Markus Riva and Samanta Tina take another shot in Latvia

Markus Riva is on the shortlist again for the Latvian preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2020. He is one of the 26 hopefuls, a list that will be narrowed down to 8 by a jury panel for the actual final show.

This year’s Supernova competition received a record number of 126 entries. Riva has tried to represent his country on six previous occasions, but always failed to make it to the Eurovision stage. Samanta Tina is also back, having tried to represent Latvia five times before.

The 26 candidates are:

Elizabeth Gaile – For You
Liva – Not That Important To You
Annemarija Moiseja – Undo
Celeste – Like Me
Rūta Ķergalve – Izgaismots
Laika Upe – All My Roads
Audiokvartāls – Connection
Toms Kalderauskis – Be My Truth
Markus Riva – Impossible
Katrīna Bindere – I Will Break Your Heart
Shanti – Voices In My Mind
Madara – Māras zeme
Samanta Tīna – Still Breathing
Sabīne Blūma-Blūmane – Beauty Will Save The World
Maia – Make It Real
Edgars Kreilis – Tridymite
Katrīna Dimanta – Heart Beats
Antra Stafecka un Atis Ieviņš – Coming Over
Aivo Oskis – Dive Deep
Bad Habits – Sail With You
ANNNA – Polyester
Alise Haijima – Me Me Song
DRIKSNA – Stay
Miks Dukurs – I’m Falling For You
Alekss Silvers – Again
Signe and Janis – Inner Light

In a change in format, this year’s show will consist of only one final instead of the semi-final lead-up used in years past. In terms of choosing a winner, Ilze Jansone, producer of Supernova 2020 clarified: “Television viewers will only be actively involved in the evaluation of the songs by voting in the live broadcast of the final. 8 final songs will be chosen by the jury, also considering how the songs will be judged by the audience on the YouTube platform.” The 8 final songs will be announced on 16 January.