The third heat of Latvia’s Supernova takes place this weekend, and we will soon know the full line up for the final.

One of the acts performing in the third heat, and hoping to make it through to the final is Ed Rallidae.  He will be performing ‘What I Had With You’, written by Latvia’s 2015 participant Aminata.  We chatted to Ed about his song, and how that collaboration with Aminata came about and this is what he told us:

Hello Ed, and congratulations on making the shortlist for Supernova this year!.  Ed Rallidae may well be a new name for many of our readers, can you tell us a little about your career to date?

I couldn’t agree more, because quite literally it’s a new name, a new stage name for me, a new chapter in my career. Before that I was performing under my real name Edvards Grieze. But after I heard how much of a tongue twist my last name was for radio hosts outside Latvia, I decided to make things easier hopefully. So Ed Rallidae was born. I’ve been performing for several years and had some recognition in Latvia.

And how did you come to be performing at Supernova this year?, is it something that you have always wanted to do?

Supernova is a great platform to present yourself to pretty much the whole world. And I am all about new experiences and new challenges.

Your song ‘What I Had With You’ has been written by Aminata, how did that collaboration come about, and has she given you any particular advice about performing at Supernova bearing in mind her own previous experience?

Well actually I was preparing my own original song for Supernova entry and out of nowhere I got a message from Aminata, so I guess participation in Supernova was meant to be. Cue the now famous milk story – I was actually at the mall buying groceries when I got the message from Aminata: ‘’Hey Edvards. Long story short, I have written a song for You. Would You be interested in a collaboration?’’ and I answered ‘’Hey Aminata. Long story short, I almost dropped the milk out of my hands’’
So far it has been such an amazing experience and Aminata is an inspiring mentor. In a short amount of time I have learnt a lot about performing.

Are you a big fan of Supernova and Eurovision itself, if so are there any songs or artists that you remember seeing and making you dream of going onto that stage in front of such a big tv audience?

I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest fan but I have always followed the Eurovision Song Contest and watching the biggest show in Europe or probably in the world is a bit of a tradition for me every year. If I have to highlight one performance of course it’s Loreen. I still get goosebumps watching her performance of Euphoria.

And outside of Eurovision, are there any artists that you have been inspired by, or would liken your style to.

Electronic, soultronic, r’n’b and house music these are the genres I see myself in. But there are many artists I aspire to be not only from music point of view. Artists like James Blake, Jack Garrath, Kevin Garreth, Stevie Wonder, Eltohn John and many more.

What would it mean to you to represent Latvia in Lisbon?

It would be the biggest honour. Probably the greatest achievement of my life.

If you were to win not only Supernova, but also Eurovision itself, the Eurovision fans would all be coming back to Riga in 2019.  What advice would you give them about what to do, what is your favourite thing about your home country?

What I love the most about my home country is the traditional folk music. I would recomend visitors to see The Song Festival 2018 this June. Thousands and thousands of voices from all around the world actually , all united singing Latvian folk songs. It’s mesmerizing.

And finally, do you have any other message for our readers?

I’m sending my best wishes to all of the escbubble.com readers and I hope You are a part of #TeamEdRallidae!

You can listen to Ed’s Supernova entry ‘What I Had With You’ here:

Joe and Anne will be in Riga for the final on February 24th and will be bringing you live coverage from the studio as Latvia crown their Eurovision 2018 representative.  Could it be Ed Rallidae?

What do you think of Ed’s song?, do you think it should qualify for the final? – You can vote in our poll here