Elaiza
Background information
OriginBerlin, Germany
GenresFolk, indie, alternative
Years active2013–present
Members
  • Elżbieta "Ela" Steinmetz
  • Laura Zimmermann
  • Natalie Plöger
Past membersYvonne Grünwald (2013–2016)
Elaiza presenting themselves 2014.

Elaiza (German: [ɛlaˈiːza])[1] is a German band from Berlin that represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with their song "Is It Right".[2][3] The leader of the group is Elżbieta "Ela" Steinmetz. She was born in Ukraine and is of mixed Polish and Ukrainian origin as her mother comes from Poland and her father is from Ukraine. [4][5] This cultural background is reflected in the sound of her songs.

Career

Early beginnings

At the age of 16 Steinmetz began to work as a singer-songwriter at Valicon-Studios, Berlin. At the recording studio she met accordionist Yvonne Grünwald. At some event Grünwald saw a photo of Natalie Plöger with her string bass, and Plöger was invited to play with them.[6]

2013: Formation

Early in 2013 the three women founded the band Elaiza. At Emil Berliner Studios Elaiza produced in March 2013 the LP "March 28" via direct-to-disk recording. The record was named after the date of recording and was published by the label Berliner Meister Schallplatten. Since then the band applied itself to the production of its debut album, which is in progress in collaboration with the Valicon-producer team at Berlin. In 2013 the band won the newcomer award at the famous Women-of-the-World-Festival.[7] In January 2014 Elaiza released an EP with the songs Is It Right, Fight Against Myself and Without.

2014–present: Eurovision Song Contest and Gallery

Elaiza at Eurovision Song Contest 2014

Main articles: Eurovision Song Contest 2014 and Gallery (Elaiza album)

With their song Is It Right written together with Mesanic Music headwriter Adam Kesselhaut, Elaiza applied via YouTube for the so-called wild card for the German preselection, where the broadcaster had seeded seven acts. Elaiza were chosen to perform among the ten best entries at a club concert at Edelfettwerk, Hamburg. The trio won the televoting, which qualified them to start at the German preselection Unser Song für Dänemark on 13 March 2014 at Lanxess-Arena, Cologne, with seven other contenders. In the third and final round Elaiza won the televoting with 55 percent against the band Unheilig, which is very popular in Germany. On 28 March 2014 they released their debut studio album Gallery, it peaked at number 24 in Germany. Elaiza represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest on 10 May 2014 at Copenhagen.

Members

Discography

Albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
GER
[9]
Gallery
  • Released: 28 March 2014
  • Label: Heart of Berlin
  • Format: Digital download, CD
 24
Restless
  • Released: 6 May 2016
  • Label: Heart of Berlin
  • Format: Digital download, CD
 92
Liebe & Krieg
  • Released: 14 February 2020
  • Label: Ariola
  • Format: Digital download, CD
 87

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
GER
[9] 		AUT
[10] 		DEN
[11] 		IRE
[12] 		POL
[13] 		SWI
[14] 		UK
[15]
"Fight Against Myself" 2014 50 — — — — — — Gallery
"Is it Right" 4 14 39 83 1 43 161
"I Don't Love You" — — — — — — —
"Hurricane" 2016 — — — — — — — Restless
"Real" — — — — — — —
"—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other charted songs

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
GER
[9]
"Without" 2014 88 Gallery

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elaiza.
  1. ^ "Info," Heart of Berlin, 2013. Archived 30 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Brey, Marco (26 February 2014). "Germany: Full line-up for club concert on Thursday". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  3. ^ Leon, Jakov (13 March 2014). "[Developing story]: Elaiza wins Unser Song für Dänemark!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Unser Song für Dänemark Wildcard: Elaiza – "Der ESC verkörpert unsere Musik"". Prinz Blog. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  5. ^ eurovision.tv (15 April 2014). "[Elaiza]: Elaiza biography eurovision.tv". eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Schnapsverkostung macht Musik-Wunder von "Elaiza" wahr". Pforzheimer Zeitung. 17 March 2014. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  7. ^ ""Fashion Meets Music" Nachwuchs-Casting beim Women of the World Festival". Women of the World Festival. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  8. ^ Elaiza (6 August 2016). "Dear Fans..." Facebook. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Peak chart positions for albums in Germany:
  10. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Elaiza". Austrian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Archived from the original on 12 May 2014.
  11. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Elaiza". Danish Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
  12. ^ Peak positions in Ireland:
  13. ^ "Top Airplay". ZPAV. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  14. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Elaiza". Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Archived from the original on 21 May 2014.
  15. ^ Peak positions in the United Kingdom:
  16. ^ "GOLD/PLATIN/DIAMOND- Auszeichnungen in Deutschland" (PDF) (in German). musikindustrie.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
Awards and achievements Preceded byCascadawith "Glorious" Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Succeeded byAnn Sophiewith "Black Smoke"
Categories