Latvia’s Eurovision selection is set to kick off this coming Saturday, and we were fortunate enough to meet with Beatrise Heislere in between rehearsals. Together we talked about her musical inspirations, her motivation for participating in the selection, and the message behind her song.
Hello there Beatrise – I’m very excited to chat with you today and help our readers get to know you better. Why do you give us a brief introduction as to who you are?
Hi, glad to join in this great ESC 2022 journey with you and ESCUnited readers.
I’m Beatrise Heislere, you already know that. Born and raised in Riga, capital of Latvia. Have been singing since I was a little over 2 and my first contest was before my 3rd birthday. Music’s been part of my life since then. Aside, I have received bachelor degree in Social sciences, PR and Advertising. Currently aside from music, I’m also a Process Master of my unit in an international IT/ innovation company.
Great – thank you, it certainly sounds like you keep busy then! Of course, you were announced as one of the participants for Supernova last month. What has life been like since the announcement?
Yes, it’s been exciting and stressful for sure – have been rehearsing a lot, doing makeup and hair look trials, creating my stage costume. A lot has been going on. Trying to make it as cheerful as possible as this will either end on Saturday or I’ll be selected for finals and who knows how that will change my daily routines.
I’m sure that our readers would be interested to learn about your pathway into music. How did you first start to fall in love with music, singing, and performing?
As I already mentioned, it begun when I basically learned how to speak, so from that point I was singing in pop-groups, participating in international contests in Latvia and Europe. Aside, finished music school. Tried myself playing a cello, but as they say you can keep the interest of the student only as much as the teacher connects with the kid – my teacher was changed to other and well, I lost interest. Then in 2016 me and two other girls I’ve known for years decided to make a trio, we participated and got in final shows of 1st season of X Factor in Latvia, participated in Supernova in 2018 but our paths separated. From that moment – I’ve been searching the right path for myself.
Well I hope that the right path shows itself to you soon! I’m curioua to know, do you happen to have any artists, bands, or genres that influence your music as an artist?
I enjoy a variety of music – the best years for music in my opinion are the 70-80s, so I listen to rock and pop from that time. I enjoy artists such as John Mayer, The Midnight. My favorite song though is “Hurts – Wonderful life”.
Now as you mentioned, this is not your first time participating in Supernova, as you were part of the group Hypnotic who participated back in 2018. What made you decide to enter this year and try again as a solo artist?
As we went our separate paths with the trio, working on myself and the things I want to achieve led to a song I’m participating with – “On the way home”. It was written by my very good friend Edvards Grieze (who himself has been a participant of Supernova a few years ago under stage name Ed Rallidae). The idea of “Supernova” came naturally as we developed the song in our sessions.
Your song “On the Way Home” is a big synth pop track that calls back to the 80’s. What was the songwriting process like for the song and how did you know this was the song to submit to LTV?
So I approached Edvards with an idea – I want a song in synthwave. He had a few ideas in mind and he then made a demo. Thanks to Roberts Petersons (musician, producer, songwriter) who produced the song, I had my first demo ready, and we met with Edvards to finalize the lyrics. Gosh, I was stressed out for no reason to sing his song in the first session. As soon as I started singing, he looked at me and said – that’s it! We finalized the lyrics and a few weeks later met in the studio to record the song. Of course, he didn’t give me any back vocal sheets to prepare and gave me the toughest challenge to sing them on spot as he played each and one to me. I did it, I didn’t doubt that I would. I think it just shows how well we understood the goal for this song and how smooth the process became.
I read that your song is all about self-appreciation and putting yourself first – could you tell us a bit more about the story you wanted to tell with the song’s lyrics?
Well the message can mean different things to different listeners, the main idea was that “on the way home” is meant as back to my true-self, back to me – finally not putting others first or put up with someone’s wishes and desires. Who else if not you yourself will think of what YOU need?
And I’m sure that the preparation and rehearsal timeline has been hectic as you prepare for the semi-finals. What can we expect to see from you on the Supernova stage this year?
My goal is to tell this story, to show how tough it may be sometimes to face the truth, to look into the mirror and understand you’ve been putting yourself down for too long, in this case – because of relationships… It’s time to shine, baby!
Now of course, the winner of Supernova will go on to Eurovision to represent Latvia in Turin. What would it mean for you to be able to represent your country on such a large stage?
That would mean only one thing – work, work, work. Work on the performance and all qualities around this event.
As we wrap up, for those who want to connect with you ahead of or after the selection– where can they find you and your music?
You can find me on all music streaming platforms, and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Simply search me by name and you’ll find me.
Last question – is there any message you’d want to share with the ESCUnited readers?
Stand up for yourself, especially against yourself as sometimes the one person that can both lift you and destroy you is you and you only. Be true to yourself and present in the moment – things will happen for you.
Well Beatrise, thank you so much for taking some time to speak with us and we wish you the best of luck during Supernova!
What do #YOU think of Beatrise’s song “On the Way Home”? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!
