Teo (singer)

Yuriy Alexeyevich Vashchuk (Russian: Юрий Алексеевич Ващук, Yuriy Alekseyevich Vashchuk, Belarusian: Юрый Аляксеевіч Вашчук, Juryj Aliaksiejevič Vaščuk; born 24 January 1983), better known by his stage name Teo, is a Belarusian singer, songwriter, and television presenter.[1]

Teo Юрий Алексеевич Ващук
Teo at the Eurovision Song Contest, 2014
Background information
Birth name	Yuriy Alexeyevich Vashchuk
Born	24 January 1983 Khidry, Byelorussian SSR, USSR
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter television presenter
Years active	2000–present
Associated acts	Alyona Lanskaya

Teo showed passion for music early in his childhood. He won his first music competition as the winner of the international contest "Scilla", and won his first major competition as the winner of the television program "Zornaya Rostan".[2] Teo won the Belarusian national song contest and represented his country at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Cheesecake". He ultimately finished 16th, receiving a total of 43 points.[3]

Early life

Teo was born as Yuriy Vashchuk in Khidry, Brest, in 1983, as the son of school teacher, Alexey Vashchuk, and culture worker, Tania Vashchuk.[2][4][5] In his childhood he developed a passion and interest for music.[2] He received professional music education at the Grodno College of Art and later at the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts.[2] In 2000, he was invited to work at the National Concert Orchestra of Belarus.[2]

Career

Teo won his first music competition as the winner of the international contest "Scilla", and won his first major competition as the winner of the television program Zornaya Rostan.[2] He works with many foreign and Belarusian musicians as arranger and composer, and, together with L. Shirin, wrote music for Russian movies.[2] He also created the Belarusian television show Forward to the Past and was involved in its musical theme and design.[2] In 2011, Teo, then performing as Yuriy Vashchuk, decided to get a stage name, which he selected via Google search. "I clicked 'T' in Google search and saw it immediately. I like[d] it instantly, and that was it.", he explains.[2] In between 2011–2014, he received a series of Lira awards, including "Discovery of the Year" (2011), "Best Arranger" (2012), "Best Author of Music" (2013, together with Leanid Shirin for the song "Russian: Беларусь великая"), "Best Performer of the Year" (2014), "Best Song of the Year ("Cheescake", 2014).[2]

Eurovision

In 2009, Teo appeared in a duet with Anna Blagova in the national contest, but did not win.[6] Before trying as a solo artist, he served as co-writer of the songs, "Far Away", "All My Love" and "Solayoh", by Alyona Lanskaya, who represented Belarus in 2013.[2] In 2014, Teo won the national contest and represented Belarus in Eurovision. Friend and co-writer, Dmitry Novik, recalled at a press conference in Copenhagen, that the song "Cheesecake", was written just five hours before the deadline, from Saturday to Sunday.[7] The song, however, caused some discussion: In the chorus of the song, the words, "Google Maps" appeared, and the rules of Eurovision states that song lyrics must not promote any registered trademarks. Sietse Bakker, Eurovision Event Coordinator, reported that the issue will be investigated, and the line was eventually changed to "all the maps".[2] The incident was similar to San Marino's case in 2012, when Valentina Monetta was not allowed to use the word "Facebook".[2] At the end of the grand final, Teo finished 16th place, scoring a total of 43 points.[2]

Discography

Singles

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Certifications	Album
		AUT [8]	IRE [9]	UK [10]
"Cheesecake"	2014	75	68	140	–	TBA
"Say Me Hello"	2017	–	–	–	–	TBA
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

1. "Belarus: Teo to Copenhagen!". Esctoday. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
2. "Eurovision 2014: Teo (Belarus)". Esckaz. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
3. "Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Grand Final". Eurovisiontv. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
4. "What's Teo Up To These Days in Belarus? Eurovision Song Contest - Copenhagen 2014". Eurovisiontv. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
5. "Belarus in the ESC in Copenhagen, 2014". Eurovisionlive.com. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
6. "Belarus - Anna Blagova & Yuriy Vaschuk". Daily Motion. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
7. "Esckaz in Copenhagen: Teo (Belarus) Press-Conference". Esckaz. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
8. "Cheesecake on Ö3 Austria Top 40".
9. "Cheesecake on Irish Singles Chart". Archived from the original on 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
10. "Cheesecake on UK Singles Chart".