All the participants • First Semi-Final • Second Semi-Final • Grand Final

🇳🇴 Norway • 🇲🇹 Malta • 🇷🇸 Serbia • 🇱🇻 Latvia • 🇵🇹 Portugal • 🇮🇪 Ireland •🇭🇷 Croatia • 🇨🇭 Switzerland • 🇮🇱 Israel • 🇲🇩 Moldova • 🇸🇪 Sweden • 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan • 🇨🇿 Czechia • 🇳🇱 The Netherlands • 🇫🇮 Finland

🇳🇴 Norvegia: Alessandra – “Queen of kings” (Alessandra Mele / Henning Olerud / Linda Dale / Stanley Ferdinandez – Alessandra Mele / Henning Olerud / Linda Dale / Stanley Ferdinandez).

• Selected entrant: Alessandra Watle Mele (born 5 September 2002), known mononymously as Alessandra, is a Norwegian-Italian singer and songwriter. She competed in the seventh season of The Voice – Norges beste stemme in 2022, reaching the live shows. She is set to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “Queen of Kings”.

Mele was born on 5 September 2002 in Pietra Ligure, Savona to an Italian father from Albenga and a Norwegian mother from Stathelle, and grew up in Cisano sul Neva. At the age of twelve, she won the fifth edition of VB Factor, a local talent show in the Val Bormida region. After graduating from high school in 2021, she first moved in with her maternal grandparents in Porsgrunn, Norway, before moving to Lillehammer, to study at the Lillehammer Institute of Music Production and Industries (LIMPI).

2022: The Voice Norway. In 2022, Mele was a participant in the seventh season of The Voice – Norges beste stemme, the Norwegian version of the The Voice franchise. After her Blind Audition, she joined the team of coach Espen Lind. She was eliminated in the live shows.

The Voice Norway performances and results
Round	Song	Original artist	Result
Blind Auditions	“I Will Pray (Pregherò)”	Giorgia feat. Alicia Keys	Joined Team Espen Lind
The Battles	“I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”	Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett	Advanced
Knockouts	“The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress”	Jimmy Webb	Advanced
Live Show 1	“One Night Only”	Deena Jones & the Dreams	Eliminated

2023: Melodi Grand Prix and Eurovision Song Contest. On 4 January 2023, Mele was announced as one of twenty-one artists to compete in Melodi Grand Prix 2023, the Norwegian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. She performed her entry “Queen of Kings” in the first semi-final on 14 January 2023, and was among the three acts to qualify for the final on 4 February 2023. She went on to win the competition, receiving the most points from both the public and the international jury, thereby winning the right to represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. She is set to perform in the first semi-final on 9 May 2023.

Personal life. In an interview with Eurovision Fun, Mele reported that she is bisexual, with her song “Queen of Kings” representing her experiences as a bisexual woman.

Discography. 

Singles.

List of singles, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions					Album
		NOR	FIN	HUN	ISL	SWE
“Queen of Kings”	2023	1	20	6	22	35	Non-album single

• Selected song: “Queen of Kings” is a song by Norwegian-Italian singer Alessandra Mele, which was released on 9 January 2023. The song is set to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning Melodi Grand Prix 2023, Norway’s national final for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The track peaked at number one in Norway.

In an interview with Eurovision fansite Eurovision Fun, Mele stated that the song is about showing “the power of women, but also the power of all people, about how important it is to feel yourself.” Mele said that her experiences as a bisexual woman influenced the creation of the song.

Eurovision Song Contest. 

Melodi Grand Prix 2023. Melodi Grand Prix 2023 was the 61st edition of Melodi Grand Prix, the contest that selects the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The contest consists of three semi-finals and one final. “Queen of Kings” was selected to compete first in the first-semi final, where it would manage to qualify to the final.

Heading into the final, the song was considered a favorite to win Melodi Grand Prix 2023, being the favorite in reader polls on Eurovision fansites Wiwibloggs and ESCUnited. In the final, an international jury and a public televote was used, with both contributing 50% of the vote. “Queen of Kings” would manage to earn a total of 233 points, earning 104 points from the jury and 129 from the public, winning both halves of the vote and earning the Norwegian spot for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Norway has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.

Charts. 

Chart performance for “Queen of Kings”

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	20
Hungary (Single Top 40)	6
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)	22
Norway (VG-lista)	1
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)	72
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	35

🇲🇹 Malta: The Busker – “Dance (Our own party)” (David Meilak – David Meilak / Jean Paul Borg / Matthew James Borg / Micheal Joe Cini / Sean Meachen).

• Selected entrant: The Busker is a Maltese indie pop band founded in 2012. The band consists of David “Dav.Jr” Meilak, Jean Paul Borg, and Sean Meachen. They are set to represent Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “Dance (Our Own Party)”.

The Busker was formed in October 2012 by singer and guitarist Dario Genovese and percussionist Jean Paul Borg. Two years later, bassist and keyboardist David Grech and saxophonist Sean Meachen joined. The group draws inspiration from 1960s pop bands such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys. They started posting covers and original music on YouTube. Their debut album, “Telegram”, was released in 2017, followed by “Ladies and Gentlemen” the following year. Genovese left the group in 2021.

In November 2022, The Busker was confirmed to be among the 40 participants in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023, a festival used to select the Maltese representative in the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Their competing song, “Dance (Our Own Party)”, was submitted the following month. After qualifying first from the quarter-finals and then the semi-finals of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest,^[4] on 11 February 2023 The Busker performed in the final, where they won with the combined support of the judging and televoting. Their victory granted them the right to represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool.

Members.

Current:

• David “Dav.Jr” Meilak – lead vocals, guitars
• Jean Paul Borg – drums
• Sean Meachen – saxophone

Former

• Dario Genovese – vocals, guitar
• David Grech – bass

Discography.

Studio albums.

• 2017 – Telegram
• 2018 – Ladies and Gentlemen

EP.

2021 – X

Singles.

• 2020 – “Just a Little Bit More” (with Matthew James)
• 2021 – “Don’t You Tell Me What to Feel” (with Raquela DG)
• 2021 – “Loose”
• 2021 – “Nothing More”
• 2022 – “Miracle”
• 2023 – “Dance (Our Own Party)”

• Selected song: “Dance (Our Own Party)” is a song by Maltese indie pop band the Busker. The song will represent Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023, the Maltese national final for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

The song was made available for digital download and streaming on 3 March 2023. The music video was subsequently released on the Eurovision Song Contest’s official YouTube channel on 9 March 2023.

Eurovision Song Contest.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Malta has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.

Charts.

Chart performance for “Dance (Our Own Party)”

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Malta (BMAT PRS)	1

🇷🇸 Serbia: Luke Black – “Namo mi se spava” (Само ми се спава) (Luke Black – Luke Black).

• Selected entrant: Luka Ivanović (Лука Ивановић; born 18 May 1992), professionally known as Luke Black, is a Serbian singer-songwriter. Born in Čačak, he became the first Serbian artist to be signed under Universal Music Group, through which he released his debut EP Thornes in February 2015. It was followed by Neoslavic (2018) and F23.8 (2023). Luke Black is set to represent Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “Samo mi se spava”.

Luka Ivanović was born on 18 May 1992 in Čačak, FR Yugoslavia. He pursued interest in music at the age of 12 when he started writing his own lyrics, and a couple of years later also began creating and producing music.^[3] After graduating from the Grammar School of Čačak, Ivanović relocated to Belgrade to study English language and literature.^[4] He later moved to London, where he eventually graduated with a master’s degree in music production.

Ivanović stated that his stage name “Luke” comes from the anglicisation of his first name, while “Black” originates from when he as a teenager expressed forty days of mourning for the “death of the Serbian music scene”.

Career. 

2010−2019: Career beginnings, Thorns and Neoslavic. His career began when the performance of his song “D-Generation” was noticed by the representatives of Universal Music Group, offering him a recording contract. He made his recording debut with the help from the Serbian music collective Zemlja Gruva. In 2014, Black released his first single “Nebula Lullaby” through Spinnup. In May the same year, he had his first live performance at Belgrade Youth Center as a part of the Gruvlend Festival, which was organized by Zemlja Gruva to showcase new talents. “D-Generation” was officially released in February 2015 as the lead single to Luke’s debut EP. The music video for the single was uploaded through the online video platform Vevo. “D-Generation” was followed by the second single “Holding On To Love” in May 2015. Thorns the EP was eventually released on 18 September 2015 under Universal. The following month, it was promoted at the Waves Vienna festival and Tvornica kulture in Zagreb, where Black served as the opening act for Lust For Youth.

In May 2016, Black released the standalone single “Demons”, produced by Venza from Spain. The song was also nominated to represent Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, but Radio Television of Serbia ultimately went with “Goodbye (Shelter)” by Sanja Vučić. In June, to promote the single Black embarked on a solo tour in China, performing in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

In April 2017, he performed at a fashion show during the Berlin Alternative Fashion Week, held at the Berghain nightclub. There he announced the release of his single “Walpurgis Night”, produced by Swede Oscar Fogelström. Remastered versions of “Demons” and “Walpurgis Night” were included to Black’s second EP Neoslavic, released in July 2018.

2020–present: F23.8 and Eurovision Song Contest. In April 2021, Black independently released “A House on the Hill”, which was included on his EP F23.8. In January 2023, he was announced as one of the contestants of Pesma za Evroviziju ’23, the Serbian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “Samo mi se spava”.^[17] On 1 March, Black performed during the first semi-final, where he placed sixth and thus qualified for the final. Subsequently on 4 March, “Samo mi se spava” received the most points out of sixteen finalists by coming second on both the televote and the jury vote, making Luke Black the winner of the competition and Serbian representative for the contest in Liverpool.

Personal life. Ivanović lives in London, England where he works as a graphic designer for a record label.

Discography.

Extended plays.

• Thorns (2015)
• Neoslavic (2018)
• F23.8 (2023)

Singles.

Title	Year	Album
“Nebula Lullaby”	2014	Non-album single
“D-Generation”	2015	Thorns (EP)
“Holding on to Love”
“Jingle Bell Rock / Nebula Lullaby”		Non-album single
“Demons”	2016
“Walpurgis Night”	2017	Neoslavic (EP)
“Olive Tree”
“Frankensteined” (feat Majed)	2019	Non-album single
“A House on the Hill”	2021	F23.8 (EP)
“Amsterdam”
“Heartless”
“Samo mi se spava”	2023	Non-album single

Music videos.

Title	Year	Director
“D-Generation”	2015	Vasilije “VASSO” Vujović
“Holding on to Love”		Filip Mojzeš, Tatjana Krstevski
“Walpurgis Night”	2017	Sara Vulovic
“Olive Tree”	2017	Kosta Djurakovic

• Selected song: “Samo mi se spava” (I just want to sleep) is a song by Serbian singer-songwriter Luke Black, released on 2 February 2023. The song is set to represent Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning Pesma za Evroviziju ’23, Serbia’s national selection for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

In interviews, Black had reported that he had made the song in April 2020 with the help of a Lebanese friend, Majed Kfoury. Putting the song away for years, after seeing Serbian artist Konstrakta win Pesma za Evroviziju ’22 with “In corpore sano”, he thought that he could send “Samo mi se spava” to the contest.

According to Black, the song describes himself being isolated from the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he would become “very alienated from the world”, only playing video games and watching anime in his bed during quarantine. He also stated that “the song talks about people needing to wake up, because evil multiplies when people keep their eyes closed to it. Only by waking up can it be defeated.”

Eurovision Song Contest. 

Pesma za Evroviziju ’23. Pesma za Evroviziju ’23 was the national final organised by RTS to select the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The selection consisted of two semi-finals, each consisting of 16 songs each, held on 1 and 2 March 2023, respectively, and a final on 4 March 2023 that consisted of 16 songs.

“Samo mi se spava” was selected to perform in the first semi-final in the eighth position. Heading into the contest, the song was considered among a favorite to win, winning polls on Eurovision fan-sites. After qualifying from the first semi-final in sixth place,^[9] the song was drawn to perform 10th in the final. In the final, the song was revealed to had scored a total of 20 points, with 10 points each coming from a public televote and a jury vote. At the end of the voting, it was revealed that the song had earned the most points, and had thus won the competition, therefore earning the Serbian spot for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Serbia has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.

Charts.

Chart performance for “Samo mi se spava”

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Croatia (Billboard)	25

🇱🇻 Lettonia: Sudden Lights – “Aijā” (Hushaby / Shush) (Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis – Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis / Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis / Kārlis Vārtiņš / Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis).

• Selected entrant: Sudden Lights is a Latvian indie rock band, founded in 2012 in Riga. The band consists of vocalist Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis, drummer Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis, guitarist Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis, and bassist Kārlis Vārtiņš. In February 2023, the group won Supernova 2023 with the song “Aijā” and will represent Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

Sudden Lights is one of the most streamed artists in Latvia. They play a combination of pop rock with slight alternative touches. Band’s music characterize catchy melodies and melanholic notes. Group’s musicians have multi-instrumentalist knowledge.

The group was founded in 2012 by Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis and Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis when they were both studying at the Pāvuls Jurjāns Music School in Riga. They were joined by Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis and Kārlis Vārtiņš. The first stepping stone on the path to growth for the band was their victory in the upcoming musician competition First Record (Latvian: Pirmā plate) at the Riga State Gymnasium No.1. The first prize of the competition was the opportunity to record a song. The group used their prize to record “Tik Savādi” (So Strange). This was the first song to be released by Sudden Lights. Their subsequent creative efforts culminated in the band’s debut album, which was preceded by the singles Suburban Waltz, The Age and On this Side of the Fence, which were immediately given playing time by Latvian radio stations. Meanwhile, music videos were released for the songs Suburban Waltz and On this Side of the Fence.

Priekšpilsētas (2017). On 22 September 22 2017, Sudden Lights presented their debut album “Priekšpilsētas” (Suburbs), which is made up of 10 songs in both Latvian and English. The band’s first self-organized concert, in which they performed songs from the album took place at the Daile Music House in Riga on April 12, 2018. he band was joined on stage by Latvian musician Tīna Šipkēvica.he album brought the a band a Golden Microphone 2018 nomination for best debut.

LTV Supernova 2018. At the beginning of 2018, the band took part in Supernova 2018, Latvia’s national selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, with their song “Just Fine”, the closing track of their debut album, and placed second.

Initially, the group failed to qualify for the semi-finals, but the LTV jury decided to give them access on a wild card.^[4] Having gotten a second chance, the group performed in the final and finished in 2nd place.

Brainstorm Tin Drum Tour. While presenting the album, “About the Boy Who Plays the Tin Drum”, on a concert tour, Latvian pop–rock band Brainstorm announced that Sudden Lights would join accompany them on their Latvian tour as the support act for all five concerts. 60,000 people attended the closing concert of the tour at the Mežaparks Open-Air Scene in Riga.

Second studio tour and concert tour. With the singles I Don’t Want to Come Down to Earth and Animal, the band has announced second album “Vislabāk ir tur, kur manis nav” (The Best Place is Where I’m Not Around), which was released on October 11, 2019. The album was produced by Jānis Aišpurs, with whom the band had already collaborated on several singles.  In late February 2020, the group began their first concert tour in Latvia. They performed in Valmiera,Liepāja and Alūksne before the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to cancel the closing concert scheduled for March 20 in Riga.

Third studio album and collaborations. The band’s 2020 collaboration with “Astro’n’out”, that is, the song In Chaos won the Golden Microphone 2021 Award as Radio Hit of the Year. In January 2021, the band started work on their third studio album together with producer Jānis Aišpurus. The first single of the forthcoming album is Silences, which was released in April 2021. Outside of writing the album, on which the band collaborated with the singer ANNNA, in remote sessions on the ZOOM platform, the song and radio single Save a Seat for Me was recorded. In August 2021, the next single of the forthcoming album In the Shadow of a Warm Summer was released. This was followed on 25 February 2022 by the release of the single Lanterns.

The band’s third studio album “Miljards vasaru” (A Billion Summers) was presented on May 13, 2022 in the Small Hall at Splendid Palace, with the band giving a small concert and presenting a documentary film about the production of the album. ^[8] The album was nominated for the Latvian record award Zelta Mikrofons 2023 as best pop album. The concert recording received a nomination as well as album desighn and two songs received people’s choice nomination.

Parallel to the release of the album, the single A Couple of Photos Not Taken was released. In the summer of 2022, – the song The World is Shaking , a collaboration between Sudden Lights and ZEBRENE was released. In the summer, Sudden Lights performed at the festivals Summer Sound, Positivus, Saldus Sun and Limbizkvīts, the Grand Latvian Music Concert, as well as at festivals in Jekabpils, Ventspils, Sigulda, Aizskraukle, Madona, Daugavpils and other cities.

In the autumn of 2022, the band worked on its plan for a tour of Latvia, attracting the rapper ZEĻĢI as a special concert guest. Jasmine, a song jointly performed by Sudden Lights and ZEĻĢIS was also recorded during this period. The Billion Summer tour took place with concerts on 17 September in Jelgava (at the Black Hats Ballerina), September 23 in Valmiera (at the Valmiera Concert Hall), on September 24 in Liepaja (at the Wiktorija Culture Centre), and on October 8 at Hanzas Perons in Riga. The final concert of the tour at Hanzas Perons in Riga was also filmed as a concert video, Final Concert of Sudden Lights’ Concert Tour Billion Summers.

2023. In 2023, the group got 2. place with the single “Laternas” in Latvian National radio 2 (LR2) Latvijas Radio song contest “Muzikālā Banka”.

Sudden Lights participated in the Supernova 2023 contest organized by Latvian Television with the song “Aijā”. The group won the competition and thereby gained the right to represent Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. They are set to perform in the first half of the first semi-final.

Sudden Lights are on their promo tour and performed at Moldova’s Etapa Naţională 2023.

Discography. 

Studio albums. 

• Priekšpilsētas (Suburbs; 2017)
• Vislabāk ir tur, kur manis nav (The Best is where I am not; 2019)
• Miljards vasaru (A billion summers; 2022)

Singles.

• “Tik savādi” (So weird; 2015)
• “Priekšpilsētas valsis” (Waltz of the Suburb; 2016)
• “Laikmets” (Era; 2017)
• “Šajā sētas pusē” (On This Side of the Fence; 2017)
• “Negribu piezemēties” (I do not want to Land; 2018)
• “Dzīvnieks” (Animal; 2019)
• “Izbēgšana” (Escape; 2019)
• “Gaisma” (Light; 2019)
• “Haosā”, feat. Astro’n’out (In Chaos; 2020)
• “Elektriskā gaisma” (The Electric Light; 2020)
• “Klusumi” (Silences; 2021)
• “Aizņem man vietu”, feat. ANNNA (Save me a place; 2021)
• “Siltas vasaras ēnā” (Warm Summer’s Shadow; 2021)
• “Laternas” (Lanterns; 2022)
• “Pasaule trīc”, feat. ZaBrene” (The World is Trembling; 2022)
• “Jasmīns”, feat. ZEĻĢIS (Jasmin; 2022)
• “Aijā” (2023)

• Selected song: “Aijā” (Hushaby or Shush) is a song by Latvian indie rock band Sudden Lights, released on 27 January 2023. The song is set to represent Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning Supernova 2023, Latvia’s national selection for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

In interviews, the band stated that “Aijā” was made with the purpose of being a lullaby, in the sense that it would make people sleep easier. During an interview with Eurovision fan-site That Eurovision Site, they stated that with “bad things” happening around the world, they had wanted to create a song that would distract listeners from those issues. In another interview with Eurovision fan-site Eurovision Fun, the band wanted viewers to feel as if they were on a “rock concert on stage”.

Eurovision Song Contest. 

Supernova 2023. Supernova 2023 was the Latvian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The format of the competition would consist of two shows: a semi-final and a final. The semi-final, which was held on 4 February 2023, featured 14 competing entries from which the top ten entries advanced to the final. The final was held on 11 February 2023, which selected the Latvian entry for Liverpool from the remaining entries. Results during the semi-final and final shows were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote, with both the jury and public vote assigning points from 1–8, 10 and 12 based on the number of competing songs in the respective show.

“Aijā” performed 14th during the semi-final, managing to come within the top ten, thus advancing to the semi-final. In the final, “Aijā” performed seventh. At the end of the voting, it was revealed that the song had managed to win the competition, and thus earn the Latvian spot for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, it will be the second time they will sing in Latvian, the first time was in 2004.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Latvia has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.

🇵🇹 Portogallo: Mimicat – “Ai coração” (Marisa Mena – Luís Pereira, Marisa Mena).

• Selected entrant: Marisa Isabel Lopes Mena, better known by the stage name Mimicat, is a Portuguese pop and soul singer and composer. She is set to represent Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. She participated in Festival da Canção 2001 with the song “Mundo Colorido” under the stage name Izamena, but did not advance beyond the semifinals. She participated in Festival da Canção 2023, the Portuguese national selection for Eurovision 2023 with the song “Ai coração”. She performed it in the first semi-final and qualified to the final. In the final of the competition, she finished in first place, thus set to represent Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

Discography.

Albums.

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		POR
For You	Released: 20 October 2014 (POR) Label: Sony Music	—
Back in Town	Released: 22 September 2017 (POR) Label: Sony Music	43

Singles.

List of singles, with selected details and chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		POR
“Tell Me Why”	2014	—	For You
“Saviour”	2015	—
“Stay Strong”	2016	—	Back in Town
“Gave Me Love”		—
“Fire”	2017	—
“Going Down”		—
“Feels So Good”	2018	—
“Going Down”		—
“Tudo ao ar“	2021	—	Non-album single
“Mundo ao Contrário” (with Filipe Gonçalves)	2022	—
“Ai coração“	2023	—	Festival da Canção 2023
“—” denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

• Selected song: “Ai coração” (Oh heart) is a 2023 song by Portuguese singer-songwriter Mimicat. The song will represent Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning Festival da Canção2023, the Portuguese national final for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

The lyric video was released on Festival da Canção’s official YouTube channel on 19 January 2023, along with all other songs competing in Festival da Canção 2023. The songs were subsequently released on digital streaming sites on 27 January 2023. On 19 January 2023, Mimicat was announced to be performing her song, titled “Ai coração”.

Eurovision Song Contest.

Festival da Canção 2023. On 11 November 2022, Mimicat was announced as a participating songwriter of Festival da Canção 2023, Portugal’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. On 19 January 2023, Mimicat was announced to be performing her song, titled “Ai coração”. She competed in the first semi-final on 25 February 2023. In the final, held on 12 March 2023, she won both the jury vote and the televote, placing first overall with 24 points, becoming the Portuguese representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify for one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top 10 countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Portugal has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.

🇮🇪 Irlanda: Wild Youth – “We are one” (Conor O’Donohoe / Edward Porter / Jörgen Elofsson – Conor O’Donohoe / Edward Porter / Jörgen Elofsson).

• Selected entrant: Wild Youth are an Irish indie rock band formed in Dublin in 2016, consisting of members David Whelan, Conor O’Donohoe, Ed Porter and Callum McAdam. They are set to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “We Are One”.

Wild Youth was founded in 2016 in Dublin, by members Conor O’Donohoe, Callum McAdam, Ed Porter and David Whelan. The members write and produce their songs alone. Their debut single, “All Or Nothing”, was released in May 2017. A number of tracks were released after it, which became hits in Ireland. Following its success, the band went on joint tours with Lewis Capaldi and Westlife. In 2019, their first mini-album, The Last Goodbye, was released.

They participated in Eurosong 2023 with the song “We Are One”. They came in first place with 34 points and thus they will represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. They will perform the song in the first semi-final on 9 May.

Discography. 

Mini-albums.

List of mini-albums, with selected details

Title	Details
The Last Goodbye	Released: January 2019 Format: CD, digital Label: Imperfectly Perfect Records

Singles. 

List of singles, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions
		IRE
“We Are One”	2023	93

• Selected song: “We Are One” is a song by Irish indie rock band Wild Youth, released on 27 January 2023. The song is scheduled to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning Eurosong 2023, Ireland’s national final for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to the contest, the song peaked at number 93 on the Irish Singles Chart.

In an interview with Eurovision fansite ESCBubble, band frontman Conor O’Donohoe said that the song is inspired by the mission that the Eurovision Song Contest brings unity to Europe, hoping that the song would bring a message of unity and peace to people.

Eurovision Song Contest. 

Eurosong 2023. Eurosong 2023 is the national final format developed by RTÉ in order to select Ireland’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The competition was broadcast during a special edition of The Late Late Show. The winner was be chosen by a combination of a professional national jury, an international jury and televote.

The final of Eurosong 2023 was held on 3 February 2023 at the Studio 4 of RTÉ in Dublin, hosted by Ryan Tubridy. In the final, the song earned a total of 34 points out of the maximum 36, earning 12 in both the national jury and the televote, earning the Irish spot to the Eurovision Song Contest.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Ireland has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.

Charts. 

Chart performance for “We Are One”

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)	93

🇭🇷 Croazia: Let 3 – “Mama šč!” (Damir Martinović Mrle –  Damir Martinović Mrle / Zoran Prodanović).

• Selected entrant: Let 3 (Flight 3) is a modern rock band from Rijeka, Croatia formed in 1987. The frontmen are Damir “Mrle” Martinović (born 15 July 1961) and Zoran “Prlja” Prodanović (born 18 December 1964). Particularly popular in the former Yugoslavia, the band is known for their original approach to rock music and their obscene live performances. Their songs often contain provocative and vulgar lyrics. They are set to represent Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “Mama ŠČ!“.

Let 3 was formed in Rijeka in the late 1980s. The band soon gained a reputation for their unprecedented, controversial and sometimes obscene performances, exemplifying the eclectic nature of Rijeka’s music scene. The band’s members have voiced support for liberal causes, such as women’s and LGBT rights, and have taken a vocal stance against conservative politics and the Catholic Church.

In 1997, the band released their fifth album, titled Nečuveno (Outrageous or Unheard-of). It was distributed as a CD, but it had nothing recorded on it. Nonetheless, 350 copies of the album were sold. Their follow-up Jedina (The only one) initially had just one copy, which the band refused to sell or distribute. The record company eventually released the album in slightly different versions. As a protest, the band staged a (fake) suicide by firing squad on Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb.

In late 2000, the band unveiled a four-metre tall statue titled Babin kurac (Grandma’s penis), depicting a woman with a horseshoe moustache and a one-metre long phallus. It was exhibited in various cities throughout Croatia.

In 2005, Let 3 released the single “Rado ide Srbin u vojnike (Pička)” (The Serb gladly enlists in the army (Cunt)), a play on the Serbian patriotic song “Rado ide Srbin u vojnike“. In the song’s music video, extras dressed in Serbian and Albanian national costumes are seen masturbating. The single featured on the studio album Bombardiranje Srbije i Čačka, which parodies Balkan machismo and militarism. The band stated: “We wanted to create an album of what people here fear the most; namely peasantry… and pornography”.

In December 2006, the band was sanctioned by police after performing naked at an open-air concert in Varaždin. The band’s defence that they had not been naked because they had corks in their anuses did not convince the judge; the court found them guilty and fined each member kn 350 (€47.78). On 14 December 2008, the live talk show Nedjeljom u dva finished early after two of the band members simulated the ejection of a cork from their rectums.

On 9 December 2022, Let 3 was announced as one of eighteen participants in Dora 2023, the Croatian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, with the song “Mama ŠČ!“. For their performance, they were joined by artist Žanil Tataj Žak as the character “Njinle” (meaning ‘Lenin’ in Šatrovački). They went on to win the competition on 11 February 2023 with a total of 279 points, thus gaining the right to represent Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Band members.

Current members.

• Damir Martinović (Mrle) – bass guitar, effects, vocals
• Zoran Prodanović (Prlja) – vocals
• Ivan Bojčić (Bean) – drums
• Dražen Baljak (Baljak) – guitar, mandolin
• Matej Zec (Knki) – guitar, backing tracks

Former members.

• Branko Kovačić (Husta) – drums, percussion
• Kornelije Đuras (Korni) – keyboards, samples
• Ivan Šarar (Faf) – keyboards, programming, samples
• Ivica Dražić (Miki) – guitar, vocals
• Nenad Tubin – drums, vocals
• Igor Perović (Gigi) – guitar
• Zoran Klasić (Klas) – guitar, vocals
• Orijen Modrušan – guitar
• Alen Tibljaš – drums
• Marko Bradaschia – drums
• Dean Benzia – drums
• Siniša Banović – drums
• Ljubomir Silić – bass guitar
• Raoul Varljen – keyboards

Discography. 

Studio albums. 

• 1989 – Two Dogs Fuckin’
• 1991 – El Desperado
• 1994 – Peace
• 1996 – Živi kurac (‘Live cock’)
• 1997 – Nečuveno (‘Unheard-of’)
• 2000 – Jedina (‘The only one’)
• 2005 – Bombardiranje Srbije i Čačka (‘Bombardment of Serbia and Čačak’)
• 2008 – Živa pička (‘Live cunt’)
• 2013 – Kurcem do vjere / Thank You, Lord (‘By dick to faith’)
• 2016 – Angela Merkel sere (‘Angela Merkel shits’)

Awards and nominations.

Year	Association	Category	Nominee / work	Result	–
1997	Porin Award	Best Original Vocal or Instrumental Composition for Theatre, Movies and/or Television	“Pipi“	Won	–
2001		Best Alternative Album	Jedina	Won	–
	Crni Mačak	Best Performer	Let 3	Won	–
		Song of the Year	“Profesor Jakov“	Won
2006	Zlatna Koogla	Album of The Year	Bombardiranje Srbije i Čačka	Won	–
		Band of The Year	Let 3	Won
		Performer of The Year		Won
		Best Music Video	“Rado ide Srbin u vojnike (Pička)“	Won
		Producer of The Year	Iztok Turk for Bombardiranje Srbije i Čačka	Won
		Best Album Design	Bombardiranje Srbije i Čačka	Won
	Porin Award	Rock Album of The Year		Won	–
		Best Music Video	“Ero s onoga svijeta“	Won
2023	Dora 2023	Right to represent Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023	“Mama ŠČ!“	Won	–

• Selected song: “Mama ŠČ!” is a song by Croatian shock rock band Let 3, released on 20 January 2023. The song is set to represent Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning Dora 2023, Croatia’s national selection for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Background and composition. In interviews with Jutarnji list, the band reported that the song title had been inspired by the “first letter of the oldest alphabet in the world”, “ŠČ”. The song, according to the band, is an anti-war song; in the interview, the band reported that after total Armageddon has been waged on Earth, a rocket would land on Earth, containing the letters “ŠČ”. In other interviews, the band has also claimed that “ŠČ” could also mean the sound someone makes when somebody orgasms, a blood type, or a sound someone makes when they are meditating. It is also a reference to the Russian letter Shcha (Щ).

In further interviews with the Croatian newsite Pressing, the band claimed that the song was a metaphor for the Russian Federation. The band claims that in the song, they mock dictators for being “childish”, with an emphasis on the Russian president Vladimir Putin and his decision to launch the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to Hrvoje Cvijanović, the “tractor”, which is mentioned numerous times in the song, is symbolism for the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, who has aided Russia in the invasion, including by gifting a tractor to Putin for his 70th birthday.^[7] The song criticizes both leaders, calling them “psychopaths”.

Commercial performance. On the issue of 6 February 2023, “Mama ŠČ!” debuted at number 27 on the Croatian HR Top 40 chart. This marks their first chart entry in less than a year, the last being “Drama”, a collaboration with Croatian singer Alka Vuica in early 2022 issued on 21 March. In its second week on the chart, the song fell two spots to number 29. After the performance at Dora 2023, the song rose to a new peak at number four in its third week on the chart. By peaking at number four, “Mama ŠČ” became the band’s highest charting song on the HR Top 40 chart to date. A week later, in its fourth week on the chart, the song topped the chart becoming Let 3’s first chart topper in Croatia.

In the week of 25 February 2023, “Mama ŠČ” debuted at number six on Billboard’s Croatia Songs chart, becoming the band’s first song to do so. It was also Croatia’s first Eurovision entry to chart on the Croatia Songs chart. The song stayed on the chart for a total of two weeks.

Eurovision Song Contest. 

Dora 2023. Dora 2023 was the twenty-fourth edition of the Croatian national selection Dora which selects Croatia’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition would consist of eighteen entries competing in one final on 11 February 2023.

The song was considered by Croatian media outlets as a heavy favorite within the public to win Dora 2023. During their live performance, the band were dressed in stereotypical military uniforms, with one member dressing up as Vladimir Lenin holding two rockets. All members had imprints of roses in the band members’ buttocks. At the end of the show’s voting, it was revealed that “Mama ŠČ!” had won the competition, thus earning the Croatian spot for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. After winning Dora, Let 3 announced that they might travel to Liverpool on an ecologically acceptable tractor “with steering wheel on the other side” since they were going to the United Kingdom.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Croatia has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.

Months before the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, Wiwibloggs, a Eurovision fansite, would run a poll asking readers to vote on their favorite songs on every song that was released for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 up to 18 February 2023. “Mama ŠČ” would manage to take first in the poll that reported 31,437 votes, with “Mama ŠČ” earning 16,974 of those votes, around 53.99% of the overall vote.

Charts.

Chart performance for “Mama ŠČ!”

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Croatia (Billboard)	6
Croatia (HR Top 40)	1

🇨🇭Svizzera: Remo Forrer – “Watergun” (Argyle Singh / Ashley Hicklin / Mikolaj Trybulec – Argyle Singh / Ashley Hicklin / Mikolaj Trybulec).

• Selected entrant: Remo Forrer (born 5 September 2001) is a Swiss singer. He won the third season of the TV talent show The Voice of Switzerland in April 2020, and also participated in the German TV talent show I Can See Your Voice. He is set to represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “Watergun”.

Career. 

2019–2022: The Voice of Switzerland and I Can See Your Voice. In November 2019, Forrer auditioned for the third season of The Voice of Switzerland with the song “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi. He received chair turns from all four coaches and joined Noah Veraguth’s team. Forrer won the season on 6 April 2020.

The Voice of Switzerland performances

Round	Song	Original artist(s)	Notes
Blind auditions	“Someone You Loved”	Lewis Capaldi	Four-chair turn, joined Team Noah
Battle	“Say You Won’t Let Go”	James Arthur	Won against Desirée Rodenas Vazquez
Sing offs	“Someone You Loved”	Lewis Capaldi
Final	“Sign of the Times”	Harry Styles

2023: Eurovision Song Contest. On 20 February 2023, Remo Forrer was announced as the Swiss representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 by Swiss broadcaster SRG. His competing song, “Watergun”, was released on 7 March.

Personal life. Remo Forrer lives in Hemberg, in the canton of St. Gallen. He has had an interest in music since his early childhood, which lead to him learning to play the flute, the accordion and eventually the piano, which he taught himself to play by ear. He completed an internship as a retail specialist in a sporting goods store.

• Selected song: “Watergun” is a song by Swiss singer Remo Forrer, released as a single on 7 March 2023. The song will represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after being internally selected by SRG SSR, Switzerland’s broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Background. The song is described as a power ballad “about powerlessness in the face of conflicts in this world.” In an article, Forrer said: “My generation has to live with the consequences of decisions that we didn’t make. It’s frustrating, but I still have hope that changes are possible.” The song is further described as an appeal for peace.

Release. The music video for the song was released on 7 March 2023 on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song was also released on digital platforms on the same day.

Eurovision Song Contest. 

Selection. SRG SSR opened a submission period between 25 August 2022 and 8 September 2022 for interested artists and composers to submit their entries. Artists and songwriters of any nationality were able to submit songs; however those with a Swiss passport or residency were given priority. Songs shortlisted from the received submissions were then tested by their music producers with various artists and the combination of a 100-member public panel (50%) and the votes of a 23-member international expert jury (50%) selected the Swiss entry. The members of the public panel were Swiss residents put together according to selected criteria in cooperation with Digame, while the international jury consisted of members who had been national juries for their respective countries at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Remo Forrer was announced as the Swiss entrant for the contest on 20 February 2023. Forrer had previously participated in and won both the third season of the Swiss reality singing competition The Voice of Switzerland and one episode of German music game I Can See Your Voice. Forrer’s song for the contest was revealed on 7 March 2023.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Switzerland was placed into the first semi-final, which will be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.

🇮🇱 Israele: Noa Kirel – “Unicorn” (Doron Medalie / May Sfadia / Noa Kirel / Yinon Yahel – Doron Medalie / May Sfadia / Noa Kirel / Yinon Yahel).

• Selected entrant: Noa Kirel (Hebrew: נועה קירל; born Noya Kirel; 10 April 2001) is an Israeli singer, actress, dancer and television host. She won the MTV Europe Music Awards for the best Israeli act between 2017 and 2021. She is set to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “Unicorn”.

Noa Kirel was born and raised in Ra’anana, Israel, to Israeli-born parents of Ashkenazi Jewish (Austrian-Jewish) descent and of both Sephardi Jewish and Mizrahi Jewish (Moroccan-Jewish) descent. She is the youngest child of Amir and Ilana Kirel and has two older brothers. Her father is the CEO of Glassco Glass, an imported-glass business headquartered at the Barkan industrial park. On her father’s side, Kirel has relatives who were murdered in the Holocaust.

Her parents named her Noya but after she was diagnosed with a serious kidney illness at three months old, a rabbi suggested a name change to Noa (“Noa” can also spell “movement” in Hebrew). He also jokingly predicted back then that she might even become a dancer.

In February 2020, Kirel was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and served in a unique military band. She received an honorable discharge, completing her two-year mandatory service on 14 February 2022.

Career. Kirel appeared in the Pushers documentary series from HOT, which tracks parents who push their children to success in different areas. The show featured Kirel and her father, who was financially supporting her entertainment career. Kirel is managed in Israel by Roberto Ben-Shoshan and co-managed by Sharona Nomder (Morse Artists) internationally.

In 2015 she performed her first song on YouTube named “Medabrim?”. Following its success, that year she released another song called “Killer”. The provocative video clip for the song caused a stir due to Kirel’s young age. She released additional songs, which were featured on YouTube and played on various Israeli radio stations, including the songs “Yesh Be Ahava”, which was the first song to enter the Galgalatz playlist, “Rak Ata”, “Hatzi Meshuga”, “Bye Lahofesh” and “Ten Li Siman”. At the end of 2016, she won the award “Singer of the Year” at the Israeli Kids’ Choice Awards.

In 2017, Kirel began hosting the “Lipstar” musical program on kidZ channel, alongside Sagi Breitner. In May 2017, she released a song called “Makom Leshinuy” which she sang in a duet with Avior Melasa who wrote the song. Kirel released several other songs that year which were all marketing singles: “Lirkod”, “Kimeat Meforsemet”, “Wow”, “Mi Yiten Li Et Ha’Koach”.

On June 22, she starred in the teen movie Nearly Famous, alongside Omer Dror. That year, she also appeared in the theater production “The Three Musketeers” alongside Omer Dror. On August 28, Kirel released a single which she performed with Agam Bohbut, a cover version of Danny Sanderson’s song; “Etzel Ha’Doda ve Ha’Dod”, as part of a campaign for Bezeq. In November 2017, she represented Israel at the “MTV Europe Music Awards”, in the “International Artist” category.

In January 2018, she starred in the television series Kfula playing herself and Kitty Popper (Libby Omer), a blogger who writes anything that happens to her famous self. The series aired on the KidZ channel on yes and HOT. On February 18, she appeared in Israel’s Got Talent as a judge. On March 25, 2018, she released the single “Megibor Le’Oyev”. On May 1 of that year, she appeared in the series “Shilton Ha’Tzlalim” as Basemet. On August 9, a theater production Kfula show starring Kirel and the stars of the Kfula series opened in Menora Mivtachim Arena. On August 20, the theme song for the #Freestyle Festigal production was released. In early September 2018, a full-length movie came out to promote the show. The show ran from November 13, 2018 to January 8, 2019. On September 5, Kirel featured in the song “Cinderella” of The Ultras. On September 20, she collaborated with “Ma Kashur Trio” and Itai Levy on a new cover version of Arik Sinai’s “Siba Tova” song, “Hine Ze Ba”, for a HOT campaign. In October, Kirel was selected for the second time to represent Israel at the MTV Europe Music Awards but was unable to attend the ceremony in Spain due to a tight schedule.

That month, Kirel was hired as a presenter for a new cosmetic company, “Keff.” On November 2, she released the song “Zikaron Yashan” in collaboration with Israeli singer Jonathan Mergui, as part of the Festigal. On November 11, the cast of the 2018 Festigal, including Kirel, released the original song “Tinshom” with a video clip. On November 23, she participated in a memorial tribute to Amir Fryszer Guttman. In December 2018, Kirel led a campaign with the KidZ Channel and the Israeli National Road Safety Authority promoting wearing a helmet while cycling. In May 2020 she participated in a yes commercial. In November 2020, Kirel joined 39 other Israeli artists for charity single Katan Aleinu to support hospitals battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2020, Kirel signed a contract with the American label, Atlantic Records. In December of that year, Kirel signed with WME.

In March 2021, it was announced that Kirel would star in a feature film produced by Picturestart. In May 2021, Kirel in collaboration with Israeli singer Omer Adam, released a remix version of the national anthem of the state of Israel, Hatikvah. The collaboration was criticized, with many calling it “disrespectful” and “embarrassing”. In honor of Pride Month, Kirel and Israeli comedian Ilan Peled released the single “Trilili Tralala”. the single won the status of a Gay anthem in Israel and reached number two on Media Forest’s Israeli singles chart upon its release.

On July 14, 2021, she released her first international single, “Please Don’t Suck”. On October 15, 2021, she released the single “Bad Little Thing” which she also opened Miss Universe 2021.

On January 12, 2022 she released the single “Thought About That”.

On July 11, 2022, she was chosen by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (Kan) to represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The following day, Kirel stated that she had not decided yet, and would make a decision later on. On August 10, she confirmed that she would compete at the contest. Her competing song, “Unicorn”, was released on 8 March 2023.

Personal life. She has been in a relationship with Israeli model and actor Tomer HaCohen since October 2021.

Discography.

Singles. 

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album	Notes	Recording Label
		ISR
“Medabrim”	2015	—	Non-album singles	Debut single. English meaning – “Talking”.	NMC United Entertainment Ltd.
“Killer”		—		—
“Yesh Bi Ahava”		—		English meaning – “There’s Love in Me”.
“Hatzi Meshuga”	2016	—		English meaning – “Half Crazy”.
“Rak Ata”		—		English meaning – “Only You”.
“Ten Li Siman”		—		English meaning – “Give Me A Sign”.
“Makom Leshinuy” (featuring Avior Malsa)	2017	—	Avior Malsa	English meaning – “A Place for a Change”.
“Kima’at Mefursemet”			Non-album singles	English meaning – “Almost Famous”.Promotional single from the movie with the same name.
“Etzel HaDoda VeHaDod”(with Agam Buhbut)		3		English meaning – “At the aunt and uncle’s”.Song from a Bezeq campaign. Originally by Danny Sanderson.
“Tikitas” (featuring Stephane Legar)		—		Hebrew version of “Τι Κοιτάς”,originally by Eleni Foureira.
“Migibor Leoyev”	2018	—		English meaning – “From Hero to Enemy”.
“Ba Li Otcha”		—		English meaning – “I Want You”.
“Drum”	2019	—		Promotional single to a Renuar campaign.
“Hatzuf”		—		English meaning – “Rude”
“Pouch”		7		—
“SLT”		—		Initials stands for “Sounds Like That”Promotional single to a Renuar campaign
“Meusharim” (by Dolli & Penn, with Liran Danino)		1		English meaning – “Happy”
“Im Atah Gever”	2020	13		English meaning – “If You’re a Man”
“Million Dollar” (featuring Shahar Saul)		1		—
“Ambulance”(with Jonathan Mergui)		4		—
“Yahalomim”	2021	2		English meaning – “Diamonds”
“Trilili Tralala”(with Ilan Peled)		1		—
“Please Don’t Suck”		6		—	Atlantic Records
“Bad Little Thing”		14		—
“Reashim”(with Osher Cohen)		1		English meaning – “Noises”	Aroma Music
“Thought About That”	2022	—		—	Atlantic Records
“Gone”	2023	—		—	Atlantic Records
“—” denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.

Filmography.

Film

Year	Name	Role	Notes
2016	Trolls	DJ Suki	Voice; Israeli Version
2017	Kimaat Mefursemet	Rotem Levi	film debut
2022	Love You Charlie	Sunshine	film debut

Television

Year	Name	Role	Notes
2015	Pushers	Herself	Docu-reality television series
2016	Yom Be’Hayei
2017	Achoti Kaftza Kita
	Gav Ha’Uma		Guest
2017–2018	LipStar		Co-Host
2018–2020	Kfula	Noa Kirel / Libi Omer	Main Role
2018–2019	Israel’s Got Talent	Herself	Judge
2018	Shilton Hatzlalim	Bosmat Amsalem	Recurring Role
2019	Intimi	Herself	Guest
	Rising Star		Guest Judge
2020	Lo Nafsik Lashir		Contestant
	Beit Sefer Le’Musica		Judge
2021	Carpool Karaoke Israel		Guest

• Selected song: “Unicorn” is a song by Israeli singer Noa Kirel, released on 8 March 2023. The song is set to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after the artist was internally selected by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan), Israel’s broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision Song Contest. 

Internal selection. A special committee consisting of members from Kan, music editors and external representatives each suggested two artists from 78 initially considered based on airplay on Gimel and Galgalatz, and nominees for Singer of the Year and Group of the Year awards in 2019, 2020 and 2021. On 11 July 2022, Kan announced that Noa Kirel had topped the list with Mergui placing second. Despite Kirel stating the following day that she and her team had yet to make a decision, Israeli television channel HaHadashot 12 reported in early August 2022 that the invitation had been accepted by the singer, which was later confirmed during a press conference held at the Hotel Carlton in Tel Aviv on 10 August 2022.

On 17 January 2023, Kirel revealed that her song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 would be titled “Unicorn”. The song was premiered on 8 March during a special televised broadcast titled HaShir Shelanu L’Eurovizion (“Our Song for Eurovision”) on Kan 11, as well as online via kan.org.il.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Israel has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.

🇲🇩 Moldavia: Pasha Parfeni – “Soarele şi luna” (The sun and the moon) (Yuliana Parfeni – Andrei Vulpe / Cătălin Temciuc / Pasha Parfeni).

• Selected entrant: Pavel Parfeni (born 30 May 1986), known professionally as Pasha Parfeny, is a Moldovan musician, singer and songwriter. He represented Moldova at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan,^[1] where he placed 11th with his song “Lăutar“. He was formerly known for being the lead singer of the Moldovan band SunStroke Project. He is set to represent Moldova again in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “Soarele și luna“.

Born in Orhei, Parfeny had been surrounded by music from a young age. His mother was a piano teacher at the local music school, while his father was a singer and a guitarist.

While in Orhei, he studied piano from a young age, and in 2002 enrolled at Tiraspol Music College, where he gained more vocal experience. In 2006, Parfeny continued his musical studies at the State Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts.

Musical career. 

SunStroke Project. In 2008, Parfeny met and joined the creators of the band SunStroke Project, Anton Ragoza and Sergey Stepanov, who were in need of a vocalist. In 2009, the band entered Moldova’s national selection contest for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, where they placed third with their song “No Crime”, which Parfeny wrote and composed. In the same year, he left SunStroke Project to pursue a solo career after his contract’s expiration, being replaced by Sergei Yalovitsky.

Contests. As a solo artist, Parfeny has participated and won in numerous competitions and music festivals. He won first place out of 23 performers in the George Grigoriu International Pop Music Festival in May 2009, the grand prize of which was a Volkswagen Passat. A few months later, in July, he placed second in the 2009 Slavianski Bazaar with the songs “Svecia Gorela”, “Dac-ai Fi”, and “We Are The Champions”. While he lost to Russian contestant Dima Danilenko, he won a cash prize that was equivalent to 6000 USD. In the same year, he participated in the Mamaia Contest in Romania, taking first place with “You Do Not See The Sky”, composed by Andrew Tudor. He also entered but did not win in the 2009 Golden Stag Festival.

Eurovision Song Contest. In 2010, Parfeny again entered the Moldovan national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, but this time as a solo artist. He tied in second with his song, “You Should Like”, which was defeated by his former band SunStroke Project’s collaboration with Olia Tira.

The next year, in 2011, he once again failed to get the Moldovan delegation to the Eurovision Song Contest, placing third in the national selection with his song “Dorule”.

Parfeny finally won the Moldovan national selection in 2012, representing the country in that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The song, “Lăutar”, was written by Parfeny and composed in a collaboration with Alex Brașoveanu, placing 5th in the first semi-final, and 11th in the final.

For the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Parfeny composed together with Yuliana Scutari and Serghei Legheida the song “A Million” for Aliona Moon in the Moldovan national selection. Moon was one of his backup singers for “Lăutar” in 2012. The song won and represented Moldova in the contest, with Parfeny accompanying Moon on stage at the piano. It ranked fourth in the first semi-final, and again 11th in the final. In 2015, he composed the song “Maricica” for DoReDoS, which placed sixth in the Moldovan national selection. In 2020, he competed in the Moldovan national selection again with the song, “My Wine” composed in collaboration with Vica Demici. This time he finished second behind Natalia Gordienko.

In 2023, he entered the new Moldovan national final Etapa Națională with the song “Soarele și luna” written together with Yuliana Scutari. He qualified from the auditions stages making it to the final on 4 March. He then won the contest by winning both the jury vote and the public vote, and as a result will represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. This will be his third appearance at the contest for Moldova.

• Selected song: “Soarele și luna” (“The sun and the moon”) is a song by Moldovan singer-songwriter Pasha Parfeny, released on 19 January 2023. The song is set to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning Etapa națională 2023, the Moldavian national final for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision Song Contest.

Etapa națională 2023. Etapa națională 2023 was the national final format developed by TRM in order to select Moldova’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The national final took place over three stages. The first stage was a song submission review stage, which took place between 25 January and 27 January 2023 by a jury panel appointed by TRM. Following the review stage, 31 of performers were invited to a live audition process, which took place on 28 January 2023 and broadcast live on TRM 2. Ten audition qualifiers were be determined via a 100% jury vote. These performers advanced to the final, which took place on 4 March 2023. The winner was selected via a combination of jury voting and televoting, with an online vote introduced for the first time.

After being announced as one of 31 songs to qualify for the live audition round, the song was drawn to perform 23rd in the round. At the end of the round, it was announced the song had finished second, qualifying for the final round. Heading into the final, the song was considered a favorite to win the final, winning a poll on the Eurovision fan-site Wiwibloggs. At show’s end, it was revealed that “Soarele și luna” had won the contest, earning the maximum amount of available of points available, earning 24 points, with 12 points coming from each half of the vote. As a result of winning, the song is set to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top 10 countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Moldova has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.

🇸🇪 Svezia: Loreen – “Tattoo” (Jimmy Jansson / Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt / Loreen / Moa “Cazzi Opeia” Carlebecker / Peter Boström / Thomas G:son – Jimmy Jansson / Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt / Loreen / Moa “Cazzi Opeia” Carlebecker / Peter Boström / Thomas G:son).

• Selected entrant: Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui (born 16 October 1983), known professionally as Loreen, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. Representing Sweden, she won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with her entry “Euphoria”, which topped the charts in numerous European countries. She will represent Sweden in Eurovision for a second time in 2023 with “Tattoo”.

