Benny Cristo
Ben da Silva Cristóvão (born 8 June 1987), known professionally as Benny Cristo, is a Czech singer, lyric writer, sportsman and actor. In May 2020 he would have represented the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam. He would have represent with the song Kemama, after winning the national round with it.[1] Benny Cristo sings in both Czech and English and he actively performs in the Czech and Slovak Republic.
Benny Cristo | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ben da Silva Cristóvão |
| Born | 8 June 1987 Pilsen, Czechoslovakia |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2009–present |
Personal life
His mother is Czech and his father, Bénis Cristóvão, is from Angola. He has three younger siblings from the same father but with different mothers. Elíezes Cristóvão is, the oldest of the three and the only brother, is known as Elimua. Nala Cristóvão is the older girl and Acília Cristóvão is the younger girl. The girls' mother is Ana Bela Cristovão, who is now married to Bénis Cristóvão.
Music career
In 2009 Benny Cristo was one of the finalists on the talent show Česko Slovenská Superstar. The experiences gained in this show motivated him to focus on his singing career. In 2010 he released his debut album Definitely Different. The two most popular singles being Give Me Some More and Put It On Me. A year after, in 2011, his second studio album called Benny Cristo came out. The album contains a songs with Monika Bagárová (another contestant from Česko Slovenská Superstar) Chci and Na zdraví. He was also a support act for the American electro-pop group Far East Movement or the Cuban-American rapper Pitbull.
In 2013 was Benny Cristo and his videoclip for the song Bomby (directed by Tomáš Kasal) nominated for the award Český slavík in the category music video of the year. In the same year he also released songs Tělo and Stop. Benny Cristo (together with other musicians, such as David Koller, Dan Bárta, Michael Kocáb and Vojta Dyk) participated in the project of the civic initiative Nikagda nězabuděm, appealing to people's participation in the 2013 elections and warning of the return of communism and inclination towards Russia.
In 2013, he released his third album Made in Czechoslovakia. The album contains 16 songs, such as Bomby, Sweet Chilli, Instagram, Molly (feat. Ego) and Tělo (feat. Supa).
In 2016, he won the award Český slavík, in the category Most streamed Czech song with his song „ASIO". He did not attend the award ceremony. As he later stated to the media he did not want to be in the same room as the Czech group Ortel, known for its xenophobic texts.[2] In the same year he also recorded a cover for the David Koller’s song Nic není na stálo. This cover was released together with other songs from artists such as Katarzia, Kato, Mucha, Vladimír 518 on the David Koller's desk David Koller & Friends. The music album Poslední was released in 2017. Instead of being released as a standard CD, fans were able to download it through a QR code on a t shirt specifically designed. The main theme of the design was a painting of a seagull in the sea (Racek v moři), that was painted by Benny Cristo. One of the songs on this album is also Program, the music video for this song has been directed by Tomáš Kasal. On September 2017 Benny Cristo had a concert for 7000 people in Žluté lázně in Prague. Some of the songs performed there have been registered and later released as videos for VR glasses.
In 2018, Benny Cristo performed at the ceremony of the musical award Anděl, with his song Nohy, with the guest appearance of Jiří Korn. He collaborated with Mária Čírová on the theme song for the movie Backstage (directed by Andrea Sedláčková). The song is called Padam and has been produced by the Glowsticks. In this movie Benny Cristo also plays the role of a judge in a dance competition. In the same year he became a judge of the talent competition Česko Slovenská Superstar.[3]
In 2019, he released a six song EP Kontakt. The digital released has been anticipated by the unique streaming of the EP in Prague, Brno and Budweis. Streaming monoliths, that enabled people to stream the whole EP, were placed in the squares of the mentioned cities. To mark his 10 years presence on the music scene, Benny Cristo had a concert at the Prague's O2 Arena. In October he performed in a benefit concert in Forum Karlín for the project Paměť národa. This event has been put up by the organisation Post Bellum on the occasion of two important historical events, 101 years since the declaration of the independent state and 30 years since the velvet revolution.
