Eurovision Home Concerts: Introducing the artists of Episode 4
24 April 2020 at 13:00 CESTIn case you missed the show in past weeks, each episode of Eurovision Home Concerts will feature several artists who have been part of the Eurovision family over the years, including artists from 2020. Each will perform their own song and a cover version of another Eurovision hit. This episode features artists from 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Watch the show here at 17:00 CEST:
This week, we are proud to present the following artists who show off their talents from home:
Ana Soklič (Slovenia 2020)
Ana competed twice at EMA, the Slovenian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, and 3 times at the Slovenian Song Festival, where, in 2019, she won 2 jury awards for best interpretation and best song overall. In 2020, public broadcaster RTV Slovenia hosted the final of its national selection show again, with 12 finalists competing for the ticket to Rotterdam. After a 'superfinal' round against Lina Kuduzović, Ana won with her song Voda. Aside from her Eurovision entry, Ana will also sing Rona Nishliu's Suus. Rona finished 5th for Albania in 2012.
The performance of Voda includes an entire orchestra, which was recorded before the COVID-19 crisis began.
At the end of March, Ana posted on her Instagram account that she's back in the studio recording new music:
Damir Kedžo (Croatia 2020)
Damir Kedžo is a 32-year-old pop singer and one of the most recognizable faces within the Croatian music scene. Damir was born in Omišalj, on the island of Krk, and began his music career by participating in a music show 16 years ago. He was the most listened-to male singer in 2019 in Croatia, for which he received the Best Male Performer Award according to official statistics.
Leaving behind 15 other contestants, Damir won Croatia's national final, Dora 2020, with the song Divlji Vjetre. Next to his Eurovision entry, Damir will also sing a cover of Loreen's Euphoria.
A sneak peek on what to expect this afternoon can be found in Damir's Instagram page:
Elisa (Portugal 2020)
Elisa was born in 1999 on the island of Madeira and started singing at the early age of 7. From her childhood, she remembers her father playing records from the great classics like The Beatles, Ray Charles, Queen, ABBA and The Eagles, among others. It was there that she fell in love with music.
In 2018, she moved to Lisbon to continue her studies and began to compose her own songs. Today, she studies at the Music Academy of Lisbon and has joined the Great Dane Studios as an artist.
With her song, Medo De Sentir, Elisa was chosen to represent Portugal in 2020. At Eurovision Home Concerts, Elisa will sing both Medo De Sentir as well as ABBA's Waterloo.
On Instagram, several Eurovision Song Contest 2020 representatives are sending digital hugs to each other through the hashtag #HugsForESC2020. Elisa participated after being tagged by Australia's Montaigne. In Elisa's Instagram post, she thanks Montaigne and tags Jeangu Macrooy, who will represent the Netherlands in 2021:
Eugent Bushpepa (Albania 2018)
In December 2017, at Festivali i Këngës, Eugent Bushpepa was chosen by a professional jury to represent his country at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Mall. Eugent both wrote and composed the entry.
Eugent, who was born in 1984, started singing when he was only 6 years old. He describes himself as, "a creative professional with extensive project experience from concept to development". Aside from being creative, he has a variety of interests, from loving art to supporting human rights. However, he claims that music is his religion.
During the fourth episode of Eurovision Home Concerts, Eugent will sing Mall as well as Silent Storm from Carl Espen. Carl placed 9th in the Grand Final in 2014 when he represented Norway.
Leading up to the fourth episode, Eugent has been posting several other cover songs on his Instagram account:
KEiiNO (2019)
KEiiNO was Norway's Eurovision Song Contest entry in 2019. The band mixes electronic pop with Nordic folk melodies and joik, the traditional form of song of the Sami people. The trio was formed in 2018 by award-winning platinum singer and songwriter Tom Hugo, Sami rapper/joiker Fred Buljo and singer Alexandra Rotan. They performed Spirit In The Sky in Tel Aviv and placed 6th in the Grand Final.
Together they will sing their successful Eurovision entry Spirit In The Sky as well as a cover of Hatrið Mun Sigra, originally sung by Iceland's Hatari in 2019.
Earlier this week, they took to their Instagram page to remind fans that KEiiNO's new album is coming out soon:
PÆNDA (Austria 2019)
Singer-songwriter and producer PÆNDA represented Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with her ballad Limits. The song tells the story of how she pushed herself beyond all limits in her enthusiasm and passion for music to the point of exhaustion. Next to her Eurovision entry, she will also sing Love Injected by Latvia's Aminata, who finished 6th in the Grand Final in 2015.
In March, she posted a video on Instagram announcing the unfortunate cancellation of her tour:
Stefania (Greece 2020)
17-year-old Stefania Liberakakis, also known simply as Stefania, is a Greek-Dutch singer, actress and YouTuber. Stefania was born and raised in the Netherlands and, at a very young age, realized her love for music.
In 2016 she was chosen by an internal committee to represent the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Valletta as part of the girl-band, Kisses. The group performed the song Kisses and Dancin, managing to secure 8th place.
In February 2020, it was confirmed by Greek public broadcaster ERT that Stefania was internally selected to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song SUPERG!RL. ERT confirmed in March that she will represent Greece in 2021 as well.
During the fourth episode of Eurovision Home Concerts, Stefania will sing SUPERG!RL, as well as You Let Me Walk Alone by Michael Schulte. Michael represented Germany in 2018 where he finished 4th in the Grand Final.
Stefania teamed up with Kalomira (Greece 2008) and composer and producer Dimitris Kontopoulos for his 'Q sessions' earlier this week. Together, they sang the iconic hit Shady Lady by Eurovision runner-up Ani Lorak.
VICTORIA (Bulgaria 2020)
VICTORIA's distinctive voice and style position her as one of the most promising new artists in Bulgaria. Her Eurovision 2020 entry Tears Getting Sober, written by the artist in partnership with Symphonix International and produced by Ligna Studios, tells a story about overcoming your fears and pain and moving forward. Along with Stefania, VICTORIA will also return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021. For Eurovision Home Concerts, the public decided that VICTORIA would sing Duncan Laurence's Arcade, next to her Eurovision entry Tears Getting Sober.
At the end of March, VICTORIA posted a Q&A video on her Instagram TV to give fans some insight into what she has been up to:
Where and when to watch?
Every episode of the Eurovision Home Concerts will be published on Friday at 17:00 CEST on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest. Make sure you are subscribed so you don't miss any episodes!