At long last, the Eurovision 2021 season is heating up! We’ve known the identities of many acts for months now, but actual songs have been very slow to materialise. However, that’s all changed as we now know two of the entries which will be performed next May.
They are Albania’s Anxhela Peristeri with “Karma” and Israel’s Eden Alene with “Set Me Free”. This means that we can start choosing favourites. Which act do you like best?
You can listen to both tracks below. Then vote in our poll. Choose wisely, you can only vote ONE time. Voting is open until Friday 29 January — the eve of the Eurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez! final.
We will then relaunch the poll to include Tom Leeb’s successor and any other songs which might drop between now and then.
Eurovision 2021 entries as of 26 January
New entries
Albania’s Anxhela Peristeri with “Karma”
Anxhela’s “Karma” saw off competition from 24 other songs to emerge victorious at Festivali i Këngës 59. These strange times saw Albania host its national final outdoors across three freezing cold December nights. Anxhela overcame the challenges and won over the seven-person jury. “Karma” will now most likely undergo some sort of revamp. However, Anxhela has already indicated that she intends to keep the song in Albanian. Will “Karma” take Albania to the grand final for a third consecutive contest?
Israel’s Eden Alene with “Set Me Free”
Israel’s Eden Alene became the first returning act from 2020 to confirm their song for 2021. During a three-song selection show on 25 January, the Israeli public picked “Set Me Free”. The entry saw off competition from “Ue La La” and “La La Love”, both of which had many fans of their own. However, we have yet to see Eden perform the song in a live stage setting. Votes in the national final were based off music videos. How does “Set Me Free” compare to its predecessor “Feker Lebi”?
Who is your favourite Eurovision 2021 act so far?
[crowdsignal poll=10726478]Which of the pair is your favourite? Could either win the contest in May? Let us know in the comments.
I personally prefer Albania but I realize Israel’s song has much higher chances. I liked Feker Lebi somewhat more.
Israel weak year is still better than most of the countires XD
i choose Go_A ‘Shum’, sorry ladies,lol
ok, if being serious I think both songs are pretty decent and both artists have amazing voices, with good staging I could see them both in final, good luck))
I’m not buying Albania. Very erratic. I like isreal but there is something missing. It doesn’t have the impact it could have.
Only Albania
Albania, but I like both songs! 🙂
I love Eden, but “Karma” has much more character than “Set Me Free”. It’s a slow start though, I’m counting on France to shake things up.
For me, it’s albania on top for now. Set me free Might be a borderline qualifier at best if it has a great staging and great performance from Eden, but it’s clearly a letdown from last year’s entry. I preferred ue la la but I’m glad La la love didn’t win
Eden seems to be coming out on top in the poll currently of the two songs and it will be the highest position these two songs will get. They will both slip down the order quickly as both songs are fillers and not ESC contenders.
Eden by far! Why is Ue La La the only song now on Spotify?
obviously none of them
Not feeling either. Both have that NQ feel to them. Forced to choose, Israel but mostly because I thought Albania had better songs than the one they picked.
Albania will slay this year!
both are boring, but Israel
My gut feeling at this stage is these are both going to be in the 20s to 30s on my list. Both are decent efforts, but neither has anything special which grabs my attention or wants me to invest more time in them. Both are high quality, professional performers so I am sure the presentation will be strong, but I don’t get winner vibes and they are most likely to be borderline qualifiers for the final.
I think both songs bring something different to the table. For now I’m not especially sold on one, but I did vote for Set me Free since it does feel a bit more contemporary.
”Set Me Free” is not bad but something is missing…It’s a bit anti-climatic.
I absolutely prefer Albania !! I don ‘t like Israel’s song.
The poppy one.
For me, it’s Albania. Despite again being a belting diva ballad, something Albania sends way too often, it’s still good. I can feel the drama in the song. Israel’s song is more respectable in terms of lyrics than what they could have sent, but at the same time, it lacks any impact on me. I think that both songs have a chance at qualifying, considering how good the singers are, but I think that my personal top ten are yet to come. Perhaps with France and Lithuania next?
Yes totally agree with you! I can see both France and Lithuania finishing in my top 10 should the former send Voila and the latter *whispers so anyone can barely hear* Gebrasy:)
Thnx. For me, both France and Lithuania have two songs which I totally see in my top ten. Two of them are more of an obvious fan-favorites (Barbara and The Roop), while the other two are more of an ”underdogs” of their selections (Cephaz and Gebrasy). I’d be very happy with any of these songs winning! 🙂
ooh I also like “On a mange le soleil” as I find it to be very melodically and vocally pleasant plus I love the anti-consumerism message and the metaphors are really interesting. It could be a contender for sure. Also lol at the dislikes I got for my comment, guess my “whisper” wasn’t low enough haha?
I mean both songs are the same level for me but I voted for Israel purely because of Eden. We know how well Israel can do staging so I’m hoping that it will make a path for the final but I’m feeling a Saara Aalto vibe from Israel. Albania is good and if they would’ve sent something different genre vise I’d like it more. That’s unfair Anxhela but like in terms of quality and likeability for me it comes nowhere near Jonida and she finsihed only in 17th so I think this will struggle.
I absolutely like to listen to both songs… Great entries sung by strong chanteuses. Everyone will always experience Eurovision in their own mind about what’s good and not so good. We can’t always have it all. But for me a good start.
Probably Albania but I don’t feel strongly about it. Can’t imagine either song is going to end up high in my ranking.
So far my results
Albania 6/10
Israel 3/10
When the FiK entries were announced I liked many of them but Karma was not one of them. It has grown on me though. Set Me Free is a safe entry, it does not have the climax of Karma, it is completely indifferent. Given that Israel participates in the 1st semi and Albania in the 2nd, I think it’s more possible that Albania will qualify while Israel will not. Israel has also the disadvantage of having a song that is inferior to the one chosen for 2020. All in all, Albania is leading for me now, but we’ve got a… Read more »
those were false rumors. Samanta Tina said she won’t release it this month. Late February is possible tho I think
I know it doesn’t mean to much yet, but unfortunately for Eden, Isreal have fallen to no. 39 on the odds now. I personally prefer Albania, although wasn’t May favourite from the selection.
Israel for me. While both ladies are excellent singers, “Karma” is a bit over-dramatic for my taste.
The Roop!
This time I’m not going to vote because I can’t decide. Both songs are quite good but far from being brilliant.
I like both, but I have to go with Albania.
Neither.
Karma!
for me, its set me free. karma is quite forgettable
And Set Me Free isn’t?
Not that I ever thought I’d say this, but Anxhela. By a very large margin.