ESC 2021 Preshow: 04. Russia
Manizha - “Russian woman”
Semi 1, #03
And now for the entry that single-handedly trumped ALL of 2020′s inherent insanity.
Ok, so, imagine this: Russia have Eurovision gold in their hands in the form of Little Big who are a lock for top three. They’re even preparing a song for the contest. Then, some where down the line Little Big are out and Russia are forced go the Senhit route and create a last-minute NF to pick their entrant. Incidentally that NF is happens to be held on International Woman’s day and sure enough, ON comes this crazy-eyed Tajik lady with a funny novelty song called “RUSSIAN WOMAN” that would place last in most Vidbir semis to and she wins??? CRAZY.
I honestly didn’t know WHAT to think of Manizha at first. I always liked her, but my brain needed time to process the sheer CONCEPT of Russia, by sheer happenstance or divine providence or w/e, picking basically an entrant that goes against EVERYTHING Russia is known for in ESC. 😍
EVERY RUSSIAN WOMAN NEEDS TO KNOW BE STRONG ENOUGH YOU GONNA BREAK THE WALL
EVERY RUSSIAN WOMAN NEEDS TO KNOW BE STRONG ENOUGH YOU GONNA BREAK THE WALL
Like a fun weird-ass blend of folk, hiphop and punk what else can a man ask? Maybe a kickass performance and unfiltered female empowerment? What I predominantly love about “Russian Woman” though lies in the details with which Manizha achieves this. The OUTFIT being derivative of 60s Feminist memes
The cyrillic letters spelling out “RASHN WYMAN” in the back, the excellent humour with which Manizha almost casually serves kick-ass gif after kick-ass gif. Combine Samanta’s plugged crazy and feminist maryrdom with Tusse’s gregariousness and underdog story and you get Manizha, which. 😍
DON’T BE AFRAID ::points at male backing singer:: <33
Speaking of, Manizha accomplishes a feat I personally deemed completely impossible. Be a credible underdog while representing Russia. You know, the country that keeps flexing in people’s faces how GOOD they are at Eurovision and then throw hissy fits when people are like “um no, you’re one smug motherfucker and also you’re not that good” and downvote their smarmy baloney. <3
Manizha, otoh, while an established performance artist and musician, had to suffer through discrimination both In Russia (for being an muslim woman of colour) and in Taijikistan (for being too Russian/a race traitor and again, a woman). So isn’t it incredibly apt that she gets to go to ESC with a song that perfectly encapsulates her irl struggles in such a flamboyant manner? She always had to FIGHT to make her voice heard, and even after being selected, the racists have tried to silence her for spreading “misandry”. (X__X) There more I read about Mazhina’s background the more impressed I am she has the balls to do Eurovision. I hope she does absurdly well, frankly <3
Predicted Journey - Russia
When I first heard “Russian Woman” I laughed HYSTERICALLY. “HA HA AHHAHAHHAHAHAHA RUSSIA ARE NQ’ING WITH THEIR SHIT NF!!!”.
Thank FUCK idiot manchild over here came to his senses because if Manizha NQ’s I will be INCREDIBLY disappointed. She’s the boldest and most genuine Russian rep since Youddiph (who was hated for daring to be Jewish, notice a pattern?) and I’d hate to see her fail. Sadly, juries. I really don’t know whether juries will buy into “Russian woman”, given that Western ones love downvoting Russia because they hate Russia, basically. I don’t dare to be optimistic. Then again, if you’re anti-Russian goverment you should totally vote for Manizha anyway lol? Her entire being pisses off the toxic nationalists and she’s vocally anti-Putin. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
Televote won’t be a problem, though. Even with Belarus gone, “Russian woman” is an obvious televote qualifier. An artist of Manizha’s creative calibre combined with Russia’s liquid assets SHOULD be able to deliver something monumental. Once Manizha makes the final however, finishing left is a given. “Russian Woman” is too OTT and too funny to not receive a very generous amount of televotes across Europe, but the amount will depend on how much other OTT hokey shit reaches the finale. Then again, there’s a good chance Manizha eats them alive too because talented underdogs > tried meme shit.
Projected placements > Qualifier Tier: Likely > Semifinal: 6th-11th (out of 16) > Grand Final: 5th-13th (out of 26) [predicted eighth placer]
THE RANKING
01. 02. 03. 04. RUSSIA - Manizha - “Russian woman” 05. BELGIUM - Hooverphonic - “The wrong place” 06. ICELAND - Daði & Gagnamagnið - “10 years” 07. AUSTRALIA - Montaigne - “Technicolour” 08. FRANCE - Barbara Pravi - “Voilà” 09. BULGARIA - Victoria - “Growing up is getting old” 10. LATVIA - Samanta Tina - “The moon is rising” 11. GREECE - Stefania - “Last dance” 12. SWEDEN - Tusse - “Voices” 13. IRELAND - Lesley Roy - “Maps” 14. CROATIA - Albina - “Tick Tock” 15. MOLDOVA - Natalia Gordienko - “Sugar” 16. ITALY - Måneskin - “Zitti e buoni” 17. ALBANIA - Anxhela Peristeri - “Karma” 18. UNITED KINGDOM - James Newman - “Embers” 19. LITHUANIA - The Roop - “Discoteque” 20. ESTONIA - Uku Suviste - “The lucky one” 21. FINLAND - Blind Channel - “Dark side” 22. AZERBAIJAN - Efendi - “Mata Hari” 23. the NETHERLANDS - Jeangu Macrooy - “Birth of a new age” 24. CZECH REPUBLIC - Benny Christo - “Omaga” 25. DENMARK - Fyr og Flamme - “Øve os på hinanden” 26. SLOVENIA - Ana Soklič - “Amen” 27. SWITZERLAND - Gjon’s Tears - “Tout l’Univers” 28. ROMANIA - Roxen - “Amnesia” 29. SERBIA - Huricane - “Loco loco” 30. POLAND - Rafał - “The ride” 31. ISRAEL - Eden Alene - “Set me free” 32. GEORGIA - Tornike Kipiani - “You” 33. PORTUGAL - The Black Mamba - “Love is on my side” 34. SPAIN - Blas Cantó - “Voy a quedarme” 35. NORWAY - Tix - “Fallen Angel” 36. CYPRUS - Elena Tsagrinou - “El Diablo” 37. AUSTRIA - Vincent Bueno - “Amen” 38. NORTH MACEDONIA - Vasil - “Here I stand” 39. GERMANY - Jendrik - “I don’t feel hate”
My fave <3333. I have Ukraine/San Marino as my 2nd/3rd so I guess I can still be a Boris stan.
