With Belarus’ disqualification on Friday, we now know the official line-up f0r semi-final one of Eurovision 2021.
The journey began back in January when Israel chose “Set Me Free” for Eden Alene. Ironically, Eden’s “Set Me Free” was also the last song for us to hear in its Eurovision version, with a revamped edit only coming out on 26 March.
Vote in our new Eurovision 2021 semi-final poll.
Eurovision 2021: Semi-final one line-up
The 16 semi-final one acts range from old school pop bops to modern dramatic ballads. We’ve got quirky disco and dramatic chansons. Gospel, hyper pop and dream pop all feature. However, only ten of the 16 will make it out of the 20 May semi-final and into the grand final.
First half
- Australia: Montaigne “Technicolour”
- Ireland: Lesley Roy “Maps”
- Lithuania: The Roop “Discoteque”
- North Macedonia: Vasil “Here I Stand”
- Russia: Manizha “Russian Woman”
- Slovenia: Ana Soklič “Amen”
- Sweden: Tusse “Voices”
Second half
- Azerbaijan: Efendi “Mata Hari”
- Belgium: Hooverphonic “The Wrong Place”
- Croatia: Albina “Tick-Tock”
- Cyprus: Elena Tsagrinou “El Diablo”
- Israel: Eden Alene “Set Me Free”
- Malta: Destiny “Je me cases”
- Norway: Tix “Fallen Angel”
- Romania: Roxen “Amnesia”
- Ukraine: Go_A “Shum”
Precisely who will qualify is anyone’s guess. But who do you want to see make it? You can listen to each of this year’s first semi-final contestants in the playlist below. Then vote for your favourites in our poll. You can vote for as many contestants as you like, but you can only vote ONE time, so make it count.
This poll closes, just ahead of the first rehearsals in May. It’s up to you, Europe. Start voting now!
Who should win semi-final one of Eurovision 2021?
[crowdsignal poll=10787549]Who did you vote for? Who will win? Who should win? Let us know below.
My winner is Malta
My qualifiers in random order:
Australia
Russia
sweden
romania
ireland
Ukraine
Cyprus
Malta
lithuania
Belgium
A really tough semi this year
does anybody else have a problem with voting? I can’t even see the poll.
ye idk
i’m rooting for Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Israel, Lithuania and Malta.. maybe Sweden too
I think Sweden, Malta or Cyprus can win . If you want you can see my Top 17 in my Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3od6wRjPCTA
This esc doesn’t have the big fav but a lot of good entries…and a huge diaspora concerning preferences. Based on the country alliances…that always prevails My risky prediction for semi1 is: 1. Almost sure to qualify Ukraine (so annoying one) don’t deserve Sweden (nice but typicall) 2. 80% to qualify Romania (nice try) Lithuania (nice try) Malta (nice try) Russia (so annoying too) don’t deserve Ajerbaijan (completely awful) don’t deserve 3.60 % to qualify Cyprus (annoying copy of annoying lady gaga) don’t deserve Australia (interesting concept bad vocals) 4. Chaos…only one of them is going to qualify In the same… Read more »
Full of hatred and no taste or knowledge.
Australia 3rd place, mmm interesting but also I am extremely baffled. The disadvantage of winning a national final with a great song then the following year coming up with more of the artists artistic style is a risk one would have taken. To be honest I’m not sure if this will qualify. If this song was shortlisted for their own national final, I doubt this would win. On the other hand seems like a risk worth taking. Australia is not immune to nonqualification, and this is their weakest entry to date, but I wish them well.
Obviously this poll is just a small sample of voters, but they are voters nonetheless. Seems to me, along with all the reaction videos I’ve seen, at this is an indication that the more people listen to it the more support is growing.
Israel and Sweden are the best , good luck to them.
For me Croatia would be the winner of the semi-final 1. But I think it will be either Lithuania, Malta or Cyprus.
I’m hoping the Roop wins this semi 🙂 Come on Lithuania!!
ISRAEL
This is going to be real hard. There are only 2 songs that I think that they have no chance to qualify and 1 that I hope it is out too for the sake of the other countries (Norway), but the others are real close. My ranking (they are almost all really good so this is tricky, that’s why my ranking always changes right now until the rehearsals): 1) Malta 2) Cyprus 3) Sweden 4) Belgium 5) Croatia 6) Ireland 7) Russia 8) Israel 9) Romania 10) Australia 11) Azerbaijan 12) Slovenia 13) Lithuania (not my piece of cake) 14)… Read more »
North Macedonia will qualify. Mark my words 🙂
I think you all gonna hate me for it but there are only three songs that I honestly like. Belgium, Romania and Ireland, who replaced Ukraine as my guilty pleasure. Will they qualify? No idea, but I kinda hope for it. There are two songs that I personally don’t want to qualify, Azerbaijan and Cyprus. Azerbaijan is to be honest my dead last, it’s the most annoying song this year and Cyprus, sorry no, but how much more can you steal of songs made by other artists. My sincere apologies, and I do mean that, to those who actually love… Read more »
Look who’s talking!!!
