2020

Ben Dolic

About Quick Facts NameBenjamin Dolić Born04 may 1997 Nationality Slovenian National SelectionInternal In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (canceled) SongViolent Thing (2020, cancelled) Biography Ben Dolic (born May 4, 1997 as Benjamin Dolič in Ljubljana) is a Slovenian pop singer. Ben Dolic’s musical career began at the age of twelve when he took part in Slovenia’s Got Talent. He reached the semi-finals of the competition with his interpretation of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”. He sang in the boyband D Base, who released several singles in Slovenian. In 2016 they took part in the Slovenian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. After moving to Switzerland at the age of 18, Dolic now lives in Berlin. With his participation in The Voice of Germany 2018, Dolic became known to a wider audience. He became 2nd. Following this success, he went on tour in Germany and Austria. In 2020, Benjamin Dolic was supposed to represent Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Violent thing”. Due to the cancellation of the contest, it didn’t happen. In May 2021, he represented his country of birth, Slovenia, in the ProSieben Free European Song Contest with the song “Stuck In My Mind”. Entries Violent thing Country🇸🇮 Slovenia Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsBorislav MilanovPeter St. JamesDag Lundberg MusicBorislav MilanovPeter St. JamesDag LundbergJimmy ThorénConnor Martin Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/hAobDQ9GbT4

James Newman

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameJames Richard Newman Born19 October 1985 Nationality🇬🇧 British National SelectionInternal Selection In EurovisionRotterdam 2020 (Cancelled)Rotterdam 2021 SongMy Last Breath (2020)Embers (2021) Biography James Newman is a London-born British singer and songwriter. In 2014, he won a Brit Award for British Single of the Year as a co-writer for “Waiting all night”, a song performed by Rudimental. He also wrote for artists like Calvin Harris, Little Mix, Ed Sheeran, Foxes, Matoma, Digital Farm Animals, Daya and Louis Tomlison, while he was featured in several hits himself. The most successfull one was “Therapy” by Armin van Buuren. In 2017 he co-wrote the Irish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, “Dying to try” for Brendan Murray. In 2020 he was supposed to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “My last breath”. However, due to cancellation of the contest it didn’t happen. BBC however invited him to represent the UK in 2021 with the song “Embers”, which sadly did not receive any points at all at the Eurovision Song Contest. Entries Embers Country United Kingdom Year2021 LanguageEnglish Lyrics & MusicJames NewmanConor BlakeDanny ShahTom HollingsSamuel Brennan BackingsAnnabel Williams DancersIsrael DonowaShaun NilesYves CueniAlex Chambers Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 0Position: 26Running order: 9 https://youtu.be/VxNOynEJ6wc My last breath Country🇬🇧 United Kingdom Year2020 LanguageEnglish Lyrics & MusicJames NewmanAdam ArgyleEd DrewettIain James Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iS-lV909T4

Alicja Szemplińska

About Quick Facts NameAlicja Szemplińska Born29 April 2002 Nationality🇵🇱 Polish National SelectionSzansa Na Sukces 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (canceled) SongEmpire (2020, canceled) Biography Alicja Maria Szemplińska, performing as Alicja (born April 29, 2002 in Ciechanów) is a Polish singer, songwriter and composer. At the age of 12, Alicja enrolled in professional singing lessons. In 2016, she won the finals of the TVP1 entertainment program Hit, Hit, Hurra!, and was awarded an invitation to participate in singing classes with Seth Riggs. In 2019, she participated in The Voice of Poland. She reached the final, in which she won after gaining the most support of television viewers. She signed a record contract with Universal Music Polska. After participating in the program, she released a music video for her debut single “Prawie my”, which exceeded the threshold of 1 million views on YouTube within 10 days of its premiere. In January 2020, she took part in Szanwa Na Sukces and won this competition too. That gave her the ticket to the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song “Empires”. However, the contest was canceled on March 18 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Until the end of the year, she released a few more singles: “Gdzieś”, “Pusto”, “Kolęda dla nieobecnych” (in collaboration with Piotr Walicki) and “Na pamięć”. She made a guest appearance with the song “Empires” during the final of the 18th Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Warsaw. In April 2021 she released an acoustic version of the song “Pusto (#OnePerformeSession)”. Together with Walt Disney Records, she released the single “Każda z nas” and in October, Alicja released the single “Ej, stop!” She also sang a duet with Hodak, the song “Spójrz”. On May 6, 2022, she released the single “IDK” at the new record label Island Records Polska. Entries Empires Country🇵🇱 Poland Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsPatryk KumórDominic Buczkowski-WojtaszekLaurell BarkerFrazer Mac MusicPatryk KumórDominic Buczkowski-WojtaszekLaurell BarkerFrazer Mac Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/om91-RjTr8k

