North Macedonia in Eurovision
It might seem like North Macedonia is relatively new to Eurovision, having only competed under that name since 2019. But this year actually marks the country's 21st outing on the Eurovision stage since it debuted in 1998 with the song 'Ne zori, zoro' by Vlado Janevski. It competed at the contest as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia).
North Macedonia's best ever result came in 2019 when participant Tamara Todevska's 'Proud' stormed into first place with the juries before finishing in seventh position overall. After failing to qualify for the Grand Final in 2021, North Macedonia is hoping to redeem itself with the song 'Circles', performed by Andrea.
2022 Entry: Andrea - 'Circles'
Semi-final: Andrea will compete in the second half of Semi-Final 2
My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 32nd out of 40 acts
Odds to win ranking: 'Circles' is last among bookies, anywhere between 131/1 and 1000/1.
(Rankings as of 28 March 2022)
About the artist
Born to a lawyer father and doctor mother, a career in music might not have been what Andrea Koevska's parents imagined for their daughter. But her gift flourished at a young age with the encouragement of her grandfather. Music proved to be a solace for Andrea when she experienced mental health challenges as a teenager following the passing of that same grandad. A family move from North Macedonia to New York as a child also proved instructive. The new city exposed her to the sounds of gospel, soul and R&B music, which have gone on to influence her music today. Andrea also lists Lady Gaga and Florence and the Machine as musical inspirations.
Upon returning to North Macedonia, a stint at Skopje’s Faculty of Music Arts helped Andrea hone her craft, including songwriting, piano and guitar.
Her first release, electropop single 'I Know' - a collaboration with composer and producer Aleksander Masevski - was released in 2020. Doubters better heed the 'Circles' lyric, "You don't want to test my limits": Andrea is also an accomplished practitioner of martial arts code Muay Thai.
About the song
'Circles' tells the story of a relationship on the brink of collapse. Despite Andrea's best efforts to mend the romance, she feels unheard by her partner and, during the course of the song, decides it's time they "stop calling [her] baby". The contemplative and midtempo electro-pop song is co-written by Andrea and Aleksandar Masevski, who she also teamed with for 'I Know'. Since being selected, the song has had a studio revamp with some reworked instrumentation throughout, while a recently released film clip shows Andrea scoping out streetscapes in Skopje.
How they were chosen for Eurovision
Andrea was selected to represent North Macedonia after placing equal first at 'Za Evrosong 2022', the first national final to be held in North Macedonia since 2015.
Perhaps somewhat controversially, the jury's score was used to break the tie and send Andrea and 'Circles' to Eurovision over the public's preferred option, Viktor Apostolovski's 'Superman'.
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North Macedonia will compete in the second half of the second semi-final on May 12 (European time) in Turin.