North Macedonia: Vasil Garvanliev releases his Eurovision 2021 song "Here I Stand"

Thursday, 11 March 2021

• North Macedonia's Eurovision 2021 representative, Vasil Garvanliev , has released his entry for Rotterdam titled "Here I Stand". 

  Going throug the last week of national selections and ESC entry releases, Vasil Garvanliev from  North Macedonia dropped his song for Rotterdam, "Here I Stand" .

  Vasil was internally selected to represent North Macedonia in Eurovision 2021 and will have the chance to complete his Eurovision journey which ended last year rapidly after the contest's cancellation due to the covid-19 outbreak. The national broadcaster, MRT held an open song selection in order to determine Vasil's Eurovision 2021 entry durign which interested song writers and composers were able to submit their music proposals for Rotterdam. 

  Vasil released today his song titled 'Here I Stand" along wth the official music video. 'Here I Stand' is an orchestral ballad song, behind the production and arrangement of which is Vasil himself along with the North Macedonian musicians Borche Kuzamovskia and Davor Jordanovski.

  Vasil in the introduction part of the video explain how he was inspired for his entry: 

  “When the contest was cancelled last year, I was devastated – dreams gone. I remember sitting in my bed with my clinker in front of me and I just started singing and playing, tears in my eyes. It went “there are times” and I knew that’s the one.”

  The track's backing vocals were recorded in  Chicago by former members of the Chicago Children’s Choir while shots  of the symphony orchestra recording their parts for the song are included in the video. 

   

  A Few words about Vasil

  Vasil Garvanliev was born 2 November 1984 in Strumica, also known mononymously as Vasil . He began his musical journey at the age of 7 , when he participated in some of the most popular children’s festivals in North Macedonia. Later on he moved with his parent to the United States, where he attended a children’s choir of Chicago.

  In the year’s to follow he attended more than 50 opera performances at music festivals accross the globe and has collaborated with some of the most talented acts in the world. After returning back to North Macedonia in 2018, he released 3 successful singles (Gjerdan, Patuvam και Mojata Ulica), while his first concerts on home soil last November was sold out .

  His first solo concert in his native Strumica in November 2019 was sold out and showcased his vast musical experience from across the world.

   

  North Macedonia in Eurovision

  The Balkan country debuted at the comeptition in 1998 with the name FYR Macedonia. As FYR Macedonia the country attempted to participate for the first time at the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo with Kaliopi, but didn’t make through the special premliminary audio semi-final. In its 19 years of participation the best result came this year with Tamara Todevska and her entry “Proud” which finished 7th in the final , while it has qualified only 9 times in the final.

  In 2019 internally selected Tamara , not only interrupted the six years of non qualifying results by coming 7th in the final, but also achieved to top the jury voting. This was the country’s first top ten placing.

  Last year, the country selected internally Vasil to represent the nation at Eurovision 2020 with the song "You"  which we never got the chance to see him perform on the Eurovision stage as the contest was cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic.