On Thursday the 15 participating songs of Supernova 2023 dropped. And a day later would-be competitor Saule — real name Krišjānis Suntažs — was also dropped for breaking the September 1 rule.
In a press release, LTV said:
“The board of Latvian Television (LTV) has decided to disqualify Saules, the semi-finalist of the song contest “Supernova”, because it has become known that the musical work “Finally Happy” was submitted by the musician in violation of the application regulations. It was publicly performed before 2022 September 1.”
“Following the decision of the LTV board, the musician has been banned from participating in the live broadcast of the semi-finals of “Supernova” on February 4. 14 musicians will compete to enter the final of the competition. Another participant will not be selected in place of the disqualified musician, as preparations for the semi-finals of the competition have already started.”
LTV Supernova 2023: 14 Semifinalists
“24. Avēnija” “You Said” (music and lyrics – Kārlis Grīnbergs andErnests Vīgners)
Two young musicians have joined forces in the group – Kārlis Grīnbergs, leader of the percussion trio “Brothers Grīnbergs”, as well as Ernests Vīgners, the successor of the Vīgners dynasty. Kārlis studies jazz drums in the 1st year of Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Ernests – jazz piano in the 4th year of Jāzeps Mediņš Riga Music High School. The group started its activity in August 2022, when presented its first single “Girl from the City”.
Adriana Miglāne “Like I Wanna” (music and lyrics – Adriana Miglāne, Darren Michaels and Martin Älenmark)
Adriana says that she is a singer, a mother and just a person who likes to inspire other people. She has been singing since the age of three, having proven herself professionally in several competitions – won third place in the first season of the Latvian “X Factor” and was a finalist in the contest “Voices of Lithuania 2019”.
Alise Haijima “Tricky” (music and lyrics – Alise Haijima)
Alise was born in a Japanese and Latvian family, lived in Japan until the age of 11, where she discovered her singing skills while performing karaoke. Lives in Latvia since 2009. She sang in the vocal studio “April Drops”, won prizes in music competitions – second place in “Baltic Voice 2016”, first place in “Nida Intercomm 2015”, first place in “Klaipeda 2017”, was a finalist of the first season of the Latvian “X Factor”.
Artūrs Hatti “Love Vibes” (music and lyrics – Agnese Rozniece, Matīss Repsis, Karlīne Anna Ērgle, Toms Kalderauskis, Baiba Ozoliņa)
Artūrs Hatti is a 24 year young musician who has been singing since childhood, but professionally for less than three years. Artūrs started cooperation with rapper Reiks two years ago, the two have created four songs and videos together. Musician released the single “Love Vibes”, which was written in the “Zvaigznājs” music camp at the end of 2022. The musician’s dream is to represent Latvia in the Eurovision final. Artūrs plans to release several singles, as well as his debut album in 2023.
AVÉI “Let Me Go” (music – Raitis Aukšmuksts and Ieva Kudlāne, lyrics– Daniela Brilovska, Ieva Kudlāne and Raitis Aukšmuksts)
AVÉI says that her mother and aunt sang the music to her in the cradle.She studied at the music school and vocal studio “Pigoriņi”, participated in the competitions “Voice Master” and “X Factor”. Musician gained inspiration and confidence to do what she likes the most at the “RIGaLIVE” camp.
“INSPO” “Sway” (music – Aivars Lietaunieks, lyrics – Nadīna Stirniniece and Aivars Lietaunieks)
The band “INSPO” was created by Aivars Lietaunieks in 2020. Nadīna Stirniniece joined the project in 2021, and the first EP “Space Between” was recorded. The group debuted at the Supernova 2022, taking 8th place in the final vote. “INSPO” actively performed concerts and released the second album “Duality” in 2022. The album includes songs also in Latvian and collaborations with popular Latvian artists – the group “Sub Scriptum” and Undīne Balode – the cellist of the group “The Sound Poets”.
Justs “Stranger” (music – Justs Sirmais, Weronika Maria Gabryelczyk and Uku Moldau, lyrics – Justs Sirmais and Weronika Maria Gabryelczyk)
Justs started his musical career as a street musician. He joined the hip hop group “Gacho” in 2015. Musician won Supernova and represented Latvia in Eurovision with the song “Heartbeat” in 2016. Justs studied music production at BIMM University in United Kingdom from 2018 to 2021.
Katrine Miller “Beaten Down” (music and lyrics – Katrīne Millere andAndris Lūkins)
Katrine Miller is a singer of Latvian origin who was born and raised in Sweden. The musician made her debut in Supernova 2014, she participated also in 2018 and 2019. One of the most popular songs in the musician’s career is “Laiks” created in 2020, which was written together with the group “Rock’n’Berries”. The newest song “Hei, mazā” by Katrine and the band “Rock’n’Berries” was created in collaboration with the legendary Latvian band “Odis” in 2022.
Luīze “You To Hold Me” (music and lyrics – Luīze Vītola)
Luīze graduated from Ādaži School of Arts and Music in 2021, where she studied singing with Uģis Roze. She is currently studying musical singing at the Riga Cathedral Choir School and sings in the school’s gospel choir.Since childhood, she has participated in vocal competitions – “Voice Master”, “Come and Sing”, etc. “You To Hold Me” is Luīze’s first original song.
Markus Riva “Forever” (music and lyrics – Markus Riva)
Markus Riva is a musician, TV presenter, model and DJ, who has starred in TV series and film projects. He has released music albums in Latvian, English, Russian and Ukrainian, won awards in music competitions in Latvia, Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. Musician has participated in the Eurovision national selection – Supernova – several times.
Patrisha “Hush” (music – Patrīcija Ksenija Cuprijanoviča, Krists Indrišonoks, Nanna Prip Pedersen, Rūdolfs Budze, lyrics – Krists Indrišonoks, Nanna Prip Pedersen, Rūdolfs Budze, Jūlijs Melngailis)
Patrisha has been singing since childhood, she attended the creative children and youth studio “Star Island” and participated in more than sixty vocal competitions in Latvia and abroad. She won the second place in the Ukrainian contest “Молода Галичина” in 2016. Patrisha became the first musician in Latvia to sign a contract with one of the world’s largest music publishing houses, “Universal Music Group”. She has released several singles and the EP album “Patrisha bija šeit”. The musician won the Latvian music award “Zelta Mikrofons” for the “Best Debut” in 2020.
RAUM “Fake Love” (music – Reinis Straume, Daniel Levi Viinalass andJānis Jačmenkins, lyrics – Reinis Straume and Daniel Levi Viinalass)
RAUM is a musician and songwriter whose singles “Laimīgāks”, “Jumts brauc” etc. took high places in the charts of Latvia’s leading radio stations in 2021 and 2022. RAUM entered the finals of Supernova 2022. The musician has been one of the leading members of the group “Double Faced Eels” for several years, as well as the author of music and lyrics. He is is the first Latvian performer to have signed an agreement with the music records company “Warner Music Baltics”.
“Sudden Lights” “Aijā” (music – Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis, Kārlis Vārtiņš, Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis and Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis, lyrics – Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis)
“Sudden Lights” self-written music is dominated by pop-rock style, supplemented with a slightly alternative mood. The band has released three albums – “Priekšpilsētas” (2017), “Vislabāk ir tur, kur manis nav” (2019) and “Miljards vasaru” (2022). The group performed at the biggest Latvian festivals and went on a tour in 2022. They have started new musical collaborations with the rapper Zeļgi and the mysterious artist ZeBrene.
Toms Kalderauskis “When It All Falls” (music – Julianna Tīruma andToms Kalderauskis, lyrics – Julianna Tīruma)
Toms announced himself to the wider public in Supernova 2017. He has released a total of seven singles and participated in various musical theater projects – “RENT”, “Kaupēn, mans mīļais”, “Zvaigznes bērns”, “Agrā rūsa” etc. He sings the soundtrack for several TV series and animated films.
Finally happy.
Not anymore.
Ffs… That was my favorite of the lot. So typical. Every year this happens some place….and it is often the best song as well…
Nice research, broadcaster
“So. Is it true? Did you perform the song before 1 September 2022?”
“Erm, yes.”
“Get out.”
🙁
Wow. Lithuania and Latvia both lost good songs already.
They wouldn’t have lost those songs if those artists had followed the rules.
Oh definitely. It’s just a shame though.
And there goes my provisional runner-up. But the big question here is: do they really need a semi-final? How many songs will they leave behind before the final? 4?
At least voters will make a more informed decision, having heard the songs twice.
True. But the incentive for the viewers to tune in is quite small, unless they’re hardcore fans like us.
I guess the broadcaster only gave the producers a couple of shows and they’re trying to use it to the max. But it would be more logical to have 2 semis with 7 songs, qualifying 4 to the final, for example. Though for us it’s not bad news. The semi will air on a less busy Saturday (we’ll all know all the Lithuanian and Norwegian performances by then), so we could skip the final.
I was about to explain what advertisers look for in programming, until I did some research and read that LTV Latvia actually is fully funded by the state budget – please correct me if I am wrong. So, this means, there is no financial reason for a Semi Final.
In other words: Sabrina’s big question is correctly asked, again.
Yes, there are no ads on LTV for couple of years now. They did this last year already and Supernova was the most viewed program besides the news. The final had slightly higher rating than the semi, but both pretty high for Latvia. Although the first semi final of Eurovision was the second most viewed program in May after ice hockey game Latvia – Austria, the grand final of Eurovision had a lower view rate than Supernova, but this can be explained by the fact that Latvia was playing an ice hockey game on the night of Eurovision final, and… Read more »
Also, the news in February had much higher view rates than usual, for know reasons. Supernova would have been the most viewed program of February 2022 (all TV channels).
That’s impressive. Supernova it’s usually a very well produced show. I feel the Baltics are really invested in Eurovision. Estonia had their good results on the last decade, Lithuania is on the rise now, hopefully Latvia will find some success soon.
One thing I would like to see is all three Baltic countries make it to the final for the first time since 2015, but that will depend on what they send.
What they, and what other countries in their semi send.
With only televote, Latvia will probably struggle even more now.
I don’t think any of the songs here would even traction enough jury votes to get through if we still had juries in the semi final.
They would still need to make a dent in viewership to keep it going from how I see it. If ratings are not up to par for the broadcaster, they can’t surely justify needing to spend taxpayers money that can be better used elsewhere, unless they’re bound by a broadcast charter to promote local music and producing a show like Supernova is the best way to do so.
🙂
what was he expecting though?
Well some artits also broke the rules about 1 september realise …. Ukraine 2016, France 2017, Holland 2014 …
Very different circumstances that falls under that rule’s very grey area. For the most part, Ukraine 2016 and France 2017 were performed as a live unplugged version (and more or less lyrically different in the case of “1944”) of those entries to a small intimate audience that were filmed and then uploaded online that didn’t get traction until the year the songs were submitted as ESC entries. Belarus’ 2018 entry “Forever” seems like a more perfect case though of an entry that was performed to a large audience ahead of the deadline as the version it was most known for… Read more »
Yeah, that was my one of my reasons why I hated “forever.” I refused to support an artist that broke the rules and got away with it and he should been disqualified.
They all sound like NQ!
Unless Latvia gets lucky and gets in a very weak semifinal.
Or the competition Is weak.
Oh great, this was one of my top 3. But it would be nice if they caught it sooner – then it wouldn’t be too late to pick a replacement.
Now supernova is worst selection this year, this was the only song that I actually cared to listen to. (I guess another year for Latvia in my bottom 5)
he was my winner ??????
First Lithuania, now Latvia. I’m patiently waiting for the fandom to find an entry from Eesti Laul breaking September 1 rule as well. Then we would have a complete package! 😀
They say 13th time’s the charm. 😀
Uhhh, she is somewhat familiar in Lithuania, but, honestly, her fan base is mostly older generations. I ain’t saying like old-old, but it’s very uncommon to see teens or youngsters in their 20s rooting for Aiste Pilvelyte. She is old news to put it simply. However, Aiste was pretty popular in the early 2000s during the first revival of music written in Lithuanian language. But then again, she didn’t really release a single song in more than a decade for which she would jump into charts in the country. I would say Aiste Pilvelyte is somewhat an analogue to Swedish… Read more »
The fact that Aiste and Gabrielius Vagelis both lost to the abysmal and incoherent Rain of Revolution remains a mystery. What happened that year in voting? Mind control? Posion gas? 😉
I never heard the other songs that competed to represent Lithuania in 2017 because I didn’t pay close attention to national finals at the time, but even I knew Rain of Revolution was a noisy stinker. No offense, but Lithuania absolutely deserved to stay behind in the semis that year. The song was that bad.
I’m afraid I cannot because I’m not that kind of a person who likes to follow celebrities. I mean, I don’t even know if she’s/was married, has kids, etc. Digging through celebrities’ underwear is not my cup of tea. When I was saying she’s old news, I meant, she’s no longer THAT popular as she did not release a song, which would be included in the charts in Lithuania, in at least a decade. That’s 10 years, more or less. She may continue her career for the next 50 years, as you say, but I highly doubt she will ever… Read more »
Let’s not forget, PIN was introduced in 2020 (not 2021), in order to renew the selection, and introducing more budget for the artists to stage their entries, around 1500€, as I read. 30 artists times that = around 45000€. I’m not even counting the broadcasting and production expenses. Still, Aiste got through with sort of a schlager entry “Unbreakable”, and it was quite a contradiction. A contest named “Let’s try again!”, trying to push new music into the business, and still she filled the nostalgic quota at the final. Her previous previous attempts in ’17, and ’16 (“I’m like a… Read more »
No one likes her in Lithuania for being snobbish and having an inflated ego (always fighting with the jury etc.) That’s why she will pretty much never win.
I mean, a lot of artists had feuds with the jury in pre-PIN Lithuanian selection (it was wilddd), but she probably stood out the most for being extremely disrespectful and lacking manners in general.
I know the jury’s comments had to be cut down when Atranka became PIN. My Lithuanian is kinda limited, but in 2014 there were comments against Justinas Lapatinskas (“singing in the shower”), some well deserved against Vlad Max in 2016-2017, but Aiste received some of the worst.
I remember they once even corrected her English, as she in the first round pronounced “woolf” in “I’m like a wolf”.
After that, PIN jury just comments on the songs and stagings in blocks of 3-4.
Speaking of Lithuania, today I’ve heard the released four entries for the first time. I liked them! If these are the ”fillers” from the less famous names for which there’s zero buzz, then we are in for one of the best selections of this year!
There are four songs out now? I wonder how many songs will be released before the first heat?
Four now. Unlike in most other selections, the releases are up to artists, not the broadcaster. So, the answer is who knows…
I would love to see Lithuania have a very strong national final, but I’m still keeping my expectations close to the chest and on neutral setting so that I don’t end up feeling disappointed if they don’t live up to expectations. I will give Lithuania credit for cutting down the songs and shows in order to (hopefully) bump up the overall quality level. I would have preferred 24-28 songs because dividing 30 songs into two 15-song heats is a bit much for me, but a reduction is a reduction, and that is six less filler songs cluttering things up.
Those are what we call “randos”. Artists that have zero impact on the selection and most definitely stay in the heats. Not even worth paying attention to. Lithuania’s biggest stars in PIN usually don’t release their songs before the live shows, it’s a common practice that I’ve noticed.
Result-wise, that is probably true, but if these “randos” are so good, I have super-high expectations for artists like Gebrasy, Gabrielius Vagelis, and Monika Linkyte. I really hope they deliver. PIN shapes-up really well.
It’s great to have expectations, but I would still keep them in check in case the actual songs fall short.
I agree. Occasionally, some previous heavy-hitters can disappoint. If this happens in Lithuania, at least I’ll have these randos with surprisingly decent entries. 😉
Having had the chance to listen to the four PIN songs out now, I think they’re actually nice, at least they don’t annoy me like some other songs in other national finals.
They’re not the worst so far, but time will tell if they rank among the best. Probably not, but they are not terrible.
I will say this, Donata’s song Dreamer is WAY better than her last attempt in 2021. “The way I am” was truly awful.
Randos sounds like a much nicer name than the term I’ve been using, cannon fodder, for artists who stay behind in the heats. Well, somebody has to fall for stronger songs to soar.
Ok, I took the chance to listen to the four songs that are out now, and I have to say, they are not bad. They’re probably not going to be major contenders, but they are nice to listen to. If this is what the “cannon fodder” sounds like (although I think New Start could make the semis at best), we might be in for a strong PIN once the big guns come out. I still think the best (and worst) are yet to come, but for now, I don’t mind these four songs.
how about the fandom minds their own business and doesn’t snitch out these randos who aren’t gonna win anyway lmao
Emmelie de Forest had performed it live two years earlier or something. Jamala, Duncan and Alma did the same, but I think they were all allowed because it wasn’t the actual recording.
I just don’t get how do some artists think they’ll slide through this rule lol. Eurofans dig out anything sooner or later. Don’t even bother trying…
Too bad. His entry would’ve been in my top 3 of Supernova 2023 for sure. Anyway, it’s a good song and I’d like to see him return. I hope the song itself will still be available online, even if not on the official playlist of Supernova. Good luck in life, Seule, and hope to see you back.
Damn, his song was actually kind of promising.
I just wonder how this wasn’t caught before hand. Surely when countries are evaluating songs to use in a selection, they check when the song was first performed, first released.
They probably just assume that people know the rules. Always read a contract before signing it!
Surprise, you work for Philip Kirkorov.
Thoughts and prayers.
Kirkorov’s own 1995 song for Russia actually first appeared in 1985 I just remembered. He probably holds the record for this.
Seriously. Anastacia Lazariuc, a singer from Moldova, first released it ten years before Dublin 1995. Nobody realized at the time. He wasn’t even the first person picked to represent Russia that year. The band who were couldn’t raise the necessary funds, so naturally Mr. Kirkorov stepped in. What a hero.
WikiPedia, so it must be true. I think 1995 was the only time the winner of “Evrovidenie” did not go on to represent Russia. The first version of the song, “Buna stearer stelelor” is on YouTube.
Dublin ’95 is probably my favorite older ESC lineup, it’s got some proper all-timers in there but can’t say Kirkorov is one of them, unfortunately.
Spain and Denmark for sure, but also Poland, Cyprus, Greece, Norway, France, even Sweden, I think it’s one of their most memorable even if I actually prefer Den Vilda from the following year.
I like some of the popular ones too, namely Loreen and Cornelia, but yeah, Den Vilda is quite special and does really stand out. Also agree they get it insanely wrong at times, biggest example has to be sending that random annoying Las Vegas song over Nanne’s Hall om mig, which would have been massive and their best ever entry for me. One of the worst decisions any country has ever made in ESC actually.
I agree, 1995 was a very, very good year. I don’t understand why the 1990s is remembered badly. As well as the countries you’ve mentioned, I’d add Croatia. I also loved the dark staging and lighting of Dublin… so much more character than we see now. Today everything looks more or less the same every year.
Yep – Norway, Cyprus, Spain, Belgium, Greece, among others. Wonderful songs!
Russia gets 0 points from me.
Croatia too!
Yes! It’s my 2nd favorite Croatian entry from the 90s. I’d also add Poland (very creative), Slovenia, Denmark, Sweden, Malta. Actually, most of the entries from 1995 were at least solid.
Apart from Germany and Russia, that is.
Did Ochman keep his place as your number one Polish song ever?
Thanks for remembering that conversation. 🙂
He did, but the entries from 1997 and 1995 are also close. Exquisit entries! I really liked 1994 as well. Great debut from them!
Okay, I can now accept your answer now that you’ve heard them all! Who knows, maybe 2023 will outdo them all. 1995 is now my favourite, it gets better and better. Edyta’s 1994 dress rehearsal is up on YouTube, worth a watch because she switches to English halfway through. The juries saw that, so that could be seen as their actual entry. The lyrics are not great.
Poland in 1995 is a very beautiful song! Mysterious and unique. I like Poland in 1994 very much too. There a few entries I liked even more which I found to be so underrated. For instance, Estonia and Switzerland. Perhaps not a popular opinion, but I find Sto pregando to be the best Swiss entry from the 90s. And the Estonian song is so catchy and makes me so happy. My runner-up is probably Cyprus. The best song from Evridiki, IMHO. Very powerful! And I think that Ireland deservingly won, and that Rock’n Roll Kids is a masterpiece. On the… Read more »
Silvi Vrait deserved a much better result in 1994, this true, but I’d say the songwriter was more than compensated when he won in 2001. Evridiki, yes, entralling, seductive… and lyrics with a deep meaning. The best of her three, maybe the best ever from Cyprus. I love the winner too, I think it’s not fair to say that Ireland kept on winning just because the songs were in English. Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids is unquestionable quality. Switzerland doesn’t really stick in my memory, maybe I should listen again. Hungary also gave us their best ever in 1994, I would… Read more »
Yes, Hungary also had a great entry in 1994! In my top 4 from them, alongside Viszlat nyar, Wars for Nothing, and Running. I would be quite interested in #EurovisionAgain from 1994. I’d hope that some underrated entries would get a deserving upgrade, but who knows, maybe people wouldn’t respond again. I’d also add Netherlands and Portugal as being quite good. 🙂
I can’t end this without mentioning Nina Morato.
Lol :DDD
Funny thing is – it was performed on Radio 5, which is part of LTV.
There’s also controversion if one of the songwriters isn’t a convinced drug dealer. If you google Privert’s name, you’ll get pretty disturbing results.
Oh yes – Rolands Priverts was a drug dealer in 90s and 2000s, was in jail for some time. His two brothers were even killed in jail, both within 3 months.
Now he has turned to much more family friendly hobbies like writing books and songs for Supernova.
He’s still proud of it. Proud of being a drug dealer. He constantly calls himself in newspapers “I’m a drug dealer”. Just read the news.
I don’t really read the yellow press
Jeez! I didn’t expect Latvia to serve us this year’s NF Season drama! 😮
Ok, drama might be a bit of an overstatement but it’s unfortunate to see this happen
It’s Baltic brother, Lithuania also disqualified an artist for releasing/posting their song way before the September 1, 2022 deadline. Fortunately they were able to have a replacement from the reserves.