Katrina and the Waves

Katrina and the Waves were a pop-rock band best known for their exuberant, guitar-driven hit «Walking on Sunshine», one of the most enduring feel-good anthems of the 1980s. Fronted by American-born singer Katrina Leskanich, the band built its sound around bright melodies, upbeat rhythms and a polished pop-rock production style that made their music a staple of radio playlists for decades.

The band achieved another major milestone by winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1997 for the United Kingdom with «Love Shine a Light», a soaring, anthemic ballad that became one of the most celebrated Eurovision winners of its era and remains closely associated with the group's legacy. Other songs such as «Cry for Me», «Do You Want Crying» and «Is That It?» showcase the band's range across upbeat pop and more reflective rock textures.

Within the broader pop-rock landscape, Katrina and the Waves occupy a distinctive place as purveyors of unabashedly optimistic, hook-laden songwriting, with «Walking on Sunshine» in particular achieving a cultural afterlife far beyond its original release through countless uses in film, television and advertising.