2019

Nevena Božović

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameNevena Božović Born15 June 1994 Nationality🇷🇸 Serbian National SelectionBeovizija 2019Beovizija 2013 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv2013 Malmö SongKruna (2019)Ljubav je svuda (2013) Biography Nevena Božović is a Serbian pop singer, born in Kosovská Mitrovica. She studied music at the University of Arts in Belgrade. She participated in the Junior Eurovision with “Piši mi”, in 2007. After a small break from music, she made her come back in 2009. In 2013 she participated in the talent show Prvi Glas Srbija (the Serbian version of The Voice) and became second. She teamed up with the other two top-3 singers of the contest, Mirna Radulović and Sara Jovanović, to form the all girl group Moje 3. They won the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Ljubav je svuda” and thus represented Serbia in the international contest. Shortly after Eurovision, Nevena presented a new solo single, “Pogleda me”, followed by “Znam da nočas gubim te”. In 2014, Nevena participated in the contest Proleče u Beogradu. On May 7, 2015, Nevena promoted a spot for a single called “Trebam teme”.The song was autobiographical, as Nevena stated. “That’s it, this is me”. On May 26, 2015, Nevena opened for the concert of the French singer Indila, which was held at the Stark Arena in Belgrade. She opened the so-called New Divas Festival. Nevena continued her collaboration with Aleksandra Milutinovic, who did the lyrics for the song “Bal” and thus, on December 24, 2015, releases a song called “Čujem da dolaziš u grad”. In 2017, she competed in the famous Slavianski Bazaar festival in Vitepsk, Belarus. Nevena finished in third place. In the same year, Nevena, unveiled her new single, “Jasno mi je” The song became a big hit in Serbia and the rest of the region. She also published an English version called “Dangerous Drug”, which also received positive reviews. Several other successful singles followed. In 2019, Nevena got the opportunity to represent Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest for a second time, now solo with the song “Kruna”. She reached the final there and ended up in 18th place. In the same year, she was voted best female singer in Serbia by Nahi Radio. In october, she released the song “Sanjam”, which was written and composed by Nevena herself, just like “Kruna”. Also in 2019, she opened for famous Balkan star Zdravko Čolić. In 2020, Nevena released a new song, “Nestajem s vetrom”. The follow up, “Jutro na Prvo”, won an award in the category Best Collaboration. In 2021, she released the songs “Ljubi” and “Ne čuješ me”. After that, she took time for her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter Anika. Entries Kruna Country🇷🇸 Serbia Year2019 LanguageSerbianEnglish LyricsNevena Božović MusicNevena BožovićDarko Dimitrov BackingsIvana VladovićOlga Popović-VulovićDušan AlagićMladen Lukić Results Semi Points: 156Position: 7Running order: 9 Results Finals Points: 89Position: 18Running order: 23 https://youtu.be/X0mdaeAyPvA Ljubav je svuda (Moje 3) Country🇷🇸 Serbia Year2013 LanguageSerbian LyricsMarina Tucaković MusicSaša Milošević Mare BackingsKsenija MiloševićDunja VujadinovićJelena Mitić Results Semi Points: 46Position: 11Running order: 16 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/DbAAFijZIxE

