Latest News: January 2021 and Autumn 2020

This blog is now closed. Go to our February blog to read all the latest news.

Who is joining The Roop in the Lithuanian Final?

Lithuania went from 20 acts to 10 in just 2 weeks. On Saturday 30 January the Semi-Final was broadcast on LRT and only 5 acts qualified for the Final.

The qualifiers of Pabandom iš naujo! (Let’s try again) in bold are:

• Aistė Brokenleg - Home
• Norbertas - Man In Need
• Gebrasy - Where’d You Wanna Go?
• Evita Cololo - Be Paslapčių
• Gabrielius Vagelis - My Guy
• Be U - Love Yourself
• Voldemars Petersons - Never Fall For You Again
• Martyna - Thank You Very Much
• Milita - Shadows
• Titas & Benas – No

All the qualifiers will join The Roop and their song Discoteque in the Final on 6 February in a battle that will determine who will represent Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021!

Emmy has qualified for the Norwegian Final

Emmy won the third Semi-Final of Melodi Grand Prix (MGP) in Norway with the song Witch Woods. She will join Blåsemafian feat. Hazel, KEiiNO, TIX, Raylee, Stavangerkameratene and Kaja Rode on 20 February.

These are the acts that performed in the third Semi-Final of MGP:

• Ole Hartz - Vi Er Norge

• Big Daddy Karsten - Smile

• Dinaye - Own Yourself

• Emmy - Witch Woods

Pre-qualified singer Kaja Rode showcased her song Feel Again.

Help Bulgaria choose Victoria's Eurovision 2021 song!

After the announcement of VICTORIA’s EP yesterday, it was revealed that you can help pick Bulgaria’s song. VICTORIA and her team will launch an online platform this February that will allow fans to share their opinions on her music to help their country decide which one to take to Eurovision 2021.

Genoveva Christova, the producer of the Bulgarian participation at Eurovision from Ligna Group said about the 2021 project: “The goal of our team this year is to bring the audience closer to VICTORIA and her music. This is why our focus was to finish her first EP and to release it before the Contest in Rotterdam. Together with our partners we decided to involve the viewers around the world in our final decision. Your opinion is very important to us and we can’t wait to read your comments about each of the songs.” One of the potential songs is VICTORIA’s latest release UGLY CRY, which was presented in November 2020. The track was a success in the Bulgarian music TV and radio charts and grabbed the attention of both local and international fans.

Go_A’s Eurovision entry will be decided by an expert jury

Ukrainian public broadcaster UA:PBC revealed the jury that will select Go_A’s song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. In it, you may recognise some Ukrainian stars and a Eurovision winner!

• Jamala – singer, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016;
• Yevhen Filatov – producer, leader of the band The Manaken;
• Ruslan Kvinta – music producer, composer;
• Yaroslav Lodygin – member of the Managing Board of UA: PBC in charge of television;
• Dmytro Khorkin – member of the Managing Board of UA: PBC in charge of radio.

Go_A will present at least two songs to the jury and the song with the most points will win. If two or more songs get an equal number of points, the winning song will be decided by majority voting. The results will be announced on 10 March.

Which song from VICTORIA’s mini-album will represent Bulgaria in Rotterdam?

VICTORIA is set to release her first EP in February, called A little dramatic. The artist was chosen to represent Bulgaria in 2020 before the Contest was cancelled but will now go on to represent her country again in 2021. Her new album features five songs and she'll be taking one of them to Eurovision this year. Victoria will present a lyric video of each song on her YouTube channel with more details to follow on her social media channels.

“Every young artist dreams about their first album. I am proud I will finally be able to share my EP with the world. The title “A little dramatic” best describes the overall arc of the songs on the album. I think I grew a lot in 2020, which was quite a dramatic year,” she said.

It's your chance to choose Blas Cantó's song for Eurovision 2021

The audience will get to decide Blas Cantó’s song for this year's Contest. RTVE has announced that a national final will be broadcast on a to-be-announced date in February. It will involve a live show and the public will be able to vote for their favourite out of two songs. Blas Cantó said: “I want to know the opinion of the fans. They will have to choose between two different sides of me."

Voting can be done through the RTVE Eurovision App or by calling or sending an SMS.

Artists and songs for the third show of MGP have been revealed

The first 2 shows of Melodi Grand Prix (MGP) in Norway saw Blåsemafian feat. Hazel and Raylee qualify to the final. Norwegian broadcaster NRK has now released the four singers that will perform in the third Semi-Final. All four songs are already available on various streaming platforms.

