Samanta Tīna


Samanta Poļakova, better known as Samanta Tīna, is a Latvian singer and composer.
After having attempted to represent her country in the Eurovision Song Contest five times earlier, she won the national preselection Supernova in 2020 and will represent Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands with the song "Still Breathing". She also competed in the Lithuanian preselection twice, and in the Lithuanian version of The Voice.

Career

Early career

In 2010, Tīna won the Latvian music show O!Kartes akadēmija, winning the chance to attend the Tech Music School in London, England. In 2011, she competed in the Moldovan singing competition Golden Voices and won the Moldovan Cup.
In 2012, she competed in the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk along with 20 other competitors. On Day 1, she performed "Auga, auga Rūžeņa", a Latvian folk song and earned 93 points. On the second day she performed the song "Где то далеко", and was awarded 104 points. She ultimately finished in second place with 197 points, behind only Bobi Mojsoski of Macedonia.

2012–2014: ''Eirodziesma'', ''Dziesma'' and ''Eurovizijos atranka''

On 1 December 2011, Tīna was announced as one of the singers for Eirodziesma 2012, performing the song "I Want You Back" along with Dāvids Kalandija. The two of them advanced from semi-final one on 7 January 2012 to the final.
In the second semi-final held on 18 February 2012, Tīna performed the song "For Father". However, she did not make it to the final and placed 7th. The final was held on 18 February 2012 in Ventspils. In the final, Tīna and Kalandija performed second. They placed second in the final, advancing to the superfinal, placing second again only behind the winner Anmary and her song "Beautiful Song".
On 15 January 2013, it was revealed Tīna would be taking part in Dziesma, the new title for the Latvian national final, performing the song "I Need a Hero". Tīna placed first in the first semi-final held on 8 February 2013, advancing to the final on 16 February 2013. Tīna was considered the heavy favourite to win the competition.
In the final, Tīna placed second, advancing to the superfinal like the previous year. In the final, she reached second place, behind the band PeR and their song "Here We Go". Tīna placed second in the superfinal, behind PeR once again. That year, She also took part in the national Lithuanian selection for Eurovision in duet with Vudis, with the song "Hey Chiki – Mama". The duet finished 4th of the 1st heat and get eliminated.
Tīna took place in the first semi-final of Dziesma 2014 with her song "Stay", on 1 February 2014 in Riga. She advanced to the final in a three-way tie for second place. In the final, held on 22 February 2014, Tīna performed fifth. She placed third and as a part of the top three, advanced to the superfinal. In the superfinal, Tīna placed third once again, behind Dons and his song "Pēdējā vēstule" and the winners Aarzemnieki and their song "Cake to Bake".

2014–2015: ''Lietuvos balsas''

Tīna competed on the third season of Lietuvos balsas, the Lithuanian version of The Voice. Since she is not Lithuanian, she communicated to the judges in Russian. For her audition, Samanta performed the song "I Wanna Dance With Somebody ". For her battle Samanta performed the song "I'm Every Woman" against Monika & Kristina, Samanta won the battle. Tīna finished the contest in the top eight, just missing out on reaching the final four to Agnė Juškenaitė.

2015–2019: ''Supernova 2016'' and ''Eurovizijos atranka''

On 31 January 2016, Tīna was announced as one of the participants in Supernova 2016 with two songs, "We Live for Love" and "The Love Is Forever". "We Live for Love" competed in the first heat on 7 February, and did not advance to the semi-finals. "The Love Is Forever" competed in the second heat on 14 February, where it advanced to the semi-final after being saved by the jury. After performing in the semi-final, she decided to withdraw from the competition.
In 2016, it was confirmed that she would compete in Lithuania's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. She performed the song "Tavo oda" in a duet with Lithuanian singer Tadas Rimgaila. The act was eliminated in the first heat of the contest.

2020: Eurovision Song Contest

Discography

Singles