| Iru Khechanovi | |
| Birth Name: | Irina Khechanovi |
| Alias: | Iru |
| Birth Date: | 3 December 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Tbilisi, Georgia |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Years Active: | 2011–present |
| Past Member Of: | Candy |
Irina "Iru" Khechanovi (; in Georgian pronounced as /iɾu χetʃʰanovi/; born 3 December 2000), known professionally as Iru (stylised in all caps), is a Georgian singer and songwriter. As a member of the girl group Candy, she won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Candy Music".[1] In 2023, she won the fifth season of The Voice Georgia, and went onto represent Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.[1]
Irina Khechanovi was born on 3 December 2000 in Tbilisi.[2] [3] She is of Armenian descent.[4] As a child, she took part in various singing competitions.[3] In 2011, on her eleventh birthday, she represented Georgia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Yerevan, Armenia as a member of the girl group Candy.[1] [2] The group won the competition with 108 points.[5]
In 2019, Khechanovi was a participant in Georgian Idol.[6] In 2021, she released her debut solo single "No Jerk Around Me".
In 2022, Khechanovi performed at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 as part of a previous winners' medley.[1] She had also co-written the song "I Believe" by Mariam Bigvava, the Georgian entry for that year's contest.[3] The entry finished in third place.
Later that year, Khechanovi was a participant in the fifth season of The Voice Georgia. She went on to win the competition on 2 February 2023, thereby winning the right to represent Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.[1] Her entry "Echo" was released on 16 March 2023. She performed in the second semi-final on 11 May 2023, but finished in 12th place and therefore did not qualify to the grand final.
| The Voice Georgia performances and results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Song | Original artist | Result | |
| Blind Auditions | "Never Enough" | Loren Allred | Joined Team Dato Porchkhidze | |
| The Battles | "Leave the Door Open" | Silk Sonic | Advanced | |
| Quarter-finals | "Smells Like Teen Spirit" / "Around The World" | Nirvana / Daft Punk | Advanced | |
| Semi-final | "Rise Like a Phoenix" | Conchita Wurst | Advanced | |
| Final | "Euphoria" | Loreen | Winner | |