Welcome to our series of posts – “The Looker” where we will share our wish list of artists participating in Eurovision.
This is the second year in a row that we are running the project.
But before we start, let us remark that our recommendations will not necessarily come true (as for example some countries select their artists by reality shows)

Links to previous chapters from this season:

Chapter 1 (Belgium, Israel, The Netherlands) can be found here
Chapter 2 (Denmark, Iceland, North Macedonia) can be found here

Previous wishes: BEHM, Haloo Helsinki!, Cyan Kicks

#1. VIIVI

Viivi Mirette Korhonen (or simply VIIVI) is a 22-year-old Finnish singer-songwriter.
In 2009, she competed in a children’s music competition “Lasten laulukilpailu Karuselli“, where she ended up in 2nd place.
In 2017, she signed a contract with Capitol Records. Her first single “Sä päätit tän” (Eng: You decided), was released in February 2020.
In 2021, she made her first voice role, casting her voice for Lucky Prescott, in the Spirit – Kesyttämätön animated movie.
She kept on releasing several successful singles in 2020 and 2021.
Her single “Lääke” (Eng: Medicine) peaked number 3rd in the official Finish charts and remained there for 3 weeks in a row.
She received a gold record for this single, which has also achieved millions of streams on Spotify.
In March 2022, she released her debut album “Parisuhdehautausmaa” (Eng: Cemetery for a relationship) which peaked nubmer 1st in the Finnish charts.
In 2022, VIVII was awarded the best newcomer in “Emma-gaala 2022” (EMMA Awards).
She was also nominated for best pop song (for 3 different songs), and best song of the year.

Let’s listen to 3 of her songs:

In 2020, she releaed “Lääke” (Eng: medicine):

In 2021, she released the single “USA“:

In 2021, she relased “Hyväuskoinen” (Eng: In good faith):

VIIVI is a rising star in the Finnish music industry.
Her songs reflect mainstream music in Finland, besides rock, and it is time for Finland to shine with local songs in a native language.
Finland has proven that they have an insane rock scene, let’s take a different direction now.

#2. Sanni

Sanni Mari Elina Kurkisuo (or simple Sanni) is a 29 year-old Finnish singer-songtier and actress.
In 2001 she won the Napero-Finlandia prize for a writing competition. In 2012, she graduated from art school and made her appearance in a Finnish movie.
Before her solo career, she was part of some Finnish bands. In 2013, she released her first single “Prinsessoja ja astronautteja” (Eng: Princesses and astronauts).
The vast majority of her singles were in the top 20 in the Finnish charts, and mostly in the top 5.
She has released 4 studio albums to date:

2013 – “Sotke mut” (Eng: mess me up) – peaked nubmer 9th in the Finnish charts
2015 – “Lelu” (Eng: toy) – peaked nubmer 1st in the Finnish charts
2016 – “Sanni” – peaked nubmer 1st in the Finnish charts
2019 – “Trippi” (Eng: Trip) – peaked nubmer 1st in the Finnish charts

Let’s listen to 3 of her songs:

In 2019, she released the song “Soita mua” (Eng: call me):

In 2021, she released the song “Pettäjä” (Eng: betrayer):

In 2022, she released the song “Tyhmä” (Eng: stupid)

Sanni could be one of the most interesting suggestions for Finland at Eurovision.
Her electo pop songs are modern, popular and still unique.
She will be the one to bring not only a good song, but also an appealing performance.

Previous wishes: Aurora, Ruben, Susanne Sundfør

#1. Chris Holsten

Chris Holsten is a 29 year-old Norwegian singer-songwriter.
He started his way into covering songs, while he was only 17.
In 2014, he was the lead vocalist in the song “Rays of Light” by the Broiler duo. The song received great local and international success. In 2015, he collaborated with Martin Björk, and one of the songs topped the Swedish charts. He was also involved in writing songs for the South Korean girl band “Red Velvet“.
In 2016, he signed a contract with Warner Music Norway. Thereafter, he released his debut single “On My Own“. The song has been sold for platinum certification, and it made it his gold path in the music industry.
In 2017, he released additional singles that achieved millions of streams on Spotify.
On April 2020, he released his first EP. His second EP was released in 2021.
In 2022, he released his debut album “Bak en fasade” (Eng: Behind the facade).
Chris Holsten won 3 awards during his career:

“P3 Gold” 2021 – Artist of the year
“P3 Gold” 2021 – Song of the year
“Spellemann Prize 2021” – Song of the year

In 2021, he released the song “Smilet i ditt eget speil” (Eng: The smile in your own mirror)

In 2021, he released the single “Bak En Fasade” (Eng: Behind the facade)

In 2022, he released the song “Slå hjerte, slå” (Eng: Beat, Heart Beat):

Chris Holsten creates great radio-friendly songs.
He gained popularity for a reason, and it seems like he can bring Norway to a satisfying achievement at Eurovision.

