4Fun | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Genres | rock, pop rock, country |
Years active | 2001–present |
Members | Julija Ritčik (leader, vocals, acoustic guitar) Justas Jasenka (vocals, electric guitar) Rimantas Jasenka (bass guitar) Laimonas Staniulionis (percussion) |
Past members | Tomas Valeika (bass guitar 2001–2006) Alexandr Litz (lead guitar 2001–2002) Artur Zaikovski (lead guitar 2002–2003) Andžej Zujevič (lead guitar 2003–2008) [1] |
Website | http://www.4fun.lt/ |
4Fun (sometimes also Julia & 4Fun) [2] is a Lithuanian music band. They play a wide range of music styles, including rock, pop rock, and country. [3] The band was created in 2001 and participated in several national and international festivals, including Visaginas Country and the Eurovision Song Contest. [4]
4Fun had participated in the national selection for the Eurovision three times. After unsuccessful attempts in 2005 and 2006, 4Fun won the national selection with their lyrical ballad Love or Leave and performance involving shadow play in 2007. [5] They outstripped two other superfinalists: Aistė Pilvelytė and Rūta Ščiogolevaitė. 4Fun represented Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki and finished 21st with 28 points, with major votes from Ireland (12 points) and Latvia (10 points). [6] Lead singer Julija Ritčik received a wild card entry directly to the finals of the national selection for Eurovision 2008, [7] but placed only 12th out of 14 contestants.
In 2008, 4Fun together with Latvian Valters & Kaža recorded song With U, which became a hit in Latvia. [8]
Lithuania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 24 times since its debut in 1994, where "Lopšinė mylimai" performed by Ovidijus Vyšniauskas finished last, receiving "nul points". Lithuania withdrew from the contest, not returning until 1999. The sixth place of the song "We Are the Winners" performed by LT United in 2006 is Lithuania's best result in the contest. The country reached the top ten for a second time in 2016, when "I've Been Waiting for This Night" by Donny Montell finished ninth, and for the third time in 2021, finishing eighth with "Discoteque" by The Roop. The Lithuanian participant broadcaster in the contest is Lietuvos nacionalinis radijas ir televizija (LRT).
Latvia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 24 times since making its debut at the contest in 2000, where the song "My Star" performed by the group Brainstorm finished third. Latvia won the contest in 2002, with the song "I Wanna" by Marie N, defeating Malta by 12 points. Latvia is the second former Soviet country to win the contest. The 2003 contest was held in the Latvian capital Riga. The country achieved its third top 10 result in 2005, when "The War Is Not Over" by Walters and Kazha finished fifth. The Latvian participant broadcaster in the contest is Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), which select its entrant since 2015 with the national selection Supernova.
Lithuania was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Little by Little", composed by Bobby Ljunggren, with lyrics by William "Billy" Butt, and performed by Laura and the Lovers. The Lithuanian participating broadcaster, Lietuvos radijas ir televizija (LRT), organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select its entry for the contest. The national final took place over eight weeks and involved 49 competing entries. The results of each show were determined entirely by a public vote. In the final, twenty entries remained and "Little by Little" performed by Laura and the Lovers was selected as the winner with 5,465 votes.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "They Can't Stop the Spring" written by John Waters and Tommy Moran. The song was performed by the band Dervish, which was internally selected in November 2006 by the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) to represent the nation at the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. RTÉ organised the national final Eurosong 2007 to select the song that Dervish would perform. Four songs faced a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "They Can't Stop the Spring" as the Irish entry.
Turkey participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Shake It Up Şekerim" written and performed by Kenan Doğulu, who was internally selected by the Turkish broadcaster Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT) to represent the nation at the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. The announcement of Kenan Doğulu as the Turkish entrant occurred on 19 December 2006, while "Shake It Up Şekerim" was presented to the public on 9 March 2007.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Love or Leave" written by Julija Ritčik. The song was performed by the band 4Fun. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. The national final took place over six weeks and involved three different competitive streams: entries performed by newcomers, semi-established artists and established artists. In the final, eleven artists and songs remained and the winner was selected over two rounds of public voting. In the first round, the top three were selected to qualify to the superfinal. In the superfinal, "Love or Leave" performed by 4Fun was selected as the winner with 23,888 votes.
Latvia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Questa notte" written by Kjell Jennstig, Torbjörn Wassenius and Francesca Russo. The song was performed by the group Bonaparti.lv. The Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) organised the national final Eirodziesma 2007 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. Twenty songs were selected to compete in the national final, which consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. In the semi-finals on 27 January and 3 February 2007, five entries were selected to advance from each show: three entries selected based on a public televote and two entries selected by a seven-member jury panel. Ten songs ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 1 March 2008 where two rounds of public voting selected "Questa notte" performed by Bonaparti.lv as the winner.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Nomads in the Night" written by Vytautas Diškevičius and Jeronimas Milius. The song was performed by Jeronimas Milius. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. The national final took place over four weeks and involved 34 competing entries. Entries that advanced in the competition were determined by the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote. In the final, fourteen entries remained and a public vote entirely selected "Nomads in the Night" performed by Jeronimas Milius as the winner with 11,674 votes.
Latvia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Wolves of the Sea" written by Jonas Liberg, Torbjörn Wassenius, Johan Sahlen and Claes Andreasson. The song was performed by the group Pirates of the Sea. The Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) organised the national final Eirodziesma 2008 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. Twenty songs were selected to compete in the national final, which consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. In the semi-finals on 2 and 9 February 2008, five entries were selected to advance from each show: three entries selected based on a public televote and two entries selected by an eight-member jury panel. Ten songs ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 1 March 2008 where two rounds of public voting selected "Wolves of the Sea" performed by Pirates of the Sea as the winner.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Love" written and performed by Sasha Son, which is the artistic name of singer Dmitrij Šavrov. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the song contest Lietuvos Dainų Daina in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. The competition took place over six weeks and involved 36 competing entries. The results of each show were determined by regional televoting. In the final, fourteen entries remained and "Pasiklydęs žmogus" performed by Sasha Son was selected as the winner. The song was later translated from Lithuanian to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Love".
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Eastern European Funk" written and performed by the group InCulto. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway. The national final took place over four weeks and involved 34 competing entries. The results of each show were determined by the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote. In the final, twelve artists and songs remained and "Eastern European Funk" performed by InCulto was selected as the winner.
Latvia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "My Star", written by Renārs Kaupers, and performed with his band Brainstorm. The Latvian participating broadcaster, Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), organised the national final Eirodziesma 2000 in order to select its entry for the contest. This was the first-ever entry from Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Latvia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "I Wanna", written by Marija Naumova and Marats Samauskis, and performed by Naumova herself under her artistic name Marie N. The Latvian participating broadcaster, Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), organised the national final Eirodziesma 2002 in order to select its entry for the contest. Fifteen songs were selected to compete in the national final on 2 March 2002 where a public televote exclusively selected "I Wonna" performed by Marija Naumova as the winner. The song was later retitled as "I Wanna" for the Eurovision Song Contest, which it eventually won.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "C'est ma vie" written by Paulius Zdanavičius and Andrius Kairys. The song was performed by Evelina Sašenko. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. The national final took place over four weeks and involved 40 competing entries. In the final, thirteen artists and songs remained and the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the superfinal. In the superfinal, a jury vote entirely selected "C'est ma vie" performed by Evelina Sašenko as the winner.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Something" written and performed by Andrius Pojavis. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. The national final took place over ten weeks and involved 39 competing entries. In the final, seven entries remained and the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the superfinal. In the superfinal, a jury vote entirely selected "Something" performed by Andrius Pojavis as the winner.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Attention" performed by Vilija Matačiūnaitė and written by Matačiūnaitė along with Viktoras Vaupšas. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. The national final took place over 12 weeks and involved 20 artists and 16 songs competing in two different competitive streams. The results of each show were determined by the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote, and "Attention" performed by Vilija eventually emerged as the winner following the final.
Samanta Tīna Poļakova, better known simply as Samanta Tīna, is a Latvian singer, songwriter and composer.
Lithuania was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "You Got Style", written by Viktoras Diawara, Vilius Alesius, and Erica Jennings, and performed by the group Skamp. The Lithuanian participating broadcaster, Lietuvos radijas ir televizija (LRT), selected its entry through the national final entitled "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka. The broadcaster returned to the contest after a one-year absence following its relegation in 2000 as one of the six entrants with the lowest average scores over the previous five contests. The national final involved 15 competing entries and "You Got Style" performed by Skamp was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel, votes from the venue audience and a public vote.
Lithuania was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Happy You" written and performed by Aivaras. The Lithuanian participating broadcaster, Lietuvos radijas ir televizija (LRT), organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select its entry for the contest. The national final involved 15 competing entries and "We All" performed by B'Avarija was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel, votes from the venue audience and a public vote, however the entry was later disqualified due to a Lithuanian version of the song being released on CD at the end of 2001 and replaced by runner-up "Happy You" performed by Aivaras.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Run with the Lions" written by Ashley Hicklin, Eric Lumiere and Pele Loriano. The song was performed by Jurij Veklenko. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. The national final took place over seven weeks and involved 49 competing entries. The results of each show were determined by the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote. In the final, eight artists and songs remained and "Run with the Lions" performed by Jurijus was selected as the winner.