Sweden, Australia, Azerbadijan cannot sing live at all. Sounds awful
Tusse and Montaigne are so good live, wtf
Tusse: Yes! Montaigne: NO!!
Montaigne is completely hit or miss live.
They are the worst ever!
As a vocal coach i can say that Tusse has one of the best techniques when he’s singing. He is one of the best singers (at least top 5), but he has a pretty different voice, that’s why many people think he sing bad. But as I said, technically he is one of the best! 🙂
He also won the swedish idol, and believe me, there is several moment you must prove your voice in front of professional juries in that contest! 😀
I would say now that Australia, Ireland, Slovenia and north Macedonia are out for certain . Not sure which other two . I have a feeling that either Russia or Ukraine could be out but not both of them
Absolutely nothing is certain.
In a semi like that there is nothing certain, even though these countries have less chances to qualify than other ones. Remember in 2018 we saw Ireland, Lithuania and Finland be shocking qualifiers leaving out Belgium, Greece, Switzerland, Belarus and North Macedonia (the last one was also overhyped even by William and Deban because it was real good, but the staging destroyed a great song). Also, in 2019 we saw Albania, San Marino and Belarus reaching the final, even though even the bookies had low chances for this to happen. And San Marino finished in the top 10 of the… Read more »
You’re probably right but there could be a jury surprise with Slovenia or Macedonia. Juries love those types of songs.
2021 is a poor Eurovision year! Not a single song in this semi that I care for – except two: Belgium and Ireland!
That’s how it goes here – you say what you (don’t) like and you get a heap of minuses 🙂 I’d just add Malta to Belgium and Ireland – not that I care for “Je me casse”, but it is an acceptable variation on the well-known theme.
I wouldn’t call the year ‘poor’ as much as ‘lackluster’ with more than the usual number of songs that don’t really spark strong feelings one way or the other.
I think Malta will win .
And you get minuses for thinking 🙂
I Malta will win.
Let’s see if the minuses are for thinking.
I guess Malta , Sweden , Cyprus , Norway , Lithuania , Azerbaijan, Romania , Belgium, Croatia , Israel will qualify.. If we’ll have a different qualifier from this list , that means Israel or Belgium is out
Belgium will qualify. Also Australia because, you know, it’s Australia.
well i hope so 🙂
There’s no way all uptempo songs will qualify. Slovenia or North Macedonia will surprise
OMG!! it’s cute that all the countries want to win… but we all know that Israel is not come to play honey…. Israel will slay the LIVE performance on may… mark my words… it’s going to be the #5 victory for Israel… I just read and saw photos and short clip on instagram from the planning of the staging.. OMG!! I’ve died!! they are planing sooo many surprises.. europe going to have a heart attack… Israel will blow your minds out! first of all, the judges going to love it, vocal + the song itself.. and the live performance with… Read more »
“Slay” is such an overrated word
Bla bla bla! How is the weather in Tel-Aviv today?
I don’t think the song is strong enough to win, but Eden is a star and I’m confident she can get through to the final.
Azerbaijan, Croatia, Cyprus, Israel, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine will qualify.
I really hope that Slovenia will be pushed through by the juries.
Also I hope for Ireland to qualify, but all in all this semi is really tough and nearly every country could qualify
Slovenia is a fantastic song, one of my favorites.. I can’t understand why is it so downrated??
I don’t know what to expect from juries anymore.. we were so surprised by juries voting in the last years( we may think that juries appreciate quality songs, good vocals etc… but that was not the case if you look closely at their voting )
Finally Ireland has a decent song that could qualify, and I agree that all can happen this year..
Slovenia (and Macedonia) are the types of songs that get a lot of hate on the forums, and nobody gives them a chance, and then the juries love them. This happened to Macedonia 2019 which won the juries and nobody on the forums gave it a chance. Meanwhile in 2019 a great hype of the forums – Portugal – came almost last. You need to realize that the forums are completely disconnected from what will actually happen.
Sweden will surely qualify but not as number one. My prediction: Lithuania or Malta win first semi final, probably followed by Russia
you mentioned the 3 songs that I least like…. 🙂
I feel that Sweden will win the final!
This year is very exciting! most songs are mediocre and, thus, opinions are very various. Hard to predict a winner and even not the qualifiers! For each song you see many likes and many dislikes.
The only song that screams victory for me is Sweden.. I know that my opinion is not popular( and it wasn’t popular also when i said that it would win MF) but I feel that “Voices” appeals to all ages and countries… Like Denmark in 2013, the same league..
