FRANCE 🇫🇷
On 6 December 2018, Hassani was announced to be among the 18 candidates participating in Destination Eurovision, the French national selection process for the Eurovision Song Contest which broadcasts on France 2, with this edition choosing the representative of France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, which will take place in Tel Aviv, Israel in May 2019. On 20 December 2018, an excerpt from his song for the competition was released, the song titled “Roi” and written with the duo and 2018 winner of Destination Eurovision Madame Monsieur. The song was described to be about self-acceptance. On 4 January 2019, “Roi” was made available on all music platforms, and by 14 January, it had exceeded 3 million views. The newspaper Le Monde wrote that Hassani “leaves no one indifferent”. The initial front runner to represent France at Eurovision, Hassani began a media tour for Destination Eurovision on media outlets such as NRJ, Quotidien, and France Inter. On 12 January 2019, he won the semi-final by winning 58 out of 60 points awarded by the international jury, and winning 57 points (the highest score) from the French public. He totalled 115 points and qualified for the final, alongside Chimène Badi (66 points), Silvàn Areg (59 points) and Aysat (40 points). He won the final on 26 January 2019, with a total of 200 points including 150 of the French public while he was ranked fifth with the International Jury vote, of 50 points. At the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 final, in Israel, Hassani performed the song “Roi”, and placed 16th, with 105 points.
FINLAND 🇫🇮
Siegfrids participated in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2013 for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song “Marry Me”. The 27-year-old Siegfrids won the contest held at Barona Areena by attaining the maximum vote of both the public and judges. She was elected to represent Finland in Malmö. During her performance, she shared a kiss with one of the female dancers on stage. According to Siegfrids, the act was a part of the show and urged Finland to legalize same-sex marriage. On 16 May, her entry made it to the final of the Eurovision on 18 May. However, in the finals it finished 24th out of the 26 countries with a total of 13 points.
ISRAEL 🇮🇱
During his studies Kobi Marimi appeared in the plays The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Comic Illusion and Prayer. After graduating from Nissan Nativ he performed in Every Living Thing Needs, Chambaloo’s Treasure and performed the role of Natan in Messiah Now for which he won the Promising Actor Award at the 2017 Musical Celebrations in Bat Yam. This was his Israeli Opera debut. Marimi won the award for the most promising actor in Israel’s Musical Theatre Festival. Marimi won the sixth season of HaKokhav HaBa. This earned him the right to represent his country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 on home soil. Marimi represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song,”Home”, and came 23rd out of a total of 41. In June 2019, Kobi Marimi started performing as Earnest in the production of Spring Awakening at the Israeli National Theater, “Habima”.
SWITZERLAND 🇨🇭
In 2017, Hänni served as Switzerland’s voting spokesperson in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 which took place in Kiev, Ukraine. The same year, he appeared as a contestant on the second season of the RTL competitive dancing talent show Dance Dance Dance, partnered with fellow Deutschland sucht den Superstar winner Prince Damien. Considered one of the show’s frontrunners throughout the entire competition, he ultimately placed first in the competition in October 2017. In December 2018, he released the single “Bei mir” which he promoted with a dancing performance at the Helene Fischer Show the same month.[22] The song failed to chart. In March 2019, Hanni was announced as Switzerland’s representative at Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel-Aviv, Israel Selected by Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR through an internal selection process, he performed the song “She Got Me”, a dance pop song that combines rhythmic and Middle Eastern elements and was penned together with a team of national and international composers at a Swiss songwriting camp. On May 16, 2019, Hänni participated in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, placing fourth in the semi-final with 232 points and qualifying for the final on May 18. In the final, he placed fifth with televoters and seventh with international juries, amassing 364 points in total and coming in fourth. This marked Switzerland’s highest result since Annie Cotton’s “Moi, tout simplement” at the Eurovision Song Contest 1993. Also, “She Got Me” became Hänni’s second number-one hit in Switzerland.
AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
Dami Im is a Korean-born Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist performing artist. Im is known for achieving the highest Eurovision score for Australia. Im emigrated to Australia from South Korea with her family at the age of nine. She won the fifth season of The X Factor Australia and subsequently received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia and managed by Ken Outch at Parade Management. After winning The X Factor, Im released her debut and winner’s single “Alive”, which debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart. This was followed by the release of her self-titled second studio album, which debuted at number one the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. Im became the first X Factor Australia contestant to follow up a number one single with a number one album on the ARIA Charts. Im’s third studio album, Heart Beats, was released in 2014 and became her second top-ten album. It produced the top-twenty hits “Super Love” and “Gladiator”. Im represented Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm, Sweden, with the song “Sound of Silence”, where she won the jury vote and placed fourth in the televote, coming second overall with a total of 511 points.
SPAIN 🇪🇸
Miki released his anticipated first studio album “Amuza”, featuring the songs “Celébrate” and his Eurovision entry “La Venda”. Moreover, you’ll get 11 more songs on his album. Amuza is an invocation to have fun and to party with an album full of danceable rhythms and optimistic lyrics. Miki is the composer of all the songs, with the exception of his Eurovision entry La Venda and Nadie Se Salva, and has decided to include two songs in Catalan.
BELGIUM 🇧🇪
In January 2016, Flemish broadcaster VRT chose Laura Tesoro via the Eurosong 2016-preselection. With her ‘What’s The Pressure’ she represented Belgium in Stockholm. Although she dangled at the bottom of the personal rankings and betting odds at that time, she managed to silence her haters during the first rehearsal. With an energetic act and shiny outfit she won multiple hearts in Europe and Australia. She performed last in a very strong second semifinal. After that she managed to lead Belgium for the third time in the Eurovision history to the grand final. From closing in the semifinals to the opener of the grand final. Laura Tesoro was the first to enter the podium during the final in Stockholm. Despite the rather unfavourable draw, she still achieved a very beautiful tenth place.
