Monika Liu
Lithuanian singer and songwriter (born 1988)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monika Liubinaitė (Lithuanian: [ˈmɔnʲɪkɐ lʲʊbʲɪˈnaɪ̯tʲeː]; born 9 February 1988), known professionally as Monika Liu, is a Lithuanian singer-songwriter. She represented Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy with the song "Sentimentai". Liu was announced as one of the qualifiers and took 14th place at the Grand Final.[1]
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9 February 1988
- Singer
- songwriter
- Vocals
- piano
Monika Liu | |
|---|---|
Liubinaitė in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Monika Liubinaitė 9 February 1988 Klaipėda, Lithuania |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2003-present |
Early life
Career
Liu began her musical career at the age of five when she started to play the violin. She discovered singing ten years later, and won the Dainų dainelė (lit. 'Song of Songs') competition in 2004.[4] Upon graduation from high school, Liu studied jazz music and vocal studies at the Faculty of Music of Klaipėda University, and later went to the United States, where she studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston. After leaving the college, Liu moved to London, where continued to compose songs. She has worked with the famous producer Mario Basanov, collaborated with the electronic music family Silence, recorded the song "Ne Vakar" (lit. 'Not Yesterday') with the band Sel, and appeared on the LRT television project Auksinis balsas (lit. 'Golden Voice').[3]
Liu's early work has been described as a "strongly electro-pop (and less bizarre) version of Björk".[3] On 23 May 2019, she was announced as a judge of The Voice Lithuania.[5] Liu has also served as a jury member of The Masked Singer Lithuania during its 2021 season.[6][7] On 20 April 2020, she released her second album and first vinyl record Melodija. The record was recorded in the United Kingdom in collaboration with producer Miles James, sound director Christoph Skirl and musician Marius Aleksa.[8]
2022: Eurovision Song Contest
On 7 December 2021, Liu was announced as a participant of Pabandom iš naujo! 2022, the Lithuanian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, with the song "Sentimentai".[9] The song was publicly released on 18 January 2022, and reached the top of Lithuanian singles chart shortly afterwards.[10] Liu performed in the third heat and advanced to the semi-finals and final, eventually winning the competition, thus winning the right to represent Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy.[11][12][13]
Filmography
- Aš matau tavo balsą (2022) — Celebrity panelist[14]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTU [15] | ||||
| I Am |
|
— | ||
| Lünatik |
|
— | ||
| Kodėl Tu Čia? |
|
10 | ||
| "—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released. | ||||
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Melodija |
|
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album or EP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTU [16] |
SWE Heat. [17] | |||
| "Journey to the Moon" | 2015 | * | — | I Am |
| "On My Own" | 2016 | — | ||
| "Hello" | 2017 | — | Non-album single | |
| "Komm zu mir" | 2019 | — | — | Lünatik |
| "Resist No More" | — | — | ||
| "Falafel" | — | — | ||
| "No Matter What" | — | — | ||
| "Sometimes I Loved You Sometimes You Loved Me" | — | — | ||
| "Detective" | — | — | ||
| "I Wanna Be a Man" | — | — | ||
| "I Got You" | — | — | ||
| "Vaikinai trumpais šortais" | 31 | — | Melodija | |
| "Troškimas" | 2020 | — | — | |
| "Sentimentai" | 2022 | 1 | 14 | Kodėl Tu Čia? |
| "Bossa" | 23 | — | ||
| "Dai Boh" (with Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil) |
— | — | Dai Boh | |
| "Šampanas (bul bul bul)" | 42 | — | Kodėl Tu Čia? | |
| "Kodėl tu čia?" | 2023 | 89 | — | |
| "Į tave" | — | — | ||
| "Nemylėjau tavęs" (with Gintariniai Laikai) |
62 | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Gegužis" (with Rokas Yan and Vaidas Baumila) |
2024 | 2 | — | |
| "Atostogų duetas" (with Teleduetas) |
— | — | ||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. " * " denotes that the chart did not exist at that time. | ||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTU [18] | ||||
| "In So" (XOA featuring Monika Liu) |
2016 | — | One011 | |
| "Laisvė" (SKAMP featuring Monique, Bjelle, Monika Liu, Kazimieras Likša & Future Cello) |
2018 | — | Non-album single | |
| "Ne vakar" (SEL featuring Monika Liu) |
2019 | — | Aš Kaip Žąsis | |
| "Sea" (Domas Strupinskas featuring Monika Liu) |
— | Live From Big Jelly Studios | ||
| "Ten, kur tu" (Jautì featuring Monika Liu) |
2022 | 92 | Meilė | |
| "Gal ne rytoj" (with various artists) |
97 | Non-album single | ||
| "Beržas" (Free Finga featuring Monika Liu) |
2024 | 2 | Plastika | |
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | ||||
Awards and nominations
| Award | Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M.A.M.A. Awards | 2015 | Best Female Act | Herself | Nominated | |
| Breakthrough of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2020 | Best Female Act | Nominated | |||
| Song of the Year | "Vaikinai trumpais šortais" | Nominated | |||
| Eurovision Awards | 2022 | Best Look | Herself | Nominated | |
| Best Hair | Won | ||||
| M.A.M.A. Awards | 2023 | Pop Artist or Group of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Artist of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Song of the Year | "Sentimentai" | Won | |||
| 2024 | Artist of the Year | Herself | Nominated | ||
| Pop Artist or Group of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2025 | Concert Group or Performer of the Year | Nominated | |||
| M.A.M.A. Top 40 | "Gegužis" (with Rokas Yan and Vaidas Baumila) |
Nominated | |||
| Song of the Year | Won | ||||
| "Beržas" (with Free Finga) |
Nominated |