In the lead up to this year’s Junior Eurovision, we are looking back on the previous editions of the contest to rediscover the songs we love! Our Top 5 will likely be different to yours, but that’s part of the joy! We encourage you to join the discussion by sharing your Top 5 too!
Today we are travelling to Armenia where the 2011 Junior Eurovision took place. This was the first time the contest had been held in Armenia, but also the first time a Junior Eurovision had been hosted in the previous winner’s nation. A total of 13 nations participated including returning nation Bulgaria, but we also saw Malta and Serbia withdraw from the competition. Without further ado, here’s our Top 5!
5. No, No – Lerika (Moldova)
This is the second post in our Top 5 Junior Eurovision series that we’ve seen Lerika, as you will remember she also took part in Junior Eurovision 2012 but as the representative of Russia. The two songs were very different, but the fact remains that she has a great voice and an even better stage presence. Although this song is less contemporary than Sensation, I still find this song to be very catchy and perhaps a bit more kid friendly. The staging of the song doesn’t make all that much sense to me, but admittedly it’s memorable.
4. Welcome to Armenia – Dalita (Armenia)
What a perfect song to represent Armenia on home soil. Yes, it’s a bit reminiscent of Scooch at Eurovision (which is an entry I’d rather forget) however this song actually fits into the context of Junior Eurovision. It’s catchy and kid friendly, but I think this is a song that can even appeal to the older audiences. It wasn’t the strongest vocal performance from this edition of the contest, but I think it was compensated by the detailed choreography and overall concept of the staging.
3. Teenager – Rachel (The Netherlands)
The Netherlands have been quite hit and miss when it comes to Junior Eurovision, but when they have something good, it’s very good. They hit the jackpot with this song as it is an absolute earworm and at the time was bound to be liked by children and teenagers alike. The melody in the verses is catchy, but the highlight is the chorus which easy to sing along with even after the first listen. This is another entry with impressive vocals and a creative stage performance and for those reasons I can totally understand why this finished in 2nd place, and honestly, I would have preferred if this actually won the contest!
2. Superhero – Ivan Ivanov (Bulgaria)
This surely has to be one of the most underrated entries at Eurovision, at least in terms of the results. This is another case of big things coming in small packages, only 11 at the time of the contest and he managed to belt out some huge notes. This is a catchy song, especially during the choruses as it has a melody that’s easy to follow along with even if you don’t know the lyrics. Looking at the context of 2011, I think this song was also quite contemporary which was matched by the staging which felt quite futuristic. The real star of the show, however, is definitely Ivan who comes across as comfortable and confident which always makes for an enjoyable show.
- Faller – Erik Rapp (Sweden)
Let’s continue with the theme of underrated entries, because this is absolutely underrated in the results of the contest. I will also preface this by saying I’m definitely an Erik Rapp fan, and this is definitely a sentimental favourite. But even so, this song is up there with Sweden’s best at Junior Eurovision and vocally definitely one of the best. I think this entry was definitely more geared towards the older viewers of Junior Eurovision, teenagers and above and being of that age group at the time of the contest, I can definitely see why this appealed to me at the time. This absolutely should have finished higher….
Check out the previous posts in this series here: