On May 23, 2021, the Italian group Maneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest. – AFP or licensors
- The Eurovision final took place in Rotterdam (Netherlands) on Saturday and was won by Italians from Måneskin.
- By finishing second, France obtained their best result in 30 years.
- The prize list sees the founding countries and the non-English-speaking songs stand out.
From our special correspondent in Rotterdam (Netherlands)
The great international concert that is Eurovision delivered on Saturday, during the final, everything that is expected of him: music, but also suspense and surprises. And a victory for Italy. If you haven’t followed the evening, here are the main takeaways.
- Unheard of for France for 30 years
Let’s start by being chauvinistic by saluting Barbara Pravi’s second place. A ranking that France had not known since 1991. This edition, which was organized … in Italy, had traumatized the French fans of the competition since the French representative, Amina, had tied for first with the Swedish Karola, before to be demoted to second place because the regulations had provided for separating tie cases. It turns out that, this Saturday, it was Karola who announced the results of the Swedish jury votes – she had a nice word for Amina by the way. To come back to second place tonight, let’s not sulk our pleasure and know how to appreciate it. Well done Pravi!
- Three founding countries in force
With the song Zitti e buoni from the Måneskin group, Italy wins a third Eurovision Song Contest. The result of a great consistency in the competition: since her return to this competition in 2011, she had until this Saturday finished seven times in the top 10, including two times second, in 2011 and 2019. Our neighbors are therefore harvesting the fruit of their regularity. And that repairs a historical affront: in 1958, the immense classic of the transalpine song that Volare de Domenico Modugno finished only third. That year, France had won with Sleep my love by André Claveau. And Switzerland finished second. And the competition was held in the Netherlands. Disturbing similarities that are the odd coincidence. On the other hand, with a podium in Italy, France, Switzerland, this 2021 edition makes three of the founding countries of Eurovision triumph. A perfect way to defeat the received idea that geopolitics decides the top three.
Italy is the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021!
Watch @thisismaneskin‘s reaction! #Eurovision #OpenUp pic.twitter.com/5Uoe4GgP7n– Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) May 22, 2021
- “Zero points” in series
At Eurovision, the “draws”, that is to say the blank scores, are part of the legend. It’s a bit like the panache of losing. Since the voting system adds the votes of the public to those of the jury, it is almost impossible to come away with a zero score from Eurovision. The Briton James Newman has however managed to accomplish this feat: he has found neither the favors of the pros, nor those of the viewers. The last total “zero point” in the competition dates back to 2003 with the duo Gemini which represented… the United Kingdom. At the time, it was impossible to blame Brexit. But, even more striking, during this 2021 final, the public snubbed not one but four artists in total! German Jendrik, Spaniard Blas Canto and Dutchman Jeangu Macrooy did not receive any televoting points, but they had collected a few from the jurors, which limited the damage. Another observation: two Big 5 countries (automatically qualified for the final because the biggest financial contributors to Eurovision), Italy and France, finished in the first two places, but the other three (Spain, Germany and United Kingdom) are red lanterns. And the Netherlands, also at the back of the pack, were also an automatic finalist due to their host nation status.
- The English language in disarray
Who said you absolutely have to sing in English to win Eurovision? In 2017, the Portuguese Salvador Sobral had already proved that the language of Shakespeare was not a condition for triumph. But the 2021 competition offers us a mastercals of the Assimil method. Among the Top 5 songs, we find one in Italian, two in French and one in Ukrainian. Only Icelanders, fourth, had an English song, 10 Years. Note that in addition to their place on the podium, the two French songs did not leave empty-handed. here by Barbara Pravi received the award for best song from accredited media, as well as the award for best artistic performance according to commentators. The prize for the best composition was awarded to The whole universe of Swiss Gjon’s Tears.
- Absentees are not always wrong …
The Eurovision bubble was not really a health bubble. If a thousand precautions were taken to avoid contamination with Covid-19 – any accredited person had to undergo a test every 48 hours – there was bad news. One of the musicians of the Icelandic group Daði og Gagnamagnið thus tested positive in the middle of the week. As a result, these artists could not defend their chances live on stage but remained in the race via a recording of one of their rehearsals. An alternative which did not completely deprive them of all their chances because Iceland placed fifth in the jury votes and fifth in the televoting which, once the votes are combined, materializes in fourth place with 378 points.
American rapper Flo Rida had traveled from the United States to represent San Marino with Senhit. But its carbon footprint is greater than its final score: 50 points. The duo thus finished 22nd out of 26. The Belgian group Hooverphonic was hardly better off. If he is 12th in the votes of the juries, he was knocked out by the public who awarded him… 3 points. Result: a 19th place.