Hallo in meiner Sandkiste
2020–2023: F23.8 and Eurovision Song Contest
editIn April 2021, Black independently released "A House on the Hill", which was included on his EP F23.8.[1]
In January 2023, he was announced as one of the contestants of the Serbian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, Pesma za Evroviziju '23, with the song "Samo mi se spava".[2] On 1 March, Black performed during the first semi-final, where he placed sixth and thus qualified for the final.[3][4] Subsequently, on 4 March, "Samo mi se spava" received the most points out of sixteen finalists by coming second on both the televote and the jury vote, making Luke Black the winner of the competition and Serbian representative for the contest in Liverpool.[5][6] On 9 May, he performed third during the first semi-final of the Eurovision and qualified through to the final by placing 10th.[7][8] Black dedicated the performance to the Belgrade school shooting victims.[9] In the grand final, on May 13, he performed fifth and ultimately finished in 24th place out of twenty-six entries with 30 points.[10] Serbian media portal Nova.rs credited Luke's low placement in the Eurovision to the comparison to the overwhelming success and acclaim of the previous Serbian entry - Konstrakta, the lack of support from the Serbian general public, technical issues in the semi-final on the behalf of BBC, as well as on the song itself.[11]
Post-Eurovision, Black performed at two sold-out headline shows in London and released a single, the Lily Allen and Nirvana inspired "I'm So Happy", in August 2023.[12] In October he was the opening act for Ukrainian band Go_A at the O2 Academy Islington.
On November 16, Black released another single, "God's Too Cool", a bass-heavy dance track produced by fellow London-based musician Shurk (Benjamin Dunkerley). One month later, Black returned to Serbia for a sold-out concert at the Belgrade Youth Center, on the same stage where he first performed live 10 years prior.[13] A number of his artist friends performed together with him for this occasion, including Konstrakta, the Serbian representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
2024: Chainsaws in Paradise
editOn February 29, Black opened the the semi-final 2 of Pesma za Evroviziju '24 with an updated version of his winning entry from the previous year, Samo Mi Se Spava. In the subsequent interview he announced the release of his first full length album, Chainsaws in Paradise, for May 24, followed by a tour through the United Kingdom, Poland and Finland.[14]
During the voting interval, Black performed an extended version of God's To Cool and premiered the alternative metal song Chainsaws in Paradise, title track of the upcoming album. The single was released the following day.
- ^ Jovović, P. (15 May 2021). "Srpski "pop alhemičar" ima novi singl koji morate čuti". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ Jovović, P. (10 January 2023). "Tijana Dapčević, Frajle, Sajsi MC: Ovo su najpoznatija imena koja će se takmičiti za učešće na Evroviziji". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ Krkeljić, B. (2 March 2023). "Holivudska elegancija Kosjerine, povratak zvezde devedesetih i Konstrakta: Šta je obeležilo prvo polufinale "Pesme za Evroviziju"". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ "Детаљни гласови публике и жирија на фестивалу "Песма за Евровизију 2023"". RTS (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ Simonović, I. "Свет можда гори, али у Ливерпул сигурно не идемо да спавамо". RTS (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ D. M. (5 March 2023). "Luke Black predstavlja Srbiju na Pesmi Evrovizije". Danas (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ Savage, Mark (9 May 2023). "Eurovision 2023: Sweden qualifies but Ireland is out of the final". BBC. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ "First Semi-Final of Liverpool 2023". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ "Luke Black: Želim samo da poručim porodicama nastradalih da ostanu jake". N1 (in Serbian). 10 May 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Dedakin, I. (14 May 2023). "Šta je zakazalo kod Luka Blacka: Zašto je "pop alhemičar" Evroviziju završio skoro na poslednjem mestu". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ Trendell, A. (17 August 2023). "Eurovision star Luke Black on the Lily Allen and Nirvana-inspired 'I'm So Happy'". NME. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ Jovović, P. (16 December 2023). "Luke Black večeras ima veliki koncert u Beogradu: Prvi put nastupa u Srbiji posle Evrovizije". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ Pesma za Evroviziju 2024 Polufinale 2 [Song for Eurovision 2024 Semi-final 2] (Television production) (in Serbian). Belgrade: RTS. March 1, 2024.