Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
Pairs well with: Watching a pastel-colored sunset through an airplane window; new life
I didn't think the music of four-time Contest entrant Jesus Gonzalez could sound even more heavenly — but I was glad to be proven wrong by his 2023 entry, "Forever." Gonzalez's falsetto seems to float over the waltzing harp played by Kalendula Rose and violin played by Jamie Shadowlight. The result sounds like Bon Iver meets Tchaikovsky. And the San Diego-based artist's entry video looks as gorgeous as it sounds: Warm sunlight sprinkles across the room, creating shimmering rainbows on the harp; the instrumentalists' flowing dresses match the room's lace curtains. Gonzalez serves as a pillar in the center of it all, singing, "Let me be the one who delivers the heavens at your door."
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