#2. Girl In Red

Marie Ulven Ringheim (better known as girl in red) is a 23 year-old Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist.
She started working on music in 2015, but first broke through in 2018.
Her first song to be released was “I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend“.
It was during the show “NRK Urørt” (Eng: NRK Untouched), which allows unknown and unsigned artists to expose their music. mShe was announced as the winner of the season.
In 2019, she was nominated as the best newcomer artist of the year by P3 Gold. In addition, she was nominated for this year’s breakthrough at the Spellemannprisen 2019.
That same year, The New York Times listed her in the best music released in 2018.
She featured in the newspaper once again in 2019.
In 2019, she released her first EP “chapter 2”. In 2020, she released several singles.
In April 2021, she released her debut album. “If I could make it go quiet“.

The 2020 and 2021 were successful years, as the girl in red won several awards:

Spellemannprisen 2020 – Annual international success
P3 Gold 2020 – Artist of the year
Spellemannprisen 2021 – Årets spellemann (artist of the year, selected by professional jury)
Spellemannprisen 2021 – Songwriter of the year
Spellemannprisen 2021 – Best album of the year

Let’s listen to 3 of her songs:

In 2018, she released the single “We Fell in Love In October“

In 2021, she released the song “I’ll Call You Mine“:

In 2021, she released the song “Body and Mind”:

“Girl in Red” brings fresh new air to the music industry.
She is pretty versatile and can sing dark pop ballads as well as rock pop songs.
Besides this, she carried the LGBT flag proudly.
She has already shown her potential, earning millions of views and streams (with over 12 million monthly streams).

Previous wishes: Normandie, Sabina Ddumba, Skott

#1. Juliander

Juliander (Albin Juliander Palmgren) is a 25 year-old Swedish singer-songwriter and producer.
He writes and produces his own music, but also writes songs for others.
His first single, “Same Moon“, was released in September 2017.
In February 2018, he released his debut EP “Afterglow“, while additional singles were released in 2019. For his first EP, he achieved great success with more than 30 million streams on Spotify.
He has toured with Zara Larsson and Alan Walker, recorded music with Noah Cyrus and performed at Coachella.

Listen to 3 of his songs:

In 2018, he released “Afterglow”:

In 2019, he released the song “Nervous“:

In 2022, he released the song “Cold Shoulder” :

Juliander uses vintage synths, powerful drums and organic instruments to deliver a message.
He has spent some time touring the world, which has prepared him for bigger stages.

#2. Tove Lo

Tove Lo (real name: Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson) is a 34 year-old Swedish singer-songwriter and actress.
Over the years, she has received descriptions of Sweden‘s darkest pop export” and “the saddest girl in Sweden.”
Her music is a combination of dark pop, alternative rock and soft electro motifs.
She graduated from the music school Rytmus Musikergymnasiet.
In 2006, she formed the rock band Tremblebee. After it disbanded, Tove chose to focus on her solo career. She signed a contract with Warner Chappell Music in 2011. She worked with different music producers like Alexander Kronlund, Max Martin, and Xenomania.
In 2012, she released her debut single “Love Ballad“.
Her first EP, “Truth Serum,” was released in 2014 and marked her international breakthrough into mainstream success. It peaked at number 13th in Sweden and number 6th in the UK.
In 2014, she released her debut album “Queen of the Clouds”. The album peaked in number 14th in the American Billboard 200 Chart, number 6th in the UK, and at number 13th is Sweden.
One of the singles in the album “Habits (Stay High)” peaked at number 3rd.
Her second album, “Lady Wood“, was released in October 2016 and debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200. Its lead single, “Cool Girl”, became an international hit.
She released her 3rd album “Blue Lips” in 2017. Her 4th album “Sunshine Kitty” was released in 2019.
The song “Glad He’s Gone” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video.
Besides her solo career, Tove Lo has written songs for famous artists like: Lorde (“Homemade Dynamite”), Ava Wax, Ellie Goulding (“Love Me like You Do“), Kylie Minogue, Coldplay, Alesso, Flume, Nick Jonas, Seven Lions, Broods, and Urban Cone.
Her 5th album will be released in the upcoming months.
During her career, she won several awards like

Capricho Awards
European Border Breakers Award
Grammis
Musikförläggarnas Pris
P3 Guld Awards
Scandipop Awards
Rockbjörnen
YouTube Music Awards

Let’s listen to 3 of her songs:

In 2014, she released the mega-hit “Habits” that already has more than 957 Million views!!

In 2020, she released the song “Mateo“

In 2022, she released the song “How Long”, to be included in her 5 th album.
The song was featured in one HBO series – “Euphoria”.

Tove Lo is the perfect artist for Eurovision. She has gained international success. In addition, she has created dozens of hits over the years. Her music genre is diverse and she has the voice you’ll be

What do you think about the recommended artists?
Stay tuned for more recommendations to come, next time we will travel to other countries.