THE Eurovision Song Contest 2019 finalists have been announced.
The winner will be crowned on Saturday, May 18, 2019 – but who are the contestants that have made it through?
What time is the Grand Final on television?
The Eurovision Grand Final will air Saturday, May 18, 2019, and will be aired on BBC One and via the contest’s official YouTube channel.
It will kick off at 8pm in the UK.
Only twenty of the acts in the semi-final will make it through to the final, meaning the remainder will reach the end of their road.
And then two days later the grand final will take place on the Saturday May 18th in Tel Aviv, Israel.
h2>Who went through in the second Semi-Final?
This evening, the second semi-final will see a 18 countries compete.
Here’s who will be representing the remaining nations…
Getty – Contributor
1. Armenia – OUT
Srbuk performed Walking Out.
She first came to prominence after having starred in the Armenian version of The X Factor.
Srbuk was awarded with second place, which was enough for her to jumpstart her music career – but not enough to get to the final.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
2. Ireland – OUT
Sarah McTernan performed 22.
She participated in the fourth series of The Voice of Ireland in 2015 and was named a semi-finalist, finishing in third place.
Aside from her passion for singing, Sarah is also passionate about playing guitar, piano and tin whistle.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
3. Moldova – OUT
Anna Odobescu performed Stay.
Anna was selected through O melodie pentru Europa 2019, which is better known as the Moldovan national selection which selected Moldova’s sentry this year.
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4. Switzerland – Qualified
LUCA Hänni performed Shot Got Me.
At nine years old, Luca already started playing the guitar and piano – which was something he had self-taught himself over the years.
He competed in 2012 and ended up winning the show, accumulating an impressive 52.85% of the audience votes while also becoming the first non-German to do so.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
5. Latvia – Out
Carousel performed That Night.
They four-piece was chosen to perform the song at the contest through Supernova 2019, the music competition which selects Latvia’s entries for the annual show.
The group consists of four members: Sabīne Žuga, Mārcis Vasiļevskis, Mareks Logins and Staņislavs Judins.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
6. Romania – OUT
Ester Peony performed On a Sunday.
Peony grew up in Montreal, Canada where she started composing music for other Romanian artists before gaining recognition for her work on YouTube.
Several of her covers had millions of views accumulated by the time her single Sub aripa ta featuring Vescan became a hit in Romania.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
7. Denmark – Qualified
Leonora performed Love Is Forever.
Her song is the first multilingual entry from Denmark to be included in the Eurovision Song Contest, which is quite an achievement in itself.
AP:Associated Press
8. Sweden – Qualified
John Lundvik performed Too Late For Love.
It wasn’t until 2010, however, that Lundvik grew a passion for all things music, having written When You Tell the World You’re Mine for a royal wedding in Sweden.
The opportunity led to his participation in composing original music for the US family drama Empire.
Reuters
9. Austria – OUT
Paenda performed Limits.
Its lead singer Gabriela Horn started singing in a choir at the age of six.
But it wasn’t until she was 14 that the passion for songwriting and singing became a real passion for the Austrian.
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10. Croatia – OUT
Roko Blažević performed The Dream.
On January 11, Houdek revealed in an interview with Slobodna Dalmacija that Roko Blažević would perform the song The Dream.
Getty – Contributor
11. Malta – Qualified
Michela performed Chameleon.
Malta was represented by 18-year-old singer Michela Pace, who goes by just her first name.
She gained instant fame after starring in the first series of The X Factor Malta.
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12. Lithuania – OUT
Jurij Veklenko performed Run with the Lions.
Jurij was selected through Eurovizijos” dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka, the Moldovan national selection which selected Lithuania’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
13. Russia – Qualified
Sergey Lazarev performed Scream.
Lazarev was selected by the Russian broadcaster.
He’s most famous for being a member in the group Smash!! The group ended up parting ways in 2006, subsequently leading to Sergey to launch a solo career.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
14. Albania – Qualified
Jonida Maliqi performed Ktheju tokës.
Jonida Maliqi was selected through Festivali i Këngës 57, the music competition that selects Albania’s entries for the Eurovision Song Contest.
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15. Norway – Qualified
KEiiNO performed Spirit in the Sky.
The group was actually put together in 2018 especially for Norway’s Eurovison selection process, the Melodi Grand Prix.
Spirit in The Sky was written by Tom Hugo Hhermansen and his husband, Alex Olsson, with the pair taking inspiration from the historic struggles for equality.
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16. The Netherlands – Qualified
Duncan Laurence will perform Arcade.
He competed in the fifth series of The Voice of Holland and made it all the way to the semi-finals.
Duncan Laurence and fellow songwriters Wouter Hardy and Joel Sjöö teamed up together to write the power ballad, Arcade.
Getty – Contributor
17. North Macedonia – Qualified
Tamara Todevska will perform Proud.
She released a popular song with her sister Tijana called Igra luda (Crazy game) in 1997.
Tamara’s big break, however, came in 2003 when she performed the song 1003 at the Montenegrin festival Suncane Skale – she managed to scoop up the second place.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
18. Azerbaijan – Qualified
Chingiz will perform Truth.
In 2007, Chingiz ended up winning the singing competition Pop Idol, quickly making him become one of the hottest artists in the Azerbaijani music industry.
