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)
Chapter 1 (Belgium, Israel, The Netherlands) can be found here
Chapter 2 (Denmark, Iceland, North Macedonia) can be found here
Chapter 3 (Finland, Norway, Sweden) can be found here
Chapter 4 (Austria, Germany, Switzerland) can be found here
Chapter 5 (Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece) can be found here
Chapter 6 (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) can be found here
Chapter 7 (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) can be found here
Chapter 8 (France, Portugal, Spain) can be found here
Chapter 9 (Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom) can be found here
Chapter 10 (Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia) can be found here
Previous Wishes: Vera Țurcanu, Irina Rimes, Mark Stam
#1. Akord
Akord (Eng: Chord) is a Moldovan pop duo.
The group was established in 2006 during the “Golden Horseshoe” show. Their first song was “Maria“. Later on, they released 2 additional songs “Unde-i dragostea” and “În ochii mei”.
In 2009, they expanded their collaboration with one of the production companies in Moldova. Following this, one of their songs “Mă doare” became the most viewed video of 2010 in Moldova.
Over the years, the band collaborated with several artists like: Laurențiu Duță , Alex Davia (Alex Brașoveanu), Alex Calancea, Sergiu Musteață, Sergiu Teacă, Sandu Gorgos, Viorel Șigănaș, Alexei Nacai and others.
In 2019, the band was relaunched with a new soloist – Eduard Malareu who competed in “The Voice of Romania“. The band performed under the new line-up in November 2019, during the Moldovan Music Awards.
The current line-up of the band consists of Eduard Malareu and Igor Sârbu (with Iurie Badicu as the main producer).
Former members of the band were: Igor Stribițchi , Victor Balan and Victor Railean.
The band has released several albums so far:
- “Cerul care ne-a unit” (Eng: The sky that united us) – 2009
- “Opus” – 2019
- “AKORD – The Best Songs” – 2020
- “Unde, Unde” – Pop Simphonic – 2022
During their careers, the band won several awards, like: Concert of the year (2019), hit of the year (2019) and more…
Let’s listen to 3 of their songs:
In 2020, they released the song “Prizoniera” (Eng: The Prisoner):
In 2021, they released the song “Noaptea Târziu” (Eng: Late Night)
In 2022, they released the song “Девочка дождь” (Eng: Rain girl)
Akord has made their name over the years and has proved they are an integral part of the Moldovan pop industry.
It can be a different and refreshing direction for Eurovision.
#2. Andreea Bostanica
Adreea Bostanica is a 17 year-old Moldovan singer and vlogger.
She has gained over 5 Million followers across digital platforms.
In 2018, she released her debut song “De Play” which already has 4.9 million views on YouTube. Later on, she released more songs that got positive reactions and put her in the path of successful artists.
Let’s listen to 3 of her songs:
In 2021, she released the song “Diamantul” (Eng: diamond):
In 2022, she released the song “Ce Asculta Inima” (Eng: What the heart listens to):
In 2022, she collaborated with Pasha Parfeni (who represented Moldova at Eurovision 2022) on the song “18 am facut” (“18 I did”) :
Andreea is very young, but has already released several singles that caught the attention of the public. I believe she can do well with a main-stream pop song that will be performed in native language.
Previous Wishes: JO, Feli, Eneli
#1. Golan
Golan is a Romanian group, consisting of 3 members: Alex, Mihai and Ernesto.
Each of the band’s members came from a different musical background: Alex focused on classical and jazz music, while Mihai focused on song writing and composing contemporary electronic music.
The group was formed in 2013 in Bucharest. They are considered one of the first local acts to combine electronic music foundations with acoustic instruments and vocal melodies and unique sampling.
In 2014, they won the “Best Electro” award.
In July 2015, Golan made their international debut at the Open’s Festival in Gdynia, Poland, followed by numerous performances all across Europe.
In 2016, they joined Parov Stelar on a long European tour.
In 2016, Golan released their first EP – “Lonely Nights“.
In 2017, they released their first album, “Intro”, under the label Universal Music Romania.
The band has adopted a unique line for live concerts where they are joined by 40-60 orchestra players.
In 2021, Golan released their second album, “I”.
Listen to 3 of their songs:
In 2018, they collaborated with Island Chain on the song “Rocket Love“:
In 2021, they released the song “Bridget“:
In 2021, they released the song “Used To Be“:
Golan is an alternative music group that has a unique stamp.
Romania has never tried to send such a genre to Eurovision, and I think it can make them standout.
