Monika Linkytė

Monika Linkytė (born 3 June 1992) is a Lithuanian singer and songwriter. She represented Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 along with Vaidas Baumila with the song "This Time", placing 18th. She also represented Lithuania in the New Wave 2014 competition and was a finalist on season two of Lietuvos Balsas.

Monika Linkytė
Linkytė performing in 2015 in Vienna
Background information
Born	(1992-06-03) 3 June 1992 Gargždai, Lithuania
Genres	Electropop indie pop electronic
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2005–present
Associated acts	Vaidas Baumila Leon Somov & Jazzu Linas Adomaitis

Linkytė has previously attempted to represent Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2007.

Early life and education

Linkytė was born on 3 June 1992 in Gargždai. After completing gymnasium, she moved to Vilnius to attend Vilnius University, studying public health, but left after three semesters.[1] In 2014, she began studying law at Vilnius University, but in 2016 left to study music education at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute in London.[2]

Career

In 2007, Linkytė competed in the Lithuanian national selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007 when she was 15 years old. She later returned to Eurovision in 2010 when she competed in Eurovizija 2010 with the song "Give Away". She qualified from the first semi-final and placed tenth in the final.[3][4] Subsequently, she competed in Eurovizija 2011 and 2012, placing fourth and third in the finals with the songs "Days Go By" and "Happy", respectively.[5][6] She went on to place second on the second season of Lietuvos Balsas, the Lithuanian version of The Voice.

After the Eurovizija national final was scrapped in favor of Eurovizijos Atranka 2013, Linkytė continued to take part, competing with the song "Baby Boy", written by Sasha Son. She was forced to withdraw from the competition following the second semi-final due to contracting laryngitis.[7] The next year, she competed in Eurovizijos Atranka 2014 and placed fourth.[8] Afterwards, she represented Lithuania in the New Wave 2014 competition, placing fourth.[9] The following year, she competed in Eurovizijos Atranka 2015 and also submitted the self-penned song "Skęstu" to the competition. While the song was eliminated during the sixth show, she went on to win the competition performing the song "This Time" with Vaidas Baumila.[10][11][12] Linkytė and Baumila went on to represent Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, where they qualified from the second semi-final in seventh place, and went on to place 18th in the final.[13][14]

After Eurovision, Linkytė released the single "Po dangum", which went on to be certified platinum in Lithuania.[15] Her debut studio album Walk with Me was released on 17 September 2015, and was also certified platinum.[16] She went on to win Best Album for Walk with Me, Best Song for "Po dangum", and Best Female Act at the 2015 M.A.M.A. Awards, the largest music awards ceremony in Lithuania.[17] She was nominated for Best Female Act once again at the 2016 awards.[18]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Certification
Walk with Me	Released: 17 September 2015 Label: Gyva Muzika Format: Digital download, CD	LIT: Platinum[16]

Extended plays

• Old Love (2018)

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Certification	Album
		AUT [19]
"Give Away"	2010	—		Non-album singles
"Days Go By"	2011	—
"Happy"	2012	—
"Baby Boy"	2013	—
"Skęstu"	2014	—		Walk with Me
"This Time" (with Vaidas Baumila)	2015	59
"Po dangum"		—	LIT: Platinum[15]
"Žodžių nereikia"		—
"Krentu žemyn"	2016	—
"Padovanojau"		—	LIT: Gold	TBA
"Šviesõs"		—
"Prisimink mane"		—
"Leisk man pasiklyst"	2017	—
"Gal tai meilė?"		—
"O tu?"	2018	—

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref
2015	M.A.M.A Awards	Best Pop Act	—	Nominated	[17]
		Best Album	Walk with Me	Won
		Best Song	Po dangum	Won
		Best Female Act	—	Won
2016		Best Female Act	—	Nominated	[18]

References

1. "Monika Linkytė visuomenės sveikatos mokslus iškeitė į teisės studijas" (in Lithuanian). 15Min. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
2. "Monika Linkytė: "Daugelį metų aš tarsi gyvenau ne savo gyvenimą"". 15Min. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
3. Grillhofer, Florian (2010-03-04). "Lithuania sends InCulto to the Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
4. Webb, Glen (2010-03-04). "East European Funk for Lithuania". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
5. Hondal, Victor. "Lithuania sends Donny Montell to Baku". EscToday.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012.
6. "Evelina Sašenko to represent Lithuania in Düsseldorf". EBU. 24 February 2011.
7. Busa, Alexandru (20 December 2012). "Watch now : National final in Lithuania". Esctoday.com.
8. Leon, Jakov I. (15 February 2014). "Lithuania: Mia, Vaidas and Vilija qualified for the Semi-final". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
9. "Международный конкурс молодых исполнителей популярной музыки «Новая волна 2014» - Участники". newwavestars.eu. 2014. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
10. Ko, Anthony (21 February 2015). "LITHUANIA: MONIKA AND VAIDAS WIN EUROVIZIJOS 2015, WILL SING "THIS TIME" AT EUROVISION". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
11. Brey, Marco (14 February 2015). ""This Time" will be the Lithuanian song for Vienna". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
12. Omelyanchuk, Olena (21 February 2015). "Lithuania: It's a duet!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
13. "Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Second semi-final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
14. "Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Grand final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
15. "Auksiniu disku įvertinta Jazzu: nesureikšminu apdovanojimų". DELFI. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
16. "Auksiniu disku įvertinta Jazzu: nesureikšminu apdovanojimų". DELFI. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
17. "M.A.M.A 2015: trigubas Monikos Linkytės triumfas, metų grupė – „Leon Somov & Jazzu"". Žmonės.lt. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
18. "Paaiškėjo pretendentai į M.A.M.A. apdovanojimus, sąraše – netikėtumai". Lrytas.lt. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
19. Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Monika Linkytė". Austrian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).

Preceded by Vilija Matačiūnaitė with "Attention"	Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 (with Vaidas Baumila)	Succeeded by Donny Montell with "I've Been Waiting for This Night"