular Soviet comedy and the movie is about Italians which travelled to Russia in search of treasure, which left was by one of the main character’s grandmother. I would like to know after which treasure did you go after in Russia?

Victoria: I think, our fans, possibly perform, and play in concerts. All the love and affection.

Interviewer: It would be nice if you could watch the movie, maybe during your flight, and share your opinion on social media.

Ethan: ok, will do.

Interviewer: I’d also like to show you a very popular video which was spreading in Russia. Where it was comparing your lyrics from “I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE” and lyrics from a Russian musician Alla Pugacheva. Both songs have same repeating words: “master” and “gangster”

Maneskin: (idk who said it) I saw it in Tiktok

Interviewer: just in case, I’ll show you the video

*[11:58] shows the video which interviewer talked about*

Thomas: You already saw it.

Interviewer: Your Russian fans, went further, started to look for famous Russian performers who wore similar outfits that you wear. But it turned out that all the similar outfits were worn by on person, his name is Valery Leontiev. I’d like to show you the pictures to show you just how similar his outfits are.

*[13:35] you can see the image comparisons, in the background you can hear Damiano laughing and say “no no”*

Thomas or Ethan: Unbelievable! This is crazy, this isn’t possible.

Interviewer: Yes the similarities are on point/ are exact.

Interviewer: I’d like to conclude the interviewer with genuine admiration because for the past 3 months you exploded the whole music industry, which didn’t happen for ages. And to be honest, it is true what you said about saving your authenticity and believe in yourself. We are very proud of you, Russians love Italians (ik that a lot of old Italian movies and songs are very popular in Russia). Please continue to grow and make wonderful music.

Maneskin: Thank, thank you very much.

————————————-

Hopefully you enjoyed the interview and the translations made sense

[jaimejames90]

Eurovision: Really Good or Really Bad

This May for the first time I got the opportunity to work on the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy. Produced by Italian Broadcaster Rai in association with the EBU (European Broadcasting Union).

Coming from the UK, everyone knows Eurovision, I have to confess though I have never been a avid fan, but like most people I have either watched it or parts of it on numerous occasions. I’ve always been slightly perplexed by the genuine excitement from some each year when it’s on. As well as hearing the standard criticism from the older demographic about it "all being political these days".

The UK has clearly performed poorly in the last two decades. The last time the UK won was 1997 when I was six years old and a runner’s up position the following year in 1998. Since then the best results have been a third place in 2002 and fifth in 2009 (the first time I ever actually watched it from start to finish). If Eurovision likes Britain has been a open debate in recent decades, which has only intensified post Brexit with a string of terrible results, finishing on the lower part of the table, often last and even some dreaded “Nul Points” including 2021.

As a Brit when I was contacted by Rai to work on it, I was a little hesitant, is it something I want to be involved in, it's silly right. Well I was so wrong and it is one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done, the fans absolutely love it and helping to shape (just the tiniest amount), what is in my opinion one of the best produced and marketed Eurovision’s ever (I may be a little biased) was a joy. The staging with the full waterfall stage, looked epic on TV and made the whole thing feel like a rock concert, the aim clearly as last year’s Italian winner Maneskin is a seriously credible rock band, even touring America with The Rolling Stones and not the joke winner we tend to associate Eurovision with. 

So what is so good about it? One thing often over looked in the UK, is the sheer size of the event and the level of interaction it generates with its seemingly large fan base. Turin did a incredible job with Eurovision parties and events all week long. Many countries in Europe unlike the UK also see this as a serious music competition not a joke and select artist’s and song’s to reflect that. It shouldn’t be a surprise that when we enter a good artist, which Sam Ryder is, as is his song “Space Man” we actually almost won and in a normal year we would have. 

The big event feel and must see TV vibe they created especially this year really took the whole thing to another level. The ratings for 2022, 161 million viewers, down on the lower 180′s of recent years, but represents a 7% year on year rise when you take into account the absence of Russia and no available numbers from Ukraine, which combined accounted for 29 million viewers in 2021. Italy recorded it’s highest ever figure of 6.6 million, Spain 6.8 million and the UK 8.9 million a 20% increase year on year, over 50% of the live viewing audience in Britain were watching and the highest individual ratings in Europe. 

