Tusse | |
|---|---|
 Tusse in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Toussaint Michael Chiza |
| Born | 1 January 2002 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Origin | Leksand, Sweden |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Labels | Universal Music AB |
Toussaint Michael Chiza (born 1 January 2002), better known as Tusse, is a Congolese-Swedish singer who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.[1]
Chiza was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2] When he was five years old, he had to flee his country. He lived in Uganda in a refugee camp with his aunt for three years and then came to Sweden. There, he lived in the village of Kullsbjörken, near Leksand, where he has resided since 2015.[3][4] He participated as a singer in the Swedish talent show Talang 2018 (as Tousin Chiza) which was also broadcast on TV4; he made it to the semifinals before being eliminated.[5] He received praise for his semifinal performance from judge Bianca Ingrosso.[6] Tusse was a finalist in Swedish Idol 2019,[7] broadcast on TV4, alongside Freddie Liljegren, and was ultimately declared the winner in the final.[8][9]
After winning Swedish Idol, he released three singles, two of them songs he performed on Idol: a cover of Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" on 22 November 2019 as a Top 12 contestant.[7] And as the winner, he released his version of the season's winning song, "Rain", on 3 December 2019.[10] As a result of his victory, he got to release his debut single as a CD single as well as on the iTunes Store. His third single is called "Innan du går"[11]
Tusse participated in Melodifestivalen 2021 with the song "Voices".[12] He qualified directly to the final, scheduled for 13 March 2021, and ultimately won with 175 points.[13][14] As a result, he represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.[15][16]
After his first Eurovision rehearsal Tusse was the victim of racist comments on social media.[17]
In the semi-final Tusse managed to qualify for the final on 22 May.[18] In the final he reached 14th place with his song.[19] After Eurovision, he did an interview with the magazine Vanity Teen in which he talked about his personal life, his experience in Eurovision and his future career.[20]
In June 2023, it was revealed that a film about Tusse's life was to be produced in 2024.[21]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [22] |
IRE [23] |
LAT [24] |
NLD [25] |
NOR [26] |
UK Down. [27] | |||||||||||
| "How Will I Know" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||||||
| "Rain" | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Innan du går" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Jag tror på sommaren" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Crash" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Voices" | 2021 | 1 | 99 | 2 | 56 | 11 | 31 | |||||||||
| "Grow"[29] | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "This Is Our Christmas Song" | —[A] | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Happiness Before Love" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Dream of Gold" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "I Wanna Be Someone Who's Loved" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Home" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "I Won't Spend Christmas On My Own"[31] | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. | ||||||||||||||||
