Groups

The Common Linnets

© Albin Olsson About Quick Facts MembersIlse DelangeWaylon Active2013-2017 Nationality Dutch National SelectionInternal selection 2014 In Eurovision2014 Copenhagen SongCalm After The Storm (2014) Biography The Common Linnets, a band hailing from the Netherlands, was established in 2013, initially featuring Ilse DeLange and Waylon. DeLange elucidated that the group was formed as a dynamic platform for Dutch musicians to experiment and create country, Americana, and bluegrass music. The band saw a change in lineup when Waylon departed in May 2014 and was replaced by American country artist Jake Etheridge. Their debut album, featuring the song “Calm After the Storm”, secured them a second-place finish in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 – the best performance by the Netherlands since their victory in 1975. The band’s name draws inspiration from the regional nickname ‘heikneuters,’ attributed to individuals from the eastern part of the Netherlands, DeLange and Waylon’s birthplace. This term refers to the songbird ‘kneu’ or common linnet. Credit for this innovative name goes to Dutch designer Rens Dekker, who also designed their album and single artworks. The initial band members were individual country artists, Ilse DeLange and Waylon, with DeLange acknowledged as the founder and leading member. DeLange envisaged the band as a project to facilitate Dutch artists in their musical explorations. Since 2014, the band has been composed of Ilse DeLange, JB Meijers, Jake Etheridge, and Matthew Crosby, who along with Rob Crosby, penned the hit “Calm After The Storm”. Born on May 13, 1977, in Almelo, Netherlands, Ilse DeLange’s musical journey started at the tender age of 8. Her talents were showcased in regional and national talent shows in Hilversum, followed by a musical partnership with guitarist Joop Liefland. Waylon, born on April 20, 1980, in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, adopted his stage name in honor of his idol, Waylon Jennings. After their Eurovision success, the band embarked on a promotional tour. The noticeable absence of Waylon sparked speculations of him leaving the band. On his official Facebook page, Waylon revealed that the unexpected success of the band led him to focus on his album releasing in September 2014. JB Meijers, born on June 10, 1972, in Delft, Netherlands, joined the band after his stint with Dutch indie bands Charmin’ Children, Shine, and Supersub. Besides playing with De Dijk, Eboman, and Acda & De Munnik, he also worked as a producer. Jake Etheridge, born on April 25, 1988, in Columbia, South Carolina, joined the band post-Waylon’s departure. Before joining, he had gained recognition for his online song uploads. Matthew Crosby, born on May 21, 1981, in Columbia, South Carolina, was an accomplished actor in New York City and had previously performed with the band “The Easy Tells”. The band represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, with the song “Calm After the Storm”. The Common Linnets won the 2014 Buma Cultuur Pop Award and the 2015 Echo Awards for Best International Newcomer Act. Their second studio album ‘II’ was released in 2015. The album became a Gold disc. In november 2015, the band toured throughout Germany and Austria. They received an award for best an award at Radio 538 for best live performance. In 2016 the band played at Eurosonic Noorderslag. They went to Sweden to perform in Douwe Bob‘s pub in Stockholm, during the Eurovision week. In June, they did a UK tour, in November they went back to Germany. Also in 2017, the band kept on performing. After that, Ilse Delange, JB Meijers and Matthew Crosby had solo projects. In 2019, Ilse Delange was a coach at the Eurovision Song Contest for Duncan Laurence, who won the contest. Entries Calm After The Storm Country🇳🇱 The Netherlands Year2014 LanguageEnglish LyricsIlse DelangeJB MeijersRob CrosbyMatthew CrosbyJake Etheridge MusicIlse DelangeJB MeijersRob CrosbyMatthew CrosbyJake Etheridge BackingsBart VergoossenJB MeijersMartijn Van Agt Results Semi Points: 150Position: 1Running order: 14 Results Finals Points: 238Position: 2Running order: 24 https://youtu.be/4ggBPAm5XLA

