2020

The Mamas

© Arkland, Wikimedia Commons About Quick Facts MembersAshley HaynesLoulou LamotteDina Yonas Manna Founded2019 Nationality🇸🇪 Swedish🇺🇸 American National SelectionMelodifestivalen 2020Melodifestivalen 2021 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongMove (2020, cancelled) Biography The Mamas are a Swedish-American music group with soul / gospel style. The Mamas were formed in 2019 by Paris Renita (choral singer originally from the US with Swedish career) as a quartet after John Lundvik asked her to find singers with good voices who could support him in his contributions. The other singers are Ash (Ashley) Haynes (born 19 January 1987 in Washington DC), Loulou Lamotte (born 16 April 1981 in Malmö) and Dinah Yonas Manna (born 5 September 1981 in Stockholm). Previously, Lamotte has performed in Melodifestivalen as a backing vocal for Behrang Miri 2013 and Yonas Manna backed Jonas Gardell in 2018. Loulou Lamotte competed in Idol 2008 and Paris in the Baltic Song Contest in 1995. The group supported John Lundvik in Melodifestivalen 2019 and the Eurovision Song Contest in the same year. After the Eurovision Song Contest, Paris left the group and they went on as a trio. They were chosen to represent Sweden in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Move”, but due to the cancellation of the contest that didn’t happen. In september of the same year, their debut album “Tomorrow is waiting” was released. The Mamas released several singles and a christmas album. The latter contained even two hits: “A christmas night to remember” and “Shine a light”. SVT chose not to place The Mamas directly for the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. Instead, they participated in Melodifestivalen again. This time, they reached a 4th place with the song “In the middle”. In november of the same year, The Mamas released a new album: “Won’t let the sun go down”. Entries Move Country🇸🇪 Sweden Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsHerman GardafveMelanie WehbePatrik Jean MusicHerman GardafveMelanie WehbePatrik Jean Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/7EpSBDPlZn4

Lesley Roy

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameLesley Roy Born17 september 1986 Nationality🇮🇪 Irish National SelectionInternal Selection In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (Cancelled) SongMaps (2021)Story of my life (2020) Biography Lesley Roy is an Irish singer, born in Balbriggan, Dublin. She first signed a record deal in 2006, which resulted in an album “Unbeautiful” in 2008. The first single “I’m gone, i’m going” became an international hit with chart successes in the UK, the USA, Germany and Norway. The follow up single “Unbeautiful” became an international success as well. Both songs were part of the American Reality TV Series The Hills. Another song on the album, “Slow goodbyes”, was co-written by Katy Perry. After her first album, Lesley started to write songs for others. She wrote songs for Adam Lambert, Ashlyne Huff, Jana Kramer, Marlee Scott, the Dutch singer Miss Montreal and the Danish singer Medina.In 2016, Lesley Roy released a couple of singles, but unfortunately they didn’t reach the charts. In 2020 she was chosen to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Story of my life”. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, due to the cancellation of the contest. She was invited again to represent Ireland in 2021, which she did with the song “Maps”. The follow up for “Maps” was the song “I’ll be fine”. Also in 2021, she also opened for Boyzlife on their tour. Entries Maps Country🇮🇪 Ireland Year2021 LanguageEnglish Lyrics & MusicLesley RoyLukas HällgrenPhilip StrandNormandieDeependEmelie Eriksson BackingsEmelie ErikssonPhilip Strand BackingsMalin VängeliinIngrid Vagle Results Semi Points: 20Position: 16Running order: 7 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/FY2rxbZNvZ0 Story of my life Country🇮🇪 Ireland Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsLesley RoyRobert MarvinCatt Gravitt ComposersLesley RoyRobert MarvinCatt GravittTom Shapiro Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLgE0Ayl5Hc

Gjon’s Tears

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameGjon Muharremaj Born29 june 1998 Nationality🇨🇭 Swiss National SelectionInternal Selection In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (Cancelled) SongTout l’univers (2021)Répondez-moi (2020) Biography Gjon’s Tears, real name Gjon Muharremaj, is a Swiss singer of Kosovar origin. His stage name Gjon’s Tears is based on a childhood experience: When he was nine, he moved his grandfather to tears with a performance of Elvis Presley’s “Help Falling in Love”. It was his grandfather who registered him for Albania’s Got Talent in 2011, where he finished third. The following year, Gjon’s Tears participated in Die grössten Schweizer Talente. He also took part in the French version of The Voice. In 2020, he was supposed represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Répondez-moi”. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the contest, that didn’t happen. Swiss TV has now invited him to be the 2021 contestant. His song, “Tout l’univers”, became the winner of the expert jury. Overall, Gjon became 3rd. Also in 2021, Gjon’s Tears featured in a song of Arilena Ara, with the title “Dance me”. He won an MTV Europe Music Award for best Swiss song. At the end of 2021 he participated in The Voice All Stars France. In 2022, his song “Silhouette” became a huge hit in Albania. Entries Tout l’univers Country🇨🇭 Switzerland Year2021 LanguageFrench Lyrics & MusixGjon MuharremajWouter HardyNina Sampermans MusicGjon MuharremajWouter HardyNina SampermansXavier Michel Backings– Results Semi Points: 291Position: 1 Running order: 16 Results Finals Points: 432Position: 3Running order: 14 https://youtu.be/jznH_fltcYA Répondez-moi Country Switzerland Year2021 LanguageFrench Lyrics & MusicGjon MuharremajXavier MichelAlizé OswaldJeroen Swinnen Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/O9GAfFHZE-E

Hurricane

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts Group membersSanja VučićIvana NikolićKsenija Knežević Founded2017 Nationality🇷🇸 Serbian National SelectionBeovizija 2020 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongLoco Loco (2021)Hasta la Vista (2020) Biography Hurricane, also known as Hurricane Girls, is a Serbian R&B-pop girl group founded by Zoran Milinković in November 2017. It consists of three members: Sanja Vučić , Ivana Nikolic and Ksenija Knežević. The girls sing mostly in English; so far they have only released two songs in their native language Serbian. Hurricane aims to become recognized globally; they have collaborated with Hollywood producer Stephen Belafonte. They released a total of 18 singles so far. In 2020 they were supposed to represent Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen due to the corona crisis. One year later, they were asked again by Serbian television to represent their country. For that cause, they had a song called “Loco loco”. In may 2022 it was announced that Hurricane with the Eurovision line up was going to stop. A search for new members was announced. The members are:Sanja Vučić – lead vocalVucic is from a musical family. She has contributed in ethno and jazz bands as well as in church choirs. She was a member of the ZAA band for five years; she represented Serbia at the in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest.Ivana Nikolić – standard vocalNikolić is known to the world of modern dance and music. She first appeared on stage in the Belgrade arena with Yugoslav stars in the ’90s. She collaborated with Jala Brat on his single “Young and Crazy”.Ksenija Knežević – Standard VocalKnežević also comes from a musical family: her father is the popular Montenegrin singer Knez. She competed at children’s festivals as a youngster, and at Beovizija with her song “Magi” when she was a high school student. She was part of Sevdah Baby before joining Hurricane. Entries Loco Loco Country🇷🇸 Serbia Year2021 LanguageSerbian LyricsSanja Vučić MusicNemanja AntonićDarko Dimitrov BackingsJelena PajićOlga Popović-VulovićMladen Lukić Results Semi Points: 124Position: 8Running order: 9 Results Finals Points: 102Position: 15Running order: 8 https://youtu.be/Q1lkpIqf7a4 Hasta la vista Country🇷🇸 Serbia Year2020 LanguageSerbian LyricsKosana StojićSanja Vučić MusicNemanja Antonić Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/7fqZevYLUMs

