Now that Eurovision 2021 is over, the Aussievision team has looked back beyond the Contest to the hundreds of songs in this season's national finals.
Members of the team voted on the songs they loved and liked plus their Top 10 overall and we have a full ranking of every song 1st to equal last.
Want to know how we worked this out? Details below:
Each Aussievision team member went through all songs marking if they loved it (2 points) or liked it (1 point)
Bonus points were then assigned to their Top 10 songs of the year based on the usual Eurovision voting (12 votes down to 1 point)
As Bulgaria's approach wasn't a national final or a an official vote of any kind it was not included in this line-up
Ties were broken by total Top 10 votes then total members who voted for the song
Without further ado, let's move on to the rankings!
=192nd (last place) - 0 points
Albania - Franc Koruni - 'E morën botën'
Albania - Gjergj Kaçinari - 'Më jep jetë'
Albania - Klint Çollaku - 'Do t'ja dal'
Albania - Sardi Strugaj - 'Kam me t'ba me kajt'
Albania - Viktor Tahiraj - 'Nënë'
Croatia - Brigita Vuco - 'Noći pijane'
Croatia - Eric Vidović - 'Reci mi'
Estonia - Kristin Kalnapenk - 'Find a Way'
Estonia - Nika Marula - 'Calm Down'
Estonia - Rahel - 'Sunday Night'
Israel - 'Flying'
Israel - 'Rise Up Today'
Israel - 'Spilling Magic'
Lithuania - Donata Virbilaitė - 'The Way I Am'
Lithuania - Norbertas - 'Man In Need'
Lithuania - UnoBand - 'Eisiu'
Norway - Ane.Fin - 'Walking In My Sleep'
Norway - Stavangerkameratene - 'Who I Am'
Portugal - Nadine - 'Cheguei aqui'
Sweden - Mustasch - 'Contagious'
=162nd place - 1 point
Albania - Erik Lloshi - 'Jo'
Albania - Kamela Islamaj - 'Kujtimet s'kanë formë'
Albania - Stefan Marena - 'Meteor'
Albania - Wendi Mancaku - 'Vesi i shpirtit tim'
Croatia - Ella Orešković - 'Come This Way'
Croatia - Sandi Cenov - 'Kriv'
Denmark - Claudia Campagnol - "Abracadabra'
Estonia - Alabama Watchdog - 'Alabama Watchdog'
Estonia - Helen - 'Nii kõrgel'
Estonia - Tanja - 'Best Night Ever'
Israel - 'Can't Stop a Hurricane'
Italy - Bugo - 'E invece sì'
Italy - Extraliscio feat. Davide Toffolo - 'Bianca luce nera'
Italy - Ghemon - 'Momento perfetto'
Italy - Malika Ayane - 'Ti piaci così'
Italy - Orietta Berti - 'Quando ti sei innamorato'
Lithuania - Aistė Brokenleg - 'Home'
Lithuania - Aldegunda - 'Sit Down'
Lithuania - Black Spikes - 'Don't Tell Me'
Lithuania - Gabrielė Goštautaitė - 'Freedom'
Lithuania - Rapolas - 'Degam'
Lithuania - Thomukas1 - 'Wish'
Norway - Ketil Stokkan - 'My Life is OK'
Portugal - Ana Tereza - 'Com um abraço'
Portugal - Ariana - 'Mundo melhor'
Portugal - Irma - 'Livros'
Portugal - Tainá - 'Jasmim'
Sweden - Frida Green - 'The Silence'
Sweden - Lovad - 'Allting är precis likadant'
Sweden - Sannex - 'All Inclusive'
=155th - 2 points
Croatia - Filip Rudan - Blind'
Israel - 'Coming Out'
Lithuania - Evita Cololo - 'Be paslapčių'
Croatia - Ashley Colburn & Bojan Jambrošić- "Share the Love'
Estonia - Karl Killing - Kiss Me'
Lithuania - Be U - 'Love Yourself'
Lithuania - Cosmic Bride - 'Solitary Star'
=137th - 2 points
Albania - Agim Poshka - 'Vendi im'
Albania - Devis Xherahu - 'Peng'
Albania - Fatos Shabani - 'Ty'
Croatia - Mia Negovetić - 'She's Like a Dream'
Croatia - Tony Cetinski & Kristijan Rahimovski - 'Zapjevaj, sloboda je!'
Estonia - Kadri Voorand - 'Energy'
France - 21 Juin Le Duo - 'Peux-tu me dire?'
Italy - Arisa - 'Potevi fare di più'
Italy - Gio Evan - 'Arnica'
Lithuania - Sunday Afternoon - 'Open'
Norway - Marianne & Mikkel - 'Pages'
Norway - River - 'Coming Home'
Portugal - Fábia Maia - 'Dia lindo'
Portugal - Valéria - 'Na mais profunda saudade'
Russia - Therr Maitz - 'Future Is Bright'
Sweden - Emil Assergård - 'Om allting skiter sig'
Sweden - Julia Alfrida - 'Rich'
Sweden - WAHL feat. SAMI - '90-talet'
=129th - 3 points
Albania - Festina Mejzini - 'Kush je ti dashuri'
Finland - Danny - 'Sinä päivänä kun kaikki rakastaa mua'
Italy - Aiello - 'Ora'
Italy - La Rappresentante di Lista - 'Amare'
Lithuania - Milita Daikerytė - 'Shadows'
Norway - Big Daddy Karsten - 'Smile'
Portugal - IAN - 'Mundo'
Sweden - Elisa - 'Den du är'
=116th - 3 points
Albania - Evi Reçi - 'Tjerr'
Croatia - Beta Sudar - 'Ma zamisli'
Estonia - Egert Milder - 'Free Again'
Estonia - Ivo & Robert Linna - 'Ma olen siin'
Estonia - Kéa - 'Hypnotized'
Estonia - Uku Haasma - 'Kaos'
Finland - Laura - 'Play'
Italy - Fulminacci - 'Santa Marinella'
Italy - Random - 'Torno a te'
Lithuania - Martyna Jezepčikaitė - 'Thank You Very Much'
Norway - Rein Alexander - 'Eyes Wide Open'
Sweden - Alvaro Estrella - 'Bailá Bailá'
Sweden - Efraim Leo - Best of Me'
115. Lithuania - Titas & Benas - 'No' - 4 points
=103rd - 4 points
Albania - Kastro Zizo - 'Vallja e jetës'
Croatia - Cambi - 'Zaljubljen'
Estonia - WIIRALT - 'Tuuled'
Estonia - Hans Nayna - "One By One'
Lithuania - Voldemars Petersons - 'Never Fall for You Again'
Portugal - mema. - 'Claro como água'
Portugal - Sara Afonso - 'Contramão'
Norway - Beady Belle - 'Playing with Fire'
Russia - # 2Mashi - 'Bitter Words'
Sweden - Lillasyster - 'Pretender'
Sweden - Arvingarna - 'Tänker inte alls gå hem'
Sweden - Kadiatou - 'One Touch'
Top 100
99. Norway - Landeveiens Helter - 'Alt det der' - 4 points
99. Norway - Dinaye - 'Own Yourself' - 4 points
99. Denmark - Mike Tramp - 'Everything Is Alright' - 4 points
99. Albania - Orgesa Zaimi - 'Valixhja e kujtimeve' - 4 points
97. Norway - Kaja Rode - 'Feel Again' - 5 points
97. Italy - Francesco Renga - 'Quando trovo te' -5 points
91. Portugal - Da Chick - 'I Got Music' - 5 points
91. Norway - Royane - 'Circus' - 5 points
91. Italy - Lo Stato Sociale - 'Combat Pop' - 5 points
91. Italy - Ermal Meta - 'Un milione di cose da dirti' - 5 points
91. Israel - Eden Alene - 'Shoulders' - 5 points
91. Albania - Florent Abrashi 'Vajzë' - 5 points
90. Italy - Gaia - 'Cuore amaro' - 5 points
89. Albania - Rosela Gjylbegu - 'Vashëzo' - 5 points
83. Lithuania - Gabrielius Vagelis - 'My Guy' - 6 points
83. Portugal - Miguel Marôco - 'Girassol' - 6 points
83. Albania - Enxhi Nasufi - 'Njësoj' - 6 points
83. Croatia - Bernarda Brunović - 'Colors' - 6 points
83. Italy - Coma_Cose - 'Fiamme negli occhi' - 6 points
83. Italy - Noemi - 'Glicine' - 6 points
82. Denmark - Jean Michel - 'Beautiful' - 7 points
75. Sweden - Paul Rey - 'The Missing Piece' - 7 points
75. Norway - Atle Pettersen - World on Fire' - 7 points
75. Italy - Max Gazzè & Trifluoperazina Monstery Band - 'Il farmacista' - 7 points
75. France - Amui - 'Maeva' - 7 points
75. Estonia - Tuuli Rand - 'Üks öö' - 7 points
75.Denmark - Chief 1 & Thomas Buttenschøn - 'Højt over skyerne' - 7 points
75. Croatia - Nina Kraljić - 'Rijeka' - 7 points
73. Sweden - Nathalie Brydolf - 'Fingerprints' - 7 points
73. Denmark - The Cosmic Twins - 'Silver Bullet' - 7 points
