An Xtra Happy Birthday; July 12th

Today we have two Eurovision birthdays to celebrate, and these two Eurostars have a fair few things in common. They both performed in their own language. Both are born in the 1980s. They are both in their 30s. Both of them are from the southern pat of Europe. And that’s about it. 

Maya, 36

Maya Sar has taken part in Eurovision three times; twice as a backing singer for other artists and once on her own. In 2004 she did backing vocals for Deen on his entry “In the Disco“, finishing 9th in the grand final. Seven years later, she was back on the Eurovision stage, this time playing the piano and doing backing vocals for Dino Merlin on “Love in Rewind“. And again she was part of a top 10 result; this time a 6th place. The year after, in 2012, she was selected to perform the Bosnian entry, her own song “Korake ti znam”.  She qualified for the grand final, where she finished in a rather disappointing 18th place.

Luiz, 32

Luiz Ejlli represented Albania in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv. He performed the song “Zarr e Ftohtë”, but failed to qualify for the grand final. His performance landed him in 14th place in the semi-final. He also participated in Festivali i Këngës the year before, when he finished 2nd with “Hëna Dhe Yjet Dashurojnë“.

All of us here at escXtra wish Maya and Luiz the best of birthdays; an Xtra happy one!