With a number of national selections for Eurovision 2020 fast approaching, we wanted to learn more about the people and personalities behind some of the entries hoping to reach Rotterdam this year.

In our next interview from Latvia, we speak to Mārtiņš Balodis of Bad Habits, who will enter this year’s Latvian selection with “Sail With You” and perform a mix of soul, blues and rock. We spoke to Mārtiņš about Bruce Springsteen, the reason behind the band’s name and why his grandfather reminds him of a movie character…


Hello Bad Habits!

First of all thank you for taking your time to talk to us. How are you? Can you introduce yourselves? What can you tell us about yourself?

We are a band with a soul in our mind and blues in our hearts, born and raised in the bars in 2015 playing among the people with different habits. So we named ourselves Bad Habits. Bad – because we are kind of bad boys and Habits – because we all have them. Nice to meet you!

The song that you will be presenting for Supernova is “Sail With You”. What can you tell us about the song?

The song has a true story behind even the few metaphors I used in the lyrics. It’s about the fact that we should appreciate more the person, who waits for you at home every time you’re coming late from work. Same story with a family – love them because they are the closest people that you have and they might not be with you anymore one sunny day. The song is like a small life lesson and a prayer at it’s second part at the end.

What was the inspiration for the song, and did you write it specifically for Supernova and Eurovision?

The inspiration for this song was my grandfather with his adventurous stories about life, war, hate, love… sometimes I listen to him and he seems like Forrest Gump, just a Latvian version! He’s been through a lot and I admire him for that. I wrote the song for Supernova with a small hope in my head that we should get through the 126 other songs. We did. We got to the semi finals and now we are in the final, so I believe the song did it, not us.

What is your impression of the Eurovision Song Contest in general? Do you watch it every year? What is your favourite entry?

I am trying to watch the Eurovision Song Contest every year but last two years Latvia didn’t get through the semi finals so I lost an interest, but I love this show – it’s full of music, fashion, stage effects, which is exciting to watch!

My last favourite song at Eurovision was The Common Linnets – Calm After the Storm (Netherlands 2014).

Do you think performing at the Eurovision Song Contest will have a positive impact on your career?

I think every artist should have a positive impact on his career by performing at Eurovision. It’s a great platform to show yourself and give all you’ve got for 110%. Besides, everything you try in your life, gives you an experience, so as D.Trump would say:” This is Huuuuge👌”

What is the best bit of advice you have ever been given? 

“Don’t f***  it up!” by my brother. This tip works on a lot of situations in life.

What’s the one thing that might surprise people about you?

I think it could be simpleness.

Can you tell us about your first experience with music?

My first experience was that I stole a couple of music CD’s from my sister’s boyfriend’s car and one of them was Bruce Springsteen’s Greatest Hits. I fell in love with his voice, music and stories and I believe that after that I had a clear thought, what I want to do in my life. That’s how this long road has started.

Thanks for your time. We wish you the best of luck for the upcoming competition. Maybe we see you in May in Rotterdam!


Bad Habits will compete in Latvia’s Supernova final on Saturday 8th February with “Sail With You”. #YOU can check out and follow Bad Habits on FacebookInstagram and Spotify.

What do #YOU think of Bad Habits and “Sail With You”? Share your thoughts with us on our forum HERE or join the discussion below in the comments and on social media!

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