This week thirty-nine countries will take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. Ahead of the contest, we’ve made this handy guide to knowing who’s representing which country, and with what song.
🇦🇱 Albania – Anxhela Peristeri – “Karma”
Representing Albania this year is Anxhela Peristeri. She will sing “Karma”, a song performed entirely in Albanian.
Anxhela Peristeri was born in Korçë, Albania on 24th March 1986. She began her singing career in 2001, where she took part in Festivali i Këngës for the first time, and also entered the Miss Albania pageant in the same year. She went on to release an album three years later and has released numerous singles throughout her career.
Find out more about Anxhela here.
🇦🇺 Australia – Montaigne – “Technicolour”
Australia’s sixth entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest is Montaigne, who will sing “Technicolour”.
Montaigne (Jessica Cerro) was born on August 14 1995 in Sydney was raised in Hills District in the north west of the city. She describes her ethnic background as ” a mixture of Argentinian, Spanish, Filipino and French”.
In 2012, she reached the final of the Triple J Unearthed High School, a contest run by alternative music station Triple J, but decided to wait until after high school to start her career. She spent two years working on her songwriting skills, during which she started using the stage name Montaigne, inspired by the 16th-century essayist and novelist Michel de Montaigne.
Find out more about Montaigne here.
🇦🇹 Austria – Vincent Bueno – “Amen”
Vincent Bueno will represent Austria at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with his song “Amen”.
Vincent was born on December 10 1985 in Vienna to Filipino parents. He first came to public attention after winning the first series of the ORF musical theatre talent show Musical! Die Show in 2008. In 2010, he made regular appearances on the Philippine variety show ASAP VX. He has released two English studio albums; “Step by Step” (2009) and “Invincible” (2018) and one German album; “Weider Leben” (Back to Life – 2016). He also released an EP in the Philippines in 2010 called “The Austrian Idol – Vincent Bueno”.
Read more about Vincent here.
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan – Efendi – “Mata Hari”
Representing Azerbaijan on their thirteenth attempt is Efendi with her song “Mata Hari”.
Samira Efendiyeva, professionally known as Efendi, was born on April 17th 1991 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Her music career took off in 2009 when she participated in the singing competition Yeni Ulduz. Efendi is no stranger to competitions, having participated in Böyük Səhnə (Azerbaijan’s Eurovision national final) in 2014, and The Voice of Azerbaijan in 2015, finishing in 3rd place. She has also represented her country in the Silk Way Star competition in Almaty, Kazakhstan, placing 3rd, and at the Voice of Nur-Sultan festival in 2019.
Find out more about Efendi here.
🇧🇪 Belgium – Hooverphonic – “The Wrong Place”
This year’s Belgian act is Hooverphonic, a group consisting of Alex Callier, Raymond Geerts, and Geike Arnaert. They will perform “The Wrong Place”.
Hooverphonic were formed in 1995 in Sint-Niklaas in East Flanders. They first came to public attention with the song “2Wicky”, which was featured on the soundtracks of films such as Stealing Beauty and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Their debut album “A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular” was released in 1996.
Read more about Hooverphonic here.
🇧🇬 Bulgaria – VICTORIA – “Growing Up Is Getting Old”
Representing Bulgaria on their thirteenth attempt is VICTORIA, who will sing “Growing Up Is Getting Old”.
Victoria Georgieva, better known by the mononym VICTORIA, was born on September 21 1997 in Varna, Bulgaria. She started singing at age of eleven. After some time, she enrolled in the vocal studio “Angel Voices”. In 2015, she made it to the live shows of the fourth season of X Factor Bulgaria. She finished in 6th place overall. The runner-up of that season was Kristian Kostov, who represented Bulgaria in 2017 with “Beautiful Mess”.
Find out more about VICTORIA here.
🇭🇷 Croatia – Albina – “Tick-Tock”
Albina will represent Croatia at this year’s contest with her song “Tick-Tock”, which will be performed in English and Croatian.
Albina Grčić, better known as Albina, was born on February 6 1999 in Split, Croatia’s second-largest city. She auditioned for the second series of X Factor Adria in 2015. She made it to the boot camp, where she was offered to continue in the competition as part of a girl group. She declined the offer and returned to Croatia.
Find out more about Albina here.
🇨🇾 Cyprus – Elena Tsagrinou – “El Diablo”
Representing Cyprus this year is Elena Tsagrinou with her song “El Diablo”.
