She’s used to being the one being judged. Now she gets to do the judging! Fan favourite and Latvia’s representative for Eurovision Song Contest 2021 will take part on The Masked Singer: Latvia. The show is known as “Balss Maskā” in Latvia.
Samanta was due to take part in Eurovision 2020 with the song “Still Breathing”, written by Aminata who represented Latvia in 2015 with “Love Injected”, she came in Sixth-Place. Unfortunately due to the outbreak of Covid_19, the contest was cancelled. LTV however gave her the ticket to represent Latvia in Eurovision 2021. The contest will take part in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Meet the judges
Of course Samanta will not be alone on the panel. She is joined be three other judges. The judges’ purpose is to guess what famous face is singing behind an elaborate costume. They even had something to say about their own experiences of filming the show.
Baiba Sipeniece-Gavare
Baiba is a Latvian comedienne. She is also a host on the popular Latvian radio station StarFM morning show “Zoopasta”.
I am really pleased and honored that I was offered to be a part of the biggest event of the TV3 season, and in a new and exciting format.
In general, guessing is not easy, because the voices are changed beyond recognition, so be very careful – paying special attention to movements, posture, gait, and even a single accidental detail can be treacherous – so I managed to guess one of the celebrities.
Jānis Krīvēns or Krivenchy
Famous from being a part of Latvian Hip Hop group Singapūras satīns and runs podcasts ”Pāļa bazars” and ”Pēdējā pilīte”, he takes a more unorthodox approach to guessing the singers who are behind the masks.
Although this is my first experience working with a large TV show, I feel that I can adapt and adapt to the new environment quite quickly. I have a very good relationship with the whole team, I can say the best about them – I feel very honored to be judged on the same level as such smart, successful and talented people.
So far, I found the classic “singing shows” very boring, so at first I was skeptical about my participation, but watching foreign versions of The Masked Singer, I liked the show with its absurdity (in a good way) and extraordinary concept.
This could be the first singing show that performs songs for generations that have distanced themselves from television
Jānis Šipkēvics
A veteran in Latvian media. He is a journalist and head of the radio organisation SWH. He will use his encyclopedic knowledge of the local music scene to uncover the facts and will hopefully be accurate in his guesses.
I really like that the “masks” choose the songs themselves, because their choice can tell a lot about the celebrity. Therefore, I will look for the connection that makes the song, the “mask” and the celebrity go hand in hand, merging into one person.
During my life, I have collected so much musical evidence (books, sound recordings, records, interviews) that it would be a sin not to use it, so participation in the show as a detective seems very appropriate.
Finally that brings us to Samanta
Samanta Tina, like all the other members of the panel shared her own experiences about the show and what she rings to the panel.
This is a new and unprecedented show in the history of Latvia, and I am sure that the audience on the other side of the screens will have as much excitement as the detective team.
I really like that our task is not to evaluate vocal performance, but to expose personalities, which is a new and unprecedented challenge for myself! We are a great team where everyone uses their weapons, thus helping each other!
The Masked Singer – Balss Maskā starts on TV3 on 13th September. Wonder of we will have some Latvian Eurovision alumni on the show? We’ll have to tune in and find out!
In the mean time share your guesses below in the comments or get in touch with us @escxtra on all social media platforms. For more Eurovision news make sure you also subscribe to our YouTube channel and for curated playlists please follow our Spotify account.