• Ole Hartz - Vi Er Norge
• Big Daddy Karsten - Smile
• Diniye - Own Yourself
• Emmy - Witch Woods

Kaja Rode is pre-qualified for the final. She will showcase her song Feel Again in the third Semi-Final which takes place on Saturday 30 January.

Lithuania completes its Semi-Final line up

The second heat of Pabandom iš naujo! (Let’s try again) took place in Lithuania. 5 more acts qualified for the Semi-Final, joining Be U, Voldemars Petersons, Martyna, Milita and Titas & Benas from the first heat.

The qualifiers in bold are:

• UnoBand - Eisiu (10th)
• Cosmic Bride - Solitary Star (9th)
• Rapolas Meškauskas - Degam (7th)
• Sunday Afternoon - Open (6th)
• Aistė Brokenleg - Home (5th)
• Norbertas - Man In Need (4th)
• Gabrielė Goštautaitė - Freedom (8th)
• Gebrasy - Where’d You Wanna Go? (1st)
• Evita Cololo - Be Paslapčių (3rd)
• Gabrielius Vagelis - My Guy (2nd)

The Roop showcased their song Discoteque. The band is already pre-qualified for the final of Pabandom iš naujo! which will take place on 6 February.

Raylee wins second Semi-Final of Melodi Grand Prix

Raylee won the second of 5 Semi-Finals in the Norwegian national selection, Melodi Grand Prix and she will now go straight to the Final on 20 February.

Here are the artists who performed in the second Semi-Final:

Duel 1

• Ketil Stokkan - My Life Is OK
• Daniel Owen - Psycho (winner)

Duel 2

• Raylee - Hero (winner)
• Maria Solheim - Nordlyset

“Gold Duel”

• Daniel Owen - Psycho
• Raylee - Hero (winner)

After winning her fist duel Raylee performed her song Hero again and won the Gold Duel against Daniel Owen.

The pre-qualified group Stavangerkameratene showcased their song Barndomsgater which you'll get to see again in the final.

All of the songs of UMK have been released

Finland has now released all seven songs of their national selection Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK). The artists competing to become Finland's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest are:

• Oskr - Lie
• Teflon Brothers x Pandora - I Love You
• Danny - Sinä Päivänä Kun Kaikki Rakastaa Mua
• Laura - Play
• Aksel - Hurt
• Blind Channel - Dark Side
• Ilta - Kelle Mä Soitan

All the songs are now available on video-on-demand service Yle Areena and several music streaming services including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

The final of UMK will take place on Saturday 20 February.

The artists and songs for Festival Da Canção have been revealed

Broadcaster RTP has announced the artists and songs that will compete for the Portuguese ticket to the Eurovision Song Contest. Twenty songs will compete in two Semi-Finals which are set to take place on 20 and 27 February. Each Semi-Final will feature 10 songs of which 5 will progress to the Final on 6 March.

Participating in the first Semi-Final are:

• Nadine - Cheguei Aqui
• Fábia Maia - Dia Lindo
• Sara Afonso - Contramão
• Valéria - Na mais profunda saudade
• IAN - Mundo
• Irma - Livros
• Karetus, Romeu Bairos - Saudade
• Miguel Marôco - Girassol
• Mema - Claro como água
• The Black Mamba - Love is On My Side

Participating in the second Semi-Final are:

• Carolina Deslandes - Por Um Triz
• Da Chick - I Got Music
• Joana Alegre - Joana do Mar
• Graciela - A vida sem acontecer
• Neev - Dancing in the Stars
• EU.CLIDES - Volte-Face
• Pedro Gonçalves - Não vou ficar
• Tainá - Jasmim
• Ariana - Mundo Melhor
• Ana Tereza - Com Um Abraço

All the competing songs have been released on the YouTube Channel of Festival Da Canção

The final will be hosted by Filomena Cautela (who was one of the hosts of Eurovision 2018) and Vasco Pamleirim. RTP presenters Sónia Araújo, Jorge Gabriel, Tânia Ribas de Oliveira and José Carlos Malato will host the Semi-Finals.

MGP welcomes back Raylee and Ketil Stokkan

The artists for Norway’s second Semi-Final have been released. Raylee was one of the fan favourites in last year’s Melodi Grand Prix (MGP) when she sang Wild. The 23-year-old from Tromøya returns to the Norwegian selection with the song Hero.

The second Semi-Final will also showcase a MGP veteran. Ketil Stokkan, who represented Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986 with the song Romeo and in 1990 with the song Brandenburger Tor is back, this time with a song called My Life Is OK. He was recently featured in the Norway edition of our 'How To' series.

Ketil and Raylee will be joined by Daniel Owen who will perform the song Psycho and Maria Solheim. She will sing Nordlyset.

