Junior Eurovision 2021: Kazakhstan

The Aussievision team have listened and ranked all Junior Eurovision songs and we have our final rankings. Kazakhstan have finished in 15th place. Details, individual rankings, and comments below.

The entry

Alinur Khamzin & Beknur Zhanibekuly - 'Ертегі әлемі (Fairy World)'

Lyrics: Nurbolat Qanay / Gabriel Boileau Cloutier

Music: Nurbolat Qanay

Kazakhstan held a thrilling Junior Eurovision national final! After a tie for the winning place, it was decided that Beknur Zhanibekuly and Alinur Khamzin could not be separated on points, and that they should instead be selected to represent Kazakhstan together in Paris.

Beknur is 9-years-old and was born in Astana (now Nur-Sultan), Kazakhstan, he loves music, singing and making new friends. He is a gifted student, and he lives by the motto ‘nothing is impossible’, and it’s this attitude that has allowed him to excel at school in geography, mathematics and art. He is known for his lego arm, which was created by Gabriel Boileau Cloutier who also wrote the French lyrics for Kazakhstan's entry.

Alinur is 11-years-old and is from Uralsk, Kazakhstan. Alinur dreams of becoming a famous singer and has already competed in many vocal contests, despite his very young age. Alinur enjoys robotics, origami and chess.

The Aussievision team rankings

• 1st - Estelle

• 1st - Ford

• 3rd - Kyriakos

• 9th - Cooper

• 9th - Steve

• 12th - Mike

• 14th - Craig

• 14th - Tim

• 15th - Cooper

• 17th - Emma

• 17th - Hayley

• 17th - Hugo

• 18th - Dale

• 18th - Josh

• 19th - Laura

The comments

The struggle to choose a favourite between both Alinur Khamzin and Beknur Zhanibekuly during the national final is clear in this entry. They are both amazing singers, and are both incredibly talented. Alinur's classical training shows in his impressive style while singing 'Fairy World', while Beknur's more modern, rap-based vocals are also very good (although admittedly not my absolute favourite, I can see the talent even in styles I am not altogether familiar with). The blend of the two vocals together works decidedly better than I had originally thought it would. ~ Ford

Both boys do such a tremendous job with this entry. A very beautiful song going for the big vocal impact that Kazakhstan are now known for at Junior. I just would have loved to hear more from Beknur. It is a beautiful touch and the French he sings is from the man who created his lego arm. I am expecting another top finish from Kazakhstan. Maybe they finally win the trophy? ~ Kyriakos

Well-produced, reasonably distinctive, good sung vocals. I'm just not a fan of the spoken parts. ~ Steve

Typically epic production from the Kazakhs. Not sure this has the quality we have previously seen from them. But who know what they will pull out of the bag live. ~ Mike

It's an interesting blend of contemporary sounds with a traditional ballad, but for me it doesn't work as well as it should. ~ Cooper

Kazakhstan at Junior Eurovision

Kazakhstan have been specially invited to compete at Junior Eurovision as they are only an associate member of the EBU and don't automatically qualify to compete. Kazakhstan have competed at Junior Eurovision for three years. In 2018 they made their debut with Daneliya Tuleshova singing 'Ózińe sen' which finished at an impressive sixth place. In 2019 and 2020 they were represented by Yerzhan Maxim with 'Armanyńnan qalma' and Karakat Bashanova with 'Forever' which both finished in runner-up place. It is only a matter of time until Kazakhstan take the trophy.

‘The entry’ and ‘Kazakhstan at Junior Eurovision’ written by Kyriakos

Aussievision team's Junior Eurovision 2021 rankings

16th place - Serbia - Jovana and Dunja - 'Children's Eyes'

17th place - Malta - Ike & Kaya - ‘My Home’

18th place - Portugal - Simão Oliveira - 'O Rapaz'

19th place - Bulgaria - Denislava and Martin - 'Voice of Love'

Aussievision Podcast - Junior Eurovision 2021 Preview

Our bonus preview episode of Junior Eurovision 2021 is out. We run through the Contest, the top 3 songs from the Aussievision team and make predictions.

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts here:

And on Spotify here:

Cast your votes for your favourite Junior Eurovision 2021 entries here.