 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Marija Naumova" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Marie N | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Marija Naumova |
| Also known as | Marie N |
| Born | (1973-06-23)23 June 1973 (age 51) Riga,Latvian SSR,Soviet Union |
| Origin | Riga, Latvia |
| Genres | pop, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Website | www.marijanaumova.lv |
Marija Naumova-Bullīta (born 23 June 1973), known professionally asMarija Naumova, is a Latvian singer of Russian origin. Under the stage nameMarie N, she sings a broad range of music ranging from pop tomusical theatre andjazz, and has recorded several albums, with songs in Latvian, French, English, Russian and Portuguese. In 2002, she won theEurovision Song Contest for Latvia with her song "I Wanna".
Naumova was discovered by famous Latvian musicianRaimonds Pauls in 1994 and after a year she performed on TV in searches for talent. She never won, but was noticed by the audience.
In 1998, she performed in a concert celebrating the 100 years jubilee ofGeorge Gershwin. In March 1998 she performed on stage in concerts with famous Latvian musicians, and one of those concerts was recorded on CD. That gave her career a boost and she began to participate in several music events, television and radio shows, and give interviews for Latvian newspapers.
Naumova's first solo album, which was completely in Russian, was released in 1999. In 2000 Latvia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. Naumova was in the national finals but came second behindBrainstorm. In 2001, she again participated in the Latvian preselection, singing "Hey Boy Follow Me", which was voted public favourite but was not chosen by the expert jury. Naumova had to wait another year before she was finally chosen to represent Latvia with "I Wanna", for which she also wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics. In theEurovision Song Contest 2002, her performance of "I Wanna" won the competition and gave Latvia its first (and only) ever Eurovision win.
According to author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor in his bookThe Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History, despite its success at the contest, "I Wanna" gained the dubious distinction of being the first Eurovision winner that was not released outside of its own territory. Even in Latvia, the single never reached the top 30.[1]
In November of her victory year she recorded two new solo albums: one in English, and one in Latvian. She presented the albums to the audience with a tour throughout Latvia.
Naumova co-hosted theEurovision Song Contest 2003 along withRenars Kaupers of the Latvian bandBrainstorm, who came 3rd in the contest in 2000.
In 2004, Naumova successfully combined her singing and acting talents in the lead role ofThe Sound of Music.
In December, Marie N's latest album "On My Own" was released, with songs in Latvian, French, English and Portuguese. New compositions for Marie N are composed by Sergey Manoukyan, Ivar Must and Andrejs Jevsjukovs. Marie N has written several songs herself, as well. There are cover versions of several world-famous songs in the album – for example, two compositions which were originally written in French, but became very popular in English language.
Naumova has a law degree from theUniversity of Latvia. In 2005, she was chosen as the UNICEF goodwill envoy to Latvia.
As of 2012, Naumova was on a musical hiatus to concentrate on her personal life, returning in 2016 with the albumUz Ilūziju Tilta.
As of 2012[update], Naumova was living in France with her family, but still traveled back and forth to Latvia.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Eurovision Song Contest | Presenter | alongsideRenars Kaupers |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Eurovision Song Contest presenter (withRenārs Kaupers) 2003 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
