Flo Rida to compete in Eurovision 2021

As weird as it is to say, it is true: Flo Rida is competing in Eurovision. Not only that, but he's competing for the tiny little nation of San Marino.

We have to be okay with it, but we don't have to like it.

The song "Adrenalina," a high-energy dance-pop song led by the bright and colorful female singer Senhit, includes a verse from the American rapper that brings us closer to the craziness we expect from the Eurovision stage. The song was an instant hit with fans, and it led to San Marino qualifying for the Grand Final, which is today. Amidst a pandemic, and given the circumstances, very few people actually believed that he would be able to travel to The Netherlands to compete. There was an alternate version of the song without his rap, so the truth didn't come out until a few days ago when he actually showed up alongside her in Rotterdam for rehearsals.

I don't quite understand if he circumvented protocol by not quarantining the appropriate amount of time, but people also seem to look the other way when you throw your fame around.

With this firmly happening, the two biggest questions people have are 'How' and 'Why'? Namely, how is the little country affording this international act? And why is Flo Rida competing, given he shouldn't normally be interested?

Let's start with the how, which is maybe easier to explain. Because San Marino is a microstate, the fees it pays to participate are likely much lower than the other participants. Despite that, SMRTV (San Marino's broadcaster) usually has the artist pay its way. Senhit, who participated in 2011, likely offered to participate again and pay these fees. It's a unique circumstance. As for how they afforded to 'pay' for Flo Rida - it may be key to know that he didn't even know about the Eurovision Song Contest before being approached about it.

And to understand that judgment, we have to understand Flo Rida. I used to pay copious amounts of attention to the American charts between 2006 and 2012, so I can tell you that Flo Rida was a prolific name - too prolific. He quickly became the guy who would appear on any and every track to contribute a verse or two, regardless of the music's quality. This weakened his credibility, and since 2013 he has released very little in the way of music. But with this basic rule in mind, it would not be unusual, to me, to imagine the team of Swedish producers that assembled Senhit's song to have the proper connections necessary to reach out to Flo Rida and take advantage. I believe that they contacted him, knowing the risk but understanding the payoff. And with very little reason to decline the offer, given his history, he went ahead with it not understanding everything about Eurovision and why it can be the 'kiss of death' for established performers. I'd bet he doesn't even know about Madonna and 2019.

But similar to Bonnie Tyler, Lesley Roy, and many others - their biggest moment of fame has passed. Flo Rida won't likely return to the same level of success he experienced a decade ago, so he doesn't have much to lose by participating. But Flo Rida is a bit bigger and a bit more recent; by being an international artist that didn't fade out of the public's consciousness on purpose, he will stand to elevate San Marino's chances of actually winning this thing.

So the question becomes this: is it fair? Clearly Flo Rida has never been to San Marino. Moreover, the track lists an obnoxiously long number of names that aren't even Italian. If all of Europe can't handle Australia or sometimes Israel even getting to compete, how do they feel about Americans coming in and trying to win on behalf of countries that don't deserve it?

And then again, the UK's last win was achieved by an American band. You can't tell me that another country can't feature an American artist, surely?

It's just clear that this isn't something I like very much, but I have to be okay with it. The song itself is quite catchy, and again - it could actually win. But do I think the whole of Europe would be happy with that? No. And that's why tomorrow's contest could paint the narrative for future years, especially as we look forward to an American adaptation of the Eurovision contest.

Which, by the way - Flo Rida said he'd participate in that, too.