Eurovision 2023 Georgia profile: 'Echo' by Iru

Photo credit: Vakhtang Alania

Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Georgia made their debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007. Over the last 14 years they have reached the final seven times. They have reached the top 10 on two occassions, both finishing in 9th place. The first time was in 2010 in Oslo, Norway, with Sopho Nizharadze’s ‘Shine’ and the second time was in 2011 when Eldrine performed ‘One More Day’ in Düsseldorf, Germany. Georgia has not qualified for the Grand Final since 2016, so they will be looking to turn their fortunes around this year with Iru.

2023 Entry: Iru - 'Echo'

• Entry: Iru will compete in 11th place in semi-final 2

• My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 14th

• Odds to win ranking: 14th

(Rankings as of 3 April 2023)

About the artist

Iru Khechanovi was born in 2000 in Georgia's capital city Tbilisi. She has been singing since she was young and as a child she competed in several singing competitions. In 2009, she sung in the Tbilisi Olympiad competition, finishing in first place.

In 2011, as party of an all-girl pop ground called Candy, she took to the Junior Eurovision stage in Armenia (on her 11th birthday), and won Georgia's second Junior Eurovision title with the song 'Candy Music'.

Since winning the competition in 2011, Iru has written many songs, with a notable mention of last year's Junior Eurovision song 'I Believe'. It wasn't until 2021 that she released her first song, and to date, Iru has released five singles. At last year's Junior Eurovision Song Contest held in Yerevan, Iru took part in a medley of previous winning songs.

In 2019, Iru competed in Georgian Idol, and between December 2022 and February 2023, Iru competed in the Georgian Voice, which was also used as the selection for the Georgia entry in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.

Image credit: esckaz.com

About the song

'Echo' is written by Iru, Beni Kadagidze and Giga Kukhiadnidze, who is responsible for the majority of Georgia's Junior Eurovision entries. Georgia to date, has been extremely successful at the Junior contest, winning three times, and Giga has written all three of these songs.

Image credit: Iru Khechanovi instagram

How Iru Khechanovi was selected for Eurovision

This year, Georgia used the 'Voice Georgia' to chose their entry for Eurovision 2023 this year. To win, Iru performed Loreen's winning entry 'Euphoria', and she also sung 'Rise Like a Phoenix'.

Georgia will compete in semi-final 2 on May 11 (European time) in Liverpool.

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