Little Big

About Quick Facts MembersIlya (Ilyich) PrusikinSergey (Gokk) MakarovSophia TayurskayaAnton Lissov Born2013 Nationality🇷🇺 Russian National SelectionInternal selection 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongUno (2020, cancelled) Biography The group first announced itself on April 1, 2013, releasing the clip “Every Day I’m Drinking” on YouTube. Soon after this, the band had its first public appearance: they opened for the band Die Antwoord. The first album of the band “With Russia From Love” was released in 2014.In 2015, a video for the song “Give Me Your Money” was released in cooperation with the Estonian artist Tommy Cash. In december 2015, the band released their second album, “Funeral Rave”. It took the 8th place in the Russian iTunes chart. In 2016, the band’s video clipsfeatured at the Berlin Music Video Awards 2016. “Big Dick” got the award in the Most Trashy category, and “Give Me Your Money” was one of the nominees for Best Performer. The “Big Dick” clip overcame 35 million views.In 2017, the group released the single “Rave On”, followed by the track “Nightlife”. The latter wasrecorded in collaboration with the German electronic band Eskimo Callboy. In February 2018, the video clip of their song “LollyBomb” won the Best Music Video nomination at the Global Los Angeles Film Festival. On April 1, 2018, one of the vocalists, Olympia Ivleva, announced her resignation from the band. On May 8, 2018, the group released the first part of the album “Antipositive” and the clip “Punks Not Dead” , on October 5 – “Antipositve, part 2” and the new clip “Skibidi”. In December 2018, the group released the clip “Boys Slam” together with Sergey Zhukov. In February 2019, the single “Skibidi” received platinum status. Later, the album with the same name was released.In 2020, Little Big was supposed to represent Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam with the song “Uno”. To perform at the competition, Yuri Muzychenko and Florida Chanturia joined the concert line-up as session backing vocalists. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the contest, the group did not participate. In 2021, the band members said they didn’t want to perform at Eurovision in order to “Not compete with themselves”. The musicians also added that there are enough talented performers in the country, each of them should have the opportunity to show themselves abroad. In September 2021, Little Big released a four-track collaborative mini-album with American singer Oliver Tree, “Welcome to the Internet”, as well as videos for the title track and the song “Turn It Up”, which featured Estonian rapper Tommy Cash. In 2022, the band plans to release a fourth studio album. However, the last thing Little Big posted on Instagram was a statement containing the words “No war”, posted on 24 February 2022, the day of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Entries Uno Country🇷🇺 Russia Year2022 LanguageEnglishSpanish LyricsLittle Big MusicLittle Big Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/L_dWvTCdDQ4

Uku Suviste

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameUku Suviste Born06 June 1982 Nationality🇪🇪 Estonian National SelectionEesti Laul 2017Eesti Laul 2019Eesti Laul 2020Eesti Laul 2021 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongThe lucky one (2021)What love is (2020, cancelled) Biography Uku Suviste is an Estonian singer, pianist, songwriter and music producer. He was born in Võru. He has sung in the Tallinn Boys ‘Choir and the Lydia Rahula School Boys’ Choir. When Uku joined the Tallinn Music School, he followed solfeggio lessons and piano. He graduated from the music school in 1997. He studied pop-jazz singing at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School in 2002. Uku participated in the Uno Naissoo Young Composers’ Contest more than once. In 2004, his song “Never Have To” was awarded the Uno Naissoo Special Prize. A year later, he took part in the same competition with the six-voice a cappella vocal ensemble Sõbrad, They became second. Also in 2005, Uku took part in the show Kaks takti ette, where he became 3rd. After this, he worked as a producer at the Elmar Liitmaa Rockhouse Music Studio. By the end of the year, his first single “It’s christmas time” was released. In 2006, he has completed a year and a half in singing and music production at Berklee College of Music in the United States. Uku was the second vocal soloist and keyboard player in the band Lament, which deals with R&B and disco music of the 1980s. In 2008, he returned to the Naissoo Young Composers’ Contest and won it with the song “Refreshing”. In November 2008, the album “Beautiful Tim”e was released in collaboration with Birgit Õigemeel. Uku’s main activity was arranging songs, and the album featured several duets between Birgit and Uku. In 2010, Uku Suviste participated in the international song contest “New Wave” in Jūrmala. Uku, who represented Estonia, reached the 3rd place. In 2011, he was supposed to participate in Eesti Laul, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. However, he was disqualified because the song “Jagatud öö” was already used for other purposes in 2004. In 2012, he co-wrote the music video “Invincible” with Estonian Defense Forces and UNICEF for Estonian and foreign soldiers participating in missions and their families. Uku has performed in musicals such as “Oliver Twist”, “Chicago” and “West Side Story”. In 2017, he took part in Eesti Laul but did not reach the final. He had more luck in 2019 with the song “Pretty little liar”, which was the runner up. In 2020, he was chosen to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “What love is”. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen due to the corona crisis. However, in 2021 he won Eesti Laul again, this time with the song “The lucky one”. He went on to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam. Entries The lucky one Country🇪🇪 Estonia Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsSharon VaughnUku Suviste MusicUku Suviste BackingsKaarel Orumägi Results Semi Points: 58Position: 13Running order: 2 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/mhMZQyv_Fhw What love is Country🇪🇪 Estonia Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsSharon Vaughn MusicUku Suviste Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/3EIQ6U039ms

