Donatas Montvydas (born 22 October 1987), better known by his stage name Donny Montell, is a Lithuanian singer-songwriter who represented

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...

, held in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. He did so for a second time in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, when he represented his country in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Early life

Donatas Montvydas was born in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

. His mother was a

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

and his father was a drummer of the hard rock group ''Plackartas''. Montvydas' older sister is a professional

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

. His interest in music began at a young age. He started performing publicly at age six when his vocal teacher let him participate in the contest for young singers “Dainų dainelė” (“The song of the Songs”), singing " Aš kiškelis mažas“ and he became a laureate. In 2008 he won his first big prize when becoming the Grand Prix winner of the International Festival of Arts

Slavianski Bazaar The International Festival of Arts “Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk” ( be, Міжнародны фестываль мастацтваў «Славянскі базар у Віцебску», uk, Міжнародний фестиваль мист ...

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Musical influences

As a child, Montvydas was highly influenced by artists such as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and rock band

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and would often impersonate these artists from a young age. He also admires

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

for his personality. Montvydas also stated that his father is by far his biggest inspiration.http://www.lsveikata.lt/sveika-seima/veidai/28-veidai/1310-donatas-montvydas-tiksliai-inau-k-noriu-daryti.html Lsveikata.lt Retrieved 2010-03-05.

Eurovision Song Contest

Filmography

Television

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

References

External links

Official Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montell, Donny Living people 21st-century Lithuanian male singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Lithuania Dancing with the Stars winners Musicians from Vilnius 1987 births English-language singers from Lithuania Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2016 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2012 Slavianski Bazaar winners