In addition to these four acts, the pre-qualified group Stavangerkameratene will showcase their song.

Lithuania has kicked off their selection show

Lithuania launched the first heat of their national selection 'Pabandom iš naujo! (Let's try again)' 2021. The first of 2 heats saw 10 artists compete for a place in the Semi-Finals. The qualifiers (in bold) are:

• Black Spikes feat. Indre Launikonyte - Don't Tell Me 6th
• Thomukas1 - Wish 10th
• Be U - Love Yourself 5th
• Voldemars Petersons - Never Fall For You Again 1st
• Martyna - Thank You Very Much 3rd
• Donata - The Way I Am 7th
• Twosome - I Love My Bear 9th
• Milita - Shadows 4th
• Aldegunda - Sit Down 8th
• Titas & Benas - No 2nd

Blåsemafian and Hazel are heading to the final of Melodi Grand Prix 2021

The first of 5 Semi-Finals of the Norwegian national selection, Melodi Grand Prix, has concluded. Blåsemafian feat. Hazel won the 'Gold Duel' against Stina Talling with the song Let Loose.

During the show, 2 of the 6 songs with a direct pass to the final also premiered their performances: Monument by KEiiNO (who represented Norway in 2019) and TIX with the song Ut Av Mørket.

Finland reveals seven finalists for national selection 2021

Seven acts will compete in Finland’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021: Aksel, Blind Channel, Danny, Ilta, Laura, Oskr and Teflon Brothers x Pandora. Aksel was set to represent Finland in 2020 with the song Looking Back and Laura represented Estonia in 2017 where she finished 14th in the second Semi-Final together with Koit Toome and their song Verona.

The songs will be released on Yle’s national streaming service as well as on YouTube, Spotify and other music streaming services on the following dates:

• 14 January: Oskr: Lie
• 15 January: Teflon Brothers x Pandora: I Love You
• 18 January: Danny: Sinä Päivänä Kun Kaikki Rakastaa Mua
• 19 January: Laura: Play
• 20 January: Aksel: Hurt
• 21 January: Blind Channel: Dark Side
• 22 January: Ilta: Kelle Mä Soitan

This year's final will take place without an audience on 20 February and the winner will be chosen jointly by Finnish television viewers and an international UMK panel. The finalists were chosen from nearly 300 applicants by a jury of 8 music industry professionals.

Get ready for Melodi Grand Prix 2021

Norway has released the first 10 artists and songs competing in Melodi Grand Prix (MGP) 2021 which starts this Saturday at 19:50 CET. Eurovision fans will be delighted to know that KEiiNO are returning to their country's national selection this year for their chance to represent Norway again in Eurovision.

KEiiNO competed in the Eurovision Song Contest back 2019 when it was hosted in Tel Aviv. They went on to win the popular vote and finish in 6th place in the Grand Final with their song Spirit In The Sky. Now, they’re back in the Eurovision race! They will compete in MGP 2021 with their new song Monument which they say is about the traces we leave behind, the experiences you remember, and the strong relationships in life.

Just like last year, there will be 5 Semi Finals and a Grand Final. In total, there will be 12 participating acts competing in the Grand Final on 20th February.

Only 1 act from each Semi Final will go on to the Grand Final. Once all the Semi Finals have taken place, the audience will get to choose 1 ‘wild card’ act that will go on to compete in the Grand Final as well.

In addition to that, 6 acts have also been chosen internally to compete in the Grand Final:

• KEiiNO - Monument

  The song will be released on Friday 15 January and will be performed during Semi Final 1 on 16 January.

• TIX - Ut Av Mørket

  The song will be released on Friday 15 January and will be performed during Semi Final 1 on 16 January.

• Stavangerkameratene - Barndomsgater

  The song will be released on Friday 22 January and will be performed during Semi Finale 2 on 23 January.

• Kaja Rode - Feel Again

  The song will be released on Friday 29 January and will be performed during Semi Finale 3 on 30 January.

• Atle Petterson - Word On Fire

  The song will be released on Friday 5 January and will be performed during Semi Final 4 on 6 February.

• Rein Alexander - Eyes Wide Open

  The song will be released on Friday 12 February and will be performed during Semi Finale 5 on 13 February.

Here are the 4 artists competing in Semi Final 1 on Saturday:

• Beady Belle - Playing With Fire
• Blåsemafian - Let Loose
• Jorn - Faith Bloody Faith
• Stina Talling - Elevate

All four songs are available for streaming now so go and check them out!

The acts for Semi Final 2 will be released by NRK on Monday 18 January at 08:00, so you'll have to hold on tight until then!

Star filled jury for Eurovision France: C'est Vous Qui Décidez!