Elena Tsagrinou was born on 16th November 1994 in Athens, Greece. She has been influenced by music since she was young, attended a Music High School, and participated in Greece Got Talent at 14 years old. In 2013, she began her position of lead singer in the band OtherView, releasing multiple singles over the next five years. She left the band in 2018 to pursue her solo career, releasing her first solo single “Pame Ap’ Tin Arhi”, composed by Dimitris Kontopoulos. The singer has performed at the MADWalk – The Fashion Music Project and the MAD Video Music Awards on several occasions, with OtherView and as a soloist.
Read more about Elena here.
🇨🇿 Czech Republic – Benny Cristo – “Omaga”
Representing the Czech Republic in their ninth appearance at the contest is Benny Cristo. He will sing “omaga”.
Benny Cristo (born Ben Cristóvão) was born on June 8 1987 in Plzeň in the west of the Czech Republic to Czech and Angolan parents. The singer rose to fame in 2009 after participating in the talent show Superstar, where he was a finalist. Since then, he has released 3 albums, 3 EPs, and numerous singles. His most recent single (before his Eurovision song) “Aleiaio” reached #3 in the Radio Top 100 in the Czech Republic.
Find out more about Benny here.
🇩🇰 Denmark – Fyr Og Flamme – “Øve Os På Hinanden”
Fyr Og Flamme will represent Denmark at this year’s contest with their song “Øve Os På Hinanden”, a song performed entirely in Danish.
Fyr Og Flamme is a music duo from Denmark made up of Jesper Groth and Laurits Emanuel. The pair released their first two singles, titled “Menneskeforbruger” and “Kamæleon” in 2020, with their debut single reaching number one in the P3 Listen Danish chart.
Find out more about Fyr Og Flamme here.
🇪🇪 Estonia – Uku Suviste – “The Lucky One”
Uku Suviste will represent Estonia at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with his song “The Lucky One”.
Uku was born on June 6th 1982 in Võru, Estonia. He began his career at a young age, having attended a specialised music class at Tallinn School No. 21 alongside Tallinn Boys Choir at six years old. His professional music career began in 2004 when he began to take part in international competitions, and one year later he participated in “Kaks Takti Ette”, a well-known Estonian song contest, placing 3rd overall.
Find out more about Uku here.
🇫🇮 Finland – Blind Channel – “Dark Side”
Rock band Blind Channel will represent Finland this year with “Dark Side”.
Blind Channel was formed in 2013 in Oulu in northwestern Finland. The band consists of Joel Hokka (vocals and guitar), Niko Vilhelm (vocals), Joonas Porko (guitar and backing vocals), Olli Matela (bass), Tommi Lalli (drums) and Aleksi Kaunisvesi (sampler and percussion). All of the members have been in the band since its inception except for Aleksi, who joined last autumn.
Find out more about Blind Channel here.
🇫🇷 France – Barbara Pravi – “Voilà”
Representing France at the 2021 contest in Rotterdam is Barbara Pravi with “Voilà”.
Barbara Piévic, better known by her stage name Barbara Pravi, was born on April 10 1993 in Paris. She is of Serbian and Iranian descent. Her stage name comes from the Serbian word “prava” (authentic) as a tribute to her Serbian grandfather.
Barbara began her music career in 2014 after meeting Jules Jaconelli. She was signed to Capitol Music France in 2015. In January 2016, she performed “On m’appelle Heidi” (They call me Heidi), the theme song of the French dub of the Swiss-German film Heidi. In November 2016, she was cast as Solange Duhmale in the French stage musical Un été 44 (One summer in 44).
Read more about Barbara here.
🇬🇪 Georgia – Tornike Kipiani – “You”
Representing Georgia in their thirteenth appearance is Tornike Kipiani with “You”.
Tornike Kipiani was born on 11th December 1987 in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. The singer rose to fame after he won the first season of the X Factor Georgia in 2014, where his mentor was Tamta (Eurovision Cyprus 2019). In 2017, he attempted to represent his country at the Eurovision Song Contest with his song “You Are My Sunshine”.
Read more about Tornike here.
🇩🇪 Germany – Jendrik – “I Don’t Feel Hate”
Jendrik will represent Germany at this year’s contest with “I Don’t Feel Hate”.
Jendrik Sigwart was born in Hamburg and is the second eldest of 4 siblings. At a young age, he began to play piano and violin and has also learnt how to play the ukulele. After he finished high school, he went on to attend the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences where he studied Musical Theatre. Jendrik has appeared in musicals such as “Grease” and “Peter Pan”, alongside writing his own songs on the ukulele.
