Russia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015

The Russian broadcaster, Russia-1, announced on 29 April 2016 that they would be participating at the 2016 Contest, taking place in Valletta, Malta, on 20 November 2016. At the time of the announcement, it was also stated that the national final would take place in the city of Sochi,[8] which had also hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics.[9] The choice of city for hosting the national selection was later changed following an announcement on 27 May 2016, when further details regarding the mechanism for the selection process were released.[10] The national selection took place on 15 August 2016, in Artek, Crimea, and was televised a day later on 16 August 2016. Submissions for entrants were open between 30 May to 15 July, with the audition stage taking place in the Russian capital, Moscow on 20 July 2016.[10] Russia-1 announced on 21 July 2016 that a total of sixteen artists would be competing in the national final.[11]

Mikhail Smirnov Михаил Смирнов
Background information
Also known as	Misha Smirnov
Born	(2003-04-30) 30 April 2003 Moscow, Russia
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2013–present
Website	http://mishasmirnov.ru

Mikhail Smirnov (Russian: Михаил Смирнов; born April 30, 2003), better known by his stage name Misha Smirnov, is a Russian child singer. He will represent Russia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Mechta" (Russian: Мечта, English: Dream).

Smirnov was born in the city of Moscow, Russia on April 30, 2003. Mikhail's success as a singer is no less impressive considering his family background - born to parents who are mathematicians, who both graduated from the Maths & Mechanics faculty at the Moscow State University. When he was three years old, Mikhail suddenly began to stutter and his parents sent him to singing lessons as part of the therapy. There, his first vocal coach noticed that Mikhail not only had a good ear for music but also a wonderful voice. His mother, who also graduated from music school and plays piano, cultivated Mikhail’s love of music throughout his childhood.

Gradually gaining skills, Mikhail began not only performing at various competitions, but also winning prizes. At the age of eight he moved studios, and hit professional level by winning many prizes in his new environment. Despite his young age, Mikhail has a large number of titles to his name from both Russian and international competitions.

Mikhail is already an experienced actor and was a finalist on the second season of the Russian TV show The Voice Kids (Голос. Дети).[12] Mikhail had to battle a series of strong female vocalists, many of whom rode the EDM trend with upbeat, danceable songs.[13]

Mechta (Dream) is a song by Russian child singer Mikhail Smirnov. It will represent Russia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Sofia, Bulgaria.