Summer is always the quiet period for Eurovision fans as we wait for national finals to start once again. Thankfully, the music will always continue and a number of past Eurovision artists are still producing new songs for us to enjoy.
Contrary to the commonly perpetuated myth about the song contest killing careers, we’re always thrilled to report that singers and performers associated with both Eurovision itself and the various national selections are thriving.
Here is our latest weekly roundup with a selection of just some of the songs and music videos released recently by Eurovision stars.
New music from Eurovision artists: 2021 | Week 31
Destiny, Toby & Armani – “Pump Up The Jam”
First released in 1989 by Belgian act Technotronic, “Pump Up The Jam” was a worldwide smash hit. Now Malta’s Eurovision 2021 star Destiny has collaborated with music producers Toby and Armani to release a rework of the song. The original was seen as an early example of hip house (a blend of hip hop and deep house). Destiny’s reworked version pumps up the production and focuses on the house elements from the offset.
Shiri Maimon – “ההר הירוק תמיד”
Iron Sheep is a new musical project that aims to honour cultural icons that shaped Israeli music. Their first collection of songs pays tribute to poet and songwriter Yoram Taharlev. The team behind the project have brought in Eurovision 2005 star Shiri Maimon to perform “ההר הירוק תמיד” (“The Green Mountain”). Maimon’s rendition of the song is an orchestral ballad with a dramatic instrumental refrain that gives it an almost James Bond theme song feel. Taharlev originally wrote the song in 1972 about the Carmel mountain where he was born: “The green mountain all year round / I still dream and ask / Breathe your spirits first / Lie down in your shadow Carmel”.
Safura – Möcüze
After giving birth to her son in 2014, Safura stepped away from the music industry. The Azeri star put a foot back into it last year when releasing the single “High On Your Love”. And now Safura has dived head first into music once again by dropping a full album. Möcüze (Miracle) is a ten-track LP that’s sung entirely in Azeri. The Eurovision 2010 alum delivers a mixture of songs that generally fall into two camps – R&B ballads and electro/synth pop with traditional ethnic flair.
Kállay Saunders & Gabriel – “bujtsy”
If you thought Cyprus lacked subtilty with the paid promotion featured in the music videos for their recent Eurovision entries (hey Head & Shoulders), then Kállay Saunders is here to show you it can be taken even further. The Eurovision 2014 star’s latest single is titled after the Hungarian furniture company bujtsy. They sell large faux fur bags filled with soft foam – essentially a giant bean bag. And so, Saunders and collaborator Gabriel dedicate the song to chilling in their bujtsy alongside their lover: “Lying in my bujtsy / Got a cutie next to me / Nobody stressing me / Got everything the way I like”. A chilled R&B song, Saunders sings the chorus while Gabriel contributes the verses.
If you want more from Kállay Saunders, he has also recently teamed up with Johnny K. Palmer for the song “Good Intentions”. The pair simultaneously released a Hungarian version, titled “Elérted”, with Saunders credited as anevemandras.
Vincent Bueno – “Super Awesome Things”
From one paid promotion single to another. Vincent Bueno has joined forces with Huawei Mobile Austria for the new song “Super Awesome Things”. The promo in the song itself is less obvious, as the lyrics don’t specifically reference the company’s wireless earbuds that Bueno has been promoting on Instagram, but you can still read between the lines: “Nobody does sound like you / The music that I found in you […] Hear it clear and loud through you / Smaller as a capsule […] Through the noise that you cancel”. Musically, it’s a smooth pop song with a bit of funk to it that’s more in line with Bueno’s intended Eurovision 2020 song “Alive”, rather than his actual ballad in 2021 “Amen”.
Hinsegin Austurland (with Páll Óskar) – “Við komum heim”
This week was Reykjavik Pride, but people across Iceland took the time to celebrate the LGBTQ community in the country. Hinsegin Austurland is an association for queer people and their families in East Iceland. For pride this year, they released “Við komum heim” (“We come home”). It’s a cover of “Give My Life”, originally released by Swedish music group Army Of Lovers. Hinsegin Austurland brought in Eurovision 1997 star Páll Óskar, who has long championed LGBTQ rights in Iceland, to be part of the song and you can see him dancing away in the music video.
Sennek – “Overtones”
“What a strange time to release new music. But you can’t ignore your passion…” commented Sennek upon the release of her new song “Overtones”. The Belgian singer continues with the dark downtempo styling that we first saw at Eurovision 2018. Sennek sings about a relationship that is crumbling, but which she seems unable to move on from: “It’s getting out of hand / I guess I like the pain / So bulletproof my bones / And find my overtones”. The moody music video is shot in black and white. It features Sennek embracing her partner, but also digging a hole in the woods…
Mumiy Troll & Kara Kross – “Время Утекай”
There will always be differences between generations due to the nature of growing up in different eras. But that doesn’t mean that people from different generations can’t bond and find a common way of thinking. Mumiy Troll are proving this by collaborating with Russian vlogger Kara Kross. The Eurovision 2001 band had a hit in the late 1990s with “Утекай” and they’ve now revamped it alongside Kara for the new single “Время Утекай” (“Time to flow away”). This theme of generations coming together is continued in the music video, which features a man and his daughter bonding with each other after an argument. Mumiy Troll’s vocalist Ilya Lagutenko commented on what it feels like to reinterpret their song all these years later:
“I never thought that one of the most incomprehensible songs from the official debut (the Morskaya album) would be so seriously and thoroughly interpreted many years later. The new generation sees new meanings in this. Keep it up, so let’s open up new horizons together.”
Aleksander Walmann – “De Andre”
Many people will have experienced a time where they feel like an outsider and that they don’t fit in with others around them. This was the inspiration for Aleksander Walmann’s new single “De Andre” (“The Others”). Starting off slow, the song develops into more of a pop rock track in the first chorus before building further in the final moments. Norway’s Eurovision 2017 singer made a long post on Instagram about the song’s meaning and how a certain family member helped him push forward in life:
“I wrote this song for Grandma many years ago. No matter how big my dreams were when I was younger, she always said, ‘Try it! If you will, it will happen.’ I was probably a little different, dreamed a lot and always wanted to go my own way. Feeling that one may not fit in, that it is difficult to find a port and the way one should go are emotions that most of us feel several times in life. […] This song is for all those who know or have felt all these feelings. You are stronger than you think, there is always hope and there is always someone who will help!”
Red Moon – “Gut Feeling”
Sometimes you’ve got to trust your gut instinct. That’s what Red Moon did when she reimagined her artistic persona. Norway’s Eurovision 2015 star, who competed at the contest as Debrah Scarlett, has since released a series of indie/alternative pop songs, which continue with “Gut Feeling”. This latest single is a steady track with a relatively chilled aura. Red Moon spoke more on Instagram about how the song related to her artistic journey:
“I first wrote Gut Feeling back in 2019 […] It was during that time, that I decided to change my artist name to Red Moon. I knew it was a leap into the unknown and a big decision to make. It allowed me to come back to a blank canvas, which in turn gave me new opportunities to express myself who I am. Today, I like to think that the track could be about manifestations; a reminder to listen to your instincts. To be open for change as well as embracing older parts of yourself as you let them go.”
Zlata Ognevich – “Той день”
Zlata Ognevich is heading to the big screen – or at least her voice is. The Ukrainian star has recorded the song “Той день” (“That Day”) for the soundtrack of the new film Пульс (Pulse). The movie tells the story of Oksana Boturchuk, a Ukrainian Paralympic athlete whose dreams of making it to the Olympics were nearly crushed after a car accident almost resulted in her losing her sight. Zlata’s song for the film is a cover of the single originally released by Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy. The Eurovision 2013 singer switches things up a fair amount but keeps some of the rock edge in the production.