Firelight

© Albin Olsson About Quick Facts MembersMichelle MifsudRichard Edwards MicallefTony PolidanoDaniel MicallefWayne William MicallefLeslie Decesare Founded2013 Nationality🇲🇹 Maltese National SelectionMalta Eurovision Song Contest 2014 In Eurovision2014 Copenhagen SongComing Home (2014) Biography Firelight is a Maltese folk-pop band. Formed in 2013, Firelight consists of siblings Richard Edwards Micallef, Michelle Micallef, and Wayne Micallef, along with their friends Tony Polidano and Daniel Micallef. Richard, Michelle, and Wayne are all accomplished singers and musicians in their own right. The band’s music is a blend of pop, rock, and folk, featuring catchy melodies, rich harmonies, and a variety of instruments, including the guitar, piano, and harmonica. Richard Edwards Micallef, the lead singer and songwriter of the band, has a strong musical pedigree. His father, Paul Micallef, was a well-known Maltese singer in the 1970s and 1980s. Richard himself has a distinguished career in music; he had previously participated in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 and 2013 as a solo artist. Their song “Coming Home”, an acoustic ballad that they performed at Eurovision 2014, was written by Richard and is about a soldier returning home from war. The song placed ninth in the semi-final and 23rd in the final. The follow up single was called “Talk dirty”, which reached the #1 spot in the Maltese charts. Their debut album “Backdrop life” was released in September, followed by a tour in Germany and Austria. In December they released a new single, “Christmas Day”. In February 2015, the band donated the appalachian dulcimer used at the Eurovision performance for charity. It was sold for €2250,-. The money went to children’s cancer support group Puttinu Care. A new single, “Backdrop of Life”, was released in March 2015. Wayne William and Richard Edwards went on with their solo carreers while the band continued performing. In July 2017, a new song “Victor The Hungarian Man” was released. After this, the band did not release any new music, but they continued performing on festivals throughout Malta. Entries Coming Home Country🇲🇹 Malta Year2014 LanguageEnglish LyricsRichard Edwards Micallef MusicRichard Edwards Micallef Backings– Results Semi Points: 63Position: 9Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: 32Position: 23Running order: 22 https://youtu.be/E_hT08vzHt8

Softengine

© Albin Olsson About Quick Facts MembersTopi LatukkaOssi MäkeläEero KeskinenHenri OskárTuomo Alarinta Active2011 – 2017 Nationality🇫🇮 Finnish National SelectionUuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2014 In Eurovision2014 Copenhagen SongSomething Better (2014) Biography Softengine is a Finnish alternative pop-rock band. The story of this band traces back to 2011, in the small city of Seinäjoki, where its foundation was laid in an unlikely setting – a cottage owned by the grandparents of Topi Latukka. Topi Latukka, a key figure in the band’s formation, brought together a group of like-minded musicians. This idyllic retreat became the birthplace of Softengine. After a few years of practice, writing, and performing locally, Softengine achieved a remarkable feat in 2014, representing Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest. Their performance on the grand stage marked an important milestone in the band’s journey, amplifying their name to international audiences. The momentum continued into 2015 when Softengine released their debut album. While the journey of Softengine has been a testament to their collective talent and shared passion, it has not been without change. Eero Keskinen and Henri Oskár, both instrumental in the band’s formative years and early success, left the band in 2016. In 2017, the band made a tour throughout Finland. In the same year, the band announced that they were in the studio to write material for a new album. However, no music was released by the band, and no performances took place anymore. Topi Latukka went for a solo career. Entries Something Better Country🇫🇮 Finland Year2014 LanguageEnglish LyricsNames MusicNames Backings– Results Semi Points: 97Position: 3Running order: 8 Results Finals Points: 72Position: 11Running order: 18 https://youtu.be/3FDWaFfo1CU

