Evelin Samuel (born 13 May 1975) is an Estonian singer, songwriter, musical theater performer, author of children's books and participant in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Career

Evelin Samuel has been singing since childhood and was even recorded by the studios of the

Estonian Radio Eesti Raadio (Estonian Radio, ER) was the public service radio broadcaster of Estonia that, at the time of closure, operated five national radio stations. It was closed in 2007 as a result of a merger with Eesti Televisioon (Estonian Television, ...

at a very early age. In the late 1980s, Evelin joined the children's musical theatre Colombina whom she performed with at the 1992 Roskilde Festival in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. In 1993, she finished 4th at ''Kaks takti ette'', a contest for debutant singers, organized by

Estonian Television Eesti Televisioon (ETV) ( en, Estonian Television) is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Televis ...

. The same year, she won the Baltic song contest ''Via Baltica'' and a year later she won again with "''Vari ja roos''" at Uus Laul, a song contest organized by the

. In 1997 and 1999, Evelin Samuel took part in the Eurovision Song Contest while 2002 saw the release of her debut album ''Alternature: Over The Water Blue''. In the late 1990s, she was also a DJ at the popular Raadio Uuno. Evelin has also been singing dance music on ferries on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

for several years. In 2015, Samuel ran for the general parliamentary elections for the political party

Isamaa Isamaa is a Christian-democratic and national-conservative political party in Estonia. It was founded on 4 June 2006 under the name of "Pro Patria and Res Publica Union", by the merger of two conservative parties, Pro Patria Union and Res Publica ...

but was not elected.

Writing

In 2008, Evelin Samuel introduced her debut book release, ''Ükskord, kui sadas vihma'' (''Once When It Was Raining''), a fantasy story for little children. Since then, she has written a number of songs, poems and short stories, all for children. In 2010, Evelin Samuel became the editor-in-chief of the popular health magazine ''Tervis Pluss'', a post she held for a year. She's also a columnist.

Eurovision Song Contest

Evelin Samuel attempted to enter the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 (with three songs) and 1996 (with two songs) but did not succeed until 1997, when she took the stage as one of the backing vocalists for the Estonian entry, "

Keelatud maa Estonia made their third Eurovision Song Contest appearance in 1997. The preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 final would follow the same format of previous years, with a judging panel selecting the song and artist that would repr ...

", performed by

Maarja-Liis Ilus Maarja-Liis Ilus, sometimes better known by her performing name Maarja (born 24 December 1980) is an Estonian pop musician and presenter. She has represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest twice. She was only 15 when she participated in the ...

, which ended up in eighth place. She came back to Eurolaul, the estonian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, in 1998 with two songs and finished as Runner up with "Unistus igavesest päevast", only three points behind the winner. In the

1999 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 was the 44th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 29 May 1999 at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem, Israel. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Isra ...

, held in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, she represented Estonia with the song " Diamond of Night" alongside Camille, finishing in sixth place. The lyrics for the song were written by Maian-Anna Kärmas, who was a backing vocalist in the entry. This was the first ever time an entry that was not sung in Estonian had ever represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest. Evelin has tried to enter Eurovision in 2000, but she was not selected. However, in 2000 and 2006 Evelin was the spokesperson for the Estonian televote results at the Eurovision. Samuel entered Eesti Laul 2022 with her song "Waterfall", which qualified from the first quarterfinal but was eliminated in the semi final.

Musical Theatre

In 2001, Evelin Samuel was cast to play the role of

Fantine Fantine (French pronunciation: ) is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. She is a young '' grisette'' in Paris who becomes pregnant by a rich student. After he abandons her, she is forced to look after their chil ...

in the musical ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

but had to cancel her participation for personal reasons in the middle of the rehearsals. Still, a couple of years later, she earned good reviews for her portrayal of Nancy in '' Oliver!'' in Tallinn and went on to play in the musical ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed roma ...

'' in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. She was also a member of the company of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1993.

Personal life

In 2016, Samuel married pianist Johan Randvere. The couple have one daughter, Marta, born in 2019, and she has two sons, Oskar and Torsten from a previous relationship with a journalist Raimo Ülavere. Since 2019, she has been often credited as Evelin Samuel-Randvere.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel, Evelin 1975 births Living people 21st-century Estonian women singers Estonian pop singers Estonian musical theatre actresses Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Estonia Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1999 20th-century Estonian women singers