And we’re off!
Tonight, Germany became the first country to confirm their Junior Eurovision 2021 song and artist, after Pauline won ‘Junior ESC - Wer fährt nach Paris?’. The 12-year-old’s winning song is called ‘Imagine Us’, which ties nicely into this year’s Junior Eurovision theme, "Imagine”. The selection show, broadcast on German channel KiKa, saw three young artists competing to win the coveted Junior Eurovision placing, each singing two songs.
Pauline expressed her excitement after winning the national final, saying:
This is such a fantastic honour to have the opportunity to represent Germany in Paris. I’m sure that it’ll be a great experience and it has always been my dream to perform on such a large stage!
In the first round of the national final, Pauline beat off stiff competition from two fellow finalists, Marta and Emelie. All three of these young artists made it through the initial round of online voting, where five artists were whittled down to three.
Pauline then progressed to a second round, where the public voted between her two songs, 'Hausboot' and 'Imagine Us', with the latter winning the day.
Throughout the selection show, Pauline, Marta and Emelie all received feedback from music industry professionals to help them grow as young artists.
Germany made its debut at Junior Eurovision last year, in 2020. Pauline will be hoping to better last year’s result, after Susan came twelfth (out of twelve) with her song 'Stronger with You'. While Germany is the first country to select its song this year, Azerbaijan and Portugal have already selected their artists. Junior Eurovision 2021 will take place in Paris on 19 December 2021, after the victory of France’s Valentina last year with 'J’imagine'.
You can find out more details on the Junior Eurovision artists, songs and competition details at https://junioreurovision.tv/.