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Which of these acts will represent the smallest country in Eurovision?

08 February 2018 at 10:50 CET
San Marino is holding a national selection for Eurovision 2018 1in360
In autumn 2017 it was announced that San Marino was using an international casting process, primarily online, to find its entry for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. 11 acts are in the running to represent San Marino in Lisbon but who are they?

Over 250 entries from 60 countries around the world were submitted to San Marino's national selection for Eurovision 2018. The first show will take place on 9th February with the second the following week on 16th February. The final, to be held on 3rd March, will be broadcast live from Bratislava. Last year Valentina Monetta returned to the Eurovision Song Contest for the fourth time and teamed up with Jimmie Wilson to perform Spirit Of The Night in Kyiv.

How will it work?

In the first two shows, the candidates will perform acoustic versions of their songs, and the judges will provide feedback. At the end of the second show, the judges will pick one song for each candidate, of which the candidates will perform a fully produced version in the final. The live performances from the first two shows will be released as an album and as digital downloads on 19th February 2018. 

The judges are Vince Bugg (dancer and choreographer), Neon Hitch (singer and songwriter) and Zoë Straub, who represented Austria in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.

The winner will be chosen by a combination of jury and online voting. The online vote will open on 23rd February 2018 and extend through to the end of the final on 3rd March. Visit the website for more information about the national selection. 

Meet the 11 hopefuls in San Marino

Camilla North (Norway)

Camilla North is a singer-songwriter from Norway. Born and raised in Bergen, she studied music at secondary school before completing a BA in music and an MA in Songwriting at Bath Spa University in the UK. When she came back to Norway she continued her studies at the Grieg Academy of Music in Bergen where she got a PhD in Music. Her songs in the 2018 selection:

  • Free Yourself
  • Yo No Soy Tu Chika  

Emma Sandstrom (Finland)

Emma Sandstrom was born 1990 in a small town in Finland called Kokkola and for the past three years has been living and working in Stockholm as a music and art teacher. She previously participated in both The Voice of Finland as well as the  Finnish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Her songs in the 2018 selection:

  • Diamonds
  • Hold On

Franklin Calleja (Malta)

Franklin Calleja was born in 1992 in Malta. The 25-year old started singing already as a child, but his star rose considerably in 2012 when he won the show Don't Stop Me Now, which was broadcast on national television in Malta. In 2013 he participated for the first time in the Maltese national selection for Eurovision and he made several appearances since. His songs in the 2018 selection:

  • Best Years Of Our Lives 
  • Stay

Giovanni Montalbano (Italy)

When Giovanni Montalbano attended his first concert when he was 12 and fell in love with music. He started writing songs and joined a band, I Glamm, which enjoyed some buzz in his homeland Sicily, winning a regional festival with the single Negli Anni 70 and getting national radio airplay. In 2017 Giovanni decided to start a solo project, with Fra Le Nuvole being the first single he released. His songs in the 2018 selection:

  • Best Years Of Our Lives 
  • Immenso  

Irol (San Marino)

Lorenzo Salvatori, who goes by the stage name Irol, is well known within San Marino as the winner of the first series of the talent contest I talent dei castelli.  He was also the spokesperson for San Marino at the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017. Born in San Marino, he started rapping at age 14. In 2010 he released his first EP, Lost in time, and in 2013 he recorded his first album, Mental State. In 2015 he recorded his second EP, Distances. His songs in the 2018 selection:

  • Stuck Without You
  • Sorry

Jennifer Besky (Germany)

Jennifer was born in 1996 in Berlin and started to sing at an early age. She previously reached the finals of the show The Winner Is on German TV and in December 2013 she released her debut single, Not That Guy. In 2014 she won Best Newcomer at the EMMAwards. In 2015 Jennifer released her first self-written single, ASAP, and released several singles after that, including her debut album in 2016, Recovery. Her songs in the 2018 selection:

  • Sorry
  • Until The Morning Light

Jessika (Malta)

Jessika was born in February 1989 and is a Maltese singer-songwriter and actress. She was discovered on Maltese national television in 2008 during the Malta Song for Europe Festival. In 2009 she started touring and performed in the United States where she also worked with leading vocal coach Seth Riggs. Jessika has participated in the Maltese national selection for Eurovision several times and in August 2017 she released a new single Edge Of Tomorrow, written by Gerard James Borg and music by Philip Vella, who she has previously collaborated with. Her songs in the 2018 selection:

  • Who We Are
  • Out Of The Twilight 

Judah Gavra (Israel)

Judah Gavra is an Israeli singer-songwriter based in New York City. In March 2013 Judah competed in the Israeli national selection for Eurovision with the song We're Beautiful. Following this he released several more singles in addition to teaching music, dancing, and acting in New York. He graduated from the American Music and Dramatic Academy and has gone on to perform musicals all over the United States. His songs in the 2018 selection:

  • Stay
  • Moonlight

Sara de Blue (Austria)

Sara writes and produces her own songs, and she also plays the piano, drums and the flute and began her musical career at the age of 13. She was one of the finalists in The Voice of Germany and was the first woman to sing the new national anthem at the Youth Winter Olympic Games in 2012 in Innsbruck. She was a Eurovision Song Contest wild card nominee for Austria in 2016 with her song Closer To The Sun and has lent her voice to several commercials. Her songs in the 2018 selection:

  • Until The Morning Light
  • Out Of The Twilight

Sebastian Schmidt (Germany)

Sebastian Schmidt, known as Basti, is a singer from Germany. His musical gifts became apparent when he was still in elementary school where he had his first performances in front of an audience. He first gained mainstream recognition when he was one of eight selected contestants for the judges' houses round in The X Factor. He studied Popular Music and Media and graduated in 2017. He has extensive experience as a busker and now now wants to step out from the streets to the big Eurovision stage. His songs in the 2018 selection:

  • Moonlight
  • Stay

Tinashe Makura (Zimbabwe)

Tinashe Makura is an Afro-pop musician from Zimbabwe. His professional musical career started in 2006 and began to take off after his move to Malaysia, where he was studying for his BSc in international business. In 2012, having completed his studies and returning to Zimbabwe, Tinashe released his debut hit single, Hello. In April 2014 he released another single, Zvekupenga ft Chase. The song spent 15 consecutive weeks on the local charts landing him a slot to perform at HIFA 2015 (Harare International Festival of the Arts). In 2016 he released Roar Zimbabwe Roar ft. Ammara Brown. His songs in the 2018 selection:

  • We Are One
  • Free Yourself