Stefan Airapetjan

Stefan Airapetjan (Ստեֆան Հայրապետյան; born 24 December 1997), known simply as Stefan, is an Estonian singer and songwriter, best known for winning the first edition of Maskis Laulja, the Estonian version of Masked Singer in 2020 and representing Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song "Hope", placing 13th in the final.

Early life
Airapetjan was born and raised in Viljandi, Estonia as the son of Armenian immigrants. He has a sister named Stefania.

Early career
Airapetjan has been singing since his early childhood, with Hedi-Kai Pai his vocal coach, and won a number of contests. In 2010, he entered Laulukarussell, a singing competition for children organised by Eesti Rahvusringhääling, and reached the final.

2018–2020: Eesti Laul and Maskis Laulja
Airapetjan entered the music competition Eesti Laul on four occasions, winning once. His first entry was in 2018 as part of a duo called Vajé with the song "Laura (Walk with Me)", finishing third in the superfinal. His first solo entry was in 2019 with the song "Without You", which won the jury vote in the grand final and qualified for the superfinal, finishing third. He then entered in 2020 with the song "By My Side", which finished seventh in the grand final.

In 2020, Airapetjan won as Aries (Jäär) in the first edition of The Masked Singer. He made his way to the finals, where he was declared the winner of the competition.

2022–present: Return to Eesti Laul and Eurovision
In 2022, Airapetjan participated in Eesti Laul 2022 with the song "Hope" and won, besting out 40 entries. The win earned him the right to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin. In the Eurovision Song Contest, he performed 12th in the second semi-final and placed 5th, which qualified him to the final. In the final, he finished 13th place overall with 141 points.