France TV has announced more details about the French national selection. Twelve songs will be performed and one of them will get the honour to represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021.

The show consists two stages. During the first round the 7 songs (out of 12) who received the most votes from the audience will qualify to the next stage. A jury will select one of the songs that didn’t qualify to join them. Eight songs will then compete in the second round of voting, where votes from the audience and the juries will both count for 50%.

The jury will consist of 10 members including Eurovision winners Marie Myriam and Duncan Laurence and fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. 2016 participant Amir will be the president of the jury.

These are the ten judges for Eurovision France: C’est Vous Qui Décidez!

• Amir
• Marie Myriam
• Jean-Paul Gaultier
• Duncan Laurence
• Natasha St-Pier
• Chimène Badi
• André Manoukian
• Elodie Gossuin
• Agustín Galiana
• Michèle Bernier

The show will be hosted in Paris. The dates for the show have not yet been announced.

Stefania will perform Last Dance at Eurovision 2021

Today, Stefania’s song title was revealed by Greece’s public broadcaster ERT.
She’ll represent her country in 2021 with Last Dance, an upbeat composition by Dimitris Kontopoulos, Arcade and Sharon Vaughn. Dimitris was a part of Stefania's team in 2020 and he also won the Marcel Beçenzon press award in 2016 for You Are The Only One by Russia's Sergey Lazarev. Fokas Evangelinos takes on the role of Creative Director and will be in charge of the visualization of the song.

Last Dance was selected by a committee set up by ERT and in collaboration with Stefania’s artistic team. The song was chosen out of 5 other contenders.

Daði Freyr wants you to join his choir

Earlier it was announced that Iceland would be represented by Daði og Gagnamagnið again in 2021. Daði is currently working on the song and has asked you to help him. The song will include a part with a big a capella choir. You can submit your recording for the choir until 11 January.

Måns Zelmerlöw will present the final of Melodifestivalen

Måns Zelmerlöw is one of the ten presenters of Sweden's national selection show Melodifestivalen. He will present the final together with Shima Niavarani and Christer Björkman. Christer will present all the shows together with some of Sweden's biggest stars.

These are the nine stars that will join Christer Björkman on stage:

First Semi-Final – Lena Philipsson
Second Semi-Final – Anis Don Demina & Oscar Zia
Third Semi-Final – Jason Diakité
Fourth Semi-Final – Per Andersson, Pernilla Wahlgren
Second Chance Show (Andra chansen) – Shirley Clamp
Final – Måns Zelmerlöw & Shima Niavarani

Three songs left for Eden Alene

Broadcaster KAN has revealed the three songs that will compete in the national final of Israel. Online voting will reopen on 19 January for La La Love, Set Me Free and Ue La La. Eden Alene's winning song wil be revealed in a special broadcast called Our Song For Eurovision on 25 January.

23 acts will compete for Lithuania's ticket to Eurovision

Lithuanian broadcaster LRT has announced the 23 acts that will compete in their national final Pabandom iš naujo. The show, which will consist of two heats, a semi-final and a final, will start on 16 January. The Roop, who were set to represent Lithuania in 2020 with the song On Fire are granted a spot in the final. You might remember Evelina Sašenko from the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf in 2011. She represented Lithuania with the song C'est Ma Vie reaching 19th place in the Grand Final.

Here are the 23 competitors:

• Aistė Brokenleg
• Aldegunda
• Donata Virbilaitė
• Evelina Sašenko
• Evita Cololo
• Gabrielė Goštautaitė
• Gabrielius Vagelis
• Gebrasy (Audrius Petrauskas)
• Gintarė Korsakaitė
• Martyna Jezepčikaitė
• Milita Daikerytė
• Cosmic bride (Natalja Chareckaja)
• Norbertas/Norbė
• Rapolas Meškauskas
• Norbertas/Norbė
• Titas ir Benas
• Sunday Afternoon
• Voldemaras Petersonas
• The Roop
• Twosome
• Unoband
• Black Spikes su Indre Launikonyte
• Be U

Italy searches for their Eurovision 2021 representative

RAI has revealed the 26 artists and songs for the Campioni category of Festival di Sanremo. The 2021 edition will see the largest number of acts competing since 1988. As usual, the winner of their national selection has the option of first refusal to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. The festival is set to take place between 2 and 6 March and among the competing participants you can find two recent Eurovision stars: Francesca Michielin (Italy 2016) and Ermal Meta (Italy 2018).

