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]
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 | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Labels | Universal Music AB |
Life and career
editChiza 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]
Discography
editSingles
edit| 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Notes
edit- ^ "This Is Our Christmas Song" did not enter the Swedish Singles Chart, but peaked at number four on the Swedish Heatseeker chart.[30]
References
edit- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2021: Sweden confirms Tusse will represent country in Rotterdam". Metro. 14 March 2021. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "Tusse — from child refugee to Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest contender". New York Post. 12 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
- ^ Sweden chooses former child refugee as Eurovision contender with record votes Archived 27 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine The Local. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "Tusse Chiza i Idol 2019: 6 saker du inte visste". Expressen (in Swedish). 11 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "Tusse missade finalen när Talang-juryn röstade på en hund". Dalarnas Tidningar. 2 March 2018. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ Fahl, Ragna; Ragna.fahl, Er (2 March 2018). "Tusse missade finalen när Talang-juryn röstade på en hund". Dalademokraten. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ a b Kelly, Emma (12 May 2021). "Tusse is juggling representing Sweden at Eurovision with high school graduation". Metro. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "Freddie och Tusse till "Idol"-final". Sydsvenskan. 29 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ "Semifinalen av "Idol" 2019 – minut för minut". Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ ""Idol"-finalisterna försöker sjunga liv i en plastmugg". Aftonbladet. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "SONG: Tusse – 'Innan Du Går'". Scandipop. 15 April 2020. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ These are Sweden's contenders for the Eurovision Song Contest Archived 19 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine The Local. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "LISTA: De tävlar i Melodifestivalen 2021". Aftonbladet. December 2020. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ TT, Björn Berglund / (20 February 2021). "Perrelli och Tusse till final i Melodifestivalen". Svenska Dagbladet. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ "Tusse triumphs at Melodifestivalen with 'Voices'". Eurovision.tv. 13 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ "From Swedish Idol to Eurovision star: the rise of Tusse – POPXD". Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ "🇸🇪 Tusse and SVT respond to racist abuse following first rehearsal". Escxtra. 11 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ TT, Sofia Sundström / (19 May 2021). "Lättad Tusse till final: "Världens urladdning"". Svenska Dagbladet. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "Tusse slutade på plats 14 – Italien vann för första gången på 31 år". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ AdrianGE (7 June 2021). "Sweden's Eurovision Representative Tusse: I Am Living My Biggest Dream Right Now Vanity Teen 虚荣青年 Menswear & New Faces Magazine". www.vanityteen.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- ^ "Nu blir Mello-vinnaren Tusses liv långfilm: "Ingen snyfthistoria"". Aftonbladet. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ "Discography Tusse". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Discography Tusse". irish-charts.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ "EHR TOP 40 – 2021.06.11" (in Latvian). European Hit Radio. 11 June 2021. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ "Discografie Tusse". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single 2021-21". VG-lista. Archived from the original on 29 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart: 28 May 2021 – 3 June 2021". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 15" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ "Grow – Single by Tusse on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 52" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "New music from Eurovision artists: Christmas 2023 Part 1". Wiwibloggs. 24 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
External links
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