Valentina – “Y’a pas que les grands qui rêvent”
Reigning Junior Eurovision champion Valentina recently released the follow-up single to her winning entry “J’imagine”. Her new song is “Y’a pas que les grands qui rêvent” (“It’s not only adults who dream”). Much like the former, it’s bright and cheery. However, the lyrical content is a little bit more grown-up, with the French star catching feelings for a boy: “It’s not only adults who dream / It’s not only adults who have feelings / I want him to kiss me on the lips / Not like a child”. We see Valentina meet this boy in the music video at a summer camp. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait as long this time for more new music from Valentina – the star has announced her debut album will be released in September.
Aitana & Evaluna Montaner – “Aunque No Sea Conmigo”
Aitana is one of the biggest stars to have come out of a recent national final. The Spanish star placed second (and third) in Operación Triunfo 2017 Gala Eurovisión, but has certainly won in life with the stellar career that has followed. Aitana’s latest single is “Aunque No Sea Conmigo” (“Even Though It’s Not With Me”), a duet alongside Venezuelan star Evaluna Montaner. An acoustic-guitar-driven ballad, the pair sing a verse and chorus each rather than coming together in unison. Lyrically, they discuss how, even though the person they have feelings for is interested in someone else, they still want this other person to be happy in life: “And you will smile when her messages arrive / And a kiss will be the bandage that you’ll take off to see / Because I want you to feel what I feel with you / Even though it’s not with me”.
Omar Rudberg – “Yo Dije OUFF”
Omar Rudberg is having a moment. The Venezuelan-Swedish star recently made his acting debut as one of the lead characters in Netflix show Young Royals, which has received critical acclaim. Making the most of his time in the spotlight, the two-time Melodifestivalen star has released “Yo Dije OUFF” (“I Said OUFF”). It’s a Spanish version of his previous Swedish single from a few months ago, “Alla Ba OUFF”. The song already had a catchy Latin flavour to it, so adding the Spanish lyrics feels very natural (and also shows off Omar’s lingual abilities). Omar sings about the sound he made when first setting eyes on a certain woman: “I said OUFF / When I saw her / Mariana, I fell in love with you”.
Elvana Gjata & INNA & SICKOTOY – “Papa”
Elvana Gjata has put the drama of Festivali i Këngës 58 behind her and continues to shine bright with her new music. The Albanian star recently collaborated with Romanian singer INNA and music producer SICKOTOY for the song “Papa”. It’s a house track with a bit of subtlety to it, instead of being an in-your-face dance song. Elvana and INNA pose for the gawds in the music video, working a number of stunning looks by the pool. At the same time, they sing about a man who wouldn’t reciprocate their advances: “Tell me why he ran away, Papa / Like the sun he’s gone for good / You tell me he was gonna play, Papa / And he shot me down, down, down”.
Click on the links below to read our individual articles on other new songs released in the last week by Eurovision stars:
Måneksin & Iggy Pop – “I Wanna Be Your Slave”
Little Big (feat. Netta) – “Moustache”
Which of these new songs is your favourite? Have we missed out on any? Do you have any artists you want to shout out to? Let us know in the comments.
Read more new music reviews here
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It’s worth noting that Yoram Taharlev has a Eurovision connection himself as he is the lyricist of “Hora”, the Israeli song for 1982.
btw Elvana said on the interview that she will try to come back to FiK!
Ok, Valentina’s song lowkey bops but I got a question
If you included Elvana Gjata, wouldn’t that mean you should also include other artists that entered NF’s? Or is it just a message to us that Elvana should have won…? Jk for the last one
Valentina’s song is a cover (original is from 1989).
Since there are so many NF stars from over the years, we unfortunately don’t have room to include them all in addition to ESC stars, thus we prioritise the latter. But when there’s room, like this week, we’ll try and give you a sample of recent music from NF stars. 🙂
Hey Safura, if you read this: If you are looking for a strong single from your album, I think Qara Firikler would be an excellent choice.
Thank you so much for putting this list together every week! I really appreciate it. I really like both tracks from Kallay Saunders, they sound so chilled and very grown. Also Gut Feeling by Red Moon is great. And finally I wanna listen to the album by Safura.
Can’t wait for the day when Elvana finally represents Albania!
But with the current format of FiK, it ain’t gonna happen any time soon….