Here are the competitors and their songs:

• Aiello - Ora
• Annalisa - Dieci
• Arisa - Potevi Fare Di Più
• Bugo - E Invece Sì
• Colpesce & Dimartino - Musica Leggerissima
• Coma_Cose - Fiamme Negli Occhi
• Ermal Meta - Un Milione Di Cose Da Dirti
• Extraliscio feat. Davide Toffolo - Bianca Luce Nera
• Fasma - Parlami
• Francesca Michielin & Fedez - Chiamami Per Nome
• Francesco Renga - Quando Trovo Te
• Fulminacci - Santa Marinella
• Gaia - Cuore Amaro
• Ghemon - Momento Perfetto
• Gio Evan - Arnica
• Irama - La Genesi Del Tuo Colore
• La Rappresentante di Lista - Amare
• Lo Stato Sociale - Combat Pop
• Madame - Voce
• Malika Ayane - Ti Piaci Così
• Måneskin - Zitti E Buoni
• Max Gazzè & Trifluoperazina Monstery Band - Il Farmacista
• Noemi - Glicine
• Orietta Berti - Quando Ti Sei Innamorato
• Willie Peyote - Mai Dire Mai (La Iocura)

Croatia gets ready for Dora 2021

Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) have released the song titles and artists competing in their national final show Dora 2021. The competition will show 14 hopefuls and 4 reserve acts vying for the honour of representing their country in the next Eurovision Song Contest. You may even recognise some familiar faces too: Nina Kraljić, who participated in Eurovision 2016 and Tony Cetinski who was in Eurovision 1994, will be competing in the final which airs on 13 February.

This is the line up:

• Filip Rudan - Blind
• Bernarda - Colors
• Ella Orešković - Come This Way
• Sandi Cenov - Kriv
• Beta Sudar - Ma Zamisli
• Brigita Vuco - Noći Pijane
• ToMa - Ocean of Love
• Eric - Tell Me
• Nina Kraljić - Rijeka
• Ashley Colburn & Bojan Jambrošić - Share The Love
• Mia Negovetić - She's Like A Dream
• Albina - Tick Tock
• Cambi - Zaljubljen
• Tony Cetinski & Kiki Rahimovski - Zapjevaj, Sloboda Je!
  
  Reserves:
• Elis Lovrić- Brodolom
• Endi (feat. Lora) - Megaloman
• Pjerino Ružević- Soldier
• Z/11 - Only Love

Norway's MGP continues to grow

Last year the Norwegian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, Melodi Grand Prix (MGP) celebrated it 60th anniversary with introducing no less than 5 Semi-Finals and a Grand Final which then took place in Trondheim. Norwegian broadcaster NRK has decided the expand the format for the competition in 2021. The shows will once again be hosted by Ingrid Gjessing Linhave, Ronny Brede Aase and Kåre Magnus Bergh.

Like last year, one act from each of the 5 Semi-Finals will qualify. 6 pre-qualified artists that have been selected by a professional jury will join them in the final. They will showcase their songs in the Semi-Finals like last year. New for this edition is the 'wildcard'. All the artists who do not advance from the Semi-Finals still have an opportunity to make it to the final. The Norwegian audience will be able to vote online for one of the finalists who will then receive the last spot in the Grand Final. The wild card artist will be announced in a radio broadcast on Sunday 15 February, the day after the last Semi-Final.

The artists and their songs will be released on the Monday morning ahead of their respective Semi-Finals. The pre-qualified artists will release their songs the day before performing in a Semi-Final.

All the shows will be broadcast from the H3 arena at Fornebu outside of Oslo. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic this will unfortunately take place without any audience. The first Semi-Final will be broadcast on 16 January. The final will take place on 20 February.

The final of Festival da Canção takes place on 6 March

More details about Festival da Canção (which is the national selection of Portugal) have been announced. The dates for the two semi-finals have been set for 20 and 27 February 2021. The final will take place on 6 March 2021.

The authors of the songs competing in Festival da Canção have also been revealed:

Line-up for Melodifestivalen revealed

Over the course of three days Swedish broadcaster SVT has revealed the artists for their national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest: Melodifestivalen. The artists were announced one by one on Melodifestivalen’s social channels and on the now internationally available app of the Swedish TV show.