Ana Soklič

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameAna Soklič Born10 april 1984 Nationality🇸🇮 Slovene National SelectionInternal selection 2021EMA 2020EMA 2007EMA 2004 In EurovisionRotterdam 2021Rotterdam 2020 (Cancelled) SongAmen (2021)Voda (2020) Biography Ana Soklič is a Slovenian singer and songwriter. She was born in Bohinj in the North-western part of Slovenia. She was a member of the Slovenian rock band Diona Dimm. In 2004, she reached the EMA final with the song “If you”. This was also their debut single. Three years later, they participated in EMA again, this time with the song “Father/Oče” and with lesser succes: they did not reach the final. Diona Dimm went on performing until their record contract expired in 2011. Ana’s first solo concert was in Venice in 2014. Three years later she toured throughout Dubai, Naples and Monaco. Ana also worked together with the Harlem Gospel Choir. In 2019, she released a video called “Temni svet”. In 2020, she was supposed to represent Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Voda”. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the contest, it didn’t happen. However, Slovenian television RTVSLO chose her to do the job again in 2021 with the song “Amen”. Entries Amen Country🇸🇮 Slovenia Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsAna SokličCharlie MasonŽiga Pirnat ComposersAna SokličBojan SimonćičŽiga Pirnat BackingsKarin Zemljič Results Semi Points: 44Position: 13Running order: 2 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/J9jWDxKQ50s Voda Country🇸🇮 Slovenia Year2020 LanguageSlovenian LyricsAna Soklič ComposersAna SokličBojan SimonćičŽiga Pirnat Backings– Results Semi Points: – Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: – Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/weLeotNwexg

Go_A

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts MembersKateryna PavlenkoTaras ShevchenkoIhor DidenchukIvan Grigoryak Founded2012 Nationality🇺🇦 Ukrainian National SelectionEvrobachenye 2020 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (Cancelled) SongShum (2021)Solovey (2020) Biography Go_A (Ukrainian Gov_Ey) is a Ukrainian electro-folk band that combines Ukrainian authentic vocals, modern dance beats, African drums and powerful guitar drive. The group was founded by Taras Shevchenko. Go_A musicians come from different parts of Ukraine: Kateryna Pavlenko is from Nizhyn, Taras Shevchenko from Kiev, Igor Didenchuk from Lutsk and Ivan Grigoryak from Bukovina. All but Igor had played hard rock before. Kateryna Pavlenko also worked as a veteran choir director, while Taras Shevchenko had been in a rap group, Igor Didenchuk plays more than 30 instruments. Their first song “Kolyada”, was presented on social media in December 2012, soon after aired by one of the bigger radio stations. In November 2016, the debut album of the band “#Idynazvuk”, was released. In the same year, Go_A won the competition The Best Track in Ukraine. Their song “Vesnyanka” reached the #1 spot in the charts of radio station 10-Dance. The band was nominated for the Kiss FM Opening of the Year title. In early 2017, Go_A recorded the Christmas single “Shchedryy vechir” in collaboration with Katya Chilly. Go_A music hit the Top 10 in the iTunes Dance chart in Slovakia in the spring of 2019. In 2020, they were supposed to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Solovey”. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the contest, it didn’t happen. They were invited by Ukrainian tv to represent their country in 2021 and presented the song “Shum”. They reached a 2nd place in the final. After the Eurovision Song Contest, the band began actively touring Ukraine and European countries, giving concerts, in particular in Poland and Belgium. However, due to the Russian invasion in Ukraine, they couldn’t continue their European tour. In the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, Ihor Didenchuk represented Ukraine as a member of Kalush Orchestra and won the contest. Entries Shum Country Ukraine Year2021 LanguageUkrainian LyricsKateryna Pavlenko ComposersKateryna PavlenkoTaras ShevchenkoIhor Didenchuk DancersDmitriy SharipovVania Yurkiv Results Semi Points: 364Position: 5Running order: 19 Results Finals Points: 267Position: 2Running order: 15 https://youtu.be/lqvzDkgok_g Solovey Country Ukraine Year2021 LanguageUkrainian LyricsKateryna Pavlenko ComposersKateryna PavlenkoTaras Shevchenko Backing Vocals– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/zNetXPSld50

