Country Russia Selected song "Nobody Hurt No One" | Selected entrant Natalia Podolskaya Final result 15th, 57 points | |
Selection process National Final
100% Televote Selection date(s) Semi-finals
4 February 2005
11 February 2005
18 February 2005
Final
25 February 2005 | ||
Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kiev, Ukraine. The Russian entry was selected through a national final, organised by the Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia (C1R). Natalia Podolskaya represented Russia with the song "Nobody Hurt No One", which placed 15th and scored 57 points at the contest.
Contents
National final
In early January 2005, C1R began airing television adverts that announced a submission period where interested artists and composers could submit their proposals for a televised national final with the outcome being entirely decided upon by the viewers. The national final included three semi-finals that took place on 4, 11 and 18 February, concluding with a final on 25 February 2005. All four shows took place at the Channel One Studios in Moscow and were hosted by Andrey Malakhov and Yana Churikova. A professional jury evaluated the received submissions and selected 30 entries to compete in the process, with 10 songs intended to compete in each semi-final and three songs from each semi-final qualifying to the final. The shows were all broadcast live three times on the day they were scheduled to air in order to cater to the different Russian time zones, requiring all artists to perform their songs three times. All regions participated in the televote during their broadcast with the final results being revealed in the final live broadcast for the Western part of Russia.
The professional jury that selected the competing entries consisted of Konstantin Ernst (general manager of C1R), Yuriy Aksyuta (music director of C1R), Igor Matvienko (composer/producer), Maxim Fadeev (composer/producer), Victor Drobysh (producer), Alexei Charykov, Ilya Bachurin (producer), Artur Gasparyan (journalist), Vladimir Polupanov (journalist), Maxim Kononenko (journalist), Larisa Havkina (journalist), Vladimir Matetsky (composer), Maxim Dunayevsky (composer), Larisa Dolina (singer), Alexander Malinin (singer) and Larisa Sinelshikova.
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final of the Russian national final took place on 4 February 2005 and featured 10 songs competing for three qualifier spots for the final. 2000 Russian entrant Alsou, 2004 Russian entrant Julia Savicheva and Alexander Malinin were the interval acts for the show. After the televoting results were revealed, Jam and Elena Terleeva, Anastasia Stotskaya and Dima Bilan qualified to the final.
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final of the Russian national final took place on 11 February 2005 and featured 10 songs competing for three qualifier spots for the final. Larisa Dolina, Leonid Agutin and Anzhelika Varum were the interval acts for the show. After the televoting results were revealed, Natalia Podolskaya, Varvara and Chai vdvoem qualified to the final.
Semi-final 3
The third semi-final of the Russian national final took place on 11 February 2005 and featured 10 songs competing for three qualifier spots for the final. 2001 Russian entrants Mumiy Troll and 2002 Russian entrants Prime Minister were the interval acts for the show. After the televoting results were revealed, Irina Schott, Slava, and Aleksandr Panayotov and Alexey Chumakov qualified to the final.
Final
The final of the Russian selection took place on 25 February 2005 and included nine competing entries that qualified from the preceding three semi-finals. Bonnie Tyler, Philipp Kirkorov, Valeriya and Afric Simone were the interval acts for the final. An expert jury that gave only their opinion and had no voting stake in the final result placed Dima Bilan in first place. Ultimately, "Nobody Hurt No One", performed by Natalia Podolskaya, received the most televotes from the viewing audience and was the winner of the national final.
At Eurovision
Since Russia placed within the top 10 countries (excluding the Big Four) in the 2004 Contest, Russia pre-qualified to compete directly in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. On 22 March 2005, Russia was drawn to perform 20th in the final on 21 May 2005, following Greece and preceding Bosnia and Herzegovina.
For the Russian performance, Podolskaya was joined on stage by bassist Toni Hintikka, guitarist Valeriy Drobysh, drummer Teijo Jamsa, and backing vocalists Yana Kozlova and Olga Belaya. After the voting concluded, Russia scored 57 points and placed 15th. Since Russia was not among the top 10 countries (excluding the results of the Big Four), Russia did not qualify to compete directly in the final of the 2006 Contest and would have to compete in the semi-final.
The semi-final and final were broadcast on Channel One, with commentary by Yuriy Aksyuta and Elena Batinova. The voting spokesperson for Russia was Yana Churikova.