Lithuania

1999

Basic information

Date:

29 May 1999

Venue:

Israeli Congress Centre, Jerusalem, Israel

Broadcaster:

IBA

Presenter(s):

Yigal Ravid, Dafna Dekel and Sigal Shachmon

About the contest:

Following the introduction of televoting a couple of years earlier, 1999 saw another of the biggest changes in the history of the contest. For the first time since the contest begun 43 years before, an orchestra was not used, with all artists having to rely on a backing track. This would be to the benefit the songs following contemporary trends, whose production values don’t seem to require real instruments, but to the detriment of ballads and other songs whose arrangements add another dimension when the power of an orchestra is utilised.

Another major rule change was to allow entries to be sung in any language. Previously, all countries had to sing in one of its national languages. The reason for the rule change was to create a more even playing field in recognition of the belief that Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom were at an unfair advantage singing in the international language of English. This would lead to some unexpected choices in years to come, but most of all to the annoying habit of some songs being sung in two (or sometimes even more) languages as a singer would switch between his/her own language and English.

The only time that Israel had hosted the contest was twenty years earlier. One could be forgiven for thinking that IBA had just used an updated version of the same set from that year. The design of a predominant semi circular structure and idea of the movable parts were very similar.

Dutch singer, Marlayne, could have been a very busy lady that night. Not only did she compete in the Dutch selection, she was also due to sing a song in the UK selection as well. After she was chosen to represent The Netherlands, she decided to withdraw from the UK show.

Since the middle of the decade, the EBU had used a system of relegation to select which countries would compete in the contest the following year as so many now wanted to participate, mostly due to the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Rather than simply relegate the bottom seven countries as had been happening, each country's five year average score was used instead. An exception was made for France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. As the four biggest contributors to the EBU bank account, and therefore to the cost of the contest each year, they would be allowed to compete every year regardless of their average score.

Controversy stalked the Bosnian entry. Dino and Beatrice only travelled to Jerusalem because the winner of the Bosnian final, Hari Mata Hari, was disqualified. His song, Starc I More, was found to be a cover of a song that he co-wrote and had been released as Sydänveri on an album by Finnish singer Janne Hurme.

Selma made her first of two appearances in the contest, while Doris Dragovic and Darja Svajger had seen it all before.

Latvia had expressed an interest in participating for the first time but decided not to. Hungary declined the offer of the free place, so Portugal made an earlier than expected return to action, along with Austria, Bosnia, Denmark, Iceland and Lithuania. Forced to sit out were Finland, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland.

Trivia:

So much for peace and unity in Eurovision! The Irish sisters, The Mullans, criticised Sweden’s Charlotte Nilsson, saying she looked like a porn star. The Swedes hit back, describing The Mullans as resembling pregnant nuns.

About the songs:

