Teo (singer)

Yuriy Vashchuk (Russian: Юрий Ващук, Romanized: Yuriy Vashchuk; born 24 January 1983), better known by his stage name Teo, is a Belarusian songwriter and singer.^[1]

Teo showed passion for music early in his childhood. He won his first music competition as the winner of the international contest "Scilla", and won his first major competition as the winner of the television program "Zornaya Rostan".^[2] Teo won the Belarusian national song contest and represented his country at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Cheesecake". He ultimately finished 16th, receiving a total of 43 points.^[3]

Early life

Teo was born as Yuriy Vashchuk in Khidry, Brest, in 1983, as the son of school teacher, Alexey Vashchuk, and culture worker, Tania Vashchuk.^[2][4][5] In his childhood he developed a passion and interest for music.^[2] He received professional music education at the Grodno College of Art and later at the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts.^[2] In 2000, he was invited to work at the National Concert Orchestra of Belarus.^[2]

Career

Teo won his first music competition as the winner of the international contest "Scilla", and won his first major competition as the winner of the television program "Zornaya Rostan".^[2] He works with many foreign and Belarusian musicians as arranger and composer, and, together with L. Shirin, wrote music for Russian movies.^[2] He also created the Belarusian television show "Forward to the Past" and was involved in its musical theme and design.^[2] In 2011, Teo, then performing as Yuriy Vashchuk, decided to get a stage name, which he selected via Google search. "I clicked 'T' in Google search and saw it immediately. I like[d] it instantly, and that was it.", he explains.^[2] In between 2011-2013, he received a series of Belarusian awards, including "Song of Belarus", "Best Arranger" and "Discovery of the Year".^[2]

Eurovision

In 2009, Teo appeared in a duet with Anna Blagova in the national contest, but did not win.^[6] Before trying as a solo artist, he served as co-writer of the songs, "Far Away", "All My Love" and "Solayoh", by Alyona Lanskaya, who represented Belarus in 2013.^[2] In 2014, Teo won the national contest and represented Belarus in Eurovision. Friend and co-writer, Dmitry Novik, recalled at a press conference in Copenhagen, that the song "Cheesecake", was written just five hours before the deadline, from Saturday to Sunday.^[7] The song, however, caused some discussion: In the chorus of the song, the words, "Google Maps" appeared, and the rules of Eurovision states that song lyrics must not promote any registered trademarks. Sietse Bakker, Eurovision Event Coordinator, reported that the issue will be investigated, and the line was eventually changed to "all the maps".^[2] The incident was similar to San Marino's case in 2012, when Valentina Monetta was not allowed to use the word "Facebook".^[2] At the end of the grand final, Teo finished 16th place, scoring a total of 43 points.^[2]

Discography

Singles

References

Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Artists 2000s Aleksandra and Konstantin Angelica Agurbash Polina Smolova Dmitry Koldun Ruslan Alekhno Petr Elfimov 2010s 3+2 Anastasia Vinnikova Litesound Alyona Lanskaya Teo Uzari & Maimuna Ivan
Songs 2000s "My Galileo" "Love Me Tonight" "Mum" "Work Your Magic" "Hasta La Vista" "Eyes That Never Lie" 2010s "Butterflies" "I Love Belarus" "We Are the Heroes" "Solayoh" "Cheesecake" "Time" "Help You Fly"
(Note: Entries scored out are when Belarus did not compete)