Elaiza

© Albin Olsson About Quick Facts MembersElżbieta SteinmetzNatalie PlögerYvonne Grünwald Founded2013 Nationality🇩🇪 German🇺🇦 Ukrainian National SelectionUnser Song Für Dänemark 2014 In Eurovision2014 Copenhagen SongIs It Right? (2014) Biography Elaiza is a German folk-pop band known for their distinctive neo-folk sound, which blends modern pop elements with traditional Eastern European folk. The band was formed in 2013 and originally consisted of three members: Elżbieta Steinmetz, Yvonne Grünwald, and Natalie Plöger. Elżbieta Steinmetz, who goes by the stage name “Ela,” is a singer and songwriter with Polish roots, a factor that heavily influences the band’s sound. Yvonne Grünwald plays the accordion, and Natalie Plöger is the contrabassist. Later on, Steinmetz and Grünwald continued as a duo, with Plöger departing the band. Elaiza’s breakthrough came in 2014 when they won the German national finals for the Eurovision Song Contest. Their song “Is It Right” represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest held in Copenhagen that year. The band’s performance in the international music event significantly increased their profile in Germany and Europe more broadly, leading to a successful debut album, “Gallery,” which was released the same year. Elaiza is recognized for their vibrant and energetic performances, coupled with soulful lyrics and a unique musical style that blends modern pop with traditional influences. The band’s music often explores themes of love, life, and identity, and their work is characterized by Steinmetz’s powerful vocals, Grünwald’s expert accordion work, and a strong folk-pop sound. Elaiza had released two albums, “Gallery” in 2014 and “Restless” in 2016. The 2nd album was followed by a tour through Germany. At the same time, the band released two new singles, “Hurricane” and “Real”. However, before the band went on tour, Yvonne left the band. She was replaced by Laura Zimmermann. The band kept on touring through Germany in 2017. In November of that year they won a German Songwriting Award. In 2018, they did an acoustic tour. They even performed at the German embassy in Kenya and Ethiopia. The acoustic tour continued in 2019. Although the band did not officially split up, they didn’t perform anymore since March 2019. Entries Is It Right? Country🇩🇪 Germany Year2014 LanguageEnglish LyricsElżbieta SteinmetzAdam Kesselhaut MusicElżbieta SteinmetzFrank Kretschmer Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 39Position: 18Running order: 12 https://youtu.be/BFuGH2Kp9dI

Litesound

About Quick Facts MembersDmitry KariakinVladimir KariakinJacopo MassaAlex KolchinIgnat Yakovich Founded2005 Nationality🇧🇾 Belarusian🇮🇹 Italian (Jacopo)🇷🇺 Russian (Alex) National SelectionEurofest 2012Eurofest 2009Eurofest 2008Eurofest 2007Eurofest 2006 In Eurovision2012 Baku SongWe Are The Heroes (2012) Biography Litesound is a Belarusian pop rock band formed in 2005 by brothers Dmitry and Vladimir Karyakin. The band’s journey began earlier, in 2002, as an acoustic duo. Their transformation into the quartet Litesound in 2005 marked the start of their notable musical career. With the addition of bassist Mario Gulinsky and drummer Sergey Genko, they won the Maiori International Music Festival in Italy in 2006, which led to a collaboration with Italian singer Jacopo Massa, eventually becoming an official member of the band. Litesound participated in various Eurofest competitions, aiming to represent Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest. They competed in 2006 with “My Faith,” in 2008 with “Do You Believe,” and in 2009 with “Carry On.” Their debut album, “Going to Hollywood,” was released in 2010. The band’s persistence paid off in 2012 when they were chosen to represent Belarus in Eurovision with the song “We Are the Heroes,” following a voting fraud investigation in the national selection process. Subsequent years saw changes in the band’s lineup. In 2013, Alex Kolchin left, and the Doronkin brothers joined. The band released the Christmas single “Shooting Star” in 2013. In 2016, they collaborated with Moldovan singer Katherine for their fifth Eurovision attempt with the song “Imagine,” but later withdrew. In 2017, Evgeny Balchuys joined as the new bassist, and the band released “The Whole World.” Their second album, also titled “Litesound,” was released in 2018. In 2019, the band released “Champion” as the official song for the European Games in Minsk and “Fight For The Dream” for the 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The band’s outspoken criticism of the Belarusian authorities’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 led to repercussions, including being denied concert opportunities. The Karyakin brothers and their parents were detained in October 2022 and sentenced in March 2023 for participating in the 2020 protests. Entries We Are The Heroes Country🇧🇾 Belarus Year2012 LanguageEnglish LyricsDmitry KariakinVladimir Kariakin MusicNames BackingsAlex Panayi Results Semi Points: 35Position: 16Running order: 5 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/-JWbOKNaIAo?si=nhwOsDC05W1toVNq

