Cesár Sampson (born 18 August 1983) is an Austrian singer, songwriter, producer, dancer and model. He was also a social worker and fitness coach. He represented Austria in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2018
The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song " Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broa ...
with the song "
Nobody but You", winning the jury vote, coming in 13th place in the televote and finishing in third place overall.
Life and career
At the age of seventeen, he started touring locally and internationally. He was a backing singer on Austrian version of ''
Dancing With the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
''.
Music production
Symphonix
In the music production domain, he is part of the music formation Symphonix or Symphonix International, a musical production and events project, mostly active in Austria, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom. Borislav "Boby" Milanov is the CEO with the other members being Johan Alkenäs, Joacim Persson and Cesár Sampson himself. Symphonix has been involved in launching of a number of songs particularly for
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
including "
Dance Alone" by
Macedonian singer
Jana Burčeska
Jana Burčeska ( mk, Јана Бурческа, ; born 6 July 1993) is a Macedonian singer. She represented Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Ukraine, with the song " Dance Alone". Burčeska first came to prominence in her native c ...
, "
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
" by
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n band
Equinox
A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...
, "
Beautiful Mess" by
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
singer
Kristian Kostov
Kristian Konstantinov Kostov ( Bulgarian and russian: Кристиан Константинов Костов; born 15 March 2000) is a Bulgarian-Russian singer.He has a double citizenship: Russian and Bulgarian.Sources:1. Quote: "''17-летни ...
and Cesár Sampson's own entry for Austria "
Nobody but You".
Sampson also worked with the formation Electric Church.
Eurovision Song Contest
2016 and 2017
Sampson performed backing vocals for the
Bulgarian acts for two consecutive years in the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
. In
Eurovision 2016, he was backing
Poli Genova
Poli Plamenova Genova ( bg, Поли Пламенова Генова; born 10 February 1987) is a Bulgarian singer, songwriter, actress, and television presenter. Genova began her career in 1991, at the age of four, as a member of the Bulgarian ch ...
in "
If Love Was a Crime". The song finished 4th place overall. And in
Eurovision 2017
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "1944 (song), 1944" by Jamala.
Organised by the European Broadcasting Uni ...
, he was
Kristian Kostov
Kristian Konstantinov Kostov ( Bulgarian and russian: Кристиан Константинов Костов; born 15 March 2000) is a Bulgarian-Russian singer.He has a double citizenship: Russian and Bulgarian.Sources:1. Quote: "''17-летни ...
´s vocal coach and support vocalist for his performance of "
Beautiful Mess". The song finished second overall behind the winning song from Portugal.
2018
On 5 December 2017, he was announced as the
Austrian representative in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2018
The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song " Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broa ...
. He sang "
Nobody but You". The song is composed by Sampson himself as well as Boris Milanov and Sebastian Arman, who have been involved in the composition of a number of songs for
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. He went on to win the jury vote with 271 points, but finished third overall, after taking into account the televoting where he ranked 13th with 71 points, thus preserving him the third overall position, with the public vote favouring Israel as the winner and Cyprus as the runner-up. This was the third highest ranking of all Austrian entries after its two Eurovision winning songs, first in
Eurovision 1966 with "
Merci, Chérie
"Merci, Chérie" (; "Thank you, darling") was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, performed for by Udo Jürgens with lyrics in German and partially in French. It is an earnest ballad in which the singer, as he leaves her, than ...
" by
Udo Jürgens
Udo Jürgens (born Jürgen Udo Bockelmann; 30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014) was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close ...
and 48 years later in
Eurovision 2014
The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European B ...
with "
Rise like a Phoenix
"Rise Like a Phoenix" is a pop song performed by Austrian singer Conchita Wurst, and the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Selected to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest in Denmark, its official release on 18 March 2014 w ...
" with
Conchita Wurst
Thomas Neuwirth (born 6 November 1988) is an Austrian singer and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst (or simply Conchita). Neuwirth came to international attention after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as with t ...
. Later that year, he appeared as a guest star in the Christmas edition of the Spanish TV program ''
Operación Triunfo
''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements.
Format
There are many versions of t ...
.''
Personal life
Sampson was born in
Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
, Austria. His father is a choreographer and
pilates
Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". It is practiced worldwide, especially in countries suc ...
master teacher of
Saint Lucian origin, who introduced pilates in the German-speaking countries. Sampson himself became a personal trainer and strength and mobility coach in pilates. His mother was a pianist, singer and songwriter most famous for co-writing and performing the theme song of the popular Austrian TV series ''
Inspector Rex
''Inspector Rex'' (German: ''Kommissar Rex''; Italian: ''Il commissario Rex'') is an Austrian-Italian police procedural comedy-drama television series created by Peter Hajek and Peter Moser. Originally an Austrian series aired from 1994 to 2004 ...
'' (german: Kommissar Rex). Sampson is also the nephew of
Helen "Pepsi" DeMacque from the 1980s duo
Pepsi & Shirlie
Pepsi & Shirlie are an English pop duo group formed in London in 1985, which released two albums, ''All Right Now'' in 1987 and ''Change'' in 1991. Their debut single "Heartache" reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart.
Career
The act comprised ...
. He also sang as a lead vocalist for
Mike Oldfield
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...
.
Sampson worked for many years as a
social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
er. He studied sports sciences getting a diploma and starting at age 20, he worked for several years as a
physical therapist
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...
, and in particular, worked with people with disabilities and handicaps. Sampson has done modeling, and is signed to a Slovak model agency. He is a
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
.
Discography
Singles
Guest appearances
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Cesar
1983 births
Austrian electronic musicians
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Austria
Austrian people of Saint Lucian descent
Austrian male models
21st-century Austrian male singers
Austrian pop singers
Austrian songwriters
Austrian male songwriters
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2018
Living people
Musicians from Linz
Austrian people of British descent