Read more about Jendrik here.
🇬🇷 Greece – Stefania – “Last Dance”
Representing Greece this year is Stefania, who previously represented The Netherlands at the 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest as part of the girl group Kisses. She will sing “Last Dance” in Rotterdam.
Stefania Liberakakis was born on December 17th 2002 in Utrecht, the Netherlands to Greek parents. She started singing at the age of 8. She made her first television appearance in 2013 when she took part in the third series of The Voice Kids. She was eliminated in the Battle Rounds. After her appearance on The Voice Kids, she joined the childrens’ choir Kinderen voor Kinderen and remained a member for two years.
Read more about Stefania here.
🇮🇸 Iceland – Daði og Gagnamagnið – “10 Years”
Iceland will be represented by Daði & Gagnamagnið at this year’s contest with their song “10 Years”.
Gagnamagnið (The Data) is an Icelandic band that began its career in 2017. Fronted by Daði Freyr Pétursson, the group consists of six members, including Daði’s sister Sigrún Birna Pétursdóttir (backing vocalist), his wife Árný Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir (dancer), and their friends Hulda Kristín Kolbrúnardóttir (backing vocalist), Stefán Hannesson (dancer) and Jóhann Sigurður Jóhannsson (dancer). The group supported the then-soloist Daði on stage at Söngvakeppnin 2017, where he finished as a runner up with his song “Is This Love?”.
Find out more about Daði & Gagnamagnið here.
🇮🇪 Ireland – Lesley Roy – “Maps”
Representing Ireland this year is Lesley Roy with her song “Maps”.
Lesley was born on November 28 1986 in Balbriggan in north County Dublin. She first began her music career after being signed to an independent Irish label in 2006, which was followed by a record deal with American label Jive Records and a move to New York. In 2008, she released her debut album “Unbeautiful”. The lead single from the album “I’m Going, I’m Gone” was the theme tune for the MTV show Exiled and also featured on an episode of The Hills. In 2009, she provided tour support on a US-wide tour for American Idol runner-up David Archuleta.
Read more about Lesley here.
🇮🇱 Israel – Eden Alene – “Set Me Free”
Eden Alene will represent Israel at this year’s contest with her song “Set Me Free”.
Eden was born on May 7 2000 in Jerusalem to Ethiopian Jewish parents. Her parents separated when she was two and she has not had contact with her father since. She is currently serving as a member of a military band of the Israeli Defence Forces.
Read more about Eden here.
🇮🇹 Italy – Måneskin – “Zitti E Buoni”
Rock band Måneskin will represent Italy this year with their song “Zitti e Buoni”, a song entirely in Italian.
Måneskin is a rock band from Rome, consisting of members Damiano David (lead vocals), Victoria De Angelis (bass), Thomas Raggi (guitar), and Ethan Torchio (drums). The group formed in 2016, while the members were in high school. When coming up with the name of the band, Victoria, who is half Danish, was asked to say some Danish words to see what they could come up with. And so they went with Måneskin, which means “moonshine”.
Read more about Måneskin here.
🇱🇻 Latvia – Samanta Tina – “The Moon Is Rising”
Samanta Tina will sing for Latvia at this year’s contest with her song “The Moon Is Rising”.
Samanta Poļakova, better known as Samanta Tīna, was born on March 31 1989 in Tukums in western Latvia. She first came to public attention after winning the music show O!Kartes akadēmija, which allowed her to study in the Tech Music School in London. In 2012, she competed in the Slavianski Bazaar in Belarus and finished second overall. In 2016, she reached the top 8 of the third season of Lietuvos balsas (The Voice of Lithuania).
Read more about Samanta here.
🇱🇹 Lithuania – The Roop – “Discoteque”
Representing Lithuania this year will be The Roop with their song “Discoteque”.
The Roop was formed in 2014 in Vilnius and is made up of Vaidotas Valiukevičius, Robertas Baranauskas and Mantas Banišauskas. The group describes their music as a cross between pop-rock and indie. The Roop have released two albums; “To Whom It May Concern” (2015) and “Ghosts” (2017). The Roop has performed around Lithuania and internationally in places such as Belgium, Serbia and Brazil.
Read more about The Roop here.
🇲🇹 Malta – Destiny – “Je Me Casse”
Junior Eurovision winner Destiny will represent Malta at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with “Je Me Casse”.
