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The returning acts will be SUPER TOUGH!

Fluke

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February 5, 2011
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Sweden
We already know 2021 will be full of returning acts, both most of the highly praised entries of 2020, and some who didn't get much praise at all.

In the latter cases, it's a great opportunity to rise above the mistakes they made with this year's selection, and send something that will hopefully be recieved much better, while in the former, it is going to be tough to live up to the expectations they have on them, but also an opportunity to benefit from the fame they already achieved from their entries this year.

Should the likes of Dadi Freyr, The ROOP and Little Big play it safe, and try to recreate what made their entries so popular, or go for something else entirely? We don't know, and at this point they probably don't know either.

But what's really interesting about this situation, is that all of the returning artists have an unique opportunity in the history of Eurovison. Not only do they not have to worry about winning a national selection, they don't have to follow the rules of one either. Not only do they have almost 12 months to come up with an entry, they don't even have to choose ONE, or settle on a final version of it right away.

They could possible release several songs and arrange, if not a public selection, then at least just see what the public's reaction to them are. And with all the time they got, they could even take some of that criticism and come up with an improved version, that the public will like even more.

This has almost never been done by an Eurovision artist. And now we will have loads of them. That is why the returning artists this year will be SUPER TOUGH to beat. I'm almost sure the most talked about ones - Iceland, Lithuania and Russia - will at least be among the top contenders in 2021 as well, but there could also be some "jokers" noone expect, and definitely solid competition from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine, Georgia, who knows?

Next year is definitely gonna be a Eurovision season like no other before!
 

anto475

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January 18, 2012
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2,584
Location
Dublin/Galway
But what's really interesting about this situation, is that all of the returning artists have an unique opportunity in the history of Eurovison. Not only do they not have to worry about winning a national selection, they don't have to follow the rules of one either. Not only do they have almost 12 months to come up with an entry, they don't even have to choose ONE, or settle on a final version of it right away.

They could possible release several songs and arrange, if not a public selection, then at least just see what the public's reaction to them are. And with all the time they got, they could even take some of that criticism and come up with an improved version, that the public will like even more.

This has almost never been done by an Eurovision artist. And now we will have loads of them. That is why the returning artists this year will be SUPER TOUGH to beat. I'm almost sure the most talked about ones - Iceland, Lithuania and Russia - will at least be among the top contenders in 2021 as well, but there could also be some "jokers" noone expect, and definitely solid competition from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine, Georgia, who knows?

Next year is definitely gonna be a Eurovision season like no other before!

It's not very unique though. Many artists and songwriters in the contest in the past have had a year, if not more, to prepare, and to release songs and see the public's reaction. The only unique thing about the "returning" artists really will be the hype about them given their status as being "veterans of 2020".
 

Ianp16

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April 15, 2015
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792
Location
Manchester
I am hoping very much that the beautful Stefania will return for Greece with another banger and something even more powerful than 'Superg!rl' (I know we all hate the exclamation mark). I think another year of artistic maturation will do her well as she seems a bit shy.
 

Fluke

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February 5, 2011
Posts
2,454
Location
Sweden
So with all the songs revealed now, i think most will agree with me that it's pretty disappointing. Almost none of the returning artists really made good use of the opportunity to work on their entry for a whole year without having to worry about winning the national selection.

The only ones who straight up improved on their 2020 entry, in my opinion, are:

Gjon, who was among the possible winners of 2020 (i didn't like that song though) but even higher now, and pretty much my overall favorite this year.

Destiny, who some actually thought could win in 2020 even though they admitted the song wasn't all that great, and who IMO is unlikely to win or do super well this year, but it could still be Malta's best result.

Natalia Gordienko, i actually think "Prison" was a bit underrated but it's pretty clear "Sugar" is a better choice for the ESC, she still might not do that well as many seem to think though.

Senhit - i actually find "Adrenalina" musically inferior and rather lackluster, contrived noisy dance-pop, but i see how it could do better in the contest, much because of a certain guest element but also the track overall, as "Freaky" was a uninspired, if competent retro disco filler track.

Blas Canto - His 2020 song was totally forgettable, "Voy a quedarme" is at least that kind of music done right, but most don't seem to agree with me.

Ana Soklic went from a forgettable "next please" number to one that's at least worth listening to.

Jeangu Macrooy improved in my opinion, i thought "Grow" was overrated though i see its qualities, but "Birth of a New Age" is one of my personal favorites this year, the masses seem to be opposite to my opinion though, so we can call it a tie.

