Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

"Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka

"Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka was the national final format developed by LRT in order to select Lithuania's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. The competition involved an initial twenty artists competing in a twelve-week-long process that began on 14 December 2013 and concluded with a winning song, "Attention" selected on 22 February 2014 and a winning artist, Vilija Matačiūnaitė, selected on 1 March 2014. All shows in the competition took place at the LRT studios in Vilnius and were hosted by Simona Nainė and Arūnas Valinskas.

Format

The format of the competition involved artists competing independently from the songs, potentially being paired with any of the songs that were selected for the competition. LRT stated in the rules that composers were required agree to the condition that their song may be offered to an artist they did not originally write the song for. Twenty artists were selected for the competition; the artists ranged from established performers to former talent show contestants. The first show of the competition featured fifteen of the artists participating in a jubilee celebration of the past Lithuanian Eurovision Song Contest entries. During the second, third, fourth and fifth shows, artists competed against each other by performing cover versions that related to the theme of that particular show. The themes included covers of past Eurovision Song Contest songs, Lithuanian hit songs and world hit songs. After the second and third shows, only ten artists remained in the competition. From the third show to the tenth show, one artist was eliminated per show. From the sixth show and onward, each week the remaining artists performed the potential Eurovision entries that were in contention to represent Lithuania. During the tenth show, the final three artists were selected for the final. During the eleventh show, the winning song was selected. In the final on 1 March 2014, the remaining three artists performed their version of the Lithuanian entry and the artist-song combination that scored the highest after the combination of votes from the juries and the public televote was selected to represent Lithuania in Copenhagen.

The format of the show was originally set to take place over a ten-week period. However, after LRT experienced success in the ratings with the shows, on 20 January 2014, the format was modified and extended to include an additional two shows. The competition was originally supposed to conclude with a winning song selected during the ninth show on 8 February 2014 and the selection of one of four remaining artists to perform Lithuania's entry during the final on 15 February 2014.

Voting and results

During all shows, a four-member Lithuanian jury panel provided feedback and scores to the competing artists. From the second to the fifth shows, the Lithuanian panel could only assign one score from 1 to 10 to each artist, therefore, the four members were required to come to a consensus. Starting from the sixth show and onward, the Lithuanian panel was required to come to a consensus on a ranking of the performers where the best performer would receive the highest score and the worst would receive the lowest score. The scores from the Lithuanian panel were added to the points from three foreign music industry experts from Germany, Russia and Sweden. The foreign experts each ranked the competitors and assigned points in a descending order with the highest score for their favourite and the lowest score for their least favourite. All points from the juries accounted for 50% of the outcome in each show, while the other 50% was determined by a public televote. The four member Lithuanian panel varied in composition from week to week. The foreign experts that voted during the shows were: Brandon Stone, music producer and composer from Germany; Valerij Prosvirov, record label director and producer from Russia; Liselott Björk, vocal coach and singer from Sweden.

LRT launched an internet voting platform on 11 January 2014 where the sixteen songs selected for the competition could be listened to and voted for. Public voting for the songs was solely conducted through the online platform until the eleventh show on 22 February 2014 when the juries and public televote decided the winning song.

Competing artists and songs

On 2 October 2013, LRT opened two separate submission forms: one for artists and another for composers to submit their songs. Following the 15 November 2013 deadline, 106 songs were received by LRT, of which only sixteen were ultimately selected for the competition. Twenty artists were selected for the competition.