Izabo

About Quick Facts MembersRan Shem TovShiri HadarJonathan LeviNir Manzur Founded1989 Nationality🇮🇱 Israeli National SelectionInternal selection 2012 In EurovisionYear City SongTime (2012) Biography Izabo was an Israeli band. Izabo was founded in Petah Tikva in 1989. Their original line-up consisted of Ran Shem Tov, Shiri Hadar, Nir Graf and Tamir Muskat. In 1994, they released their first album titled “Movie Maker”, along with three singles. This album is often omitted from Izabo’s chronology and songs from it are never played in live concerts. The band’s line-up changed following the release of the album and again in 1997, with the final line-up, which remained for 19 years, consisting of founders Shem Tov and Hadar, as well as Jonathan Levy and Nir Mantzur. Their sophomore album, “The Fun Makers”, was released in late 2003 and received highly positive critical acclaim, with the songs “Morning Hero” and “Cook Me” achieving major radio success in Israel. Several months later, Izabo signed on to Sony BMG, through which they released their British debut, “The Morning Hero EP”. The release was accompanied by a concert tour during which Izabo performed in England, Scotland and the Netherlands. Izabo collaborated with a large variety of artists, on stage and in studio, from singer-songwriter Ahuva Ozeri to choreographer Ohad Naharin. Izabo’s collaboration with Shotei Hanevuah produced the single “Hu”, which won the Music 24’s “song of the year” award. Their third LP, “Super Light”, was released in July 2008. On March 26, 2012, Izabo released an EP titled Summer Shade. The EP included the 2012 singles “Summer Shade”, “On My Way” and “I Like It”, the band’s final singles under the name Izabo. In early February it was revealed that Izabo had been chosen by a group of mass communications and music industry experts to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The song, Time, has verses in English and choruses in Hebrew. They did not progress past the semi-final round. On May 21, 2012, they released the album “Life Is on My Side in the UK”, through 100% Records. In 2016, Nir Mantzur and Jonathan Levy left the band, and the band changed its name to Cherie and Renno. Two years later, Cherie and Renno released a self-titled album. The album is Cherie and Renno’s first album, and the fifth in the band’s history.On October 24, 2022, the band returned in it’s former line up with a comeback concert. In November of the same year they performed at the Israel Music Showcase Festival in Jerusalem. On 28 February 2023 they released a brand new single”Midnight Chains”. In May they teamed up with Ilan Peled for a new single, “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough”…. yes, a Michael Jackson cover. Entries Time Country🇮🇱 Israeli Year2012 LanguageEnglishHebrew LyricsRan Shem TovShiri Hadar MusicRan Shem TovShiri Hadar Backings– Results Semi Points: 33Position: 13Running order: 10 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/-uy4ggnLzKI?si=VqmK1KMNcnOBJAsR

Pollapönk

© Albin Olsson About Quick Facts MembersHeiðar Örn KristjánssonHaraldur Freyr GíslasonGuðni Þórarinn FinnssonArnar Þór Gíslason Founded2006 Nationality🇮🇸 Icelandic National SelectionSöngvakeppnin 2014 In Eurovision2014 Copenhagen SongNo Prejudice (2014) Biography Pollapönk is an Icelandic pop-rock band that has delighted audiences with their unique musical style and captivating performances since their inception in 2006. The band was initially formed by two preschool teachers, Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson and Haraldur Freyr Gíslason, with the aim of creating music that children and adults alike could enjoy. The band’s name, which translates to “Puddle Punk,” exemplifies their quirky and fun-loving character, as well as their appeal to a diverse range of listeners. Their colorful outfits and eccentric performances are hallmarks of their image. The duo soon expanded to a four-piece band with the inclusion of Guðni Finnsson and Arnar Þór Gíslason, further broadening their musical capabilities. They sing in both Icelandic and English, making their music accessible to a global audience. In 2014, Pollapönk represented Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest with the track “No Prejudice.” The song, an upbeat pop-rock number with an encouraging message about breaking down barriers and eradicating prejudice, made it to the final round of the competition. This performance significantly raised the band’s international profile and served as a testament to their talent and dedication. So far, Pollapönk released four albums. Their greatest hits, apart from “Enga fordóma/No prejudice” were “Litli ljótu ljónið” (2008), “Punkabillybræðraband” (2009). Despite their initial focus on children’s music, their broad appeal has transcended these boundaries, captivating listeners of all ages. As of mid-2023, Pollapönk continues to write, record, and perform, bringing their music. In May 2023, Pollapönk released a new version of “Enga fordóma/No prejudice” for Unicef, together with @Tag, a choir of deaf children. Entries No Prejudice Country🇮🇸 Iceland Year2014 LanguageEnglish LyricsHeiðar Örn KristjánssonHaraldur F. GíslasonJohn Grant MusicHeiðar Örn Kristjánsson BackingsÓttar ProppéSnæbjörn Ragnarsson Results Semi Points: 61Position: 8Running order: 5 Results Finals Points: 58Position: 15Running order: 4 https://youtu.be/U2qAvGsiCmc