Ulrikke Brandstorp

About Quick Facts NameUlrikke Brandstorp Born13 July 1995 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2017Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongAttention (2020, cancelled) Biography Ulrikke Brandstorp is a Norwegian singer. She was born in Sarpsborg, a small village in the east of Norway. She has been practicing song and music since she was a child. She played in several local productions of Pippi Longstocking and Reisen til Julestjernen. She went on tour throughout Norway between 2011 and 2013 with the shows The Show Must Go On II and The Thrill of Michael Jackson. Ulrikke Brandstorp participated in the talent show Idol in 2013, and in The Voice. She was knocked out in the semi-finals. She participated in the Melodi Grand Prix 2017, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Places” and finished in fourth place. Brandstrop has since participated in the NRK competition Stjernekamp . In 2019, she played the role of Liesl, the oldest daughter of the Von Trapp family in the Sound of Music. In 2020, Ulrikke participated in the Melodi Grand Prix 2020 with the song “Attention” and so she was supposed to represent Norway in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the contest, that didn’t happen. In the autumn of 2020, NRK broadcasted Maskorama, a.k.a. The Masked Singer. She participated as ‘The troll” and won the competition. Entries Attention Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsChristian IngebritsenKjetil MørlandUlrikke Brandstorp MusicChristian IngebritsenKjetil MørlandUlrikke Brandstorp Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/o9atJbnqhJU

The Roop

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts MembersVaidotas ValiukevičiusRobertas BaranauskasMantas Banišauskas Established2014 Nationality🇱🇹 Lituanian National SelectionPabandom iš naujo 2021Pabandom iš naujo 2020Eurovizios Atrankas 2018 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongDiscoteque (2021)On fire (2020) Biography The Roop is a Lithuanian band from Vilnius, existing of three musicians. The band started in 2014. All band members had their musical careers before, and Vaidotas was a wellknown tv-show host in Lithuania. In november 2014, their debut single “Be mine” was released. A year later, their first album “To whom it may concern was released”, first as a download, a few months later as a CD. A second album followed in 2017, called “Ghosts”. In 2018, The Roop took part in Eurovizios Atrankas, the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. They became 3rd and released an EP with their entry “Yes, I do” on it. Two years later they won Pabandom iš naujo, the 2020 national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. They were chosen to represent Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “On fire”. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, due to the cancellation of the contest. The Roop had been offered a place in the final of the 2021 Lithuanian national final, which they easily won with the song “Discoteque”. The group managed to organize a hype around the colour yellow in their country. They became 8th in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song “Disqoteque” was awarded the M.A.M.A. Award for best song and best video of 2021. The follow up for their Eurovision song was the song “Ohmygodable”. In 2022, the group received a prize for best video for that song. Their latest hit is “Love is all we got”. Entries Discoteque Country🇱🇹 Lithuania Year2021 LanguageEnglish Lyrics & MusicVaidotas ValiukevičiusRobertas BaranauskasMantas BanišauskasLaisvūnas ČernovasKalle LindrothIlkka Wirtanen BackingsAlgirdas Ciūnys DancersMarijanas StaniulėnasMiglė Praniauskaitė Results Semi Points: 203Position: 4Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: 220Position: 8Running order: 18 https://youtu.be/JNweec5olYw On fire Country Lithuania Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsVaidotas ValiukevičiusMusicVaidotas ValiukevičiusRobertas BaranauskasMantas Banišauskas Backings– Results Semi Points:Position:Running order: Results Finals Points:Position:Running order: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxPm-Wz8qpY

Athena Manoukian

About Quick Facts NameAthena Manoukian Born22 May 1994 Nationality🇬🇷 Greek National SelectionDepi Evratesil 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (canceled) SongChains on you (2020) Biography Athena Manoukian is a Greek singer, born in Athens. She is of Armenian descend. In 2007 she won the first prize in the tv show “This is what’s missing”. A year later, she took part in the Greek national final for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.In 2011, Athena released her first single “Party like a freak”, which became a big hit in Greece. The song was followed by “I surrender” and “Na les pos m’agapas”. All of these singles became gold discs. Two years later, she found her international breakthrough with the song “Xo”. She won the Armenian Pulse Award for best song in English and she won the European Song Contest in Armenia. Both in 2015 and in 2016, she was a serious option for several countries to be their representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest, but it did not happen in the end. In 2017, she wrote a song for Helena Paparizou. In 2018, she performed in the X-Factor United Kingdom as a guest performer. In 2020 she was chosen to represent Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Chains on you”. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen because of the Corona crisis. Athena Manoukian did not remain silent after the cancelation of Eurovision. She released no less than 3 singles in 2021, followed by “Kiss me in the rain” in 2022. Entries Chains on you Country🇦🇲 Armenia Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsAthena Manoukian MusicAthena ManoukianDJ Paco Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/XpQHGMM8c5U