Mahmood

About Quick Facts NameAlessandro Mahmoud Born12 september 1992 Nationality🇮🇹 Italian National SelectionFestival di San Remo 2019Festival di San Remo 2022 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv2022 Turin SongBrividi (with Blanco, 2022)Soldi (2019) Biography Mahmood is an Italian singer-songwriter from Milan. He was born to a Sardinian mother and an Egyptian father. His stage name Mahmood is a play on words between the surname (Mahmoud) and the English expression my mood (my mood). After graduating from high school, he studied at the CPM Music Institute-Centro Professione Musica in Milan, where he met Andrea Rodini, his teacher and first manager, and Francesco Fugazza, Elia Pastori and Marcello Grilli, members of his band and first producers. In 2012 he took part in the talent show X Factor. After the X Factor, he begins to write and produce his songs. In 2013 he published the EP Fallin ‘Rain, containing five versions of the song. In 2015 he took part in Area Sanremo, winning the first prize and the right to participate in the Sanremo Festival 2016 in the Nuove Proposti category with the song “Dimentica”. Meanwhile, he published an English-language single, “The Chair”, in collaboration with Martha. In 2017 he published the single “Pesos”, with which he participated in the Summer Festival 2017. In the same year, he collaborated with Michele Bravi, writing and singing a duet “Presi Male”. He also wrote songs for other artists. In September 2018 his EP “Gioventù bruciata” was released. A victory in Sanremo Giovani allows Mahmood to participate in the Sanremo Festival 2019 with the song “Soldi”. He was the surprise winner of the festival. Following the victory, the song reached the top of the Italian charts, where it remained for six weeks. Because of his victory in Sanremo, Mahmood became first choice to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest. He said yes, but later started to doubt about it. After a Twitterstorm, he decided to do it, and became 2nd in Tel Aviv with “Soldi”. In 2020, Mahmood wrote a song for Elodie, which she sang at the Sanremo festival. A year later, he wrote songs for Francesca Michelin and for Fedez. Also in 2021, he was finally able to release his second album “Ghettolimpo”. In 2022 he participated in the festival of Sanremo again, now in duet with Blanco. They won the prize. They represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song “Brividi”. Entries Brividi (with Blanco) Country Italy Year2022 LanguageItalian LyricsAlessandro MahmoodRiccardo ‘Blanco’ FabbriconiMichele ‘Michelangelo’ Zocca MusicAlessandro MahmoodRiccardo ‘Blanco’ FabbriconiMichele ‘Michelangelo’ Zocca BackingsMichelangelo Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 268Position: 6 Running order: 9 https://youtu.be/blEy4xHuMbY Soldi Country Italy Year2019 LanguageItalian LyricsAlessandro Mahmoud MusicCharlie CharlesDario ‘Dardust’ FainiAlessandro Mahmoud Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 472Position: 2Running order: 22 https://youtu.be/M-aoyPa41Ic

Bilal Hassani

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameBilal Hassani Born09 September 1999 Nationality???????? French National SelectionDestination Eurovision 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongRoi (2019) Biography Bilal Hassani is a singer-songwriter and public personality of French social networks, born September 9, 1999 in Orsay, into a Moroccan family. In 2015, he participated in the second season of The Voice Kids, appearing at blind auditions interpreting Rise Like a Phoenix by Conchita Wurst, whom he says he admires. He then joined the team of Patrick Fiori. Bilal Hassani participated in Destination Eurovision, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The piece he presents, written with the duo Madame Monsieur, was called “Roi” and deals with self-acceptance. In the grand final, Hassani became 16th. From December 2018, he was the victim of cyberbullying and received death threats, being the object of racist, sexist and homophobic attacks for his homosexuality and his androgynous or feminine appearance. This hatred increased enormously from his selection to represent France at Eurovision 2019. Bilal Hassani released his first album, “Kingdom”, containing the singles “Roi”, “Jaloux” and “Fais Belec”k, on April 26, 2019. In October 2019, he released a song and a clip entitled “Monarchie absolue”, in duet with rapper Alkpote. Also in October 2019, Bilal Hassani released the reissue of his “Kingdom” album, including 6 new songs. He then continues with a French tour: the Kingdom Tour. A month later, he unveiled his second album, “Contre soirée”, including the singles “Fais le vide”, “Dead Bae” and “Tom”. In May 21, 2021, he released the single “Lights Off”, accompanied by a videoclip. The song was followed by a new single, “Baby”. In 2022, Bilal Hassani released a new song called “Il ou elle”, on his own label House of Hassani. Entries Roi Country???????? France Year2019 LanguageFrenchEnglish LyricsÉmilie SattJean-Karl Lucas MusicÉmilie SattJean-Karl Lucas BackingsÉmilie SattBrice PihanUlrich KwasiLizzy HowellLin Ching Lan Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 105Position: 16Running order: 21 https://youtu.be/AjZNbIQtWvw

Chingiz Mustafayev

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameÇingiz Mustafayev Born11 March 1991 Nationality???????? Azerbaijani National SelectionInternal Selection 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongTruth (2019) Biography Chingiz Mustafayev (born in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR) is an Azerbaijani singer. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, his family moved to their homeland, Gazakh. Chingiz’ young love for Spanish music inspired him to play the guitar. Chingiz Mustafayev took part in the Eurovision national selection in 2011. In 2013, he represented Azerbaijan at the New Wave competition in Jurmala. Chingiz, who took a stage with Polina Gagarina during the competition, finished 11th. In 2016, he participated in the Ukrainian voting contest Holos Krainy. After suspending his participation in the competition, Chingiz began to perform with the group Palmas, which he founded. They mainly perform Azerbaijani national music mixed with flamenco, rock and pop music. On March 8, 2019, it was announced that Chingiz Mustafayev would represent Azerbaijan at Eurovision 2019 in Tel Aviv with the song “Truth”. He reached the final and became 8th. Chingiz did not continue singing in English however, but released a couple of singles in the Azerbaijani language. In 2021 he released the single “Gülzar istərəm (Məhəmməd Füzuli)”, an ode to the famous Azerbaijani poet and writer. Entries Truth Country???????? Azerbaijan Year2019 LanguageEnglish LyricsBorislav MilanovTrey CampbellPablo DineroHostessJoacim Persson MusicBorislav MilanovTrey CampbellPablo DineroHostessJoacim Persson BackingsSara Lauinger-LarssonPatrik Jean OlssonCedrik HammarPernille LeelooPeter Simpson Results Semi Points: 224Position: 5Running order: 18 Results Finals Points: 302Position: 8Running order: 20 https://youtu.be/D6vvuCiHwSs

