On the air of the First Channel, the national selection of the Eurovision participant - 2021 from Russia took place.
Russian and Tajik singer Manizha Sangin became the winner of the show.
She presented the composition Russian Woman at the junction of several genres.
The text is performed in Russian and English.
The first place was brought to Manizhe by 39.7% of the votes of the viewers.
At the beginning of her career, Manizha performed under the pseudonym Ru.Kola.
“For me, Eurovision is an opportunity to speak loudly about Russia as a very large, multinational, strong country that has sheltered my family.
I learned Russian from scratch - and now I think, I feel in Russian, ”the performer emphasized.
She dedicated her victory in the national selection to her grandmother.
The representative of the country at this year's competition was determined by the results of the audience vote.
In total, three pre-selected performers performed on the air.
The show was opened by Anton Belyaev and Therr Maitz.
Belyaev became famous, among other things, as a participant in the second season of the "Voice" project.
The team presented the composition The Future Is Bright to the audience.
“Eurovision is an absolute experiment for me.
We do not play music that fits the format of this competition, but, nevertheless, it seems to me that it can be funny, ”said Anton Belyaev.
At the end of the show, they gained 24.6% of the vote.
Speech by Anton Belyaev (Therr Maitz)
vk.com
© @eurovisionsongcontest
The duet "# 2Mashi" - Maria Sheikh and Maria Zaitseva also claimed a ticket to Rotterdam.
In this tandem, the Sheikh is responsible for the lyrics, and Zaitseva - for the musical themes.
The group formed in the mid-2010s.
Zaitseva previously sang in the collectives "Assorti" and NAOMI, and also participated in the vocal shows "The Voice" and "People's Artist".
The lyrics of Zaitseva and Sheikh Bitter Words include fragments in Spanish.
“Everything is fair with us.
What is the mood - such is the song.
We will also go to Eurovision, because we wrote this song, wrote it ourselves, we like it, we will sing it coolly, ”said Maria Sheikh.
35.7% of viewers voted for the duo.
In 2020, the Little Big team was supposed to go to Eurovision from Russia, accompanied by The Hatters soloist Yuri Muzychenko, vocalist of Leningrad Florida Chanturia and dancer Dmitry Krasilnikov.
Uno was chosen as the show jumping song.
The music video, posted on the Eurovision page on YouTube, has received over 189 million views - a record for the channel.
The team repeated the number at the qualifying show this year, but out of competition.
“The Little Big group will not represent Russia in 2021 at Eurovision ... We made this decision together with Channel One, because, firstly, the song and video became record holders on the Eurovision Youtube channel and we would have competed with last year's Little Big. and the new song would be compared to Uno, not to the contestants.
And secondly, there are a lot of creative and very cool artists in Russia that the whole world should hear, ”said the band's frontman Ilya Prusikin.
Also on the air were the participants of the Eurovision Song Contest of past years - Philip Kirkorov, Polina Gagarina and the winner of Eurovision 2008 in Belgrade Dima Bilan.
The program was commented on by Yana Churikova, who is also known as the host of the Star Factory project.
From 2013 to 2020, broadcasters (Russia 1 and Channel One) held internal selections.
Thus, TV viewers decided the fate of the participants for the first time in 9 years.
Duo 2Mashi
vk.com
© @eurovisionsongcontest
In 2020, Eurovision was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
By 2021, the organizers have prepared three possible scenarios for the event at once (the fourth, without restrictions, is practically not considered anymore).
They all include ongoing testing for coronavirus.
In the first scenario, the performers will perform in the Ahoy arena in front of the audience (everyone will be asked to respect social distancing).
Artists whose delegations are unable to attend will send live recordings.
Various events are also expected on the territory of Rotterdam (with the observance of security measures).
According to the second scenario, none of the artists will come to Rotterdam, and the presenters and artists with out-of-competition numbers will perform at the Ahoy Arena (during the breaks of the main program).
All Eurovision participants will provide recordings of their performances, while some events can also be held in Rotterdam.
According to the third scenario, under lockdown conditions, the arena will not be used.
Viewers will not be able to attend the show.
As in the second case, the artists will send the recordings to the organizers.
At the moment, the semifinals of the 65th Eurovision Song Contest are scheduled for May 18 and 20, 2021.
On May 22, the finale will be shown, within which 26 songs will be performed.
The Eurovision organizers left the right to choose a participant for broadcasters from each country.
A number of countries have announced that artists who were supposed to participate in last year's competition will go to Rotterdam.
Thus, James Newman (Great Britain), Roxen (Romania), Benny Christo (Czech Republic), Montaigne (Australia), as well as contestants from Austria, Greece, Ireland, North Macedonia and other countries got the second chance.
During the national selection, music critic Artur Gasparyan said that last year's contestants - the Lithuanian group The Roop and the Icelandic group Daði & Gagnamagnið - remain the main competitors of the Russian representative.
The Swedish band The Mamas will have to prove their right to represent the country at a special music festival.
Estonian artist Uku Suviste won the national selection again.
On March 5 it became known that Armenia refused to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. The public television of Armenia reported this on its official Facebook page. Due to current events in the country, lack of time and other objective circumstances, the broadcaster found it impossible to adequately represent the state in the competition.