Show 1 – Jubilee concert

The broadcast of a jubilee concert initiated the start of the national final on 14 December 2013. The concert was held and pre-recorded on 29 November 2013 and featured fifteen of the selected finalists participating in a celebration that marked the 20th anniversary of Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest. Composer Deivydas Zvonkus adapted the fourteen previous Lithuanian contest entries for the competing artists who performed their versions as part of the non-competitive event. Justinas Lapatinskas performed the 1994 entry "Lopšinė mylimai", Vilija Matačiūnaitė performed the 1999 entry "Strazdas", VIG Roses performed the 2001 entry "You Got Style", Martynas Kavaliauskas performed the 2002 entry "Happy You", Jurijus Veklenko and Monika Linkytė performed the 2004 entry "What's Happened To Your Love?", Soliaris performed the 2005 entry "Little by Little", Pop Ladies performed the 2006 entry "We Are the Winners", Aleksandra Metalnikova performed the 2007 entry "Love or Leave", Julija Jegorova performed the 2008 entry "Nomads in the Night", Aistė Pilvelytė performed the Lithuanian version of the 2009 entry "Pasiklydęs žmogus", Juozas Butnorius and Tadas Vilčinskas performed the 2010 entry "Eastern European Funk", Neringa Šiaudikytė performed the 2011 entry "C'est ma vie" and Mia performed the 2013 entry "Something". Donny Montell performed his own 2012 entry "Love Is Blind" as a guest in the show.

Show 2 (21 December 2013)

The second show of the competition aired on 21 December 2013 and featured the first set of ten competing artists performing cover versions of past Eurovision Song Contest entries. The show was filmed on 13 December 2013. The top five performers, after the equal combination of votes from a jury panel and televoting, proceeded in the competition. The Lithuanian panel that evaluated the artists consisted of Vytenis Pauliukaitis, Jurga Šeduikytė, Edmundas Seilius and Ramūnas Zilnys. Vilija Matačiūnaitė, Vaidas Baumila, Aistė Pilvelytė, VIG Roses and Justinas Lapatinskas were selected to advance in the competition.

Show 3 (28 December 2013)

The third show of the competition aired on 28 December 2013 and featured the second set of ten competing artists performing cover versions of past Eurovision Song Contest entries. The show was filmed on 13 December 2013. The top five performers after the equal combination of votes from a jury panel and televoting proceeded in the competition. The Lithuanian panel that evaluated the artists consisted of Vytenis Pauliukaitis, Adrija Čepaitė, Edmundas Seilius and Ramūnas Zilnys. Mia, Kristina Radžiukynaitė, Ieva Zasimauskaitė, Martynas Kavaliauskas and Monika Linkytė were selected to advance in the competition.

Show 4 (4 January 2014)

The fourth show of the competition aired on 4 January 2014 and featured the ten competing artists that qualified from the previous two shows performing cover versions of Lithuanian hit songs. The show was filmed on 23 December 2013. All ten of the artists that competed in the third show recorded performances, however, only the five artists that qualified once the final results from the third show were determined (in addition to the five qualified artists from the second show), were part of the show when it aired. The top nine performers after the equal combination of votes from a jury panel and televoting proceeded in the competition. The Lithuanian panel that evaluated the artists consisted of Vytenis Pauliukaitis, Ieva Prudnikovaitė-Pitrėnė, Edmundas Seilius and Ramūnas Zilnys. Aistė Pilvelytė was eliminated from the competition.

Show 5 (11 January 2014)

The fifth show of the competition aired on 11 January 2014 and featured the nine competing artists that qualified from the previous show performing worldwide hit songs. The show was filmed on 7 January 2014. The top eight performers after the equal combination of votes from a jury panel and televoting proceeded in the competition. The Lithuanian panel that evaluated the artists consisted of Darius Užkuraitis, Ieva Prudnikovaitė-Pitrėnė, Edmundas Seilius and Ramūnas Zilnys. Kristina Radžiukynaitė was eliminated from the competition.

Show 6 (18 January 2014)

The sixth show of the competition aired on 18 January 2014 and featured the eight competing artists that qualified from the previous show performing one of the sixteen potential Eurovision entries. The show was filmed on 14 January 2014. The top seven performers after the equal combination of votes from a jury panel and televoting proceeded in the competition. The evaluation and results during the show were only applicable to the artists, the songs were evaluated separately in after a later show. The Lithuanian panel that evaluated the artists consisted of Vytenis Pauliukaitis, Darius Užkuraitis, Edmundas Seilius and Ramūnas Zilnys. Justinas Lapatinskas was eliminated from the competition.

