2024

Dons

© EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett About Quick Facts NameArtūrs Šingirejs Born10 April 1984 Nationality🇱🇻 Latvian National SelectionSupernova 2024Dziesma 2014Eirodziesma 2010 In Eurovision2024 Malmö SongHollow (2024) Biography Artūrs Šingirejs (born 10 April 1984), better known as Dons, is a Latvian singer and songwriter. He has achieved remarkable success with the release of eight solo albums, securing multiple accolades, including winning the Latvijas Radio’s Muzikālās Banka (translated as ‘Musical Bank’) Song of the Year award five times. At the Latvian Music Recording Awards, his albums Varanasi (2014) and Tūrists (2020) have each earned him the Best Pop Album title, out of five nominations. His album Lelle (2008) garnered him the Best Rock Album award from two nominations, and Signāls (2013) received a nomination for Best Pop-Rock Album. In 2024, he emerged victorious in the Supernova song competition with his English single “Hollow,” earning him the opportunity to represent Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to this, he had twice aimed to represent Latvia at Eurovision with the tracks “My Religion is Freedom” (2010) and “Pēdējā Vēstule” (2014), finishing as the runner-up in the Latvian national finals on both occasions. Originating from Saldus, Latvia, Dons kick-started his career on the Latvian reality show Talantu Fabrikā (meaning ‘Talent Factory’) in 2003. He released a duet album titled Viens Otram (2004) with Lily (real name Linda Kalniņa, married in 2009 and divorced in 2013) following their participation in the show. His debut solo album, Lights On (2006), was predominantly in English, marking the beginning of his successful career. He then continued to release seven subsequent albums in Latvian: Lelle (2008), Signāls (2013), Varanasi (2014), Sibīrija (2015), Tepat (2016), Namiņš. Kaste. Vārdi (2018), and Tūrists (2020). While performing internationally, he has adopted the stage names Art Green and Art Singer. When he represented Latvia in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest with his song “Hollow”, Dons managed to reach the Grand Final. He ended up in 16th place there. Entries Hollow Country🇱🇻 Latvia Year2024 LanguageEnglish LyricsArtūrs ŠingirejsKate NorthropLiam Geddes MusicArtūrs ŠingirejsKate NorthropLiam Geddes BackingsKrists IndrišonoksLiam Geddes Results Semi Points: 72Position: 9Running order: 7 Results Finals Points: 64Position: 16Running order: 11 https://youtu.be/kgIwQkMwURY?si=q085KGUui-8zwqbu

Windows95man

©EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett About Quick Facts NameTeemu Keisteri Born22 August 1985 Nationality🇫🇮 Finnish National SelectionUuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2024 In Eurovision2024 Malmö SongNo rules! (2024) Biography Teemu Keisteri, born in 1985 in Espoo, is a distinguished Finnish visual artist based in Helsinki. His fame largely stems from the creation of the Ukkeli character in the summer of 2008, a figure prominently featured on apparel, postcards, and tableware. Additionally, he is recognized for his persona as the Windows 95 man during his performances as a DJ. Keisteri explores cultural trends and the nuances of Finnish lifestyle with a distinct sense of humor, frequently incorporating his own persona into his work. His academic background includes studying photography at the Lahti Institute of Design, where he came to the realization that his true calling was in visual arts rather than photography. Beyond his work in visual arts, Keisteri has made a name for himself as a video artist and DJ. He operates Kalleria, his own gallery, located in the Kallio area of Helsinki. In a notable achievement, Keisteri and Henri Piispanen, performing together. Keisteri under the alias Windows95man. They clinched the title at the 2024 Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) with their track “No Rules”. Henri Piispanen, born in 1994, is a prominent Finnish voice actor, singer, and presenter. His notable contributions include voicing characters such as Vainu in PAW Patrol, Lloyd in Lego Ninjago, Samu in Samu ja Salla, and Lauri in The Happy Robinson Family movie. Additionally, Piispanen is the lead vocalist and bass player for the band named Pasa. In 2012, he was featured as one of the seven hosts on the television series Summeri. The song, “No rules”, managed to reach the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest. In the final itself, Teemu and Henri reached a 19th place. Entries No rules! Country🇸🇲 Country Yearyear Language🇬🇧 English LyricsHenri PiispanenJussi RoineTeemu Keisteri MusicHenri PiispanenJussi RoineTeemu Keisteri BackingsHenri Piispanen DancersJesse WijnansMatti Maxim Results Semi Points: 59Position: 7Running order: 10 Results Finals Points: 38Position: 19Running order: 17 https://youtu.be/7nidDtyS0Wo?si=id0ggiEaU2FBR_S7

