Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

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Eurovision Song Contest 2006
CountryFlag of Russia.svg  Russia
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)7 March 2006
Selected entrant Dima Bilan
Selected song"Never Let You Go"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (3rd, 217 points)
Final result2nd, 248 points
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2005 •2006• 2007►

Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece. The Russian entry was selected internally by the Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia (C1R). Dima Bilan represented Russia with the song "Never Let You Go", which qualified from the semi-final and placed 2nd in the final, scoring 248 points. This 2nd place, alongside the 2nd place of Alsou in 2000, was the best result of Russia until 2008.

Contents

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

On 26 January 2006, C1R announced a submission period for interested artists and composers to submit their entries until 1 March 2006. A jury panel evaluated the received submissions on 7 March 2006 and selected the Russian entry. [1] The jury consisted of Konstantin Ernst (general manager of C1R), Yuriy Aksyuta (music director of C1R), Ilya Bachurin (vice president of MTV Russia), Alexander Polesitskiy (general director of Europa Plus), Vladimir Matetsky (singer-songwriter and producer), Viktor Drobysh (composer and producer) and Larisa Dolina (singer). [2]

On 7 March 2006, C1R announced that they had internally selected Dima Bilan to represent Russia in Athens. [3] Bilan's selection as the Russian representative was decided upon by the jury panel from three shortlisted candidates: Ariana, Bilan and Varvara. [4] Bilan previously attempted to represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004 and 2005. A new contest song was to be composed on the request of the jury, with "Never Let You Go" being kept as a backup, however "Never Let You Go" was ultimately selected as the Russian song due to a lack of time to create a new song within ten days for the official entry to be submitted to the European Broadcasting Union. [5] "Never Let You Go" was composed by Alexander Lunyov, with lyrics by Irina Antonyan and Karen Kavaleryan; Antonyan and Kavaleryan previously co-wrote the lyrics for the 2002 Russian entry.

Known submitted entries [6] [7]
Artist(s)Song
Alexandr PanayotovUnknown
Ariana"Don't Go"
Balagan Limited"Welcome to Russia"
Bizyulka"Rachok" (Рачок)
Dima Bilan "Lady Flame"
Dima Bilan "Never Let You Go"
Gerda"Ninka" (Нинка)
Jam"Children of the World"
Jasmin"Desperate Foreigner"
Julietta M."Sex"
Namik Aliev"Baqishla"
Nikolay BurlakUnknown
Polina Griffith"Don't Tell Me Goodbye"
Private Beat"Goodbye"
Ranetki"Ona odna" (Она одна)
Respublika"Rus moya, grust" (Русь моя, грусть)
Sergey AbalymovUnknown
Sergey Ermilov"I Wanna"
Varvara "We'll Be There"
Zhenya Rasskazova"Na territorii serdtsa" (На территории сердца)
Zhenya Rasskazova"Ya ne hochu odna na kray zemli" (Я не хочу одна на край земли)
First Round - 7 March 2006 [8]
Artist(s)Song
Ariana"Don't Go"
Dima Bilan "Lady Flame"
Dima Bilan "Never Let You Go"
Jasmin"Desperate Foreigner"
Polina Griffith"Don't Tell Me Goodbye"
Varvara "We'll Be There"
Second Round – 7 March 2006
ArtistSongSongwriter(s)VotesPlace
Ariana"Don't Go"Matvey Anichkin, Ariana Grinblat03
Dima Bilan "Lady Flame"Alexander Lunyov, Irina Antonyan, Karen Kavaleryan 61
"Never Let You Go"Alexander Lunyov, Irina Antonyan, Karen Kavaleryan
Varvara "We'll Be There"Artyom Orlov, Marc Paelinck12

At Eurovision

Since Russia did not place in the top 10 countries (excluding the Big Four) in the 2005 Contest, Russia was required to compete in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 on 18 May 2006. On 21 March 2006, Russia was drawn to perform 13th in the semi-final, following Poland and preceding Turkey. [9]

For the Russian performance, Bilan was joined on stage by two ballerinas and two backing vocalists as well as a hollow white piano where a third ballerina emerged from a rose covered opening later in the performance. [10] Russia qualified from the semi-final, placing 3rd and scoring 217 points. [11] Since Russia was the first national announced as a qualifying country during the semi-final broadcast, Russia took the first available qualifier spot in the final running order. In the final, Russia performed 10th, following Denmark and preceding Macedonia. [12] After the voting concluded, Russia scored 248 points and placed 2nd. [13] Since Russia was among the top 10 countries, excluding the nations that constitute the Big Four, Russia pre-qualified to compete directly in the final of the 2007 Contest.

The semi-final and final were broadcast on Channel One, with commentary by Yuriy Aksyuta and Tatyana Godunova. The voting spokesperson for Russia was Yana Churikova. [14]

Voting

Points awarded to Russia

Points awarded by Russia

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Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Russia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 23 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. The Russian entry has been chosen through both internal selections and a televised national final titled Evrovidenie, with their most recent entry (2021) being chosen by the latter.

Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece, with the song "Zjarr e ftohtë" performed by Luiz Ejlli. Its selected entry was chosen through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2005. To this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest two times since its first entry in 2004. Due to the non-top 11 result in the previous contest, Albania was drawn to compete in the semi-final of the contest, which took place on 18 May 2006. Performing as number six, the nation was not announced among the top 10 entries of the semi-final and therefore failed to qualify for the grand final, marking Albania's first non-qualification in the contest.

Armenia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Without Your Love" written by Armen Matirosyan and Catherine Bekian. The song was performed by André, who was selected internally by the Armenian broadcaster Public Television of Armenia (AMPTV) to represent Armenia in the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece. André's selection as the Armenian artist was announced on 20 January 2006, while the song "Without Your Love" was later presented to the public on 17 March 2006.

Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Mum" written by Andrey Kostyugov and Sergey Sukhomlin. The song was performed by Polina Smolova. The Belarusian entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece 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 a semi-final which was a televised production and an untelevised final held on 10 February 2006 and 27 February 2006, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where the top three entries as determined by a public televote qualified to the final. In the final, an eight-member jury panel selected "Mama" performed by Polina Smolova as the winner. The song was later retitled for the Eurovision Song Contest as "Mum".

Bulgaria was represented by Mariana Popova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Let Me Cry", written by Elina Gavrilova and composed by Dani Milev. The song is only the country's second entry, after they débuted at the contest last year.

Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Why Angels Cry" written by Peter Yiannakis and performed by Annet Artani. The Cypriot entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece was determined on 22 February 2006, having been selected through the national final A Song for Europe organised by the country's public broadcasting service Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC). A Song for Europe saw 20 competing entries split between two semi-final rounds leading to a 10-entry final.

Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Through My Window" written by Pearu Paulus, Ilmar Laisaar, Alar Kotkas and Jana Hallas. The song was performed by Sandra Oxenryd. The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Televisioon (ETV) organised the national final Eurolaul 2006 in order to select the Estonian entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece. Ten songs competed in the national final and "Through My Window" performed by Sandra Oxenryd was selected as the winner by an international jury panel.

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Spain participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Un Blodymary" written by Manuel Ruiz Gómez "Queco". The song was performed by the group Las Ketchup, which was selected by Spanish broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE) to represent the nation at the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece. Las Ketchup and "Un Blodymary" were presented to the public as the Spanish entry on 27 February 2006 during the evening magazine programme España Directo.

Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kyiv, 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.

Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland. Despite early indications that the Russian participation for 2007 would be organised by Rossiya Channel (RTR), Channel One Russia (C1R) remained in charge of selecting the Russian entry and retained the broadcast rights for the 2007 Contest. The Russian entry was selected internally by C1R. Serebro represented Russia with the song "Song #1", which placed 3rd in the final, scoring 207 points.

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Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia. The Russian entry was selected through a national final, Evrovidenie 2008 organised by the Russian broadcaster Rossiya Channel (RTR). Dima Bilan represented Russia with the song "Believe", which qualified from the first semi-final of the competition and won the contest, placing 1st in the final with 272 points.

Russia participated in and hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Believe" performed by Dima Bilan. The Russian entry was selected through a national final, organised by the Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia (C1R). Anastasia Prikhodko represented Russia with the song "Mamo", which scored 91 points in the final and finished in 11th place.

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Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Russian entry was selected through an internal selection, organised by Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia (C1R). Dina Garipova represented Russia with the song "What If", which qualified from the first semi-final of the competition and placed 5th in the final with 174 points.

Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Russian entry was selected internally by the Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia (C1R). Yulia Savicheva represented Russia with the song "Believe Me", which placed 11th and scored 67 points at the contest.

Evrovidenie. Nacionalny Otbor, Nacionalny Otbor na Evrovidenie or simply Evrovidenie is a Russian televised musical competition organized by Russian public broadcasters Channel One in odd years and Russia-1 of VGTRK in even years. The competition is used to select Russia's representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. Since 2005, it has been streamed live on the Internet through the official websites of the broadcasters. Throughout its history, the competition has been held using different names, including Evrovidenie – Pesnya '95 (1995), Pesnya dlya Evropy (1996), Evrovidenie – Vybirayet Rossiya (2005), Kto? (2014), but has been known for most of its history as Evrovidenie. Nacionalny Otbor.

References

  1. ↑ Mikheev, Andy. "Russia 2006". ESCKaz. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Mikheev, Andy. "Eurovision 2006 Dima Bilan". ESCKaz. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Bakker, Sietse (7 March 2006). "Dima Bilan to represent Russia!". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Семь человек решили, что на "Евровидение-2006" едет Дима Билан". Tyumenskaya liniya (in Russian). 8 March 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ Mikheev, Andy. "Russia 2006". ESCKaz. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Russia".
  7. ↑ "Collectors guide".
  8. ↑ "Семь человек решили, что на "Евровидение-2006" едет Дима Билан". Tyumenskaya liniya (in Russian). 8 March 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ Bakker, Sietse (21 March 2006). "Running order decided!". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  10. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (12 May 2006). "Russia first on stage today". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "Semi-Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Bakker, Sietse (18 May 2006). "ATHENS 2006: 10 QUALIFIED FOR THE FINAL!". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "Grand Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  14. ↑ Bakker, Sietse (20 May 2006). "Meet the spokespersons for tonight's voting!". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Results of the Semi-Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  16. 1 2 "Results of the Grand Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
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