Eurovision 2021 - My Top 39 (with comments) [UPDATED]

One of my favorite Eurovision years! Great songs, great artists, great stage...not much to complain about here. My one gripe with this year is that there are quite a few entries that were brought down by gimmicky and/or overly ambitious staging, but I suppose that's better than having a stage that's flat-out ugly 90% of the time (looking at you, 2006 and 2011).
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SONGS:
Albania: Anxhela Peristeri - Karma
Australia: Montaigne - Technicolour
Austria: Vincent Bueno - Amen
Azerbaijan: Efendi - Mata Hari
Belgium: Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place
Bulgaria: VICTORIA - Growing Up Is Getting Old
Croatia: Albina - Tick-Tock
Cyprus: Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo
Czech Republic: Benny Cristo - omaga
Denmark: Fyr og Flamme - Øve Os På Hinanden
Estonia: Uku Suviste - The Lucky One
Finland: Blind Channel - Dark Side
France: Barbara Pravi - Voilà
Georgia: Tornike Kipiani - You
Germany: Jendrik - I Don't Feel Hate
Greece: Stefania - Last Dance
Iceland: Daði og Gagnamagnið - 10 Years
Ireland: Lesley Roy - Maps
Israel: Eden Alene - Set Me Free
Italy: Måneskin - Zitti e Buoni
Latvia: Samanta Tīna - The Moon is Rising
Lithuania: The Roop - Discoteque
Malta: Destiny - Je Me Casse
Moldova: Natalia Gordienko - Sugar
Netherlands: Jeangu Macrooy - Birth of a New Age
North Macedonia: Vasil - Here I Stand
Norway: TIX - Fallen Angel
Poland: RAFAŁ - The Ride
Portugal: The Black Mamba - Love is On My Side
Romania: ROXEN - Amnesia
Russia: Manizha - Russian Woman
San Marino: Senhit - Adrenalina
Serbia: Hurricane - Loco Loco
Slovenia: Ana Soklič - Amen
Spain: Blas Cantó - Voy a Querdame
Sweden: Tusse - Voices
Switzerland: Gjon's Tears - Tout l'Univers
Ukraine: Go_A - SHUM
United Kingdom: James Newman - Embers
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[@JH3Eurovision]

I've decided that for these updated rankings, I'm going to acknowledge the withdrawn/disqualified entries in the videos for their respective years...except Belarus 2021. I feel uncomfortable even playing that song in a video like this due to what I hope are obvious reasons :P If you want my take on it, though? It's bad :V

[@n.p.l.s3859]

honestly, probably share the same top 7 (in different order) + France, pretty good video and I understand most positions here

[@ThinkAboutVic]

Glad you have 10 Years so high! It was my 2nd fav ESC entry at the time only behind Dadi's own Think About Things (now Aija is my 2nd place making 10 Years 3rd) so obviously it was my winner of 2021 by a mile.

[@leendertjanw7540]

Very nice, love your comments! I was there in the arena and it was the most amazing experience which still makes me smile when I watch a video like this 🙂. Your top 3 are all in my top 5 as well, together with France and Bulgaria.

[@in_wino_veritas]

Thanks for appreciating Portugal, The Netherlands and Belgium and not underrating Georgia and the Czech Republic too much. Overall great top, although I wouldn't put Latvia last. Shum is a great choice for first place, it's probably my most listened to song out of the bunch. And yes, Croatia should have qualified, it's catchy and easy to sing along to, both televoters and juries agree. Switzerland also kinda grew on me a little bit, especially after watching a lyrics video, my French is very bad, so it's easier for me, if I'm reading the lyrics out loud (different thing with Shum, Karma, Logo Loco and other songs in languages I don't understand at all, then I'm just singing vowels and consonants I believe to be hearing, if Im singing along to it). I think, our main disagreements are Estonia and Denmark and Albania. And Greece. Great staging, but boring song, it's way too high on your list. And I'm glad, Albania qualified over Denmark. Great list, sorry for my novel.

[@RyanMCGEE-wq6yz]

good video:)

[@northcub]

The thing about Malta is that they wanted to win really badly, and put a lot of money into advertising, promo, and inflating the odds to make themselves the favourite to win. Unsurprisingly it didn't work.