#2. Kate Linn
Catalina Ioana Oteleanu (better known as Kate Linn) is a 25 year-old Romanian singer-songwriter.
Kate started her career in 2013, with the release of her debut single “Ring My Bell”.
So far, she has released more than 10 singles.
In 2017, she released the song “Your Love” (which has achieved more than 81 million YouTube views to date):
In 2018, she released the song “Thunderlike” (which has achieved more than 41 million YouTube views to date):
In 2022, she released the song “Chiki Chiki”:
Kate Linn mixes modern music with traditional Romanian elements.
It seems she isn’t only a singer, but also a hit-maker, and this is exactly what Romania needs in Eurovision.
Previous Wishes: ONUKA, Max Barskih, KRUTЬ
#1. Kazaky
Kazaky is a Ukrainian synthpop dance boy band, consisting of 5 members: Kyryll Fedorenko, Artur Gaspar, Artemiy Lazarev, Vlad Koval, Evgeny Goncharenko.
The band was established in 2010 by Oleg Zhezhel (a professional choreographer and one of the former members).
In 2010, they released their first song, “In The Middle“, which made them win the award “The Breakthrough of The Year“.
In 2011, the band performed at the DSquared Men Spring/Summer 2012 runway show.
In June 2011, they made their American debut at Club 57 in New York.
The band’s line-up was changed a little bit. In 2012, they released their first album, “The Hills Chronicles”.
In 2013, the band released their second album “I Like It”.
In 2017, the band released their 3rd album – “Greatest Songs”.
In 2016, they announced they were disbanding. However, the band returned to activity in 2019.
In 2019, they collaborated with Gaspar on the song “Push“:
In 2019, they released the song “We Should Be Like No One Else”:
In 2020, they released the song “Fucking Beautiful“:
Kazaky delivers sharpened modern pop with the light influences of Eastern European pop.
They have experience in setting the stage on fire, and that’s why it can work for Eurovision.
#2. Alyona Alyona Feat. Jerry Heil
Alyona Alyona
Alyona Alyona is the stage name of Alyona Olehivna Savranenko – a 31 year-old Ukrainian rapper and songwriter.
Before working on her professional music career, she worked as a kindergarten teacher.
Alyona started working on rap music in the middle of the 2000’s.
Her first video, under the name Alyona Alyona, was released in 2018. The song “Рибки” (Eng: Fish) made her gain popularity.
In November 2018, she released her second song “Голови” (Eng: heads) which received more than 1 million views on its first month of YouTube.
On the 8th of April, 2019, Alyona released her debut album “Пушка” (Eng: Rifle).
She collaborated with artists like Alina Pash on this album.
In April 2019, she was praised by “Vogue” as the best rapper in Ukraine.
In 2020, she signed a contract with the Def Jam Polska label.
In 2021, she released her 2nd album “Galas“. In 2021, she was part of the Ukrainian jury for Eurovision 2021.
In 2022, she released several singles with Jerry Heil.
Jerry Heil
Yana Oleksandrivna Shemaeva (better known as Jerry Heil) is a 26 year-old Ukrainian singer-songwriter and Youtuber.
She began her career in 2012, when she started publishing covers and vloggs.
She released her first EP, “Де мії дім” (Eng: Where’s my house”) in 2017.
In 2018, she auditioned to the 9th season of “X-Factor Ukraine“, where she was eliminated in the bootcamp. Thereafter, she released 2 additional original songs.
In 2019, she released the single “OHRANA OTMENA” (Eng: Guard Cancel) which became a hit in Ukraine.
In September 2019, she released her debut album “Ya, Yana” (Eng: Me, Yana).
In 2019 she won the “Single of the Year” at the Jager Music Awards.
In 2020, she competed in “Vidbir 2020″ (the Ukrainian selection for Eurovision 2020) with the song “Vegan“. She finished in 6th place.
In 2021, she released additional EP, “МАНДАРИНИ І ОЛЕНІ” (Eng: Madness and Deer”).
In 2022, Jerry and Alyona released the song “Ridni moi” (Eng: My relatives):
In July 2022, Jerry Heil and Alyona collaborated with Ela (who represented Germany at Eurovision 2014) on the song “Kupala”:
We usually tend to select solo artists or bands, but this time we couldn’t help but suggest a duo that has already collaborated. We believe that this match is stronger than expected and can work wonderfully at Eurovision.
What do you think about the recommended artists?
Stay tuned for more recommendations to come, next time we will travel to other countries
