Eden Alene sings ‘Set Me Free’ for Israel at Eurovision
Singer Eden Alene won the talent competition that decided who would fly the Israeli flag at Eurovision last year. She was supposed to represent her country with the infectious cultural melting pot ‘Feker Libi’. When the contest got cancelled, the Israeli broadcaster decided to give Eden the opportunity to go to Eurovision in 2021. Just like last year, a national final with multiple songs performed by her was organized and this time the track ‘Set Me Free’ came out victorious.

Just like ‘Feker Libi’, ‘Set Me Free’ is an upbeat pop song which combines different genres. The tune has touches of disco, the second verse incorporates a reggaeton rhythm and there is flashes of middle-eastern string arrangements to be found too. In all honesty, I have to admit that to these ears, ‘Set Me Free’ wasn’t as catchy and instant on first listen as its predecessor was, but after a few more spins, I can’t help but bop along. Both the chorus and post-chorus have strong melodies and the track has a smooth, funky groove going on, but I am not yet convinced it will stand out as much as I expected ‘Feker Libi’ would have done.

This year, Israel hosted a national final based on music videos, but we already saw last year that Eden is a charismatic performer who has got the voice, the moves and likability on camera. I am convinced she will sell the hell out of this song on stage in May and hopefully that will be enough to at least achieve a decent result for Israel at Eurovision.

OTHER EUROVISION 2021 REVIEWS: CZECH – REPUBLIC – FRANCE – LITHUANIA