Aiste Smilgeviciute	Lithuania - Aiste Smilgeviciute - Strazdas (Lithuanian) Music/Lyrics: Linas Rimsa, Sigitas Geda/Linas Rimsa, Sigitas Geda The first entry of the night is more like a pagan chant than a song at times. Drums are used effectively to add a bit of bite.
Vanessa Chinitor	Belgium - Vanessa Chinitor - Like the Wind (English) Music/Lyrics: Wim Claes, Emma Philippa/Wim Claes, Emma Philippa Two songs in and already we hear the first of the possible winners. The sweeping pan pipes sound beautiful in combination with the strings and the whole thing has impact.
Lydia	Spain - Lydia - No Quiero Escuchar (Spanish) Music/Lyrics: Alejandro Carmona, Carlos Lopéz/Fernando Rodriguez, Alejandro Piqueras When the first impression the audience has is what the singer is wearing, it pays to leave positive or even neutral thoughts. Lydia’s choice of dress fails on both counts! The song she is charged with singing is, by Spanish standards, a rather lacklustre ballad.
Doris Dragovic	Croatia - Doris Dragovic - Marija Magdalena (Croatian) Music/Lyrics: Tonci Huljic/Vjekoslava/Huljic Doris’ second tilt at the title is completely different to her first. 13 years earlier. She went up-tempo and much more dramatic. A vocal was included in the backing track, which was against the rules as all vocals have to be sung live on stage. As a result, the EBU deducted 33% of Croatia’s score from the contest. This gave them a lower five year point average, potentially relegating them from future contests.
Precious	United Kingdom - Precious - Say It Again (English) Music/Lyrics: Paul Varney/Paul Varney Precious started the decline of the United Kingdom in the contest. Twelfth was the lowest finish for the UK at the time by one of the contests most successful countries. Say It Again is an empty lifeless mixture of soul and pop. Band member, Jenny Frost, went on to be part of successful girl group, Atomic Kitten
Darja Svajger	Slovenia - Darja Svajger - For A Thousand Years (English) Music/Lyrics: Primoz Peterca/Primoz Peterca Here is one of the problems with the free language rule! Darja’s pronunciation isn’t always exact, resulting in ‘eyes’ sounding like ‘arse’. That aside, her second Eurovision song is not unlike her first, a classy but standard ballad that you just know is going to build long before it does. .
Tugba Önal	Turkey - Tugba Önal & Grup Mystik - Dön Artik (Turkish) Music/Lyrics: Erdin Tunc/Erdin Tunc, Canan Tunc In a contest in which a lot of the entries are uninspiring, Dön Artik is a very welcome inclusion. Its pace and infectious rhythm inject the contest with vitality.
Stig André Van Eijk	Norway - Stig André Van Eijk - Living My Life Without You (English) Music/Lyrics: Stig André Van Eijk Stig/André Van Eijk While a contemporary R ‘n’ B sound will be considered by some to be a positive, it is how the song sounds that counts. The best description was given by Radio 2 commentator Ken Bruce, who said “he’s wearing a vest with a picture of a bull on the front, and the song is a bit like something the bull might leave behind.”
Trine Jepsen & Michael Teschl	Denmark - Trine Jepsen & Michael Teschl - This Time (I Mean It) (English) Music/Lyrics: Ebbe Ravn/Ebbe Ravn Congratulations should be given to anyone still awake at the end. The Danish ballad meanders its way slowly and limply from the start to the finish.
Nayah	France - Nayah - Je Veux Donner Ma Voix (French) Music/Lyrics: Pascal Grazic Pascal Grazic Celiné Dion returns! Well, nearly. It is easy to imagine the 1988 winner and international superstar applying her talents to the French entry. Nayah controls the stage in Divaesque fashion.
Marlayne	The Netherlands - Marlayne - One Good Reason (English) Music/Lyrics: Alan Michael, Tjeerd van Zanen/Alan Michael, Tjeerd van Zanen If 1999 was the start of the British decline, the same could almost be be said of the Dutch. It would be the last time they would be in the top ten for many years. Marlayne’s performance was top notch, but the song, an up-tempo guitar based MOR effort, left her too much to do to finish too high up the scoreboard.
Mietek Szczesniak	Poland - Mietek (Mieczyslaw) Szczesniak - Przytul Mnie Mocno (Polish) Music/Lyrics: Seweryn Krajewski/Wojciech Ziembicki Poland’s ballad is one of the best of the bunch. Remaining engaging throughout, it has a calm, emotional feel.
Selma Björnsdóttir	Iceland - Selma Björnsdóttir - All Out Of Luck (English) Music/Lyrics: Porvaldur Bjarni Thorvaldsson/Sveinbjörn Baldvinsson One last hurrah for europop? After Selma’s second place, this style of song went out of fashion in the contest as the public became more and more involved in the voting.
Marlain Angelidou	Cyprus - Marlain Angelidou - Tha'nai Erotas (Cyprus) Music/Lyrics: Giorgios Kallis, Andreas Karanicolas/Giorgios Kallis, Andreas Karanicolas Our second Marlain, although with a different spelling. Every year the contest throws up an astonishing result, and this year was the turn of Cyprus to suffer. Deserving of a much higher placing, Tha'nai Erotas is fast and very catchy.
Charlotte Nilsson	Sweden - Charlotte Nilsson - Take Me To Your Heaven (English) Music/Lyrics: Lars Diedricson/Gert Lengstrand, Marcos Ubeda Elements of the piano arrangement conjure up memories of Sweden’s most famous winner. Like Waterloo, it is very upbeat, memorable and adds touches of saxophone to provide a little quirkiness.
Rui Bandeira	Portugal - Rui Bandeira - Como Tudo Começou (Portugal) Music/Lyrics: Jorge do Carmo/To Andrade Moving away from a traditional Portuguese sound, Rui’s song is a soft rock, MOR number that quickly becomes uninteresting.
The Mullans	Ireland - The Mullans - When You Need Me (English) Music/Lyrics: Bronagh Mullan/Bronagh Mullan Ireland had by now started a run of sending sub-standard, plodding ballads to the contest. A complete lack of charisma from the two sisters didn’t help.
Bobbie Singer	Austria - Bobbie Singer - Reflection (English) Music/Lyrics: Dave Moskin/Dave Moskin Bobby’s young voice sounds a bit too twee for some, but will probably sound cute to others. As for the song, it is buried in the crowd and has nothing to lift it.
Eden	Israel - Eden - Yom Huledeth (Hebrew, English) Music/Lyrics: Jeki Oved, Yaakov Lymai, Gabriel Butler/Jeki Oved, Yaakov Lymai, Moshe Datz As it turned out, the hosts had a good draw. Following rather drab entries, Eden’s chirpy song and energetic dancing brought the show back to life.
Times 3	Malta - Times 3 - Believe 'n Peace (English) Music/Lyrics: Chris Scicluna/Moira Stafrace The three Maltese starlets posed and smiled a lot. Despite being rather repetitive towards the end, the youthful pop sound of Believe 'n Peace would have already hooked those who like it without winning new fans.
Sürpriz	Germany - Sürpriz - Reise Nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e Seyahat (German, Turkish, English, Hebrew) Music/Lyrics: Ralph Siegel/Bernd Meinunger Cynics could have a field day with this one. A Turkish group representing Germany with Turkish flavoured song whose title includes the name of the host city. There was even room in the lyrics for a burst of Hebrew. Siegel and Meinunger at their most desperate!
Dino and Beatrice	Bosnia & Herzegovina - Dino and Beatrice - Putnici (Bosnian, French) Music/Lyrics: Dino Dervishalidovic/Dino Dervishalidovic How the Bosnians must have wished their original choice could have been there! They were left with their hopes in the hands of daft, disorganised sounding ditty whose only saving grace was the occasional interjection by the fiddle.
Evelin Samuel	Estonia - Evelin Samuel and Camille - Diamond Of Night (English) Music/Lyrics: Priit Paajusaar, Glen Pilvre/Kaari Sillamaa Rumour has it that Estonia would have won if only juries had been used. Thank the Lord for televoting then! Some of the previous songs seemed to be designed to send viewers to sleep. Anyone still awake would surely have been finished off by Evelin’s dreary lullaby.

