Rani Johann Petersen (born 24 November 1997), known professionally as Reiley, is a Faroese singer and social media influencer. He represented Denmark in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, as , the winner of the with the song "Stefania (song), Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to host the eve ...

with the song " Breaking My Heart".

Early and personal life

Petersen was born in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; ; Danish language, Danish: ''Thorshavn''), usually locally referred to as simply Havn, is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of th ...

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

in 1997. He started playing the piano aged six, but his focus moved towards

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

as a teenager. His musical interest returned a few years later after performing in a school production, and he began taking singing lessons. Petersen lives in London. he was temporarily residing in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. Petersen has 10.4 million followers on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

Career

2023: and Eurovision

Reiley was announced as one of the competitors of the ''

Melodi Grand Prix 2023 ''2023'' was the 61st edition of (MGP), the annual Norwegian music competition that serves as the country's preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was organised by Norway's public broadcaster NRK, and consisted of three semi-finals ...

'', the Danish national selection for the

, with the song " Breaking My Heart". However, he was at risk of disqualification from the competition after it was discovered that he performed the song at the "Slow Life Slow Live" festival in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea in 2022, a violation of the competition's rules. Despite this, it was later confirmed that he would not be disqualified and would compete. He later went on to win the competition, becoming the representative of Denmark, the first Faroese artist to do so. At Eurovision, he performed in the second semi-final, ultimately finishing 14th with 6 points, failing to qualify for the final.

2023–present: after Eurovision

Shortly after Eurovision, it was announced that Reiley would perform at the 2023 edition of , a music festival held in

Vestmanna Vestmanna is a town in the Faroe Islands on the west of the island of Streymoy. It was formerly a ferry port, until an undersea tunnel, the Vágatunnilin, was built from Vágar to Kvívík and Stykkið further south on Streymoy. The cliffs we ...

, Faroe Islands, on 19 May 2023. On 25 May, Reiley released a new single, titled "Lovesongs". Reiley performed at the 2023 edition of , a music festival held on 23-24 May 2023 in Tórshavn.

Discography

EP

* ''BRB, Having an Identity Crisis'' (2021)

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reiley (singer) Living people Faroese male singers People from Tórshavn Atlantic Records artists Dansk Melodi Grand Prix winners 1997 births Eurovision Song Contest entrants