72. Norway - Maria Solheim - 'Nordlyset' - 7 points
71. France - Ali - 'Paris me dit (Yalla ya helo!)' - 7 points
68. Portugal - Graciela - 'A vida sem acontecer' - 8 points
68. France - Andriamad - 'Alléluia' - 8 points
68. Estonia - Andrei Zevakin & Pluuto - 'Wingman' - 8 points
67. Sweden - Tess Merkel - 'Good Life' - 8 points
66. Denmark - Nanna Olivia - 'Hvileløse hjerter' - 8 points
65. Sweden - Patrik Jean - 'Tears Run Dry' - 8 points
64. Estonia - Jüri Pootsmann - 'Magus melanhoolia' - 9 points
63. France - Juliette Moraine - 'Pourvu qu'on m'aime' - 9 points
62. Estonia - HELEZA - '6' - 10 points
61. Spain - Blas Canto - 'Memoria' - 10 points
59. Israel - Eden Alene - 'La La Love' - 10 points
59. Finland - Aksel - 'Hurt' - 10 points
58. France - Casanova - 'Tutti' - 10 points
57. Italy - Colapesce & Dimartino - 'Musica leggerissima' - 10 points
56. Portugal - Carolina Deslandes - 'Por um triz' - 10 points
55. Lithuania - Twosome - 'I Love My Bear' - 11 points
54. Portugal - EU.CLIDES - 'VOLTE-FACE' - 11 points
53. Italy - Fasma - 'Parlami' - 11 points
52. Portugal - Karetus & Romeu Bairos - 'Saudade' - 12 points
51. Norway - Stina Talling - 'Elevate' - 12 points
Top 50
50. Israel - Eden Alene - 'Ue La La' - 12 points
49. Finland - Ilta - 'Kelle mä soitan' - 12 points
47. Portugal - NEEV - 'Dancing in the Stars' - 12 points
47. Estonia - REDEL - 'Tartu' - 12 points
46. Estonia - Koit Toome - 'We Could Have Been Beautiful' - 12 points
45. Croatia - ToMa - 'Ocean of Love' - 12 points
44. Italy - Willie Peyote - 'Mai dire mai (La locura)' - 12 points
43. Sweden - Klara Hammarström - 'Beat of Broken Hearts' - 13 points
42. Sweden - Danny Saucedo - Dandi dansa' - 13 points
41. France - Philippine - 'Bah non' - 13 points
40. Norway - Daniel Owen - 'Psycho' - 13 points
39. Estonia - Gram-Of-Fun - 'Lost in a Dance' - 14 points
38. Finland - Oskr - 'Lie' - 14 points - 14 points
37. Sweden - Anton Ewald - 'New Religion' - 14 points
36. Portugal - Joana Alegre - 'Joana do mar' - 14 points
35. Norway - TuVeia - 'Bli med meg på gar'n' - 14 points
34. Albania - Gigliola Haveriku - 'E lirë' - 14 points
33. Finland - Teflon Brothers - 'I Love You' - 15 points
32. Sweden - Jessica Andersson - 'Horizon' - 15 points
31. Norway - Ole Hartz - 'Vi er Norge' - 16 points
30. France - Céphaz - 'On a mangé le soleil' - 17 points
29. Norway - Imerika - 'I Can't Escape' - 18 points
28. Italy - Francesca Michielin & Fedez - 'Chiamami per nome' - 18 points
27. Sweden - Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos - 'Rena rama ding dong' - 19 points
26. Sweden - The Mamas - 'In the Middle' - 19 points
25. France - Terence James - 'Je t'emmènerai danser' - 19 points
24. Norway - Kiim - 'My Lonely Voice' - 20 points
23. Norway - Emmy - 'Witch Woods' - 20 points
22. Albania - Xhesika Polo - 'Më mbron' - 21 points
21. Albania - Era Rusi - 'Zjarri im' - 22 points
Top 20
20. Italy - Annalisa - 'Dieci' - 22 points
Annalisa competed at Sanremo for the fifth time since 2013. This was her first appearance since finishing 3rd in 2018 (her best result) with the OGAE Second Chance winning song 'Il mondo prima di te'. After winning the first night (where half of acts perform) she ultimately finished in (a still impressive) 7th place. This was her fourth Top 10 at Sanremo and 'Dieci' would go on to reach no.7 on the charts in Italy.
