Andorra

Singer/songwriter Marta Roure became Andorra's first-ever entry into the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004. Although she was born in Andorra, Roure studied in France and didn't get serious about a career in music until she returned home at 17. She started by singing in her father's band, the Big Band D'Andorra, and continued by studying piano, singing, and music theory at the Andorran Academy of Music Studies. Through a television special and a vote from Andorra's public, her song "Jugarem a Estimar-nos" ("We'll Be Playing at Loving Each Other") was chosen as Andorra's Eurovision entry. It was the first song at Eurovision to be sung in Catalan, the national language of Andorra. ~ David Jeffries