🇱🇻 Dons for Latvia in Malmö

Dons wins! It’s gonna be Dons for Latvia. will sing the song “Hollow”, which is written by Artūrs Šingirejs, Kate Northrop and Liam Geddes. Dons will perform in the second half of the second semifinal. You will find the full results here: Dons, “Hollow” Vēstulēs, “Kur?” Katrīna Gupalo, “The cat’s song” Alekss Silvers, “For the show” Saint Levića, “Tick Tock” Edvards Strazdiņš, “Rock ‘n’ roll supernova” Ecto, “Outsider” Avéi, “Mine” Funkinbiz, “Na chystu vodu” Papīra Lidmašīnas, “Mindbreaker”

🇱🇹 The Roop and Queens of Roses through in Lithuania

The Lithuanian audience and jury have decided. The winners are and The Roop and Queens of Roses. Here are the full results: The Roop sing “Simple joy”, 24 pts. Queens of Roses sing “Walk through fire”, 17 pts Lina Štalytė sings “Perfect”, 15 pts. April Frey sings “New Years”, 14 pts. Freya Alley sings “Serenade”, 12 pts. Petras sings “Run”, 11 pts. Kàro sings “Weightless”, 11 pts. Emilija V sings “Trophy wife”, 6 pts.

🇮🇹 Italy: Festival di Sanremo final

Tonight will be the final night of the famous Festival di Sanremo. 30 songs will compete for the trophy. 5 songs will be selected for a superfinal. The winner will be decided by 33% press jury, 33% radio jury and 34% televote. The winner is the one who got the first choice to go to Eurovision. In the press conference after the show, they will let the public now whether they go to Malmö or not. The show will start 20:45 CET and end deep in the night. You can watch it here. Here are the 30 contestants: nr. Title Artist (s) 1 Fino a qui Alessandra Amoroso 2 Vai! Alfa 3 La noia Angelina Mango 4 Sinceramente Annalisa 5 La rabbia non ti basta BigMama 6 Governo punk Bnkr44 7 Diamanti grezzi Clara 8 Onda alta Dargen D’Amico 9 Ti muovi Diodato 10 Apnea Emma 11 Mariposa Fiorella Mannoia 12 Il cielo non ci vuole Fred De Palma 13 Tutto qui Gazzelle 14 I p’ me tu p’ te Geolier 15 Casa mia Ghali 16 Fragili Il Tre 17 Capolavoro Il Volo 18 Tu no Irama 19 Autodistruttivo La Sad 20 Pazza Loredana Berté 21 Tuta gold Mahmood 22 Spettacolare Maninni 23 Due altalene Mr. Rain 24 Ricominciamo tutto Negramaro 25 Pazzo di te Renga & Nek 26 Ma non tutta la vita Ricchi e Poveri 27 Click boom! Rose Villain 28 Finiscimi Sangiovanni 29 L’amore in bocca Santi Francesci 30 Un ragazzo una ragazza The Kolors Participating in Festival di Sanremo before (in years that the Eurovision song was chosen from the contest): Annalisa in 2013, 2015 (4th), 2016 (11th), 2018 (3rd), 2021 (7th)Dargen D’Amico in 2022 (9th)Diodato in 2018 (8th) and 2020 (1st). He was supposed to represent Italy in the 2020 ESC with “Fai rumore”, which was cancelled due to COVID19.Emma in 2011, 2012, 2022 (6th). She was chosen to represent Italy in the 2014 ESC with “La mia città”.Fiorella Mannoia in 1987 (8th) and 1988 (10th).Il Volo in 2015 (1st), 2019 (3rd). They represented Italy in 2015 with “Grande amore”.Irama in 2019 (7th), 2021 (5th), 2022 (4th).Loredana Bertè in 1987 (16th), 1993 (with Mia Martini, 14th), 1997 (20th), 2019 (4th).Mahmood in 2019 (1st) and 2022 (1st, with Blanco). He represented Italy in both years, in 2019 with “Soldi” and in 2022 with “Brividi”.Mr. Rain in 2023 (3rd).Francesco Renga in 2012, in 2019 (15th), in 2021 (22nd).Nek in 1997 (7th), 2015 (2nd), 2019 (19th).Ricchi e Poveri in Canzonissima 1974, 1987 (7th), 1988 (9th), 1989 (9th), 1990 (17th). They were chosen to represent Italy in the 1978 ESC with “Questo amore”.Sangiovanni in 2022 (5th).The Kolors in 2018 (9th). Diodato sings “Fai Rumore” in Eurovision Shine A Light in 2020. Emma sings “La mia città” in 2014. Il Volo sing “Grande amore” in 2015. Mahmood sings “Soldi” in 2019. Mahmood (and Blanco) sings “Brividi” in 2022. Ricchi e Poveri sing “Questo amore” in 1978.

