Last Updated on: 16th July 2023, 06:33 am
At this year’s Eurovision Song Contest there is surprisingly little “Eurovision Song Contest 2021“. Of course, the Finnish favorite Nu-Metal band has a sign that reads “PLAY JA JA DING DONG!!!“
And there were some telling clues to the idea that last year’s Netflix movie might have won the annual competition for a few more fans.
Overall, this year’s Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was designed and implemented as a cultural institution that had to return. There’s no little pride in pushing for the annual personal singing competition that sees parts of the world still facing a global health crisis.
With those huge caveats, preparing for tonight’s finale – the U.S. broadcast on Peacock – shows why this continent-wide competition has been going on, and plenty of reasons why it made sense. Let him return in style.
The songs are the draw, but so far few events in 2021 have proven the worth of a large audience better than Eurovision. Last year’s baseball playoffs, and this year’s Super Bowl, in particular, had a tough, low cap on the amount of proxy fun that could be had in a crowded stadium.
The studio audience’s energy for American shows like “The Masked Singer” and “Saturday Night Live” is certainly limited as the quality of the responses is relatively high.
But for the thousands of people who had gathered on the first night of the semi-finals on Tuesday, it was such an enthusiastic Dutch crowd that many presenter Chantal Janzen applauded when she started giving some sentences of the introduction in French.
By the time the night hit the Croatian entrance choir (which, by the way, was inexplicably stolen), it was evident that everyone watching was bringing in Olympic-level energy after each song.
Variety got a sneak peek at one of the Eurovision producers this week, covering everything from this year’s public health screening process to the lingering political overtones that surround some in this year’s competition.
This year’s theme is “OpenUp” – simple and obvious, but the entire production tries to reflect that. The intros with their kitschy venues in the midst of scattered Dutch cities and villages know exactly what mood they need to have before each performance (Those giant multicolored beams of light reflecting off all the walls also serve as a very useful plume study).
There’s also a great contrast between each of these openings, which are in largely empty outdoor spaces, and the ability to scan from the crowd inside…
Every change in between is like a before and after meme, with Live 2021 being more of a happy half-chorus than an emptying punchline.
This is how these pre-recorded tracks are produced and as tight and haunting the songs are (in front of huge LED screens that seem to come from the unused “Patriot Act” set), there is so much space for the songs. Things can be seen through the veneer.
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Here and there the transition between the acts takes a little longer than expected (Janzen vamps like an absolute pro) or a lonely voice in the crowd “advertises” her way to current fame. It’s just the right amount of shagginess for you to fully appreciate the return of live performances on this scale.
And as usual, these performances were equipped with enough energy for theater children to supply the entire electricity network of Rotterdam with electricity. The interstitial videos pay homage to previous winners, and it was fascinating to see competing streams of nostalgia in the songs themselves.
The dream of the 80s lives on in Denmark, although few of those specific retro appearances like them made it to the finals. Portugal opened with a monochrome jazz club atmosphere. And there are a ton of lingering girl groups from the mid to late 90s who are excited about songs like Serbia.
With the finale on the horizon, the best song can win. Regardless of how it turns out today, congratulations to Ukraine, which has managed to achieve a maximalist performance even by Eurovision standards
A terrifying army of geodesic CGI sprinters, menacing bag rings, spinning guitarists, and a lead singer performing Rooney Mara’s greatest performance Rooney Mara has ever given. Spectacular. Welcome back indeed.
The final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 can be streamed, live, and repeated via Peacock.
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