He was selected to represent his country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 after winning the national round. He was to perform in Rotterdam, the Netherlands with the song "Kemama", however, the contest has been cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020 it was confirmed that Cristo would sing for the Czech Republic in the 2021 event with a new song.
Activism
Benny Cristo is vegan and an active animal rights activist. He takes part in various projects and campaigns supporting animal rights. In 2018 he worked together with the organisation Obránci zvířat (OBRAZ) and made a voice over for one of their campaign videos called Jak to snáší.[4] This dealt with the issue of caged hens. For a number of years he was also the face of the project Seznam se bezpečně. By visiting elementary schools, he actively warned students against the different dangers they could face on the internet and advised how to eventually address some of the issues. He is also the ambassador of the initiative zálohujeme.cz, advocating for the idea of plastic bottle deposit schemes.
Sport career
Alongside his musical career, Benny is also an active sportsman. In the last couple of years he has been doing jiu-jitsu on a competitive level and taking part in competitions all around the world. In September 2016, he participated in the Asian Championship and placed third in the medium heavy (up to 88 kg) white belt category.[5] In October of the same year he participated in the prestigious international championship Madrid Open and won the gold medal in the same category.[5] In 2017 he got the title of European Champion (white belt).
Benny Cristo represents the academy Jungle BJJ. In Prague, the academy is led by the instructor Fernando Nascimento Araujo, holder of a black belt 4th degree.
In the past, Benny also snowboarded professionally placing first in the Czech Cup series 4x4 in 2006.
Discography
Albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Definitely Different |
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| Benny Cristo |
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| Made in Czechoslovakia |
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| Poslední EP |
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| Kontakt EP |
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Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Poslední |
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| Live Ben |
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| Kontakt |
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Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| CZE (Dig.) [6] | |||
| "Be Mine" | 2013 | — | |
| "Těžký váhy" | 2014 | — | |
| "Nemůžu si dovolit" | — | ||
| "Utebebejt" | — | ||
| "Žijuproto" | 2015 | — | |
| "Ironben" | — | ||
| "Tabu" | — | ||
| "Asio" (feat. The Glowsticks) |
2016 | 22 | |
| "Pure Girl" | 50 | ||
| "Food Revolution Day" | — | ||
| "Penny" | — | ||
| "TV Shows" | 2017 | — | |
| "Padam" (feat. Mária Čírová) |
2018 | 24 | |
| "Mowgli" | — | ||
| "Smitko" | — | ||
| "Naha" | 26 | ||
| "Rekviem" (with Nox Septima) |
— | ||
| "Stories" (feat. Reginald & The Glowsticks) |
2019 | — | |
| "Aleiaio" | 3 | ||
| "Kemama" | 2020 | — |
References
- Benny Cristo wins Czech national selection for Eurovision 2020 Archived 13 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine Eurovision Song Contest.tv Retrieved 3 February 2020
- https://www.idnes.cz/kultura/hudba/ben-cristovao-cesky-slavik.A161128_143147_hudba_vha
- https://tn.nova.cz/clanek/odhaleno-konecne-je-jasne-kdo-zasedne-do-poroty-superstar.html
- https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1942213465829477%5B%5D
- "Češi se blýskli na mistrovství v jiu jitsu, první zlato má i Ben Cristovao". iSport.cz. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- Peak chart positions on the Czech Singles Digital Top 100:
- For all except noted: "CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 BEN CRISTOVAO" (in Czech). ČNS IFPI. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- For "Asio": "CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 BEN CRISTOVAO & THE GLOWSTICKS" (in Czech). ČNS IFPI. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by Lake Malawi with "Friend of a Friend" |
Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 (cancelled) 2021 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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Note: Entries scored out are when the Czech Republic did not compete | |||||||||||
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