🇱🇻 Latvia will select an entry tonight

Latvia will select their entry tonight. After a semifinal last week, 10 songs will compete in the final of Supernova. The show starts at 20:10 CET and you can watch it here. Lauris Reiniks and Ketija Šēnberga will host the show, that takes place in LTV Studio 6 in Riga. Below you will find the 10 competing songs: nr. Title Artist(s) 1 Kur? Vēstulēs 2 Mine Avéi 3 Mindbreaker Papīra Lidmašīnas 4 The cat’s song Katrīna Gupalo 5 Outsider Ecto 6 Hollow Dons 7 Tick Tock Saint Levića 8 Rock ‘n’ roll supernova Edvards Strazdiņš 9 Na chystu vodu Funkinbiz 10 For the show Alekss Silvers Avéi was 5th last year.Katrīna Gupalo took part in 2018 and remained in the semifinal.Dons was the runner-up in 2010 and in 2014.Saint Levića participated in 2017 (4th).Edvards Strazdiņš was involved in the 2020 internet voting.

🇫🇮 Finland in search for Käärijä’s successor

All eyes are on Finland this year. After the success of Käärijä, everybody’s anxious to hear what the Nordic country will bring. Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), the Finnish national final, contains 7 songs. None of the artists ever took part in the national final. The show starts at 20:00 CET and you can watch it here. These are the songs: nr. Title Artist 1 Kuori mua Sini Sabotage 2 Dancing with demons Cyan Kicks 3 Glow Jesse Markin 4 Vox populi Mikael Gabriel & Nublu 5 Paskana Sara Siipola 6 Mania Sexmane 7 No rules Windows95man

🇱🇹 5th heat in Lithuania

Tonight is the night: the 5th and last episode of the Lithuanian preselection Eurovizija LT will be held. Two songs will head to the final. So after tonight, we know the full line up of the final, which will be held next week. The show will start at 20.00 CET and you can watch it here or at the LRT app. These are the 8 competing songs of tonight: Freya Alley sings “Serenade” Kàro sings “Weightless” Petras sings “Run” Queens of Roses sing “Walk through fire” April Frey sings “New Years” Emilija V sings “Trophy wife” The Roop sing “Simple joy” Lina Štalytė sings “Perfect” Queens of Roses took part in 2017 and ended up in the 2nd chance round. In 2019 they ended in the heats.Emilija V participated in the 2018 heats and in the 2022 quarter final.The Roop was supposed to represent Lithuania in 2020 with “On fire” and got the chance to do so in 2021 with “Discoteque”. They were also 3rd in the 2018 national final. The Roop’s 2020 song, “On fire”. The Roop sing “Discoteque” in 2021.

🇸🇪 Sweden: Melodifestivalen continues

Melodifestivalen, the Swedish national selection, continues with a second heat. As Sweden is the host country, the winning song will go directly to the final. Two songs will go directly to the final, two other songs will go for ‘final qualification’, something that will be decided after the 5th heat. The show starts at 20:00 CET and you can watch it here or on the SVT Play app. These are the competing songs: Maria Sur sings “When I’m gone” Engmans Kapell sings “Norrland” Dear Sara sings “The silence after you” C-Joe sings “Ahumma” Liamoo sings “Dragon” Fröken Snusk sings “Unga & fria” Maria Sur was 9th in last year’s Melodifestivalen final.Liamoo was 6th in 2018. He was 2nd in 2019 with Hanna Ferm. In 2022 he was 4th.

🇩🇪 Floryan wins “Ich Will Zum ESC!”

After an exciting evening, in which three artists presented a possible German Eurovision entry, it’s Floryan who won the ticket to the German final. Floryan, the only member of team Rea (Rea Garvey) sang the song “Scars”. Both of the other contestants were members of team Conchita (Conchita Wurst). Although Anne Im (“Yellow brick road”) and Luca M. Wefes (“Farben neuer Tag”) also gained a lot of cheers from the audience, it was Floryan who received the most votes. The German final will be held on February 16.