Wiwibloggs: The Eurovision Podcast

James Newman "Embers" | United Kingdom Eurovision 2021 INTERVIEW

James Newman — the United Kingdom's Eurovision 2021 singer — chats with our Lucy about his song Embers. "I wanted to come with something fun and exciting, and something I could dance around to, and something it felt like people could have a party with," he says. The BMG artist says that his past success with EDM-tinged songs — for Rudimental, Calvin Harris and his brother John — influenced his decision to go upbeat. "I was kind of like, 'I should just do what I've done best that always reacts well.' I was thinking about watching 'Blame' — and Calvin Harris and my brother singing it at Coachella — and there were thousands of people having the best time ever. I was like I just need to write a song like's that — where it's me as the singer and not my brother." He also says he's been learning quite a few dances moves, addresses notions of the "perfect" Eurovision song, talks about the importance of singing something that feels honest and more. He says he'll take elements from the music video to keep that party vibe going in Rotterdam. 

Daði Freyr "10 Years" | Iceland Eurovision 2021INTERVIEW

Daði Freyr Pétursson discusses the songwriting process behind "10 Years" — his Eurovision 2021 song for Iceland. It's dedicated to his wife and fellow Gagnamagnið star Árný Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir. (They're actually staying at her parents' countryside home at the moment). In our interview he discusses the song's debut performance, the music video, the live-on-tape recording, his plans for Rotterdam and that distinct dance choreography. "I knew before I started writing the song what the video was going to be and some of the key elements of the stage performance," he says. "Then I just started making the piece to see if something would stick." The 12th version of the song eventually became "10 Years". You'll be able to hear some of the earlier ideas on his video game "Dadi & Gagnamagnid: Think About Aliens", which is being released at the end of the month. The heavy favourite to win ESC 2020, he also discusses the cancellation of last year's event.

Blind Channel "Dark Side" | Finland Eurovision 2021 INTERVIEW

Our English-language interview with Blind Channel's lead singers Joel Hokka and Niko Moilanen. They explain that their Eurovision 2021 song "Dark Side" carries an uplifting message about living life to the full — even during tough times or when you feel like an outcast. They also discuss how the pandemic encouraged them to throw themselves into Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2021 — Finland's Eurovision selection — and react to topping the Finnish charts and going viral on Spotify. Bonus: Joel shows us his Spidey tattoo!

Hurricane "Loco Loco" | Serbia Eurovision 2021 INTERVIEW

Serbia's Eurovision 2021 group Hurricane tell us they will bring all their "Loco Loco" energy to the song contest stage. In our interview, Sanja Vučić, Ivana Nikolić and Ksenija Knežević reveal that their staging will be totally different to their music video and tease some fabulous costumes.

Samanta Tina "The Moon Is Rising" | Latvia Eurovision 2021 INTERVIEW

Accept yourself! That's the message Samanta Tina delivers in our interview about her Eurovision 2021 song for Latvia. Speaking to us from her car, which she parked on the side of a road, "The Moon Is Rising" singer says self-acceptance helps other people to accept you. She also discusses her music video and how she sought to showcase diverse women who have in their own way felt different and overcome expectations from society. She also reveals that she's been shocked by a petition to cancel her participation because her video features a same-sex kiss. Samanta also discusses the songwriting process and her staging, which will take us on a journey around the world. She was not happy with her live-on-tape performance, so will pursue a totally different idea in Rotterdam.

Destiny "Je me casse" | Malta Eurovision 2021 INTERVIEW

For Destiny — Malta's Eurovision 2021 singer — "Je me casse" was love at first listen. "If there is true love in music, I fell in love again," she says in our Zoom interview. The 18-year-old star tells us about the song's message of female empowerment, which seeks to remind women they can be independent, successful and legendary all on their own. The Junior Eurovision winner also discusses her recent trip to Sofia to record her live-on-tape performance, working with Sacha Jean-Baptiste in Stockholm, her gorgeous music video, and her role as a backing vocalist for Michaela at ESC 2019.

Gjon's Tears "Tout l'univers" | Switzerland Eurovision 2021 INTERVIEW

Switzerland's Eurovision 2021 singer Gjon's Tears tells us about his song "Tout l'univers". The song, now a favourite to win Eurovision in the betting odds, was originally written in English and called "Ground Zero". Gjon plays us a snippet of the original version and reveals that the jury preferred the recorded version in English, but preferred the live version in French. The song is about "construction and destruction" — and how we are stuck in this cycle of life. It's important that we love ourselves to get through challenges as we are the person who we can most control. Gjon also explains the meaning behind the music video and how it was inspired by a real-life incident he had in a burning car.

2:33 Discussing the cancellation of Eurovision 2020

8:17 The songwriting process for the song — starting with the English version

11:10 Gjon plays the first version of Ground Zero that they recorded 13:00 Which version did the jury in the Swiss selection prefer?

14:40 What's the meaning of the song?

18:00 Gjon explains the music video, which represents a cycle — it starts where it ends

22:45 Gjon says he was not satisfied with the live-on-tape performance and hopes to get to perform in live in Rotterdam with full effects and staging.

26:25 What was it like delivering your first live performance on Spanish broadcaster Telecino?

28:10 Gjon does not like to eat the day of a performance

31:56 Gjon sings his favourite Eurovision song — France's 1969 winner "Un jour, un enfant"

Eurovision 2021 Head of Contest on SF running order and live-on-tape recordings

Twan van de Nieuwenhuijzen — the Head of Contest for Eurovision 2021 — has a lot of responsibilities. He tells our Renske about some of them, including helping participating delegations bring their stage shows to life within the bounds of what's possible. He also discusses the live-on-tape back-up recordings process and how countries had the flexibility to record them whenever they chose (apparently Portugal's The Black Mamba did their recording immediately after their national final — at 2am! — after cleaning the stage.) Twan says the semi-final running order has been decided, and that he is now waiting for final approval from the EBU. The meeting to decide the running order included eight people, including the Head of Show, multi-cam directors, someone from the technical production team and other executives. His team also used input from each country about the difficulties they may face on stage and the ideas they hope to convey. It's a lot to take in and we are so glad he told us all about it.

Anxhela Peristeri "Karma" | Albania Eurovision 2021 INTERVIEW

In our English-language interview, "Karma" singer Anxhela Peristeri confirms that she will work with Swedish stage director and choreographer Sacha Jean-Baptiste for her Eurovision 2021 performance. Albania's song contest star also reveals that she will NOT have dancers and hopes to portray a strong woman on stage. We also discuss her revamp, which was done over the Internet, filming her music video in -9 degree weather and more.

VICTORIA "Growing Up Is Getting Old" Interview (Bulgaria Eurovision 2021)

We spoke to Victoria in Sofia, Bulgaria at the release party for "Growing Up Is Getting Old - her Eurovision 2021 entry.