What do you think?( Besides downvoting 🙂 )
I think that every year when there isn’t a clear favorite Sweden can win. It’s the jury pet after all. This year, though, I wouldn’t mind Sweden winning. It’s a good song and I agree with your thought.
Normally, I don’t like the Swedish entries, but this year I hear the winning bells….
after the great revamp of Israel, it should be top 5.
Agree
Disagree – Azerbaijan and Malta are similar and have more impact. I think there´s no place for another entry in this genre.
Mata Hari is very empty. There’s not a lot behind the song. I can see why people like it but that emptiness is really going to pop out live.
All three (Azerbaijan, Israel and Malta) are different – ‘up-tempo’ isn’t a genre, people…. There is also video proof of Eden hitting the whistle notes, so prepare yourselves for that. I always liked Set Me Free.
I am Israeli and love Eden but I think that the revamp made the song messier… I preferred the “oh oh part” and not the replacement which sound more like a remix…what a pity!
Nonsense, the revamp is better in any aspect
My opinion…..
The first version was better, I didn´t like the screaming in the last minute
Malta. When rehearsals begin, the odds will only get better for Malta and we know it. also after knowing that Sacha Jean-Baptiste will be MT’s stage director
Ireland has a really strong entry this year that deserves to be in the final. The staging will be the decider and a good ‘show’ will push it through to the final where it deserves.
I like the fact that so many people are judging Montaigne of a couple of bad notes at one stadium performance. It gives scope for her to surprise us later.
“Technicolor”is an extremely challenging song to sing well and Montaigne coped really well imo. If that was an off performance for her, I can’t wait to see her at her best!
Totally agree. It’s true that the song leaves her nowhere to hide, but just like any artist at Eurovision I think people forget that they are all professionals and Montaigne wouldn’t have created a song she couldn’t nail.
After that stadium performance the song shot up my rank, I thought her vocals sold the song and had a lot of different colours and character in them. She’s going to deliver after another few months’ practice. Don’t get the hate! Try singing that song yourself…
I’m realizing now that the bulk of my favorites are in the second semi. I will say this is a solid year overall though there’s a lot of songs in both semis i’d miss if they didn’t make it
I’m from Australia and I voted for Romania, Switzerland and Cyprus. I like Montaingne’s song but is my 9th overall.
I’m Australian, I voted Cyprus
I’m from Ireland, voted for Australia 🙂
As an Australian. I like the Australian song, but I voted for Ireland.
malta – copy of “focus” ariana grande
cyprus – copy of “bad romance” lady gaga
lithuania – it’s almost the same song from last year
macedonia – disney song
romania – wanna be billie eilish
just no! this semi final not strong at all…. alots of bad songs!
the most original/interesting: russia, ukraine, azerbaijan & israel
Azerbaijan and Israel are generic, typical trash pop with ethno elements (heard many times before), Ukraine is same style as last year, Russia is same as 50% of current Russian songs. Sooo….where is originality in your fav songs? Think before you write
I are absolutely right. I share your opinion.
YOU are right…. of course !
israel still gonna win.. bye
From your nickname, it’s clear why you are so biased 😉
I wonder which note in Lithuanias song you found exactly like last year! You should be awarded for finding at least one sound in their song exactly like last year.
Azerbaijan? Original ? It’s basically the same as last year, with the difference they have stolen a sample of Crucified.
Stop blaming Azerbaijan everwhere. Get a life
Your list is wrong.
Hard agree with most of what you say.
please stop this! His list can never be wrong because its HIS PERSONAL OPINION. Like you have one and I have one. They shouldn’t be the same. Imagine how boring the world would be if we all liked the same thing. You only downvote negative messages not peoples personal opinions. So your message adds no value or joy for us fans.
So hard to predict who will qualify from this semi it’s incredibly tough. I’ve been using the Eurovision Scoreboard app as pretty much a guide as to what’s doing well with the fans, but this poll is completely different lol
This will be such an exciting semi, there’s about 13 songs that could easily fit into the final. This semi will be more exciting than some finals I think.
The particularity of this 1st semi is that we have only 4 songs with male vocalists. 3 of them will be in the 1st “half” and TIX will be the only man singing for the rest of the show. That’s something in Norway’s favor.
No it makes no difference whatsoever and won’t save Norway’s cliche from qualifying. He is the only one wearing a head band with his name on it too. Will that help?
It’s curious to see such an overreaction from a comment where I haven’t said Norway will qualify or even defended the song, but just stated a simple fact…
Tix song bad. People no vote bad song.
It’s a divisive entry, but it’s actually not as impopular as it seems to be. In “My Eurovision Scoreboard” app’s ranking, it’s 19th (8th between the 1st semifinal contestants). I would say it’s a borderliner qualifier.
