Without winning jury vote or televote, the group VAL did manage to win the Belarussian national final. Sadly, because of the cancellation, they did not make it to the Eurovision stage in 2020. Will they return in 2021 or does BTRC have other options?
In today’s episode we look at Belarus in 2021. For a full review of their potential entry for 2020, check out this article on our partner website Eurovision Union. Check out our thoughts for next year below.
Key takeaways: a “clean” and fair national final
For many years, the Belarussian selection process was tainted by voting scandals, revoked winners, changed songs and disqualifications. This year, not only did the national final go by without any such nonsense – the voting process was actually exciting and fair. VAL was not the obvious favorite from the start. They did not even win the jury vote, generally a strong indicator in Belarus. But they did win the ticket. More of this next year, please.
How to proceed with VAL at Eurovision 2021
Da Vidna is a nice pop song, but as it was, it was not a strong competitor. There is potential in the group, and it would be interesting to see what more they have to offer.
If Belarus decides to stick with VAL, it might help to use the extra year to get her teamed-up with a very talented songwriter. The song needs a lot more urgency to be a qualifier. This is of course possible when you have a solid year to work on something new.
Exploring other options
Organizing a new national final seems to be a logical option. Especially after the relative success that was Eurofest 2020. It would be nice to see VAL take part in the show, perhaps competing against a mix of indie artists such as Naviband, and youngsters such as ZENA. While the 2021 preselection season will most likely be shorter than usual, Belarus could provide us with a nice surprise.
This was supposed to be Belarus’ Eurovision 2020 entry
About “Next Up: Eurovision 2021”
In our series Next Up: 2021, we look ahead to the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. After the cancellation of Eurovision 2020, all participating countries now face the choice: Stick with their Eurovision singer, or come up with a new preselection or internal selection.
We make an analysis based on what we know so far. What will this country do, or most likely do? And is that the wise choice, looking at the fact that the Eurovision Song Contest remains a music competition?
