In the spotlight: Samanta Tīna
18 April 2020 at 10:05 CESTSamanta Tīna’s passion for the Eurovision Song Contest is undeniable, having participated in the Latvian national competition 6 times - not including her 2 attempts to represent her second home, Lithuanua, in 2015 and 2017.
Her enthusiasm for the Contest and her persistence finally payed off: determined exclusively by public vote, Samanta came in 1st place, above 8 other competitors, in Latvia’s Supernova 2020. “I feel so happy..." Samanta said after her victory. “Finally, it has happened... My message for Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest is that Latvia is still breathing...”
Who is Samanta?
Samanta Tīna is a singer from the small town of Tukums in Latvia, who describes her powerful vocals as a god-given talent that needs to be heard on the big stage. After competing in a local TV show, Samanta's big voice won her a position in a music school in London. She was runner up in Slavianski Bazaar in Belarus back in 2012 and finished in the top 8 of the Lithuanian series of The Voice in 2014. Samanta was also among the participants of the international contest of popular music, New Wave, in 2016.
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 wants to show Europe and the world that Latvia is not a country to be underestimated. Her Eurovision song, Still Breathing, may be the new female anthem that keeps Latvia on everyone's mind. Samanta’s song is a nod to women who are held to unrealistically high standards - the endless struggle to be perfect mothers, devoted wives and beautiful at all times - all while chasing their dreams.
Still Breathing was co-produced by Samanta and Latvian musician Arnis Račinskis, and the lyrics were written by Eurovision 2015 finalist Aminata Savadogo, who represented Latvia with Love Injected.
READ MORE: Samanta's participant profile
Samanta recently performed in the PrePartyES at Home! She gave her fans an energetic performance of her own Eurovision song as well as a dramatic cover of the 2012 winning, crowd-favourite, Euphoria by Loreen. She shared some of her performance on her own Instagram account.
You can follow Samanta on the following social media platforms:
LISTEN: Stream Still Breathing and other Eurovision 2020 songs on Spotify
Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Latvia made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm in 2000 and went on to win in 2002, hosting the competition the following year in the capital Riga.
Latvia has had mixed success at the Contest. The country has placed in the top-5 on 3 occasions. However, between 2009 and 2014, it failed to qualify for the Grand Final - even finishing last in three semi-finals on 3 occasions. In 2015 the national selection was overhauled and Supernova was launched. Aminata won the first edition, taking Latvia to the Grand Final for the first time since 2008, where she finished 6th with Love Injected. Her success was repeated by Justs who also qualified for the Grand Final in 2016 with Heartbeat.
READ MORE: Latvia's country page
Latvia was represented by the band Carousel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Their song, That Night, came in 15th place in the Second Semi-Final.