An Xtra Happy Birthday; July 7th

Today’s four birthday boys represent three countries and have participated in Eurovision a total of five times. So; how is this even possible, you may ask. Well, obviously; two of them are from the same country, and one of them has taken part twice! In age they range from 38 to 25, and we’ll start with the oldest! 

Vignir Snær, 38

Vignir Snær Vigfússon was part of the group Sjonni’s friends, who represented Iceland in the 2011 Eurovision in Dusseldorf. He is the one sitting down playing the guitar. They performed the song “Coming Home”, finishing 20th in the final after having been called as the last qualifier in their semi. Vignir has since opened a bar/music venue in Reykjavik called Græna herbergið/The Green Room with Friðrik Ómar (Iceland 2008) and Jógvan Hansen (several times Söngvakeppnin participant). If you ever go to Iceland you should stop by, as the risk of running into a Eurostar or five is pretty big. You also risk being treated to great music and a mean coctail! Happy 38th, Vignir!

Omar, 36

Omar Naber is the explanation to how four people can have five participations, as he took part both in 2005 and 2017!
In 2005 Omar took part with the powerful ballad “Stop”, which he performed in Slovenian. This remains to this day one of the most unfair non-qualifiers in the history of the contest (sorry, got a bit personal there; this still infuriates me immensely!)! Ever since the night of the 2005 semi-final a lot of Eurovision fans have wanted Omar to take part again. And this year he did! Yet again he performed a ballad, “On My Way”, though in English this time. And yet again he failed to qualify for the final. Will we see him back at Eurovision for a third time? Perhaps in another 12 years? Or the next time Ukraine hosts? Today he celebrates his 36th birthday!

Raay, 33

Ales Vovk, better known to most of us as Raay, took part in the 2015 Eurovision in Vienna, where he represented Slovenia with the song “Here For You”. He performed as part of Maraaya; the other half of the duo is his wife Marjetka. In Vienna they finished 14th in the final, after taking a convincing 5th place in their semi.

Emils, 25

Emils Balceris represented Latvia in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Dusseldorf, as part of the group Musiqq. They performed their song “Angel in Disguise” in the second semi-final, finishing 17th and thereby not qualifying for the final. Today he turns 25!

All of us here at escXtra wish these four birthday boys the most amazingly Xtra wonderful birthdays!