Aminata Savadogo, occasionally known as simply Aminata, is a Latvian singer, songwriter, record producer, and model. She represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Love Injected". She released her debut studio album, Inner Voice, in April 2015.
Life and career
1993–2014: Early life and career
Savadogo was born in Riga on 9 January 1993 to a mother of Latvian and Russian descent, and a Burkinabé father. She considers herself primarily Latvian. She started singing at the age of 13 with private tutor Nadežda Buharova, graduated from the Bolderāja Music and Art School in Riga and secondary school with specialisation in flute. At age 15, she took part in the Latvian television show Krodziņā pie Paula and then also competed in Muzikālā banka at age 17. She also took part in Koru kari 3, the Latvian version of Clash of the Choirs as a part of the Golden Choir. Savadogo achieved international attention when she competed in Dziesma 2014, the Latvian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "I Can Breathe". She qualified from the first semi-final and then placed fifth in the final. Savadogo then won the Latvian television show Jaunā talantu fabrika.
2015–2016: ''Eurovision Song Contest 2015'' and ''Inner Voice''
In 2015, Savadogo returned to the Latvian Eurovision national selection and was announced as a competitor in Supernova 2015 with the song "Love Injected". She qualified through the televote in both the second heat and the semi-final. In the final held on 22 February 2015, she was announced as the winner and represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. Savadogo released her début studio album Inner Voice on 8 April 2015. Savadogo performed tenth in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, after Israel and before Azerbaijan. She qualified to the final after placing second with 155 points, becoming Latvia's first qualification in seven years. In the final, she performed nineteenth, after Poland and before Romania. She finished in sixth place out of twenty-seven, placing 2nd in the rankings of the national juries, and earning a total of 186 points and three sets of the maximum twelve points a country can award. With her placing, she earned Latvia their best placing since 2005 and their fourth best placing ever. She wrote the song "Heartbeat", performed by Justs who represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.
