We admit: the entry reveals for Eurovision Song Contest are crazy right now, so it was finally time for Belarus to decide on their representative for this year, too. Their national final took place in Minsk, with Zena being the winner with almost a perfect score. She is going to fly to Tel-Aviv and sing her heart out with the song “Like It”.
10 songs were selected by a committee after open auditions were held back in February 2019. The winner of the final was decided solely by a professional jury, and Zena had huge success. Her entry was composed by Yulia Kireeva and Viktor Drobysh – who is known for composing the Russian Eurovision 2012 entry “Party for Everybody”.
As for the singer, Zinaida Alexandrovna Kupriyanovich is just 16 years old. She graduated from a music school of arts, while last year, she was one of the hosts of Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Minsk.
You can watch Zena performing “Like It” in the final below:
Belarus haven’t had the greatest success in Eurovision history, qualifying for the Grand Final just five times, but their best result is a sixth place with Dmitry Koldun’s “Work Your Magic” in 2007, and with Zena, they can maybe have a higher chance of burning up the stage in Tel-Aviv.
Belarus will participate in the first half of the first semi-final, which will take place on the 14th of May 2019.
Announced acts so far for this years Eurovision Song Contest are Srbuk for Armenia, Tamta for Cyprus, Jonida Maliqi for Albania, Eliot for Belgium, Miki for Spain, Serhat for San Marino, Duncan Laurence for The Netherlands, Tamara Todevska for North Macedonia, Michela Pace for Malta, Bilal Hassani for France, Lake Malawi for the Czech Republic, PÆNDA for Austria, Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman for Finland. Michael Rice for the United Kingdom, Sergey Lazarev for Russia, Mahmood for Italy, Kate Miller-Heidke for Australia, D-Moll for Montenegro, Kobi Marimi for Israel, Katerine Duska for Greece, Joci Pápai for Hungary, Jurijus for Lithuania, Leonora for Denmark, S!sters for Germany, Ester Peony for Romania, Victor Crone for Estonia, Roko for Croatia, Carousel for Latvia, Tulia for Poland, Hatari for Iceland, Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl for Slovenia, KEiiNO for Norway, Nevena Bozovic for Serbia, Conan Osíris for Portugal, Oto Nemsadze for Georgia, Anna Odobescu for Moldova, Luca Hänni for Switzerland, and John Lundwick for Sweden. The other countries are expected to reveal their acts in the forthcoming days.
The 2019 Eurovision Song Contest will be hosted at the Expo Tel Aviv in Israel after Netta won last year with the song “Toy”. The two Semi-Finals will take place on 14 May and 16 May with the Grand Final taking place on 18 May. A total of 41 countries will compete in the contest.