Daði & Gagnamagnið

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts Group membersDaði Freyr PéturssonÁrný Fjóla ÁsmundsdóttirSigrún Birna PétursdóttirHulda Kristín KolbrúnardóttirStefán HannessonJóhann Sigurður Jóhannsson Established2017 Nationality🇮🇸 Icelandic National SelectionSöngvakeppnin 2017, 2020 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) Song10 years (2021)Think about things (2020) Biography Daði Freyr Pétursson (born in 1992) is an Icelandic musician living in Berlin, Germany. Daði was born in Reykjavík but grew up in Denmark until the age of nine, when his family moved to Iceland. He began his musical career with the Orchestra of Few. Later he joined a band called RetRoBot. They released one album, “Blackout”, a year later.In 2014, Daði Freyr moved to Berlin where he began recording. He started playing under the name Mixophrygian and a year later he released the album “Forever”.In 2017, Daði participated in Söngvakeppnin, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Hvað með það?” (“Is This Love?”), which he performed with his wife Árnýja Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir and the band Gagnamagnið. They reached the secont place. Daði Freyr and his band Gagnamagnið were chosen to represent Iceland in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Think about things”. Unfortunately, due to the corona crisis, that didn’t happen. Daði was asked to do the job again in 2021 and wrote the song “10 years” for the occasion. Unfortunately, due to a corona infection of one of the band members, they couldn’t perform live on stage during the contest. However, a video of one of the rehearsals was shown, so they could participate anyway. Iceland became 4th. Entries 10 years Country Iceland Year2021 LanguageEnglish Lyrics and musicDaði Freyr Backings– Results Semi Points: 288Position: 2Running order: 8 Results Finals Points: 378Position: 4Running order: 12 https://youtu.be/YSMhu-PrLME Think about things Country🇮🇸 Iceland Year2020 LanguageEnglish Lyrics and musicDaði Freyr Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/1HU7ocv3S2o

Efendi

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameSamirə Əfəndiyeva Born17 april 1991 Nationality🇦🇿 Azerbaijani National SelectionBöyuk Sehne 2014Internal Selection 2020, 2021 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (Cancelled) SongMata Hari (2021)Cleopatra (2020) Biography Samira Efendi is an Azerbaijani singer, born in Baku. Since 1994, she had been a soloist of the Children’s Philharmonic under the direction of Ogtay Zulfugarov. In 2001 he entered the children’s music school in Baku, and in 2006 she graduated. In 2006, she entered the Asaph Zeynalli College of Music within the National Conservatory. Three years later, she took part in the talent show Yeni Ulduz. In 2014, she was a finalist in talent show Böyuk Sehne. As a soloist she participated in the BakuProject. She also participated in the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2015, she participated n a concert program dedicated to the European Games in Azerbaijan. She reached the final of The Voice of Azerbaijan in 2016. In the same year she participated in the Belarusian Youth Festival in Shamkir. She successfully represented Azerbaijan at the International Jazz Festival in Alanya, Turkey and gave a solo concert at the Yarat Contemporary Art Center. She performed at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Azerbaijan Volleyball Championship. In 2016, she sang a song called “Sürət”, compiled by Tunzale Agaeva for Formula 1. In 2017, she changed her performance name into Samira Efendi. In Baku she sang “Hello Baki” for the Islamic Solidarity Games. In 2017, a a song and video “Ya Tantsuyu / Dance” was released in Ukraine. She travelded to Bucharest, Romania, for another project. It became the song “Tocame”, a duet with Seeya. In the same year, she represented Azerbaijan in the SilkWayStar contest in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In 2018, she gave a concert in Moscow.In 2020, Samira Efendi was chosen to represent Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, due to the cancellation of the contest. Azerbaijani tv announced her as the 2021 Eurovision representative. She sang the song “Mata Hari” in the contest. The song caught attention of the mayor of Leeuwarden and the commisioner of the King in Friesland, where Mata Hari originates from. They gave a voting advice in favour of Azerbaijan. Her alleged blossoming love with the Norwegian contestant TIX also attracted a lot of attention. In may 2022, Efendi released a new song called “Being a woman”. Entries Mata Hari Country🇦🇿 Azerbaijan Year2021 LanguageEnglish Lyrics and musicAmy van der WelLuuk van BeersTony CornelissenJosh Earl DancersVeronika VolosovaAlexandra GolosnichenkoAdeline DeliAlina Lee Results Semi Points: 138Position: 8Running order: 14 Results Finals Points: 65Position: 20Running order: 21 https://youtu.be/FTQ22S5YC7Q Cleopatra Country Azerbaijan Year2021 LanguageEnglish Lyrics and musicLuuk van BeersAlan Roy ScottSarah Lake ComposersLuuk van BeersAlan Roy ScottSarah Lake Backing Vocals– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0VzBCvO1Wk