[@JH3Eurovision]

Right, I forgot about the whole "inflating the odds" thing...how does that even work

[@northcub]

​@@JH3Eurovision I imagine they just bet a lot of money on themselves

[@AnjaMilanova]

Agree with Montinage, but Malta extremely underrated

[@leendertjanw7540]

You know, I'm insanely biased because I'm Dutch and I was sooooo proud that we were the host country, and I was there in the arena which was of course an unimaginably incredible experience because of the times we were living in back then. But I honestly still believe this was one of the best staged contests ever; everything worked so well, the pace of the show, the lighting, the sound, and it was so amazing seeing all the artists so pumped up and giving it their best. Man, that first semi final, with Lithuania opening... I can still feel the rush going through Ahoy. And then Ukraine bursting onto the stage; that roof was truly blowing off! I still have a crush on Finland's bass player who was literally a couple feet away from me, thumping his fist on his heart to greet us when they got on stage 😍. Italy was never my favourite but I'll admit they really rocked and I can see why they won. I do feel France and wouldn't have minded her winning. She's incredible. Switzerland was probably my favourite pre-contest and I'm happy he did so well. Portugal was probably the biggest surprise for me that week; I didn't expect that much from them but that performance was absolutely wow.

[@JH3Eurovision]

2021 really was a great year production-wise, I think some performances were too gimmicky but I doubt that's Rotterdam's fault. Very jealous that you got to witness Shum live.

[@xHeks_]

1. Gjon's Tears - Tout l'Universe 🇨🇭 2. Måneskin - Zitti e Buoni 🇮🇹 3. Go_A - Shum 🇺🇦 4. Albina - Tick-Tock 🇭🇷 5. Fyr og Flamme - Øve Os På Hinanden 🇩🇰 6. The Roop - Discoteque 🇱🇹 7. Tusse - Voices 🇸🇪 8. Senhit ft. Flo Rida - Adrenalina 🇸🇲 9. Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place 🇧🇪 10. James Newman - Embers 🇬🇧 11. Dadi og Gagnamagni - 10 Years 🇮🇸 12. Hurricane - Loco Loco 🇷🇸 13. Blind Channel - Dark Side 🇫🇮 14. Victoria - Growing Up is Getting Old 🇧🇬 15. Destiny - Je Me Casse 🇲🇹 16. Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo 🇨🇾 17. Stefania - Last Dance 🇬🇷 18. Natalia Gordienko - Sugar 🇲🇩 19. TIX - Fallen Angel 🇳🇴 20. Anxhela Peristeri - Karma 🇦🇱 21. Roxen - Amnesia 🇷🇴 22. Lesley Roy - Maps 🇮🇪 23. Barbara Pravi - Voilá 🇨🇵 24. Blas Canto - Voy a Quedarme 🇪🇸 25. Uku Suviste - The Lucky One 🇪🇪 26. Manizha - Russian Woman 🇷🇺 27. Efendi - Mata Hari 🇦🇿 28. Eden Alene - Set Me Free 🇮🇱 29. Vincent Bueno - Amen 🇦🇹 30. Rafał - The Ride 🇵🇱 31. Ana Soklič - Amen 🇸🇮 32. Vasil - Here i Stand 🇲🇰 33. The Black Mamba - Love Is On My Side 🇵🇹 34. Samanta Tina - The Moon Is Rising 🇱🇻 35. Montaigne - Technicolours 🇦🇺 36. Tornike Kipiani - You 🇬🇪 37. Benny Cristo - Omaga 🇨🇿 38. Jeangau Macrooy - Birth of a new age 🇳🇱 39. Jendrik - I Don't feel hate 🇩🇪

[@xHeks_]

don't ask about UK and Denmark ok?

[@edmundtory6931]

Shum is also my all time favourite

[@LeLoup63]

I know i'm pretty late, but here'w my ranking from France : 39. Georgia 🇬🇪 (You) 38. Austria 🇦🇹 (Amen) 37. North Macedonia 🇲🇰 (Here I Stand) 36. Poland 🇵🇱 (The Ride) 35. Slovenia 🇸🇮 (Amen) 34. Norway 🇳🇴 (Fallen Angel) 33. Malta 🇲🇹 (Je Me Casse) 32. Denmark 🇩🇰 (Øve Os På Hinanden) 31. Spain 🇪🇦 (Voy A Quedarme) 30. Netherlands 🇳🇱 (Birth Of A New Age) 29. Ukraine 🇺🇦 (Shum) 28. Moldova 🇲🇩 (Sugar) 27. Bulgaria 🇧🇬 (Growing Up Is Getting Old) 26. Albania 🇦🇱 (Karma) 25. Portugal 🇵🇹 (Love Is On My Side) 24. Estonia 🇪🇪 (The Lucky One) 23. Germany 🇩🇪 (I Don't Feel Hate) 22. United Kingdom 🇬🇧 (Embers) 21. Israel 🇮🇱 (Set Me Free) 20. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 (Mata Hari) 19. San Marino 🇸🇲 (Adrenalina) 18. Czechia 🇨🇿 (Omaga) 17. Latvia 🇱🇻 (The Moon Is Rising) 16. Croatia 🇭🇷 (Tick-Tock) 15. Sweden 🇸🇪 (Voices) 14. Iceland 🇮🇸 (10 Years) 13. Italy 🇮🇹 (Zitti E Buoni) 12. France 🇨🇵 (Voilà) 11. Serbia 🇷🇸 (Loco Loco) 10. Lithuania 🇱🇹 (Discoteque) 9. Finland 🇫🇮 (Dark Side) 8. Ireland 🇮🇪 (Maps) 7. Belgium 🇧🇪 (The Wrong Place) 6. Australia 🇦🇺 (Technicolour) 5. Cyprus 🇨🇾 (El Diablo) 4. Russia 🇷🇺 (Russian Woman) 3. Greece 🇬🇷 (Last Dance) 2. Romania 🇷🇴 (Amnesia) 1. Switzerland 🇨🇭 (Tout l'Univers)