19. Estonia - Sissi - 'Time' - 24 points
Sissi made her second appearance at Eesti Laul with the song 'Time' that she co-wrote with fellow competitor Andre Zevakin (who performed 'Wingman'). She finished 1st in the jury vote and 8th in the televote to move on to the three-way Super Final with Uku Suviste and Jüri Pootsmann where she finished runner-up. In 2019 she almost took out Victor Crone and his song 'Storm' from the Superfinal, finishing in 4th place. Sissi is the daughter of Eurovision 2021 winner Dave Benton and is building momentum each year to follow in his footsteps and compete at the Contest.
18. Estonia - Suured tüdrukud - 'Heaven's Not That Far Tonight' - 24 points
Suured tüdrukud, which translates to 'big girls', is made up Kaire Vilgats and Dagmar Oja. The women have been stalwarts of Estonia at Eurovision and Eesti Laul for years, with both doing backing vocals for 'Storm', 'Verona' and 'Play' on the Eurovision stage in recent years as well as '7th Wonder' for Malta in 2002.
During Eesti Laul they offered their back-up skills to other competitors including 'Time' for Sissi and Koit Toome's 'It Could Have Been Beautiful'. Koit returned the favour and offered back-up vocals for the duo on stage. They finished 7th overall including 5th in the televote.
17. Albania - Mirud - 'Nëse vdes' - 25 points
Mirud returned to Festivali i Këngës at the end of 2020 after missing the final two years earlier. His entry 'Nëse vdes' became an immediate fan favourite. He made it through to the final and made an impact on stage.
There is much work to do on LGBTIQA+ equality in the country and Mirud made sure to make his community proud with his visible representation. For Mirud to be on such a high profile stage in his homeland of Albania was one thing but for the song to be of such high quality is another. A favourite with fans and a favourite among the Aussievision team.
16. Portugal - Pedro Gonçalves - 'Não vou ficar' - 25 points
Pedro reached Festival da Canção via the 'open call' for artist and songs which saw him beat out over 700 other entries. He wrote his modern sounding song 'Não vou ficar" (translation: 'I Will Not Stay') which went on to make the final finishing in 9th. This was his second entry at FdC, he previously finished in 6th place in 2017 with 'Don't Walk Away'.
15. Sweden - Eric Saade - 'Every Minute' - 29 points
Sweden's golden boy of Eurovision made another attempt to return to the competition where it could be argued he started their hot streak. In 2011 a 20-year-old Eric won Melodifestivalen before placing 3rd at Eurovision. Since then Sweden have achieved a Top 5 finish six times including two iconic wins. This time Eric went for a minimalist pop sound and a sophisticated yet simple staging which brought him to 2nd place in Melodifestivalen 2021.
14. France - LMK - 'Magique' - 29 points
LMK is a classically trained harpist and although she brought a little of that to the 'C'est vous qui décidez' stage, it was her reggae dancehall song and performance that got fans (and obviously the Aussievision team) excited. Unfortunately the French public didn't get behind the song and it only qualified for the 8-entry final round after being saved by the jury. She went on to finish 7th overall (including 4th in the jury) and received 12 points from Eurovision 2019 winner Duncan Laurence.
13. Norway - Raylee - 'Hero' - 31 points
A fan-favourite at the 2020 Melodi Grand Prix with the song ‘Wild’, Raylee returned to this year’s Norwegian national final with an 80's inspired song ‘Hero’. She delivered a show stopping moment in her performance inspired by ‘Flashdance’ where she was drenched by a torrent of water falling from above before hitting the high note of the song. This iconic staging got her to the final, but unfortunately she missed out on the Gold Final round.
12. Norway - Jorn - 'Faith Bloody Faith' - 35 points
52-year-old had a long established career going into his first Melodi Grand Prix contest. In a surprisingly result (at the time) he went on to lose the very first duel to Blåsemafian. However he won the wildcard as one of the losing semi-finalists to compete in the Grand Final where he made it through to the Top 4.
11. Norway - Blåsemafian ft Hazel - 'Let Loose' - 36 points
Going into the first semi-final of Melodi Grand Prix few gave 'Let Loose' a chance of getting through. However, an impactful performance from the brass-wielding Blåsemafian and their vocalist Hazel secured them a surprise spot into the Melodi Grand Prix Final. They then made it through to the final four before eventually losing out to KEiiNO and Tix. An impressive debut for the group.
10. Sweden - Charlotte Perrelli - 'Still Young' - 37 points
A true Eurovision legend, winning Eurovision 1999 with 'Take Me To Your Heaven', Charlotte returned to Melfest for the fourth time. She had won it in 1999 and 2008, going to Eurovision for Sweden both times. She performed like the true professional she is with great vocals and her ability to command the show down a catwalk in 6-inch heels effortlessly. ‘Still Young’ earned her an 8th place in the Melfest final, a great feat for the veteran pop diva showing the world that she's still got it.
