Dons (singer)

Artūrs Šingirejs (born 10 April 1984), better known as Dons, is a Latvian singer and songwriter. He is one of the most popular singers in Latvia, having won the Latvian Music Recording Awards' Top Radio Hit award eight times for most played song. He represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with "Hollow".

He has released eight solo albums and has won numerous awards including Latvijas Radio's Muzikālās Banka (lit. 'Musical Bank') Song of the Year five times. At the Latvian Music Recording Awards, he has won Best Pop Album twice from five nominations for Varanasi (2014) and Tūrists (2020). He has won Best Rock Album once from two nominations with Lelle (2008) and has been nominated once for Best Pop-Rock Album with Signāls (2013). In 2024, he won the Supernova song competition with his English-language single "Hollow" to represent Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest. Previously, he attempted to represent Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest twice with the songs "My Religion is Freedom" (2010) and "Pēdējā Vēstule" (2014), finishing second both times in the Latvian national finals.

Born in Saldus, Latvia, Dons began his career in the Latvian reality show Talantu Fabrika (lit. 'Talent Factory') in 2003. He released a duet album, Viens Otram (2004), with fellow contestant Lily (real name Linda Kalniņa, m. 2009; div. 2013). His first solo album Lights On (2006) was mostly in English. He found success releasing his next seven albums in the Latvian language: Lelle (2008), Signāls (2013), Varanasi (2014), Sibīrija (2015), Tepat (2016), Namiņš. Kaste. Vārdi (2018), and Tūrists (2020). In 2021, he signed with Universal Music and will release his first album Laiks on the label in August 2024.

Early life

Artūrs Šingirejs was born on 10 April 1984 in Brocēni, Saldus district, Latvia to a Belarusian father and a Latvian mother, who performed professionally as a soloist in the Liepāja group Santa, led by Zigmars Liepiņš. His father was also an amateur singer who performed on the guitar; he credits his parents as being his main teachers. He has one brother and three sisters, one of whom was the first to encourage him to perform on stage at the age of four. He said about being the fourth child, "...gave me freedom: I was the fourth child in the family and I got it even more than the others. Freedom gave me the courage to dream". His mother taught him English from the age of six and he credits Freddie Mercury as one of his first musical idols. He studied piano at the Saldus Music School. He had his first solo performance at age 16 and stated, "My first performance was at school, and I realized that I wanted to do this - there is something here that binds me". He later studied culinary arts before returning to music as a profession. He learned to play the guitar and sing through self-study.

Career

2003–2007: Early work

Dons gained popularity in 2003 by participating in the Latvian reality show Talantu Fabrika (lit. 'Talent Factory'). During the show, he met and dated fellow contestant Lily (real name Linda Kalniņa). He joined Radio SWH Rock as a DJ host after winning the reality show, which he says was much more stressful than performing on stage. Dons and Lily released an English language duet album in 2004, Viens Otram (lit. 'To Each Other'). The album became a best seller in Latvia and they earned a nomination for Top Radio Hit with "Just For You" at the 2003 Latvian Music Recording Awards. In 2004, his song "Ja es būtu vējš" (lit. 'If I Were The Wind') was nominated for Top Radio Hit at the Latvian Music Recording Awards. After the success of the duet album, Dons focused on a solo career, releasing his first solo album (mostly in English) Lights On in 2006. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album and his single, "Lights Out" was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 2006 Latvian Music Recording Awards.

Afterwards, he moved between London and Los Angeles with Lily, saying in interviews at the time that she was his muse and source of inspiration; they married in 2009. While living abroad, he adopted and subsequently abandoned several stage names; first he used Art Green and later went by Art Singer while in the United States. Dons later commented on his numerous names, "Call me whatever you want. I have a lot of names. The name Art Singer I use in England is an abbreviated name. Art Green was the predecessor of Art Singer, but I somehow didn't feel that name... In Latvia I'm known more as Dons, which I chose myself. That nickname came in and dragged me along and I get along with it well". While in Los Angeles, he received four offers to be the lead singer in various rock bands.