[@jen_sen8508]

1. Ukraine 2. Serbia 3. Malta 4. Moldova 5. Finland 6. Croatia 7. Belgium 8. Cyprus 9. Iceland 10. San Marino

[@daviddodger]

Flo Rida was indeed there and ngl I loved it Also no idea what flag you used for Russia? Also also Croatia should have 100% qualified!

[@JH3Eurovision]

To my understanding, Russia basically has two flags, those being the widely known white/blue/red one and the one I used in the video. The one I used is basically a symbol of resistance to their current regime, as opposed to the "official" one that's used to symbolize their government. Belarus has a similar resistance flag, except the middle stripe is red instead of blue. Tbh I really struggled deciding which flag to use; the consistency freak in me wanted to use the official flags because those are what Eurovision uses, but I figured I would just uh. Not do that. That said, I imagine people will complain no matter which flag I use lol

[@daviddodger]

@@JH3Eurovision Ahhhh is that what it is okay. I knew about the Belarussian one but I didn't know that was what it stood for and I didn't know Russia had one also. Thanks for enlightening me!

[@aknigge]

Here are my personal votes/rankings, i'am from the Netherlands (i've gave my personal points to the ESF eurovision songs performed in the Grand Final Show) 12 points: Switzerland - Gjon's tears - Tout L' univers 10 points: France - Barbara Pravi - Voilà 8 points: Greece - Stefania - Last dance 7 points: Finland - Blind Channel - Dark side 6 points: Sweden - Tusse - Voices 5 points: Iceland - Daoi og Gagnamagnio - 10 Years 4 points: Portugal - The black Mamba - Love is on my side 3 points: Spain - Blas Cantó - Voy a quedarme 2 points: Bulgaria - Victoria - Growing up is getting old 1 point : Belgium - Hooverphonic - The wrong place

[@christianglas1584]

I don't quite get why The Moon Is Rising is THAT hated. Obviously it didn't work live at all and surprisingly her vocals were off constantly, but the song is great. I even prefer it over Still Breathing. With a good performance, I think it would've qualified and maybe achieved an average result in the final.

[@sleppehdaze7739]

Shum, not my fav song, but it got me into Eurovision :) (it’s my 2nd or 3rd behind Dark Side and maybe The Wrong Place

[@JH3Eurovision]

Extremely powerful Top 3

[@RyanMCGEE-wq6yz]

are you going to make rehearsal videos

[@JH3Eurovision]

Nah. I'll probably make community posts with my thoughts on those

[@kaleproject3495]

Well, the no.1 was good. And the no.3 was good. There are some strange other choices up there but hey, that's the fun, right?

[@JH3Eurovision]

Very fun indeed

[@jere_diekralle7284]

Hi ^^ My Top 39 for now: Bad 39. Moldova Not for me 38. Serbia 37. North Macedonia 36. Slovenia 35. Cyprus Okay 34. Albania 33. Georgia 32. Latvia 31. Ireland Good 30. Austria 29. Israel 28. UK 27. Estonia 26. Malta 25. Belgium Very Good 24. Iceland 23. Australia 22. Sweden 21. Poland Great 20. Germany 19. Spain 18. Russia 17. Czech Republic 16. Denmark Amazing 15. France 14. Netherlands 13. Romania 12. San Marino 11. Portugal 10. Croatia 9. Ukraine 8. Bulgaria 7. Norway Masterpieces 6. Switzerland 5. Azerbaijan 4. Lithuania 3. Italy 2. Greece 1. Finland

[@fantasticesc2456]

Which tool did you use to upscale performances to 60fps?