Destiny Chukunyere is a Maltese-Nigerian singer who was born on August 29th 2002 in Birkirkara, Malta. Her father is former footballer Ndubisi Chukunyere. Destiny began her singing career in 2014, where she took part in Festival Kanzunetta Indipendenza, finishing 3rd. In the same year, she also won the Asterisks Music Festival, and Sanremo Junior.
Find out more about Destiny here.
🇲🇩 Moldova – Natalia Gordienko – “Sugar”
Returning to represent Moldova this year is Natalia Gordienko, who previously represented the country in 2006. She will sing “Sugar” this year.
Natalia Gordienko was born on December 11 1987 in Chișinău and is of Ukrainian descent. As a child, she sang in her school choir, studied piano at music school, and danced in her school’s dance group for ten years. At the age of 15, she began participating in singing competitions.
Find out more about Natalia here.
🇲🇰 North Macedonia – Vasil – “Here I Stand”
Representing North Macedonia this year is Vasil, who previously appeared at the contest as a backing singer. He will sing “Here I Stand”.
Vasil Garvanliev was born on November 2nd 1987 in Strumica, North Macedonia. He started his musical journey at age 7, performing at some of North Macedonia’s most popular children’s festivals. Soon after, he moved with his family to the United States, where he continued his career as a soloist at the Chicago Children’s Choir. He continued his musical training in Toronto and Milan.
Find out more about Vasil here.
🇳🇴 Norway – TIX – “Fallen Angel”
This year’s Norwegian representative is TIX, who will sing “Fallen Angel”.
TIX (Andreas Haukeland) was born on 12th April 1993 in Bærum, Norway. His stage name “TIX” (“ticks”) is a nod to his diagnosed Tourettes syndrome. The singer is an advocate for mental health openness and has shared his thoughts and experiences in the past.
Find out more about TIX here.
🇵🇱 Poland – Rafał – “The Ride”
Rafał Brzozowski will represent Poland at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with “The Ride”.
Rafał was born on 8th June 1981 in Warsaw, Poland. His career took off after he participated in the 2011 edition of The Voice of Poland and was knocked out just before the final. In the summer of 2012, he released “Tak blisko” which went on to be the most downloaded song in Poland in 2012 and 2013. He has since gone on to release four studio albums.
Find out more about Rafał here.
🇵🇹 Portugal – The Black Mambe – Love Is On My Side
Singing for Portugal this year is The Black Mamba, who will sing “Love Is On My Side”. This is the first time that the country has sent a song entirely in English.
The Black Mamba is a Portuguese band consisting of Pedro Tatanka, Miguel Casais, Marco Pombinho, Rui Pedro Vaz, and Guilherme Salgueiro. They released their debut album in 2010 titled “The Black Mamba”, and went on to release two more albums. Their latest was “The Mamba King”, which reached 5th position in the Portuguese charts. The group is known for its concert appearances and festival tours both in Portugal and abroad.
Read more about Portugal here.
🇷🇴 Romania – ROXEN – “Amnesia”
Representing Romania at this year’s contest is Roxen, who will sing “Amnesia”.
Larisa Roxana Giurgiu (Roxen) was born on January 5 2000 in Cluj-Napoca in northwestern Romania. At the age of 7, she began singing and participating in numerous competitions and festivals, and has since gone on to release two songs that have featured in the Romanian radio charts: “You Don’t Love Me” and “Ce-ti canta dragostea” (What love sings to you). According to Media Forest weekly charts, Roxen is the 3rd most played artist on Romanian radio stations.
Find out more about Roxen here.
🇷🇺 Russia – Manizha – “Russian Woman”
Manizha will represent Russia at this year’s contest with her song “Russian Woman”, a song performed in Russian and English.
Manizha Dalerovna Sangin was born on 8th July 1991 in Dushanbe, Tajikstan. The Russian-Tajik singer moved to Moscow, Russia, at three years old, and began her career in 2003 as a child singer, winning numerous competitions. Throughout her career, she has performed as part of different groups, such as Ru.Kola, Assai, and Krip De Shin.
Find out more about Manizha here.
🇸🇲 San Marino – Senhit – “Adrenalina”
Returning for San Marino this year is Senhit, who previously represented the country in 2011. She will sing “Adrenalina” this year.
Senhit Zadik Zadik was born in Bologna, Italy, on 1st October 1979, and raised by her Eritrean parents. She started her singing career in 2001, performing in the musicals Fame, The Lion King, and Hair in Germany and Switzerland. In 2006, she released her debut album and went on to release several singles.
Find out more about Senhit here.
