Groups

KEiiNO

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts MembersAlexandra RotanFred-René BuljoTom Hugo Hermansen Founded2018 Nationality???????? Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2021Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongSpirit In The Sky (2019) Biography KEiiNO is a Norwegian music group. The band was founded in the late summer of 2018 when Tom Hugo Hermansen and his husband Alex Olsson began writing “Spirit in the Sky”, a song inspired by historical struggles for equality. On the team they got the Sami rapper and songwriter Fred Buljo and the singer Alexandra Rotan. The band name KEiiNO is inspired by the last part of Buljo’s hometown Kautokeino (Northern Sami: Guovdageaidnu). The last part «geaidnu» is Northern Sami for road. The group was one of ten participants in the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix on Saturday 2 March 2019. They won the contest with “Spirit in the Sky” and represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest. In the grand final, Norway became number six after receiving the most televotesvotes. The group also won the televote in the semifinals. The week after the international final, “Spirit in the Sky” topped the Norwegian charts, as well as charts in several European countries. Following the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, KEiiNO released several versions of “Spirit in the Sky”: an expanded club mix, an acoustic version and an instrumental version. On April 26, 2019, the group released their second single, “Shallow”. Later in 2019, the group released their third single, “Praying”, which is about fear of death. In January 2020, the single “Colors” was released. In June 2019, the Sami Parliament appointed the group ambassadors for the UN Year of Indigenous Languages. The group was nominated for a Spellemannprisen 2019 for «song of the year». They also won two awards at the Sami Music Awards in open class and producer of the year. After the Eurovision Song Contest, the group announced that they were planning a concept album with indigenous languages from around the world. The album was named OKTA (Northern Sami for one) and was released on May 8, 2020. After releasing several singles and the album OKTA, the “Spirit in the Sky” songwriters sat down and wrote the song “Monument” in the summer of 2020. In the autumn of 2020, “Monument” was selected by NRK to participate in the final of the Melodi Grand Prix 2021. In the Norwegian final, it finished in second place. The song became a hit in the Norwegian charts. In 2022, the group released two non-album singles, “On a night like this” and “Mother of the night”. Entries Spirit in the Sky Country???????? Norway Year2019 LanguageEnglishSami LyricsTom Hugo HermansenFred-René BuljoAlexandra RotanAlexander N. Olsson MusicTom Hugo HermansenFred-René BuljoHenrik TalaRüdiger Schramm BackingsMarianne PenthaFrode VasselKine Ludvigsen Fossheim Results Semi Points: 210Position: 7Running order: 15 Results Finals Points: 331Position: 6Running order: 15 https://youtu.be/Ovt7YGHAj8I

Lake Malawi

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts MembersAlbert ČernýJeroným ŠubrtAntonín Hrabal Founded2013 Nationality🇨🇿 Czech National SelectionEurovision Song CZ 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongFriend of a friend (2019) Biography The band Lake Malawi was formed after the break-up of the successful band Charlie Straight in September 2013. The band’s name was inspired by Born Iver’s song “Calgary”. The very first single “Always June” was presented in the same year by the band’s frontman Albert Černý in person with a guitar broadcast live on BBC London. The songs “Beach, Nectarines & Daim” and “Paris” received the same honors. The following year, the band went to the well-known Czech festivals Colors of Ostrava and Rock for People. In May 2015, the debut EP “We Are Making Love Again” was released, co-produced by Matt Lawrence and Filip Gemroth. In 2015, the band performed at the British The Great Escape Festival in Brigton. In the autumn of the same year, Lake Malawi decided to tour the Czech Republic with the acoustic Furch Tour. Due to its great success, the band repeated in the same spirit a year later. The single “Chinese Trees” scored in 2015 on the Audition Poll on Amazing Radio. In the fall of 2017, after long and careful preparations, Lake Malawi released their debut album “Surrounded by Light”. The album was accompanied by the release of music videos for the songs “Prague (In the City)”, “Surrounded by Light”, “Not My Street”, “Bottom Of The Jungle”, “Paris” and “Spaced Out”. Lake Malawi won Eurovision Song CZ, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, in 2019. In May, they represented the Czech Republic in Tel Aviv. They reached the 11th place. That same year, they performed at the Sopot International Music Festival. In 2020, Albert Černý, accompanied by the band, took part in the Polish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, Szanca na sukces, where his song “Lucy” took second place. In April 2021, drummer Antonín Hrabal left the band. Entries Friend of a friend Country🇨🇿 Czech Republic Year2019 LanguageEnglish LyricsJan SteinsdoerferMikolaj TrybulecAlbert Černý MusicJan SteinsdoerferMikolaj TrybulecAlbert Černý Backings– Results Semi Points: 242Position: 2Running order: 6 Results Finals Points: 157Position: 11 Running order: 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJxLKFZKhNs