Latvia in Eurovision: MY TOP 21 (2000-2020)

My personal ranking of every song entered by Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest! This is part of a series where I rank every 21st century Eurovision song by country.
RESOURCES USED
Background: • Light Column Particles...
Intro song: Samanta Tina - Still Breathing (Instrumental)
Outro song: Aminata - Love Injected (Instrumental)
SONGS FEATURED
Stockholm 2000: Brainstorm - My Star (3rd Place)
Copenhagen 2001: Arnis Mendis - Too Much (18th Place)
Tallinn 2002: Marie N - I Wanna (1st Place)
Riga 2003: F.L.Y. - Hello From Mars (24th Place)
Istanbul 2004: Fomins and Kleins - Dziesma par laimi (31st Place)
Kyiv 2005: Walters and Kazha - The War Is Not Over (5th Place)
Athens 2006: Vocal Group Cosmos - I Hear Your Heart (16th Place)
Helsinki 2007: Bonaparti.lv - Questa notte (16th Place)
Belgrade 2008: Pirates of the Sea - Wolves of the Sea (12th Place)
Moscow 2009: Intars Busulis - Probka (40th Place)
Oslo 2010: Aisha - What For? (37th Place)
Dusseldorf 2011: Musiqq - Angel in Disguise (39th Place)
Baku 2012: Anmary - Beautiful Song (40th Place)
Malmo 2013: PeR - Here We Go (37th Place)
Copenhagen 2014: Aarzemnieki - Cake to Bake (32nd Place)
Vienna 2015: Aminata Savadogo - Love Injected (6th Place)
Stockholm 2016: Justs Sirmais - Heartbeat (15th Place)
Kyiv 2017: Triana Park - Line (41st Place)
Lisbon 2018: Laura Rizzoto - Funny Girl (28th Place)
Tel Aviv 2019: Carousel - That Night (36th Place)
Rotterdam 2020: Samanta Tina - Still Breathing (contest cancelled)
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[@eurovisiongal7007]

*Thoughts:* Latvia's pre-2015 entries had a kind of low production value. That means the 'bad' entries are real bottom-of-the-barrel, whose-idea-was-this, who-allowed-this-to-exist type stuff. 😳 And the good ones are really cute and organic, and showed the charm of their artists! (No human on Earth has ever been as purely happy as the lead singer of Brainstorm for those three minutes in 2000.) The new Supernova national selection format from 2015 onwards created a new polished and professional style for their entries, beginning with Aminata aka the lord and saviour, deity of experimental pop, queen of all things

[@origo1165]

thx for making video with Latvia :D what country will be next? Estonia? Poland? Germany? :D

[@thescarf13]

Aminata, PLEASE COME BACK. WE NEED YOU. OMG Cake To Bake 4th? I didn't expect that. And the lead singer of Brainstorm reminds me of my cousin 😂😂😂

[@eurovisiongal7007]

it's definitely not an objective take, but it's mine! i just think it's cute 😂 i expect aminata to cowrite the 2020 song!

[@ArrowsM]

Heartbeat of Justs is one of my favourite Eurovision songs ever!

[@wystxrr]

it's my last of 2016 lol

[@Ani-fw2kf]

I really love Laura Rizzoto too

[@ArrowsM]

@@wystxrr I declare you my enemy!!!

[@wystxrr]

Miguel Wolf haha lol Maybe I do too!!

[@59Crossword]

Your top 2 are two of the greatest in this millenium 💞

[@wystxrr]

I AM A COMPOSER

[@DentalFlan]

We love a good queen ❤

[@TheHammertimeable]

It suprises me so much how divisive Heartbeat is. The different layers in the beat that really comes together during the corus and Justs rocking performance just smashes it for me.

[@noahbowie5985]

Latvia has found their place. Edgy, experimental pop. Marie N in 11th is harsh though Love Latvia from Ireland 🇮🇪 ❤ 🇱🇻

[@eurovisiongal7007]

The performance is cool and feels winner-worthy but the song.... Not really a big fan 😬 Their recent evolution is super interesting though. 🥳

[@noahbowie5985]

@@eurovisiongal7007 her charisma and personality were also winning material. Malta 🇲🇹 next please?

[@nordichetalian95]

im so happy to see one of my favorites not in the bottom 5 where it often ends up in people's lists thank you

[@eurovisiongal7007]

Is it cake to Bake?

[@nilerra8181]

Brainstorm always It'll be hard for Latvia to beat that

[@zondergezicht]

brainstorm's lead singer's birthday was on 1 september (2 days ago) :))

[@dramadory5329]

I congratulate everyone on the start of studies! (Lessons have just begun, but I have already managed to get very tired, that I almost don't find time for anything) Latvia, as I think, has been releasing very good songs lately. I like "Angel in Disguise", "Funny Girl" and "Still Breathing", but my favorite is "Heartbeat". (Interesting fact: from 2011 to the end of 2016 I had a small phone "Samsung La Fleur". A rather inconvenient phone, there was almost nothing to do on it but I liked it. I didn't concentrate much on it and spent more time studying, hobbies. And I remember exactly how I listened to "A Million Voices", "IBWFTN" and that "Heartbeat" on this phone. I liked Justs's song more than others and I listened to it more often. Then I finished only 4th grade, but the feeling that it was so short ago) :") I would like to see other videos, but I think it's too late now and I really want to sleep.

[@kevindeering1457]

1.2015 2.2000 3.2005 4.2011 5.2008

[@DentalFlan]

I need to see what Samanta will do in 2021! Anyways, 2005 is in my top 10 Eurovision songs ever. 2000, 2005, 2006, 2020 are all my 2nd (Well technically 2000 is my first but it's tied with Russia), literally I have a tradition whenever Latvia is in my top 10 it has to be my 2nd.

[@zondergezicht]

who is your 2020 winner i'm curious

[@DentalFlan]

@@zondergezicht San Marino

[@zondergezicht]

@@DentalFlan as they should honestly

[@eurovisiongal7007]

I love their 2005 entry!! It's so cute 😊👏

[@DentalFlan]

@@eurovisiongal7007 I honestly love duets and bands and The War is Not Over is no exception

[@andreasg.9997]

22. 2006-I Hear Your Heart 21. 2001-Too Much 20. 2013-Here We Go 19. 2004-Dziesma Par Laimi 18. 2011-Angel In Disguise 17. 2009-Probka 16. 2010-What For? 15. 2012-Beautiful Song 14. 2003-Hello From Mars 13. 2005-The War Is Not Over 12. 2008-Wolves Of The Sea 11. 2014-Cake To Bake 10. 2019-That Night 9. 2007-Questa Notte 8. 2002-I Wanna 7. 2018-Funny Girl 6. 2016-Heartbeat 5. 2017-Line 4. 2000-My Star 3. 2021-The Moon Is Rising 2. 2015-Love Injected 1. 2020-Still Breathing

[@ESCRolly]

Oh my I’m really late😳😳 anyways, Aminata, Justs and Samanta are the best things to happen to Latvia

[@ivano81rbx]

my favourite songs are 2018 and 2020 ✨✨✨

[@zondergezicht]

*T A S T E* 👁👄👁👌

[@anna-fn4vl]

My favourite is latvia 2008

[@lieryaremchuk6456]

2011 ❤️❤️

[@ESCSILVER]

Latvia has been so good recently but they always get underrated :/

[@eurovisiongal7007]

Ikr 😭 I like all their songs since 2015, I'm sad only two of them qualified so far.

[@wystxrr]

@@eurovisiongal7007 Still Breathing would have qualified

[@ESCSILVER]

eurovision gal also can you vote on my project?🤪

[@eurovisiongal7007]

@@ESCSILVER hi! Sorry, I thought I'd sent it but it was in my drafts 😂 hopefully it's sent now!

[@hjt091]

I Wanna deserves more credit for being one of the performances to cement the idea that good staging can absolutely carry a song. Love Injected absolutely is the best thing that Latvia's ever sent, though.

[@eurovisiongal7007]

I appreciate it for that concept and I see why the outfit changes were so successful- she worked with it really well, and made it look exciting. But just as a song, I'm not too into it unfortunately!

[@Tommy-tb9vy]

🇱🇻My top 11 (2010-2020)🇱🇻 11) 2010 10) 2013 9) 2012 8) 2014 7) 2020 6) 2019 5) 2011 4) 2018 3) 2017 2) 2016 1) 2015

[@a.s.1659]

My Thoughts: 21. As a song itself, actually kind of not horrible, ngl. But the live vocal is just :/ 20. Has some interesting ideas in terms of music production and the beat but the lyrics are god-awful, the dress was awful (PLEASE PEOPLE, STOP WEARING CLOTHES THAT ARE CLOSE TO YOUR SKIN TONE) and a sis was pitchy 19. Ugh I hate this, it's just so low-effort it's astounding 18. This feels creepy and annoying already 17. Ok hear me out, this is actually kind of good. He is putting on a SHOW, period. And the time signatures in this are so experimental it's almost as if it's giving us a little tiny taste of what Aminata will eventually bring to the table. The backing vocal harmonies are also on point. I actually don't mind this at all, but I do understand why it came last 16. Aww so goddamn cute, MUCH better than Witloof Bay, just wish there was a bass 15. Already sounds off-key and generic, it's a no 14. Happy because Latvian, sad because the vocal is not good, the melody seems sweet tho 13. KILL ME NOW. I legitimately cannot stand this entry. It's even worse than We Are The Winners and y'all should know by now I despise that entry. literally just shoot me if I have to hear this one more time 12. SHOULD HAVE QUALIFIED PERIOD. This is such a groove, so chill and modern for 2011, giving me Sebi vibes but make it more upbeat, I really like this 11. It's just whatever. Vaguely okay, I guess 10. LAURA I STAN UGH this song is so good, giving me sultry, giving me sensual, giving me the clown shtick before Montaigne came along, giving me fifty shades of RED, giving me husky vocal, I stan 9. THIS IS THE BEST KIND OF CHAOS, the drop is absolutely INSANE and her vocal is literally so on point, not a bum note in sight. and who could forget the iconicness that is 'life is music, I am a composer'. I just know the juries would have robbed this like they did triana park tho :/ 8. AMAZING, this melody is so so good and heartwarming, vocals are on point, yes yes and yes. but also why do the Baltics like to sing in Italian 7. It's nice and chill but also nothing beyond that. Lacking substance 6. The studio version is one of the best of 2017. But this live vocal........hunny was so pitchy it hurt. I knew in my heart it wouldn't qualify but sorta wanted it to. Didn't deserve last tho, still listening to the studio track bcos this shit SLAPS 5. ANOTHER AMAZING SONG OMG, HIS VOCAL, HIS PASSION, THE PRODUCTION, UGH I CAN'T, LATVIA YOU KEEP CONSTANTLY RAISING THE BAR 4. Oh. Fourth?? A bit spicy. This is cute. But it's stupid. It's a no from me fam 3. Sorry but their voices sound like they aren't trying at all. for some reason sounding like Donald trump. next 2. Very cute and a bop, I approve and stan 1. Y'ALL ALREADY KNOW WHO IT IS, THE QUEEN HERSELF, ROYALTY OF LATVIA, SLAYER OF MY EXISTENCE, AND MY WINNER OF 2015. LITERALLY ONE OF THE BEST SONGS EVER TO GRACE THE EUROVISION STAGE. AMINATA REALLY SAID YOU KNOW WHAT LET'S REINVENT SINGING AND SONGWRITING AND PRODUCING, AND I STAN. UGH WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS SONG AND THIS WOMAN

[@terminx7841]

We are the Winners was the best in 2006 and if you disagree your a bit weird lmaoooo

[@eurovisiongal7007]

SPEAK 👏 ON 👏 IT 👏 Aminata is really the most powerful being of us all. Search ur heart and you too will find something to unironically appreciate in The Era of Latvian Mediocrity 2008-2014. I kind of like Probka? I think peak enjoyment was when I placed it like late twenties in my 2009 ranking 😂 I think the Russian translation was kind of unnecessary though. Cake to Bake is the dumbest song ever but it fills my heart with joy. MIX SOME DOUGH... ADD SOME LOVE... LET IT BAKE... HAVE SOME CAKE. 💖🎂 I love their 2005 song, it's also v pure, I hope it can grow a little on you maybe?? 😭 But yeah Wolves of the Sea lowkey sucks, I'm just one of those who finds it funny.

[@a.s.1659]

@@terminx7841 um, ur lack of taste is showing

[@TheHammertimeable]

Lmaoo I can kinda hear some Donald Trump in there. First time I heard it I thought the guy to the left was actually deaf/partly deaf since his voice reminded me a lot of my deaf cousin, that impression was probably heavily influenced by them deciding to use sign language. I really like the song now unironically.

[@yuriilukomskii7087]

1. 2020 2. 2015 3. 2017 4. 2008 5. 2002 6. 2016 7. 2007 8. 2011 9. 2010 10. 2018 11. 2000 12. 2019 13. 2005 14. 2003 15. 2006 16. 2004 17. 2013 18. 2014 19. 2001 20. 2009 21. 2012

[@AmauryCortS]

01. 2000 02. 2002 03. 2005 04. 2015 05. 2016 06. 2011 07. 2020 08. 2017 09. 2018 10. 2019 11. 2010 12. 2013 13. 2012 14. 2003 15. 2014 16. 2004 17. 2008 18. 2007 19. 2006 20. 2001 21. 2009

[@jere_diekralle7284]

Hi :D, we almost exactly agree on the flop 3. Latvia had a dark period between 2010-2013 (except 2011) 21.Horrible rubbish ....., my last 2013 (20) 20.Bad performance, weak singer and those lyrics ...... (21), 2nd worst song ever 19.I hate it ! (19) 18.Very bad (17) 17.Awesome

[@therealbricker]

Okay, my country! I admit it, our 6 year non-qualification was kind of justified (you'll see why it's only "kind of"). Anyway, I'm glad that we've been sending more professional entries recently, even though they don't succeed the whole time. I'm glad that we got at least one victory, otherwise I'd be mad about our failures. Anyway, we've got a few good entries, a lot of mediocre and bad ones! Here's my opinion! 21. 2010 - 1/10 She's got an annoying voice and I never liked her as an artist. Unfortunately, she's pretty big here, and we get terrible music from her regularly. 20. 2013 - 1,5/10 I can't believe we thought that this was a good idea... 19. 2001 - 2/10 Okay, we made a serious mistake in our second attempt at Eurovision. We even nearly lost our chances to send our winner! Arnis should have sung a very different song, maybe something similar to "Šodien Ārā Saulains Laiks," a song from the band "Odis" which he fronted back in the 80s. The point is, decent artist, but the song sucked. 18. 2009 - 2/10 Why? Why did we decided that changing the language to Russian would be a great idea? It was just selling out. Sure, Intars is rather big in Russia, but if he kept the Latvian version of the song, it would have been better. 17. 2017 - 3/10 This is just a bad pop song, it's way too repetitive and the live performance sucked. I predicted from miles away that we wouldn't qualify. 16. 2012 - 3,5/10 I can't believe that this dull and uninspiring song made it so high on my list. I guess that she has a good voice and she performs the song well, but the song really sucks. I'd highly recommend checking out "Music Thief" by Mad Show Boys, one of the candidates to go to Eurovision that year (kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHyQe32pgbyGY9k). If we had chosen that song, it would have been in my top 5 of that year, it's such a clever and fun entry, but no, we had to screw up once again. 15. 2011 - 4/10 Okay, these guys HAD to sing in Latvian. While I'm not the biggest fan of their music, their stuff in Latvian really sounds good and catchy. This entry did not do the trick at all. 14. 2000 - 5/10 Okay, unpopular opinion - I'm not a fan of this. In fact, I have no idea how it got to the 3rd place, oh well, good for us. These guys are still the biggest band in Latvia, but their stuff in the 90s was better. 13. 2018 - 5,5/10 When I saw this song winning Supernova, I just said: "Say bye bye to final now." And I was right. Laura is a good performer, but the song really wasn't for Eurovision. 12. 2004 - 6/10 Why is this our only song in Latvian? Seriously, we must be really biased towards the English language. This song is just okay. I suppose it's very easily forgettable, I just remember it because it's our entry. Overall not a strong entry. 11. 2006 - 6,5/10 Cosmos are great performers, I enjoyed their performance. The song is just okay in my eyes. I know we could have done much better, but I guess we had nothing to worry about, as we had secured a place in the final. Another recommendation from me - check out Instrumenti, a band by two former members of Cosmos. I really wish they gave a try in Eurovision, but they don't seem to be interested. A pity, their sound is really unique. 10. 2003 - 7/10 First of all, R.I.P. Mārtiņš Freimanis, second of all, it's a nice song, a bit generic, but it was performed well. Too bad it ended up so low. 9. 2019 - 7/10 This is just a peaceful song which happened to appear in Eurovision. The chorus does get repetitive, though. 8. 2008 - 7,5/10 First of all, R.I.P. Jānis Vaišļa, second of all, how could I not enjoy the pirates? It's a nice joke act which also worked as a good song. 7. 2020 - 7,5/10 So, we really went all experimental this year, huh? That's okay, because I think that Samanta was the best choice for Eurovision this year. Not my favourite, but the best. My favourite had to be Sail With You from Bad Habits, a nice two-parter which I hadn't seen in national selections or Eurovision before. 6. 2002 - 8,5/10 I do think our victory was deserved. The performance might be my favourite Latvian performance ever. The way Marie changed her clothes was probably very mind-blowing back at then, and the song is catchy enough for me to consider this a good winner. 5. 2014 - 8,5/10 Ah, I can't help but love this one. It's a silly, yet fun experience and I'm not ashamed to admit that I really enjoy it. 4. 2007 - 9/10 I was surprised to see that I really liked the performance and song. I really have no other words, we did a good job here. 3. 2016 - 9/10 Our most recent qualification, and it was deserved. It's a good song with a good vocal performance, I'm glad that others saw it as well! 2. 2015 - 9/10 Okay, let me just say at first, that the vocal performance was amazing, Aminata really did a great job there. And it shows, 6th place was very, very good! 1. 2005 - 10/10 First of all, R.I.P. Valters Frīdenbergs, what a great person, he is certainly missed. Second of all, we actually sent an amazing song that year. I adore their performance and I love how they used sign language. The song is simple, but it really works, and I'm glad that Valters & Kaža stayed to their style unlike some of our artists, and delivered a wonderful song for Eurovision. Great job there.

[@eurovisiongal7007]

thank you for the detailed comment!!! it's actually really cool to hear from someone from the country! i'm sort of surprised that there's only been one song in latvian at esc!! it would be cool to hear more but i guess given the recent modern pop reinvention of supernova it's less likely to have anything not in english. i actually assumed that probka was in latvian for soooo long, i think it was you that commented on my 2009 video that you didn't like the russian translation and i was like "ohhhh, that's why it sounded so pointy 😂". that's anglophone cluelessness for you. i've loved my star for so long!! a few years ago i went on a quest to find my favourite esc song from my birth year and i instantly fell in love with it, it's so cute.

[@therealbricker]

eurovision gal, thanks, you sure replied with a huge comment and I really appreciate it! Great to see that so much care went into it! So you wanted to hear about Latvian artists who are popular after Eurovision, so here’s a bit of info about everyone of them: Brainstorm - Latvia’s most famous band of all time, whenever they do a concert, it’s all sold out. Arnis Mednis: Used to be more popular before Eurovision, unfortunately, he had a stroke back in 2011, which nearly killed him, so he’s had a slow recover, but he expects to return back to performing soon. Marie N: Still quite a popular and active artist today. F.L.Y.: Broke up 2 years after Eurovision. Fomins & Kleins: Used to be more popular back then. Now the duet has broken up. Valters & Kaža: Never officially broke up, but Kaža went on to pursue a new career in Brussels, but sometimes returns to musical activities. Valters was quite an active and popular person until his untimely death. Cosmos: Broken up, I’ve already told you about Instrumenti in the original comment. Bonaparti.lv: Broke up after Eurovision. All members are still rather well known today. Pirates Of The Sea: Broke up after Eurovision. Roberto Meloni is the only active person from the band. Intars Busulis: One of the most popular Latvian singers, he’s also quite well known in Russia. Aisha: Now uses her real name Aija Andrejeva, she’s a generic Latvian pop star. Musiqq: These guys are one of the most popular artists in the country right now, their career had only just started back in that time. Anymary: She’s completely vanished from existance. It seems like she ended her career. PeR: Broke up after Eurovision. Ralfs Eilands, the lead singer, is a successful singer and actor now. Aarzemnieki: Broke up soon after Eurovision. Katrīna Dimanta is seemingly the only active person from that band now. Aminata: Decently known. Still active. Justs: He had a moment of popularity after Eurovision, but he seems to be gone now. Triana Park: Still active, they drop an album from time to time. Laura Rizotto: Moved back to Brazil, seems like it. Not famous in Latvia. Carousel: They kind of got their 5 minutes of fame last year. Samanta Tīna: Obviously, quite a popular artist, tried to go to Eurovision tons of times before. Thanks for being such a great person, I’ll see you next time!

[@aduantas8609]

Latvia's cheap cringey preformances (especially 2009 to 2013) are a huge guilty pleasure of mine

[@eurovisiongal7007]

I don't care for them besides maaaaybe Probka, but I absolutely love Cake to Bake so I understand 😂

[@aduantas8609]

@@eurovisiongal7007 I actually love Cake to Bake too in the studio version, it just didn't sound quite right to me live

[@eurovisiongal7007]

@@aduantas8609 it was vocally quite a mess ("a piece of caaaaake!") but I embraced the spirit of mediocrity, haha

[@wystxrr]

@@eurovisiongal7007 PROBKA IS AMAZING CHANGE MY MIND

[@eurovisiongal7007]

@@wystxrr it's like fine

[@skanyone2602]

Latvia 2015 is one of the worst songs (and the most overrated) in the history of ESC. Change my mind.