Today we continue our interviews for Eurovizija.LT with singer, songwriter, and influencer Deividas Valma. While this is Deividas’ first time competing in the Eurovision pre-selection he comes with lots of previous experience including two finalist appearances on X Faktorius and making it to the semi-finals of The Voice of Lithuania.
Thank you so much for taking some time out of your preparations for Eurovizija.LT to speak with us today! Why don’t we start by having you tell us a little about yourself?
Thank you for inviting me to be a part of this interview, I appreciate it a lot! A little about myself, I am a musical artist from Lithuania. I was born in Panevežys, in a women’s penitentiary, which led me to grow up in Kupiškio children’s home and later I was living with foster parents in a small village in Lithuania.
My music journey began in school with the help of wonderful teachers which led me to attending further education in music and eventually applying to participate in various televised music competitions and collaborating with various Lithuanian music artists.
Oh wow, you have had a very interesting journey to get here. But of course being an artist and competing isn’t the only thing about you – what are some other things that our readers might be surprised to learn about you like some secret hobbies, talents, etc.?
One of my secret hobbies that not many know about is collecting coins, crystals and silver. Many friends would say I have a mini museum at home where my collected items and souvenirs are placed from different countries and places I’ve been to.
If I asked you to describe your musical style, influences, and sound to our readers, what words or references might you use?
My musical style has definitely evolved since my first releases and continues to evolve. To start I featured and created collaborations with other Lithuanian artists. It started with pop rap style songs that evolved into house music, to pop. Now I am presenting a pop rock ballad. Genuinely I have love for all styles of music.
You stated on your Instagram page that being at Eurovision is something you’ve always dreamed of doing, but this will be your first time competing in the Lithuanian selection. Had you considered competing in the selection before this year, and if not why was 2024 the right year to try?
It is true, it has been my dream to be a part of the Eurovision song contest and this is my first time competing. This year was the right year to try because I received the right song that I truly believe in.
In addition, in the past I did not feel ready for the big stage, I was still evolving my artist identity and now it feels right, the song feels right and I feel ready to finally take the next step.
Amongst Lithuanians you’d be most known for your appearances on other music competitions like two seasons of X Faktorius and the most recent season of The Voice of Lithuania. Do you feel like these previous competition experiences have prepared you well for the Lithuanian selection?
100% Yes. Those experiences have been completely invaluable to me. They really have been stepping stones of my journey to be here, competing on the big stage in Eurovision. Those music shows taught me about stage presence, how to convey the messages, emotions and songs to the audience through camera and live audience to name a few things. Also it allowed me to feel more free on stage where I am able to fully express myself.
And I take it you’re a big Eurovision fan as well – do you remember your first Eurovision related memory or experience and can you tell us about it?
I am definitely a huge Eurovision fan, I’ve watched it from a very young age. My first distinctive memory of Eurovision is probably the Hard Rock Hallelujah song from Finland. During this time it was a turbulent time between my foster parents and my birth mother and I remember this song being played everywhere, from peoples balconies.
To me the song felt like it reflected my rebellious soul during this time. Also during X Factor I chose to perform Conchita Wurst – Rise Like A Phoenix and Kristian Kostov – Beautiful Mess. Eurovision has always been part of my musical journey.
I want to bring everything we’ve talked about together into one question because I’m really interested to see what you might come up with. If you were asked to create a Eurovision cover album where you re-envision some of your favorite entries, which entries would you pick, would they be solo numbers or collaborations with other artists, and ultimately what genre/style would you want each song to be?
That’s a great question. My Eurovision Cover Album would look like this :
- Eric Saade – Popular- solo piece in pop rock style,
- Yourhana – Is it True Feat. Adam Lambert in pop rock style
- Timebelle – Apollo as a solo piece in pop style
- Ochman – River In Rock Opera Style as a solo piece
- Remo Forrer – Watergun mixed with Andrew Lambrou – Break A Broken Heart in ballad style as a solo piece
- Alex Swings Oscar Sings – Miss Kiss Kiss Bang mixed with Luca Hanni – She Got Me in a electronic pop dance solo piece
- Buranovskiye Babushki – Party For Everybody in deep house / melodic dnb solo piece
- Mariya Yaremchuk – Tick Tock mixed with ZENA – Like it in Jazz solo piece
- maNga – We Could Be The Same in Rock with a live band as well
- Minus One – Alter Ego ft Lordi in Hard Rock
Now THAT is a cover album I’d enjoy listening to, and I bet the community would as well! Let’s talk about your song for the selection, titled “Blood On Your Hands” – can you tell us a bit about how the song was written and the message behind it?
For me personally the song Blood on your hands has dual interpretation. It was written by Irish songwriters Tim Dawn and Aidan O’ Connor and when I first heard it I knew this was the song for me. This led me to work with a producer here in Vilnius Lithuania Artiomas Penkevičius and we recorded and made the song into what it is today.
In terms of message. To me, from one perspective it represents a tragic love that is not necessarily a romantic love which failed due to lack of responsibility for one’s actions. On the other hand, Blood on Your hands refers to the events happening around the world right now. I do think it’s important to use platforms we have to raise momentum and awareness. But at the end of the day it is about how the listener interprets it, which is just as important.
While the song is extremely important for this kind of contest, it’s also important to have a stage concept in mind for the performance. What can our readers expect to see from you? Any teases you want to give?
Stage concept for Eurovision is one of my main priorities. I reached out to a Stage director Paulius Šinkūnas who I’ve worked with before, who has directed me before and he is an absolute pro. He works specifically with directing Eurovision performances so I thought it was only right to reach out to him to create the best stage performance possible. I will not reveal too much but, you can expect a dancer and unexpected emotions.
As we close out, for those who want to connect with you all ahead of or after the selection– where can they find you and continue to support your musical career?
I appreciate every single person who supports my musical journey. They can find me on music streaming platforms and on all social media including instagram, tiktok, Facebook, youtube or spotify under the name Deividas Valma.
Do you have any final words or a final message you’d like to send to the readers of ESCUnited?
Firstly, I’d like to thank you for inviting me to this interview, I had a lot of fun answering the questions. I’d like to thank the readers and all who support me during this journey and my musical career. Don’t forget to share your kindness with others because kindness is not a weakness. I do have so much love for you all and I look forward to giving you my best for the Eurovision Lithuanian National Selection.
Thanks so much Deividas and we wish you the best of luck in the Lithuanian National selection! 🙂
If #YOU want to support Deividas’ pathway to Eurovision 2024 make sure you tune in to his semi-final and vote!
