Country Latvia Selected entrant Triana Park | Selection process Supernova 2017 Selected song "Line" | |
Selection date(s) Introduction shows:
22 January 2017
29 January 2017
Heats:
5 February 2017
12 February 2017
Semi-final:
19 February 2017
Final:
26 February 2017 Selected songwriter(s) Agnese Rakovska
Kristaps Ērglis
Kristians Rakovskis | ||
Latvia will be represted in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 by the song Line, performed by Triana Park and written by three of the band members Agnese Rakovska, Kristaps Ērglis, Kristians Rakovskis. The Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) organized the national final Supernova 2017 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2017 contest in Kiev, Ukraine. 22 songs were selected to compete in the national final, which consisted of four shows: two heats, one semi-final and a final. In the heats and the semi-final, four entries were selected to advance from each show: two entries - based on a public televote and two entries by a jury panel. Four songs ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 26 February 2017 where a public vote exclusively selected the winner.
Contents
Background
Prior to the 2017 Contest, Latvia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest seventeen times since its first entry in 2000. Latvia won the contest once in 2002 with the song "I Wanna" performed by Marie N. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Latvia was able to qualify to compete in the final between 2005 and 2008. Between 2009 and 2014, the nation had failed to qualify to the final for six consecutive years. In the 2015 contest, Latvia managed to qualify to the final with the song "Love Injected" performed by Aminata, which placed 6th in the final, scoring 186 points, giving them their best placing since 2005. In 2016, Latvia managed to qualify to the final and place 15th with the song "Heartbeat" performed by Justs.
The Latvian national broadcaster, Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), broadcasts the event within Latvia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Latvia has selected their entries for the Eurovision Song Contest through a national final. Since their debut in 2000 until 2012, LTV had organised the selection show Eirodziesma. In a response to the nation's failure to qualify to the final at Eurovision since 2008, between 2013 and 2014, the competition was rebranded and retooled as Dziesma. However, after failing to produce successful entries those two years, LTV developed the Supernova national final in order to select their 2015 entry. The competition produced two Latvian entries in 2015 and 2016 that managed to qualify the nation to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2017, LTV announced that the Supernova format would return once again to select the Latvian entry.
Supernova 2017
Supernova 2017 will be the third edition of Supernova, the music competition that selects Latvia's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. Competition producer Ilze Jansone stated that the goal of Supernova, as in the previous two years, is to find a competitive song and artist with potential for international success. The competition will commence on 5 February 2017 and conclude with a final on 26 February 2017.
Format
The format of the competition will consist of four shows: two heats, one semi-final and a final. The four shows will take place at LTV Studio 6 in Riga. LTV will broadcast two introductory shows on 22 and 29 January 2017 that will cover the background preparation processes and performer auditions that occur prior to the competition. The competing entries will also be announced during the second introductory show on 29 January. The two heats, to be held on 5 and 12 February 2017, will each feature between eight and ten competing entries from which four will advance to the semi-final from each show. The semi-final, to be held on 19 February 2017, will feature the eight qualifiers from the heats from which the top four will proceed to the final. The final, to be held on 26 February 2017, will select the Latvian entry for Kiev from the remaining four entries.
Results during the heats and the semi-final shows will be determined by a jury panel and votes from the public. In the heats and the semi-final, the songs will first face a public vote where the top two entries will qualify. The jury will then select an additional two qualifiers from the remaining entries to proceed in the competition. In the final, a public vote will exclusively determine which entry will be the winner.
Competing entries
Artists and songwriters were able to submit their applications and song entries separately to the broadcaster between 17 August 2016 and 28 October 2016. Local and international jury panels were appointed by LTV for the selection process. The international jury panel evaluated the submitted songs between 28 October and 10 November 2016 and only provided consultation on which entries would be selected; the local jury made the ultimate decisions. The international jury panel consisted of Petri Mannonen (Commercial Director at Universal Music Group Finland), Matthias Mueller (CEO of Crazy Planet Records), Fruzsina Szép (festival director of Lollapalooza Berlin) and Joy Deb (songwriter, co-wrote the 2015 Swedish Eurovision winning song "Heroes"). The local jury shortlisted artists for auditions that took place on 15 and 22 November 2016 at LTV Studio 6. The selected performers and songs were determined by 12 December 2016 and all relevant parties were informed. The competing artists and songs were announced during a press conference held on 13 January 2017.
Shows
Heat 1
The first heat took place on 5 February 2017. The eleven competing entries first faced a public vote where the top two songs advanced: "Magic Years" performed by Lauris Valters and "Who's In Charge" performed by Linda Leen. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining nine entries by the jury: "Up" performed by Franco Franco and "Spiritual Priest" performed by Miks Dukurs.
Heat 2
The first heat took place on 12 February 2017. The eleven competing entries first faced a public vote where the top two songs advanced: "All I Know" performed by My Radiant You and "Line" performed by Triana Park. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining nine entries by the jury: "Your Breath" performed by Santa Daņeļeviča and "I'm In Love With You" performed by The Ludvig.
Semi-final
The semi-final took place on 19 February 2017. The remaining eight competing entries first faced a public vote where the top two songs advanced: "I'm In Love With You" performed by The Ludvig and "Line" performed by Triana Park. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining four entries by the jury: "All I know" performed by My Radiant You and "Your Breath" performed by Santa Daņeļeviča.
Final
The final will take place on 26 February 2017. The four entries that will qualify from the semi-final will compete. The song with the highest amount of votes from the public will be declared the winner.
At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 will take place at the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev, Ukraine and will consist of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May and the final on 13 May 2017. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final.