She’s delivered pop in 2012, jazz in 2018, avant-garde in 2021, and this Saturday, we will see Cosmic Bride returning to the Lithuania’s Eurovision selection for a fourth time. 

Ahead of Heat Two of Pabandom Iš Naujo 2022, she’s released her entry “The Devil Lives in Spain”. It’s a sophisticated flamenco tune that brings a whole new sound to the table, as one should expect from the Lithuanian singer. And the title has got everyone talking.

We interviewed Cosmic Bride to get to know her — and her entry — a bit better.

Cosmic Bride “The Devil Lives In Spain” — Pabandom Iš Naujo 2022

“The Devil lives in Spain is a personal story”, she tells us, “which is inspired by an ancient Spanish myth about the Devil, who offered a deal to a young girl in exchange for her soul. ‘But before you go, surrender any hope of going home’, he warns. The story of the song explores the contradiction between following an all-consuming passion and the fear of losing oneself.”

“I have been interested in flamenco music for several years now, I even had the ambition to go to live in Spain to play music, but so far it remained an unfulfilled dream. Flamenco had almost become my secret religion, I was looking for ways I could express it. I turned to the power of the imagination and discovered this metaphor: the Devil lives in Spain. In search of a back up of my imagined narrative, I discovered an ancient myth about the devil from Segovia. According to folklore legend, a young girl tired of walking the steep streets of the city to fill her bucket of water every morning, agreed with the devil: in exchange for her soul, he would build an aqueduct. To me, it’s like a timeless story of contradictions that everyone experiences in their lives.”

A national final veteran, Cosmic Bride has an intriguing philosophy to creating a “Eurovision entry”. “For me, Eurovision is a platform where one can tell stories in the form of songs to a wide audience. It’s like a musical task — to create a 3-minute composition and to make Europe to fall in love with it”.

Some lyricists believe in trying to formulate an entry specific for the Eurovision audience. The Lithuanian, however, says that “in this case, I don’t believe in formulas; I sincerely believe in authenticity and the urge to share. I couldn’t resist and share my story again”.

Who is Cosmic Bride?

Cosmic Bride is the stage name of Natalia Kharetskaya, an experimental Lithuanian musician based in the Netherlands. She first participated in the Lithuanian selection in 2012, as a featured vocalist on “Blind” by Sound’s Engineers. In 2018, she went solo with “Serious”, then again under the new name in 2021 with “Solitary Star”. She became popular amongst amongst a small subsection of Eurovision fans on Twitter after her 2021 appearance. They call themselves Cosmic Bridesmaids.

The Baltic songstress explained her moniker. “The choice of a stage name was inspired by a quote of the world-famous composer Igor Stravinsky: ‘Music is the Bride of the Cosmos’; for he was who popularised Lithuanian traditional music worldwide. This name is a homage to Lithuania and a long-searched artistic concept, which explores my heritage.”

What do you think of “The Devil Lives in Spain”? Will we see Cosmic Bride wave the Lithuanian flag in Turin? Shout in the comment section below!

21 Comments
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Alex
Alex
2 years ago

very weird song, feels like it goes nowhere though. i like the instrumental version.

Max
Max
2 years ago

It sounds kind of like it came straight from the “Lungs” Album by Florence and the Machine…
I really enjoy the instrumentation. But her singing style is not very pleasant f
to my ears.

Alfonso Moreno Domínguez
Alfonso Moreno Domínguez
2 years ago
Reply to  Max

It did remind me of Florence

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
2 years ago

I have to say, I am genuinely surprised and impressed. I Didn’t think cosmic bride would have it in her to create something that’s generally good, but she did. This is way better than her 2021 entry, where she didn’t even qualify out of the heat. I think this might actually be my favorite song Author of the main selection so far. I wouldn’t actually mind going to Eurovision, but we still have some more songs left so we’ll have to see.

Sabrina
Sabrina
2 years ago

Cool song and loved her ideas about Eurovision. With more authenticity and less formulas, talented artists will thrive and the audience will get better entries which an impact that can last for more than just one summer. Last year’s top 10 was a huge step on this path.

willchrisiam
willchrisiam
2 years ago

“No tacos or tamales”
You do realize that Spain and Mexico are not the same?

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  willchrisiam

It has always been one of those false assumptions because of the shared culture and language Mexico and Spain have with each other, to the point that certain customs specific to a certain country is confused to be as someone else’s.

Cumbia is said to be Colombian, Tejano music is specific to Texas in the US, bullfighting is from Spain, while jalapeño peppers and tacos are Mexican.

With that said, I kinda get the point she was trying to make with her giving a few bad choices of examples being all very trivial.

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
2 years ago
Reply to  James

It might also have been a dig at El Diablo from Cyprus last year, which did have a lyric about tomales.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
2 years ago
Reply to  Elizabeth

You know, this song was more how I envisioned el Diablo Before it was released. That may have been a bit of shade towards it.

Domi
Domi
2 years ago

Sooo good… I love the melodic, warm, and nostalgic feeling this song has. Good luck, Cosmic Bride !!!

OberonYronwood
OberonYronwood
2 years ago

As a Spaniard I feel quite honoured tbh, I love it when artists get inspired by other cultures to create a well researched and profound piece of art

Bombalurina
Bombalurina
2 years ago

Love this , and i just realised that we have very weird titled songs this year
”Thanks God I am An Atheist”, ”Give That Wolf A Banana” , ”Eat Your Salad” , ”The Devil Lives In Spain”

Last edited 2 years ago by Bombalurina
BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
2 years ago
Reply to  Bombalurina

“The Devil Lives in Spain” is not that weird a title.

Bombalurina
Bombalurina
2 years ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

Why is that ? Because the devil actually lives there ? 😀

Devito
Devito
2 years ago
Reply to  Bombalurina

Nobody will overtop two Amens and The Devil in 2021. It feels like Eurovision acts become more and more inclined to use Biblical metaphors and such. 🙂

Jamie
Jamie
2 years ago

I was expecting this to be trash, but it’s… kinda good. The song is so warm and cozy. Definitely something you would not expect to be coming out of freezing Lithuania. This could represent Spain and no one would notice haha

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
2 years ago
Reply to  Jamie

Would you say it’s better than her entry last year?

Xxx
Xxx
2 years ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

100%

Jamie
Jamie
2 years ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

Waaaay better. Solitary Star was a mess.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
2 years ago
Reply to  Jamie

Having listened to both songs back to back, I agree with you. This is way better. It’s astonishing that the same artist is responsible for both songs because they are miles apart in quality (one bad, one good). I can only wish her good luck.

Xxx
Xxx
2 years ago

My impact! Cosmic Bridesters unite!