Male Artists

Vesa-Matti Loiri passed away

This week, Finnish singer and actor Vesa-Matti Loiri passed away. Loiri, who was nicknamed Vesku, was a Finnish actor, comedian, singer and musician. He is considered one of Finland’s most versatile entertainment artists. He was one of the biggest names in Finnish art and entertainment. Loiri has acted in theatre, films and television. As a comedian, he is known for television programs and movies. As a singer, Loiri gained popularity, especially as an interpreter of songs composed to Eino Leino’s poems. He has also recorded Finnish hits. In 1975, he took part in Euroviisut, the Finnish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. His song “Laulu” became 3rd. Four years later, with “Huilumies”, he was more succesful. He was chosen to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately, in the international final in Den Haag, it was not a great success. He became last. In 2014, Loiri appeared in the third season of the Finnish TV series Vain läämää. Loiri died of cancer on August 10, 2022. “He was one of Finland’s most well-known, most loved and most successful entertainment artists of all time,” music editor Ilkka Mattila describes Loiri.’s career in the death news.

Sebastian Rejman

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameSebastian Rejman Born13 January 1978 Nationality???????? Finnish National SelectionUuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongLook away (2019, with Darude) Biography Sebastian Rejman (born 13 January 1978 [1]) is a Finnish musician, actor and presenter. He was the lead singer of the Giant Leap, a melodic rock band formed in 2005 in Helsinki. The band includes, beside Sebastian Petri Somer and Sami Lehto. The Giant Leap changed to its current form when founding members Sebastian and Petri became acquainted with Sami Lehto in the summer of 2005. Sebastian and Petri are responsible for writing the songs and arranging and producing the songs for Sami. All members of the band have years of musical background. The songs on the band’s debut album, released in the fall of 2007, have been released over the years. The band’s first single, “All In My Head,” was distributed to radio stations in late May, and in the summer of 2007, it became one of the radio’s most played songs. The second single “Somebody Else” was broadcast on radio on September 17, 2007, and a music video was also made for the song. The band’s first two singles can be found on the October 31, 2007 album “Another Day Rising”. On December 7, 2007, the band acted as warmer for Bryan Adams at his Finnish gig. The band’s second album, The Giant Leap, was released in 2010. After Giant Leap froze for a while, Sebastian formed a new band called Sebastian & The 4th Line Band. Rejman is from a bilingual working-class family in eastern Helsinki and has lived in Kallio, Helsinki. He started playing guitar and singing at the age of 14. He cites Elvis Presley and Bruce Springsteen as his musical role models. Rejman participated in Nelonen’s Choir War , where he conducted the Helsinki Choir. The Helsinki Choir dropped out of the race first. In addition to the songs from The Giant Leap, Rejman and Somer did a song “Hauraalla jäällä” with Lasse Wikman and Samppa Komokallio. Rejman also composed the song “Hetki me vaan lennettiin” for Riku Torkkel with Esa Nieminen. Since 2012, Rejman has also been a TV presenter as he co-hosted Talentin with Lorenz Backman. Since then, he has hosted Splash and worked as a backstage reporter for The Voice of Finland. In 2014, he hosted the tv-show Jukebox and also co-hosted the final concert of the show We Want More program with Kristiina Komulainen. In 2017, he starred in the film “Kuudes kerta”. Since 2018, Sebastian has a role in the hospital series Syke. Rejman represented Finland at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel, together with Darude. Entries Look Away (with Darude) Country???????? Finland Year2019 LanguageEnglish LyricsSebastian RejmanVille Virtanen MusicSebastian RejmanVille Virtanen BackingsPetri SomerMatti LeinoHeini IkonenEtel Röhr Results Semi Points: 23Position: 17Running order: 3 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/VSPhIwOJfRs

Darude

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameTone-Ville Henrik Virtanen Born17 July 1975 Nationality???????? Finnish National SelectionUuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongLook away (2019, with Sebastian Rejman) Biography Darude (real name Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen is a Finnish DJ and composer. He was born in Eura, in the Southwestern part of Finland. Virtanen started his career when attending highschoo. He was enthusiastic about making music at the computer at the time. He played the song “Rude Boy” by Swedish eurodance artist Leila K four times at a school party. He then began to be playfully called Rude Boy. Rude Boy later changed to Da Rude, who eventually became Darude. Darude eagerly pursued his career and in 1997 his demos were played on some radio stations. His songs were also available for download on MP3.com. In 1999, he made a demo of “Sandstorm” for his producer Jaakko Salovaara (JS16). Darude signed a record deal with Salovaara’s 16 Inch Records and “Sandstorm” was released as a single shortly thereafter. The track proved to be a big hit around the world. In addition to Finland, the song did particularly well in the United Kingdom. In Finland, the single sold platinum and remained on Finland’s official singles chart for 42 (!!) weeks. “Sandstorm” sold 2 million units worldwide. By March 2015, more than three million units had been sold. Darude’s debut album “Before the Storm” sold 800,000 copies worldwide. The album’s second single, “Feel the Beat”, was a great success. In 2001 Darude had a tour, the “Before the Storm: Australian Tour Edition”. “Before the Storm Special Edition” was released in 2002, which included remixes of the original songs as well. In 2003, Darude’s second studio album, “Rush”, was released. The album contained the singles “Music” and “Next to You”. Darude’s third studio album “Label This!” was released in October 2007. It contained the hit singles “Tell Me” as well as “My Game”.Darude co-founded the record label EnMass Music in 2011. With that label, he released a DJ Mix compilation called “Salmiakki Seasons Vol. 1”. Darude kept on touring and playing in clubs. On August 14, 2015, Darude released a new studio album, Moments, from which the single “Beautiful Alien” was released on March 20. Together with singer-actor Sebastian Rejman, Darude represented Finland at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel with the song “Look away”. The song became last in the first semifinal. Darude reported on the TV show Villa Hintikka in January 2020 that one of his ears has become deaf due to illness. Entries Look Away (with Sebastian Rejman) Country???????? Finland Year2019 LanguageEnglish LyricsSebastian RejmanVille Virtanen MusicSebastian RejmanVille Virtanen BackingsPetri SomerMatti LeinoHeini IkonenEtel Röhr Results Semi Points: 23Position: 17Running order: 3 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/VSPhIwOJfRs

Flo Rida

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameTramar Lacel Dillard Born17 september 1979 Nationality🇺🇸 American National Selection– In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam SongAdrenalina (with Senhit, 2021) Biography Tramar Dillard was born in Carol City, Florida, USA. Already at a young age, he started making music as a member of the group called The Groundhoggz. Later, he started working with Fresh Kid Ice. He was featured on Fresh Kid Ice’s album in 2004. In 2008, Flo Rida got the chance to record his debut album “Mail on sunday”. The first single was “Low”, featuring T-Pain. “Low” reached the no. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.The follow up “Elevator”, featuring Timbaland, “In the Ayer” featuring will.i.am, and “Roll” featuring Sean Kingston became chart successes as well. Flo Rida made guest performances on other R&B, rap, and pop singles, among others “We Break the Dawn” by Michelle Williams, the remix of “4 Minutes” by Madonna and “Running Back” by Australian singer Jessica Mauboy. He also cooperated with Lady Gaga. Flo Rida’s second album “R.O.O.T.S.”, was released on March 31, 2009. The first single, “Right Round”, featuring Kesha, jumped from number 58 to the top spot in one week in late February. The song broke a record for the most digital one week sales in the US, with 636,000. “Right Round” also became Flo Rida’s first huge hit in the United Kingdom. The second official single was “Sugar”, which featured R&B singer Wynter Gordon. “Jump”, featuring singer Nelly Furtado, was the third official single. and was released on July 27, 2009, in the United Kingdom, and July 28, 2009, worldwide. “Be on You”, featuring singer Ne-Yo, and “Available”, featuring Akon, followed. He kept on featuring in songs for other artists. Flo Rida’s third album “The only One” was released in 2010. Apart from the album, he released a single called “Zoosk girl”. On June 28, 2010, Flo Rida released the song “Club Can’t Handle Me” featuring David Guetta, which was stated to be the official first single for the album. Flo Rida also made guest appearances on Cody Simpson’s song “iYiYi” and collaborated with The Saturdays, recording a new version of their single, “Higher”. In December 2010, Flo Rida created his own label, International Music Group. Flo Rida’s fourth album, “Wild Ones” was released in July 2012. Its debut single was “Good Feeling”, released on August 29, 2011. The song samples Etta James’ 1962 song, “Something’s Got a Hold on Me”. Following the death of Etta James on January 20, 2012, Flo Rida dedicated the song in her memory. The song peaked at No. 3 in the United States, and topped the charts in several European countries. In November 2012, he collaborated with Olly Murs for his song “Troublemaker”. In June 2013, Flo Rida collaborated with Marc Mysterio on the song “Booty on the Floor” to benefit the families and victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. In January 2014, Flo Rida was featured in the song “One Night Stand” by Slovak duo TWiiNS. In November, he appeared on Nickelback’s album No Fixed Address in the track “Got Me Runnin’ Round”. An EP, “My house”, followed, from which several songs became hits. In 2016, Flo Rida released a single “Hello Friday” featuring Jason Derulo. His new album was called “Masterminds”. He also featured on Pitbull’s single “Greenlight”. It took Flo Rida a long time to release his fifth album. It was supposed to be released in January 2021. However, the album is not released yet. Flo Rida was featured on the song “Adrenalina” by Italian singer Senhit. The two represented San Marino in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. Whether Flo Rida would really join Senhit on stage was a long kept secret. Only a few days before the contest Flo Rida arrived in Rotterdam. Entries Adrenalina (Senhit ft. Flo Rida) Country🇸🇲 San Marino Year2021 LanguageEnglish Lyrics and musicChanel TukiaTramar Dillard (Flo Rida)Jimmy ThörnfeldtJoy DebLinnea DebKenny SilverdiqueMalou RuotsalainenSenhit Zadik ZadikSuzi PancenkovThomas Stengaard BackingsIlaria CavolaLucrezia StopponiStefano Rei FerrariPatrizio Ratto Results Semi Points: 118Position: 9Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: 50Position: 22Running order: 6 https://youtu.be/TkhiH-JXFPs

Rafal

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameRafał Brzozowski Born8 june 1981 Nationality🇵🇱 Poland National SelectionKrajowe Eliminacje 2017 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam SongThe Ride (2021) Biography Rafał Brzozowski, born in Warshaw, is a Polish singer, TV presenter and former wrestler. During his studies at the Academy of Physical Education, he was educated as a sports teacher. He won the bronze medal of the Polish Academic Championships in wrestling in 2006. Due to a spine injury, he ended his sports career . He began his musical career in 2002 with the participation in the television program Szansa na sukces, in which he won a distinction . Previously, he performed with Marcin Kiljan in the K.Martin band. In 2003 he became a member of the band Emigranci. He was also a member of the group Mono. In autumn 2011, he took part in The Voice of Poland. His coach was Andrzej Piaseczny. Rafał was eliminated just before the final. In the same year, he released two singles: “Nie mam nic” and “Na dobre masz zawsze mnie”. In 2012, he released the single “Tak blisko”, for which he received the TV audience award at the Eska Music Awards 2012 gala. The song took the second place on the AirPlay charts . He also won a prize at the Russian Song Festival. On August 7, 2012, he released his debut studio album, entitled “Tak blisko”. In September 2014, he released his second studio album entitled “Mój czas”. In the same year, he took part in the released a Christmas album. In 2017, he became 2nd in the Polish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Sky over Europe”. In 2020, with the song he qualified for the “Premier” concert at the 57th KFPP in Opole with the song “Gentleman”. In May 2021, he represented Poland in the 65th Eurovision Song Contest with the song “The Ride”. In the summer of 2021 he performed during the TVP2 Summer, Music, Fun tour. Summer tour. In July, the single “Głośniej” was released. At the beginning of 2022, he co-hosted the third edition of The Voice Senior. Entries The Ride Country🇵🇱 Poland Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsJoakim ÖvreniusThomas KarlssonClara RubenssonJohan Mauritszon ComposersJoakim ÖvreniusThomas KarlssonClara RubenssonJohan Mauritszon BackingsPaweł Skiba DancersBartosz KołeckiDaniel BorzewskiMaciej MiśkiewiczMiłosz Kuterasiński Results Semi Points: 35Position: 14Rank: 6 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Rank: – https://youtu.be/Uy6TeDNvSGo

Tusse

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameTousin Chiza Born01 january 2001 Nationality🇸🇪 Swedish National SelectionMelodifestivalen 2021 In EurovisionRotterdam 2021 SongVoices (2021) Biography Tusse is a Swedish/Congolese singer, born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a child, he fled to Sweden and applied for asylum there. Chiza participated in Talang 2018 where he reached one of the semifinals. The following year, he took part in Idol 2019. Tusse won the contest and released the song “Rain”. He thus became the youngest male participant, the first dark-skinned participant and the first participant born in the 2000s in Swedish Idol’s history to win the competition. In November 2019, Chiza’s version of Whitney Houston’s song “How Will I Know” was released. Tusse’s first single after Idol, “Innan du går”, which was also his first song in Swedish, was released. In 2021, Tusse participated in Melodifestivalen, the Swedish preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. His song “Voices” was the clear favourite from day 1 and won. The logical next step was representing Sweden in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam. In december 2021, Tusse presented his new single “Grow”. Entries Voices Country🇸🇪 Country Year2021 LanguageEnglish Lyrics & MusicJoy DebLinnea DebAnderz WrethovJimmy Thörnfeldt BackingsLars Säfsund DancersLamin HolménKeisha von ArnoldFatou BahTimothy Kakeeto Results Semi Points: 142Position: 7Running order: 4 Results Finals Points: 109Position: 14Running order: 25 https://youtu.be/NyJRyif6_kk

TIX

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameAndreas Andresen Haukeland Born12 april 1993 Nationality🇳🇴 Norway National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2021 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam SongFallen angel (2021) Biography TIX is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in Bærum. TIX is known for its colorful and flamboyant style with fur coat, sunglasses and headband applied with the text «TIX». The artist’s name comes from Tourette’s syndrome, which Haukeland has had since childhood. The syndrome causes involuntary twitches, so-called “tics”. These made him being bullied at school, but he chose to take ownership of “tics” by taking the artist name “TIX”. TIX wears sunglasses to hide twitches with the eye. TIX rose to fame in Norway in 2015 with the controversial song Sjeiken 2015. The lyrics contained lines like “Everyone knows it’s the Sheikh who rules, chilling in the lounge with 400 wives, we have champagne waterfalls, gonna push you there. My name’s Sheikh Yer Bouti” In 2016, he released his first and foremost single album, Dømt og berømt, which was on the official Norwegian album list for 79 weeks. TIX has worked as a songwriter in Los Angeles, where he has written “Game Time” for Flo Rida and “Sweet But Psycho” for Avea Max. In the summer of 2017, TIX has opened for Justin Bieber at Forus Travbane in Stavanger. After several years of Russian songs and party music, Haukeland released his first solo single, «Shotgun», in 2018. In 2019 he topped the VG list for the first time with the deeply personal song “Jegg vil ikke leve”. He has since followed up with a number of personal songs. He topped the VG list again twice. In January 2021, he was a guest on the talk show Lindmo on NRK1, where he told about his loneliness, depression and suicide attempt. There he said that the song “Jegg vil ikke leve” was based on the findings from this difficult time.In 2021, TIX won Norsk Melodi Grand Prix and thus represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Fallen angel”. He took the opportunity to ask for attention to Gilles de la Tourette. His alleged blossoming love with the Azerbaijani contestant Efendi also attracted a lot of attention. “Fallen angel” reached the top of the Norwegian charts, as the follow up “Engel, ikke dra” did. That song was a dedication to a fan who passed away. Many other hits followed in 2021 and 2022. Entries Fallen angel Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsAndreas HaukelandMathias HaukelandEmelie Hollow MusicAndreas Haukeland BackingsJohannes Winter FarstadEivind DundasJohn MasakiReno AndersenBjørnar Erlandsen Results Semi Points: 115Position: 10Running order: 9 Results Finals Points: 75Position: 18Running order: 22 https://youtu.be/F0r3vmGLzZU

Jendrik

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameJendrik Sigwart Born27 august 1994 Nationality🇩🇪 German National SelectionInternal Selection In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam SongI don’t feel hate (2021) Biography Jendrik Sigwart was born in Hamburg in 1994. He is a German singer and musicalstar. Born in Hamburg-Volksdorf, Jendrik started playing music at a young age. He studied piano and violin. He did a study in musical and vocals at the Institute for Music at the Osnabrück Highschool. Already during his study, he played roles in several musicals like “Peter Pan”, “My fair lady” and “Hairspray”. Sigwart writes his own songs, that he publishes on Youtube. His trademark is the ukulele, a small four-stringed guitar of Hawaiian origin. In december 2020 Jendrik played three of his songs in a benefit concert for the refugees, living in Camp Moria in Greece. After getting 18 washing machines via internet, he decided to make a video clip and caught attention of German TV. In february 2021 it became known that he was going to represent Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “I don’t feel hate”. It meant his breakthrough among a larger audience. However, he became 25th in the contest. Entries I don’t feel hate Country🇩🇪 Germany Year2021 LanguageEnglish Lyrics & MusicJendrik SigwartChristoph Oswald Backings/DancersMyriam KüppersSophia EuskirchenMadina FreyElvin Karakurt Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 3Position: 25Running order: 15 https://youtu.be/1m0VEAfLV4E

Aksel

About Quick Facts NameAksel Kankaanranta Born28 January 1998 Nationality🇫🇮 Finnish National SelectionUuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2021Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (canceled) SongLooking back (2020, canceled) Biography Aksel Kankaanranta is a Finnish singer and musician. His interest in music started as a child playing the violin. However, Aksel realized his talent as a singer when playing bass on Zen Café was really beautiful. In 2017, Aksel participated in the Voice of Finland because his mother and sister encouraged him to apply. The only purpose was to test how far the hoops were. Aksel ended up in second place. In 2019 Aksel won an award at the Emma gala for most streamed song. In 2020, he was chosen to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Looking back”. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen due to the corona crisis. In the summer of 2020, Kankaanranta got a record deal with Etenee Records, owned by Warner Music.In 2021, he was one of the seven finalists in the Finnish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, Uuden Musiikin Kilpilailu 2021. with the song “Hurt.” The song finished fifth in the competition. Entries Looking back Country🇫🇮 Finland Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsJoonas AngeriaWithney PhillipsConnor McDonoughRiley McDonoughToby McDonough MusicJoonas AngeriaWithney PhillipsConnor McDonoughRiley McDonoughToby McDonough Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/EgONBKFQpxE

Gjon’s Tears

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameGjon Muharremaj Born29 june 1998 Nationality🇨🇭 Swiss National SelectionInternal Selection In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (Cancelled) SongTout l’univers (2021)Répondez-moi (2020) Biography Gjon’s Tears, real name Gjon Muharremaj, is a Swiss singer of Kosovar origin. His stage name Gjon’s Tears is based on a childhood experience: When he was nine, he moved his grandfather to tears with a performance of Elvis Presley’s “Help Falling in Love”. It was his grandfather who registered him for Albania’s Got Talent in 2011, where he finished third. The following year, Gjon’s Tears participated in Die grössten Schweizer Talente. He also took part in the French version of The Voice. In 2020, he was supposed represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Répondez-moi”. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the contest, that didn’t happen. Swiss TV has now invited him to be the 2021 contestant. His song, “Tout l’univers”, became the winner of the expert jury. Overall, Gjon became 3rd. Also in 2021, Gjon’s Tears featured in a song of Arilena Ara, with the title “Dance me”. He won an MTV Europe Music Award for best Swiss song. At the end of 2021 he participated in The Voice All Stars France. In 2022, his song “Silhouette” became a huge hit in Albania. Entries Tout l’univers Country🇨🇭 Switzerland Year2021 LanguageFrench Lyrics & MusixGjon MuharremajWouter HardyNina Sampermans MusicGjon MuharremajWouter HardyNina SampermansXavier Michel Backings– Results Semi Points: 291Position: 1 Running order: 16 Results Finals Points: 432Position: 3Running order: 14 https://youtu.be/jznH_fltcYA Répondez-moi Country Switzerland Year2021 LanguageFrench Lyrics & MusicGjon MuharremajXavier MichelAlizé OswaldJeroen Swinnen Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/O9GAfFHZE-E