Zena

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameZinaida Kupriyanovich Born17 February 2002 Nationality???????? Belarusian National SelectionNationalny Otbor 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongLike it (2019) Biography Zena is a Belarusian singer, actress, and television presenter. She was born in Minsk. When she was only six years old, she joined the ensemble “Zaranak” of the National Center for Musical Arts. After four years, she left Zaranak and joined the Children’s Music School in Minsk. Since 2013, she has been an artist at the Super Puper Production Center. Also in 2013, she entered the finals of the Detskaya Novaya volna contest. After a successful performance, Russian producer Igor Krutoy invited Zina to several of his projects. Already in December 2013, Zina performed with the group 5sta Family. Zina became a member of the Novaya Volna choir led by Igor Krutoy. In 2014, she won the 1st prize at the Slavic Bazaar children’s contest and she won the radio contest Young Talents of Belarus. Her debut single “Navstrechu vetru” was released in the same year. In 2015, she took part in the national selection of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. In 2016, Alyona Lanskaya and Anastasia Tihanovich invited Zina to their tour. A year later she participated in the final of the national selection of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for a second time. She voiced the main character of The Walt Disney’s animated film “Moana”, and also performed in the musical show “The Magic World of Disney”, in the Moscow concert hall. In December 2016, she won the “Vocal Pop” nomination of the radio contest “Young Talents of Belarus”. A month later, she released her debut album “Cosmos”. A year later, she participated in the musical reality show Novaya Fabrika zvozd on MUZ TV channel. In 2018, the full-length computer animated film “Ralph Against the Internet” was released, in which Zina Kupriyanovich voiced Moana. She was one of the hosts of the International Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018. In 2019, she represented Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Like it”, reached the final and became 19th there. In 2021, it was time for Zina to release her first album, by the title “Na grani”. It contained the singles “Na grani”, “Slightly” and “Karavenna”. Also in 2021, Zina voiced the role of Emily in the animation movie “Sunny bunnies: the cinema express”. Entries Like It Country???????? Belarus Year2019 LanguageEnglish LyricsYulia Kireyeva MusicYulia KireyevaViktor Drobysh BackingsRadmira MantulinySofiya MantulinyOlga DorozheyAli GudievMike Isaev Results Semi Points: 122Position: 10Running order: 8 Results Finals Points: 31Position: 24Running order: 19 https://youtu.be/C1Y9LBusHzA

Victor Crone

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameVictor Fritz Crone Born31 January 1992 Nationality???????? Swedish National SelectionMelodifestivalen 2020Eesti Laul 2019Melodifestivalen 2015 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongStorm (2019) Biography Victor Fritz-Crone, born January 31, 1992 in Österåker municipality, is a Swedish singer and guitarist. He started his career as Vic Heart. In 2014, he released his debut single “Jimmy Dean”, followed a year later by “Burning man”, now under his own name. He first became noticed by participating, together with Behrang Miri in Melodifestivalen 2015, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Det rår vi ikke för”. Behrang and Victor reached the 2nd Chance round but not the final. After Melodifestivalen Crone released several singles. In 2018, he teamed up with producers Tungevaag and Raaban for the single “Coming up”. The song reached the charts in Estonia. No surprise that Victor Crone took part in Eesti Laul, the Estonian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. He won and thus represented Estonia in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Storm”. He finished in 18th place in the final. In February 2020, his debut album “Troubled waters” was released. The song with the same name became Victor’s entry for Melodifestivalen 2020. In the final of Melodifestivalen, Victor reached a 9th place. “Troubled waters” became a hit in Sweden. After this, Victor released a lot of singles. In 2022, he teamed up with Norwegian producer K-391 for the single “Lonely world”. Entries Storm Country???????? Estonia Year2019 LanguageEnglish LyricsStig RästaVictor CroneFred Krieger MusicStig RästaVallo KikasVictor CroneSebastian Lestapier BackingsKaido PõldmaDagmar OjaStig RästaKaire VilgatsLars Säfsund Results Semi Points: 198Position: 4Running order: 14 Results Finals Points: 76Position: 20Running order: 18 https://youtu.be/PppvSl3_W4E