In 2007, he performed in Zigmars Liepiņš' popular musical theatre Adata with the song "Ja Tu Man Esi" ("lit. 'If I Have You'"). The song was nominated for Top Radio Hit at the Latvian Music Recording Awards that year.

2008–2014: Return to Latvia, Eurovision attempts

In 2008, Dons released his second solo album, Lelle (lit. 'Doll'), which was his first Latvian language album. The album was the first of many where he collaborated with lyricist Ingus Bērziņš. It won the Best Rock Album in the Latvian Music Recording Awards that year. The success of the album proved his audience preferred his music performed in Latvian over his English language music. He represented Latvia at the New Wave 2008, where he got 4th place.

In 2009, Dons participated in the television series 1000 Jūdzes Indijā (lit. '1000 miles in India') presented by Latvijas Televīzija with fellow travelers radio DJ Egon Reiter, comedian Jānis Skutelis, Edgars Zaķis and rapper Gustavo. After the series ended, he stayed in India for a month longer as a creative means of self-searching and meditation, which later reflected in his music. Still living abroad, he briefly returned to Latvia for a month to compete in the 2010 Latvian Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in second with his song "My Religion Is Freedom".

Other than sharing the songs he wrote, Dons has remained private about his activities while living abroad. In 2012, Dons returned again to Latvia, for a longer period to revive his career with a new album with songs written while in London. Writing the album's music, he worked with song lyricist Ingus Bērziņš to produce his third solo album, Signāls. He won Best Radio Hit at the 2012 and 2013 Latvian Music Recording Awards for his single "Signāls", which also won song of the year at Latvijas Radio's 2012 Muzikālās Banka (lit. 'Musical Bank'). The album was nominated for Best Pop and Rock Album at the 2013 Latvian Music Recording Awards and his video for "Darling, Darling" was nominated for Best Video.

Outside of producing and touring his album that year, he worked as a voice actor and reality show judge. He voiced and sang as the character of Olaf in the Latvian adaptation of Disney's Frozen (2013). He returned to his origins on the Latvian reality show Jaunā Talantu Fabrikā (lit. 'New Talent Factory') as a judge, where he tutored winner Aminata Savadogo and later helped produce her songs.

During this period, his marriage to Lily dissolved and officially ended in 2013. His divorce became the inspiration for his first single "Pēdējā Vēstule" ("lit. 'Last Letter'") off his next studio album, Varanasi (2014). He considers the album a continuation of his previous album Signāls, stating, "On a sensory level, the album Varanasi is full of relationships, everyday life and cognition. Musically from choir and strings to electronics and rock. I'm happy for the producers' courage not to be afraid to experiment with innovative things".

In 2014, he participated in Dziesma (lit. 'Song') with "Pēdējā Vēstule" in an attempt to represent Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest". While the song in Latvian is dedicated to his ex-wife, he stated if he had won, he would have sung a version he wrote himself in English and re-dedicate that version to his father who died in 2007. However, he finished in second place behind Aarzemnieki, losing by 97 votes, much to the surprise of many. Despite the loss at the Dziema 2014, the song won Song of the Year at both the 2013 Muzikālās Banka (Musical Bank) and the Latvian Music Recording Awards. Due to his popularity, his tour for the album had to be extended, including going from one show at Palladium Riga to six sold out nights. The album reached gold status in Latvia in less than two months after being released. He had major success at the 2014 Latvian Music Recording Awards, with Varanasi winning Pop Album of the Year and winning Song of the Year with his single "Tev Piedzims Bērns" (lit. 'Child Born to You') and Top Radio Hit with "Pāriet Bailes" (lit. 'Fear Goes Away'), which also won Song of the Year at the 2014 Muzikālās Banka (lit. 'Musical Bank') awards.

Inspired by the success of Varanasi, Dons embarked on a 25,000-kilometre (16,000 mi) journey via the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok, Siberia, and later flying to Delhi, India, and traveling by train to Varanasi in 2014. About his motivation, Dons said, "Although in the song ('Pēdējā Vēstule'), Varanasi is a metaphor for peace of mind, which we can also find in the beet fields, on the stage, at the wheel of a car - wherever there is a place. I know that in any case, getting to this city will be emotional". Traveling alone, he brought only the necessities and his guitar in a creative search for materials for his next album.

2015–2020: Rise in popularity

With his material from his Trans-Siberian Railway journey, Dons released his fifth solo album Sibīrija (lit. 'Siberia') in 2015 with lyrics again by Ignus Bērziņš. The first single "Medus Pods" (lit. 'Honey Pot') was written while stationed near Lake Baikal during his Siberian trip. Dons noted about his ongoing songwriting relationship with the lyricist Bērziņš: "My songs are about myself, my pain and my joys, my dreams and my disappointments, otherwise I can't write. This is exactly the case with 'Medus Pods'. After music and our conversations, Ingus can read the state of my soul very well..." His next two singles from Sibīrija were "Pašā Ielas Galā" (lit. 'At the Very End of the Street') and "Dieviņš" (lit. 'God'). "Medus Pods" (lit. 'Honey Pot') was nominated for Best Song and Best Video at the 2014 Latvian Music Recording Awards. Sibīrija was nominated for Best Album, "Pašā Ielas Galā" (lit. 'At the Very End of the Street') won Best Video and "Dieviņš" (lit. 'God') won Top Radio Hit and was nominated for Alfa's Song of the Year at the 2015 Latvian Music Recording Awards.

In 2015, he was a judge in the first season of the Latvian television show Supernova, used to select songs to represent Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest. He reprised the same role at the Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.

Dons released his sixth solo album Tepat (lit. 'Here') in October 2016 which was the first album where he wrote the lyrics along with the music. The album was stylistically different from his previous albums, featuring a simpler instrumentation but "emotionally richer". The tour featured two nights at Latvia's Arēna Rīga, making Dons one of the few domestic groups capable of bringing in a crowd large enough for that arena. The single "Tepat" (lit. 'Here') was nominated for Alfa's Song of the Year and Top Radio Hits at the 2017 Latvian Music Recording Awards.

In 2017, he performed with the Riga Dome Choir School on the song "Zelta Kamanas" (lit. 'Golden Sleigh').

In February 2018, Dons released his seventh solo album, Namiņš. Kaste. Vārdi (lit. 'Cottage. Box. Names'). He featured a variety of lyricists including himself, Ingus Bērziņš, Arnis Račinskis, Ģirts Rozentāls and Kaspars Ansons. The album featured some songs that were originally written in 2010 while in London. The fourth single from the album was "Salauzta Sirds" (lit. 'A Broken Heart'), which was a collaboration with Ozols. That single won Top Radio Hit and Best Song at the 2019 Latvian Music Recording awards and the album was nominated for Best Pop Album.

In 2018, he played the lead role in the 30th-anniversary production of the rock opera, Lāčplēsis, based on the Latvian national epic of the same name. Some people doubted his abilities to perform in the lead role, however, Igo who performed as lead in the original production noted after hearing his performance, "Dons has a very wide range of voices, he timbres his tone very masterfully. I have never had any doubts about him, because purely technically he is capable of very, very much. Probably even more than people know and can imagine. Therefore, I had no doubts and no question as to whether he could cope with this task."

In 2020, he participated in a number of collaborations. He worked with 20 Latvian musicians to create the charity anthem, "Es zinu, Tu esi" to raise money for domestic violence victims. He released another song "Mans Eņģelis" (lit. 'My Angel') for the charity Angels over Latvia, which raised money to benefit children in need of medical care. He co-wrote Aminata Savadogo's song "Nejauc man prātu" (lit. 'Do not confuse me'). In response to the Latvian government lack of support for the cultural sector during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia, Dons and other leading Latvian musicians expressed their criticism with a video composition called "Klusums" (lit. 'Silence').

