Eurovision Song Contest 2009 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Country | United Kingdom | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | Eurovision: Your Country Needs You | |||
Selection date(s) | Introduction show: 3 January 2009 Heats: 10 January 2009 17 January 2009 Semi-final: 24 January 2009 Final: 31 January 2009 | |||
Selected entrant | Jade Ewen | |||
Selected song | "It's My Time" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) | ||||
Finals performance | ||||
Final result | 5th, 173 points | |||
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "It's My Time" written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren. The song was performed by Jade Ewen. The British entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia was selected via the national final Eurovision: Your Country Needs You , organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final which consisted of two heats, a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a public televote.
As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 23, the United Kingdom placed 5th out of the 25 participating countries with 173 points.
Prior to the 2009 contest, the United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-one times. [1] Thus far, the United Kingdom has won the contest five times: in 1967 with the song "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw, in 1969 with the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Lulu, in 1976 with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" performed by Brotherhood of Man, in 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz and in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. To this point, the nation is noted for having finished as the runner-up in a record fifteen contests. Up to and including 1998, the UK had only twice finished outside the top 10, in 1978 and 1987. Since 1999, the year in which the rule was abandoned that songs must be performed in one of the official languages of the country participating, the UK has had less success, thus far only finishing within the top ten once: in 2002 with the song "Come Back" performed by Jessica Garlick. For the 2008 contest, the United Kingdom finished in twenty-fifth place (last) out of twenty-five competing entries with the song "Even If" performed by Andy Abraham.
The British national broadcaster, BBC, broadcasts the event within the United Kingdom and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Despite calls from the leader of the Conservative Party David Cameron for a withdrawal due to the 2008 South Ossetia war, BBC announced that the United Kingdom would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 on 28 May 2008. [2] [3] BBC has traditionally organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose the British entry for Eurovision. For their 2009 entry, the broadcaster announced that a national final involving a public vote would be held to select United Kingdom's entry.
Eurovision: Your Country Needs You 2009 was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Six acts competed over four televised shows between 10 and 31 January 2009 held at the BBC Television Centre in London and hosted by Graham Norton. [4] All shows in the national final were broadcast on BBC One as well as streamed online via the broadcaster's website bbc.co.uk. [5]
On 18 October 2008, BBC announced an open submission for interested artists to submit their applications in the form of a video recording of themselves performing a cover version of a popular song or a self-written song. Eligible artists were those being 17 years old by 1 January 2009 and living in a country within the European Economic Area. The application period lasted until 21 November 2008. [6] [7] Additional applicants were provided to the BBC by casting companies through professional organisations including agents, stage schools, vocal teachers, open mic events, regional print press and radio stations. The received applications were reviewed and a shortlist was compiled by BBC producers and presented to a professional panel consisting of Andrew Lloyd Webber (composer of the British song), Colin Barlow (Universal Music representative) and BBC producers that ultimately selected six contestants to compete in the national final following auditions as well as vocal and staging workshops held in London. [8] [9] [10] The six contestants were announced during an introduction show on 3 January 2009 which covered the background preparation and selection processes of the national final. [11] [12] [13]
Act | Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Semi-final | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jade Ewen | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner |
Francine and Nicola Gleadall | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-up |
Mark Evans | Safe | Safe | Safe | 3rd place |
Emperors of Soul | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (Heat 3) |
