8.        Malaysia – Elizabeth Tan – ‘SSH’



Elizabeth Tan Su MeI is a Malaysian singer, model and actress. She became publicly known for her song titled "Knock Knock", released in 2014. Prior to her stardom, Lizzy, as she is fondly known starting her early career uploading videos on YouTube where she sang some cover songs.

9.        Haiti – KAYTRANDA – ‘10%’ (feat. Kali Uchis)



Louis Kevin Celestin, known professionally as Kaytranada is a Haitian-Canadian record producer and DJ. Celestin rose to prominence after releasing a series of mixtapes, remixes, and original music projects beginning in 2010 under the alias Kaytradamus. By 2013, and under the moniker Kaytranada, he began gaining wider recognition and, the following year, signed a deal with XL Recordings, with whom he would release his critically acclaimed debut studio album 99.9% in 2016. In 2019, he released its follow-up, Bubba, for which he won two Grammy Awards including Best Dance/Electronic Album. Celestin is one half of the hip hop duo The Celestics, along with his brother Lou Phelps.

10.        Israel – Noa Kirel – ‘Please Don’t Suck’



Kirel was born in Ra'anana, Israel, to Israeli-born parents of both Ashkenazi Jewish (Austrian-Jewish) and Sephardic Jewish (Moroccan-Jewish) descent. She is the youngest child of Amir and Ilana Kirel. She has two older brothers. Her father is the CEO of Glassco Glass, an imported-glass business headquartered in the Barkan industrial zone. Her first name was Noya at birth, but after being diagnosed with a serious kidney illness when she was three months old, a rabbi suggested to her parents to alter it to Noa, so she would be able to move ('Noa' also spells movement in Hebrew) as she grew. The rabbi also predicted that she would become a dancer.

11.        Uruguay - No Te Va Gustar – ‘Cielo de un solo color’



No Te Va Gustar, also known by their initials NTVG (English: You Won't Like It), are a rock band from Uruguay. They are one of the most successful latin bands in the last years, with fans not only in their own country but in Argentina and other countries as well. The sound of the band combines different styles such as rock, candombe, ska and reggae.

12.        Japan – AKB48 – ‘No Way Man’



AKB48 (pronounced A.K.B. Forty-Eight) are a Japanese idol group named after the Akihabara (Akiba for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theatre is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with its own theatre and performing daily so fans could always see them live (which is not the case with usual pop groups giving occasional concerts and seen on television). This "idols you can meet" concept includes teams which can rotate performances and perform simultaneously at several different events.

13.        Cuba – Havana D’Primera –‘Me Dicen Cuba



Havana D'Primera is a Cuban Timba band founded by Alexander Abreu in 2008. The band was formed by a collective of top musicians in the Cuban music scene, numbering 17 members in total. Since their inception they have gone on to find international success, and even performed for Beyonce and Jay-Z when the couple visited Havana in 2013.

14.        Nigeria – Tinashe and Ms Banks – ‘Die A Little Bit’



Thyra Oji, better known by her stage name Ms Banks, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Camberwell Southeast London. She was born to a Nigerian father and a Ugandan mother. Oji began writing music at age 11. Oji has released three mixtapes as Ms Banks. She is joined in the contest by Tinashe who is an American singer, songwriter with Zimbabwean ancestry.

15.        Venezuela – Maye – ‘Versos de Placer’



Born in Venezuela and raised in the United States, Maye comes from songwriting royalty: Her father is Fernando Osorio, a major-label solo artist who came to fame as one-half of Eighties pop duo Fernando y Juan Carlos and a long-time writer whose songs have been recorded by giants like Celia Cruz and Ricardo Montaner. “My earliest memories are of him singing to me,” Maye says. She had her first co-writing session with her sister at age eight. The result was “a terrible song I hope no one listens to,” Maye says. “But we still know it all by heart.”

16.        New Zealand – Kimbra – ‘Cameo Lover’



Kimbra Lee Johnson is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model who mixes pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements. Her musical influences range from Prince and Minnie Riperton to Björk and Jeff Buckley. Muzic.net.nz states that Kimbra's music delves beyond the "four chord cliché but still maintains strong hooks and catchy melodies that are sometimes unpredictable but satisfying"

17.        Jamaica – Spice, Sean Paul, Shaggy – ‘Go Down Deh’



Grace Latoya Hamilton known professionally as Spice, is a Jamaican dancehall recording artist, singer and songwriter. Referred to as the "Queen of Dancehall", Spice is recognised as one of the most prominent dancehall artists in the world. Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques is a Jamaican dancehall singer and producer who is regarded as one of the genre's most prolific artists. Orville Richard Burrell, better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican reggae musician, singer, deejay, and actor who scored hits with the songs "It Wasn't Me", "Boombastic", "In The Summertime", "Oh Carolina", and "Angel". They all unite to make a powerhouse group of prolific Jamaican performers with their song ‘Go Down Deh’.

18.        Ghana – Efya x DJ Lara Fraser – ‘Paper Guns’



Efya was born in Kumasi, Ghana. She has two brothers and a sister. She relocated to Accra when her mother enrolled at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) film school. Efya received voice training from some of her family members at a very young age. In an interview with Danai Mavunga of ARISE magazine, Efya described her sound as Afro soul with a hint of pop. She said her sound fluctuates depending on how she feels and who she's working with. She is joined by the American singer and model Lara Fraser here for her song ‘Paper Guns’.

19.        Finland – Lxandra – ‘Dig Deep’

     

Berlin-based Finnish vocalist Lxandra is a soulful, arty performer whose moody sound touches upon folk music, electronic pop, and dance music. She delivered her debut EP, Another Lesson Learned, in 2019. Raised on the small Finnish island of Suomenlinna, Lxandra became interested in music at a young age thanks in large part to her father, Pekka Lehti, a producer and bassist who has played with such acclaimed Finnish acts as J. Karjalainen, Värttinä, and Dalindèo. By her teens, Lxandra was attending Tölö Specialiseringsgymnasium, a music high school in nearby Helsinki. While there, she began writing her own songs, and eventually traveled to Berlin to collaborate with Finnish producer Perttu Kurttila. Lxandra relocated to Berlin full-time to launch her career.

20.        Senegal – AWA ‘24/7’



Awa Matilda Isakine Santesson-Sey known professionally as AWA, is a Swedish singer based in London. Her father is Senegalese, her mother Swedish. At age 12, deciding she wanted to study classical music, she applied to and later attended Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm. AWA was the winner of the first series of the Swedish version of The X Factor in 2012, at age 15.

21.        United States – Lolo Zouaï – ‘Galipette’



Laureen Rebeha Zouaï better known as Lolo Zouaï, is an Algerian French-born American R&B and pop musician. Born to a French mother and an Algerian father in Paris, France; Zouaï moved to San Francisco, California when she was three months old. She co-wrote "Still Down" from H.E.R.'s self-titled album, which won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album Zouaï will be opening for Dua Lipa's upcoming Future Nostalgia Tour in the winter of 2021.

22.        Sudan – Dua Selah – ‘Umbrellar



Dua Saleh s a Sudanese-American recording artist, songwriter, poet, and actor based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Saleh, who came to the United States from Sudan as a child, wrote poetry from an early age. While attending Augsburg University, they began to experiment with music, eventually releasing a demo in 2017. Shortly after, they began to work with local producer Psymun and began performing their music live, culminating in their 2019 EP release. Their music has been characterized as rap, pop, and R&B, although they have also been described as defying genres.