Mandinga

About Quick Facts MembersElena IonescuAlexandru BurceaMarius Cristian CiupituValentin ZacharOmar Secada DihigoAlexander Himely Benavides Not on stageAntonio Segui Rolando Founded2002 Nationality🇷🇴 Romanian🇨🇺 Cuban (Omar, Alexander and Antonio) National SelectionSelecția Națională 2012Selecția Națională 2005 In Eurovision2012 Baku SongZaleilah (2012) Biography Mandinga is a Romanian pop band. They play latin influenced music. Mandinga burst onto the scene in December 2002, captivating audiences throughout Romania and even earning invitations to showcase their talent in countries like Bulgaria, Germany, Serbia, Poland, and Cuba. With songs in Romanian, Spanish, and English, their music is a melting pot of cultures. Their unique sound draws from Latin and Balkan folklore, seamlessly weaving in influences from diverse styles including salsa, La Guajira, hip-hop, Guajira funk, bolero, cha-cha, reggaeton, R&B, Latin house, calypso, Latin hip-hop, and even acid jazz. The original members of Mandinga were Alex (trumpet and vocals), Bazooka (timbales and percussion), Florin (bass and vocals), Chup (drums, percussion, and vocals), Omar Secada (keyboard), Ella (vocals), Zach (saxophone), Tony (trombone), Alejandro (vocals), and El Nino (percussion). Enhancing their performances, Mandinga is accompanied by professional dancers Elena and Simona. In 2005, Mandinga did their first attempt to reach the Eurovision Song Contest. Their song “Soarele meu” reached a 4th place in the national finals. In 2006, Elena became the lead singer. In 2007, the group achieved an impressive milestone, performing in around 300 concerts. They’ve made a mark on Romanian media, being regular guests on major TV shows, including the highly popular Danutz Ltd. Mandinga’s distinct style has led them to launch Salsa Fest, their own event brand, and Salsaphoria, their signature dance style. The Mandinga brand resonates with the public, symbolizing good vibes, dance, and the Latin spirit. In 2012, Mandinga won the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Zaleilah”. The song thus represented Romania in the contest. Reaching the final, Romania made it to a 12th place in the Grand Final of the contest. “Zaleilah” became an international hit. The follow up song of “Zaleilah” was called “Papichulo”. In 2013 they released “The Mac Mac Song”, “La Vita É Bella” and “Cinéma”. They teamed up with Ahmed Chawki and Pitbull for the single “Habibi I love you”. In March 2014 the band teamed up with Fly Project. Their single was called “Hello”. In the same year, the band took part in the show Te Cunosc De Undeva (Your Face Sounds Familiar). On 11 May 2015, a new single was released: “Adrenalina”. It was in 2016 that Elena left the band. The new lead vocalist of Mandinga was and is Bárbara Isasi. Mandinga gave it’s first concert with the new singer on March 26 of that year. The band teamed up with Erik Ikote to release a single “Aventura” in May 2016. In 2017 the band released a salsa version of the Charlie Puth song “We don’t talk anymore”. In May the song is followed by a brand new single, “Besame”. The group teamed up with Tito Nieves, Jay Lugo and Surbana for the song, “Una noche mas”. In 2018 the band released the singles “Mayores”, “Arquitectura” and “Soy de Cuba”. Barbara took part in Te Cunosc De Undeva, in some shows accompanied by the other members of the band. Barbara won the contest. In 2019 the band released the single “Provocador”. Meanwhile, “Soy de Cuba” had over a million views on YouTube. Both videos were recorded in Cuba. The band went to perform at the Sazon Festival in Switzerland. In September they released the single “Niña Sincera”. The band was awarded European Tropical Act Of The Year at the Lukas Awards in London. The band teamed up with Olivia Addams for the song “B.A.N.D.I.D.A.”. Entries Zaleilah Country🇷🇴 Romania Year2012 LanguageEnglishSpanish LyricsElena IonescuOmar Secada DihigoCosti Ioniţă MusicCosti Ioniţă Backings– Results Semi Points: 120Position: 3Running order: 6 Results Finals Points: 71Position: 12Running order: 14 https://youtu.be/K3ruy639kTQ?si=CVxurzJ5a-ECnXtx

