The Latvian broadcaster will announce next week whether it has decided to select Samanta Tīna to compete in Eurovision 2021.
LTV has announced that next week it will decide whether Samanta Tīna will be representing Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. LSM which operates LTV reports that an internal selection of the singer “is a distinct possibility and would probably save a considerable amount of cash.”
Samanta Tīna had been due to represent Latvia at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. The song that Samanta has been due to sing at Eurovision 2020 was “Still Breathing”. The song was written and composed by Aminata Savadogo and Samanta herself. Aminata represented Latvia in 2015 with “Love Injected” and finished sixth in the Grand Final.
As part of its Eurovision coverage next week, LTV will broadcast a 40 minute interview with Samanta hosted by Toms Grēviņš. The show will look back at Samanta’s career and her steps to be selected to represent Latvia at the now cancelled 2020 Eurovision Song Contest.
Source: LSM
Latvia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000, being the last of the Baltic nations to join the contest. On their debut, Brainstorm finished in 3rd place with the song “My Star”. Latvia won the contest for the first and only time in 2002, with Marie N’s “I Wanna”. Latvia only participated in 2002 thanks to the withdrawal of Portugal from the contest, as Latvia’s poor result in 2001 had relegated them from the 2002 contest. Latvia struggled in to the contest after 2002, failing to qualify for the final for six years between 2009 and 2014. In 2015 and 2016 Latvia has finished 6th and 15th in the final respectively.