These are the songs that will be performed in February and March:

• Danny Saucedo - Dandi Dansa
• Lovad - Allting Är Precis Likadant
• Kadiatou - One Touch
• Mustasch - Contagious
• Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos - Rena Rama Ding Dong
• Emil Assergård - Om Allting Skiter Sig
• Tess Merkel - Good Life
• Paul Rey - The Missing Piece
• Arvingarna - Tänker Inte Alls Gå Hem
• Dotter - Little Tot
• Elisa - Den Du Är
• Lillasyster - Pretender
• Frida Green - The Silence
• Charlotte Perrelli - Still Young
• Patrik Jean - Tears Run Dry
• WAHL feat. SAMI - 90-talet
• Nathalie Brydolf - Fingerprints
• Anton Ewald - New Religion
• The Mamas - In The Middle
• Sannex - All Inclusive
• Jessica Andersson - Horizon
• Clara Klingenström - Behöver Inte Dig Idag
• Efraim Leo - Best Of Me
• Tusse - Voices
• Julia Alfrida - Rich
• Alvaro Estrella - Baila Baila
• Klara Hammarström - Beat Of Broken Hearts
• Eric Saade - Every Minute

The first artist to be announced was Danny Saucedo who has yet to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. He was very close to winning Melodifestivalen twice. In 2011 he came second behind Eric Saade and in 2012 he ended up on second place again behind the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012: Loreen.

Another artist who came very close to representing Sweden is Dotter. She ended up in second place in the most recent edition of Melodifestivalen with only 1 point behind The Mamas. She returns to Melodifestivalen with the song Little Tot. “I felt the same thing as I did with Bulletproof last year. The song felt so strong that I didn’t just want to release it on Spotify. I felt like it deserved something bigger, like a performance in Melodifestivalen in front of millions of people!” Dotter said to eurovision.tv about her song.

“The song is quite intense. It’s uptempo and for me it almost feels like a modern lullaby. It has a big chorus that is about telling the young ones not making the same mistakes as we have done when they grow up. The performance is going to be very dynamic. From small to big and from dark to bright” Dotter added.

Former Eurovision artists join the party

As usual the line-up of Melodifestivalen includes multiple former Eurovision Song Contest participants. This year, a Eurovision winner will take the stage as well. Charlotte Perrelli, who won the Contest in 1999 with her song ‘Take Me To Your Heaven’ returns to Melodifestivalen with the song Still Young. “I love the song. It is a perfect song for me and I would love to perform with it” Charlotte said about her song. About her ambitions she said: “I would love to participate in Eurovision once again. It would be a big dream come true for me!”.

Jessica Andersson will sing Horizon in 2021. In 2003, she was part of Fame, the duo that represented Sweden in 2003. About returning, Jessica said: “I’ve always been a hardcore fan of Melodifestivalen and even when I sometimes feel that maybe people get tired of seeing me there it’s really hard to say no when you hear a song as good as Horizon’.

Thinking back of 2003 Jessica said: “Even to this day it’s hard for me to understand that I’ve actually won Melodifestivalen once. It has been surreal to say the least. I think if you compare it with today I’m more self confident now and it’s more important for me to get my own ideas across. I’m more involved in my stage performance and I’ve been more involved with the song”.

Melodifestivalen 2020 winners The Mamas are also returning at the 2021 edition of the show. They won the Contest last year with their song Move and with that earned their ticket to Eurovision 2020, which unfortunately got cancelled a few days after their victory.

“This year has been so overwhelming and we didn’t plan on participating again next year. But we were in the studio with Robin Stjernberg finishing up our EP when he played the song for us. We really liked it and wanted to add our vocals to it. When we did that we just felt magic. It was so emotional and we cried. We felt we had to do Melodifestivalen again!” The Mamas told us about their participation.

“It would be awesome if we make it to the final again and be able to perform our song several times. The most important thing for us however is that people will connect with our song and like it. We hope that the words we sing will pierce every heart that hears it, in a good way! With this song, we really want people to know that they are loved immensely!” The Mamas added.

Eric Saade also returns to Melodifestivalen after he won the show in 2011 and ended up on third position at the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf 3 months later. He will perform his song Every Minute.

The 4 Semi-Finals, the second chance show and the big final will all be broadcast live from Stockholm this year. The first show will air on Saturday 6 February.

Voting has started for the Eurovision song of Israel

9 Songs are in the running to become Eden Alene's song for Israel. KAN has released the songs on their website where people can vote for their two favourites.

The songs are:

• Can't Stop A Hurricane
• Coming Out
• Flying
• La La Love
• Rise Up Today
• Set Me Free
• Shoulders
• Spilling Magic
• Ue La La

Two songs from the online vote will progress to the final round. One additional song will be chosen by a jury. After that, another online voting round will determine the winning song, which is set to be announced in late January.

