WORTH A LOOK?: ****
OUT: 27 February 2021
Heat 4 of Melodifestivalen didn’t disappoint in the quality of its songs but we would have loved for our favourite – the debut solo single by a third of Alcazar – to have done better than 5th.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
OUT: 26/2/21
TRACKLIST: Flowers; Roots; Sober; Run To The Hills; Heartbreak Suites; If I Had A God; I Spent A Night In The Desert; You’ve Let Yourself Down; Animal; Wild; Run; Choices (Don’t Be Afraid); Why Don’t We Start From Here?
If you’re familiar with singer/songwriter Spraggan it may well be thanks to her song Tea And Toast which was a top 20 hit before she’d even appeared on TV’s The X Factor live finals in 2012.
2020 was the Eurovision-that-never-was and Freyr’s Think About Things was judged by many to be the song most likely to have won if Covid-19 hadn’t caused its cancellation. Like many other competitors Freyr has been selected to compete in 2021 and his song 10 Years drops 13/3/21. Freyr’s last single Feel The Love was a song of the month for us in January.
WHEN?: Saturday 13 February 2021
WHERE?: Annexet, Stockholm
Can The Mamas make it 3 wins in a row after backing John Lundvik on Too Late For Love in 2019 and singing Move themselves the following year?
WHEN?: 7pm UK time Saturday 6 March 2021
WHERE?: DR Studio 5, Copenhagen
HOW TO WATCH?: via DR
We haven’t properly loved a Danish Eurovision entry since we were in Copenhagen to hear the audience raise the roof off the Parken in response to Rollo and King’s Never Ever Let You Go in 2001 which came so close to retaining the crown.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2
OUT: now
Henderson co-wrote this with James Arthur, the eventual winner of the 2012 series of The X Factor on which they both appeared, and at the time of writing it is at number 1 on the iTunes charts.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
OUT: now
Stellar electropop duos like Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell and Erasure were all the rage in the 80s but seem far less so now although that could all change with the emergence of this Danish pair.
WHEN?: Saturday 13 February 2021
WHERE?: Annexet, Stockholm
Sweden seems to be embracing the nostalgic and fun songs this year ahead of the ballads which might work in the favour of Eurovision and Melodifestivalen winner Charlotte Perrelli who returns here with a song we’re expecting to be both uptempo and reminding of her experience as well as vitality.
WHEN?: Saturday 20 February 2021
WHERE?: H3 Arena, Fornebu, Oslo
HOW TO WATCH?: NRK link
Sweden’s Melodifestivalen may be the average Eurovision fan’s favourite national pre-selection show but the quality on display in Norway’s 2021 Melodi Grand Prix means it is fast following in the must-see footsteps of its rival.
* Read on for reasons including who we think will win and how each song would do at Eurovision
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
OUT: now
Spain’s 2021 Eurovision Song Contest entrant Blas Cantó is no stranger to singing competitions.
monstagigz 