🇱🇹 Lithuania 2019 / “Run with the Lions”

Photograph by Lukas Gricius

Semi Final 2 | 11th Place | 93 points | Qualified

Jurijus Veklenko, who will go by Jurij Veklenko and is occaisonally known just as Jurijus, will be Lithuania‘s representative at Tel Aviv 2019 after winning “Eurovizijos dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka 2019 with the song “Run with the Lions”. Coming to prominence on reality competitions, he has a broad range of appearances in Lithuanian television. He previously participated as a background dancer and backing singer for Monika Linkytė and Vaidas Baumila (Lithuania 2015) and was a vocalist supporting drag queen Lolita Zero in her attempt to represent Lithuania in 2017.

“Run with the Lions” embodies the idea of letting go and being yourself in a dangerous world. It is a soft anthem encouraging that you shouldn’t cage yourself up and shouldn’t try to, instead letting your emotions run wild.

Born in the port town of Klaipėda, Veklenko was always surrounded by music, participating in a number of concerts and being a part of a band at one point. In addition to being a supporting singer of Lithuania’s 2015 entry, he was also the vocalist supporting Lolita Zero in her attempt to represent Lithuania in 2017. Besides music, Veklenko also works at an IT company.

Watch “Run with the Lions” below, and follow Veklenko on Instagram and Facebook. Listen to his discography on Spotify.