At Eurovision 2020, Tornike Kipiani will represent Georgia on stage in Rotterdam with the song “Take Me As I Am”. When he does so he’ll be joined by three backing vocalists – Aleko Berdzenishvili, Marian Shengelia and Mariko Lezhava. The trio of singers have now given us a glimpse into what Tornike’s Eurovision entry will be like.
Up until now, the only comment made about “Take Me As I Am” was that it will be a mix of classic rock, electro and dubstep. A clip of the track was also played during a news broadcast, which featured the notable lyric “How do you want me to talk like an Englishman?”.
“Take Me As I Am”: Tornike’s backing vocalists reveal more
In posts on the official Eurovision Georgia Instagram page, Tornike’s three backing vocalists for Rotterdam revealed more about the song and the recording process.
Mariam Shengelia was one of the other contestants in Georgian Idol 2019, which was used to select Georgia’s artist for Eurovision 2020. She made it to week five of the contest, finishing in sixth place. Mariam says she thinks “Take Me As I Am” will exceed people’s expectations:
Working with Tornike is a great pleasure, because he is such an amazing, fantastic and good person…words can’t describe.
The recording process was very enjoyable. I liked the song so much and I was so pleased and surprised, I did not expect such a song. We recorded the song very well, the music video will be released soon and I’m sure that Eurovision fans will like it and it’ll exceed expectations.
Mariko Lezhava may be familiar to some fans from 2017, when she was a contestant in Georgia’s epic 25-act national final. She placed sixth with her electro-pop song “Light It Up”. Mariko believes that Tornike’s Eurovision entry matches his personality perfectly:
Working with Tornike is not easy, because he likes to think deeply. I like the approach that does things hard rather than simply.
The song is exactly Tornike Kipiani and it fits exactly with his inner world, character and I think it will help a lot. That is, it expresses his nature, personality, character and everything.
Aleko Berdzenishvili, who is music producer and arranger, says that “Take Me As I Am” is both different and interesting:
This is not my first collaboration with Tornike, we have worked successfully before. He remarkably focuses on even the smallest details. The process with him is very interesting and productive.
The song is different and interesting to listen to, with its severity, structure, words and message. I tried to keep the music production as close to Tornike’s idea as possible. It all came out very organically and I’m happy with it.
Who is Tornike Kipiani?
Tornike is a 32-year-old musician and the father of three children. He earned the right to represent Georgia at Eurovision 2020 after winning Georgian Idol 2019.
He has a good track record in reality singing competitions, as he also won the 2014 edition of X Factor Georgia. Tornike’s mentor on the show was Cyprus’ Eurovision 2018 star Tamta.
Tornike previously tried to represent Georgia at Eurovision in 2017. He competed in the country’s national final with the industrial techno song “You Are My Sunshine”.
What do you think? Are you excited to hear “Take Me As I Am”? What sort of performance should Tornike deliver in Rotterdam? Tell us your thoughts below.
tamta was in 2019 not 2018
Do Georgians just win reality shows for fun? I mean Oto won Idol twice and Tornike won idol and X factor lmao
Georgia may fail, but they are trying something different and I like that.
Georgia is going to save Eurovision 2020. So far, most of the entries are very generic and don’t really stand out. I hope Georgia will change that
The [generic] disco banger bop culture is exactly what’s destroying Eurovision right now
You know Georgia are going to do something original. We don’t even need to keep the faith. 😉
finally someone who says it! 2016 is the least diverse year in history, especially the final, where the only song with no english lyrics at all was austria’s. the productions were all same-y too. i guess it was due to the previous year’s winner being a cookie cutter pop song.
the expectations on him are zero so anything that exceeds this will be good for me. even better if it’s a strong rock song!
I really can’t wait for this! Good luck Georgia.
Duh. George usually something interesting but interesting doesn’t mean it’s good.
2016 was ok for me too. In my books this is shaping up to be the flattest contest since the 2002 one actually…
I’m not hopeful for any of the remaining national finals, since I haven’t heard anything that I really enjoy and definitely there’s nothing original or diverse to expect. Internal selections also seem to be very poor this year and that’s a very alarming sign too. Both 2008 and 2011 had some good songs, most of which remained underrated, and thus both contests were stigmatized by their generic winning songs. Regardless of what was on offer in national selections, this year feels just flat, exactly like 2002. Hopefully this can still change.
Hahaha, thanks for the efforts Tibor, and sorry for being a little cynical sometimes. I’m not really that pessimistic, I just like to lower my expectations in an effort to get somewhat pleasantly surprised. It worked for me back in 2011, cheering for songs I would normally never enjoy. 🙂
Tornike kipiani: “How do you want me to talk like an Englishman?”.
Casual british viewer: Proof!?! EuRoPe hAteS Us! wE cAn’T WiN bEcAuSe oF PoLitIcS
Mariko’s such a superstar <3 she should be selected some day
2016 was a really good year. 2020 seems like another 2011, bad, bad, bad.
“The song is different and interesting to listen to” well considering that Georgia has sent some absolute garbage in the past that fits this same description, I am worried. Prove me wrong, Georgia!
We need something interesting that stands out, after a series of below average entries. Can Georgia surprise?
They are making me more excited for the song… just need them to release it already XD