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LT United were a Lithuanian music group created in 2006 for the sole purpose of representing Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The group entered the Lithuanian pre-selection event with the song "We Are the Winners", winning with almost twice as many votes as the runners-up, and finished 6th in the Eurovision Song Contest final with 162 points.
LT United were created in early 2006 after the well-known Lithuanian rock musician Andrius Mamontovas decided it would be a good idea to enter the Eurovision Song Contest. The group consisted of six individuals who were already well known in Lithuania, with all six having some form of musical or television background. Along with Mamontovas, the other members were Marijonas Mikutavičius, Viktoras Diawara, Saulius Urbonavičius, Arnoldas Lukošius and Eimantas Belickas. Before joining LT United, Diawara had already represented Lithuania in the contest, finishing 13th in 2001 (see Eurovision Song Contest 2001) as part of Skamp. The group were described by Mamontovas on LT United's official website as "the musical equivalent of [a] national basketball team".
The group entered the Lithuanian pre-selection contest, dominating the scoring and receiving 32,669 points - almost double that of the second-placed Inculto. After performing the song, the Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus invited the group to perform at Lithuania's Independence Day. The group also became the Lithuanian ambassadors for the United Nations' "Time to Help the Others" world development programme.
The music video for the song was released for public viewing on 23 March 2006 and was directed by Donatas Ulvydas. The video consisted of clips from their pre-selection performance, along with archive footage of the six members. The press release that accompanied the video stated that the use of archive material was to "prove the experience of each LT United member". The video received a large amount of airplay in Lithuania from March until the time of the contest in late May.
Prior to the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals, LT United refused to perform the song, deciding to wait until the semi-final itself (although a rehearsal performance was released on their official website just before it). The group also contacted radio stations across Europe to request the song be removed from playlists until 22 May (the day after the final). Despite this, the song became well known among those following the contest, with some annoyed at the lyrics (the statement "We are the winners, of Eurovision" appears 15 times). Some felt the song was egotistical, although most considered the song tongue-in-cheek. When they appeared in the semi-final, there was some booing before and after their performance.
Despite that, their stage act (including Arnoldas Lukošius' manic dancing and Saulius Urbonavičius singing into a megaphone) helped the song to score 163 points, which proved to be enough to finish 5th in the semi-final. When their qualification was announced, loud boos were heard from the crowd.
Their final performance did not differ much from that in the semi-final, and despite (less prominent) booing from the crowd present in Athens, LT United managed to finish 6th with 162 points (with big points from the English-speaking countries of Ireland and the United Kingdom, along with their Baltic neighbours of Latvia and Estonia as well as from Iceland). This is Lithuania's best contest finish to date (beating their aforementioned 2001 entrants Skamp by seven places). During the final, BBC commentator Terry Wogan likened Lukošius to the British comedian Harry Hill. Contest winners Lordi jokingly quoted the song's title in the post-final press conference.
After the contest, LT United released "We Are the Winners" as a single (on the M.P.3 label), with a World Cup 2006 version of the song also included on the release despite Lithuania having never qualified for the World Cup. In two weeks, the single sold around 3,000 copies in Lithuania and thus went gold. Eventually the single became platinum after selling 5,000 copies in Lithuania. It reached No. 14 on the Finnish singles chart, where it was released by Magnum Music.
Robbie Williams performed the song at a concert in the Belgian capital Brussels, after he made jokes about the contest and their song in particular. [1]
On 11 March 2022, the group reunited on an annual awards ceremony Lietuvos Garbė, where they performed a remix of "We Are the Winners", titled "You Are the Winners, Ukraina", in support of Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. [2]
Foje was one of the most successful and best known rock bands in Lithuania.
Rock music has been performed and heard in Lithuania since the mid-1960s. At first, repression by the Soviet authorities meant that rock was performed only at illegal gatherings, while music from the West was available on Radio Luxembourg or smuggled records. As pressure eased somewhat, rock musicals began to be released, such as Velnio nuotaka and Ugnies medžioklė su varovais.
Lithuania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 24 times since its debut in 1994, where "Lopšinė mylimai" performed by Ovidijus Vyšniauskas finished last, receiving "nul points". Lithuania withdrew from the contest, not returning until 1999. The sixth place of the song "We Are the Winners" performed by LT United in 2006 is Lithuania's best result in the contest. The country reached the top ten for a second time in 2016, when "I've Been Waiting for This Night" by Donny Montell finished ninth, and for the third time in 2021, finishing eighth with "Discoteque" by The Roop. The Lithuanian participant broadcaster in the contest is Lietuvos nacionalinis radijas ir televizija (LRT).
Lithuania was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "We Are the Winners", written by Andrius Mamontovas, Saulius Urbonavičius and Viktoras Diawara, and performed by the group LT United. The Lithuanian participating broadcaster, Lietuvos radijas ir televizija (LRT), organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select its entry for the contest. The national final took place over eight weeks and involved 49 artists competing in two different competitive streams: newcomers and established artists. In the final, 16 entries remained and a public vote entirely selected "We Are the Winners" performed by LT United as the winner with 32,669 votes. Songwriter and group member Viktoras Diawara represented Lithuania in 2001 as part of the group SKAMP.
"We Are the Winners" is a song by Lithuanian all-star group LT United, consisting of Andrius Mamontovas, Marijonas Mikutavičius, Viktoras Diawara, Saulius Urbonavičius, Arnoldas Lukošius and Eimantas Belickas. It was the Lithuanian entry into the Eurovision Song Contest 2006.
Arnoldas Lukošius is a Lithuanian keyboardist, who has performed in a LT United band at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. He is named by his colleagues as a "Lithuania's first rock accordion player". Lukošius has been a member of the legendary Foje band. Today he is the editor of a popular girls' magazine and also plays in the band of Andrius Mamontovas.
Lithuania was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Little by Little", composed by Bobby Ljunggren, with lyrics by William "Billy" Butt, and performed by Laura and the Lovers. The Lithuanian participating broadcaster, Lietuvos radijas ir televizija (LRT), organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select its entry for the contest. The national final took place over eight weeks and involved 49 competing entries. The results of each show were determined entirely by a public vote. In the final, twenty entries remained and "Little by Little" performed by Laura and the Lovers was selected as the winner with 5,465 votes.
SKAMP is a Lithuanian pop band.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Love or Leave" written by Julija Ritčik. The song was performed by the band 4Fun. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. The national final took place over six weeks and involved three different competitive streams: entries performed by newcomers, semi-established artists and established artists. In the final, eleven artists and songs remained and the winner was selected over two rounds of public voting. In the first round, the top three were selected to qualify to the superfinal. In the superfinal, "Love or Leave" performed by 4Fun was selected as the winner with 23,888 votes.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Love" written and performed by Sasha Son, which is the artistic name of singer Dmitrij Šavrov. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the song contest Lietuvos Dainų Daina in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. The competition took place over six weeks and involved 36 competing entries. The results of each show were determined by regional televoting. In the final, fourteen entries remained and "Pasiklydęs žmogus" performed by Sasha Son was selected as the winner. The song was later translated from Lithuanian to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Love".
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Eastern European Funk" written and performed by the group InCulto. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway. The national final took place over four weeks and involved 34 competing entries. The results of each show were determined by the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote. In the final, twelve artists and songs remained and "Eastern European Funk" performed by InCulto was selected as the winner.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "C'est ma vie" written by Paulius Zdanavičius and Andrius Kairys. The song was performed by Evelina Sašenko. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. The national final took place over four weeks and involved 40 competing entries. In the final, thirteen artists and songs remained and the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the superfinal. In the superfinal, a jury vote entirely selected "C'est ma vie" performed by Evelina Sašenko as the winner.
Lithuanian broadcaster LRT announced their debut for Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The National Final, "Mažųjų žvaigždžių ringas" chose Lina Joy to represent Lithuania in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Love Is Blind" written by Brandon Stone and Jodie Rose. The song was performed by Donny Montell. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. The national final took place over five weeks and involved 36 competing entries. In the final, fourteen entries remained and the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the superfinal. In the superfinal, a jury vote entirely selected "Love Is Blind" performed by Donny Montell as the winner.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Something" written and performed by Andrius Pojavis. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. The national final took place over ten weeks and involved 39 competing entries. In the final, seven entries remained and the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the superfinal. In the superfinal, a jury vote entirely selected "Something" performed by Andrius Pojavis as the winner.
Lithuania was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "You Got Style", written by Viktoras Diawara, Vilius Alesius, and Erica Jennings, and performed by the group Skamp. The Lithuanian participating broadcaster, Lietuvos radijas ir televizija (LRT), selected its entry through the national final entitled "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka. The broadcaster returned to the contest after a one-year absence following its relegation in 2000 as one of the six entrants with the lowest average scores over the previous five contests. The national final involved 15 competing entries and "You Got Style" performed by Skamp was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel, votes from the venue audience and a public vote.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "I've Been Waiting for This Night" written by Jonas Thander and Beatrice Robertsson. The song was performed by Donny Montell, who previously represented Lithuania in the 2012 contest with the song "Love Is Blind", placing 14th in the final. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. The national final took place over 10 weeks and involved 28 artists competing in two different competitive streams: artists that applied with a song and artists that were matched with a song from the song submissions LRT received because they did not have a song. The results of each show were determined by the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote. In the final, six artists and songs remained and "I've Been Waiting For This Night" performed by Donny Montell was selected as the winner.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "When We're Old" written by Vytautas Bikus. The song was performed by Ieva Zasimauskaitė. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal. The national final took place over nine weeks and involved 50 competing entries. The results of each show were determined by the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote. In the final, six artists and songs remained and "When We're Old" performed by Ieva Zasimauskaitė was selected as the winner.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Run with the Lions" written by Ashley Hicklin, Eric Lumiere and Pele Loriano. The song was performed by Jurij Veklenko. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. The national final took place over seven weeks and involved 49 competing entries. The results of each show were determined by the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote. In the final, eight artists and songs remained and "Run with the Lions" performed by Jurijus was selected as the winner.
Lithuania originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "On Fire" written by Vaidotas Valiukevičius, Robertas Baranauskas and Mantas Banišauskas. The song was performed by the band The Roop. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final Pabandom iš naujo! 2020 in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The national final took place over six weeks and involved 36 competing entries. The results of each show were determined by the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote. In the final, eight artists and songs remained and "On Fire" performed by the Roop was selected as the winner.
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