Add new comment

1994

Basic information

Date:

30 March 1994

Venue:

Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland

Broadcaster:

RTE

Presenter(s):

Cynthia Ni Mhurchu and Gerry Ryan

About the contest:

After the excursion to Millstreet the year before, RTE hosted the 1994 contest in the more purpose built surroundings of The Point Theatre, Dublin. The contest hadn’t seen so many debuts since it started in 1956. Seven countries entered for the first time, some more successfully than others! This gave the show a fresh feel which was slightly spoilt when the hosts won for the 3rd time in a row. It was a win that not many predicted, but all things Irish were popular in Europe at the time.

A worldwide phenomenon was launched in 1994 and it had nothing to do with the competing songs or singers. The interval act had been treated up to that point as a time filler, with sometimes only a film highlighting the delights of the host country filling the eight minutes the juries had to add up their scores. RTE changed the rules and set the bar very high for others to reach. The producers commissioned Bill Whelan to compose a piece of Irish music to feature traditional Irish dancing. What emerged was Riverdance, a routine that became a whole show that would sweep the world and turn principle dancers, Jean Butler and Michael Flatley into stars. Those lucky enough to be in the theatre to witness it live for the first time were swept to their feet for a standing ovation that seemed to last forever.

Returning to the contest for a second time was Evridiki. Elisabeth Andreasson and Sigga were competing for a third time. Roger Pontare and Alma would be seen in future shows, and Moira and Chris had both been backing singers the year before.

