Marijus Mikutavičius (born 19 April 1971), known better as Marijonas Mikutavičius, is a

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 ...

n singer, musician and songwriter, a television journalist, a comedian and a talk show host from

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 ...

. He is best known for his sports anthem '' Trys Milijonai'' as well as an official

Eurobasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's EuroBasket, European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted t ...

song '' Celebrate Basketball'' and for representing his country at

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Athens, Greece, following the country's victory at the with the song "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou. Organised by the European Broadcasti ...

as part of

LT United LT United were a Lithuanian music group created in 2006 for the sole purpose of representing Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The group entered the Lithuanian pre-selection event with the song "We Are the Winners", winning with almost ...

Early life and education

Born in

Lazdijai Lazdijai () is a small town in Lithuania located about east of the border with Poland. History It was established by Sigismund II Augustus in 1570 and granted Magdeburg Rights by Sigismund III Vasa in 1587. During World War II, Lazdijai was unde ...

, at the age of nine Mikutavičius moved with the family to

where he later entered, and in 1994 graduated the

Faculty of Communication Established in 2009, the Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology (FCAT) at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada encompasses 5 Schools and Programs. The Office of the Dean is located in thBurnaby Campus Schools and Programs i ...

of the

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

as a master in journalism.

Career

While studying at the university, Mikutavičius worked for periodicals and as a ''Vakaro žinios'' (''Evening News'') reporter for Lithuanian television. He also played in a rock band ''Bovy'', which toured around Europe and sang in

Scandinavian countries Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swede ...

, Germany, and Eastern Europe, and gained recognition as the best vocalist at the Liepājas dzintars (''

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

'') music festival in 1995. He has been working as a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and a participant in a variety of programs, usually youth oriented, on Lithuanian National Radio and Television and on major commercial TV channels LNK and Lithuanian TV3. He has hosted ''Vakaras su Marijonu'' (''An Evening with Marijonas''), a talk show on LNK. He also works as a ''

Lietuvos rytas ''Lietuvos rytas'' (lit. 'Morning of Lithuania') is a Lithuanian daily newspaper. History and profile "Lietuvos rytas" was established in 1990 on a basis of newspaper "Komjaunimo tiesa". The paper is printed in Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also ...

'' daily (''Lithuanian Morning'') correspondent. Mikutavičius is the author of a number of hit songs which stand at the top of the music charts in Lithuania. As the author of the

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

song Trys Milijonai, he became a ''Bravo 2000 '' music award winner (''Bravo'' is a Lithuanian analogue of

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

voted by the music industry people); he is also a recipient of the '' Radiocentras'' music award (voted by the listeners). In 2004, a Lithuanian music recording company "Intervid" released his album ''Pasveikinkit vieni kitus'' (''Greeting Each Other''), which included two versions of "Trys Milijonai". This album reached the

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

award for sales in Lithuania (sold 20,000 copies early in 2004 and more than 30,000 copies by 2005). In February and March 2005, saw a controversy in the media, which arose from the rumors that Mikutavičius apparently, unilaterally sold the rights of the song for five years to "Intervid".

Albums

* "Lengvas būdas mesti klausytis" ("Easy Way to Stop Listening") (2014) * "Baigėme mokyklą" ("We Finished School") (2008) * "Pasveikinkit vieni kitus" ("Greet Each Other") (2004)

Singles

* "Velnias, man patinka Kalėdos" ("Damn, I Like Christmas") * "Pakeliui Namo" ("On Our Way Home") * "Aš miręs" ("I'm Dead") * " Trys Milijonai" ("Three Million"), a hit song; the official song for Lithuania at the

Sydney Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

and a popular unofficial Lithuanian sports anthem * "Nebetyli Sirgaliai" (Celebrate Basketball), a hit song; which is extremely catchy; the official basketball anthem for the 2011 Basketball Euro Championships (hosted in Lithuania); represent the nation's faith and passion for Basketball

External links

Marijonas Mikutavičius biography

Marijonas "Pasveikinkit vieni kitus" introduction
The Baltic Times, early 2004 *
Intervid: Marijonas "Pasveikinkit vieni kitus" album

Marijonas Mikutavicius's Unofficial Fan Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikutavicius, Marijonas 1971 births Living people Journalists from Vilnius 21st-century Lithuanian male singers Lithuanian pop singers Lithuanian television presenters Musicians from Vilnius People from Lazdijai Vilnius University alumni Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2006 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Lithuania