"Echo" | ||||
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Single by Iru | ||||
Language | English | |||
Released | 16 March 2023 | |||
Length | 3:02 | |||
Label | Giga Studio Production | |||
Composer(s) |
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Iru singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Echo" on YouTube | ||||
Eurovision Song Contest 2023 entry | ||||
Country | ||||
Artist(s) | ||||
Composer(s) |
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Lyricist(s) |
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Finals performance | ||||
Semi-final result | 12th | |||
Semi-final points | 33 | |||
Entry chronology | ||||
◄"Lock Me In" (2022) | ||||
"Firefighter" (2024) ► | ||||
Official performance video | ||||
"Echo" (Second Semi-Final) on YouTube |
"Echo" is a song by Georgian singer Iru Khechanovi,released on 16 March 2023. [1] The song represented Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after Khechanovi won the fifth season of The Voice Georgia ,Georgia's national selection to choose their artist for that year's Eurovision Song Contest. [2] [3] Competing in the second semi-final in that year's Eurovision Song Contest,the song failed to qualify for the grand final,finishing in 12th with 33 points.
In interviews,Iru reported that "Echo" took three to four days to write,and two to three weeks in order to complete the production for the song's release. The song was written immediately after Iru's victory in The Voice Georgia ,leaving Iru "emotionally drained". [4]
The song is reported as a song that describes one's process of trying to find love. In multiple interviews,Iru would compare the song's beginning as to when one is without love,saying that the person is lost. Then,with a self-described "bomb of love" that fills up the person with the emotion of love,the person becomes a completely different person. [4] [5]
The Georgian representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was selected through the fifth season of The Voice Georgia , the Georgian version of the reality television singing competition format The Voice . The competition commenced on 8 December 2022 and concluded with a final on 2 February 2023. [6]
In the final of the show, eight artists would compete, with Iru being drawn to perform last. Singing Loreen's "Euphoria", she would emerge victorious with a total of 21.88% of the televote. With the victory, she was selected to represent Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. [2] "Echo", however, was internally selected by Georgian Public Broadcasting (GPB) after Khechanovi had won the competition, and was announced to release on 16 March by GPB. [7]
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (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. 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 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Georgia was placed into the second semi-final, which was held on 11 May 2023, performed in the second half of the show. [8]
Iru's Eurovision performance featured Iru wearing a white dress and Iru making "psychotic moments" with her face, which according to Iru was to display numerous traits, including love, passion, and sass. [9] In the second semi-final, "Echo" would garner a 12th place finish with 33 points, failing to qualify for the grand final. [10]
Georgia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 15 times since making its debut in 2007. Georgia initially planned to participate in 2009, but later withdrew after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) demanded it to re-write its song which made reference to the then-Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin. Georgia has reached the final on seven occasions, achieving two top ten placements, with Sofia Nizharadze (2010) and Eldrine (2011) both finishing ninth.
Georgia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Three Minutes to Earth" written by Zaza Miminoshvili and Eugen Eliu. The song was performed by the Shin and Mariko, which were internally selected in February 2014 by the Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) to compete at the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Georgian entry, "Three Minutes to Earth", was presented to the public on 14 March 2014.
Georgia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Warrior" written by Nina Sublatti and Thomas G:son. The song was performed by Nina Sublatti. The Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) held a national final in order to select the Georgian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. An open call for submissions was held which resulted in the shortlisting of five entries that were presented to the public on 31 December 2014. The public had until 14 January 2015 to vote for their favourite song. The results of the public televote combined with the votes of an international jury resulted in the selection of "Warrior" performed by Nina Sublatti as the Georgian entry.
Georgia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Midnight Gold" written by Kote Kalandadze and Thomas G:son. The song was performed by Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz, who were internally selected in December 2015 by the Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) to compete at the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. A national final was held to select the song that Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz would perform. An open call for song submissions was held which resulted in the shortlisting of five entries that were presented to the public on 3 February 2016. The public had until 15 February to vote for their favourite song. The results of the public vote combined with the votes of an international jury resulted in the selection of "Midnight Gold" as the Georgian entry.
Georgia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Keep the Faith" written by Anri Jokhadze and Tamara Gachechiladze. The song was performed by Tamara Gachechiladze, who was due to represent Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 as part of Stephane and 3G with the song "We Don't Wanna Put In" before the nation's withdrawal in protest of the Russo-Georgian War. Songwriter Anri Jokhadze represented Georgia in the 2012 contest where he failed to qualify to the final with the song "I'm a Joker". The Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) held a national final in order to select the Georgian entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. An open call for submissions was held which resulted in the submission of twenty-five entries that were presented to the public during a televised production on 20 January 2017. The results of a public televote combined with the votes of an international jury resulted in the selection of "Keep the Faith" performed by Tamara Gachechiladze as the Georgian entry.
Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "This Is Love" written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, Romy Papadea and John Ballard. The song was performed by Demy, who was internally selected by the Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) to represent Greece at the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Demy was announced at the Greek representative on 13 January 2017, while a national final was held in order to select the song she would perform. Three songs competed in the national final on 6 March 2017 and a combination of international jury voting and public voting selected "This Is Love" as the winning song.
Georgia took part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 as the host country after their victory in 2016 with the song "Mzeo" by Mariam Mamadashvili. Their entry was decided through an internal selection. They were represented by Grigol Kipshidze and the song "Voice of The Heart".
Georgia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "For You" written by Davit Malazonia, Mikheil Mdinaradze and Irina Sanikidze. The song was performed by the Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao, which was internally selected in December 2017 by the Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) to compete at the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal. The Georgian entry, "For You", was presented to the public on 13 March 2018.
Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Better Love" written by Katerine Duska, Leon of Athens, David Sneddon and Phil Cook. The song was performed by Duska, who was internally selected by the Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) to represent Greece at the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. She was announced as the Greek representative on 14 February 2019, while her song "Better Love" was presented on 6 March 2019.
Georgia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Keep On Going" written by Roman Giorgadze and Diana Giorgadze. The song was performed by Oto Nemsadze. The Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) held the reality television show Georgian Idol in order to select the Georgian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. The competition resulted in the selection of four finalists that performed potential Eurovision songs during the final on 3 March 2019. The results of a public vote exclusively resulted in the selection of "Sul tsin iare" performed by Oto Nemsadze as the Georgian entry, having received 44.13% of the votes. The song was later retitled for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Keep On Going".
Georgia originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Take Me as I Am" written and performed by Tornike Kipiani, who was selected through the reality television show Georgian Idol, held by the Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB). The competition resulted in the selection of four finalists for the final on 31 December 2019. The results of a public vote exclusively resulted in the selection of Tornike Kipiani as the winner. The song that Tornike Kipiani would perform, "Take Me as I Am", was presented to the public on 3 March 2020.
Georgia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "You" written and performed by Tornike Kipiani, who was internally selected in March 2020 by the Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) to compete at the 2021 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands after he was due to compete in the 2020 contest with "Take Me as I Am" before the event's cancellation. The Georgian entry, "You", was presented to the public on 15 March 2021.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, as Ukraine—the winner of the 2022 contest with the song "Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra—was unable to host the event due to the Russian invasion of the country. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) acting as host broadcaster on behalf of the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC). The contest was held at Liverpool Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May and a final on 13 May 2023. The three live shows were presented by British singer Alesha Dixon, British actress Hannah Waddingham, and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, with Irish television presenter Graham Norton joining for the final.
Georgia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, having internally selected Circus Mircus to represent the country with the song "Lock Me In". Georgia failed to qualify, performing in the second semifinal.
Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with "Llámame" performed by Wrs. The Romanian broadcaster, Televiziunea Română (TVR), organised the national final Selecția Națională 2022 in order to select the Romanian entry for the 2022 contest. The national final consisted of three shows, including two semi-finals and a final. A total of 46 entries were selected and 10 qualifiers ultimately competed in the final on 5 March 2022, where the winner scoring top marks from both a jury panel and a public televote was selected.
"Lock Me In" is a song by Georgian experimental rock band Circus Mircus. Released as a single on 9 March 2022, the song represented Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy after being internally selected by Georgian Public Broadcasting (GPB), the Georgian broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Georgia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Iru Khechanovi was selected as the Georgian representative through the fifth season of The Voice Georgia, while her competing song "Echo" was internally selected and released on 16 March 2023.
The fifth season of the Georgian reality television series The Voice Georgia premiered on 8 December 2022 on 1TV. Stephane Mgebrishvili was the only coach returning from the previous season and Dato Porchkhidze returned after a two-season hiatus. Meanwhile, Sopo Toroshelidze and Dato Evgenidze debuted as coaches, and Gvantsa Daraselia debuted as the show's presenter.
Irina "Iru" Khechanovi, known professionally as Iru, is a Georgian singer and songwriter. As a member of the girl group Candy, she won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Candy Music". In 2023, she won the fifth season of The Voice Georgia, and went onto represent Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
Georgia is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, with "Firefighter" performed by Nutsa Buzaladze. Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) internally selected the Georgian representative for the 2024 contest.