Interested in becoming a musician, Loreen took part in the Idol 2004 television competition, finishing fourth. The following year she released her first single, “The Snake”, with the band Rob’n’Raz and became a television presenter on TV400. While working as a segment producer and director for several Swedish reality TV shows, she entered Melodifestivalen 2011 with the song “My Heart Is Refusing Me”, which became a top 10 hit in Sweden. She also had top 20 hits in Sweden with the singles “Crying Out Your Name” (2012) and her Melodifestivalen 2017 entry “Statements”. In 2023, her winning Melodifestivalen entry “Tattoo” topped the Sverigetopplistan chart.

Early life. Loreen was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1983 to Moroccan Berber immigrant parents. She was raised in a liberal Muslim household. Early in her life, Loreen moved to Västerås. She grew up there, and calls Västerås her hometown. She spent most of her teenage years in Gryta, a residential area in Västerås.

Music career. 

2004–2010: Idol. Loreen became known to Swedish audiences after taking part in the Swedish Idol 2004, under the name Lorén Talhaoui. During the qualification round, she placed third with the public vote. She would have been eliminated, but received a wildcard from the judges, allowing her to compete in the program. She finished fourth overall, and was eliminated during the eighth week. After Idol, in 2005, she released a promotional single, “The Snake”, with the group Rob’n’Raz. That same year, she also presented the TV show Lyssna, broadcast by the Swedish station TV400. She then took a hiatus from more visible roles, and worked as a segment producer and director for reality TV shows such as TV3’s Värsta pojkvänsakademin, TV4’s Matakuten and SVT’s Frufritt.

Episode	Theme	Song	Original artist	Performance order	Result
Audition	Free choice	“Love Is on the Way”	Billy Porter	—	Judges’ Wildcard
Week 1	My idol	“If I Ain’t Got You”	Alicia Keys	7	Safe
Week 2	Chart toppers	“Just Like a Pill”	Pink	10	Bottom three
Week 3	Soul	“I Wish”	Stevie Wonder	3	Safe
Week 4	Swedish hits	“Vill ha dig”	Freestyle	4
Week 5	Max Martin	“Stronger”	Britney Spears	5
Week 6	Cocktail	“Where Do I Begin?”	Andy Williams / Shirley Bassey	6
Week 7	Soundtracks	“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”	Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes	2	Bottom two
Week 8	Song from year born – 1983	“Thriller”	Michael Jackson		Eliminated
		“Every Breath You Take”	The Police

2011–2013: Melodifestivalen, Eurovision Song Contest and Heal. Loreen returned to the public eye when she took part in Melodifestivalen 2011 with the song “My Heart Is Refusing Me”, which she co-wrote with Moh Denebi and Björn Djupström. After placing fourth in the second semi-final in Gothenburg on 12 February 2011, she competed in the Second Chance round, but failed to qualify for the final after a sing-off with Sara Varga. The song was released on 11 March 2011 and became a hit on the Swedish Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number 9. Following Loreen’s success a year later, the song re-entered the chart, peaking at number 22 in May 2012.

In the first semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2012 on 4 February, Loreen advanced directly to the final round with her entry “Euphoria“, written by Thomas G:son and Peter Boström. She won the national final on 10 March with a combined total of 268 points and represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The song won the competition with a total of 372 points from 40 voting countries out of 42 (Italy was the exception, and Sweden could not vote for itself). According to online betting companies, she was the favourite to win the contest. On 3 June 2012, “Euphoria” charted at number three on the UK Official Singles Chart, the highest chart position for a non-UK Eurovision entry since Johnny Logan‘s “Hold Me Now” in 1987. The single sold 62,148 copies in its first week in the United Kingdom. “Euphoria” is also noted for having a consistent chart presence in the UK, remaining in the top 20 for weeks after the competition, which was rare for a Eurovision song. On 21 June 2012, Loreen made an appearance at the MTV World Stage in Gothenburg. The title of her debut album, Heal, was confirmed in late August 2012. Released on 24 October 2012, Heal debuted atop the Sverigetopplistan Albums Top 60. It was certified platinum in Sweden during its second week, denoting domestic shipments exceeding 40,000 units. A remix version of “My Heart Is Refusing Me” was released on 8 October 2012 as the second European single from the album. On the same day, “Crying Out Your Name” was released as the fourth single in her native Sweden.

To promote the album, Loreen appeared as a musical guest on several European TV shows, including Polish talent show Must Be the Music on 21 October 2012, the second season of the Romanian version of X Factor on 18 November 2012 and the final of the third series of Dutch talent show The Voice of Holland. Loreen premiered a new single included in the reissue of her debut album in the opening of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest. The song is called “We Got the Power”, and was produced by Patrik Berger and written by Ester Dean, who have previously worked with Icona Pop, Rihanna and Robyn.

2014–2015: Paperlight project and touring. In October 2013, Art on Ice announced that Loreen would be one of the artists performing on their 2014 tour, which had the concept of combining live music with performances from figure skaters. The tour took place in Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.

In January 2014, Swedish SVT resurrected their prize winning series Sápmi Sessions in which well known Swedish artists travel North to meet their talented counterparts within the Sami population, and embark on a new collaboration. They have never met before, but have three days to write and record a whole new song together. Loreen herself was the subject of the first episode, working with Iŋgá-Máret Gaup-Juuso and coming up with the song “Son” for her new album.

Loreen embarked on the Tour XIV in April 2014 and performed in several European countries. On 7 April, during a concert in Amsterdam, Loreen announced that “Jupiter Drive” and “Dumpster” had been chosen as the next singles for her next album, to be released in August 2014. That same month it was announced that Loreen had started planning her second studio album, working with producers such as Taped Rai, Ted Krotkiewski, Tobias Fröberg and Tim Denéve. In May 2014, Loreen announced her first concert residency: En Euforisk Jul. The show was performed at the Moriska Paviljongen in Malmö, Sweden from 26 November and concluded on 20 December and was a Christmas show. Loreen grossed more than US$372.000 (2.885.139,00 SEK) and En Euforisk Jul was the 16th biggest selling tour by a Swedish singer in Sweden in 2014. During her visit to Montenegro in July 2014 she announced her album was to be released probably in October 2014. She headlined the Celebration of Budva Tourist Organization and the National Day event at the Jaz Beach in Budva. During an interview with Prva.rs, she said: “The new album is coming out in October and after that there will be a lot of touring. It’s very different from “Euphoria”, it’s a lot dirtier and more hip hop.” In summer 2014, Loreen was nominated for three Rockbjörnen and five World Music Awards. Additionally, Loreen performed at the 11th Kristallen in Sweden, where she sang a cover of Rodríguez’s “Sugar Man”, as part of the ceremony’s “In Memoriam” segment. On 20 September, Loreen performed at Eurasian Music Awards at the Central Stadium in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Loreen performed at Eurovision Gala Night at the Casino Luxembourg in Luxembourg and she confirmed that the single of her new album was coming soon in March 2015. On 27 February, it was announced that Loreen’s new single “Paper Light (Higher)” was to be released on 5 March 2015 in Scandinavia and worldwide on 9 March.

On 22 November 2014, Loreen announced on Instagram that she would be debuting a new project, called Paperlight. She has been working in the studio with Kiesza. Loreen performed at the special concert show Eurovision Song Contest’s Greatest Hits in London, produced by the BBC and the EBU, which commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest. Loreen performed as interval act during the Second Chance round of Melodifestivalen 2015 on 7 March singing the lead single off of Paperlight, “Paper Light (Higher)”. In May 2015, Loreen headlined the Vienna Life Ball, Europe’s biggest charity event supporting people with HIV and AIDS, attending the event in a dress designed by Jean Paul Gaultier. From 21 November to 18 December 2015, Loreen jointed the Christmas tour Julgalan 2015 in Sweden along with Måns Zelmerlöw, Lena Philipsson, Miss Li, Ola Salo, Jill Johnson, Petter, Hasse Andersson, Darin and David Hellenius. In December 2015, she performed at Turn on the Lights night concert in Amsterdam.

On 11 August 2015, Loreen revealed a new single, titled “I’m in It with You” released on 14 August 2015, and received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. However, the official music video, inspired by the 1979 film Over the Edge, received generally negative reviews by fans and critics. On 17 December 2015, Loreen announced her next single “Under ytan” (“Under the Surface”), a cover of the original song by Uno Svenningsson. This was her first official Swedish-language release and was available in the Nordics on 18 December and worldwide the week after. “Under ytan” received critical acclaim but was met with poor commercial reception.

2016–2019: Melodifestivalen return, Nude and Ride. In 2016, Loreen returned to Eurovision stage when she performed at the “Eurovision The Party” event that took place at the Stockholm’s Tele2 Arena on the night of the upcoming Eurovision final and was broadcast via online worldwide. During an interview in Bulgaria in 2016, Loreen stated that she and her team are working “heavily” in new music to be released later in 2016 or early 2017.

On 30 November 2016, it was revealed that Loreen would compete in Melodifestivalen 2017 with the song “Statements” for a chance to represent Sweden again at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. On 25 February 2017, she qualified for the Andra Chansen round, but didn’t qualify directly to the final from her Melodifestivalen semi-final and was put in the Andra Chansen round. After this, she lost her Andra Chansen duel against Anton Hagman and was subsequently eliminated from the competition. During interviews during Melodifestivalen, she confirmed that an EP would be released in Spring and another in Autumn. She was also signed to BMG Scandinavia under management purposes for her upcoming studio album.

On 14 July 2017, Loreen released a new single called “Body”. She also revealed that “Body” was serving as lead single from her first EP Nude, which was released on 25 August 2017. On 11 August 2017, “Jungle” featuring Elliphant, was released as a second song from Nude. It was also announced that her sophomore album would be released on 17 November 2017 with the lead single on 22 September 2017, but the first single, “71 Charger” was delayed without reason and released a week later, on 29 September 2017. The second single, “Hate The Way I Love You” was released on 27 October 2017 to critical acclaim. It was also revealed that the album would be called Ride and was released on 24 November 2017, a week behind its intentional release date.

In October 2019, Loreen released a cover of Julia Jonas’ “Walk With Me” by for Ellos.

2020–present: Så mycket bättre, acting debut, Melodifestivalen and Eurovision return. In order to celebrate the Melodifestivalen Hall of Fame, on 29 February 2020, Loreen performed “Fiction Feels Good”, a reimagined medley of her Melodifestivalen entries to that point: “Euphoria”, “My Heart Is Refusing Me” and “Statements”, on the Andra Chansen show. In June 2020, she made a cameo on David Dobkin’s Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, along with other Eurovision winners, which premiered on Netflix. On 30 April 2020, it was announced Loreen was joining the Swedish TV show Så mycket bättre to be aired in Autumn. Songs released from the show were under her new label Universal Music Group with whom she signed with in 2020. Later in the year, it was announced she would be part of the Netflix film JJ+E to be released 8 September 2021, portraying Maria, the main character’s mother.

In March 2021, Loreen’s released her first self-written Swedish single “Sötvattentårar”. Translated as “Freshwater Tears”, the song tells you that “there is something beautiful about crying and going through tough periods”. In the summer of the same year, she embarked on a Swedish tour.

On 29 March 2022, Loreen announced a partnership with Lexus Sweden for her new English single “Neon Lights” as part of the Lexus NX campaign. The song was released on 13 May.

On 30 November 2022, it was announced that Loreen would compete in Melodifestivalen for a fourth time with the song “Tattoo”. She participated in the fourth heat of the competition on 25 February 2023. During her performance, an environmental activist invaded the stage, which resulted in Loreen restarting her performance a few minutes later. She won the fourth heat of the competition, allowing her to progress to the final on 11 March 2023. The song was released on digital platforms that same evening. It debuted at number one in Sweden, becoming her second Swedish number one single. She later won the competition with 177 points, thus becoming the Swedish representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool.

Political activism. During the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Loreen was the only entrant to meet local human rights activists. She later told reporters that “human rights are violated in Azerbaijan every day. One should not be silent about such things.” An Azerbaijan government spokesman responded critically, saying the contest should not “be politicised” and requested that the EBU prevent such meetings. Swedish diplomats replied that the EBU, the Swedish broadcaster SVT and Loreen had not acted against the competition’s rules.

In July 2012, Loreen performed at Slavianski Bazaar in Belarus, where Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko was in attendance. During her visit to the country, she met with the wife of political prisoner Ales Bialiatski, Viasna representatives and independent journalists, and in a two-hour meeting expressed her support of political prisoners and signed the petition to ban the death penalty in the country. Loreen later stated she was fully aware of the risks coming with “speaking out,” including the possibility of being stopped or arrested at the airport when trying to return home.

In August 2013, she was the ambassador of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan and she visited Kabul, Afghanistan, and the village Yaskin Bala in Warsaj Valley with Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden. The year after, the construction of a new primary school was due to start in the village and the plan was that Loreen would come back and follow the work of the new school until it was finished. “It was a great experience to meet the people of Warsaj in Yaskin Bala, both men and women. I hope to come back soon and meet my friends again,” says Loreen, “Education is the most important issue, when it comes to decrease poverty and to help people taking control over their own lives,” says Loreen, “I am very impressed of what SCA is doing in Afghanistan. To me, this is the right way of development efforts. I am happy to be committed in that work.” For her work, Loreen was announced new patron of the World’s Children’s Prize in New York City, USA, and received the Crystal Globe. On 30 October 2014, she won the World’s Children’s Prize’s Crystal Globe for the second time and met with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and Queen Silvia of Sweden in a ceremony at the Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred, Sweden. She also supports the WCP—the world’s largest educational programs for children about children’s rights.

In March 2022, Loreen performed at Sverige samlas och hjälper, a live fundraising gala in support of Ukraine after the 2022 Russian invasion.

Discography.

• Heal (2012)
• Ride (2017)

Tours and residencies.

Headlining tours

• Tour XIV (2014)
• Summer Tour (2021)[135]

Concert residencies

• En Euforisk Jul (2014)

Promotional tours.

• Promotional Tour (2012–2014)

Filmography.

• Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
• JJ+E (2021)
• Över Atlanten [sv] (2022)

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year	Ceremony	Category	Work	Result
2012	Melodifestivalen 2012	First Prize	“Euphoria”	Won
	Gaygalan Awards	Swedish Song of the Year	“My Heart Is Refusing Me”	Won
	Eurovision Song Contest 2012	First Prize	“Euphoria”	Won
	MTV Europe Music Awards	Best Swedish Act	Herself	Won
		Best European Act		Nominated
	Rockbjörnen	Best Female Artist		Won
		Best Song	“Euphoria”	Won
	World Music Awards	Best Female Artist	Herself	Nominated
		Best Entertainer of the Year		Nominated
		Best Song	“Euphoria”	Nominated
	Premios 40 Principales	Mejor Canción Internacional en Lengua No Española		Nominated
2013	Grammis	Song of the Year		Nominated
		Artist of the Year	Herself	Nominated
		Internationally Most Successful Swedish Artist of the Year		Nominated
	Gaygalan Awards	Swedish Song of the Year	“Euphoria”	Won
		Artist of the Year	Herself	Nominated
	Radio Regenbogen Award	Listeners Award	“Euphoria”	Won
	Rockbjörnen	Best Live Act	“Wonk Eurovision 2013”	Nominated
		Best Song	“We Got the Power”	Nominated
		Best Female Artist	Herself	Nominated
	World Music Awards	Best Female Artist		Nominated
		Best Artist		Nominated
		Best Live Act		Nominated
		Best Song	“Euphoria”	Nominated
		Best Video		Nominated
2014	Gaygalan Awards	Swedish Song of the Year	“We Got the Power”	Nominated
	Spirit Music Awards	Best Album Dance/Electronic	Heal (2013 Edition)	Nominated
	Rockbjörnen	Best Song	“Son” (feat. Ingá-Máret Gaup-Juuso)	Nominated
		Best Live Act	12 September 2013, Gröna Lund	Nominated
		Best Fans	Warriors	Nominated
	Scandipop Awards	Best Electropop	“Requiem Solution” (with Kleerup)	Nominated
2016		Best Female Artist	Herself	Nominated
		Best Dancepop	“Paper Light (Higher)”	Nominated
		Best Video		Nominated
		Most Memorable Live Performance	“Paper Light (Higher)” (interval act Melodifestivalen)	Nominated
2017	Gay Music Chart Awards	Best Live Performance	“Statements” (Live at Melodifestivalen 2017)	Nominated
2018	Scandipop Awards	Best Alternapop Song	“Statements”	Won
2023	Melodifestivalen 2023	First Prize	“Tattoo”	Won

• Selected song: “Tattoo” is a song by Swedish singer Loreen, released as a single on 25 February 2023. The song is set to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning Melodifestivalen 2023, Sweden’s national selection for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Following its performance in its Melodifestivalen heat, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart.

Charts.

Chart performance for “Tattoo”

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Croatia (HRT)	40
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	6
Greece International (IFPI)	25
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)	4
Ireland (IRMA)	59
Lithuania (AGATA)	43
Netherlands (Single Tip)	1
Norway (VG-lista)	5
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)	27
Russia Airplay (TopHit)	30
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	1
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)	34

🇦🇿 Azerbaigian: TuralTuranX – “Tell me more” (Tural Baghmanov / Turan Baghmanov – Nihad Aliyev / Tunar Taghiyev / Tural Baghmanov / Turan Baghmanov).

• Selected entrant: TuralTuranX is an Azerbaijani musical duo consisting of twin brothers Tural and Turan Bağmanov (born 30 October 2000). They are set to represent Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with their song “Tell Me More”.

Tural and Turan Bağmanov are from Zaqatala in northwestern Azerbaijan. They first saw a piano at school and were so fascinated by it that they often secretly practiced songs. Then their father bought them a used synthesizer. Later they also learned to play the guitar. TuralTuranX first appeared in schools and at some events. However, after the death of their father, they temporarily stopped making music.

Tural later moved to the capital Baku and founded the band TheRedJungle with a friend, with whom Turan also performed. The brothers also performed as street musicians.

On 2 February 2023, it was announced that TuralTuranX are among the last five candidates of Azerbaijan’s internal selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. On 9 March, they were selected as the Azerbaijani representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest. They are scheduled to compete in the first semi-final on 9 May with their song “Tell Me More”.

Personal lives. Tural and Turan Bağmanov had two other brothers named Emin and Camal, both of whom died in a road accident in Yuxarı Tala in 2015.

Discography.

Singles

• “Tell Me More” (2023)

• Selected song: “Tell Me More” is a song by Azerbaijani folk duo TuralTuranX, released on 13 March 2023. The song is set to represent Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after being internally selected by İctimai Television, the Azerbaijani national broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision Song Contest. 

Internal selection. İctimai Television opened a song submission period from 8 to 31 December 2022 for interested composers to enter their songs. The submission period was later extended until 15 January 2023. After denial from İctimai Television that they had already selected their Eurovision artist from singer Rauf Kingsley that occured on 1 February, the next day, the broadcaster would officially announce the shortlist of five artists that were left in the running to represent Azerbaijan. On 9 March, TuralTuranX were officially announced as the representatives for Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, with their song officially releasing on 13 March.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Azerbaijan has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.

🇨🇿 Cechia: Vesna – “My sister’s crown” (Kateryna Vatchenko / Patricie Kaňok / Tanita Yankova – Adam Albrecht / Michal Jiráň / Patricie Kaňok / Šimon Martínek / Tanita Yankova).

• Selected entrant: Vesna is a folk band based in the Czech Republic, currently consisting of six members. The band is set to represent the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “My Sister’s Crown”.

In 2016, band frontwoman Patricie Fuxová wanted to create an all-female band that celebrated femininity and Slavic sisterhood. According to Fuxová, although the band is considered to play Czech folk music, she did not consider themselves to play within the folk music genre, stating that “I don’t see what we do with Vesna as folklore, they are not folk songs. For me, these are songs [don’t] that work with those archetypes.” At the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory, Fuxová would meet with eventual future members Bára Šůstková, who played the violin, Andrea Šulcová, and Tanita Yankovová, who both played the flute.

Pátá bohyně (2018). In 2018, Šulcová and Yankovová would both leave the group, and were replaced by pianist Olesya Ochepovská and drummer Markéta Vedralová. In that same year, the band would release their first studio album, Pátá bohyně. In an interview with Czech news magazine Týden, Fuxová stated that the album was inspired by both real life events that she had faced and by Czech stories and fairytales. The album won the Discovery of the Year award at the Czech music awards show Ceny Anděl 2018.

Anima (2020). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the band started work on a second studio album, Anima. In an interview, band member Bára Šůstková reported that the album was represented by animal motifs, the relationship between men and women, and the female body.

Eurovision Song Contest (2023). On 16 January 2023, the band was revealed as one of six competitors in ESCZ 2023, the Czech national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. When the voting results were revealed on 7 February 2023, the band had earned 10,584 votes, winning by a margin of 6,368 votes, thus becoming the Czech representatives for the contest.

Discography.

Albums.

Title	Details
Pátá bohyně	Released: 20 November 2018 Label: Warner Music Czech Republic
Anima	Released: 22 May 2020 Label: Warner Music Czech Republic

Singles.

Title	Year	Album
“Světlonoš” (feat. Terezie Kovalová)	2017	Pátá bohyně
“Kytička“	2018
“Láska z Kateřinic” (feat. Vojtěch Dyk)
“Bílá laň” (feat. Věra Martinová)	2019	Anima
“Nezapomeň“
“Voda“	2020
“Downside”		Non-album singles
“Vlčí oči“		Anima
“Vse stoji (Ne dojamem)“	2021	Non-album singles
“Pomiluj mě“	2022
“Love Me”
“My Sister’s Crown”	2023

• Selected song: “My Sister’s Crown” is a song by Czech folk band Vesna, released on 30 January 2023. The song is scheduled to represent the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning ESCZ 2023, the Czech Republic’s national final for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

In an interview with Eurovision fansite ESC Bubble, two members of the band reported that band frontman and songwriter Patricie Kaňok Fuxová wanted to share about a story of sisterhood and as a protest against gender inequality, saying that “you can have support from other people and [on the subject of] equality, it’s not just between women, but [everyone].”

Eurovision Song Contest.

ESCZ 2023. ESCZ 2023 was the national final organized by ČT in order to select the Czech entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. Five entries participated in the competition which took place on 30 January 2023 at the Kavčí Hory television centre in Prague, with the winner being selected via public voting and announced on 7 February 2023, with voting taking place in between. The voting consisted of 70% international audiences and 30% Czech audiences.

In the voting, “My Sister’s Crown” earned 3,501 votes from the Czech vote and 7,083 votes from the international vote, earning a total of 10,584 votes, winning by a margin of 6,367 votes. With the victory, the song was selected as the Czech representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Czech Republic has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.

Charts.

Chart performance for “My Sister’s Crown”

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)	24

🇳🇱 Paesi Bassi: Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper – “Burning daylight” (Dion Cuiper / Duncan de Moor / Jordan Garfield / Loek van der Grinten / Mia Nicolai – Dion Cuiper / Duncan de Moor / Jordan Garfield / Loek van der Grinten / Mia Nicolai).

• Selected entrant: Michaja Nicolaï (born 7 March 1996), known professionally as Mia Nicolai, is a Dutch singer, songwriter and actress. She is set to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 alongside Dion Cooper with the song “Burning Daylight“.

Early life. Nicolaï was born on 7 March 1996 in Amsterdam as the second daughter of lawyer and Party for the Animals politician Peter Nicolaï and Russian-born musician and composer Marynka Nicolaï-Krylova. She started taking drama and ballet classes at the age of three. According to Nicolaï, this sparked an interest in music, which would eventually lead to her taking piano and violin lessons. 

Career. 

2018–2022: First singles. In 2018, Nicolaï released her first single, a cover of American composer Glenn Miller’s “At Last”. In 2020, she released “Set Me Free” and “Mutual Needs”, the latter of which was featured on DJ Zane Lowe’s radio show. In 2021, she released two singles, “People Pleaser” and “Dream Go”. 

2023: Eurovision Song Contest. On 1 November 2022, the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced that Nicolaï would represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, alongside Dion Cooper. Nicolaï had met Cooper in 2020 when fellow Dutch Eurovision entrant and winner of the 2019 edition, Duncan Laurence, along with Laurence’s partner Jordan Garfield, paired the two up.

Personal life and artistry. Nicolaï has lived in London, Melbourne and New York City, before settling in Los Angeles in 2022. She has cited English singer David Bowie as one of her main artistic influences.

Discography. 

Singles.

Title	Year	Peak chart positions
		NLD (100)	NLD (40)
“At Last”	2018	—	—
“Set Me Free”	2020	—	—
“Mutual Needs”		—	—
“People Pleaser”	2021	—	—
“Dream Go”		—	—
“Loop”	2022	—	—
“Burning Daylight” (with Dion Cooper)	2023	61	28

Dion Cuiper (born 29 November 1993), known professionally as Dion Cooper, is a Dutch singer-songwriter. He is set to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 alongside Mia Nicolai with the song “Burning Daylight”.

Early life and education. Cuiper was born on 29 November 1993 and grew up in Wassenaar, South Holland, a suburb of The Hague. His father, who used to be a drummer in a funk band, introduced him to the music of, among others, Toto, the Police, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. Cuiper developed an interest for music and began playing the guitar at the age of 15. He later started writing and singing his own songs.

After completing his secondary education, Cuiper began studying international business and management, but dropped out at the age of 21 to focus on his musical career.^[4] He has cited Shawn Mendes, John Mayer and Harry Styles as his musical inspirations.

Career. 

2015–2022: The Voice of Holland and Too Young Too Dumb. In 2015, Cuiper took part in the sixth season of The Voice of Holland. He advanced to the Battles, joining the team of rapper Ali B. He was eliminated after losing the Battle to Brace.

The Voice of Holland performances and results
Round	Song	Original artist	Result
Blind Audition	“Feeling Good”	Muse	Joined Team Ali B
The Battles	“Never nooit meer“	Re-Play & Gordon	Eliminated

In 2021, Cuiper released his debut extended play Too Young Too Dumb. Later that year, he was a support act for Duncan Laurence during his 2021 club tour. In 2022, he released the singles “Know” and “Blue Jeans”, which were co-written with Laurence.

2023: Eurovision Song Contest. On 1 November 2022, the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced that Cuiper had been selected to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, alongside Mia Nicolai. Their entry “Burning Daylight” was released on 1 March 2023.

Discography.

Extended plays.

• Too Young Too Dumb (2021)

Singles.

Title	Year	Peak chart positions
		NLD (100)	NLD (40)
“Much Higher”	2020	—	—
“Jealousy”		—	—
“Too Young Too Dumb”		—	—
“Simple”		—	—
“Bobbie’s Song”		—	—
“Cold”	2021	—	—
“Fire” (featuring Maxine)		—	—
“Know”	2022	—	—
“Blue Jeans”		—	—
“Burning Daylight” (with Mia Nicolai)	2023	61	28

• Selected song: “Burning Daylight” is a song by Dutch singers Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper, released on 1 March 2023. The song is set to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after the artists were internally selected by AVROTROS, the Dutch broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision Song Contest. 

Internal selection. A submission period was opened by the broadcaster on 17 May 2022 where artists and composers were able to submit their entries until 31 August 2022. Each artist and songwriter was able to submit a maximum of three songs, which were judged by a selection commission consisting of AVROTROS general director Eric van Stade, television presenter and author Cornald Maas, singer and television presenter Jan Smit, radio DJs Hila Noorzai, Carolien Borgers and Sander Lantinga.

AVROTROS announced Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper as the Dutch entrants on 1 November 2022. On 22 February 2023, the duo would announce that their song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 would be released on 1 March. Six days later, the duo announced their title of the song as “Burning Daylight”.

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. The Netherlands has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.

Charts.

Chart performance for “Burning Daylight”

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	61

🇫🇮 Finlandia: Käärijä – “Cha cha cha” (Aleksi Nurmi / Jere Pöyhönen / Johannes Naukkarinen – Aleksi Nurmi / Johannes Naukkarinen).

• Selected entrant: Jere Pöyhönen (born 21 October 1993), known professionally as Käärijä, is a Finnish rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2020, he released his debut album Fantastista. He is set to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song “Cha Cha Cha”.

Pöyhönen grew up in the Ruskeasanta neighbourhood of Vantaa, Greater Helsinki. He discovered his passion for music while learning to play the drums, and started producing music in 2014. His stage name comes from a joke with his friends about gambling, a recurring theme in his music.

Pöyhönen released his music independently until 2017, when he was signed to the record label Monsp Records. He subsequently released the double single “Koppi tules” / “Nou roblem“. The following year, he released an extended play, titled Peliä. In 2020, his debut album Fantastista was released.

On 11 January 2023, Pöyhönen was announced as one of seven participants in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2023, the Finnish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. His entry “Cha Cha Cha” was co-written with Aleksi Nurmi and Johannes Naukkarinen, and was released on 18 January 2023. At the competition, he finished in first place with a total of 539 points (467 points from the televote and 72 points from the juries), thus becoming the Finnish representative for the contest.

Discography.

Extended plays.

• 2018 – Peliä

Studio albums.

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		FIN
Fantastista	Released: 2020 Label: Monsp Records	21

Singles.

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		FIN	ISL	SWE Heat.
“Heila” (featuring Urho Ghettonen)	2016	—	—	—	Non-album singles
“Urheilujätkä” (featuring Jeskiedes)		—	—	—
“Puun takaa“		—	—	—
“Tuuliviiri“	2017	—	—	—
“Ajoa“		—	—	—
“Koppi tules” / “Nou roblem“		—	—	—
“Klo23“	2018	—	—	—	Peliä
“Puuta heinää“		—	—	—
“Viulunkieli“		—	—	—	Fantastista
“Rock rock”	2019	—	—	—
“Hirttää kiinni“		—	—	—
“Mic mac”		—	—	—
“Paidaton riehuja“	2020	—	—	—	Non-album singles
“Menestynyt yksilö“	2021	—	—	—
“Siitä viis“		—	—	—
“Välikuolema“	2022	—	—	—
“Cha Cha Cha”	2023	1	28	13

• Selected song: “Cha Cha Cha” is a song by Finnish rapper/singer Käärijä, released on 17 January 2023. The song is set to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2023, the Finnish national selection for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision Song Contest. 

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2023. Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2023 was the twelfth edition of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), the music competition that selects Finland’s entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition consisted of a final on 25 February 2023, where seven entries competed. The winner was selected by a combination of public votes (75%) and seven international jury groups from Australia, Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom (25%). The viewers had a total of 882 points to award, while the juries had a total of 294 points to award. Each jury group distributed their points as follows: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 points. The viewer vote was based on the percentage of votes each song achieved through telephone, SMS and app voting.

“Cha Cha Cha” was drawn to perform third in the final. In the days leading up to the final, the song was considered a heavy favorite to win the contest, winning polls on various Eurovision fansites. During the voting in the final, it was revealed that the song had received 72 jury points and 467 televoting points, earning a total of 539 points, winning by a margin of 387 points. As a result of its win, the song is scheduled to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

When asked why he believed he won, Käärijä stated that the uniqueness of both the song and the performance may have assisted in winning by a wide margin, saying “UMK has never seen a song or performance like this before… you can go far even if you are not the most skilled singer or rapper.”

At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Finland has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform last in the show.

Charts.

Chart performance for “Cha Cha Cha”

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	1
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)	19
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)	13