2021

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

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

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

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

Destiny

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameDestiny Chukunyere Born29 august 2002 Nationality🇲🇹 Maltese National SelectionX Factor Malta 2020 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (Cancelled) SongJe me casse (2021)All of my love (2020) Biography Destiny Chukunyere is a Maltese singer. She was born and still lives in Birkirkara, a town in the central region of Malta.Destiny began her career in 2014 when she participated in Kanzunetta Indipendenza, won the Asterisks Music Festival and in the Italian song contest San Remo Junior. Her real breakthrough, however, came when she represented Malta in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2015 with the song “Not my soul”. She won the contest. Because of this, she was awarded the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika (Medal for service to the republic). In 2017, Destiny auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent. She made it to the live shows and ended in 6th place in the semifinal.In 2019, Destiny was a backing vocal in the Eurovision Song Contest for Michela Pace. One year later, it was Destiny herself who won the X-Factor Malta, earning the right to represent her country in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen due to the cancellation of the contest. Maltese television decided to ask her again for the Eurovision Contest in 2021. Her song was called “Je me casse” and reachted 7th place after winning the semifinal. Entries Je me casse Country🇲🇹 Malta Year2021 LanguageEnglishFrench LyricsMalin ChristinArmanuel DermontNicklas EklundPeter Barringer ComposersMalin ChristinArmanuel DermontNicklas EklundPeter Barringer BackingsJennifer PacaanasKim PastorMilena JacuniakPauline Eddeborn Results Semi Points: 325Position: 1Running order: 16 Results Finals Points: 255Position: 7Running order: 6 https://youtu.be/jbbc2yKnv0M All of my love Country Malta Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsBernarda BrunovicBorislav MilanovSebastian ArmanDag LundbergJoacim Persson ComposersBernarda BrunovicBorislav MilanovSebastian ArmanDag LundbergJoacim PerssonCesár Sampson Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/CFCn_8oViRw

Samanta Tīna

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameSamanta Poļakova Born31 March 1989 Nationality🇱🇻 Latvia National SelectionEirodziesma 2012Eirodziesma 2013Eirodziesma 2014Supernova 2016Eurovizijos Atranka 2017Supernova 2019Supernova 2020Internal selection 2021 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongThe moon is rising (2021)Still breathing (2020, cancelled) Biography Samanta Tīna is a Latvian singer/songwriter. She was born in the small town of Tukums. In 2010, she won the show O!Kartes akadēmija and won a scholarship for the Tech Music School in London. A year later, she won the cup in the Moldovan song competition Golden Voice. In 2012, she competed in Eirodziesma, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. Her duet with Dāvids Kalandija finished 2nd. The same happened in 2013; now solo, she finished 2nd again in Eirodziesma. In 2014, she finished third.A year later, Samanta participated in Lietuvos Balsos, the Lithuanian version of The Voice. She participated in Supernova, the new national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, in 2016. However, after the semifinal Samanta withdrew . A year later, she attempted to represent Lithuania. In 2019 she was back to Supernova. In 2020, she was finally chosen to represent Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Still breathing”. Due to the cancellation of the contest, this never happened. In 2021, she was asked to represent Latvia without any national selection. She sang the song “The moon is rising”, but did not reach the final. Entries The moon is rising Country🇱🇻 Latvia Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsSamanta TīnaAminata SavadogoOskars Uhaņs MusicSamanta TīnaAminata SavadogoOskars Uhaņs BackingsUna Daniela AizgaleKitija BlumaPaula Saija Results Semi Points: 14Position: 17Running order: 15 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/btA_Tyiyfhc Still breathing Country🇱🇻 Latvia Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsAminata Savadogo MusicSamanta Tīna Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/ELr6U2fOrnE

Montaigne

© EBU/Jess Gleeson About Quick Facts NameJessica Alyssa Cerro Born14 august 1995 Nationality🇦🇺 Australian National SelectionInternal selection 2021Australia Decides 2020 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (Cancelled) SongTechnicolour (2021)Don’t break me (2020) Biography Montaigne, real name Jessica Cerro, is an Australian singer, songwriter and musician, born in Sydney. Although th won a contest at radio station Triple J in 2012, she decided to finish school first before starting a career in music. Later that year, she signed a record contract and in 2013, she adopted the name Montaigne. It took another year before she released her debut single “Anyone but me”, which got quite a lot of airplay and entered the charts. It was soon followed by a second single and in the same year, she opened for the Australian band San Cisco. In the beginning of 2015, she received the “Next Big Thing” award of FBI radio. In the same year, she did her first own tour and released her debut album “Glorious heights”.In 2018, she released a new album, “Complex”. In 2020 she took part in Australia Decides and was supposed to represent Australia in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Don’t break me”. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen due to the cancellation of the contest. Australian tv decided that Montaigne will be their representative in the 2021 contest. For that occasion, she came up with the song “Technicolour”. Unfortunately, she couldn’t travel to Rotterdam for the contest due to COVID19. Her prerecorded performance was shown on screen. After Eurovision, Montaigne released a new single called “Now (in space)”. It was a harbinger of her new studio album. In February 2022 she collaborated with Talking Heads’ David Byrne in the song “Always be you”. In May of the same year, Montaigne released a new song, “Make me feel so…”, that featured another Eurovision participant: Icelandic Daði Freyr. Entries Technicolour Country🇦🇺 Australia Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsMontaigneDave Hammer ComposersMontaigneDave Hammer BackingsChristine MuscatReigan Derry DancersParis CavanaghChrystal RussellShivawn Jade Joubert Results Semi Points: 28Position: 14Running order: 5 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/CoUTzNXQud0 Don’t break me Country🇦🇺 Australia Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsMontaigneAnthony EgiziiDavid Musumeci ComposersMontaigneAnthony EgiziiDavid Musumeci Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: – Position: –Running order: – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr-wWxu4974

