Liverpool

Vesna

© EBU/Chloe Hashemi About Quick Facts Members Patricie FuxováBára ŠůstkováOlesya OchepovskáMarkéta VedralováTereza ČepkováTanita Yankovová Founded2016 Nationality🇨🇿 Czech National SelectionESCZ 2023 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongMy sister’s crown (2023) Biography Vesna is an alternative music band with strong folklore features. It consists of singer, composer and lyricist Patricie Fuxová, violinist and vocalist Bára Šůstková, keyboardist Olesya Ochepovská, drummer Markéta Vedralová and bassist Tereza Čepková. The band was founded in 2016 by Patricia Fuxová. She got the idea to found an all-female group that would celebrate femininity and Slavism while studying at the conservatory. Together with her, Vesna was formed in the beginning by violinist Bára Šůstková, flutist Andrea Šulcová and Tanita Yankovová, whom she met at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory in Prague. The first song released was “Morana” in 2017, named after the goddess of winter and death, which they recorded in collaboration with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra; other singles were “Mokoš”, “Vesna” and “Živa”, named after the goddesses of autumn, spring and summer. In 2018, Šulcová and Yankovová left the group, who were replaced by pianist Olesya Ochepovská and drummer Markéta Vedralová. In November, they released their debut album “Pátá Bohyně” with 13 songs. With this album, the group was nominated in the Discovery of the Year category in the Anděl 2018 music award. 2019–⁠2022In June 2019, the group released the song “Bílá laň” in collaboration with Věra Martinová. In July the song “Bečva”, named after the river of the same name in collaboration with singer Zuzana Smatanova. On November 18, they released the song “Don’t Forget”; in the fall of 2019, the group organized its first club tour in the Czech Republic and Slovakia called #MyaVy. During the covid-19 pandemic, the group worked on a new album called “Anima”. It was released in October 2020, containing 11 songs; on the record, the band focused on animal archetypes, the symbolism of the night sky, the female body, self-perception or balancing the male-female worlds. The group was chosen as one of the five participants in the final selection, from which emerged the performer who will represent Czechia at Eurovision in 2023. The group entered the competition with the song “My Sister’s Crown” and clearly won the national final; domestic and foreign fans and spectators decided it in a vote. In Liverpool, they represented Czechia and reached the final. They earned a 10th place in the final. Entries My Sister’s Crown Country🇨🇿 Czechia Year2023 LanguageEnglishUkrainianCzechBulgarian Lyrics Patricie Kaňok FuxováTanita YankovaKateryna Vatchenko MusicPatricie Kaňok FuxováTanita YankovaKateryna Vatchenko Backings– Results Semi Points: 110Position: 4Running order: 13 Results Finals Points: 129Position: 10Running order: 14 https://youtu.be/ag8qxpvTTy0

Alessandra

© EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett About Quick Facts NameAlessandra Watle Mele Born05 September 2002 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionMelodi Grand Prix 2023 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongQueen Of The Kings (2023) Biography Mele grew up in the town of Cisano sul Neva in Savona, Italy, She has an Italian father, while her mother is Norwegian with roots in Stathelle in Bamble. After high school in 2021, she moved to Norway to be closer to her Norwegian family and at the same time focus on a music career. Already as a child she started singing and dancing, and she participated in her first singing competition at the age of six. She has studied piano and took singing lessons with a singing teacher in Italy. In Norway, she began studying at the music school LIMPI in Lillehammer in autumn 2022. In 2022, she participated in The Voice Norge on TV 2 Direkte and reached the live rounds. The following year, she was selected as one of the participants in Melodi Grand Prix 2023 with the song “Queen of Kings”. The song was written at a songwriting camp in autumn 2022. The song is about daring to be yourself fully, and is based on Mele’s own life and experiences as bisexual. She won Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2023, and thus represented Norway in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. She reached the final and ended up in 5th place there. Entries Queen Of The Kings Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2023 LanguageEnglish LyricsHenning OlerudStanley FerdinandezAlessandra MeleLinda Dale MusicHenning OlerudStanley FerdinandezAlessandra MeleLinda Dale BackingsHege Nesset DancersReno AndersenOla SamuelsenChristiane BergersenRebekka Norvik Results Semi Points: 102Position: 6Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: 268Position: 5Running order: 20 https://youtu.be/PUHSM_vTqTI

Piqued Jacks will sing for San Marino!

Piqued Jacks will sing for San Marino. After a very long evening the band has been chosen to sing the San Marinese entry “Like an animal” in the Eurovision Song Contest. Piqued Jacks will perform in the second half of the second semifinal. Here are the full results: Piqued Jacks, “Like an animal” Le Deva, “Fiori su marte” XGiove, “Fucco e benzina Mayu, “C’e qualcosa in me che non funziona” Eiffel 65, “Movie star” Edoardo Brogi, “Due punti sull’equatore” Ellynora, “Mama told me” Tothem, “Sacro e profano” EEF, “Something for you” Vina Rose, “Oblivious” The other songs were: Alfie Arcuri, “Collide” Deborah Iurato, “Out of space” Deshedus, “Non basterà” Iole, “Sui tetto del mondo” Kida, “Stessa pelle” Lorenzo Licitra, “Never give up” Mate, “Prisma” NeVruz, “L’Alieno” Ronela Hajati, “Salvaje” Roy Paci, “Tromba” Thomas, “23:23”

San Marino selects a song

After a week of semifinals, it is the moment that San Marino selects a song. Out of 22 entries, the smallest country on the current Eurovision map will select one. The show starts at 21:00 CET and can be seen here. Below you will find the participants: 1 Alfie Arcuri Collide 2 Deborah Iurato Out of space 3 Deshedus Non basterà 4 Edoardo Brogi Due punti sull’equatore 5 EEF Something for you 6 Eiffel 65 Movie star 7 Ellynora Mama told me 8 Iole Sui tetto del mondo 9 Kida Stessa pelle 10 Le Deva Fiori su marte 11 Lorenzo Licitra Never give up 12 Mate Prisma 13 Mayu C’è qualcosa in me che non funziona 14 NeVruz L’alieno 15 Piqued Jacks Like an animal 16 Ronela Hajati Salvaje 17 Roy Paci Tromba 18 Simone De Biagi Catching memories 19 Thomas 23:23 20 Tothem Sacro e profano 21 Vina Rose Oblivious 22 XGiove Fuoco e benzina Alfie Arcuri became 5th in Australia You Decide in 2019.Deborah Iurato became 3rd in the Festival Di Sanremo 2016.Deshedus became 9th in Una Voce per San Marino 2022.Mate became 17th in Una Voce per San Marino 2022.Ronela Hajati took part in Festival i Këngës 2015 (11th) and 2022 (1st). She represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Sekret”.Roy Paci became 8th in Festival Di Sanremo 2018.Vina Rose became 7th in Una Voce per San Marino 2022.

Finland selects for Liverpool

Tonight Finland will decide which song will represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest. Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) is the name of the national selection. Just as the last few years, seven songs will compete in the contest. The show starts at 20:00. You can choose to watch it without commentary, or with English, Swedish, Ukrainian or Russian commentary. Below you will find the field of songs for tonight: 1 Robin Packalen Girls like you 2 Kuumaa Ylivomainen 3 Käärijä Cha cha cha 4 Keira No business on the dancefloor 5 Benjamin Hoida mut 6 Lxandra Something to lose 7 Portion Boys Sama taivasta katsotaan None of the artists took part in UMK before.

Portugal: Festival Da Canção starts

Portugal starts the national final tonight. The tradition is that there will be two semifinals and a final. Every semifinal contains 10 songs, and so does the final. That means that from tonight’s semifinal, two songs will go through two the final. The show will be broadcast on 22:00 CET and you can watch it here and here. These are the participating songs: MoYah sings “Too much sauce” Bolha sings “Sonhos de liberdade” April Ivy sings “Modo voo” Churky sings “Encurzilhada” Cláudia Pascoal sings “Nasci Maria” Sal sings “Viver” Mimicat sings “Ai coração” You Can’t Win, Charlie Brown sings “Contraste mudo” Neon Soho sings “Endless world” Esse Povo sings “Sapatos de cimento” Cláudia Pascoal won Festival Da Canção in 2018 and represented Portugal at the festival in Lisbon with the song “O jardim”.

Iceland: Söngvakeppnin continues

Tonight the Icelandic national final Söngvakeppnin will continue. You are able to watch the second of two semifinals. Two more songs will be selected. In the end, probably later this week, a wildcard will be given to a 5th song. The show will start at 20:45 CET and you can watch it here. The songs in tonight show will all be sung in Icelandic. For the final, however, artists have the right to sing their song in English. These are tonights titles: Kristin Sesselja sings “Óbyggðir” Langi Seli & Skuggarnir sing “OK” Silja Rós & Kjalar sing “Ég styð þína braut” Úlfar sings “Betri maður” Sigga Ozk sings “Gleyma þér og dansa” None of the participating artists took part in Söngvakeppnin in the past.

Sweden: Melodifestivalen heat 4 is on

The very popular Swedish national selection Melodifestivalen will have it’s 4th and last heat tonight. Seven songs will compete, two will head directly to the final while two other songs will go to the semifinal. The show starts at 20:00 and you can watch it here. The participating songs are: Kiana sings “Where did you go?” Signe & Hjördis sing “Edelweiss” Smash Into Pieces sings “Six feet under” Mariette sings “One day” Emil Henrohn sings “Mera mera mera” Axel Schylström sings “Gorgeous” Loreen sings “Tattoo” Mariette became 3rd in 2015, 4th in 2017, 5th in 2018 and 10th in 2020.Axel Schylström reached Andra Chancen in 2017.Loreen reached Andra Chancen in 2011, won Melodifestivalen 2012 and reached Andra Chancen in 2017. Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the legendary song “Euphoria”!

The Busker

© EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett About Quick Facts MembersDavid ‘Dav Jr.’ GrechJean Paul BorgSean Meachen Founded2012 Nationality🇲🇹 Maltese National SelectionMalta Eurovision Song Contest 2023 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongDance (Our own party) (2023) Biography The Busker is a Maltese indie pop band. The band was formed in October 2012 by singer and guitarist Dario Genovese and percussionist Jean Paul Borg. In 2014, bassist/keyboardist David Grech (aka Dav Jr.) and saxophonist Sean Meachen joined the band. The Busker was inspired by 1960s pop bands. They published their first song, “The ballad of John Brown”, on YouTube in 2013. The Busker started publishing songs on YouTube; both covers and original songs. Their debut album, “Telegram”, was released in 2017, followed by “Ladies and Gentlemen” om 2018. Dario Genovese left the group in august 2020. The band continued as a trio.The band teamed up with Matthew James for the song “Just a little bit more”. The song became no. 1 in the Maltese Top-10. In January 2021 the band teamed up with Raquella for the song “Don’t you tell me what you feel”. After these collaborations, Dav Jr. became the frontman of the band. The first single with the new line up was “Loose” in august 2021, followed in December of the same year by “Nothing more”. Both songs were released on the group’s EP “X”. On September 12, 2022, a new song “Miracle” was released. On February 11th, 2023, their song “Dance (Our own Party)” was chosen to represent Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it to the final. Entries Dance (Our own Party) Country🇲🇹 Malta Year2023 LanguageEnglish LyricsDavid Meilak MusicDavid MeilakJean Paul BorgMatthew James BorgMichael Joe CiniSean Meachen Backings– Results Semi Points: 3Position: 15Running order: 2 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/zVmVt9qmg9g

Sudden Lights

© EBU/Chloe Hashemi About Quick Facts MembersAndrejs Reinis ZitmanisKārlis Matīss ZitmanisMārtiņš Matīss ZemītisKārlis Vārtiņš Founded2012 Nationality🇱🇻 Latvian National SelectionSupernova 2018Supernova 2023 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongAijā (2023) Biography Sudden Lights is a Latvian alternative rock band. The band consists of Kārlis Vārtiņš (bass guitar), Mārtis Matīss Zemītis (percussion), Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis (voice) and Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis (guitar). The group was created in 2012 by Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis and Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis, who studied at the Pāvuls Jurjānas music school at the time. In 2014, Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis and Kārlis Vārtiņš joined the group. The first step on the way to growth for the group was the victory in the Riga State 1st Gymnasium’s young musicians competition Pirmā Plate in 2015. They reached the first place. It gave them the opportunity to record their song “Tik Savādi”. It became the first song released by Sudden Lights. Soon, the group’s debut album was created, with the singles “Suburban Waltz”, “Laikmets” and “Šājā sētas pāše” being released. The songs were immediately included in the rotations of Latvian radio stations. They released video clips for “Suburban Waltz” and “Šājā sētas pāše”. On September 22, 2017, the group presented their debut album “Priekšpilsētas”. It contained 10 songs in both Latvian and English. The first self-organized concert, in which the songs of the album were played, took place at the Music House “Daile” on April 12, 2018. In 2018, the band took part in Supernova, the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. They reached the final and became the runner up there with the song “Just fine”. Along with the presentation of the album “Par to zēnu ks sit skārdas bungas”, They were going to open for Brainstorm. For the first time in the history of Sudden Lights, the group performed in front of thousands of listeners. With the singles “Negribu pizezemētis” and “Dzīvnieks” the group has announced a new album. It was released on October 11, 2019 and is the band’s second studio album “Vislabāk ir tur, kur manis nav”. At the end of February 2020, the group went on its first Latvian concert tour with the same name. Due to measures to limit the spread of the virus “Covid 19”, the tour could not be finished. In 2023, the group participated in the Supernova 2023 contest with the song “Aijā”. The group won the competition and got the right to represent Latvia in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately they didn’t manage to reach the final. Entries Aijā Country🇱🇻 Latvia Year2023 LanguageEnglishLatvian LyricsAndrejs Reinis ZitmanisKārlis Matīss ZitmanisMārtiņš Matīss ZemītisKārlis Vārtiņš MusicAndrejs Reinis ZitmanisKārlis Matīss ZitmanisMārtiņš Matīss ZemītisKārlis Vārtiņš Backings– Results Semi Points: 34Position: 11Running order: 4 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/SEykwl9X9SY