The Eurovision Song Contest is edging ever closer, with another 10 excited acts winning their way to the grand final in Thursday night's semis.
The 66th edition of the competition, which is taking place in Turin, Italy, will see 25 musicians battle it out to be crowned champion this weekend. The UK, Spain, France and Germany - known as the 'big four' - automatically qualify for the final, along with host country Italy.
Grace Kelly singer Mika, Italian singer Laura Pausini and talk show host Alessandro Cattelan will be fronting the contest, with Graham Norton providing commentary over on the BBC. Meanwhile, AJ Odudu will be announcing the UK's allocated points live from MediaCity.
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Among the performers hoping to clinch the crown this year are two graduates from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Here is the full list of the acts ready to sing their hearts out for Eurovision glory on Saturday night.
Belgium
The Voice Belgium winner Jérémie Makiese is representing his country at Eurovision this year, with his single Miss You. The Antwerp native, who used to sing in his local church choir before having professional singing lessons, also moonlights as a footballer.
A talented goalkeeper, Jérémie recently signed a contract to play for Excelsior Virton FC. He wants to follow both his life ambitions, but is focusing on winning the hearts of European music fans at present.
Czech Republic
Electropop band We Are Domi is representing the Czech Republic with their track Lights Off. The band might be Czech-Norwegian, but they actually formed in Leeds, England.
Singer Dominika Hašková, guitarist Casper Hatlestad, and keyboardist Benjamin Rekstad met during their studies at the Leeds College of Music in 2016. The group relocated to Prague after finishing their studies to continue working on their project. We Are Domi has released six singles to date.
Azerbaijan
Singer Nadir Rustamli will be performing his number Fade to Black on the Eurovision stage on behalf of Azerbaijan. The Salyan native studied at music school and joined a band while at university, allowing him to hone his creativity.
His Eurovision participation was confirmed just three weeks after winning The Voice of Azerbaijan. While on the programme, he received mentoring from Eldar Gasimov, who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011. Nadir told Eurovision TV that representing his country has always been a 'lifelong ambition' of his.
Poland
Musician Ochman will be taking to the stage in Turin to perform his single River. The singer, full name Krystian Ochman, was born in Massachusetts, US and has lived in Poland since he was a teenager. He studied at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.
Ochman rose to fame as the winner of talent show The Voice of Poland and released his self-titled debut album in November. And he isn’t the only famous performer in the family; he’s the grandson of the internationally renowned Polish tenor Wiesław Ochman.
Finland
One of Finland's most internationally successful groups, The Rasmus will be performing their track Jezebel in the grand final. The rock band has been going for nearly 30 years, having released several platinum albums and touring all over the globe.
Their biggest hit, In the Shadows, has passed 100 million streams on Spotify, although it was released years before the streaming platform existed. Lead singer Lauri, bassist Eero and guitarist Aki will be joined by new guitarist Emppu, who launched her own career in the late 90s in Finnish girl band Tiktak.
Estonia
Songwriter and vocalist Stefan will take to the Eurovision stage for a rendition of his track Hope. Stefan is no stranger to Eurovision; his big break came in 2018 when he finished third in Estonia’s preselection contest, Eesti Laul, as part of the duo VAJÉ.
He placed third again in 2019, and made the finals again in 2020. Stefan, who was named the country’s Sexiest Man of the Year by Kroonika magazine, appeared on The Masked Singer in 2020, dressed as a giant ram.
Australia
Sheldon Riley is visiting from down under to perform Not The Same on the Eurovision stage. A critically acclaimed musician, Sheldon, from Sydney, has previously competed on The X Factor Australia, The Voice Australia and America's Got Talent.
The Ozzie, who was diagnosed with Asperger's at six years old, told Eurovision TV that his Eurovision entry is 'the story I never thought I'd be able to tell,' written from his memories as a child and the hardships he faced.
Sweden
Cornelia Jakobs is representing Sweden with her track Hold Me Closer at this year's Eurovision. The singer began her career as part of girl band Love Generation, who participated in Melodifestivalen - Sweden's Eurovision selection contest - in 2011 and 2012.
Cornelia, from Stockholm, launched a solo career in 2018 and has performed to sell out crowds across the country while working on her first album. Her dad is a famous rockstar in Sweden, the Poodles' singer Jakob Samuel, and her grandmother is a composer.
Romania
Singer-songwriter WRS is flying the flag for Romania this year with his tune Llámame. The beatmaker, who has released 10 singles, started his career in entertainment as a dancer.
He's performed on stage with Romanian pop icons Inna and was a 'house' dancer for Romania's Got Talent and The Voice of Romania. He joined boyband SHOT in 2015 before moving to London to pursue a solo career. WRS is currently working on his debut EP called Mandala.
Serbia
Artist Konstrakta is taking to the Eurovision stage with her track In corpore sano this year. Real name Ana Đurić, the singer was a member of the band Zemlja Gruva (Land of Groove), who performed as the opening act for Amy Winehouse's last ever gig in Belgrade in 2011.
Now a solo artist, Konstrakta is the conceptual designer for every music video that she releases. She also has a degree in architecture.
UK
Singer and TikToker Sam Ryder is flying the flag for the UK this year, with his track SPACE MAN. The 32-year-old, from Maldon, Essex, revealed during a Eurovision press conference that he was inspired to learn how to play the guitar after the Finnish rock band Lordi won the song contest in 2006.
Ryder, a vegan, has spent most of his adult life touring, writing, and performing for bands - and once opened up his own vegan café.
France
A musical collective hailing from Brittany will be taking to the Eurovision stage for France this year. Alvan and Ahez are joining forces to perform their track Fulenn. Alvan, from Brittany's capital city Rennes, is a multi-instrumentalist musician with a flair for electro.
Ahez is a vocalist trio consisting of Marine Lavigne, Sterenn Diridollou and Sterenn Le Guillou. From historic town Carhaix, the group performs songs in their traditional Breton tongue, a Celtic language spoken in the region of Brittany.
Germany
German-American singer and rapper Malik Harris is representing Germany this year, with his track Rockstars. Music is in the 24-year-old's blood, coming from a musical family; his grandad was an opera singer, his grandmother a pianist, and his father teaches cello.
Malik's music has gone down well with both the German charts and streaming platforms. He embarked on a solo tour in May 2019 and has supported international artists including James Blunt, Tom Odell and Alex Clare.
Italy
Musician Mahmood , from Milan, and rapper BLANCO , from Brescia, Lombardy, will represent host country Italy in Eurovision this year. Like last year's winners Måneskin, Mahmood shot to fame on The X Factor Italia. His biggest hit to date, Soldi, finished second at Eurovision in 2019 and became the most-streamed Eurovision song of all time on Spotify.
Meanwhile BLANCO's 2021 single, Mi Fai Impazzire, spent eight weeks at the top of the Italian charts, and was followed by the release of debut album, Blu Celeste, which also shot to number one.
Spain
A triple threat: singer, dancer and actor Chanel Terrero is performing on behalf of Spain this year, with her debut single SloMo. The track was composed by a team of songwriters who have worked with the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears and Mariah Carey.
Chanel, from Havana, Cuba, has more than a decade of musical theatre experience under her belt, having starred in The Lion King, Flashdance, The Bodyguard and Mamma Mia. She has also danced on stage with Shakira at the 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards and has appeared in numerous Spanish TV shows.
Armenia
Singer and songwriter Rosa Linn , from small town Vanadzor, will represent Armenia in Turin this year. The 21-year-old will perform her song Snap on the Eurovision stage.
Starting out in music by playing the piano at six years old, Rosa Linn is now signed to record label Nvak Collective. The artist will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of her country’s Junior Eurovision counterpart, Maléna, who won the most recent Junior Contest for Armenia in Paris last December.
Greece
Pop artist Amanda Georgiadis Tenfjord is flying the flag for Greece in the 66th Eurovision song contest. The 25-year-old, who is half Greek and from Norway, will be performing her track Die Together in Turin.
Amanda was musical from a young age and began to create her own songs as a teenager. The singer continued writing music while training to be a doctor and decided 'for fun' to sign up for a festival in Trondheim, central Norway. This led to her signing with a record label and releasing two EPs.
Iceland
A trio of sisters will be taking to the Eurovision stage for Iceland this year. Systur , which is formed of siblings Sigríður, Elísabet and Elín Eyþórsdóttir, will be performing their track Með Hækkandi Sól in their native Icelandic language.
The sisters, from Reykjavík, have musical parents; their mum is a singer and their dad is the keyboard player of the band Mezzoforte. Systur released a handful of singles and performed at Glastonbury Festival in 2016. They're currently working on an album.
Outside of music, they are trans rights activists, particularly for transgender children.
Lithuania
Popular artist and songwriter Monika Liu is representing Lithuania in the Eurovision grand final, with her song Sentimentai. The disco-jazz bop, which was written and recorded in London, England, is inspired by traditional folktales and Lithuanian geography.
Monika, who studied at Boston’s acclaimed Berklee College of Music, has released three albums and a plethora of singles. The singer is also a panellist on two of Lithuania’s biggest talent shows, The Voice and The Masked Singer.
Moldova
Folk punk band Zdob și Zdub are teaming up with duo Advahov Brothers to perform their number Trenulețul. Zdob și Zdub have been around since 1994 and, to date, have released 10 albums. They made their Eurovision debut in 2005 and returned to the contest in 2011, finishing in sixth and twelfth place respectively.
The Advahov Brothers, consisting of Vasile and Vitalie Advahov, frequently play sold-put events across Moldova and plan on releasing an album together.
Norway
Pop twosome Subwoolfer are representing Norway in Turin this year. The group members, who go by the pseudonyms Keith and Jim, will perform their hit Give That Wolf A Banana, which has already gone viral on social media.
The duo, who formed in 2021, perform in black suits with white shirts and yellow wolf-head masks. Their real identities have not been publicly revealed.
Portugal
Musician and globetrotter MARO is taking to the stage for Portugal, with her number Saudade Saudade. The Lisbon native was 19-years-old when she decided to pursue music full time. She graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2017, before moving to Los Angeles.
There, she released six self-written and self-produced albums and her work caught the eye of Grammy winner Jacob Collier. She was invited to join his debut touring band as a featured vocalist and instrumentalist. MARO has since supported the likes of Jessie J and is currently opening for Charlotte Cardin’s European tour.
She will be joined on stage in Turin by five backing singers: Beatriz Fonseca, Beatriz Pessoa and Carolina Leite, Diana Castro and Milhanas.
Switzerland
Mechanic-turned-musician Marius Bear is representing Switzerland at the Eurovision grand final with his track Boys Do Cry. Six years ago, the performer, from Appenzell, ditched his plan of becoming a mechanic and instead toured Switzerland and Italy as a street artist.
He made a name for himself on the Swiss creative scene in New York before moving to London, England to study music production at the BIMM Institute. Marius released his debut LP, Not Loud Enough, in December 2019, which soared into the Top 20 of the Swiss album charts.
The Netherlands
Rapper, singer and songwriter Stien den Hollander - better known as S10 - is performing her track De Diepte for the Netherlands this year. The alt-pop star, from Hoorn, released her first mini-album Antipsychotica in 2016, which led her to sign a coveted record deal at just 17 years old.
Her following release, album Snowsniper, went on to win a prestigious Edison Award in 2019. Now aged 21, the artist has garnered millions of streams and collaborated with some of the Netherlands’ biggest artists.
Ukraine
Rap group Kalush Orchestra are flying the flag for Ukraine this year, with their song Stefania. The outfit combines hip-hop with folk motifs and elements from Ukrainian traditional music.
Rapper Oleh Psiuk, multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk and dancer Vlad Kurochka make up the original group, known mononymously as Kalush. The group has joined forces with sopilka (Ukrainian folk flute) player Vitalii Duzhyk and vocalists Tymofii Muzychuk and Oleksandr Slobodianyk to create Kalush Orchestra.
The group's track, Stefania, was written to honour Oleh’s mother, who heard the song for the first time when it was performed live at the Ukrainian National Final.
