Eurovision 2021 viewers were stunned to see famous American rapper Flo Rida, known for numerous hits from the early 2000s, representing the tiny nation of San Marino. However, it turns out he wasn’t the first rapper approached.
The Eurovision Song Contest is known for its colorful performances, powerful songs, and the controversies that arise during the voting process. However, in 2021, viewers were surprised for a different reason. They got a taste of Hollywood when rapper Flo Rida competed for San Marino alongside singer Senhit. Fans and viewers alike were astonished when the famous rapper chose to fly to the Netherlands to represent the country in the world’s largest music event. However, it has now been revealed that other music stars were also in line to sing for San Marino.
The Search for a Eurovision Rap Star
In an interview, Senhit, who now hosts “Eurovision on Tour,” revealed that after she was supposed to represent San Marino at the 2020 Eurovision, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was given the opportunity to represent the country again in 2021. While working on the song for the competition, she felt that the prepared track was only suitable as a summer hit and was missing something. As a solution, she decided to add a well-known rap star to write a verse for the song.
Flo Rida Saves the Day
“I sent the song to America, through a guy that we know, and he showed the song to Pitbull first,” she exclaimed. “He said, ‘No thank you very much, I don’t like the song,’ and I was like: ‘What?! Okay, f**k you’.” The song was then passed onto Jamaican rapper Sean Paul, to see if he was interested in the song, but Senhit ran into similar issues. However, due to scheduling conflicts, Sean had to drop out – leaving Flo Rida, who took interest in the song.
“Flo Rida said, ‘Listen, this song is a bop; let me do something with it.’ He sent lyrics for his part of the song over to us and we loved it, so we recorded the song.” Despite the excitement, the COVID-19 pandemic cast doubt on Flo Rida’s ability to travel to the Netherlands and participate in the competition. Senhit admitted she couldn’t know if Flo Rida will be able to make it till the last minute, but then he surprised them all and arrived in the Netherlands. “This was the first time I had met Flo Rida, after a year of conversations, Zooms and chats,” she said. “It was a beautiful, I met this guy who I knew was this big superstar and I saw this amazing human being who was super sweet and super cool.”
Competition Results and Ongoing Connection
Despite the excitement surrounding their performance, Senhit and Flo Rida finished 20th in the competition. However, Senhit emphasizes that their connection continued even after the contest: “We’re still in touch to this day. It was an unforgettable experience for both of us.”
This story illustrates the complexity and drama behind the scenes of an international event like Eurovision and shows how even major stars can find themselves on an unexpected stage.
San Marino in Eurovision 2024:
“11:11” is the name of the song performed by the band Megara, which represented San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 held in Malmö, Sweden. The band participated in the second semi-final of Eurovision 2024 but did not advance to the grand final, finishing in 14th place in the semi-final with only 16 points, 10 of which came from Spain.
Source: Daily Star
Eurovision 2025: This will be San Marino’s 15th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. San Marino joined the competition in 2008 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2019 when the singer Serhat finished in 19th place with the song “Say Na Na Na” .