Roxen

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameLarisa Roxana Giurgiu Born05 january 2000 Nationality🇷🇴 Romanian National SelectionRomanian national final 2020 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (Cancelled) SongAmnesia (2021)Alcohol you (2020) Biography Roxen is a Romanian singer, born in Cluj. Already from the age of seven, she has participated in numerous musical competitions and festivals. She signed her first record contract in 2019. When Romanian producer Sickotoy released his record “You don’t love me”, Roxen was featured in this song. The song was a huge hit in the Romanian charts but also gained a lot of airplay on radio stations in other European countries and in the United States. Roxen’s first solo single “Ce-ți cântă dragostea” also hit the Romanian charts.In 2020, Roxen was supposed to represent Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest. Due to the cancellation of the contest, that didn’t happen. In June 2020, the singer was hired as the brand ambassador for a Romanian hair color product. Among others, she performed in a commercial which prominently featured the Romanian national final entry “Storm”. In July 2020, she released the single “How to Break a Heart”. In October of the same year, Roxen scored a second number-one single on the Airplay 100 with the song “Spune-mi”. Romanian television selected Roxen to participate in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. For this occasion she came up with the song “Amnesia”. The song was released on 4 March. Unfortunately, Roxen did not manage to qualify for the final with the song. Roxen worked together with DMNDS and Strange Fruits Music on the song “Money Money”, wich became a hit in Russia in January 2022. It was followed by “Dincolo de Marte”, a collaboration with Randi, a chart succes in Romania. “UFO”, the song that was placed behind “Amnesia” to represent Romania at Eurovision, was also a top-ten hit in Poland. Entries Amnesia Country🇷🇴 Romania Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsAdelina StringaVictor Bourosu ComposersAdelina StringaVictor Bourosu BackingsVivienne Meda-SzentyobbiAndrei GrozaAndrei Iulian AngelescuAlex SandulescuRuxandra Anamaria Results Semi Points: 85Position: 12Running order: 13 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/5ZWcsj_6Log Alcohol you Country🇷🇴 Romania Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsIonuţ ArmaşBreyan Isaac ComposersIonut ArmasViky Red Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmqSU3v_Mtw

Diodato

About Quick Facts NameAntonio Diodato Born30 augustus 1981 Nationality Italian National SelectionFestival of Sanremo 2018Festival of Sanremo 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (Cancelled) SongFai Rumore (2020) Biography Antonio Diodato, stage name Diodato, is an Italian singer/songwriter, born in Aosta. His first works were made in Stockholm, where he performed the song Libiri with the Swedish DJs Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello. Back in Italy, he graduated from the Roma Tre University DAMS in Cinema, Television and New Media. In 2007 the singer published his first, self-produced EP. In 2010 he recorded the single “Ancora un brivido”. His first album, “E forse sono pazzo”, was released in April 2013. He performed in Taranto for the May 1st concert in support of environmental remediation and participated in the soundtrack of the film “Anni felici”. He was selected to participate in the Sanremo Festival 2014 in the “Nuove proposti” section with the song “Babylon”. He reached a second place. After the Festival, a re-release of “E forse sono pazzo” was published. In December 2013, he won the Deezer prize for best artist of the year. In June 2014 he won the MTV Italia Award in the “Best Newcomer” category. In the same year he won the De André prize for his version of “Amore che vieni, Amore che vai”. Diodato’s second album “A ritrovar bellezza” was released in 2014. It contained covers of songs from the 1960s. On 30 December 2016, the single “Mi si scioglie la boccia” was released, followed by the album “Cosa siamo diventati”.In 2018 he participated in the Festival of San Remo with the song “Ora”, played together with trumpeter Roy Paci, ranking in eighth place. In 2019 Diodato made his debut as an actor in the film “Un’avventura”. In 2020 he took part in the festival of San Remo and won it with the song “Fai rumore”. As winner of the festival, Diodato was designated as Italy’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen due to the cancellation of the contest. During the first lockdown in Italy, “Fai rumore” became thé anthem, sung by people from their houses to make contact with other people. Diodato won the David di Donatello and the Silver Ribbon for the best original song with “Che vita meravigliosa”, used as the soundtrack of the film “La dea fortuna”. He also won the Soundtrack Stars Award at the Venice Film Festival for the same song. On November 8, Diodato won the MTV Europe Music Awards in the category of best Italian artist and the day after “Fai rumore” was certified double platinum in Italy for more than 140,000 copies sold. In 2022, he performed “Fai rumore” as an entre act in the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin. Entries Fai rumore Country🇮🇹 Italy Year2020 LanguageItalian LyricsAntonio Diodato MusicAntonio DiodatoEdwyn Roberts Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/TA57rugucwk