Hatari

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts MembersKlemens HanniganMatthías HaraldssonEinar Stefánsson Founded2015 Nationality???????? Iceland National SelectionSöngvakeppnin 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongHatrið mun sigra Biography Hatari is an Icelandic techno, industrial and punk rock band from Reykjavík. Their public image incorporates elements of anti-capitalism and BDSM-inspired attire. Hatari was founded in 2015 by Klemens Hannigan and Matthías Haraldsson. Einar Stefánsson joined later. Their first public appearance was at the Iceland Airwaves Festival in 2016, where they also performed two years later. They released their first EP “Neysluvara” in 2017. At Easter 2018, the band organized an event, which they called the Doomsday Festival. In December 2018 they released their third single “Spillingardans”. At the same time as the song was released, they announced the end of Hatari because they had not achieved their goal of overthrowing capitalism. However, the band did not end at all.In 2019, they won Söngvakepnnin, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Hatrið mun sigra”. After their victory in Iceland, they said in interviews that they wanted to use the participation to protest against Israeli politics. The band qualified for the final on may 16. When the hosts announced the points to the band from the audience, they showed banners with the Palestinian flag to protest against the Israeli occupation and the ongoing state of war. However, this political message violated the rule of political neutrality. The EBU announced that it would investigate the procedure in more detail. In the end, the Icelandic TV station RÚV, was sentenced by the EBU to pay a fine of €5,000.After Eurovision, the band released a music video for the song “Klefi / Samed”, which was shot in Jericho. The song was a collaboration with the Palestinian musician Bashar Murad. Hatari´s debut album “Neyslutrans” was released in early 2020, when their Europe Will Crumble tour started. Unfortunately, due to COVID19, they had to quit the tour. In 2021, they had a new tour, Dance or Die. Entries Hatrið Mun Sigra Country???????? Iceland Year2019 LanguageIcelandic LyricsEinar StefánssonKlemens HanniganMatthías Haraldsson MusicEinar StefánssonKlemens HanniganMatthías Haraldsson BackingsÁstrós GuðjónsdóttirSólbjört SigurðardóttirSigurður Andrean Sigurgeirsson Results Semi Points: 221Position: 3Running order: 13 Results Finals Points: 232Position: 10Running order: 17 https://youtu.be/kTb69WkBbvs

Michael Rice

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameMichael Rice Born25 Oktober 1997 Nationality???????? British National SelectionEurovision: You Decide 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongBigger than us (2019) Biography Michael Rice is a British singer, born in Hartlepool. He appeared in the eleventh series of The X Factor in 2014. In the X Factor series he reached the boot camp stage. Two years later, he featured in the Maison & Dragen single “I won’t stumble back”. Rice earned his money by singing in the streets. However, when a Youtube video of Rice went viral, it lead to his participation in the first series of BBC One’s singing competition All Together Now in 2018. He won the competition. In 2019, he took part in Eurovision: You Decide, the British national competition for the Eurovision Song Contest. He won and thus represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest. His Eurovision song “Bigger than us” was co-written by the Swedish contestant John Lundvik. Maybe that is the reason why he did not only reach the UK Charts (#25) but also the Swedish top-10 with the song. After the Eurovision Song Contest, Rice visited several countries to perform there, like Sweden, The Netherlands and Switzerland. He released several singles in 2020 and 2021, among others a cooperation with HalfTraxx, “Falling for you”. Entries Bigger Than Us Country???????? United Kingdom Year2019 LanguageEnglish LyricsLaurell BarkerAnna-Klara FolinJohn LundvikJonas Tander MusicLaurell BarkerAnna-Klara FolinJohn LundvikJonas Tander BackingsAnna SahlinMelanie WehbeLinda PritchardDesta WilsonChin Simon Results Semi Points: – Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 11Position: 26Running order: 16 https://youtu.be/HV-eOhTS8Dw

