A recent episode of the show “Dostoyanie Respubliki” (National treasure) dedicated to the artistic career of singer Alsou, aired on Channel One Russia. The concept of this television project is that popular Russian artists perform cover versions of the main guest’s greatest hits. One of the participants was Alexander Panayotov. He performed a cover of the song Solo, with which 16-year-old Alsou caused a sensation in Stockholm in 2000, bringing Russia a historic second place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000.
Alexander’s choice of Solo seems deeply symbolic when considering his personal history connected with Eurovision. There is probably no other singer in Russia who has pursued the dream of representing the country at Eurovision. For Panayotov, Eurovision has long been a big dream and the story of his national selection attempts resembles a gripping drama series.
Alexander tried to qualify for Eurovision seven times. In 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, Panayotov took part in open national selections in Russia and Ukraine. In 2017 and 2020, Alexander was included in the shortlists for Channel One Russia’s internal national selection process. In 2020, the media even unofficially announced him as Russia’s representative for Rotterdam before the broadcaster ultimately chose Little Big instead. This year, Alexander Panayotov became an online commentator for the live shows of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Russia with famous Russian TV presenter Yana Churikova.
You can see Alexander sing Solo below.
Source: ESC COVERS; CHANNEL ONE RUSSIA – THANKS TO ELIANA GONCHAROVA FOR THE REPORT