Who is Iru Khechanovi? Meet the Eurovision 2023 representative from Georgia

The Georgian Public Broadcasting (GPB) aired the fifth edition of The Voice of Georgia from November to February, in search of the best voice in the Caucasian country. The winner would also get the prize of representing Georgia at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool.

After 10 weeks of competition and different rounds, Iru Khechanovi, who represented Georgia in Junior Eurovision 2011 as part of the group Candy, which won the contest, was crowned the winner of the Georgian competition and will represent the country in Liverpool. The song with which she will compete is titled “Echo” and was composed after her victory in the talent show.

Get to know more about Iru Khechanovi

Iru Khechanovi was born on December 3, 2000 in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. She is of Armenian descent and as a child participated in several singing and music contests. In 2011, on her 11th birthday, she represented Georgia in Junior Eurovision 2011 in Yerevan, Armenia, as part of the girl group Candy. The group won Europe’s hearts with their song “Candy Music” and were declared the winners of the contest with a total of 108 points.

In 2019, Iru Khechanovi participated in Georgian Idol, which that year was used as Georgia’s pre-selection for Eurovision, and where Oto Nemsadze was declared the winner and representative of Georgia in the contest. In 2021, she released her first solo single, titled “No Jerk Around Me.”

In 2022, she appeared as a guest at Junior Eurovision as part of a medley of previous winners to celebrate the contest’s 20th anniversary. She was also a co-author of the song “I Believe,” with which Mariam Bigvava represented Georgia in Junior Eurovision 2022, and finished in third place.

At the same time, she participated in the fifth season of The Voice of Georgia, where after 10 weeks of competition and with her rendition of “Euphoria,” the song with which Loreen won Eurovision 2012, she was declared the winner of the competition and earned her ticket to represent Georgia at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool.

“Echo,” her song for Liverpool

“Echo” is the song that Iru Khechanovi will perform in Liverpool, composed by Giorgi Kukhianidze, Beni Kadagidze, and Iru herself. The song was the second to last to be premiered in the 2023 Eurovision edition, a month and a half after winning The Voice of Georgia.

According to Iru herself, “Echo” is about love and listening to the inner voice. The message of the song, as the singer has confessed, is the struggle of love and the manifesto of faith. “Echo” is Iru’s inner voice and the manifestation of love and peace.

Lyrics of «Echo»

Georgia at Eurovision

Georgia debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 in Helsinki, with Sopho Khalvashi and her song “Visionary Dream,” which finished in 12th place with 97 points. Since then, the Caucasian country has participated in every edition of the contest except for 2009, for the reasons we mentioned above.

Out of the country’s 14 participations, only 7 have made it to the final, with their best result being a ninth place, which they achieved two years in a row: in Oslo 2010 with Sopho Nizharadze and her “Shine,” and in Düsseldorf 2011 with Eldrine and their “One More Day.” Out of the 7 times that Georgia did not make it to the final, 5 have occurred consecutively and in their last participations between 2017 and 2022.

Georgia has alternated between several formats of national finals with internal selections or a mix of both year after year. For 2019 and 2020, GPB chose to revive Georgian Idol and select its winners as representatives at the contest. Thus, Oto Nemsadze and Tornike Kipiani traveled to Eurovision but without much luck, as neither made it to the final.

After being internally selected in 2022 with relative surprise and secrecy, the group of initially unknown members Circus Mircus represented Georgia at Eurovision 2022 in Turin with “Lock Me In,” performed in English and composed by the group themselves. They were eliminated in the second semi-final in 18th and last place with 22 points: 13 from the jury and 9 from the public.