The other thing Eurovision does so well is engage with it’s online audience, the area I work in. This year for the first time Eurovision was available to watch on TikTok with the Semi-Finals being streamed approximately 4 million times each and 3.3 million times for the Grand Final. Also generating 189 million video views in the fourteen days leading up to the grand final. On YouTube, 42.3 million unique views and 7.6 million viewers for the grand final, a 50% increase, with 63% under 35. In total across all social channels videos were watched 284 million times during Eurovision week. A phenomenal number and truly shows the approach Eurovision have taken this year across social and digital is delivering massive returns. 

The Politics, is it political? Yes and No. Without question Ukraine won this year not for the song they entered but for external political reasons, however the “it’s political” stance is wrong, if it was left up to the jury votes alone Ukraine did not come close to winning, it was in fact the general public voting across Europe who backed Ukraine and sent them home with the trophy. A gesture of solidarity and politics I can live with even if I am disappointed for the UK. 

Above all the most enjoyable thing about the whole experience was the people and just how much every person in attendance from all over Europe (& Australia) was enjoying it and how everyone from audience members, to artists and production crew was having such a good time.

Eurovision may be seen as cheesy and in parts it is, however personally it was so much fun to work on and the biggest lesson of all from 2022 is that the UK can do well if we don't treat it like a joke and we just try.

[propaganda-for-poets]

🩹 who the dps would root for in eurovision 2021 even though they're all american

charlie: I MEAN ITALY. DUH. italy came to feed the bisexuals maneskin were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and they deserve to win so bad. i'll be so pissed if they don't. so it's either italy or germany for,,,, huge middle finger costume reasons for charlie.

neil: i feel like neil would like azerbaijan or russia. very extra but DEF what he'd like, i think im leaning more towards azerbaijan tbh.

todd: todd would like belgium or bulgaria, i was tied between those two. they're more lowkey and def his style.

meeks: ukrania. period. meeks would absolutely LOSE IT to ukrania's song it is SUCH A BOP and i rlly rlly hope it wins but know it won't so i just hope it'll get a good place.

pitts: I KNOW IM CORRECT WHEN I SAW PITTS WOULD ADORE ICELAND. JUST A BUNCHA FUNKY LITTLE DUDES. GOD I LOVED UKRANIA, AMAZING.

cameron: i mean,,,,,, france. cameron probably cried during voila. he would probably hate greece bc he'd notice that one fuck up during the first semi final where one dancer's glove fell off, it'd piss him off. oh he'd also vibe with belgium.

knox: knox would unironically like san marino with flo rida in it. WHY WAS FLO RIDA THERE. LITERALLY WHAT. but lol, aside from that i feel like he'd like malta. which i loved <3 destiny my beloved.

[historyofjanpeteh]

Warblers as Eurovision 2021 Entries - no explanations needed

Blaine - Germany (Jendrik- I Don’t Feel Hate)

Hunter - Cyprus (Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo)

Sebastian - Italy because he has a fat crush on Damiano - equally he could be Azerbaijan (Maneskin - Zitti e buono) (Efendi - Mata Hari)

Kurt - Russia (Manizha - RUSSIAN WOMAN)

Trent - United Kingdom because that’s obvious (James Newman - Embers)

Jeff - Norway (TIX - Fallen Angel)

Nick - Lithuania, or equally San Marino (The Roomp - Discoteque) (Senhit, Flo Rida - Adrenalina)

Thad -  Ukraine (Go_A - Shum)

[jezebeel]

well, let’s recap the list of my winners since 2015 (year in which I began to follow Eurovision) and what they got at the festival

2015 = Sweden: Mans Zemmerlow (winner!!!)

2016 = Russia: Sergey Lazarev (UNFAIR 3rd. place, real winner)

2017 = Sweden: Robin  Bengtsson (5th place)

2018 = Albania: Eugent Bushpepa (11th place, should’ve placed higher imo)

2019 = Russian: Sergey Lazarev again (and again 3rd place!!)

2021 = Italy: Maneskin (winners!!!!)

wondering who’ll be my winner this year

[technicallycleverdetective]

Eurovision 2021

We waited two years for this. Two years of hope and anticipation, and it delivered. Oh boy, it delivered. This might be one of the strongest years in terms of quality. Out of 26 songs I think there were only 3 who weren’t up to standard, and 2 of those were AQ. People brought their A-game.

Italy won. After five Eurovisions of wishing, they actually did it. I am shocked, but not as shocked as Italy’s Minister for Finance :D Maneskin inspired something I’ve never seen before, not even for the deserving Italian acts that preceded them. With two rock bands in the top 10, it feels like a shift is occurring and the youth are in the lead.