[@JH3Eurovision]

The performances are still 30 FPS :V The only thing in this video that's 60 FPS is the transitions/motion graphics

[@kaleproject3495]

Some of the national broadcasters did show Eurovision in 50fps that year, so if you're wanting those performances, they are out there, somewhere. I got mine from the BBC. It was 1280x720 res tho...so not ideal but my pref.

[@thelegoshow6579]

3:23 whose flag is that?

[@JH3Eurovision]

Read my response to David Dodger's comment

[@House..231Van]

1st Georgia 🇬🇪 2nd Denmark 🇩🇰 3rd Moldova 🇲🇩 4th Norway 🇳🇴 5th Macedonia 🇲🇰 6th Israel 🇮🇱 7th Greece 🇬🇷 8th Austria 🇦🇹 9th Bulgaria 🇧🇬 10th Italy 🇮🇹 11th Switzerland 🇨🇭 12th Portugal 🇵🇹 13th Cyprus 🇨🇾 14th Spain 🇪🇸 15th Lithuania 🇱🇹 16th Finland 🇫🇮 17th Netherlands 🇳🇱 18th Iceland 🇮🇸 Great video ❤ My favourite songs from Liverpool 😊

[@Purple-dawn.]

0:05 I refuse to believe everything was working correctly here- she can sing really well. Something must have been broken for her to sing completely off key. 2:05 My thoughts too, but it keeps violently swapping between being super enjoyable and being super cringey. Most especially the part when they “fight” the middle finger, that was just so annoying. 3:05 Uh, what? That was a favorite to win? What?? What part am I missing??? 3:16 Disagree, my fourth-least favorite unfortunately. Not a fan of the dress or the random fire, and the melody also rubs me the wrong way. 4:00 I would with the instrumental, but there’s almost no lyrics to the song and it feels kind of empty as a result. The lyrics that are there feel hollow. I want to like this but I don’t have much reason to. Take Me As I Am was so much better. 4:35 I believe this NQed because of Belgium and Norway. Belgium and Norway had lower scores from one party, but the other party (jury and public respectively) gave those songs just enough points to beat Croatia, despite Croatia being considered a qualifier by both. 4:46 oh THANK GOD someone else who likes this! The harmonies in the verses are seriously some of the best in the whole contest. 5:17 I don’t like this one because some of the lines feel a tad cringey. Not bad by any means though. 6:09 Wait what’d they do to be considered bad people? Yeah that’s so far all the years I’ve seen all of, so sadly I probably won’t be commenting on the 2015 video when it comes out. I do have a video suggestion though! It’s something I’ve been trying to do, you could take the last 10 entries of each country (or however many), find the average percentile they end up on your yearly rankings, and find what countries usually end up higher and lower on your rankings

[@JH3Eurovision]

- Samanta Tīna almost certainly had a malfunctioning earpiece. A lot of people don't realize this, but it's hard to sing in tune when you can't actually hear yourself lol. The performance would've been last place material even without that, though. - Malta was apparently on top of the betting odds at one point before the contest, although there's a theory that they just bet a lot of money on themselves to inflate the odds lol. They actually won their semifinal, too. - It's less that Hooverphonic are bad people and more that their main guy and "spokesperson", Alex (the guy playing the piano) is notorious for being really arrogant and unpleasant. He's very widely disliked in Belgium already, but a lot of Eurofans hate him because he and his other bandmate kicked Luka (the singer of Release Me) out of the band with pretty much no warning because they wanted to replace her with Geike (the singer of The Wrong Place who was also already in the band at one point). They also refused to be in the Eurovision: Love Shine a Light special because Alex said he didn't like the song.

[@Purple-dawn.]

@@JH3Eurovision …how the ever loving f🇲🇹k did they think that would work?

[@annakobuk3618]

Tick-Tock was nothing special, imo

[@_dushanenko]

aint no way latvia 39

[@_dushanenko]

worst ever top 39 esc 2021

[@Hectorien_]

2021 was such a good year, it had so many NQers that were really good and that says something

[@jen_sen8508]

Same with 2022 too many good songs didn’t qualify, hopefully the same doesn’t happen again this year

[@JH3Eurovision]

I feel like you can sometimes tell how strong a year is by the amount of really good NQs it has (although not always since the semifinals are sometimes unevenly split like they are this year). I think 2010, 2015, 2016, and 2021 all had particularly strong NQs, and all of those years are in my Top 5 of this century except 2015.

[@heurovisionsc]

when did you join the fandom?

[@JH3Eurovision]

I've known about Eurovision since around 2014. But I didn't start following it super actively/interacting with the fanbase until around February-March of 2022 (iirc all of the songs were out except Azerbaijan's at that point).