On 24 November 2020, Dons released his eighth solo album, Tūrists (lit. 'Tourists'), which featured 10 songs from a total of 27 he had written. The lead single "Es Nāktu Mājās" (lit. 'I Would Come Home') became popular, winning Song of the Year at the 2019 Muzikālās Banka (lit. 'Musical Bank') and tying him for most ever with Prāta Vētra (Brainstorm). At the 2020 Latvian Music Recording Awards, it was nominated for Best Song and Song of the Year and won Best Video. His single "Tūrists" ("lit. 'Tourists'") was nominated for most valuable song during the 2020 Muzikālās Banka (lit. 'Musical Bank'). The album won Best Pop Album at the 2021 Latvian Music Recording Awards.

2021–2023: Universal Music signing and subsequent singles

In March 2021, Dons participated in an open letter to the government that was signed by leading Latvian musicians, artists, writers and other creatives. In it, they criticized the government's ongoing lack of support for copyright and compensation laws for their works when it came to data carriers. A few days later, he released the single "Piedošana" (lit. 'Forgiveness'), teaming up with Intars Busulis and Prāta Vētra (Brainstorm) to perform it. Dons summarized the song as, "Forgiveness is an art we learn all our lives. Sometimes it seems like we've learned it, but new challenges come and we have to start all over again". On 18 April 2021, he performed as a guest singer on Balss Maskā (lit. 'Voice in a Mask') as the Evening Star, singing "The Best" by Bonnie Tyler.

In August 2021, Dons announced he had signed with Universal Music. His first single with the new label was released on 16 September 2021 titled "Tas rakstīts debesīs (Piena ceļš)" (lit. 'It's Written in the Heavens (Milky Way)'). The song was cowritten with DJ Rudd (Rūdolfs Budze) and Aminata Savadogo about an admiration "of space, of infinity, of stars, about possibilities and probabilities". It was nominated for three 2022 Latvian Music Recording Awards for Top Radio Hit, song of the year and ELVI song of the year and along with "Piedošana" (lit. 'Forgiveness'), his collaboration with Prata Vetra and Intars Busulis, made the final 15 for most valuable song of the 2021 Muzikālā Banka (lit. 'Musical Bank'). "Tas rakstīts debesīs (Piena ceļš)" (lit. 'It's Written in the Heavens (Milky Way)') finished in third place and "Piedošana" (lit. 'Forgiveness') finished in seventh place during the 2021 Muzikālā Banka (lit. 'Musical Bank') finals.

In February 2022, Dons released a new single, "Tavs pieskāriens" (lit. 'Your touch'). He also announced a summer concert at the ruins of the Sigulda Castle. In May 2022, Dons collaborated with Latvian rapper rolands če on his next single, "Brīnišķīga diena" (lit. 'Wonderful Day'). At the 2022 Muzikālā Banka (lit. 'Musical Bank') finals, "Tavs pieskāriens" (lit. 'Your touch') finished in 7th place. At the 2023 Latvian Music Recording Awards known as the Zelta Mikrofons (lit. 'Golden Microphones'), his single "Tavs pieskāriens" (lit. 'Your touch') was nominated for song of the year, video of the year, top radio hit and people's choice for (ELVI) song of the year. His duet "Brīnišķīga diena" (lit. 'Wonderful Day') with rolands če was also nominated for top radio hit. "Tavs pieskāriens" (lit. 'Your touch') won song of the year and Top Radio Hit.