Elena Tsagrinou will represent Cyprus in 2021

Cypriot broadcaster CyBC has announced that Elena Tsagrinou will represent the island nation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam. The singer, who is signed to PANIK Records will perform the song El Diablo. Read more about Elena on her participant profile

Albania reveals artists and songs for Festivali i Këngës

Public broadcaster RTSH published a playlist with all 25 participating songs for the 59th edition of their national selection for Eurovision 2021:

• Devis Xherahu - Peng
• Orgesa Zaimi - Valixhja e kujtimeve
• Festina Mejzini - Kush je ti dashuri
• Franc Koruni - E morën botën
• Inis Neziri - Pendesë
• Sardi Strugaj - Ka me t’ba me kajt
• Gjergj Kaçinari - Më jep jetë
• MIRUD - Nëse vdes
• Evi Reçi - Tjerr
• Rosela Gjylbegu - Vashëzo
• Kastro ZIZO - Vallja e jetës
• Klint Çollaku - Do t’ja dal
• Anxhela Peristeri - Karma
• Wendi Mancaku - Ves I shpirtit im
• Fatos Shabani - Ty
• Florent Abrashi - Vajzë
• Enxhi Nasufi - Njësoj
• Kamela Islamaj - Kujtimet s’kanë formë
• Era Rusi - Zjarri im
• Erik Lloshi - Jo
• Xhesika Polo - Më mbron
• Giliola Haveriku - E lirë
• Viktor Tahiraj - Nënë
• Agim Poshka - Vendi im
• Stefan Marena - Meteor

Arilena Ara won the national selection in 2019 and was set to represent Albania in Rotterdam with Fall From The Sky.

Eesti Laul will feature many Eurovision stars

Estonian broadcaster ERR has announced the 24 hopefuls for the country's Eurovision ticket. The Estonian national final, which is called Eesti Laul, will see two semi-finals on February 18 and 20 and the final taking place on 6 March. Five artists with a history of being Estonia's representative return to the show. Uku Suviste was supposed to represent Estonia in 2020, Koit Toome represented Estonia in 1998 and 2017 (together with Laura), Jüri Pootsmann performed in 2016, Tanja in 2014 and Ivo Linna represented Estonia in 1996 alongside Maarja-Liis Ilus.

This is the full line-up:

• Karl Killing - Kiss Me
• Egert Milder - Free Again
• Rahel - Sunday Night
• Sissi - Time
• Alabama Watchdog - Alabama Watchdog
• Kristin Kalnapenk - Find A Way
• Tanja - Best Night Ever
• Heleza - 6
• Uku Haasma - Kaos (Chaos)
• Suured tüdrukud - Heaven's Not That Far Tonight
• Kadri Voorand - Energy
• Ivo Linna, Robert Linna, Supernova - Ma Olen Siin (I Am Here)
  
• Uku Suviste - The Lucky One
• Gram-Of-Fun - Lost In A Dance
• Tuuli Rand - Üks Öö (One Night)
• Jüri Pootsmann - Magus Melanhoolia (Sweet Melancholy)
• Redel - Tartu
• Kéa - Hypnotized
• WIIRALT - Tuuled (The Winds)
• Hans Nayna - One By One
• Nika Marula - Calm Down
• Andrei Zevakin & Pluuto - Wingman
• Helen - Nii Kōrgele (So High)
• Koit Toome - We Could Have Been Beautiful

Israel's selection goes online

In recent years, Israel chose their contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest through a televised national selection. This year, with Eden Alene already pre-selected, broadcaster KAN has decided to take the selection for the song online.

A professional committee on behalf of KAN sorted through the initial list of songs. In total, the committee listened to more than 200 songs which were submitted anonymously.

10 songs were selected and will be uploaded to a digital interface where everyone will be able to vote for their favourite song. The two songs with the most votes, and a song added by the committee, will make up the three final songs that will be contending for the honour of being Eden Alene's song for Eurovision 2021. The winner will be decided through a final vote, which will also take place online.

The winning song will be announced in a special broadcast called Our Eurovision Song which is set to take place at the end of January/beginning of February.

Geike becomes the new lead singer of Hooverphonic

Geike Arnaert has returned to Hooverphonic. The 41-year-old singer was already a part of the band from 1997 to 2008. Exactly 20 years after the release of Hooverphonic’s album “The Magnificent Tree” and in advance to their upcoming participation at the Eurovision Song Contest they felt it was the right time for a reunion.

Alex Callier, member of the band, said: “All three of us felt an urge to start working again. We are still the ‘core of Hooverphonic’ which is for a lot of people the main setup of the band”

It will be the 7th time Hooverphonic is joined by a new permanent lead singer. Last year, Hooverphonic was set to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with 17-year-old Luka Cruysberghs, who sang the lead for Hooverphonic’s song “Release Me”.

Who will represent Denmark at Eurovision 2021?

This question will be answered when the Danish national selection, Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, takes place on 6 March 2021. Danish broadcaster DR said "they have the ambition for the show to be Denmark's largest music festival and a celebration of Danish music and songwriting art, where the songs represent the quality of the Danish music scene". The rules were published earlier this week and and there will be 8 participants taking part in the show.