9. Italy - Irama - 'La genesi del tuo colore' - 38 points
This entry was almost disqualified from Sanremo when Irama contracted COVID-19 a few days before the contest began. Luckily a last minute decision allowed rehearsal footage of him to be used in place of performing live. Despite the same performance being shown all week it finished in a very impressive 5th place at Sanremo and reached no.3 on the Italian charts. The song has been chosen to be the Italian representative for the OGAE Second Chance contest.
8. Denmark - Emma Nicoline - 'Står lige her' - 38 points
12 points from Mike
Emma Nicoline's track 'Står lige her' (Standing Right Here) was the Aussievision team's favourite entry going into the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix final so it's no major surprise to see it doing well here. Although Emma Nicoline didn't make it though to the final four, the Danish language song still stayed in favour with the team.
7. Sweden - Clara Klingenström - 'Behöver inte dig idag' - 39 points
Clara Klingenström was the surprise packet of Melodifestivalen. Swedish language songs tend to struggle at Melfest but Clara made it out of the semi-finals to the second chance round where she took out cult favourite 'Rena Rama Ding Dong'. In the final she finished 5th overall and 3rd in the televote and stormed the charts to reach no.3 in Sweden.
6. Albania - Inis Neziri - 'Pendesë' - 47 points
12 points from Guy
After finishing just behind Eugent Bushpepa at Festivali i Këngës in late 2017 and winning New Wave in 2019, Inis Neziri went into the contest as a red hot favourite. After strong performances of her powerful ballad she unfortunately didn't make the Top 3. This certainly didn't stop the love for the song from the Aussievision team with every member giving her votes.
5. Lithuania - Gebrasy - 'Where'd You Wanna Go?' - 54 points
12 points from Fleur, Josh and Kyriakos
Gebrasy’s 'Where'd You Wanna Go?' was a surprise entry in this year's Lithuania’s National selection show ‘Pabandom iš Naujo! 2021’. The show was pretty much The Roop’s for the taking but Gebrasy was the shining light amongst the entries before the final. He won Heat 2 receiving 12 points from both the jury and televoting. He repeated this success again in the semi-final until he faced off The Roop in the final finishing in the runners-up spot. He wasn’t able to compete against The Roop’s landslide televotes.
4. Italy - Madame - 'Voce' - 65 points
12 points from Dale, Hugo, Laura and Liv
Madame was a revelation at Sanremo this year with the 19-year-old finishing in 7th place on debut. The song went to reach no.2 in the Italian charts and became a favourite among fans. In the Aussievision team four of the 12 contributors voting gave this 12 points and if it were on Top 10 votes alone, this would be our no.1.
3. Sweden - Dotter - 'Little Tot' - 67 points
Dotter returned to Melodifestivalen for the third time and after finishing runner-up in 2020 by a single point to The Mamas. She was a fan favourite yet again and made it through the finale after winning the second semi final. Unfortunately she couldn't quite match her best result but still finished an impressive 4th place, just one point behind The Mamas once again... ouch!
2. Norway - KEiiNO - 'Monument' - 72 points
12 points from Cooper
Certainly one of the Eurovision fan communities most shocking National Final moments of the year, many felt KEiiNO were destined to win Melodi Grand Prix yet again. 'Monument' strongly builds on the foundation off their Eurovision 2019 televote winning song 'Spirit In The Sky', with Alexandra's high note in the bridge an absolute show-stopper. KEiiNO pre-qualified to the final, made it through to the Gold Final and then went head-to-head with TIX in the Gold Duel. KEiiNO lost by 98,990 televotes with TIX taking his song ‘Fallen Angel’ to Rotterdam this year.
1. France - PONY X - 'Amour fou' - 73 points
12 points from Emma and Steve
PONY X were always a favourite with the Aussievision team, finishing only behind Barbara Pravi in our original French national rankings and have held that. The duo made up of Clarence, originally from Martinique, and the masked anonymous and mysterious DJ Pony. In the final of 'Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez!' they finished 3rd in the juries and 3rd in the televote to finish 3rd overall. However a highlight was the duo leading the jury score for sometime including 12 points from Jean Paul Gaultier and Eurovision 1977 winner Marie Myriam.
So that is the Aussievision team's full rankings of this year's national final songs. You may agree on some and disagree on others!
We look forward to an even bigger and better national final season in 2022.