Eurovision 2021 Moldova profile: 'Sugar' by Natalia Gordienko

Moldova in Eurovision

Moldova made their Eurovision debut in 2005, qualifying for the final ten times in their 15 outings. They have reached the top 10 on four occasions with Zdob și Zdub finishing sixth in their debut year. Natalia Barbu (2007) and DoReDoS (2018) both placed tenth with The Sunstroke Project achieving the nation’s best result, placing third in 2017. Their only top 5 result to date.

The previous decade provided above average results for Moldova, missing out on the final on four occasions 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019. Cristina Scarlat, Eduard Romanyuta, Lidia Isac and Anna Odobescu being the unlucky contestants.

2021 Entry: Natalia Gordienko- 'Sugar’

• Semi-final: Natalia Gordienko will compete in semi-final 2 in 7th position in the running order

• My Eurovision Scoreboard fan ranking: 24th out of 39 entries

• Odds to win ranking: 20th out of 39 entries

• Odds to qualify ranking: 7th out of 17 entries

(rankings as of 30 April 2021)

About the artist

Chișinău native and the winner of several international music competitions, Natalia Gordienko is of Ukrainian descent and was born in 1987. She is a singer, dancer, model and DJ. Gordienko also sang in her school’s choir and is an accomplished pianist. This year is her third foray in the contest. Her Eurovision debut was in 2006 partnering with former O-Zone member Arsenium and Romanian rapper Connect-R for the unforgettable ‘Loca’ which placed 20th. The song went on to reach #4 on the Romanian Top 100 charts after the contest.

Gordienko was internally selected to represent Moldova this year after winning O melodie pentru Europa 2020, the Moldovan National Final selection competition with the song ‘Prision’. This would have been her second time on the Eurovision stage.

In addition to her Eurovision resumé, Gordienko has collaborated with Melodifestivalen veteran Mohombi, releasing ‘Habibi’ in 2016. She also hosts the Moldovan national lottery show.

Natalia Gordienko is also a mother to 4 year old Christian, who has his own Instagram page.

About the song

This is the second time that Natalia Gordienko has worked with “The Dream Team” with her Eurovision entry. The trio of accomplished songwriters/producers Philipp Kirkorov, Dimitris Kontopoulos and Sharon Vaughn also wrote ‘Prison’. Entrepreneur, businessman and 20th on Forbes Magazine’s list of 200 richest Russians- Mikhail Gutseriyev also contributed to the lyrics of ‘Sugar’.

The song is another that was inspired by Covid-19 lockdown, with Gordienko stating that ‘Sugar’ was Dimitris Kontopoulos’ concept “it was even funny how he told us the point from which he started in the creative process: he was in the restaurant and ordered a coffee and they brought him sugar. He looked at sugar and suddenly thought that the name would be “Sugar” and the concept would be as sweet as sugar, an extrapolation of the current situation and the troubled times we live in.”

A Russian version of the song was released on April 09 2021 called ‘Туз буби’ / ‘Tuz bubi’ (‘Ace of Diamonds’). Mikhail Gutseriyev again, providing the lyrics.

Aussievision podcast Moldova episode

Check out the Aussievision podcast review and rank episode including comments from the team. Listen via:

Apple

Spotify

Podcast addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/1958380