Top 10 Songs from Eurovision 2021

So, Eurovision concluded. Maneskin took home the win with their strong Zitti E Buoni. And I really enjoyed it. The thing is, I realized it would not even make my top 10 songs for this year's Eurovision. It has been a solid year for my first Eurovision one. I decided to make a top 10 for my favorite Eurovision songs this year. Do not scoff at the honorable mentions. They themselves are strong. I have also decided to count songs that were in the running for Eurovision and failed to qualify.

Honorable Mentions

Elena Tsaringo - El Diablo

The Roop - Discotque

10. Stefania - Last Dance

Stefania incorporated 80's pop elements for here magnificent Eurovision single. It has a surging chorus, and the production is stellar.

9. Tusse - Voices

Young and raw, Tusse had a very different Eurovision debut than many others. Voices had a simplistic melody, and Tusse was certainly worried and weaker. Thankfully, the basic melody is great, and Tusse's performances improved slowly.

8. The Mamas - In The Middle

The Mamas had a whole lot to live up to, after last year's stellar Move. I don't think In The Middle is as good as that song, but don't cast it aside just yet. It slowly sneaks up on you with the strong snowballing melody and the equally excellent key change.

7. TIX - Fallen Angel

To be honest, I was pretty late on to the list of fans of this song. This is mostly because I really love KEiiNO's Monument. And even though I think Monument is a bit better, Fallen Angel is a gorgeous song, with a brilliant key change musically. Lyrically, it almost feels like a culmination and a growth for TIX. He has been open about his suffering of tics, and the bullying he recieved. Fallen Angel, or as it is better titled originally, Out of the Dark, faces it bravely.

6. Gjon's Tears - Tout L'Univers

Gjon Muharremaj, better known as Gjon's Tears, led a Swiss resurgence for Eurovision, leading to their best placement in decades. The verses are often nothing more than filler, but that anthemic chorus is the stuff of dreams, charging forward with pain and energy.

5. Dotter - Little Tot

Dotter basically repeated her 2020 in 2021. Once again, the best song in Melodifestivalen, out-classed by The Mamas by one point for the judges, she still released a stunner.  Switching between sensual, preachy, hopeful, and anthemic performance styles, Dotter manages to somehow hold the song together.

4. Eden Alene - Set Me Free

Before the competition started, an official remix of Set Me Free was released, which has been entered in the competition. If I am honest, the remix is much weaker than the original, taking the 'more is more' philosophy too far. It has excellent near-whistle high notes, more strings, but lacks the build and melody of the original. Thus, over here, I am referring to the original. Driven by a funky guitar and some aggressive violins into an excellent key change to conclude.

3. Barbara Pravi - Voila

Easily the most artistic song this Eurovision, Pravi's Voila is driven by some truly magnificent and heartbreaking lyrics, held together by a passionate performance, and a snowballing tempo. The emotion in this piece is truly magnificent and accomplished with very few tools. It was one of my favorites to win. And though it surprisingly did not, it was a major success for France, their highest ranking Eurovision song since 1991.

2. KEiiNO - Monument

KEiiNO were favorites to make it into Eurovision in Norway but failed at a qualifier round. That is a shame because Monument stands strong as a massive 'Monument' of pop. Buljo and Rotan provide their all (Hugo basically gets to do nothing), leading towards the song's massive climax.

1. Daði Freyr (Daði & Gagnamagnið) – 10 Years

A blend of everything that makes Eurovision great. The cheese, the kitsch, all bottled up with a classic pop melody, with a long list of hooks. If there was one voice that could hold together the cacophony this song provides, it would be Freyr himself. His deep voice provides a stark and colorful contrast to the brisk and breezy funk beat. The strings, the choir, the synthesizer, all add more elements to a song filled to the brim, managing to blend more is more without tipping. Freyr garnered acclaim for his Think About Things last year, but 10 Years peaks it by a wide margin.

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