Charlotte Finlay | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (Heat 2) | |
Damien Flood | Eliminated | Eliminated (Heat 1) |
Two heats took place on 10 and 17 January 2009. [14] [15] In addition to individual performances of the six contestants, the female contestants together performed the songs "One Rock & Roll Too Many" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Starlight Express in the first heat and "Rhythm of the Night" by DeBarge in the second heat, while the male contestants together performed the songs "No Matter What" by Boyzone in the first heat and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship in the second heat. The contestants together also performed the winning song for the United Kingdom in 1976 "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man in the second heat. Guest performer in the first heat was Lemar who performed the song "Weight of the World" from his latest album The Reason , while guest performer in the second heat was the group The Saturdays which performed the song "Up" from their latest album. [16] [17] [18]
A panel of experts provided feedback alongside Lloyd Webber regarding the performances during the shows. The panel in the first heat consisted of Lulu (Eurovision Song Contest winner for the United Kingdom in 1969 with "Boom Bang-a-Bang") and Arlene Phillips (choreographer, talent scout and television presenter), while the panel in the second heat consisted of Lulu and Duncan James (singer, actor and member of Blue). A public televote selected two contestants to be up for elimination (the "danger zone") and Andrew Lloyd Webber eliminated one of the contestants. [19] [20]
Draw | Artist | Song (Original artist) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Emperors of Soul | "Love Train" (The O'Jays) | Safe |
2 | Mark Evans | "Your Game" (Will Young) | Safe |
3 | Charlotte Finlay | "Because of You" (Kelly Clarkson) | "Danger zone" |
4 | Damien Flood | "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (Michael Bolton) | Eliminated |
5 | Francine and Nicola Gleadall | "You've Got a Friend" (Carole King) | Safe |
6 | Jade Ewen | "Déjà Vu" (Beyoncé) | Safe |
Draw | Artist | Song (Original artist) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Francine and Nicola Gleadall | "The Promise" (Girls Aloud) | Safe |
2 | Emperors of Soul | "Kiss" (Prince) | "Danger zone" |
3 | Jade Ewen | "The Voice Within" (Christina Aguilera) | Safe |
4 | Charlotte Finlay | "Rain on Your Parade" (Duffy) | Eliminated |
5 | Mark Evans | "Me and Mrs. Jones" (Billy Paul) | Safe |
The four remaining contestants competed in the semi-final on 24 January 2009. [14] [15] In addition to their performances, the female contestants performed the song "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders, while the male contestants performed the song "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John. Guest performers were Lulu performing the winning song for the United Kingdom in 1969 "Boom Bang-a-Bang", and Alesha Dixon performing the song "Breathe Slow". [21] [22]
A panel of experts provided feedback alongside Lloyd Webber regarding the performances during the show. The panel consisted of Dixon and Emma Bunton (singer-songwriter and actress). [23] The contestants each performed two songs: a ballad and an up-tempo song. [24] A public televote selected two contestants to be up for elimination (the "danger zone") and Andrew Lloyd Webber eliminated one of the contestants. [25] [26]
Artist | Draw | First Song (Original artist) | Draw | Second Song (Original artist) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Evans | 1 | "Rock Your Body" (Justin Timberlake) | 5 | "I Don't Want to Talk About It" (Rod Stewart) | Safe |
Jade Ewen | 2 | "All by Myself" (Eric Carmen) | 6 | "Think" (Aretha Franklin) | "Danger zone" |
Emperors of Soul | 3 | "Patience" (Take That) | 7 | "Uptown Girl" (Billy Joel) | Eliminated |
Francine and Nicola Gleadall | 4 | "About You Now" (Sugababes) | 8 | "All I Have to Do Is Dream" (The Everly Brothers) | Safe |
The three remaining contestants competed in the final on 31 January 2009. In addition to their performances, the contestants performed the winning song for the United Kingdom in 1981 "Making Your Mind Up" by Bucks Fizz in a group. Guest performers included Lulu performing the song "Relight My Fire" by Dan Hartman with the eliminated contestants Damien Flood, Charlotte Finlay and Emperors of Soul, and previous Eurovision Song Contest winner Dima Bilan who won the contest for Russia in 2008 with the song "Believe". [25] [27]
A panel of experts provided feedback alongside Lloyd Webber regarding the performances during the show. The panel consisted of previous panellists Lulu and James. The contestants each performed three songs, including a previously performed song during the preceding three heats and the British song "It's My Time". [28] [29] A public televote selected Jade Ewen as the winning artist.