But again, my point with the original comment was just to state the contrast may help Norway. He’ll be surrounded by female vocalists and his song is also one of the slower of the 2nd half along with Romania’s.
Australia, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Cyprus*, Israel, Romania, Ukraine are my nine for sure qualifier and last one slot is just a bonus and whoever that country are is lucky to survive the first semi which is an absolute bloodbath.
why are people downvoting this? Just curious. Zander list 9 songs he thinks will make it and one open. There is nothing negative here that deserves downvoting. Or is it now like this on Wiwibloggs that you downvote if you don’t share the same musical taste? If so it’s sad. I personally think Ukraine is very underrated in the votes here. I cannot even imagine Ukraine not being in top 5. They are special and it’s so different and catchy. I also LOVE Lithuania (he is awesome never mind it’s similar to 2020, it’s their style, I kind help but… Read more »
This semi is as tough as hell!! However, I really think Malta will win this semi and I have a feeling that we won’t see Australia going through it for the first time…
Accurate.
Actually, Asutralia’s life performance was so good that we can only imagine how much better it will be in Rotterdam. Jury will almost 100% have it in their top 3, as usual
I just can’t stand the song from Azerbaijan, it’s just repeating ‘Mata Hari’ over and over again! Australia has nice elements, but it really isn’t so mainstream it could go easily to the final. Belgium needs memorable staging, song is nice but nothing spectacular yet. Cyprus is good, but reminds Bad Romance and lacks originality. Croatia doesn’t seem bad, but it need a better staging to make it stand out! Ireland will most likely go to final, it’s not incredible but not bad. Israel is interesting, but I wouldn’t say it’s a clear qualifier. Lithuania is great, will go to… Read more »
Mata Hari singing 26 second
LOL.. People need to wake up ASAP! Israel is going to win the contest once again.
Israel is going to do a “Fuego Effect” meaning an underrated song that will explode on stage.
Bruh, just stop with recycling comments.
Well, i won’t be surprised if this happens, eden is a super vocalist and definitely can do it, dont underestimate her, she is as good as destiny if not more…
There are Serbia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus and San Marino, and all of them will easily destroy Israel with that “fuego” effect you’re mentioning 😉
As a musician i am definitely sure that music wise is one of the best in this semi, for sure better than all the countries you mentioned…its a fact not an argue
Well Fuego came 2nd so I don’t know if the Fuego effect would get them the crown even if it existed.
Australia 2nd… seriously?
I was hating on Australia so much after the 1st listen. But after listening to it for about 10 times I appreciate how good the song and her voice are. I think I will be voting for the first time in May and she is getting my vote.
Did you watch her live performance? It will change your mind.
The live performance changed my mind. She said that she was petrified of singing in front of 40k people and you can hear that in hear voice. But you can also hear that she has an amazing voice and I don’t doubt that they will have great staging.
If she is petrified in front of 40k how will it be in front of 200 million? Sorry but it’s not going to qualify.
Most of that 200 million are at home watching on tv. The Rotterdam crowd can’t logistically be that big. And Montaigne has performed at big festivals before with no issues.
I’m really surprised to see Australia’s entry that high. Tbh, it’s the less exciting entry the contry sent to Eurovision. And I don’t think it should qualify in its semi.
I am normally a big fan of Australia. I’d love to see them win. But this year it is a NQ. Look up the live performance and it is obvious.
My prediction: Qualified for the final are Azerbaijan, Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine
Lithuania, Belgium and Ukraine are the best of this semi final.
Sorry, but Malta is only average for me and quite “overacted”.
I don´t like at all Israel, Croatia and especially Cyprus.
But it´s not easy to predict correctly the qualifiers. Only North Macedonia could be without any chance
ISRAEL for sure!
She is a talented bitch!! #Slay
She can hit that whistle note live…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh7sRmheE0s
I’ve died…
All the dislike cause you afraid from Eden.. but don’t worry she not only will win the semi.. she will win the entire contest… mark my words! #slay
No the dislike is because of the tone of your post.
it’s a compliment to her.. i adore her!
and yes.. they still afraid from her.. and they should.. israel planning a big surprise…
If it was only about whistle tones then Maja Blagdan (a record for the highest note ever in ESC) would have won in 1996, but it’s not.
Russia sends a good song first time since 2009 and is being underrated ?
Idea: increase a number of qualifiers from SF1 to 12, and decrease from SF2 to 8. The difference in quality of songs is too big.
Decrease from final, Spain, Germany and UK don t deserve to be automatic in final with their songs.
Actually the big 5 rule used to make sense when there was countries on a break. But after we got two semis it should be removed. Instead 12 from each semi should qualify and only the host should be in final.