Then there's the real big disappointments. Dadi Freyr, The Roop, Go_A, Samanta Tina, Eden Alene, Montaigne and Efendi all went for songs that were a bit too similar to their 2020 entries but lacking the impact, depth and meaning of their previous efforts. I don't think either of them will really be in the top 5, wether or not they would have been in 2020.

Then there are those where i just plain dislike both entries, and those where they have something interesting - neither of Vasil's songs were good, but "Here I Stand" is at least somewhat funny in its unashamed bombast, James Newman's two entries are also hard to compare because they are so different, but i think they're both mediocre.

Tornike Kipiani's 2020 entry wasn't that great, but there was potential for a better rock entry, but instead he went for a forgettable ballad that almost nobody likes. Same with Benny Cristo, i really thought he could do a lot better but instead his new song is worse. Also i first disliked Vincent Bueno's "Amen" first but i can appreciate it now as simple and unremarkable as it is, still think an "Alive"-like song would have been better for him though, so that's about a tie for me too.

So overall, that's still pretty much a negative result for the reappearing acts overall. The two that improved most, Gjon and Destiny, would probably have came back within a few years anyway, as people already said "they should come back with a better song" even before the 2020 contest was cancelled. The rest of the "better" songs were not really strongly linked to the artist, except Jeangu's which kinda wasn't a typical ESC entry anyway, i doubt he would have been considered if Netherlands wasn't the host country.

So that's why i'm saying overall, almost none of the artists really used the opportunity well.
 

Iker

Veteran
Joined
March 13, 2018
Posts
3,415
So with all the songs revealed now, i think most will agree with me that it's pretty disappointing. Almost none of the returning artists really made good use of the opportunity to work on their entry for a whole year without having to worry about winning the national selection.

The only ones who straight up improved on their 2020 entry, in my opinion, are:

Gjon, who was among the possible winners of 2020 (i didn't like that song though) but even higher now, and pretty much my overall favorite this year.

Destiny, who some actually thought could win in 2020 even though they admitted the song wasn't all that great, and who IMO is unlikely to win or do super well this year, but it could still be Malta's best result.

Natalia Gordienko, i actually think "Prison" was a bit underrated but it's pretty clear "Sugar" is a better choice for the ESC, she still might not do that well as many seem to think though.

Senhit - i actually find "Adrenalina" musically inferior and rather lackluster, contrived noisy dance-pop, but i see how it could do better in the contest, much because of a certain guest element but also the track overall, as "Freaky" was a uninspired, if competent retro disco filler track.

Blas Canto - His 2020 song was totally forgettable, "Voy a quedarme" is at least that kind of music done right, but most don't seem to agree with me.

Ana Soklic went from a forgettable "next please" number to one that's at least worth listening to.

Jeangu Macrooy improved in my opinion, i thought "Grow" was overrated though i see its qualities, but "Birth of a New Age" is one of my personal favorites this year, the masses seem to be opposite to my opinion though, so we can call it a tie.

Then there's the real big disappointments. Dadi Freyr, The Roop, Go_A, Samanta Tina, Eden Alene, Montaigne and Efendi all went for songs that were a bit too similar to their 2020 entries but lacking the impact, depth and meaning of their previous efforts. I don't think either of them will really be in the top 5, wether or not they would have been in 2020.

Then there are those where i just plain dislike both entries, and those where they have something interesting - neither of Vasil's songs were good, but "Here I Stand" is at least somewhat funny in its unashamed bombast, James Newman's two entries are also hard to compare because they are so different, but i think they're both mediocre.

Tornike Kipiani's 2020 entry wasn't that great, but there was potential for a better rock entry, but instead he went for a forgettable ballad that almost nobody likes. Same with Benny Cristo, i really thought he could do a lot better but instead his new song is worse. Also i first disliked Vincent Bueno's "Amen" first but i can appreciate it now as simple and unremarkable as it is, still think an "Alive"-like song would have been better for him though, so that's about a tie for me too.

So overall, that's still pretty much a negative result for the reappearing acts overall. The two that improved most, Gjon and Destiny, would probably have came back within a few years anyway, as people already said "they should come back with a better song" even before the 2020 contest was cancelled. The rest of the "better" songs were not really strongly linked to the artist, except Jeangu's which kinda wasn't a typical ESC entry anyway, i doubt he would have been considered if Netherlands wasn't the host country.

So that's why i'm saying overall, almost none of the artists really used the opportunity well.
For Malta they would have to win get their best result win, as they have already placed 2nd twice I think. I don't get winning vibes from 'Je me casse' to be frank and my intuition rarely fails me in this regard.
 
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