Damir Kedžo

About Quick Facts NameDamir Kedžo Born24 May 1987 Nationality🇭🇷 Croatian National SelectionDora 2005Dora 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongDivlji vjetre (2020, cancelled) Biography Damir Kedžo is a Croatian singer, born in Omišalj. When he was 16, Damir took part in a talent show called Story Supernova Super Talents, a Croatian version of Idol. In 2004, he joined the boyband Saša, Tin i Kedžo, with two other participants of Story Supernova. They released an album and took part in DORA 2005, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. Later in 2005, they split up. As a solo singer, Damir took part in the song contest Melodije Istre i Kvarnera. In 2008 he released an album called Damir Kedžo”. In and around 2010 he played roles in the musicals “Joseph and his technicolor dreamcoat” and “Crna kuća”. He won the song contest Slavianski Bazaar. In 2011, he took part in DORA again, now as a solo singer. One year later, he returned to Melodije Istre i Kvarnera and won the prize of the jury. In 2015, he won the New Wave Festival in Russia. Damir’s breakthrough in the charts came in 2017, when his duet with Zsa Zsa, “Sve u meni se budi”, reached the #1 spot in the Croatian charts. He reached the top-10 many other times and won ZagrebFest in 2019. In the same year, he had two other #1 hits: “Vidi se izdaleka” and “Poljubi me sad”. In 2020 he was chosen to represent Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Divlji vjetre”. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, due to the cancellation of the contest. In July 2020, Damir released his second album, “Poljubi me sad”, which reached the #1 spot in the Croatian charts. The song “Nedodirljiva” became a huge hit, followed by a song that was not on the album: “Sjeti se”. Entries Divlji vjetre Country🇭🇷 Croatia Year2020 LanguageCroatian LyricsAnte Pecotić MusicAnte Pecotić Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/2rOwScdxjJU

VAL

About Quick Facts MembersValeria GribusovaVladislav Pashkevich Founded2016 Nationality🇧🇾 Belarusian National SelectionNationalny Otbor 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongDa vidna (2020, cancelled) Biography VAL is a Belarusian duo that mainly produces music from the areas of house, R&B, pop and hip hop. The duet was founded in early 2016 by singer Valeria Gribusova and musician and music producer Vladislav Pashkevich. Since mid-2016, the project has been produced by the ToneTwins team, which also includes musician and producer Andrei Katikov, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. On May 1st, 2016 VAL released their first song “Kto ty yest”. In September 2016 the second single “Veter vo sne” was released, followed by a video of the song. The duo was supposed to represent Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song “Da vidna”. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the contest, it didn’t happen. After a statement of VAL, supporting the Belarusian opposition, Belarusian broadcaster BTRC said that VAL broke their contract concerning Eurovision, and thus would not be invited for the 2021 contest. In 2021, the duo released the song “Pauza” and a year later “Kalychanka z miesiačykam”. On april 1, 2021 Valeria and Vladislav got married. In march 2022, Valeria gave birth to a twin. Entries Da vidna Country🇧🇾 Belarus Year2020 LanguageBelarusian LyricsMikita Naidzenau MusicVladislav PashkevichValeria Grybusava Backings– Results Semi Points: – Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/F0wfxz5zq04