For years, Kazakhstan has shown a huge interest in joining the Eurovision Song Contest, and in 2018, a 12-year-old Daneliya Tuleshova brought Kazakhstan one step closer to their Eurovision dream by debuting the nation at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. In celebration of the Independence Day of Kazakhstan ('Қазақстан Республикасының Тәуелсіздік күні') which is celebrated on December 16 annually, we're highlighting Daneliya's successful career after Junior Eurovision.
The world's largest landlocked country was invited to compete in the 2018 edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Minsk, Belarus after years of knocking on the EBU's metaphorical door. At the helm of their debut participation was Daneliya Tuleshova.
Born in 2006 in Astana, Kazakhstan, Daneliya is currently 17-years-old and going strength to strength internationally with her music career.
Prior to Junior Eurovision
Since the age of eight, Daneliya has participated in singing competitions successfully. Making the finals of the prestigious Children's New Wave 2015, she won the Audience Award. The year 2015 was also when she started her YouTube channel which now boasts 1.5 million subscribers and over 128 million total views in 2023!
A big turning point in her career was winning The Voice Kids Ukraine 2017 at age 10, being the first non-Ukrainian to win. Her recent international success caught the eye of Kazak broadcaster 'Khabar Agency' who announced on 22 September 2018 that Daneliya was selected to represent their nation for their debut participation at Junior Eurovision.
Junior Eurovision
Kazakhstan's debut song 'Òzińe sen' (Translation: 'Seize the Time') was met with much excitement from the online fan communities upon release - warmly welcoming Daneliya into the Eurovision fold.
At the competition, her staging consisted of teal and gold lighting reminiscent of the national flag. 'Òzińe sen' was an extremely vocally demanding entry from a 12-year-old with the weight of her nation's future at the contest on her shoulders - and she absolutely smashed it! I might be a little biased... Daneliya's entry is my favourite in Junior Eurovision entry and I remember crying at 4am when she performed it, I was so happy they had such a wonderful debut entry with such a talented singer (plus I was extremely sleep deprived).
She placed collected 171 points and placed 6th overall. A commendable placing in a strong year of Junior Eurovision. She will forever go down in the history books as Kazakhstan’s first performer in the Eurovision sphere.
Daneliya in recent years
Since Junior Eurovision, Daneliya has ventured across the pond to live in America, grow her career and compete in America's Got Talent 2020, where she received accolades from Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel. During the show she even performed a duet with Ava Max singing 'Kings and Queens' (it took a lot of brain power not to write 'Queen of Kings'). For the grand final she sang Sia's 'Alive', finishing in 6th place overall. Bloody impressive and she was just 14 years old!
However, she was not done with the show, and Daneliya returned to America's Got Talent: All Stars 2023 where she stunned the world with a spellbinding performance of Duncan Laurence's 'Arcade' (Eurovision 2019 winning entry). If you've got six minutes up your sleeve, I can't recommend watching this enough, you can also find a longer version on her YouTube channel here!
Just yesterday, Daneliya dropped the music video for her new single 'Cynical'. Her recent releases in 2023 include 'Cynical', 'Tied', 'Trouble', 'Main Event' and 'Fck Hm'. A recent blog on her channel indicates a desire to produce more personal music and move away from her younger years into a more mature and authentic singer-songwriter. Her recent EP reflects a much bolder and mature style.
So what's next on the horizon for the talented and young Daneliya Tuleshova? Perhaps she will helm Kazakhstan’s debut at Eurovision one day? We wish her the best with her career and future! To support her stream her music here, buy her merch here and subscribe to her YouTube here.
For continued updates on all the Eurovision Song Contest news follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. All links at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet