Alena Shirmanova-Kostebelova (russian: Алёна Ширманова-Костебелова, ; born 26 December 1991), known by her stage name Aiko, is a Russian-Czech singer and songwriter based in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England. She represented the Czech Republic in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2024 The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is set to be the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It is scheduled to take place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Tattoo" by Loreen. Organised by the Euro ...

with the song " Pedestal".

Early life

Alena Shirmanova-Kostebelova was born in Moscow, Russia. Shortly after, she moved with her family to

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...

, Czech Republic, where she was raised due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Career

In 2015, Shirmanova participated in season 4 of the reality talent show . She then moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a musical career, first settling in London and later in

. Under the stage name Aiko, she released her debut self-titled album in 2018, followed by ''Expiration Date'' in 2020, when she released her first single "Hunt". She was the first Czech artist to feature on the Times Square screens and the first Czech female to take part in the Spotify Equal Campaign. She performed at the Rock for People, ESNS, Metronome Prague, The Great Escape, Grape, Nouvelle Prague, Sziget and Waves Vienna festivals, as well as following

Alice Merton Alice Florence Clarissa Merton (born 13 September 1993) is a German-Canadian singer and songwriter. Merton achieved mainstream success with her debut single, " No Roots". In 2017, she released her first EP of the same name and in 2018, she rele ...

, Black Honey, Lauren Ruth Ward and Tamino in some of their tours as a supporting artist. Some of her songs were included in the TV shows '' Teen Mom'' and ''

Love Island Love Island may refer to: Film * ''Love Island'' (1952 film), an American film directed by Adam Lloyd starring Todd Wathen and Eva Gabor * ''Love Island'' (2014 film), directed by Jasmila Žbanić Music * ''Love Island'' (album), a 1978 album ...

''. Aiko released her third album ''Fortune's Child'' on 13 October 2023. On 28 November 2023, she was announced as one of the contestants of for the

, competing with the song " Pedestal". On 13 December, it was revealed that she had won the selection. At the event, Aiko failed to qualify from the second semi-final, placing 11th out of 16 with 38 points.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

External links

* {{Eurovision Song Contest 2024 1999 births Living people Russian emigrants to the Czech Republic Czech women singer-songwriters 21st-century Czech women singers English-language singers from the Czech Republic Musicians from Karlovy Vary Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2024 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the Czech Republic