Melodifestivalen 2005 was the selection for the 45th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 44th time that this system of picking a song had been used. Five semifinals had taken place to select the ten songs for the final, in Gothenburg, Linköping, Skellefteå, Växjö and a Second Chance round in Stockholm. The final was broadcast on SVT1 and Sveriges Radio's P4 network. Nanne Grönvall's defeat was met with consternation by many people, who felt that a gap of over 150,000 votes should be enough for victory. There were even calls for SVT to scrap the jury system altogether and simply let the televotes decide the winner. For a comparison, it was noted that Grönvall had received more votes than Lena Philipsson, the popular 2004 winner. However, SVT said that there was nothing they could do about the result. Four finalists topped the Swedish charts. Alcazar and Alcastar got to number one the week before the final, Jimmy Jansson got to the number one some weeks after that with Vi kan gunga, Martin Stenmarck's winner Las Vegas hit the top spot the week after that, while Nanne Grönvall and Håll om mig topped the charts the week after that.
Bulgaria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 12 times since making its debut at the 2005 contest in Kyiv. The country's best result is a second-place finish for Kristian Kostov and the song "Beautiful Mess" at the 2017 contest also in Kyiv.
Russia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since their debut in 1994. Russia won the 2008 contest with Dima Bilan performing the song "Believe". One of the most successful countries in the contest in the 21st century with a total of ten top five placements, Russia finished second with Alsou in 2000, Dima Bilan in 2006, Buranovskiye Babushki in 2012 and Polina Gagarina in 2015; third with t.A.T.u. in 2003, Serebro in 2007, Sergey Lazarev in 2016 and 2019, and fifth with Dina Garipova in 2013. In 2018, they failed to qualify for the final for the first time in their history.
Greece has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 40 times since its debut in 1974, missing six contests in that time. Greece's first win came in 2005 with "My Number One", sung by Helena Paparizou. The Greek national broadcaster, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (ERT), broadcasts the event each year and organises the process for the selection of the Greek entry. Greece has never finished last in the contest.
Evropesma or Europjesma was a pop song contest in Serbia and Montenegro which ran from 2004 to 2006. The winning song represented the country in the Eurovision Song Contest. It was organized by the Serbia and Montenegro union of broadcasters UJRT.
Georgia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 12 times, debuting at the 2007 contest. Georgia planned to participate in 2009, but decided to withdraw after the European Broadcasting Union demanded it re-write its song which made reference to the 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.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following Dima Bilan's win at the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia with the song "Believe". It was the first time Russia had hosted the contest - 14 years after the country made its debut. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Channel One (C1R), the contest was held at the Olimpiysky Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, and the final on 16 May 2009. The semi-finals were hosted by Natalia Vodianova and Andrey Malahov, while the final was hosted by Ivan Urgant and Alsou Abramova.
Sweden entered the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with "La voix", performed by Malena Ernman. Ernman was the winner of the Swedish song contest Melodifestivalen, which serves as Sweden's selection process for Eurovision.
Svitlana Serhiivna Loboda, also known by the stage name LOBODA, is a Ukrainian singer and composer. Loboda represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and finished in 12th place with 76 points.
The Belarus entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was organised by BTRC. It had been originally planned for ONT to take over after criticism over BTRC's selection methods. However, as ONT's application for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the contest's organisers, had been rejected, BTRC again selected the Belarusian entry for the seventh year. An internal selection was held by the broadcaster after a public call for song submissions, and after 41 entries were received the band 3+2 were selected. The band performed the song "Butterflies" at the contest, having changed their song on 19 March from their initial choice "Far Away".
Azerbaijan was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 by 17-year-old singer Safura Alizadeh, selected from an open casting call for artists and a national final. She performed the song "Drip Drop" at the contest, held in Bærum, Norway, and finished 5th in the final. Azerbaijanian broadcaster İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti (İTV) selected the song on 18 March.
Russia participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, held in Oslo, Norway in May 2010, and was represented by broadcaster Russia 1.
Israel participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, held in Oslo, Norway in May. The Israeli entry was performed by Harel Skaat, with the song decided by a televised national final, Kdam Eurovision, that was held in February 2010.
"Horehronie" is a Slovak pop song, composed by Martin Kavulič with lyrics by poet Kamil Peteraj and performed by Kristina, and it was the Slovak entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. It was performed together with a backing vocals Hana servická and dancers: Martin Mikulášek, Peter Živner, David Schimmer & Slavomír Kolkovič. The song is an ode to the Horehronie tourism region. It became the winner of the Slovak music contest Eurosong 2010 on 27 February, getting the largest share of the televote and coming second in the jury vote.
Peter Andreyevich Nalitch, also spelled as Petr Nalich or Pyotr Nalich, is a Russian singer and composer who represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo. In the final on May 29, he came 11th with his song "Lost and Forgotten".
Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany, selecting their entry through the national final Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011, organised by Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV).
Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany, selecting their entry internally. This was the country's fifteenth participation in the contest after debuting in 1994.
Pavel Parfeni, known professionally as Pasha Parfeny, is a Moldovan musician, singer and songwriter. He represented Moldova at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he placed 11th with his song "Lăutar". He was formerly known for being the lead singer of the Moldovan band SunStroke Project.
Sweden participated in and hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song Euphoria performed by Loreen. The Swedish entry was selected through Melodifestivalen 2013, a national final format that consisted of four semi-finals, a second chance round and a final, organised by Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT). Robin Stjernberg represented Sweden with the song "You", which scored 62 points in the grand final and finished in 14th place.
Armenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Armenian entry was selected through a combination of an internal selection to select the artist and a national final to select the song, organised by the Armenian broadcaster Public Television of Armenia (ARMTV). Dorians represented Armenia with the song "Lonely Planet", which qualified from the second semi-final of the competition and placed 18th in the final, scoring 41 points.