Buranovskiye Babushki

© About Quick Facts MembersNatalya PugachevaEkaterina Semenovna ShklyaevaValentina PyatchenkoGalina KonevaGrania BaysarovaOlga TuktarevaYelizaveta Zarbatova (not on stage)Zoya Dorodova (not on stage)Olga Tuktareva (not on stage) Founded1970 Nationality🇷🇺 Russian National SelectionEvrovidenie 2012Evrovidenie 2010 In Eurovision2012 Baku SongParty For Everybody (2012) Biography Buranovskiye Babushki is a Russian folk music group from the village of Buranovo in the Malopurginsky district of Udmurtia. They gained popularity by performing hits of famous Russian and foreign artists in their native Udmurt language.The folk ensemble “Buranovskie Babushki” (Buranovo Grannies) was founded in the village of Buranovo in Udmurtia over 45 years ago. By 2010, the average age of the ensemble’s members was 70 years old. The core of their repertoire consists of ancient folk songs in their native Udmurt language. For the first time, the ensemble began performing covers of famous artists in the Udmurt languag in 2008. Since then, they have repeatedly attracted the attention of the press and television. The ensemble participated in the Russian national final for the Eurovision song contest in 2010 with the song “Dlinnaya-dlinnaya beresta i kak sdelat’ iz neyo aishon” (they took third place), as well as in the national final for Eurovision 2012 with the song “Party for Everybody.” As a result of the latter selection, Buranovskie Babushki won and earned the right to represent Russia at the international Eurovision song contest 2012, where they finished in second place in the final. By the decree of the President of the Udmurt Republic, A. A. Volkov, No. 97 of May 24, 2012, eight members of the ensemble (Grania, Alevtina, Zoya, Galina, Natalya, Valentina, Olga Tuktareva, and Ekaterina) were awarded the honorary title “People’s Artist of the Udmurt Republic” for their significant contribution to the development of art and high performing skills. In early November 2012, the premiere of a joint song by Buranovskie Babushki and the well-known ethno-pop singer Varvara titled “A ne poydu zamuzh ya” was released. In April 2012, the”Buranovskie Babushki appeared in commercials for the popular carbonated drink Sprite. On August 24, 2013, the Buranovskie Babushki headlined the third multi-festival of Finno-Ugric culture Ybitsa in the village of Yb, Syktyvkar district, Republic of Komi. On January 2, 2014, a 75-year-old member of the ensemble “Buranovskie Babushki”, Galina Koneva, became one of the torchbearers of the Olympic flame relay for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. The Buranovskie Babushki have repeatedly stated that they plan to spend the money earned during their concert performances on restoring the village shrine – The Holy Trinity Church, built in their native village of Buranovo in 1895 and destroyed in the late 1930s. On May 24, 2012, foundation work began in the village for the future church. On May 30, 2012, the day the ensemble members returned from Baku, it was planned to consecrate the future church. Alexander Volkov, the head of the Udmurt Republic, promised to allocate 1 million rubles for the construction of the church and also assured that he would help solve the problems with road quality and water supply in the village of Buranovo. In June 2016, the church was opened and consecrated. Entries Party For Everybody Country🇷🇺 Russia Year2012 LanguageEnglishUdmurt LyricsOlga TuktarevaMary Susan Applegate MusicViktor DrobyshTimofei Leontiev Backings– Results Semi Points: 152Position: 1Running order: 14 Results Finals Points: 259Position: 2Running order: 6 https://youtu.be/BgUstrmJzyc?si=OloPLHYfmM2Muo86

