Our next entry from this year’s automatic qualifiers is Germany, who held a closed-doors selection process to find the successor to Ben Dolić’s Violent Thing. They will be represented by Jendrik Sigwart with the upbeat I Don’t Feel Hate, a song about letting go of the small prejudices and fighting the bigger ones. With his colourful music video, colourful shirts and colourful personality, he’s sure to make an impact on the Eurovision stage this year. If you’d like to hear what we think about Jendrik’s song, have a listen here!
A look into Jendrik’s career so far.
Jendrik is a trained musical theatre performer, who was noticed by German broadcaster NDR after making humorous videos on his TikTok during lockdown. While he released his first single, “Dibdibidi”, in 2016, this is his largest platform to date. He has stated that participating in the Eurovision Song Contest has been a lifelong dream, and is a huge fan himself! On his Instagram, alongside his participation in the contest, he has been highlighting issues of prejudice have been depicted as part of the music video for the song.
We were lucky enough to interview Jendrik here on TES! If you’d like to hear more from him about the song, what he’d like to cover on the ukulele and his experience getting drunk with The Roop in Lithuania, have a listen!
Our opinions on “I Don’t Feel Hate”
Jazzi
Opinion: I am not the biggest fan of this song, but I do think Jendrik is a really good guy. I think in 2021, where the world looks a bit bleak this will put a smile on people’s faces. This will not light up the left hand side of the scoreboard in May, but it will makes people smile.
Overall Ranking: 36th
Prediction: 23rd-18th in the grand final.
Rory
Opinion: When we all heard this song after it was initially released, I think we all collectively let out a sigh of desperation, as Jendrik was a fantastic artist. However, as time has gone on, I have grown to enjoy ‘I Don’t Feel Hate’ when it comes on – but that’s it. Jendrik is the X factor in this song and his quirky and fun delivery really helps to sell the idea and message. I do wonder though to what degree will televoters see this and think this is a joke act or not. It could be a lovely surprise and end up on the left-hand side like Leonora in 2019, but it could easily end up in a Scooch situation and, depending on what it’s surrounded by, it really is anybody’s guess.
Overall Ranking: 32nd
Prediction: 16th-22nd in the final.
Rosie
Opinion: I Don’t Feel Hate is a song that fills me with joy. It’s Jendrik through and through, and has much more thought and depth to it than it might seem. I feel like the music video does help with this, and I think there needs to be a way of translating that to the stage in a way that balances the lightness of the song with the seriousness of what it’s saying. I also think it could live or die by the camera angles, such is the danger of an instrument like the ukulele! It’s not the most complex or unique song of the year, or the most emotional or hard-hitting, but not everything has to be. It’s fun, and it has something to say, and that does it for me.
Overall Ranking: 24th
Prediction: I find this a hard one to judge, as I could see it splitting the jury/televote heavily, or struggling with both. It could easily finish mid-table after being popular with the televote, or in the bottom five. I don’t think it’s a certain last place, as some seem to think, but I wouldn’t rule it out completely either. I hope it’s not, though.
Let us know your thoughts!
It’s not just about what we think, we want to know what you guys make of Germany’s entry this year. To voice your opinion on “I Don’t Feel Hate” please vote in our poll below:
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Photo Credit: Christian Charisius
