Benny Cristo
Benny Cristo, born Ben Cristovao, was born in the Czech city called Plzeň. He is a singer, lyric writer, sportsman and actor. Ben's mother is from the Czech Republic and his father from the Southern Africa country of Angola.Ben is one of the most significant mainstream artists on the Czech scene, singing in both Czech and English. His music career began in 2009 when he appeared on a Czech singing contest on television. Before that, Benny was a sportsman on a professional level; known for both tennis and snowboarding. The experience gained from his participation in the singing contest show motivated him to focus more on his music career.
In 2010, he released his debut album Definitely Different and, 2 years after, the album Benny Cristo. In 2014, he released an album called Made In Czechoslovakia, which he celebrated with a concert in a Prague hall Forum Karlin with 4,500 visitors. In 2017, he released an EP called Poslední which he performed live during an open-air gig in Prague for 7,000 visitors. In 2019, Ben released his EP Kontakt and performed for 15,000 people in Prague's O2 Arena. This year he wants to repeat the event in the O2 Arena again.
Benny often collaborates with various other artists, from mainstream bands and solo artists to alternative hip hop artists from the Czech and Slovak Republic. Benny has released 5 solo albums thus far, and most tracks were in collaboration with Canadian music producers The Glowsticks, led by Osama Verse-Atile.
His Eurovision entry is Kemama, translated to 'okay mama'. The lyrics are about his childhood, during which he faced much adversity. The Glowsticks produce the song, and Tomáš Kasal directed the video.
Benny has been a vegan for many years and also an animal rights advocate. He actively participates in various events and projects supporting this. For many years, Benny has also been BrazilianJiu-Jitsuu fighter on a professional level.