Like a Supernova: Latvia's Top 10 results at Eurovision

On Saturday 3 February, broadcaster LTV will host the semi-final of Supernova 2024; Latvia's national final to find its entry to the 68th Eurovision Song Contest.

15 songs will compete in the semi-final, with 10 then qualifying for the Supernova final a week later, on Saturday 10 February. 

You can tune in from 20:10 CET on Saturday night via LTV's online player. And you can already listen to all 15 songs, and read more about how it all works, right here:

The winner of Supernova 2024 will continue Latvia's legacy at the Eurovision Song Contest; a legacy that includes one win, one year of hosting the Contest, and a reputation for pushing the boundaries of what is or isn't acceptable to be uttered on the Eurovision stage (anyone for salad?).

To whet our appetites for Saturday night's semi, we're getting fully Riga-ready. We've crunched the numbers and compiled a Top 10 list of Latvia's best placings at the Eurovision Song Contest to date.

Can the song that Supernova sends to Malmö infiltrate this list by the middle May?...

10. F.L.Y. - Hello From Mars

24th place - 2003

The first and so far only Latvian entry to have been performed on home soil, Hello From Mars represented the Baltic nation when the Eurovision Song Contest came to us from Riga in 2003. 

In a move that could perhaps be seen as going the extra mile in getting behind its entry, Latvian broadcaster LTV organised a very special greeting to the hosts and the audience during the live show. The 'hello' was not quite from Mars but near enough; it came from the International Space Station, via one astronaut and one cosmonaut. 

09. Arnis Mednis - Too Much

18th place - 2001

Latvia's second entry to the Eurovision Song Contest finished in 18th place at Copenhagen 2001. The song received 16 points in total - 8 from neighbours in the north Estonia and 8 from neighbours in the south Lithuania.

Earlier that year, Too Much had won Latvia's Eurovision pre-selection, Eirodziesma. Finishing in third place at the national final that night was Hey, Boy, Follow Me - performed by the artist that would go on to win the Eurovision Song Contest for Latvia just one year later, Marie N! But more on her later...

08. Cosmos - I Hear Your Heart

16th place - 2006

Over half a decade before Pitch Perfect hit cinema screens, this six-piece band from Latvia was already inspiring the masses to have a go at a cappella singing.

The vocal harmony group Cosmos didn't rely on just their finely-tuned singing abilities to captivate audiences, however. The Latvian lads also incorporated the construction of a robotic mascot into their performance. Cute, if not a blatant disregard for our six-on-stage rule! 

07. Bonaparti.lv - Questa Notte

16th place - 2007

To this day, the very latest a song has performed in a Eurovision Song Contest running order is from position 28. That has only happened on one occasion; at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 Semi-Final, with Questa Notte representing Latvia.

Fortune favoured the boys from Bonaparti.lv that night in Helsinki, as their song was one of 10 qualifying to the final, as opposed to one of an eye-watering 18 eliminated. And as we know by now, it was to be the very last year that the Eurovision Song Contest held just one Semi-Final.

06. Justs - Heartbeat

15th place - 2016

Heartbeat won the second edition of Latvia's current pre-selection format, Supernova, back in 2016. The song was written by Aminata - the artist who had won the first edition one year earlier.

Justs' favourable Grand Final finish in Stockholm saw him invited back to Supernova in 2018, to host the 4-week event. The artist also returned as a competitor at the national final in 2023, with the song Strangers.

05. Pirates Of The Sea - Wolves Of The Sea

12th place (2008)

When Serbian broadcaster RTS unveiled the design for the 'Confluence Of Sound' stage - symbolising the Sava and Danube rivers that Belgrade lies upon - we'd wager a bet that they hadn't envisioned those waters being commandeered by actual Pirates Of The Sea!

But Latvia's gift to Europe in 2008 was indeed Wolves Of The Sea. And it was a well-received one, at that; picking up a full 'douze points' from Ireland, 10 points from both Lithuania and the United Kingdom, and eventually finishing on 83 points for a 12th-place finish.

04. Aminata - Love Injected

6th place (2015)

The inaugural Supernova took place in 2015, in an attempt to change Latvia's fortunes at the Eurovision Song Contest, following 6 consecutive non-qualifications to the Grand Final.

An instant success, its first winner Love Injected took Latvia to the Top 10 in the Grand Final for what was the first time in a decade. Its points tally of 186 remains Latvia's highest to date, too.

03. Walters & Kazha - The War Is Not Over

5th place (2005)

A lyrical call for peace that was performed in English, but also in Latvian sign language; which was a first for the Contest.

As voting finished on the night in Kyiv, Latvia could proudly lay claim to the fact that it now had a 50% strike rate of finishing inside the Top 5 in its 6 years of competing at the Eurovision Song Contest.

02. Brainstorm - My Star

3rd place (2000)

Latvia made its debut at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000, and got off to an especially strong start. Brainstorm's My Star finished in 3rd place on the night, picking up points from 19 of the other 23 competing countries. 

Since its Eurovision breakthrough, the band has gone on to play at Glastonbury, win an MTV Europe Music Award, and support The Rolling Stones. The band is still active today.

01. Marie N - I Wanna

1st place (2002)

Earning Latvia a Eurovision win on what was just its third outing at the Contest, Marie N brought the trophy home sooner than most countries have managed, with her memorable performance of I Wanna.

A year later, when the Eurovision Song Contest was brought to us from the country's capital of Riga, Marie N got to greet viewers once more - this time as host.