Tusse

Toussaint Michael Chiza (born 1 January 2002), better known as Tusse, is a Congolese-Swedish singer who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.[1]

Tusse
Tusse in 2019
Background information
Birth nameToussaint Michael Chiza
Born (2002-01-01) 1 January 2002
Democratic Republic of the Congo
OriginLeksand, Sweden
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active2018–present
LabelsUniversal Music AB

Life and career

Chiza was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2] When he was five years old he had to flee his country. He lived in Uganda in a refugee camp with his aunt for three years. He came to Sweden with his aunt as a refugee at just 8 years old. In Sweden, he started to live with a family in the village of Kullsbjörken, near Leksand, where he has resided since 2015.[3][4] He participated as a singer in the Swedish talent show Talang 2018 (as Tousin Chiza) which was also broadcast on TV4; he made it to the semifinals before being eliminated.[5] He received praise for his semifinal performance from judge Bianca Ingrosso.[6] Tusse was a finalist in Swedish Idol 2019,[7] broadcast on TV4, alongside Freddie Liljegren, and was ultimately declared the winner in the final.[8][9]

After winning Swedish Idol, he released three singles, two of them songs he performed on Idol: a cover of Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" on 22 November 2019 as a Top 12 contestant.[7] And as the winner, he released his version of the season's winning song, "Rain", on 3 December 2019.[10] As a result of his victory, he got to release his debut single as a CD single as well as on the iTunes Store. His third single is called "Innan du går"[11]

Tusse participated in Melodifestivalen 2021 with the song "Voices".[12] He qualified directly to the final, scheduled for 13 March 2021, and ultimately won with 175 points.[13][14] As a result, he represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.[15][16]

After his first Eurovision rehearsal Tusse was the victim of racist comments on social media.[17]

In the semi-final Tusse managed to qualify for the final on 22 May.[18] In the final he reached 14th place with his song.[19] After Eurovision, he did an interview with the magazine Vanity Teen in which he talked about his personal life, his experience in Eurovision and his future career.[20]

Discography

Singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Certification Album
SWE
[21]		 IRE
[22]		 LAT
[23]		 NLD
[24]		 NOR
[25]		 UK
Down.
[26]
"How Will I Know" 2019 —————— Non-album singles
"Rain" 63—————
"Innan du går" 2020 ——————
"Jag tror på sommaren" ——————
"Crash" ——————
"Voices" 2021 1992561131
"Grow"[28] ——————
"This Is Our Christmas Song" —[upper-alpha 1]—————
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.

Notes
  1. "This Is Our Christmas Song" did not enter the Swedish Singles Chart, but peaked at number four on the Swedish Heatseeker chart.[29]

References
  1. "Eurovision Song Contest 2021: Sweden confirms Tusse will represent country in Rotterdam". Metro. 14 March 2021. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  2. "Tusse — from child refugee to Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest contender". New York Post. 12 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  3. Sweden chooses former child refugee as Eurovision contender with record votes Archived 2021-03-27 at the Wayback Machine The Local. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  4. "Tusse Chiza i Idol 2019: 6 saker du inte visste". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  5. "Tusse missade finalen när Talang-juryn röstade på en hund". Dalarnas Tidningar. 2 March 2018. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  6. Fahl, Ragna; Ragna.fahl, Er (2 March 2018). "Tusse missade finalen när Talang-juryn röstade på en hund". Dalademokraten. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  7. Kelly, Emma (12 May 2021). "Tusse is juggling representing Sweden at Eurovision with high school graduation". Metro. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  8. "Freddie och Tusse till "Idol"-final". Sydsvenskan. Archived from the original on 2021-03-19. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  9. "Semifinalen av "Idol" 2019 – minut för minut". Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  10. ""Idol"-finalisterna försöker sjunga liv i en plastmugg". Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  11. "SONG: Tusse - 'Innan Du Går'". Scandipop. 15 April 2020. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  12. These are Sweden’s contenders for the Eurovision Song Contest Archived 2021-03-19 at the Wayback Machine The Local. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  13. "LISTA: De tävlar i Melodifestivalen 2021". Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  14. TT, Björn Berglund / (20 February 2021). "Perrelli och Tusse till final i Melodifestivalen". Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021 – via Svenska Dagbladet.
  15. "Tusse triumphs at Melodifestivalen with 'Voices'". Eurovision.tv. 13 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  16. "From Swedish Idol to Eurovision star: the rise of Tusse – POPXD". Archived from the original on 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  17. "🇸🇪 Tusse and SVT respond to racist abuse following first rehearsal". Escxtra. 11 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  18. TT, Sofia Sundström / (19 May 2021). "Lättad Tusse till final: "Världens urladdning"". Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021 – via Svenska Dagbladet.
  19. "Tusse slutade på plats 14 – Italien vann för första gången på 31 år". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  20. AdrianGE. "Sweden's Eurovision Representative Tusse: I Am Living My Biggest Dream Right Now Vanity Teen 虚荣青年 Menswear & New Faces Magazine". www.vanityteen.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  21. "Discography Tusse". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  22. "Discography Tusse". irish-charts.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  23. "EHR TOP 40 – 2021.06.11" (in Latvian). European Hit Radio. 2021-06-11. Archived from the original on 2023-05-19. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  24. "Discografie Tusse". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  25. "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single 2021-21". VG-lista. Archived from the original on 29 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  26. "Official Singles Downloads Chart: 28 May 2021 – 3 June 2021". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  27. "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 15" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  28. "Grow – Single by Tusse on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  29. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 52" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
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