The relegation system was in operation again for the seven countries finishing at the bottom of the scoreboard. The scoring system remained unchanged from the 1-8, 10 and 12 points method.

Trivia:

Sigga did not perform Nætur in the Icelandic final. It had been performed by her partner from Heart 2 Heart (Iceland 1992), Sissa. However, the songwriters threatened to withdraw the song altogether if Sigga didn’t go to Dublin, so Sissa was paid a large sum of money to stay at home.

About the songs:

Marie Bergman and Roger Pontare	Sweden - Marie Bergman and Roger Pontare - Stjärnorna (Swedish) 4 Music/Lyrics: Peter Bertilsson/Mikael Littvold Conductor: Anders Berglund Getting things started were the odd couple! Marie and Roger had completely different images. What counts is the performance and their voices worked well together for this big (almost) ballad.
Cat Cat	Finland - Cat Cat - Bye Bye Baby (Finnish) Music/Lyrics: Karl Salli, Nake Lentonen/Karl Salli, Nake Lentonen Conductor: Olli Ahvenlahti Finland sent a fresh and contemporary dance number to Dublin. The image given to the two sisters of Cat Cat didn’t quite work and relying on the orchestra took away the punch that dance tracks need.
Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan	Ireland - Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan - Rock 'n' Roll Kids (English) Music/Lyrics: Brendan Graham/Brendan Graham Conductor: Noel Kelehan Surely Ireland couldn’t win for an unprecedented third time in a row? Not with two middle aged gentlemen singing an Irish folk song? It was too introspective to have broad appeal, wasn’t it? Yes, yes and no! Ireland made history and showed all those newcomers how it’s done.
Evridiki 1994	Cyprus - Evridiki - Ime Anthropos Ke Ego (Greek) Music/Lyrics: George Theophanous/George Theophanous Conductor: George Theophanous Two years after she finished 11th with a song written by her husband, they teamed up again, and finished 11th again. The Greek styles of the two songs aren’t worlds apart. There’s more of an ‘oomph’ this time and plenty of emoting by Evridiki.
Sigga	Iceland - Sigga - Nætur (Icelandic) Music/Lyrics: Fridrik Karlsson/Stefán Hilmarsson Conductor: Frank McNamara Under the circumstances, the pressure was on Sigga to give a good performance and deliver a result, and she succeeded with the first part. While pleasant enough to listen to, Nætur seems to drift along and doesn’t seem to go anywhere.
Frances Ruffelle	United Kingdom - Frances Ruffelle - We Will Be Free (Lonely Symphony) (English) Music/Lyrics: George de Angelis, Mark Dean/George de Angelis, Mark Dean Conductor: Michael Reed Following in the more famous footsteps of Michael Ball and Sonia, West End star Francis accepted the BBC’s invitation to represent her country. The result was a very different song than the United Kingdom had sent before. It wasn’t the musical number that many may have expected; it is more in the style of the new age/gothic genres. Someone had the idea of including a crown of ‘thorns’ in Francis’ clothes.
Tony Cetinski	Croatia - Tony Cetinski - Nek'ti Bude Ljubav Sva (Croatian) Music/Lyrics: Zeljen Klasterka/Zeljko Krznaric Conductor: Zdravko Sljivac Having failed to win the Dora (Croatia’s selection show for the contest) the previous year with arguably a much better song, Tony tried again with a ballad that is very sincere and traditionally Croatian in sound.
Sara Tavares	Portugal - Sara Tavares - Chamar A Música (Portuguese) Music/Lyrics: Joao Carlos Oliveira/Rosa Lobato de Faria Conductor: Thilo Krassman At first glance, the Portuguese song is a sad affair, but the lyrics are actually positive. Sara, one of the youngest singers in the contest, carried it well.
Duilio	Switzerland - Duilio - Sto Pregando (Italian) Music/Lyrics: Giuseppe Scaramella/Giuseppe Scaramella Conductor: Valeriano Chiaravalle Duilio’s ballad builds steadily chorus by chorus. The only verse is right at the beginning.
Silvi Vrait	Estonia - Silvi Vrait - Nagu Merelaine (Estonia) Music/Lyrics: Ivar Must/Leelo Tungal Conductor: Urmas Lattikas Estonia’s debut is more likely to appeal to appeal to older listeners than younger ones. Nagu Merelaine is easy to listen to and doesn’t fit into any particular genre.
Dan Bittman	Romania - Dan Bittman - Dincolo De Nori (Romanian) Music/Lyrics: Antonio Furtuna, Dan Bittman/Antonio Furtuna, Dan Bittman Conductor: Noel Kelehan The piano is the dominant instrument throughout Dan’s ballad. It works well, providing the song with an easy flowing feeling and a sound to make the listener maintain interest to the end.
$Moira Stafrace and Christopher Scicluna$ Moira Stafrace and Christopher Scicluna	Malta - Moira Stafrace and Christopher Scicluna - More Than Love (English) Music/Lyrics: Christopher Scicluna/Christopher Scicluna, Moira Stafrace Conductor: Anthony Chircop The tune is ok, but the lyrics are, at times, awful; ‘to tell you the truth, I’ll never change my youth’, and ‘not easy to say, there’s a will, there’s a way’, being a couple of examples. Chris should have taken the deeper notes as Moira couldn’t get down that far. Apart from that, it’s reasonable, and the theme of striving to succeed could be inspirational for some.
Willeke Alberti	The Netherlands - Willeke Alberti - Waar Is De Zon (Dutch) Music/Lyrics: Edwin Schimscheimer/Coot van Doesburgh Conductor: Harry van Hoof Willeke was the choice Dutch broadcaster, NOS, to go to Dublin. The public selected a good, musical style big ballad for her to sing.
MeKaDo	Germany - MeKaDo - Wir Geben 'ne Party (German) Music/Lyrics: Ralph Siegel/Bernd Meinunger Conductor: Norbert Daum Mekado were three ladies put together by prolific contest writers, Siegel and Meinunger. Justifiably one of the favourites, their song is a contemporary, up-tempo tune which stays long in the memory. The performance was very professional.
Martin Durinda	Slovakia - Martin Durinda and Tublatanka - Nekovecná Piesen (Slovak) Music/Lyrics: Martin Durinda/Martin Sarvas Conductor: Vladimir Valovic Old fashioned (in a good way) rock band Martin Durinda and Tublatanka got Slovakia’s so far occasional participation off to a good start. As you might expect, it’s a rock song, although the strings take away some of the impact.
Ovidijus Vyshniauskas	Lithuania - Ovidijus Vyshniauskas - Lopsine Mylimai (Lithuanian) Music/Lyrics: Ovidijus Vyshniauskas/Gintaras Zdebskis Conductor: Tomas Leiburas Lithuania’s history in the contest started very inauspiciously with a failure to score even a single point. Ovidijus did deserve a few. Perhaps the shaven head with the leather trousers pt a few people off.
Elisabeth Andreasson and Jan Werner Danielsen	Norway - Elisabeth Andreasson and Jan Werner Danielsen - Duett (Norwegian) Music/Lyrics: Rolf Lövland/Hans Olav Mörk Conductor: Pete Knutsen Experienced Elisabeth teamed up with the youthful Jan for this ballad that remains popular with the fans. Big ballads need big voices to pull them off and these two coped easily. Jan’s immense talent is a big loss to music after his tragically early death.
Alma and Dejan	Bosnia - Alma and Dejan - Ostani Kraj Mene (Bosnian) Music/Lyrics: Edo Mulahalilovic/Adi Mulahalilovic Conductor: Siman Alimanovic The audience applauded Alma and Dejan so loudly for so long at the beginning of the song that Dejan missed his cue because he couldn’t hear the orchestra. He maintained concentration enough to come in at the right place. Sentimentality aside, this is a very solid ballad.
Costas Bigalis	Greece - Costas Bigalis and the Sea Lovers - To Trehantiri (Diri Diri) (Greek) Music/Lyrics: Costas Bigalis Costas Bigalis Conductor: Noel Kelehan Costas and his band looked like a recession hit Showaddywaddy in their colourful jackets. It’s definitely Greek, but doesn’t represent Greek music well, being a bit too juvenile.
Petra Frey	Austria - Petra Frey - Für Den Frieden Der Welt (German) Music/Lyrics: Alfons Weindorf/Karl Brunner, Johann Brunner Conductor: Richard Österreicher Petra was one of the younger singers in the contest, and it showed during her sometimes nervy performance. The song is an understated anthem.
Alejandro Abad	Spain - Alejandro Abad - Ella No Es Ella (Spanish) Music/Lyrics: Alejandro Abad/Alejandro Abad Conductor: Jose LLobel The scene is reflective and melancholy for the verse. When the chorus arrives, the song almost explodes into life and develops a rock feel.
Friderika Bayer	Hungary - Friderika Bayer - Kinek Mondjam El Vétkeimet (Hungarian) Music/Lyrics: Silvester Jenei/Silvester Jenei Conductor: Peter Wolf Another country losing its Eurovision virginity. Frederika only needed to stand absolutely still to perform her folk song. It received the first maximum of the night, and deserved to do well.
Youddiph	Russia - Youddiph - Vechni Stranik (Russian) Music/Lyrics: Lev Zemlinski/Youddiph Conductor: Lev Zemlinski Russia’s first song starts gently but builds into the epitome of dramatic! Her cleverly designed dress allowed the choreography to increase the dramatic atmosphere as it waved and curled around her. A majestic debut indeed!
Edyta Górniak	Poland - Edyta Górniak - To Nie Ja! (Polish) Music/Lyrics: Stanislaw Syrewicz/Jacek Cygan Conductor: Noel Kelehan Only the seemingly unstoppable Irish prevented a debut win for Poland. Petite Edyta was the little lady with the big voice with a fine ballad that has aged very well.
Nina Morato	France - Nina Morato - Je Suis Un Vrai Garçon (French) Music/Lyrics: Bruno Maman/Nina Morato Conductor: Alain Goraguer The eccentric Nina looked and sounded like Barbara Streisand performing a number from ‘Cabaret’. It’s one of those you love or hate with not much room for views in-between.