41 Countries will participate in Eurovision 2021

Public broadcasters from 41 countries will take part in the Eurovision Song Contest when the world’s biggest live music event returns next year.

The following countries (and EBU Member broadcasters) will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam:

• Albania (RTSH)
• Armenia (AMPTV)
• Australia (SBS)*
• Austria (ORF)
• Azerbaijan (Ictimai TV)
• Belarus (BTRC)
• Belgium (VRT)
• Bulgaria (BNT)
• Croatia (HRT)
• Cyprus (CyBC)
• Czech Republic (CT)
• Denmark (DR)
• Estonia (ERR)
• Finland (YLE)
• France (FT)
• Germany (ARD/NDR)
• Georgia (GPB)
• Greece (ERT)
• Iceland (RUV)
• Ireland (RTE)
• Israel (KAN)
• Italy (RAI)
• Latvia (LTV)
• Lithuania (LRT)
• Malta (PBS)
• Moldova (TRM)
• The Netherlands (AVROTROS)
• North Macedonia (MKRTV)
• Norway (NRK)
• Poland (TVP)
• Portugal (RTP)
• Romania (TVR)
• Russia (Channel One)
• San Marino (RTV)
• Serbia (RTS)
• Slovenia (RTVSLO)
• Spain (TVE)
• Sweden (SVT)
• Switzerland (SRG SSR)
• Ukraine (UA:PBC)
• United Kingdom (BBC)

*EBU Associate

20 Songs will compete at Festival da Canção

Portuguese broadcaster RTP has released the rules for the 2021 edition of Festival da Canção. A total of 20 songs will compete in the competition (4 more than in previous years). RTP invites 18 authors to present a song to compete in Festival da Canção and opens a public submission to choose 2 more authors, to complete the 20 authors in the competition. The free submission of songs will be open until 25 November. Authors that are either Portuguese or live in Portugal can enter.

Last year, Elisa won the competition with the song Medo De Sentir.

Daði og Gagnamagnið return for Iceland

Exciting news for Iceland and Eurovision fans as Daði Freyr and Icelandic broadcaster RÚV, have confirmed that he’ll be returning with his group Gagnamagnið to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021.

Fans have been speculating about Daði og Gagnamagnið's return in 2021 since the cancellation of this year’s event. Recently, the rumour mill went into overdrive when Daði Freyr released his concert tour dates for next year with the month of May completely cleared. The speculation ended when Daði finally announced the good news on his Twitter account. Read the full story.

Finland has made its selection of finalists

Finnish broadcaster Yle announced a decision on their finalists for 2021. The broadcaster received 278 submissions and chose just 7 finalists who will compete during Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, the Finnish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.

The songs were selected by the UMK professional jury led by YleX radio station's Head of Music Tapio Hakanen: "The level of the songs and artists was incredibly strong. I am confident that we’ll have the most high-level UMK so far. I'm really happy and grateful to each and every song that was sent to us."

"Among the applicants were several Eurovision representatives from previous years, award-winning musicians, artists with serious international potential, energetic rock bands and trending names in alternative music praised by critics. The versatility of songs submitted is also reflected in the selected 7 finalists," Tapio says.

Mark your calendar for 13 January 2021 when the Finnish finalists will be revealed!

Finland's next Eurovision representative will be announced on 20 February in the UMK final to be held in Tampere. The winner will be jointly chosen by the public vote and the international UMK jury.

Dates for Melodifestivalen 2021 announced

Early in October, Swedish broadcaster SVT confirmed the dates of Melodifestivalen 2021 and announced that all shows will be held in Stockholm without an audience.

The semi-finals will take place on 6, 13, 20 and 27 February, the second chance round on 6 March and the final on 13 March.

Anette Helenius, project manager for Melodifestivalen says: "Despite the situation, we are happy that we will be able to offer an exciting music competition and magnificent show just as usual. Melodifestivalen is our common tradition and Sweden's party."

Melodi Grand Prix final will take place on 20 February

Norway will select their Eurovision 2021 participant during the final of Melodi Grand Prix on 20 February. The 5 semi-finals will take place between 16 January and 13 February 2021 with a spectacular final on 20 February.

Croatia's national final will be held on 13 February 2021

Public broadcaster HRT has confirmed that the final of Dora 2021, its national selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest, will be held on 13 February.

Greece's Stefania has started working on her songs for 2021

In an interview on ERT Stefania reported that she has started working on songs for her act at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. "Singing is my dream and participating in Eurovision is a dream coming true," she said.

Stefania was also ERT's choice for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus.