Every year it happens, Eurovision artists of days past that want to give the contest another shot, and 2024 is no different. This year we see two acts returning that have been headliners before: These two are Natalia Barbu (Moldova) and Hera Björk (Iceland). We can never stress this enough, but the Eurovision Song Contest is (music) history, so time to connect again with these two divas of Eurovision…
There are more artists that have been background singers, producers or maybe songwriters before for other artists, but we are talking about main singers in this post.
Moldova – Natalia Barbu
Natalia Barbu is no stranger to the contest, since she was also Moldova’s leading lady back in 2007, when the year before Finnish Lordi won with “Hardrock Hallelujah” in Athens (2007). In 2007 Natalia sang her entry “Fight” to a 10th place (of 28) in the Semi-final in Helsinki (Finland), since Eurovision had only one Semi-final back then, and eventually this Moldovan beauty came in 10th (of 24) in the Grand Final. Her song in 2007 was about not giving up, taking the lead, and smash through all the walls life might build for you, which could also be seen in the music video of her song and in the eventual presentation on the grand Eurovision stage, all very empowering.
In 2024 Natalia Barbu will represent Moldova once again, but this time around with the song “In the Middle”. Natalia won the Moldovan national final, “Etapa Națională 2024”, and will star again on the Eurovision stage, on May 7th 2024 to exact, in Semi-final 1. Natalia will perform 11th of 15.
Iceland – Hera Björk
In 2010 Hera Björk competed for Iceland for the first time with her entry “Je ne sais quoi”, an anthem about how love should feel. In the first Semi-final Hera ended up in 3rd position (of 17), and in the Grand Final of 2010 she took the 19th position (of 25). Fans of the contest might remember that at the time the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland erupted, making things difficult for European air travel. At the time Hera joked that she would jump in the volcano herself to make it stop erupting, so that the contest, which took place in Norway’s capital Oslo in 2010, would not erupt again.
Hera Björk missed the Eurovision stage, so she is back with the song “Scared of Heights”. She will perform 8th (of 15) in the first Semi-final on May 7th 2024. This time around Hera managed to win the annual Icelandic national final, “Söngvakeppnin”, and with her new, yet very recognizable look, she hopes to win the hearts of Europe again.