The eleventh artists in our Who Is series for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 is the band Tautumeitas, from Latvia.
Tautumeitas are a Latvian folk music group that was founded in 2015. It currently includes six vocalists and instrumentalists – Laura Marta Līcīte, Annemarija Moiseja, Asnate Rancāne, Aurēlija Rancāne, Kate Slišāne, and Gabriēla Zvaigznīte.
Tautumeitas describe themselves as an ethno-pop music group that uses Latvian folk song melodies and lyrics in their music, mixing strong harmonies and modern beats and sounds to create a magical and powerful “new Latvian sound”.
As a group, in 2017 they released with the Latvian folk band Auļi an album called “Lai māsiņa rotājās!” (Let the sister shine!), dedicated to engagements and weddings. The album relies on Baltic folk musical traditions, and it was awarded the Annual Latvian Music Recording Award as the Best Folk music album of 2017.
One year later, in 2018, they released their debut album “Tautumeitas”, with which they won the Latvian Music Recording Award “Golden Microphone” in the category “Folk/World Music Album of the Year 2018”. They proceeded to win the same award in 2020, with the album “Dziesmas no Aulejas” (Songs from Auleja), and in 2022, with the album “Skrejceļš” (Treadmill).
On 20 November 2024, the Latvian broadcaster LTV announced that Tautumeitas was selected as a semi-finalist in Supernova 2025 with the song “Bur man laimi” (Bring me happiness). They successfully qualified from the semi-final and, on 8th February 2025, Tautumeitas won Supernova 2025, earning the right to represent Latvia at Eurovision 2025.
Since then, Tautumeitas have been allocated 5,000 euros to promote their entry internationally by the Latvian Association of Performers and Producers, and they have also won the ‘Folk Music/Folk’ category of the first Latvian GAMMA’s awards.
“Bur man laimi” is the first song written entirely in Latvian to represent the country since 2004. Tautumeitas will perform in the first half of Semi-Final Two of Eurovision 2025 on May 15.
Image Source: LTV/Lauris Vīksne
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 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 the contest after 2002, failing to qualify for the final for six years in a row between 2009 and 2014. After a non-qualification streak that lasted 7 years, Latvia eventually qualified in 2024 with Dons and “Hollow”.