Only twenty of these acts will make it through to the final, meaning the remainder will reach the end of their road.
The Big Five countries – those that make the biggest financial contribution to the contest – go straight into the final.
They are the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
The host nation Israel is also automatically in the grand final.
Rex Features
On Tuesday (May 14), the first semi-final saw 17 countries compete in Tel Aviv for a place in Saturday’s final.
They were:
1. Cyprus – Qualified
Tamta performed Replay.
Tamta was born and raised in Georgia before moving to Greece at the age of 22.
The successful pop singer found fame after taking part in Greek Idol, where she came in at second place.
Getty – Contributor
2. Montenegro – OUT
D mol performed Heaven.
The group consists of six members, who were selected to represent Montenegro after winning the country’s national selection, Montevizija.
Their name was originally D-Moll before it was changed to D Mol in March, 2019.
Getty – Contributor
3. Finland – OUT
Darude feat. Sebastian Rejmanl performed Look Away.
He’s a Finnish DJ, with credentials in music that date all the way back to the 90s.
In 1999, Darude’s Sandstorm single was a worldwide success, selling a whopping 4 million copies.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
4. Poland – OUT
Tulia performed Fire Of Love (Pali się).
The band consists of four members in total, and they were only formed in 2017.
On May 25, 2019, the group released their debut album, which received a platinum plaque for sales of over 30,000 in Poland.
AP:Associated Press
5. Slovenia – Qualified
Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl performed Sebi.
This Slovenian musical, from Maribor, formed together in 2018 and have released a number of singles.
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6. Czech Republic – Qualified
Lake Malawi performed Friend of a Friend.
The group released their debut album Surrounded by Light on November 10, 2019.
Their song Friend of a Friend currently stands as one of the favourites at this year’s live music competition.
Reuters
7. Hungary – OUT
Joci Pápai performed Az én apám.
This was Joci’s second time representing Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest, having first helmed the role in 2017 when he came 8th place.
To date, the singer and rapper has only released one album (Vigaszdij, 2005).
EPA
8. Belarus – Qualified
Zena performed Like It.
Zena began her career in 2013, competing in New Wave Junior 2014 and 2014 Junior Salavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk.
She’s one of the youngest singers to have entered the competition – at just 16!
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
9. Serbia – Qualified
Nevena Božović performed Kruna.
She quickly made a name for herself after starring in Serbia’s version of The Voice in 2012.
Božović wrote and composed the music herself, while Darko Dimitrov acted as producer of the track.
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10. Belgium – OUT
Eliot performed Wake Up.
In 2017, Eliot appeared on The Voice Belgique season seven, having been coached by Slimane Nechi.
Aside from singing, he’s also known for writing for artists such as Blanche’s City Lights, which was placed 4th at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.
Getty – Contributor
11. Georgia – OUT
Oto Nemsadze performed Sul tsin iare.
Oto was named as Georgia’s representative after having won Georgian Idol on March 3, 2019.
He had also participated in season three of The Voice of Ukraine, where he would go on to finish in second place.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
12. Australia – Qualified
Kate Miller-Heidke performed Zero Gravity.
Though she’s trained as a classical singer, Kate has drifted more into the lane of alternative pop-rock.
She’s previously been signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US, RCA in the UK, but now stands strong as an independent artist.
13. Iceland – Qualified
Hatari consists of three longtime pals named Klemens Hannigan, Matthías Tryggvi Haraldson, and Einar Stéfansson.
They grew popularity in their country after having performed at multiple events in 2017, which quickly grew their recognition.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
14. Estonia – Qualified
Victor Crone performed Storm.
Victor started writing songs at the age of 15 and by the time he was 18, he had made the decision of relocating to Los Angeles and Nashville.
This allowed him the opportunity to write with critically acclaimed artists such as Diane Warren and Eric Bazilian.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
15. Portugal – OUT
Conan Osíris performed Telemóveis.
Conan’s rise to fame came with the release of his song Telemóveis, which topped Portuguese trends on Spotify and YouTube.
He initially studied to work in graphic design after the completion of his degree in 2010.
16. Greece – Qualified
Katerine Duska performed Better Love.
Katerine Duska is a Greek-Canadian singer and songwriter, who received a wide amount of attention following the release of her cover to Arctic Monkeys’ Do I Wanna Know in 2013.
She was born in Montreal, where she would go on to develop a passion for music and eventually made it her full-time job.
Andres Poveda Photograqhy
17. San Marino – Qualified
Serhat performed Say Na Na Na.
Serhat established his own company in 1994, which would allow him to kick off his producing career.
His first single Rüya-Ben Bir Daha was a moderate success and would lead him to work for a number of Turkish artists.
When is Eurovision 2019 on TV?
The 64th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Tel Aviv.
The first (May 14) and second semi-finals (May 16th) were broadcast on BBC Four at 8pm.
Meanwhile, the big final on Saturday May 18th 2019 will air on BBC One at the same time where the winner will be crowned during the live show.
Former X Factor contestant and winner of BBC’s All Together Now Michael Rice, 21, has been picked to represent us in the contest this year.
Graham Norton will provide the commentary from Tel Aviv.
The programmes will be available to watch online with BBC iPlayer shortly after they are broadcast.
