2023

Lithuania: Pabandom iš naujo 2023 starts

Lithuania starts with their national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest, Pabandom iš naujo. The first quarter final will be held tonight at 20.00 and can be watched here and on YouTube. Out of 15 songs, 10 will head to the semifinals. The songs of tonight are: Aistė Pilvelytė sings “We’re not running” Joseph June sings “Vacuum” Il Senso sings “Spamai” W.I. sings “You can not” Multiks sings “London” Luknė sings “Paradise” Gabrielus Vagelis sings “Šauksmas” Alen Chicco sings “Do you” Rūta Mur sings “So low” Justin3 ft. DJ AusufYno sing “Not giving up” Baiba sings “When the lights go out” Justa Rubežiūtė sings “When I’ll find” Noy sings “Destiny’s Child” Paulina Paukštaitytė sings “Let me think about me” Justė Kraujelytė sings “Need more fun” Aistė Pilvelytė participated in 1999, was 11th in 2004, 9th in 2005, 6th in 2006, 3rd in 2007, 2nd in 2008, 2nd in 2010, reached the 3rd round in 2014, 4th in 2016, 2nd in 2017, 5th in 2020.Joseph June reached the semifinals in 2022.Multiks was 14th in 2012 and took part in the semifinals in 2013.Gabrielus Vagelis took part in 2013 (semifinals), 2017 (5th), 2020 (semifinals), 2021 (semifinals).Alen Chicco took part in 2019 (5th) and 2020 (semifinal).Justin3 participated in 2017 (heats), 2018 (heats) and 2022 (quarter finals).Baiba sang before in 2013 (heats) and 2016 (heats).Justė Kraujelytė was there last year and became 6th.

Malta: second quarterfinal MESC 2023

Tonight, Malta heads to the second quarter final of MESC (Malta Eurovision Song Contest). The show starts on 21.00 CET and you can watch it here. Four quarter finals will be held. Out of 13 songs, 8 will be chosen to go to the semifinal. The songs are: Brooke sings “Checkmate” Dan sings “It’ll be OK” Dario sings “Pawn in a game” Dario Bezzina sings “Briddle road” Francesca Sciberras sings “Masquerade” Ian sings “On my own” Kirstie sings “Girl get down” Lyndsay sings “Haunted” Marie Claire sings “Thankful” Mark Anthony Bartolo sings “Tears” Matt Blxck sings “Up” Maxine Pace sings “Alone” The Busker sings “Dance (to your own party)” Brooke took part in MESC 2016 and became 2nd, in 2017 she was 4th and in 2018 3rd.Dan took part in X-Factor 2020 and reached the 7th show.Dario took part in the 2016 semifinal.Dario Bezzina sang in the 2009 semifinal (with Grecia Bezzina), and in the 2010 semifinal.Francesca Sciberras was involved in the X-Factor 2020 auditions.Lyndsay took part in 2016 (semifinal) and in X-Factor 2019 (6th show).Mark Anthony Bartolo reached the 13th show in X-Factor 2019 and took part in MESC 2022 (11th).Matt Blxck took part in X-Factor 2019 (9th show) and 2020 auditions and in MESC 2022 (7th).Maxine took part in 2016 (5th) and 2017 (6th).

La Zarra

About Quick Facts NameFatima Zahra Hafdi Born25 August 1997 Nationality🇨🇦 Canadian National SelectionInternal selection 2023 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongÉvidemment (2023) Biography La Zarra, born in Montréal, is a Canadian-Moroccan singer. She remains very discreet about her origins and career. We know of her that she grew up near the city of Longueuil (in Quebec) and that she has North African origins. In 2016, she became known for an artistic collaboration with Niro on the song “Printemps blanc”. In 2021, the singer increases her notoriety with the title “Tu t’en iras”, which was broadcast regularly on radio and television. The song is certified a platinum single. The song hit the French charts. On 3 December 2021, La Zarra’s debut Album “Traîtrise” was released. The same year, La Zarra was named as a French-speaking revelation at the NRJ Music Awards 2021. On 24 June 2022, La Zarra released a new single: “Sans moi”. On January 12, 2023, France Télévisions announced that La Zarra was going represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. In the contest itself, her song “Évidemment” reached a 16th place. Entries Évidemment Country🇫🇷 France Year2023 LanguageFrench LyricsFatima Zahra HafdiAhmed SaghirYannick RastogiZacharia Raymond MusicFatima Zahra HafdiAhmed Saghir Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 104Position: 16Running order: 6 https://youtu.be/fOtQJ4o-HoA

Joker Out

© EBU/Chloe Hashemi About Quick Facts MembersBojan CvjetićaninJure MačekKris GuštinJan PetehNace Jordan Founded2016 Nationality🇸🇮 Slovenian National SelectionInternal selection 2023 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongCarpe Diem (2023) Biography Joker Out is a pop rock band from Ljubljana. They describe their style as “shagadelic rock’n’roll”. The band was formed in May 2016, after the breakup of the band Apokalipsa, in which Bojan Cvjetićanin, Martin Jurkovič, Matic Kovačič and Luka Škerlep played. Three of them – Cvjetićanin, Jurkovič and Kovačič – were joined by Kris Guštin and Jan Peteh from the group Bouržuazija and Joker Out was born. Their first public performance was at the Festival Na Gaj in May 2016. In November of the same year, they released their first single “Kot srce ki kri poganja”, for which they also recorded a music video. A few days later, on November 10, they had their first (preliminary) appearance in the Špil Liga, a talent show for bands. In the following months, they performed a lot on festivals and in television shows. They also competed for a performance in the finals of the Volkswagen Rocks tour. In the final of the Špil Liga they became the winners of its 4th season. In November, their second song “Omamljeno telo” was released. They kept on performing a lot in live shows, also in 2017 and 2018. Their next single “Gola”, in which they collaborated for the first time with producer Žaret Pak, was released on September 12, 2019. Before that, they had a break of about 8 months, which was the result of Cvjetićanin wanting to try a solo career, but in the end he found that working in a group suited him better. On 2 November 2019 they had their first completely independent concert, at the Ljubljana Castle, and in December they performed again at the Rhythm of Youth. “Goli” was followed by the fourth single “Vem da greš” in March 2020, and then “Umazane misli” (October 2020) and “A sem ti sajal” (July 2021). Jure Maček replaced drummer Matic Kovačič between the releases of “Umazanih misli” and “A sem ti sila”. The composition “Umazane misli” was chosen by the audience as the “newest Slovenian composition of the last year” at the festival Frišno/Fresh – Dan Nove Slovenske Glasbe, which took place on October 1, 2021. Their first album “Umazane misli” was released in October 2021. It was originally supposed to be released in April 2020, but its release was postponed several times due to COVID19. In those two years, they received two golden flutes: in 2020 for Newcomer of the Year and in 2021 for Artist of the Year. In April 2022, they released the music video for the last single from the first album, “Barve oceana”. On May 12, at the eighth awarding of the Golden Pipes, for the second year in a row, they celebrated in the performer of the year category. On August 31, they released their second album “Demoni”, which was announced by the song “Katrina”. On October 10, they announced on Instagram that bassist Martin Jurkovič was leaving the band due to studying abroad. For now, they continue as a quartet, and Nace Jordan accompanies them on their performances. “Katrina” was followed at the end of October by “Demoni”, their first single in Serbian, which represents their first official release for the market of the former Yugoslavia. On December 8, 2022, RTV Slovenia announced that Joker Out will represent Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. With their song, “Carpe Diem”, they reached the final and were 21st there. Entries Carpe Diem Country🇸🇮 Slovenia Year2023 LanguageSlovenian LyricsBojan Cvjetićanin MusicBojan CvjetićaninKris GuštinJan PetehJure MačekNace Jordan Backings– Results Semi Points: 103Position: 5Running order: 10 Results Finals Points: 78Position: 21Running order: 24 https://youtu.be/3LXlPviGiWc