🇷🇸 Serbia – Hurricane – “Loco Loco”
Pop-R&B group Hurricane will sing for Serbia at this year’s contest. Their song “Loco Loco” is sung entirely in Serbian.
Hurricane was formed in 2017 and consists of three members; Sanja Vučić, Ivana Nikolić and Ksenija Knežević. They sing mostly in English but have also released several songs in Serbian.
Find out more about Hurricane here.
🇸🇮 Slovenia – Ana Soklič – “Amen”
Representing Slovenia this year is Ana Soklič with her song “Amen”.
Ana Soklič was born in 1984 in Bohinj in northwestern Slovenia. From a young age, Ana developed and refined her musical skills at the local opera and jazz academy, before she started to write her own music. She was the lead singer of Diona Dim, with whom she previously tried to represent Slovenia in 2004 with the song “If you” and in 2007 with the song “Oče” (Father).
Read more about Ana here.
🇪🇸 Spain – Blas Cantó – “Voy A Quedarme”
Singing for Spain this year will be Blas Cantó, who will sing “Voy a quedarme”, performed entirely in Spanish.
Blas Cantó was born on October 26 1991 in Ricote in Murcia in southeastern Spain. He made his first television appearance in 2000 in the children’s talent show Veo Veo. In 2004, he took part in Eurojunior, the Spanish national final for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004. He finished fourth in the final with the song “Sentir” (To feel).
Find out more about Blas here.
🇸🇪 Sweden – Tusse – “Voices”
Representing Sweden this year is Tusse, who will sing “Voices”.
Tousin Michael Chiza, known professionally as Tusse, was born on January 1st 2002 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He came to Sweden alone as a refugee and lived with a family in Kullsbjörken, where he has resided since 2015. His singing career began in 2018 where he participated in the Swedish talent show Talang 2018. A year later he won Swedish Idol and subsequently released three singles.
Find out more about Tusse here.
🇨🇭 Switzerland – Gjon’s Tears – “Tout l’Univers”
Gjon’s Tears will represent Switzerland with his song “Tout l’Univers”, performed entirely in French.
Gjon Muharremaj (better known as Gjon’s Tears) was born on 29th June 1998 in Fribourg, Switzerland, and is of Kosovar-Albanian descent. His singing career took off when he was just 12 years old when he placed third in Albania’s Got Talent after his grandfather had entered him in the contest. He then went on to reach the semi-finals of Switzerland’s Got Talent in 2012, and last year also reached the semi-finals of The Voice France.
Read more about Gjon’s Tears here.
🇳🇱 The Netherlands – Jeangu Macrooy – “Birth Of A New Age”
Representing this year’s host country The Netherlands is Jeangu Macrooy with “Birth Of A New Age”. His song will be performed in English and Sranan Tongo.
Jeangu Macrooy was born on November 6 1993 in Paramaribo, Suriname. In 2011, he formed the band Between Towers with his twin brother Xillian. Their first and only album “Stars on My Radio” was released in 2013. After having studied at the Conservatory of Suriname in Paramaribo for two years, Jeangu moved to the Netherlands in 2014 to study songwriting at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Enschede.
Find out more about Jeangu here.
🇺🇦 Ukraine – Go_A – “Shum”
Folktronica group Go_A will represent Ukraine with their song “Shum”, performed entirely in Ukrainian.
Go_A was formed in Kyiv in 2012. The band is made up of Kateryna Pavlenko (vocalist), Taras Shevchenko (multi-instrumentalist), Ihor Didenchuk (sopiklar) and Ivan Hrihoryak (guitar). They combine Ukrainian singing styles with modern dance beats, African drums, and guitar.
Find out more about Go_A here.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom – James Newman – “Embers”
Representing the United Kingdom this year is James Newman with his song “Embers”.
James Newman was born in Settle in North Yorkshire but is currently based in London. He is the older brother of singer John Newman.
As a songwriter, James has written for several international artists such as Calvin Harris, Little Mix and Jess Glynne. He won the Brit Award for British Single of the Year in 2014 for the song “Waiting All Night” by Rudimental feat. Ella Eyre. He also wrote “Dying to Try”, the Irish entry for Eurovision 2017.
Read more about James here.
Eurovision 2021
The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 will take place on May 18, 20, and 22 in Rotterdam. Eurovision 2020 was due to be held in Rotterdam after Duncan Laurence gave the Netherlands their first victory since 1975 with the song “Arcade”. After the cancellation of the 2020 contest, it was decided that Rotterdam would host the 2021 contest instead.
Image Source: NPO/NOS/AVROTROS Nathan Reinds
