Eurovision Home Concerts: Introducing the artists of Episode 5
01 May 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 hit by a fellow Eurovision participant. Watch the show here at 17:00 CEST:
This week, we are proud to present the following artists from 2018 and 2020:
Ben Dolic (Germany 2020)
A Berliner-by-choice who grew up in Slovenia and has lived in Switzerland for years, Ben is representative of modern Germany. Born on May 4, 1997, in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, he began to pursue his dream of music at the age of 12. His Eurovision entry Violent Thing was released on 27 February 2020, and he will sing this song during Eurovision Home Concerts alongside Beautiful Mess by Kristian Kostov.
Ben gets much of his musical inspiration from Michael Jackson, which he also recently showed on his Instagram:
Michael Schulte (Germany 2018)
Michael was born 30 April 1990 and started his musical career in 2007 playing cover songs on YouTube. In February 2018, Michael won Unser Lied für Lissabon, the German national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, with his song You Let Me Walk Alone. In the song, Michael opens up about his feelings after losing his father. He sings about the thoughts, emotions and problems one has to face when a parent passes away too soon – Michael was only 14 at the time.
He represented Germany in 2018 and finished 4th in the Grand Final. Michael will sing You Let Me Walk Alone beside Ryan O'Shaugnessy's Together. The latter was performed in our first episode of Eurovision Home Concerts by Ryan himself. Check out that episode here.
Michael announced on Instagram that he will take the stage during a 'drive-in concert' in Hannover at the end of May. He says that he, "is very happy that a way has been found, that we can still see each other and that concerts can take place in a different way."
ROXEN (Romania 2020)
Roxen was born in Cluj, a small but cosmopolitan city in Romania, and has been singing since she was 7 years old. She won several music contests at an early age and knew from the beginning that music would be her passion. Roxen became the country’s representative via a songwriting camp that public broadcaster TVR organized in collaboration with music label Global Records.
She will not only sing her Eurovision entry, Alcohol You, but also Sanna Nielsen's Undo. Sanna finished 3rd in the Grand Final in 2014.
Early in March, Roxen met with Norway's Ulrikke to talk about all things Eurovision:
Samanta Tīna (Latvia 2020)
Samanta Tīna’s passion for the Eurovision Song Contest is undeniable, having participated in the Latvian national competition 6 times, not including 2 attempts to represent her second home, Lithuania, in 2015 and 2017.
One could argue that Samanta is a Eurovision super-fan: in 2019, the singer wrote her graduating paper based on an analysis of the national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest in Latvia and Lithuania. If that doesn't demonstrate her love for the competition, we don't know what does!
Samanta will sing her Eurovision entry Still Breathing next to Ani Lorak's Shady Lady.
At the end of March, Samanta documented herself recording for Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light, which will take place on 16 May, on Instagram:
Sandro (Cyprus 2020)
Sandro, the stage name of Alessandro H. Ruetten, was born on 2 August 1996 in Germany, where he currently resides. Sandro is of German, American and Greek roots and fluent in the 3 national languages.
His philosophy is that music must be authentic, truthful and reach peoples’ hearts. This feeling is, of course, reflected in his Eurovision entry Running. The song tells a dark story that showcases the struggle against adversities and the storms that we have to weather in life.
Sandro will sing Running as well as Again by Australia's Guy Sebastian.
In April, he took to Instagram to announce the recording of a Running Unplugged video, which is soon to be released:
Senhit (San Marino 2020)
Born in Bologna, Italy, to Eritrean parents, Senhit is a singer that combines her African roots with Italian style and European electro-pop attitude. She took part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 in Dusseldorf, representing the Republic of San Marino with the song Stand By. She finished 16th in the first Semi-Final. With her song, Freaky!, Senhit was chosen to represent San Marino again in 2020.
Next to Freaky!, Senhit will sing L’essenziale by Italy's Marco Mengoni. He represented the country in 2013 and finished 7th in the Grand Final.
Early in April, she asked her fans to participate in #FreakyDance, where people record themselves dancing to the song:
Tom Leeb (France 2020)
French public broadcaster FT returned to an internal selection in 2020 and determined Tom Leeb as their Eurovision Song Contest representative. In a new twist, the broadcaster asked French and European publishers to write a song specifically for the Contest. After reviewing more than 100 songs, they selected and broadcasted the French-English ballad, Mon Alliée (The Best In Me), live from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
During the fifth episode of Eurovision Home Concerts, Tom will sing Mon Alliée (The Best In Me), as well as Duncan Laurence's Arcade, the entry that won the Contest in 2019 in Tel Aviv.
Like many artists have done to keep sharing their music, Tom took to his Instagram to sing some covers recorded at home. In one session, Tom recorded a very special version of Justin Timberlake's Say Something:
VAL (Belarus 2020)
VAL is a Belarusian duo consisting of music producer Vlad Pashkevich and singer-songwriter Valerie Gribusova. Valerie Gribusova participated in The Voice Ukraine and won a vocal competition at the Slavic Bazaar Festival. Vlad Pashkevich produced Belarus’ Eurovision 2017 entry Story Of My Life by Naviband and has collaborated with various global brands.
Near the end of 2019, the duo decided to put themselves forward for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 and, together with lyricist Mikita Naidzenau, wrote Da Vidna. The single was released in January, and one month later an acoustic version was released along with the music video which was shot in one take. On 28 February, the song won the national contest in Belarus and became the Belarusian entry for 2020.
VAL will sing their Eurovision entry Da Vidna as well as Rhythm Inside by Loïc Nottet. Loïc represented Belgium in 2015 where he placed 4th in the Grand Final.
In March, they took to their Instagram, asking people to be careful and wishing everyone good health:
ZiBBZ (Switzerland 2018)
Last, but certainly not least, is ZiBBZ. This duo participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon in 2018 with the song Stones. Siblings Coco and Stee first combined their musical talents in 2008, and have worked together ever since. In 2018, they said that they describe themselves as soulmates – both on and off stage. As a 'self-made' band, Coco and Stee not only write their own music but play multiple instruments and produce and edit their own music videos.
The siblings will sing Stones next to Cesár Sampson's Nobody But You. Cesár represented Austria in 2018 and finished 3rd in the Grand Final.
In February, the posted a little throwback to their Lisbon adventure on Instagram:
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!