In anticipation of his next album, Dons released the single, "Divatā" (lit. 'In Two') in May 2023. The lyrics are by Latvian poet Marts Pujāts, who says, "There have always been forces of attraction and repulsion in relationships. The song 'Divatā' holds the hope that attraction will prevail, and two loving people will eventually be able to find their way to each other". The single was nominated for ELVI Song of the Year and won Top Radio Hit at the 2024 Latvian Music Recording Awards. On 17 and 18 July 2023, Dons performed as Quasimodo in Zigmars Liepiņš' operatic melodrama Parīzes Dievmātes katedrāle (lit. 'Notre-Dame de Paris') as part of the Jūrmala Festival. In September 2023, Dons released his next single "Lauzto šķēpu karaļvalsts" (lit. 'Kingdom of Broken Spears'), inspired by the "times when you feel crushed and bent under the weight, the belief that time will heal and allow you to get back up can be the only thing that gives you strength". The single won Most Valuable Song at the 2023 Muzikālās Banka (lit. 'Musical Bank') awards and its music video was nominated for Best Video at the 2024 Latvian Music Recording Awards. He also announced a stadium concert at Daugava Stadium taking place in August 2024 to promote his next album, Laiks (lit. 'Time').

In October 2023, Dons joined the Latvian music competition show Paaudžu duelis (lit. 'Duel of Generations') as the leader of the younger 2000s team. Contestants answered trivia questions and performed songs from the different music eras, with losers being sent home via fan votes.

2024–present: Supernova win, Eurovision finals

In January 2024, Dons released "Hollow", his first English-language single since 2013, with which he was selected to compete in Supernova 2024, Latvia's national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. "Lauzto šķēpu karaļvalsts" (lit. 'Kingdom of Broken Spears') is the Latvian version of "Hollow", which was written first. According to Dons, the songs are different from each other; Hollow is based on the relevant issue today of not following the crowds and staying true to oneself with Dons elaborating: "By the time we finished 'Hollow', we all felt inside that we had created something that made time stand still". Dons advanced to the final of Supernova, which he won in a landslide with 33,000 more audience votes than the runners-up and placed first with the jury.

In order to focus on his Eurovision preparations, Dons announced he was postponing the release of his next album, Laiks (lit. 'Time') from April to August 2024.

Having been predicted by bookmakers not to qualify and given the lowest chances by odds to qualify from the second semi-final, Dons defied pre-contest expectations and qualified for the grand final, placing 7th out of 16 with 72 points. His qualification sent Latvia to their first final since 2016 (represented by Justs Sirmais with "Heartbeat") and broke Latvia's seven-year consecutive non-qualification streak. After advancing, he said, "Bookmakers are bookmakers, but they also set the tone. Of course, it's not pleasant when you see that you've been put in last place. You have nothing to lose! Maybe that helped a little. Throwing everything asides and just going out and doing what I love the most. Bookies - that's their job. Let them do their job, we'll do ours." Dons placed 16th out of 25 in the grand final with 64 points.

Following up his performance at Eurovision, Dons released another English language single called "Dark" in May 2024. He released a Latvian version called "Sāp" (lit. 'Pain') in preparation for the release of his ninth studio album Laiks (lit. 'Time'). Dons says about his single, "I want to allow each listener to experience the story of the song "Sāp" through his own emotional prism. A story about falling in love, about the beginning of a relationship and illusions that disappear with time".

Music style

Dons is known for playing only a few large shows for each tour, as he prefers that "each song has its own story, including my own. And the story is an experience. Maybe that's why I don't perform so often". He has performed in Latvia's largest arenas including the Palladium Riga, Arena Riga and the Daugava National Stadium. He lives in "two cycles - concerts or album recording" and when he is recording an album, he cannot perform live and vice versa.

Lyrics, song meanings

Dons is a long-time collaborator with lyricist Ingus Bērziņš, who he considers one of the best poets in Latvia. Bērziņš' lyrics are sometimes criticized as making little sense: Normunds Vucāns of ParMuziku (an online magazine produced by Latvian Music Producers Association) writes, "Unfortunately, these thoughts are hidden behind such unsuccessful and illogical lyrics that the idea is absolutely not understood, and the question arises as to whether the author himself understands what he has created." However, Dons says he knows the meaning of all the lyrics, appreciating that Bērziņš is adventurous with his writings. In his later albums, Don began to write his own words instead of relying on Bērziņš, saying, "Recently, however, our cooperation has been less frequent, because I have started writing lyrics myself. In the past, maybe I didn't have anything to say or I couldn't say it, but now I have something to say. But now and then I send him my texts to read". Dons has worked with other lyricists though and has no issues singing others' lyrics as long as they fit his melodies.

