As news of who will be joining our artists in Tel Aviv emerges, ZENA becomes the latest to reveal details of her team. With rehearsals due to begin in less than two weeks, it has been revealed than Russian singing duo the Mantuliny Sisters will be providing backing vocals for “Lie It”.
As revealed by Kras.mk.ru, Radmira and Sofiya Mantuliny will be joining ZENA in Tel Aviv next month. Having performed at Amsterdam’s Eurovision in Concert pre-party, ZENA is currently in Moscow rehearsing for the competition in May. The sisters, from the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk, are known in the Russian entertainment industry following a number of television appearances. They previously participated on both New Wave and Pobeditel.
Last week, it was revealed that ZENA will have a “modern and youthful” performance in Tel Aviv. She will be joined by a new team of Russian backing singers and dancers, including the Mantuliny Sisters. Last week, ZENA visited Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to film her postcard for the contest.
Who is ZENA?
Zinaida Alexandrovna Kupriyanovich, is one of this year’s youngest entrants, aged just 16. Thankfully, she just performs as ‘ZENA’. Despite her age, she has already had a successful career in her own right. She has competed on New Wave Junior 2013, Junior Slavianski Bazaar 2014 and attempted to perform for Belarus at Junior Eurovision twice, placing 4th in 2015 and 3rd in 2016. She later co-presented last year’s Junior Eurovision when the contest was held in Minsk.
Following Belarus’ audition stage, ZENA progressed to the final and eventually won the national selection with Like It. This year, the winner was decided purely from a jury vote, where she scored 69 out of a possible 70 points.
Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest
Belarus made their debut in the contest when the semi-finals were introduced in 2004. Aleksandra and Konstantin were the first act to represent Belarus, failing to qualify for the final with their song “My Galileo”.
Belarus didn’t make their first final until 2007 when Dmitry Koldun finished in 6th place in Helsinki with his entry, “Work Your Magic”. Belarus have qualified on four other occasions – in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017.
Last year, Alekseev failed to make the final for Belarus with his song “Forever”, finishing in 16th place in the semi-final with 65 points. ZENA will be hoping to improve upon this result when she performs 8th in the first semi-final on May 14.
Are you looking forward to seeing Like It’s staging? Do you think ZENA will bring Belarus back to the final this year? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! We’ll also be posting plenty of content on our YouTube in the run up to Tel Aviv!