Dion Cooper

About Quick Facts NameDion Cuiper Born29 November 1993 Nationality🇳🇱 Dutch National SelectionInternal selection 2023 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongBurning Daylight (& Mia Nicolai, 2023) Biography Dion Cuiper is a Dutch singer-songwriter. He debuted in 2020 with the release of the EP “Too young, too dumb”. In 2021, he signed at Duncan Laurence‘s Yellow Field Publising at Sony ATV. In October and November of that year he opened for Duncan Laurence in his Dutch tour.In February 2022, Dion released a new single called “Know”. In april of the same year he opened for Benedict Cork and on 5 May he performed at the annual Bevrijdingsfestival. On 29 September 2022, his new single “Blue jeans” was released.On 1 November 2022, it was announced that Dion and Mia Nicolai are going to represent the Netherlands in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. On March 1st 2023, the song “Burning Daylight” found it’s première. It was a difficult path to the final, as performances in Madrid and Amsterdam were not good. Shortly before Eurovision, the song was made 1 1/2 octave higher to fit it to their voices. It didn’t help, Mia and Dion didn’t make it to the final. Entries Burning Daylight (with Mia Nicolai) Country🇳🇱 The Netherlands Year2023 LanguageEnglish LyricsDuncan LaurenceJordan Garfield MusicDuncan LaurenceJordan Garfield BackingsRachell MelanieKatie van SteenisKris Rietveld Results Semi Points: 7Position: 13Running order: 14 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/3XAsam043OY

Mia Nicolai

© EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett About Quick Facts NameMichaja Nicolaï Born07 March 1996 Nationality🇳🇱 Dutch National SelectionInternal selection 2023 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongBurning Daylight (& Dion Cooper, 2023) Biography Mia Nicolai is a Dutch singer. She was born in Amsterdam of a Russian mother and a Dutch father. Mia attended music school in London, and moved to Melbourne after that. Back in Amsterdam, she released a song called “At last”. Mia currently lives in Los Angeles, where she released two singles in 2020: “Set me free” and “Mutual needs”. She created a lyric video vor “Set me free”, while She also released a 3 episode documentary about herself. In 2021, the songs were followed by “People pleaser”, a cooperation with Jordan Garfield, the boyfriend and partner of Duncan Laurence. The song got the support of Billboard. On 18 May 2022, she stated on Instagram “6 months from now a project very very dear to me will be out in the world and it’s gonna blow the f upppp!”. Half a year later, it was announced that she and Dion Cooper are going to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest. Their song was “Burning daylight”. It was a difficult path to the final, as performances in Madrid and Amsterdam were not good. Shortly before Eurovision, the song was made 1 1/2 octave higher to fit it to their voices. It didn’t help, Mia and Dion didn’t make it to the final. Entries Burning Daylight (With Dion Cooper) Country🇳🇱 The Netherlands Year2023 LanguageEnglish LyricsDuncan LaurenceJordan GarfieldMia NicolaïDion CooperLoek van der Grinten MusicDuncan LaurenceJordan GarfieldMia NicolaïDion CooperLoek van der Grinten BackingsRachell MelanieKatie van SteenisKris Rietveld Results Semi Points: 7Position: 13Running order: 14 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/3XAsam043OY