Eden Alene

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameEden Alene Born07 May 2000 Nationality🇮🇱 Israel National SelectionHakokhav Haba L’Eurovizion 2021Hakokhav Haba L’Eurovizion 2020 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongSet me free (2021)Feker libi (2020) Biography Eden Alene (born May 7, 2000) is an Israeli singer. She was born in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem to parents who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia.In March 2017, she collaborated with rapper Shahar Peretz, singing the song “Utopia”. In 2017, at the age of 17, she participated in the third season of the reality show X-Factor Israel, and in january 2018 she won the X-Factor final. In March 2018, in honor of Women’s Day, she sang a duet with Ivri Lider. In the same year she participated in the 70-year lighting ceremony for the State of Israel. She was selected by Warner Studios to perform the Hebrew version of the theme song for the movie “Monsters in the Snow”. In October 2018, Eden joined the IDF, a military band in the Education and Youth Corps and served as a ceremonial band. In December 2018, her debut song, “Better”, was released. In February 2019 she recorded her own version of “Save your kisses for me”, as the Eurovision Song Contest was going to take place in Israel. In 2020, she won Hakokhav Haba L’Eurovizion, the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 but did not represent her country due to the cancellation of the contest. She is invited for the 2021 contest by Israeli tv. Out of four songs, “Set me free” was chosen to represent Israel in the contest, where she reached the final. After the Eurovision Song Contest, Elena recorded the Hebrew version of “Starting Now” (originally performed by the brandy singer) called “Me achshav” in honor of a magical celebration campaign of princesses raised by Walt Disney which is entirely dedicated to Disney princesses. On August 16, 2021, Eden released her third single, and the first after a performance on the Eurovision stage, “Lakoum”. At Hanukkah 2021 she participated in the Festigal. That same year she was named Globes Magazine’s Person of the Year. Entries Set me free Country🇮🇱 Israel Year2021 LanguageEnglishHebrew Lyrics and musicNoam ZaltinIdo NetzerAmit MordechaiRon Carmi DancersMaor LevyIago AsulinVadim KoupstasMatan OnyamehVictor Novojilovsky Results Semi Points: 192Position: 5Running order: 12 Results Finals Points: 93Position: 17Running order: 3 https://youtu.be/5Y-blG5ptwo Feker libi Country🇮🇱 Israel Year2020 LanguageEnglishHebrewArabicAmharicImaginary Lyrics and musicDoron MedalieIdan Raichel Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/YjzyZZ-oidc

Stefania

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameStefania Liberakakis Born17 december 2002 Nationality🇬🇷 Greek🇳🇱 Dutch National Selection– In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongLast dance (2021)Supergirl (2020) Biography Stefania Liberakakis is a Greek/Dutch singer and actress, born in Utrecht. When she was 9 years old, she already participated in the tv-show The Voice Kids. After this, she sang in the children’s choir Kinderen voor Kinderen. In 2016, Stefania represented the Netherlands at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest as a member of the group Kisses, together with Kymora Henor and Sterre Koning. Their song “Kisses and dancin” reached an 8th place. In 2018 and 2019, she played a role in the tv-series Brugklas and the additional movie Brugklas: de tijd van mijn leven. She also played a role in the movie 100% Coco New York. As a solosinger she released five singles so far, including a duet with Dutch singer Jannes. In 2020, she was supposed to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Supergirl”. However, due to the corona crisis, that didn’t happen. Greek television ERT invited her for the 2021 contest. The song she sang was called “Last dance” and became 10th in the contest, the best score for Greece since years. Right after the contest, Stefania went to Athens for promotional purposes. Stefania released the song “Mucho Calor” on June 25, 2021. She made three appearances at the Mad Video Music Awards 2021, performing “Last Dance” in collaboration with Archolekas, “S’agapáo sou fónaxa” in collaboration with Petros Iakovidis and “Mucho Calor”. Entries Last dance Country🇬🇷 Greece Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsSharon Vaughn MusicDimitris KontópoulosArcade BackingsKirsten Michel DancersMarkos GiakoumoglouGeorgios PapadopoulosKostas PavlopoulosNikos Koukakis Results Semi Points: 184Position: 6Running order: 4 Results Finals Points: 170Position: 10Running order: 10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhZhJFp0vVw Supergirl Country🇬🇷 Greece Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsSharon VaughanDimitris KontópoulosArcade MusicDimitris KontópoulosArcade Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/dJxCINWp_j0