KEiiNO

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts MembersAlexandra RotanFred-René BuljoTom Hugo Hermansen Founded2018 Nationality???????? Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2021Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongSpirit In The Sky (2019) Biography KEiiNO is a Norwegian music group. The band was founded in the late summer of 2018 when Tom Hugo Hermansen and his husband Alex Olsson began writing “Spirit in the Sky”, a song inspired by historical struggles for equality. On the team they got the Sami rapper and songwriter Fred Buljo and the singer Alexandra Rotan. The band name KEiiNO is inspired by the last part of Buljo’s hometown Kautokeino (Northern Sami: Guovdageaidnu). The last part «geaidnu» is Northern Sami for road. The group was one of ten participants in the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix on Saturday 2 March 2019. They won the contest with “Spirit in the Sky” and represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest. In the grand final, Norway became number six after receiving the most televotesvotes. The group also won the televote in the semifinals. The week after the international final, “Spirit in the Sky” topped the Norwegian charts, as well as charts in several European countries. Following the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, KEiiNO released several versions of “Spirit in the Sky”: an expanded club mix, an acoustic version and an instrumental version. On April 26, 2019, the group released their second single, “Shallow”. Later in 2019, the group released their third single, “Praying”, which is about fear of death. In January 2020, the single “Colors” was released. In June 2019, the Sami Parliament appointed the group ambassadors for the UN Year of Indigenous Languages. The group was nominated for a Spellemannprisen 2019 for «song of the year». They also won two awards at the Sami Music Awards in open class and producer of the year. After the Eurovision Song Contest, the group announced that they were planning a concept album with indigenous languages from around the world. The album was named OKTA (Northern Sami for one) and was released on May 8, 2020. After releasing several singles and the album OKTA, the “Spirit in the Sky” songwriters sat down and wrote the song “Monument” in the summer of 2020. In the autumn of 2020, “Monument” was selected by NRK to participate in the final of the Melodi Grand Prix 2021. In the Norwegian final, it finished in second place. The song became a hit in the Norwegian charts. In 2022, the group released two non-album singles, “On a night like this” and “Mother of the night”. Entries Spirit in the Sky Country???????? Norway Year2019 LanguageEnglishSami LyricsTom Hugo HermansenFred-René BuljoAlexandra RotanAlexander N. Olsson MusicTom Hugo HermansenFred-René BuljoHenrik TalaRüdiger Schramm BackingsMarianne PenthaFrode VasselKine Ludvigsen Fossheim Results Semi Points: 210Position: 7Running order: 15 Results Finals Points: 331Position: 6Running order: 15 https://youtu.be/Ovt7YGHAj8I

Kobi Marimi

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameYa’akov Marimi Born08 October 1991 Nationality???????? Israeli National SelectionHaKokhav HaBa 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv Song2019 Home Biography Kobi (Yaakov) Marimi is an Israeli singer and actor. Marimi was born, raised and educated in Ramat Gan. In his youth he studied at Ohel Shem High School, majoring in theater. He began singing from the age of 13. When he was in high school he was a rejected child, when his overweight problem significantly affected his life. Prior to his enlistment in the Israel Defence Forces, he was not accepted into a military troupe and later, after passing the first stage of the entrance exams for the IDF Theater, he chose not to continue with the admission process. After his release from the IDF, he lost 50 kilograms, and began studying at the Nissan Nativ acting studio. After graduating, he starred in the play “Every living thing needs”, and appeared in the role of Natan the Gazan in the musical “Messiah Now” in the Musical Festival 2017 in Bat Yam. For this role he won the Promising Actor award at the same festival. In June 2018, Marimi participated in a children’s musical. Marimi participated in the sixth season of the reality show HaKokhav HaBa L’Eurovision. In the final he reached first place. Following the victory he represented Israel at the 2019 Eurovision in Tel Aviv. During the show he said that he suffers from audience fear, both as an actor and as a singer. On February 20, 2019, the song “Home”, was chosen as his Eurovision song. Kobi ended up 23rd out of 26 participants in the final. About two weeks after the Eurovision final, Marimi began rehearsing for the play Spring Awakening, which premiered in August 2019 at the Habima National Theater. On September 12, Marimi’s debut single called “Yalla Bye” was released. It topped the Israeli charts. On January 26, 2020, he released the song “Lo levad”. In 2021, he released the first single from a forthcoming debut album, “Yotze mize”. On March 22, 2022, he released the song “Shot dakavt”. Entries Home Country???????? Israel Year2019 LanguageEnglish LyricsOhad ShragaiInbar Wizman MusicOhad ShragaiInbar Wizman BackingsOfree IsraeliYossi MarkLera AxelrodLiron Nathan LevoMaayan Bukris Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 35Position: 23Running order: 14 https://youtu.be/uCdS42uCqP0