Soluna Samay facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Soluna Samay
Background information
Born	(1990-08-27) 27 August 1990 (age 34) Guatemala City, Guatemala
Origin	Bornholm, Denmark
Genres	Pop, rock, acoustic pop, acoustic rock, pop rock, soft rock, folk rock
Years active	2001 (2001)–present (present)
Labels	Baltic Records

Soluna Samay Kettel (born August 27, 1990) is a talented singer from Denmark. She was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and has a mix of Swiss and German family roots. Soluna is best known for representing Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. She sang her song "Should've Known Better" at the big music competition held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Her Early Life and Family

Soluna Samay Kettel was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Her father, Gerd G. Kettel, is a musician from Germany. Her mother, Annelis Ziegler, is an artist from Switzerland.

Soluna grew up near a beautiful lake called Lago de Atitlán in Guatemala. In 2000, when she was 10 years old, her family moved to Bornholm. This is a Danish island located in the Baltic Sea. Soluna can speak many languages, including English, Danish, Spanish, and German. Her name, Soluna, comes from the Spanish words for "sun" (sol) and "moon" (luna). She officially holds a Swiss passport.

Starting Her Music Journey

Soluna's music journey began very early. When she was just 5 years old, she started playing drums with her father. Soon after, she began singing along with him. At age 10, she learned to play the electric bass. By 16, she moved on to the upright bass.

Every summer, Soluna and her parents would travel around Europe. They played music on the streets, sharing their talent with people. In the winters, they lived in Guatemala. Soluna started learning guitar when she was about 12. This is also when she wrote her very first songs.

Representing Denmark at Eurovision

Soluna was chosen to compete in the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix. This is Denmark's national contest to pick their Eurovision entry. She sang "Should've Known Better," a song written by famous songwriters.

On January 21, 2012, Soluna won the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix. This victory meant she would represent Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.

Here are the results from the voting:

#	Artist	Song	Norway	Russia	Germany	Azerbaijan	Denmark	Televoting	Total
01	Soluna Samay	"Should've Known Better"	10	10	10	12	12	56	110
02	Jesper Nohrstedt	"Take Our Hearts"	12	12	12	10	10	46	102
03	Christian Brøns & Patrik Isaksson	"Venter"	8	8	8	8	8	48	88

At Eurovision, Soluna performed her song in the first semi-final. She finished 9th, which was good enough to qualify for the Grand Final. In the final competition, she placed 23rd.

Her Albums and Songs

Soluna recorded her first album, "Sing Out Loud," over two years. It was released on September 23, 2011, by Baltic Records.

Albums with Her Father

Before her solo career, Soluna released several albums with her father, Gee Gee Kettel. They performed together as "Gee Gee & Soluna."

• The Beat Goes On (2001)
• Thinking Of You (2004)
• Movin’ On (2006)
• Lucky Seven (2007)
• Just Passing Through (2008)
• Streetwise (2009)
• The Best & the Rest (2011)

Solo Albums

Here are the albums Soluna Samay has released on her own:

Her Singles

These are some of the individual songs, or singles, Soluna has released:

See also

In Spanish: Soluna Samay para niños