This weekend, singer Markus Riva competes in Latvia's Supernova - his 10th attempt to represent the nation at Eurovision.
Markus Riva will be hoping its 10th time lucky when he performs Bigger Than This in the final of Supernova.
The Latvian singer-songwriter is a cult hero among fans for his determination and unwavering commitment to making the Eurovision stage.
When Markus almost won
Markus has twice finished runner-up in the Latvian national final.
in 2015 he finished second to Aminata's Love Injected in a public-voted final.
His song Take Me Down received 15,750 votes to Aminata's 22,336.
In 2019, his song You Make Me So Crazy won the public vote but only finished 5th in the jury to eventual winner Carousel with That Night.
All Markus Riva's attempts at representing Latvia
Dziesma 2014 – Lights On – 11th
Supernova 2015 – Take Me Down – 2nd
Supernova 2016 – I Can – Eliminated in the semi-finals
Supernova 2017 – Dynamite – Eliminated in the heats
Supernova 2018 – This Time – 5th
Supernova 2019 – You Make Me So Crazy – 2nd
Supernova 2020 – Impossible – Eliminated at live audition round
Supernova 2022 – If You're Gonna Love Me – Eliminated in the semi-finals
Supernova 2023 – Forever – 4th
Not ashamed of his record
When he spoke to The Euro Trip podcast in 2023, he said he had no shame with his record, but did see the humour in it.
"I should get a hobby, for sure," he said at the time.
“Every January – because that’s the time when Supernova is happening – I see my friends going on vacations to Thailand and Bali. I’m so jealous because I’m in Riga every year in January which is the greyest part of the year and it’s super depressing.
“But it’s exciting. Everyone has their own journey, and my journey is like this. It’s fun and I can laugh at myself as well for that. I’m not ashamed that I’m doing that so many times. I know what I want so why would I care about hate?”
Back in 2019, he told us at Aussievision about his determination.
"It's my character [to not give up]," he said.
"I have been told no for so many times in my life. I have heard that I am talentless, that I should find something different to do in my life.
"I don't want to say that I have reached my highs now, but I have lot of great moments in my career because of the fire inside me."
His 2025 Eurovision campaign
Markus explains his song Bigger Than This is about overcoming obstacles.
"Bigger Than This is a song about the triumph of light over darkness, motivation and inspiration to do great things and be great," he said on Instagram.
"It calls you to embrace your power, let go of negativity, and use love, music and movement to heal and grow. The song expresses resilience and hope, urging one to overcome life's hardships with optimism."
Markus qualified from last week's semi-final for the 10-act final of Supernova.
He is currently sixth in the odds to win the Contest and seventh in the fan-driven Eurovision Scoreboard.
He may be an outsider but anything can happen.
And if it doesn't, we look forward to seeing him and his fighting spirit back next year.
Read next:
For continued updates on all Eurovision Song Contest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram. All the links can be found at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet
Comments