France, dear France. I typically don’t like the French entries, but wow, her performance was so full of passion. I loved it. The staging was so elegant. I’m really glad she was recognised.

My beloved Switzerland! This was actually the one year I would have been happy for someone aside from Italy to win, so clearly I was the bad talisman keeping you from success all the time. Sorry! :D Gjon’s voice is incredible and he is so cute! Winning the jury votes is a prize in its own right and I’m very happy he got that. Having two of the top 3 be made of adorable curly-haired people was lovely <3

And Iceland!!!! They couldn’t perform live and they not only qualified, they got into the top 5!!! I am so happy for these wholesome people <3

Ukraine was one I was worried might fall away, and I’m very glad something got through and people really took to it. It was a fantastic performance and they deserved to go so high.

I have never been so happy with a top 5! I think these are among the best in the entire, very strong competition.

I’m equally happy that Lithuania and Russia got into top 10. I was so worried that they’d be underrated, especially Russia as they performed so early. I am delighted that people felt the joy and the power of those songs, and accordingly gave them points.

I’ll also add that I’m pleased to see Bulgaria and Portugal in 11th and 12th position. It might not be top 10, but I thought they were both very good songs that brought something different to the stage, and they deserved to be placed at the top end of the field.

[definitelynotdamiano]

Måneskin in Russia (2021)

[x]

[nyaheum]

And here I am, realizing my threat of making a ESC 2020 vs. ESC 2021 list.

Albania

Fall From The Sky (Arilena Ara) - Karma (Anxhela Peristeri)

Australia

Don’t Break Me (Montaigne) - Technicolour (Montaigne)

Austria

Alive (Vincent Bueno) - Amen (Vincent Bueno)

Azerbaijan

Cleopatra (Efendi) - Mata Hari (Efendi)

Belgium

Release Me (Hooverphonic) - The Wrong Place (Hooverphonic)

Bulgaria

Tears Getting Sober (VICTORIA) - Growing Up Is Getting Old (VICTORIA)

Croatia

Divlji Vjetre (Damir Kedzo) - Tick-Tock (Albina)

Cyprus

Running (Sandro) - El Diablo (Elena Tsagrinou)

(I REALLY dislike both tbh)

Czech Republic

Kemama (Benny Cristo) - omaga (Benny Cristo)

Denmark

YES (Ben & Tan) - Ove Os Pa Hinanden (Fyr Og Flamme)

Estonia

What Love Is (Uku Suviste) - The Lucky One (Uku Suviste)

(??? I’m still kinda scared of him)

Finland

Looking Bsck (Aksel) - Dark Side (Blind Channel)

France

Mon Alliée (Tom Leeb) - Voilà (Barbara Pravi)

Georgia

Take Me As I Am (Tornike Kipiani) - You (Tornike Kipiani)

Germany

Violent Thing (Ben Dolic) - I Don’t Feel Hate (Jendrik)

Greece

SUPGERG!RL (Stefania) - Last Dance (Stefania)

(tbh I don’t really like either)

Iceland

Think About Things (Dadi og Gagnamagnid) - 10 Years (Dadi og Gagnamagnid)

Ireland

Story Of My Life (Lesley Roy) - MAPS (Lesley Roy)

Israel

Feker Libi (Eden Alene) - Set Me Free (Eden Alene)

Italy

Fai Rumore (Diodato) - Zitti E Buoni (Maneskin)

Latvia

Still Breathing (Samanta Tina) - The Moon Is Rising (Samanta Tina)

Lithuania

On Fire (The Roop) - Discoteque (The Roop)

Malta

All Of My Love (Destiny) - Je Me Casse (Destiny)

Moldova

Prison (Natalia Gordienko) - SUGAR (Natalia Gordienko)

North Macedonia

YOU (Vasil) - Here I Stand (Vasil)

Norway

Attention (Ulrikke) - Fallen Angel (TIX)

Poland

Empires (Alicja) - The Ride (RAFAL)

Portugal

Medo De Sentir (Elisa) - Love Is On My Side (The Black Mamba)

(tbh they’re both very meh)

Romania

Alcohol You (ROXEN) - Amnesia (ROXEN)

Russia

Uno (Little Big) - Russian Woman (Manizha)

San Marino

Freaky! (Senhit) - Adrenalina (Senhit)

Serbia

Hasta La Vista (Hurricane) - Loco Loco (Hurricane)

Slovenia

Voda (Ana Soklic) - Amen (Ana Soklic)

Spain

Universo (Blas Cantó) - Voy A Quedarme (Blas Cantó)

Sweden

Move (The Mamas) - Voices (Tusse)

Switzerland

Répondez-moi (Gjon’s Tears) - Tout l’Univers (Gjon’s Tears)

The Netherlands

Grow (Jeangu Macrooy) - Birth Of A New Age (Jeangu Macrooy)

Ukraine

Solovey (Go_A) - Shum (Go_A)

United Kingdom

My Last Breath (James Newman) - Embers (James Newman)

[deep-hearts-core]

2020 vs 2021 part 2: new artists

originally posted 6/24/21

Sweden - Move vs Voices Truly such a shame The Mamas weren't allowed to represent Sweden again. Move is a great song and they seem much more comfortable onstage than Tusse did. This at Eurovision would have been really fun and I hope they get to represent Sweden in the future.

Russia - Uno vs Russian Woman Uno has alright potential as a meme song, but that is generally not what I'm about in Eurovision. It just sounds annoying to me. I mean... people liked this? Russian Woman was clearly better.

Croatia - Divlji Vjetre vs Tick Tock It is an alright song but Tick Tock (live, at least) was FUN. Divlji Vjetre does not have that.

Cyprus - Running vs El Diablo Running is a showy, well-produced song, but it feels awfully repetitive. El Diablo also came together live really well and I'm sure Running would have done okay but... yknow. I enjoy them both but El Diablo seems a little more substantial.

Norway - Attention vs Fallen Angel Not at all what I was expecting. This is so pretty though! I know I've been defending Fallen Angel on here, but I would have loved it if Ulrikke had been selected internally for 2021. I vaguely remember her MGP entry from 2017 and Attention is so much more intimate than that in a way I really like.

Poland - Empires vs The Ride Empires cannot decide if it's a love song or a peace song, in a way that makes me a little uncomfortable. This is a good song for Alicja - even though it's obvious she's trying to build on Tamara Todevska's success from 2019. The Ride was better in studio, and I'm not going to bother to watch the Empires NF performance right now but I'm going to assume that it was decent live.

Denmark - Yes vs Øve os på hinanden Yes is a lovely song, very sweet, and really captures the feeling of headfirst love - at least in studio. The DMGP version of this is weird because Ben and Tan appear to have next to no chemistry with each other onstage (which is what sold This Time for me in 2015!) and have decided to social distance a whole [checks upload date] couple days early! This was always going to win out over their 2021 entry though. No contest.

Albania - Fall from the Sky vs Karma I like some of Arilena's other music better than this. If Albania's history is anything to go by, this probably was better in Albanian. I'm not a huge fan of Karma but I think it beats this one out - although Arilena seems to be an incredible vocalist.

Finland - Looking Back vs Dark Side Looking Back is more the kind of music I listen to, but it's not as good within the genre as Dark Side. The UMK performance online is really good - I doubt it would have placed well but I think I would have liked this a lot.

Portugal - Medo de Sentir vs Love is On My Side Medo de Sentir doesn't really go anywhere. I didn't like the 2021 song all that much but at least it had some direction. Also this liver performance is a little lackluster. Everyone is very slightly out of tune. It's a pretty song I guess but it's not executed well.

France - The Best In Me vs Voila It's very Me And My Guitar. I like this a lot better than Voila - I mean, any readers (not that I have any) are well aware that I don't like Voila very much and have in fact hated it from the first time I heard it. So The Best In Me is superior in my opinion. It feels a little more honest and I like his voice a lot.

Italy - Fai Rumore vs Zitti e Buoni Zitti E Buoni obviously worked out for Italy lol but Fai Rumore is a little more my genre. Like, Maneskin grew on me a lot, especially after seeing it live. But this is just really gorgeous to listen to. The strings!! His voice!!

Germany - Violent Thing vs I Don't Feel Hate Violent thing is soooooo fun, I really don't know what Germany was thinking not bringing Ben Dolic back. They could have actually scored pretty well with this.

Bonus:

Armenia - Chains On You Polished enough in the studio version, although I would have worried about this live. The high "chains on you" refrain is a little jarring but Athena's voice sounds nice in the low parts.

Belarus - Da Vidna The national final performance online doesn't seem very polished. I doubt this would have done well. I should give this a listen in studio though, I like this sort of Slavic techno as a genre.

[maneskinhq]

p r o u d