Compact Disco

About Quick Facts MembersLotfi BehnamGábor PálCsaba Walkó Founded2008 Nationality🇭🇺 Hungarian National SelectionA Dal 2012 In Eurovision2012 Baku SongSound Of Our Hearts (2012) Biography Compact Disco is a Hungarian electronic music band and music producer group. Lotfi, Pál, and Walkó first met in 2005 when Lotfi Behnam’s techno producer duo, Collins and Behnam, planned to cover Adamski and Seal’s song titled “Killer” and were looking for a singer. They saw Walkó Csaba singing on television and invited him to sing the cover. At that time, Walkó was singing in a funk-pop band called Brownfield and asked some of his musician friends to accompany him to the recording. One of them was Pál Gábor, who was also a founder of a nu-jazz band called Toy Division. In the summer of 2008, Lotfi proposed the idea of a vocal electronic pop music ensemble to Walkó, who then asked his keyboardist, Pál, to join them. By March 2009, they were writing and arranging songs. By the time their first album was ready, the band members agreed that the band’s name would be Compact Disco and the album title would be “Stereoid”. They signed a contract with CLS Music in September 2009, and the album was released in December. The band started performing live from January 2010. They shot their first music video for their song “I’m in Love”, which soon gained notable popularity, ranking in the top ten on many Hungarian hit lists. The band decided to produce another video clip, an “image clip” that would introduce the band in May 2010 for the song “Without You”. For the festival concerts in the summer of 2010, Pál and Walkó invited bassist Attila Sándor, to join them. He officially became a member of the band in November. In the same month the band shot their third music video for the song “Fly or Dive”. The song topped the Hungarian dance hit list, the VIVA Club Chart. On November 15, 2010 the band won the MTV brand:new election. They got assistance from their viral video series “Help Antos!”, starring actor Gémes Antos, which caught the attention of the advertising industry. A second album, “II” was released on May 14, 2011. The first single from the album was “Feel the Rain”, which reached 2nd place on the MR2 Petőfi Radio Top 30 list. The band won the Fonogram award in the “Domestic Electronic Music Production of the Year” category on March 2, 2011. On April 24, Compact Disco won the 2011 Antropos.hu Award in the “Best Album of 2010” category. The British record label Age Media signed a contract to release the first three singles from “Stereoid” worldwide, just as Universal Music Group did for Romania and Bulgaria during 2011. In the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest’s Hungarian national final called “A Dal”, they won with their song “Sound of Our Hearts”. Therefore, they represented Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest, where they reached the final and earned a 24th place there. In the same year, their third album “Two Point Five” was released. However, the singles following were from “II”: “Leave It Up To Me” and “Fly With You” both became hits. In 2013, Compact Disco released yet another album: “The Storm”. The songs “We Will Not Go Down” and “The Storm” also entered the charts. The song “Mrs. Right” did not hit the charts. A new single in Hungarian, “Csak a szó”, was released in May 2015. Also their fourth album, “Csak a szó”, came out. In September 2016, the band performed in Portugal. In May 2017 a new single, “Veled” was released, including a video. The song became a hit for the band. In December, the song “Lazul A Város” was released. Behnam Lotfi left the band after this, so Gábor and Csaba went on as a duo. On March 3, 2018, they released their album titled “4”, which consists entirely of songs in Hungarian and includes their previously released singles. On October 26, 2018, they released their song titled “Közel” (Close), followed by “Világom” (My World) on October 1, 2019. This was followed in 2020 by “Maradj otthon” (Stay Home), and in 2021, they released the single “Minden rendben” (Everything’s Alright), which also features the band Hősök (Heroes). The song reached the #1 spot in the Hungarian charts. Entries Sound Of Our Hearts Country🇭🇺 Hungary Year2012 LanguageEnglish LyricsLotfi BehnamGábor PálAttila SándorCsaba Walkó MusicLotfi BehnamGábor PálAttila SándorCsaba Walkó BackingsHelga WéberAttila SándorKrisztián Szakos (guitar) Results Semi Points: 52Position: 10Running order: 15 Results Finals Points: 19Position: 24Running order: 2 https://youtu.be/sw85G2AlU2c?si=9X4gvU3Bw_-m087q