Monika Liubinaitė (; born 9 February 1988), known professionally as Monika Liu, is a Lithuanian singer-songwriter. She represented Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy with the song "Sentimentai". Liu was announced as one of the qualifiers and took 14th place at the Grand Final.
Early life Liu was born in Klaipėda, in the family of a music teacher and a musician. She studied at Klaipėda Ąžuolynas Gymnasium, and attended ballet lessons when she was little.
Career Liu began her musical career at the age of five when she started to play the violin. She discovered singing ten years later, and won the Dainų dainelė () competition in 2004.Dainų dainelė | Monika Liubinaitė "Laiminga diena"/"Oh Happy Day" (2004) Upon graduation from high school, Liu studied jazz music and vocal studies at the Faculty of Music of Klaipėda University, and later went to the United States, where she studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston. After leaving the college, Liu moved to London, where continued to compose songs. She has worked with the famous producer Mario Basanov, collaborated with the electronic music family Silence, recorded the song "Ne Vakar" () with the band Sel, and appeared on the LRT television project ().
Liu's early work has been described as a "strongly electro-pop (and less bizarre) version of Björk". On 23 May 2019, she was announced as a judge of The Voice Lithuania. Liu has also served as a jury member of The Masked Singer Lithuania during its 2021 season. On 20 April 2020, she released her second album and first vinyl record Melodija. The record was recorded in the United Kingdom in collaboration with producer Miles James, sound director Christoph Skirl and musician Marius Aleksa.
2022: Eurovision Song Contest
On 7 December 2021, Liu was announced as a participant of , the Lithuanian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, with the song "". The song was publicly released on 18 January 2022, and reached the top of Lithuanian singles chart shortly afterwards. Liu performed in the third heat and advanced to the semi-finals and final, eventually winning the competition, thus winning the right to represent Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy.
Filmography Aš matau tavo balsą (2022) — Celebrity panelist
Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions LTUPeak chart positions for albums in Lithuania: Kodėl tu čia?: Šešėliai Lange : I Am Released: 18 June 2015 Label: Self-released Formats: Physical, digital download, streaming — Lünatik Released: 24 October 2019 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, streaming — Kodėl Tu Čia? Released: 6 May 2023 Label: Self-released Formats: Physical, digital download, streaming 10 Šešėliai Lange Released: 12 August 2026 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, streaming 35 "—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released.
Extended plays Title Details Melodija Released: 17 April 2020 Label: Self-released Formats: Physical, digital download, streaming
Singles As lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album or EP LTUPeak chart positions for singles in Lithuania: "Vaikinai trumpais šortais": "Sentimentai": "Bossa": "Šampanas (bul bul bul)": "Kodėl tu čia?": "Nemylėjau tavęs": "Gegužis": SWEHeat. "Journey to the Moon" 2015 rowspan="3" — I Am "On My Own" 2016 — "Hello" 2017 — "Komm zu mir" 2019— — Lünatik "Resist No More"— — "Falafel"— — "No Matter What"— — "Sometimes I Loved You Sometimes You Loved Me"— — "Detective"— — "I Wanna Be a Man"— — "I Got You"— — "Vaikinai trumpais šortais" 31 — Melodija "Troškimas" 2020 — — "Sentimentai" 2022 1 14Kodėl Tu Čia? "Bossa" 23 — "Dai Boh"(with Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil) — — Dai Boh "Šampanas (bul bul bul)" 42 —Kodėl Tu Čia? "Kodėl tu čia?" 2023 89 — "Į tave" — — "Nemylėjau tavęs"(with Gintariniai Laikai) 62 — rowspan="3" "Gegužis"(with Rokas Yan and Vaidas Baumila) 2024 2 — "Atostogų duetas"(with Teleduetas) — — "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory." * " denotes that the chart did not exist at that time.
As featured artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album LTUPeak chart positions for singles in Lithuania: "Ten, kur tu": "Gal ne rytoj": "Beržas": "In So" 2016 — One011 "Laisvė" 2018 — "Ne vakar" 2019 — Aš Kaip Žąsis "Sea" — Live From Big Jelly Studios "Ten, kur tu" 2022 92 Meilė "Gal ne rytoj" 97 "Beržas" 2024 2 Plastika "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.
Awards and nominations Award Year Category Nominee(s) Result M.A.M.A. Awards 2015 Best Female Act Herself Breakthrough of the Year 2020 Best Female Act Song of the Year "" Eurovision Awards 2022 Best Look Herself Best Hair M.A.M.A. Awards 2023 Pop Artist or Group of the Year Artist of the Year Song of the Year "" 2024 Artist of the Year Herself Pop Artist or Group of the Year 2025 Concert Group or Performer of the Year M.A.M.A. Top 40 "" Song of the Year ""
References