Due to the popularity of some of his songs, he stated how he had to distance the personal origins of those songs from the listeners so that the music can "belong" to them, saying:

"I have a song ("Kolekcionārs" lit. 'Collectors', lyrics by Ingus Bērziņš based on John Fowles' The Collector) on the album Lelle with a message written about tragic events. I remember once telling the true story at a concert and there was a terrible silence in the audience. Of course, later the audience came back to life, but in this little moment of silence, I saw that the audience is in tears, because the story of the song is really heavy. After this incident, I decided - no, with my private stories about songs, at least in concerts, it is better to slow down.

So I say that everyone has the right to their own version and I have no right to interfere in this interpretation... Other times it's cool to leave listeners with a subtext to the lyrics. And response, the listeners unravel exactly what I had in the song! Other times you will find out something like you had never looked at this song. Even an example with the same song "Kolekcionārs" lit. 'Collectors' - it can be like a ballad of love. It can too! I didn't see it that way, I saw a very gloomy scene, but people see something like that there. Not bad! I'm interested in new interpretations".

Musical performances

Dons says about his music that the "thought is always the same - a story about emotions and feelings, a story about love and experience". He says in his performances that his emotions are real, not an act; having taking no acting classes, he said, "I have to let it all in to get my emotions out". An example of his acting skills is his performance in Zigmars Liepiņš' popular musical theatre Adata where he performed in 33 of 70 performances and by the 20th performance, he would be in tears after the final song. A fellow actor in the musical advised him he was playing with "fire and blades" by deeply feeling the character he was portraying. He said he has turned down opportunities "because I'm afraid that I'll lose myself or burn out." For his music video of "Hollow", journalists had noted his acting skills but Dons said, "When they tear my clothes and skin, it all happens for real. I heard that foreign journalists and reviewers commented on that acting - but it really hurt me, I'm not an actor. If I'm in pain, it looks like it".

Personal life

When asked if there's a difference between his stage personality and his private self, Dons said, "Not at all, Dons is maybe louder than Artūrs. Artūrs is quieter and calmer. I'd say they're twin brothers. Artūrs is lazier than Dons, that's the only difference. When there's work to be done, Dons will always drive Artūrs to work". Dons is avid about fitness, exercise and being a yoga practitioner. He is a fan of the National Basketball Association. He often travels around the world, having lived in London and the United States. He owns the Engure Café with Kaspars Roga, who is the drummer of Prāta Vētra (Brainstorm).

Dons was married to Lily (real name Linda Kalniņa), whom he met while as a contestant on the Latvian reality show Talantu Fabrikā (lit. 'Talent Factory'). The two were married from 2009 until 2013. He is currently in a relationship with Madara Mālmane.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Charted singles

Other singles

Filmography

Concert tour videos

Film/television

Theater

Awards

The Annual Latvian Music Recording Awards (equivalent to the Grammy awards) presents the Zelta Mikrofons (lit. 'Golden Microphones') awards to the best music recordings of all genres from the previous year, which are evaluated by a professional jury. In 2016, due to the decision of Latvian Music Producers Association members, the title of the award was changed to the year in which the relevant ceremony is held therefore no awards were listed using this year. The Top Radio Hits award is given to the song that has received most annual airplay and reflects the most popular song that year: Dons has won this award a total of eight times from 18 nominations. He has won Best Pop Album twice from five nominations for Varanasi (2014) and Tūrists (lit. 'Tourists', 2020). He has won Best Rock Album once from two nominations with Lelle (2008) and has been nominated once for Best Pop-Rock Album.

Latvijas Radio presents the annual Muzikālās Banka (lit. 'Musical Bank') award to the most valuable pop and rock song, which is selected based on audience votes and evaluation by a professional jury. Dons has won this award a total of five times.

References

Notes

External links

• Media related to Dons at Wikimedia Commons
• Dons on Facebook