Our Eurovision 2021 hosting country, The Netherlands, has just announced that Jeangu Macrooy will sing ‘Birth Of A New Age’ on stage in Rotterdam. His song premiered in a special social media broadcast, and was internally selected by host broadcaster AVROTROS and has been written and produced by Jeangu Macrooy and longtime collaborator Perquisite.
The song has been descirbed by Jeangu as "... an ode to everyone who stands up for themselves and dares to celebrate the power of their authenticity.”
During his entry Jeangu sings in Sranan Tongo, one of the languages of his birthplace Suriname; the language makes a welcome debut on the Eurovision stage. This section is inspired by an old Surinamese “odo” or saying: ‘Mi Na Afu Sensi, No Wan Man E Broko Mi’. The literal translation of which is: 'I’m half a cent, you can’t break me'. The half-cent was the smallest coin in Suriname and therefore literally unbreakable into smaller denominations. In the context it stands for self respect, resilience and determination.
Jeangu was of course supposed to present his soulful number ‘Grow’ for the 2020 Contest which was cancelled, but he was given the green light to return for 2021 and has been working all year to produce this new track.
As host country, Jeangu will automatically qualify for the Grand Final on May 22, and it was announced that he will sing in 23rd spot in the running order.
Jeangu Macrooy is a 27 year old singer of Surinamese descent, having lived there until 2014, when he moved to The Netherlands. He started his music career in a group with his brother and released one album, before going solo and eventually releasing his debut album in 2017, titled ‘High On You’. He steadily grew a following, serving as the opening act for several performers in Europe, and he has also played at numerous festivals.
The Netherlands are proud hosts of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, after Duncan Laurence won in 2019 with his song ‘Arcade’, giving the Dutch their fifth Eurovision win. After failing to qualify for the Grand Final between 2005-2012, the Dutch boast an impressive Grand Final record this decade, including three top-ten finishes. Jeangu will be hoping to continue this record in 2021.
You can listen to Jeangu’s song and all other competing entries for Eurovision 2021 via the Aussievision playlist on Spotify:
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