Two of the sixteen competing songs were set to be eliminated after an online voting period that lasted from 11 January 2014 to 18 January 2014, however, due to a change in the format of the competition, none of the songs were ultimately eliminated and the results of voting were not announced during the show.

Show 7 (25 January 2014)

The seventh show of the competition aired on 25 January 2014 and featured the seven competing artists that qualified from the previous show performing one of the sixteen potential Eurovision entries. The show was filmed on 14 January 2014. Justinas Lapatinskas recorded a performance for the song "Is This The Way (You Want Me)", however, the performance was used only to present the song as Lapatinskas was eliminated previously during the sixth show. The top six performers after the equal combination of votes from a jury panel and televoting proceeded in the competition. The evaluation and results during the show were only applicable to the artists; the songs were evaluated separately through an internet and jury vote. The Lithuanian panel that evaluated the artists consisted of Vytenis Pauliukaitis, Adrija Čepaitė, Edmundas Seilius and Ramūnas Zilnys. VIG Roses were eliminated from the competition.

The songs were evaluated by the public through an internet vote through LRT's voting platform which collected votes from 11 January 2014 until 25 January 2014. The scores from the public internet vote were combined with the votes from a jury panel, which resulted in the elimination of four songs: "Silent Tears", "In The Rain", "One" and "New Beginning".

Show 8 (1 February 2014)

The eighth show of the competition aired on 1 February 2014 and featured the six competing artists that qualified from the previous show each performing two of the twelve remaining potential Eurovision entries. The show was filmed on 28 January 2014. The top five performers after the equal combination of votes from a jury panel and televoting proceeded in the competition. The evaluation and results during the show were only applicable to the artists; the songs were evaluated separately through an internet and jury vote. The Lithuanian panel that evaluated the artists consisted of Vytenis Pauliukaitis, Sigutė Stonytė, Edmundas Seilius and Ramūnas Zilnys. Ieva Zasimauskaitė was eliminated from the competition.

Under each jury heading, first column jury scores apply to points given for the performance of the first song, while second column scores apply to points given for the performance of the second song.

The songs were evaluated by the public through an internet vote through LRT's voting platform which collected votes from 26 January 2014 until 2 February 2014. The scores from the public internet vote were combined with the votes from a jury panel, which resulted in the elimination of two songs: "Breakaway" and "Last Date".

Show 9 (8 February 2014)

The ninth show of the competition aired on 8 February 2014 and featured the five competing artists that qualified from the previous show each performing two of the ten remaining potential Eurovision entries. The show was filmed on 4 February 2014. The evaluation and results during the show were only applicable to the artists; the songs were evaluated separately through an internet and jury vote. The Lithuanian panel that evaluated the artists consisted of Vytenis Pauliukaitis, Darius Užkuraitis, Edmundas Seilius and Ramūnas Zilnys. During the show, the top four performers after the equal combination of votes from a jury panel and televoting were originally supposed to proceed in the competition, however, following allegations of voting fraud in regards to the public televote, LRT opted to delay the announcement of the results until 10 February 2014 after conducting an investigation. On 10 February 2014, LRT announced that it reduced the televote score for Martynas Kavaliauskas from 1,332 to 655 after discovering that a mobile operator was inflating Kavaliauskas' votes. This ultimately led to the elimination of Martynas Kavaliauskas from the competition after the combination of the final votes.

Under each jury heading, first column jury scores apply to points given for the performance of the first song, while second column scores apply to points given for the performance of the second song.

The songs were evaluated by the public through an internet vote through LRT's voting platform which collected votes from 3 February 2014 until 10 February 2014. The scores from the public internet vote were combined with the votes from a jury panel, which resulted in the elimination of two songs: "Is This The Way (You Want Me)" and "You Found Me".

Show 10 (15 February 2014)

The tenth show of the competition aired on 15 February 2014 and featured the four competing artists that qualified from the previous show each performing two of the eight remaining potential Eurovision entries. The show was filmed on 11 February 2014. The evaluation and results during the show were only applicable to the artists; the songs were evaluated separately through an internet and jury vote. The top three performers after the equal combination of votes from a jury panel and televoting proceeded in the competition. The Lithuanian panel that evaluated the artists consisted of Vytenis Pauliukaitis, Sigutė Stonytė, Darius Užkuraitis and Ramūnas Zilnys. Monika Linkytė was eliminated from the competition.

Under each jury heading, first column jury scores apply to points given for the performance of the first song, while second column scores apply to points given for the performance of the second song.

The songs were evaluated by the public through an internet vote through LRT's voting platform which collected votes from 12 February 2014 until 17 February 2014. The scores from the public internet vote were combined with the votes from a jury panel, which resulted in the elimination of five songs: "Worlds Apart", "Blowing Out Cobwebs", "It's Not Too Late", "Dying" and "Let's Share That Love Tonight".

Semi-final (23 February 2014)

The eleventh show, the semi-final, aired on 23 February 2014 and featured the three competing artists that qualified from the previous show each performing the three remaining potential Eurovision entries. The show was originally scheduled to air on 22 February 2014; however, it was postponed due to LRT broadcasting live coverage of Euromaidan in Ukraine. Artists were not be assessed or eliminated during this show; the semi-final selected the Lithuanian song for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest. The show was filmed on 18 February 2014. The Lithuanian panel that evaluated the songs consisted of Vytenis Pauliukaitis, Deividas Zvonkus, Ramūnas Zilnys and Edmundas Seilius. "Attention" was selected as the winning song.

Final (1 March 2014)

The twelfth show, the final, aired on 1 March 2014 and featured the three remaining competing artists each performing the winning song selected from the previous show and a cover of another song. The artist-song combination that received the most votes from the juries and the public televote was selected to represent Lithuania. The jury panel that evaluated the artists consisted of Liselott Björk, Brandon Stone, Valerij Prosvirov, Sigutė Stonytė and Lauras Lučiūnas. Vilija Matačiūnaitė was selected as the winner.

At Eurovision

During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Lithuania was drawn to compete in the first half of the second semi-final on 8 May 2014. In the second semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Lithuania would perform 7th, following Austria and preceding Finland. Lithuania failed to qualify from the second semi-final, just missing out on qualification by placing 11th in a field of 15 songs with a score of 36 points.

On stage, Vilija Matačiūnaitė was joined by three female backing vocalists: Eglė Gadeikytė, Algė Matekūnaitė and Lina Žilinskaitė, and one male dancer: Šarūnas Kirdeikis. The performance featured Matačiūnaitė performing energetic choreography and interacting with the dancer.

In Lithuania, the semi-finals and final were broadcast on LRT and LRT Radijas with commentary by Darius Užkuraitis. The Lithuanian spokesperson revealing the result of the Lithuanian vote in the final was Ignas Krupavičius.

Split voting results

The following five members comprise the Lithuanian jury:

Semi-final 2

The Lithuanian votes in the second semi-final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.

Final

The Lithuanian votes in the grand final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.

Lithuanian spokesperson's commentary

Lithuanian spokesperson Ignas Krupavičius, just before announcing that ten points of his country's vote had been assigned to Conchita Wurst, said referring to Wurst's beard, "Now it is time to shave", then pulled out a razor and pretended to shave his own face, before giggling at the joke. Host Nikolaj Koppel replied to that by saying, "Time to shave? I think not." BBC commentator Graham Norton also expressed his frustration at the joke and supported Koppel's reply.