Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

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Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Participating broadcaster Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC)
CountryFlag of Belarus.svg  Belarus
National selection
Selection processEurofest 2008
Selection date(s)Semi-final:
21 December 2007
Final:
21 January 2008
Selected artist(s) Ruslan Alekhno
Selected song"Hasta la vista"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Eleonora Melnik
  • Taras Demchuk
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (17th)
Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2007 •2008• 2009►

Belarus was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Hasta la vista", composed by Taras Demchuk, with lyrics by Eleonora Melnik, and performed by Ruslan Alekhno. The Belarusian participating broadcaster, Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC), selected its entry through a national final.

Contents

The national final was a televised production which consisted of a semi-final and a final held on 21 December 2007 and 21 January 2008, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where four entries qualified to the final: one entry selected by a public televote and three entries selected by a nine-member jury panel. In the final, the jury panel selected "Hasta la vista" performed by Ruslan Alekhno as the winner.

Belarus was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 22 May 2008. Performing during the show in position 9, "Hasta la vista" was not announced among the 10 qualifying entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Belarus placed seventeenth out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 27 points.

Background

Prior to the 2008 Contest, Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Belarus four times since its first entry in 2004. [1] Its best placing in the contest was sixth, which it achieved in 2007 with the song "Work Your Magic" performed by Dmitry Koldun. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, it had only managed to qualify to the final once.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, BTRC organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. Since 2004, the broadcaster has organised a national final in order to choose its entry, a selection procedure that continued for its 2008 entry. [2]

Before Eurovision

Eurofest 2008

Eurofest 2008 was the national final format developed by BTRC to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The competition consisted of a semi-final and final held on 21 December 2007 and 21 January 2008, respectively. Both shows were hosted by Denis Kurian and Vera Poliakova and broadcast on the First Channel and Belarus TV as well as online via the broadcaster's official website tvr.by. [3]

Competing entries

Artists and composers were able to submit their applications and entries to the broadcaster between 15 November 2007 and 20 November 2007. [4] At the closing of the deadline, over 70 entries were received by the broadcaster. [5] Auditions were held between 5 and 7 December 2007 at the Youth Variety Theater in Minsk where a jury panel was tasked with selecting up to fifteen entries to proceed to the televised national final. [6] The jury consisted of Mihail Finberg (chairman of the jury, director of the Belarusian State Academic Symphony Orchestra), Vladimir Rylatko (deputy head of the Belarusian Ministry of Culture), Vasily Rainchik (musician/composer), Anatoly Yarmolenko (director of the ensemble Syabry), Yadviga Poplavskaya (singer), Denis Shpitalnikov (head of music and entertainment programmes of BTRC), Alexandr Kapenkin (deputy director of BTRC), Irina Dorofeeva (singer) and Leonid Shirin (composer). [7] [8] Fifteen semi-finalists were selected and announced on 11 December 2007. [9]

ArtistSongSongwriter(s)
Anna Sharkunova and German Titov"My budem pervye" (Мы будем первые)Max Aleinikov, Vladimir Kubyshkin
Dali"Silver Sky"Victor Rudenko
Gunesh "I Can't Live Without You"Gunesh Abasova, Marina Khaitbayeva, Gleb Galushko
Katrin"Follow Me"Andrey Kostyugov, Ekaterina Tsvirko
Lena Voloshina"That's All I Feel"Andrey Kostyugov, Leonid Shirin
Litesound "Do You Believe"Vladimir Karyakin, Dmitry Karyakin
Oksana Kovalevskaya "Vsegda odna" (Всегда одна)Oxana Kovalevskaya
Palats"Kola mlyna" (Кола млына)Alieh Chamienka
PinCode"You Can"Vitaly Masalsky, Nina Bogdanova
Po glazam"Devochka tryohtysachnih let" (Девочка трёхтысячных лет)Stasi Zylikavaj
Ruslan Alekhno "Hasta la vista"Eleonora Melnik, Taras Demchuk
Scandal"Everybody"Ioannis Ksinakis, Andrey Kostyugov
The Champions"Drive Me Crazy"Olisa Emeka Orakposim, Vyacheslav Lyschik
Victor Pshenichniy"Baby Blue"Alexander Nabeev
Yuliya Guseva"Maybe"Alexander Melnikov

Shows

Semi-final

The televised semi-final took place on 21 December 2007 at the BTRC studios in Minsk. Prior to the semi-final, a draw for the running order took place on 20 December 2007. [6] Four songs qualified to the final. The fifteen competing entries first faced a public televote where one song advanced. An additional three qualifiers were selected from the remaining fourteen entries by the votes of jury members made up of music professionals.

  Public vote qualifier  Jury qualifier

Semi-final – 21 December 2007
DrawArtistSongTelevotePlaceResult
1The Champions"Drive Me Crazy"48612Eliminated
2Lena Voloshina"That's All I Feel"8588Eliminated
3Yuliya Guseva"Maybe"7599Eliminated
4Anna Sharkunova and German Titov"My budem pervye"9917Eliminated
5 Ruslan Alekhno "Hasta la vista"6,0891Advanced
6 Oksana Kovalevskaya "Vsegda odna"27115Eliminated
7PinCode"You Can"1,0756Eliminated
8Victor Pshenichniy"Baby Blue"33814Eliminated
9 Gunesh "I Can't Live Without You"2,3174Advanced
10Scandal"Everybody"1,6895Eliminated
11Po glazam"Devochka tryohtysachnih let"42013Advanced
12Palats"Kola mlyna"2,4383Eliminated
13Dali"Silver Sky"67910Eliminated
14Katrin"Follow Me"66311Eliminated
15 Litesound "Do You Believe"3,9672Advanced

Final

The televised final took place on 21 January 2008 at the Sports Palace in Minsk. The votes of jury members made up of music professionals selected the song "Hasta la vista" performed by Ruslan Alekhno as the winner. [10] In addition to the performances from the competitors, the show featured guest performances by former Eurovision Song Contest winners Sertab Erener (2003), Ruslana (2004) and Lordi (2006), 2005 Russian Eurovision contestant Natalia Podolskaya and Belarusian Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007 winner Alexey Zhigalkovich. [11]

Final – 21 January 2008
DrawArtistSong
1Po glazam"Devochka tryohtysachnih let"
2 Gunesh "I Can't Live Without You"
3 Litesound "Do You Believe"
4 Ruslan Alekhno "Hasta la vista"

Promotion

Ruslan Alekhno made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Hasta la vista" as the Belarusian Eurovision entry. Between 27 February and 9 March, Ruslan Alekhno performed "Hasta la vista" during the Georgian, Greek, Lithuanian, Macedonian and Russian Eurovision national finals. On 25 April, Alekhno performed during the UKEurovision Preview Party event which was held at the Scala Club in London, United Kingdom. [6]

At Eurovision

Ruslan Alekhno during a press meet and greet Ruslan Alekhno 2008 Eurovision 3.jpg
Ruslan Alekhno during a press meet and greet

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine countries from the televoting progress to the final, and a tenth qualifier was determined by the back-up juries. [12] [13] The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2008, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals. Belarus was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 22 May 2008. The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 17 March 2008 and Belarus was set to perform in position 9, following the entry from Czech Republic and before the entry from Latvia.

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Belarus on the First Channel with commentary by Denis Kurian and Alexander Tikhanovich. The Belarusian spokesperson, who announced the Belarusian votes during the final, was Olga Barabanschikova. [14]

Semi-final

Ruslan Alekhno during a rehearsal before the second semi-final Ruslan Alekhno, Belarus, Eurovision 2008.jpg
Ruslan Alekhno during a rehearsal before the second semi-final

Ruslan Alekhno took part in technical rehearsals on 13 and 17 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 21 and 22 May. The Belarusian performance featured Ruslan Alekhno performing on stage wearing a black outfit together with four female dancers wearing short silver dresses. The performers performed a choreographed routine around five light-up baubles that moved around on the stage floor during the performance, which was concluded by the dancers displaying the letter R. [15] [16]

At the end of the show, Belarus was not announced among the 10 qualifying entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Belarus placed seventeenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 27 points. [17]

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belarus and awarded by Belarus in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Ukraine in the semi-final and to Russia in the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Belarus

Points awarded to Belarus (Semi-final 2) [18]
ScoreCountry
12 points
10 pointsFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
8 points
7 points
6 pointsFlag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania
5 pointsFlag of Latvia.svg  Latvia
4 pointsFlag of Georgia.svg  Georgia
3 points
2 pointsFlag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus
1 point

Points awarded by Belarus

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Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Butterflies" written by Maxim Fadeev, Robert Wells and Malka Chaplin. The song was performed by the group 3+2 featuring Robert Wells, who were internally selected by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC) to represent the nation at the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway after broadcaster All-National TV (ONT), which was to take over BTRC, failed to receive EBU membership. 3+2 and the song "Far Away" were initially announced as the Belarusian entry on 25 February 2010, however the band opted to withdraw their song and the replacement entry, "Butterflies", was announced on 19 March 2010.

Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "I Love Belarus" written by Evgeny Oleynik and Svetlana Geraskova. The song was performed by Anastasia Vinnikova, who was internally selected by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC) to represent the nation at the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Anastasia Vinnikova and the song "Born in Byelorussia" were initially announced as the Belarusian entry on 28 February 2011, however the song was reworked and retitled as "I Am Belarusian". The song was later disqualified and the replacement entry, "I Love Belarus", was announced on 14 March 2011.

Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "We Are the Heroes" written by Vladimir Karyakin and Dmitry Karyakin. The song was performed by the band Litesound. The Belarusian entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan was selected through the national final Eurofest 2012, organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final was a televised production which consisted of a semi-final and a final held on 21 December 2011 and 14 February 2012, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where the top five entries qualified to the final. In the final, "All My Life" performed by Alyona Lanskaya was initially selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting, however the entry was later disqualified due to vote rigging and replaced by runner-up "We Are the Heroes" performed by Litesound.

Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Solayoh" written by Marc Paelinck and Martin King. The song was performed by Alyona Lanskaya. The Belarusian entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of ten competing acts participating in a televised production where "Rhythm of Love" performed by Alyona Lanskaya was initially selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting, however the singer opted to withdraw her song and the replacement entry, "Solayoh", was announced on 7 March 2013.

Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Cheesecake" written by Yuriy Vashchuk and Dmitry Novik. The song was performed by Teo, which is the artistic name of singer Yuriy Vashchuk. The Belarusian entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of fourteen competing acts participating in a televised production where "Cheesecake" performed by Teo was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting.

Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Time" written by Uzari, Gerylana and Maimuna. The song was performed by Uzari and Maimuna. The Belarusian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of fifteen competing acts participating in a televised production where "Time" performed by Uzari and Maimuna was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting.

Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Help You Fly" written by Viktor Drobysh, Alexander Ivanov, Timofei Leontiev and Mary Susan Applegate. The song was performed by Ivan, which is the artistic name of singer Alexander Ivanov. The Belarusian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of ten competing acts participating in a televised production where public televoting selected the winner. "Help You Fly" performed by Ivan was selected as the winner with 23,167 votes.

Belarus was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Story of My Life", written by Arciom Lukjanienka, and performed by the band Naviband. The Belarusian participating broadcaster, the Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC), selected its entry through a national final. This was the first-ever entry performed in Belarusian in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Forever" written by Kirill Pavlov and Yevgeny Matyushenko. The song was performed by Alekseev. The Belarusian entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of fifteen competing acts participating in a televised production where "Forever" performed by Alekseev was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting.

Belarus originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Da vidna" written by Uladzislaŭ Paškievič, Valeryja Hrybusava and Mikita Najdzionaŭ. The song was performed by the band VAL. The Belarusian entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands was selected through the national final Natsionalny Otbor, which was organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of twelve competing acts participating in a televised production where "Da vidna" performed by VAL was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting.

References

  1. ↑ "Belarus Country Profile". EBU . Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Floras, Stella (2008-09-29). "Belarus: Welcome to the Eurofest project!". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  3. ↑ Krasilnikova, Anna (21 January 2008). "Tonight: Belarus decides for Belgrade". Esctoday. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  4. ↑ Krasilnikova, Anna (13 October 2007). "Belarus: EuroFest call for songs". Esctoday. Archived from the original on 2021-07-10. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Hondal, Victor (29 November 2007). "Belarus: About 70 applicants for Eurofest". Esctoday.
  6. 1 2 3 "Eurovision - Belarus". Esckaz (in English and Russian)
  7. ↑ "Дорофеева: "Я достаточно дала шансов, чтобы выбрать меня на Евровидение"". Euroradio (in Russian). 25 October 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  8. ↑ "Выступление Руслана Алехно в финале "ЕвроФеста" было не очень удачным - М.Финберг". BTRC (in Russian). 23 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2020-09-03. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  9. ↑ Krasilnikova, Anna (11 December 2007). "Belarus: EuroFest participants announced". Esctoday.
  10. ↑ "Ruslan Alehno to Belgrade for Belarus!". eurovision.tv. 22 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2018-05-13. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  11. ↑ Krasilnikova, Anna (21 January 2008). "Tonight: Belarus decides for Belgrade". Esctoday.
  12. ↑ "Eurovision: 2 semi finals confirmed!". ESCToday.com. 2007-07-31. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
  13. ↑ "Eurovision 2008 – format confirmed!". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
  14. ↑ "Spokespersons". escforum.com. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  15. ↑ "Belarus: Performance on shining baubles". eurovision.tv. 13 May 2008. Archived from the original on 2018-05-13. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "From dancing Czechs to fierce Latvians!". eurovision.tv. 17 May 2008. Archived from the original on 2018-05-13. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Second Semi-Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  18. 1 2 "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  19. ↑ "Results of the Grand Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
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