1. Maarja-Liis Ilus, sometimes better known by her performing name Maarja (born December 24, 1980 in Tallinn, Estonia) is a pop musician who has achieved chart success in a number of countries across Europe and Asia. Ilus has also represented her native Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, and is often credited as being the first Estonian solo artist to achieve international chart success.
Ilus' music career started at the age of four, when she began performing major roles in children's musicals across Estonia. Having gained a lot of performing experience at any early age, Ilus released her self-titled debut album Maarja in 1996, achieving reasonable success in her home country.
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Although the album made her known within her country, true national success would not come until the Eurolaul event later on that year. Ilus would perform two songs in the Eurolaul, "Kaelakee Hääl" and "Kummalisel Teel", the former a duet with Ivo Linna. The duet would ultimately win the competition, and she would go onto finish 5th in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. The exposure from competing in Eurovision would ultimately make Geffen Records notice the young Ilus, signing her for her first international album release.
Meanwhile, Ilus entered the Eurolaul again in 1997, winning with the solo "Keelatud Maa". Ilus would eventually finish 8th in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997. The result helped to further solidify her popularity in Estonia, making her second album First In Line an instant success there when released on August 25, 1998. The album, which was Ilus' first effort entirely in English, was also released internationally, topping album charts in Japan and receiving considerable airplay in Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The success of the album made her, at the time, Estonia's most successful popular music artist ever.
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