2 comments

The Semi-Final Results

Posted 30 May, 2010 - 11:32 by Steve Paxton

Shortly after Lena had been declared the winner of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU released the results of the two semi-finals.

Add new comment

Shocks and Surprises - The Story of the Second Semi-Final

Posted 27 May, 2010 - 23:19 by Steve Paxton

After the fairly uncontroversial results of the first semi-final, tonight’s second semi-final produced a number of surprises and talking points. Some songs considered sure-fire finalists were left behind, while those that should have been disposed of lived to sing another day.

Add new comment

The 2nd Semi-Final: A Prediction

Posted 26 May, 2010 - 22:57 by Steve Paxton

After the first semi-final, Eurovisionary has stepped back into our time machine to see who will qualify from Thursday’s second semi-final. Our journey has shown us who will claim the last ten available places in the final.

2 comments

Day 6 - Press Conferences

Posted 21 May, 2010 - 23:49 by Steve Paxton

Day six of the biggest musical show on earth saw twelve countries rehearse again, from Albania - participating in the first semi-final, to Sweden - who has been drawn in the second semi-final.

Add new comment

Inculto want to welcome us to Lithuania in 2011

Posted 21 May, 2010 - 15:42 by John Stanton

Our second semi-final will open next Thursday with Lithuania. And what better was to open a semi-final than with something upbeat and fun?

Add new comment

Day 3 - Press Conferences

Posted 18 May, 2010 - 22:43 by Steve Paxton

Today, the first eight songs competing in the second semi-final had the chance to try their songs and stage shows on the set for the first time. The press also had the chance to meet them in the obligatory press conference.

Add new comment

Video: InCulto entertains at their first press conference

Posted 18 May, 2010 - 18:24 by Admi Nistrator

That Lithuania are here to entertaint was made clear already with their arrival to the press conference. This was the first press conference from InCulto and it of course also included a performance of their entry Eastern European Funk - in a version where they went out among the press.

Add new comment

Inculto funks it up in Oslo on third day

Posted 18 May, 2010 - 11:12 by Denis McEvoy

The Lithuanian delegation had great fun on stage in Oslo this morning, the sounded a start to the third full day of rehearsals in the Telenor arena. They managed to keep their pants on for most of their practice.