Who is Lithuania’s Eurovision entry Jurij Veklenko?
The singer has already represented his country twice before
Ever wondered what a Lithuanian Justin Timberlake would look like? A question nobody asked, but one that the country’s Eurovision 2019 singer Jurij Veklenko appears to have answered.
But as well as being his doppelganger, just like Justin Timberlake, Veklenko has also previously performed at Eurovision.
Who is Lithuania’s Eurovision entry Jurij Veklenko?
Aged 28, Veklenko has plenty of connections to Eurovision. Firstly, in 2013 he performed as a backing vocalist for Lithuanian singer Andrius Pojavis.
He was also a background vocalist for Lithuania’s 2015 entry This Time, sung by Monika Linkytė and Vaidas Baumila. It was during this performance Veklenko took part in a same-sex kiss with one of the other backing singers.
Veklenko almost made it to 2017’s Eurovision too, but failed to win the Lithuanian national final with drag queen Lolita Zero lip-syncing to his vocals.
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He was finally selected to represent his country in 2019, winning national final Eurovizijos dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka 2019 by a huge margin.
What is Lithuania’s Eurovision 2019 song called?
Jurij Veklenko will perform Run with the Lions on the Eurovision stage, a song all about uncaging forbidden love, rather than doubling as a zookeeper’s anthem.
What will Lithuania’s Eurovision 2019 song look like on stage?
Don’t expect too many theatrics from Veklenko: judging from his national final performance, he’ll be singing on stage alone with a few spotlights pointed his way.
A (rather sunburnt)Veklenko also recently repeated the staging at rehearsals in Tel Aviv.
What are the odds of Lithuania winning Eurovision 2019?
Considering his history with the competition, you might expect Veklenko to have a fighting chance of winning. The bookies say otherwise.
Most are currently predicting Veklenko has a less than 1% probability of winning the contest.
How did Lithuania do at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest?
Their song When We're Old, performed by Ieva Zasimauskaitė, finished in a respectable 12th place.
The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final takes place in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 18th May 2019