Andrew Lambrou

© EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett About Quick Facts NameAndrew Lambrou Born01 month 1900 Nationality🇦🇺 Australian National SelectionInternal selection 2023Eurovision – Australia decides 2022 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongBreak a broken heart (2023) Biography Andrew Lambrou is an Australian singer. He was born in 1998 in Sydney, Australia to a Greek Cypriot family. He attended AMS Music School where he learned to play the piano. At the age of 5, he won first place in a competition held by his school, singing “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music. Lambrou first gained attention in 2013 after uploading a cover of Evanescence’s “My Immortal” to YouTube. A 15-second cover of “Stay With Me”, uploaded to Instagram, was shared by a Spain-based music page and earned Lambrou over 2,000 followers overnight. In 2015, Lambrou entered The X Factor Australia, reaching the top 20. That same year, he was spotted by Sony ATV and signed by Maree Hamblion. His debut single, “Throne,” was released in 2021. In 2022, Lambrou competed in the Australian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision – Australia Decides, with the song “Electrify”. He finished 7th in the final of the competition. On 17 October 2022, it was announced that Lambrou will represent Cyprus at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. On March 2nd 2023, the Eurovision song “Break a broken heart” was presented. In the contest itself Lambrou reached the final and became 12th there. Entries Break A Broken Heart Country🇨🇾 Cyprus Year2023 LanguageEnglish LyricsJimmy ‘Joker’ ThornfeldtJimmy JanssonThomas StengaardMarcus Winther-John MusicJimmy ‘Joker’ ThornfeldtJimmy JanssonThomas StengaardMarcus Winther-John Backings– Results Semi Points: 94Position: 7Running order: 6 Results Finals Points: 126Position: 12Running order: 7 https://youtu.be/49YiimKeyDI

Tvorchi

© EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett About Quick Facts MembersJimo Augustus KehindeAndrii Hutsuliak Founded2017 Nationality🇳🇬 Nigerian🇺🇦 Ukrainian National SelectionVidbir 2023Vidbir 2020 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongHeart of steel (2023) Biography TVORCHI is a Ukrainian music band from Ternopil, founded in 2018 by sound producer Andrii Hutsulyak and vocalist Jeffrey Kenny (Jimo Augustus Kehinde) . On May 30, 2017, the duo releasted their first single called “Slow”. On September 4, the second single “You” was released. On February 2, 2018, the band released their debut album, which was called The Parts. On September 20, 2018, the band released a video clip for the song “Molodist”. A year later, on February 14, 2019, the second album Disco Lights was released. On February 21, the band released a video clip for the song “Believe”. Within a few days, the video gained 400,000 views on YouTube, and the song itself took the 9th place in the Google Play charts in Ukraine. In the summer of the same year, the band performed at the music festivals Fine City (Ternopil), Atlas Weekend (Kyiv) and Ukrainian Song Project (Lviv). On September 9, the duo released the single “#Ne tanchchyuyu”, and on September 16 the music video came out. On January 31, 2020, TVORCHI presented the song “Bonfire”, dedicated to the problems of ecology, andtook part in Vidbir, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. “Bonfire” became the most popular Ukrainian song of 2020 on the European Deezer platform. For 12 months, the track topped the top charts of the platform. On May 7, the premiere took place on the band’s YouTube channel and in DK Premier show on M1 TV, the music video for the song “Mova tila” from the second studio album “Disco Lights”. On May 31, 2020, the Zolota Zhar-ptytsya music award was won by TVORCHI in the Indie category. In September 2020, TVORCHI released their third album, “13 Waves”, which was recorded remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine. The record received over two million listens on music platforms in the first week of its release. On December 19, 2020, the artists became winners of the online music award “Culture Ukraine” in two nominations: “Best New Artist” and “English-language single” with the hit “Bonfire”. Ukrainian music award YUNA-2021 was held on May 12 at the National Palace of Arts “Ukraine”. TVORCHI won in the nominations “Best Pop Group”, “Best Album” and “Best Electronic Hit”. On September 10, 2021, the musical duo presented their fourth album Road on all music platforms. In July 2022, the band won two YUNA Awards for Best Live Show and Best Song in Another Language (“Falling”). On December 17, 2022, they won the National Selection for Eurovision 2023 with the song “Heart of Steel”, and thus represented Ukraine in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. They reached a 6th place in the final. Entries Heart Of Steel Country🇺🇦 Ukraine Year2022 LanguageEnglish LyricsJimoh August KehindeAndrii Hutsuliak MusicJimoh August KehindeAndrii Hutsuliak BackingsAndrii VeselyiDima Barkalov DancersAleksandra MakarovskayaAndrii Podkaliuk Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 243Position: 6Running order: 19 https://youtu.be/I2oqDpefJ1s

Gustaph

© EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett About Quick Facts NameStef Caers Born5 July 1980 Nationality🇧🇪 Belgian National SelectionEurosong 2023 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongBecause of You (2023) Biography Stef Caers, born in Leuven in 1980, is a Belgian singer, musician, producer and singing teacher.He initially performed under the stage name Steffen and later as Gustaph. Caers followed secondary education at the Academie voor Muziek-Woord-Dans in Heist-op-den-Berg. He graduated as a producer at the music conservatory of Ghent. At the age of nineteen, still during his studies, he scored a hit in 2000 as Steffen with the song “Gonna Lose You”, which reached 22nd place in the Flemish Ultratop 50. Caers won a prize at Flemish Radio 2 in the subcategory “The debut” that year with the song. His next single, “Sweetest Thing”, was a more modest success: the song got stuck in the charts. Caers later noted that his songs like Steffen, which he wrote as a sixteen-year-old, are not entirely in line with his style. The music world made it clear to him that he should keep his homosexuality a secret so as not to undermine his popularity. It therefore remained with these singles under that name. Caers focused more on studio work and writing music. He also made jingles for Radio Donna and Q-music. However, he also remained active on stage, including as a pianist and background singer. With Mo Harcum, Sofie Verbruggen and Sandrine Van Handenhoven he paid homage to Marvin Gaye. With the latter two, he paid homage to Ella Fitzgerald in the 2021-2022 theater season, together with the VRT Bigband. He has been performing solo since 2008 under the name Gustaph. Four years later, under that name, he began singing and writing for Hercules & Love Affair, a group best known in the LGBTQ+ community. As a result, he performed at Pukkelpop, Glastonbury and Chanel shows, among others. Caers left the group in 2018. Caers is also a teacher at Hogeschool Gent within the jazz / pop course and at the pop and rock music course at Hogeschool PXL. Caers went to the Eurovision Song Contest twice as a backing singer. In 2018 with Sennek and in 2021 at Hooverphonic. He also was a voice coach for Geike Arnaert of Hooverphonic. In January 2023, he took part in Eurosong, the Flemish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. Gustaph won Eurosong 2023, which meant that he was chosen as the Belgian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. He reached the final there and became 7th. Entries Because Of You Country🇧🇪 Belgium Year2023 LanguageEnglish LyricsJaouad AlloulStef Caers MusicJaouad AlloulStef Caers BackingsMonique HarcumChantal KashalaSandrine van Handenhoven DancersPussCee West Results Semi Points: 90Position: 8Running order: 5 Results Finals Points: 182Position: 7Running order: 16 https://youtu.be/U1xD14IMKtg

Albina Kelmendi

© EBU/Chloe Hashemi About Quick Facts NameAlbina Kelmendi Born27 January 1998 Nationality🇦🇱 Albanian National SelectionFestivali i Këngës 2022 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongDuje (2023) Biography Albina Kelmendi is an Albanian singer and songwriter from Kosovo. She was born in Peja, Kosovo (then part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). She studied clarinet and piano at a music school in her hometown and began performing with her family under the name Family Band. She became famous in 2014, when she was runner-up in the fourth season of The Voice of Albania. A year later, she took part in the twelfth edition of Top Fest, where she presented the song “Nuk ka ma mirle”. In June 2022, Albina Kelmendi released her debut album, “Nana loke”. In December of the same year, she participated in the 61st Song Festival, where she presented the song “Duje”, during the performance of which she was accompanied by five members of her family named the Familja Kelmendi. Despite being ranked second in the final night, the result of which was decided by a jury, the public vote chose her as the Albanian representative at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, United Kingdom. They reached the final and became 22nd there. Entries Duje Country🇦🇱 Albania Year2023 LanguageAlbanian LyricsEriona Rushiti MusicEnis Mullaj BackingsBujar KelmendiAlbana KelmendiAlbin KelmendiVesa KelmendiSidorela Gashi – Kelmendi Results Semi Points: 83Position: 9Running order: 14 Results Finals Points: 76Position: 22Running order: 10 https://youtu.be/TI9rSDhXwyc