Tina Karol criticises Alekseev's ESC 2018 participation
Ukraine's 2006 Eurovision Song Contest singer, Tina Karol, has hit out at her fellow Eurovision singer Alekseev, who represented Belarus at Eurovision 2018. Speaking to Komsomolskaya Pravda, a Russian tabloid newspaper, Tina Karol said of Alekseev that:"Eurovision singers should represent their home country and that Belarus already has enough singers to be able to choose one of their own". She also went on to say that “Belarus should be represented by an artist who holds a Belarussian passport.”
Tina claims that there is plenty of talent in Belarus, and that even if Belarus fails to qualify for the final then at least they would have done so with a national, homegrown singer.
Tina's comments are somewhat ironic given that she herself represented a country in Eurovision other than that of her birth; she was born in Orotukan, Oblast, (present day Russia) in 1985 when the country was still a part of the USSR. Neither Tina (born Tetyana Hryhorivna Liberman) nor Alekseev (born Nikita Vladimirovich Alekseev) were the first singers to represent their non-home country in Eurovision, and you would not bet on Alekseev being the last since it has always been an unofficial Eurovision tradition for singers to represent a non-home country.
Alexander Rybak having twice represented Norway despite being born in Belarus, Katrina Leskanich representing the United Kingdom in 1997 as lead singer of Katrina and The Waves despite being born in America and Celine Dion representing Switzerland in 1988 despite being born in Canada are among a host of singers who have taken to the Eurovision stage for a non-home country.
Re-live Alekseev's Eurovision performance here:
Alekseev became the latest in a growing list of disappointing Eurovision outings for Belarus since the country debuted at the 2004 contest in Istanbul, finishing a lowly 16th place with the song 'Forever' scoring just 65 points in the first semi-final in Lisbon. Out of 15 Eurovision participations, Belarus has qualified for the Grand Final just five times, in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017, with their best result coming in 2007 when Koldun gave Belarus their only top 10 finish with 6th place.
Re-live Tina Karol's Eurovision 2006 performance:
What do you think about Tina Karol's comments and what are your memories of Alekseev's Eurovision participation? Let us know in the comments below and on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