Artist | Draw | First Song (Original artist) | Draw | Second Song (Original artist) | Draw | ESC Song | Place |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jade Ewen | 1 | "Lady Marmalade" (Labelle) | 6 | "The Promise" (Girls Aloud) | 9 | "It's My Time" | 1 |
Mark Evans | 2 | "Try a Little Tenderness" (The Commitments) | 5 | "Déjà Vu" (Beyoncé) | 7 | 3 | |
Francine and Nicola Gleadall | 3 | "Sweet About Me" (Gabriella Cilmi) | 4 | "Me and Mrs. Jones" (Billy Paul) | 8 | 2 |
Show | Date | Viewers (in millions) | Share | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Introduction show | 3 January 2009 | 4.9 | 21% | [30] [31] |
Heat 1 | 10 January 2009 | 5 | 22% | [32] |
Heat 2 | 17 January 2009 | 4.6 | 22% | [33] |
Semi-final | 24 January 2009 | Unknown | ||
Final | 31 January 2009 | 5.5 | 30% | [34] |
Jade Ewen made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "It's My Time" as the British Eurovision entry. On 7 February, Jade Ewen performed "It's My Time" during the final of the Maltese Eurovision national final. [35] She also performed the song between 18 February and 7 March during the Greek Eurovision national final, [36] the presentation show of the 2009 Bosnian Eurovision entry, [37] and the Russian and Ukrainian Eurovision national finals. [38] [39] On 18 April, Ewen performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Amsterdam Marcanti venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Marga Bult and Maggie MacNeal, and appeared during the RTL 4 programme Life and Cooking. [40] On 3 May, Ewen performed "It's My Time" during Taniec z Gwiazdami , the Polish version of Strictly Come Dancing . [41] Prior to the contest, Ewen was interviewed by Russian magazine OK! which gave away more than 100,000 copies of "It's My Time" to readers from Russia and Ukraine. [42]
In addition to their international appearances, on 17 May, Jade Ewen performed during the UK Eurovision Preview Party, which was held in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell. [43] On 1, 2 and 4 May, Ewen appeared on the BBC One programmes Friday Night with Jonathan Ross , Saturday Kitchen and The One Show , respectively.
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 songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries. As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final on 16 May 2009. [44] In addition to their participation in the final, France is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 30 January 2009, the United Kingdom was assigned to broadcast and vote in the first semi-final on 12 May 2009.
In the United Kingdom, the semi-finals were broadcast on BBC Three with commentary by Paddy O'Connell and Sarah Cawood, while the final was televised on BBC One with commentary by Graham Norton and broadcast on BBC Radio 2 with commentary by Ken Bruce. [45] [46] [47] Norton replaced Terry Wogan following his retirement as the British commentator since 1980. [48] [49] The British spokesperson, who announced the British votes during the final, was Duncan James.
Jade Ewen took part in technical rehearsals on 9 and 10 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 15 and 16 May. This included the jury final on 15 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. The running order for the semi-finals and final was decided by through another draw on 16 March 2009 and the United Kingdom was subsequently placed to perform in position 23, following the entry from Romania and before the entry from Finland. [50] [51]
The British performance featured Jade Ewen on stage with the LED screens displaying white chandeliers. Ewen made her entrance on a staircase in the middle of the stage with four violinists dressed in black tailcoats and bow ties, and was later joined by the co-composer of "It's My Time" Andrew Lloyd Webber who played the piano. [52] [53] The singer wore a dress designed by designer Amanda Wakeley during the performance, which was choreographed by Arlene Philips. [54] The performance also featured smoke effects. [55] [56] The United Kingdom placed fifth in the final, scoring 173 points. [57]
The voting system for 2009 involved each country awarding points from 1–8, 10 and 12, with the points in the final being decided by a combination of 50% national jury and 50% televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.
Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that the United Kingdom had placed tenth with the public televote and third with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, the United Kingdom scored 105 points, while with the jury vote, the United Kingdom scored 223 points.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the United Kingdom and awarded by the United Kingdom in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
Score | Country |
---|---|
12 points | Greece |
10 points | |
8 points | |
7 points | |
6 points | |
5 points | |
4 points | |
3 points | |
2 points | |
1 point |
|
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The following members comprised the British jury:
Draw | Country | Results | Points | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jury | Televoting | Combined | |||
01 | Lithuania | 8 | 8 | 4 | |
02 | Israel | ||||
03 | France | 4 | 4 | 1 | |
04 | Sweden | ||||
05 | Croatia | ||||
06 | Portugal | 1 | 1 | ||
07 | Iceland | 10 | 5 | 15 | 8 |
08 | Greece | 10 | 10 | 5 | |
09 | Armenia | 2 | 2 | ||
10 | Russia | ||||
11 | Azerbaijan | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
12 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3 | 3 | ||
13 | Moldova | ||||
14 | Malta | 7 | 6 | 13 | 6 |
15 | Estonia | ||||
16 | Denmark | 3 | 3 | ||
17 | Germany | 12 | 2 | 14 | 7 |
18 | Turkey | 6 | 12 | 18 | 12 |
19 | Albania | ||||
20 | Norway | 8 | 7 | 15 | 10 |
21 | Ukraine | 5 | 5 | 2 | |
22 | Romania | ||||
23 | United Kingdom | ||||
24 | Finland | ||||
25 | Spain |
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Hold On Be Strong" written by Mira Craig. The song was performed by Maria Haukaas Storeng. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2008 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. 18 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals, a Last Chance round and a final. Eight entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 9 February 2008 where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, a public televote exclusively selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, "Hold On Be Strong" performed by Maria Haukaas Storeng was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three regional jury groups and a public televote.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the 2008 contest with the song "Believe" by Dima Bilan. 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 a final on 16 May 2009. The semi-finals were presented by Russian model Natalia Vodianova and television presenter Andrey Malakhov, while the final was presented by Russian television presenter Ivan Urgant and former Russian contestant Alsou Abramova, becoming the first and to date only time that two different sets of presenters had hosted the semi-finals and finals.
Norway participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Fairytale" written and performed by Alexander Rybak. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2009 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. 21 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals, a Last Chance round and a final. Eight entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 21 February 2009 where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, a public televote exclusively selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from four regional jury groups and a public televote.
Bulgaria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Illusion" written by Krassimir Avramov, William Tabanou and Casie Tabanou. The song was performed by Avramov. The Bulgarian broadcaster Bulgarian National Television (BNT) organised the national final Bŭlgarskata pesen v „Evroviziya 2009” in order to select the Bulgarian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. 45 entries were selected to participate in the first phase of the national final, Bŭdi zvezda, which consisted of three monthly selections. Nine entries qualified to compete in Bŭlgarskata pesen v „Evroviziya 2009” which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final, held on 24 January 2009 and 21 February 2009, respectively. Eighteen entries competed in the semi-final and the top nine songs as determined by an eight-member jury panel qualified to the final alongside three pre-qualified songs. In the final, public televoting exclusively selected "Illusion" performed by Avramov as the winning entry with 19,553 votes.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Et s'il fallait le faire" written by Fred Blondin and Anse Lazio. The song was performed by Patricia Kaas. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 internally selected the French entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. Patricia Kaas was officially announced by France 3 as the French entrant on 28 January 2009 and later the song was presented to the public as the contest entry on 1 February 2009.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Shine" written by Bas van den Heuvel and Gordon Heuckeroth. The song was performed by the group De Toppers, which was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) to represent the Netherlands at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. De Toppers' appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 19 September 2008, while the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2009 was organised in order to select the song. Six songs competed in the national final on 1 February 2009 where "Shine" was selected as the winning song following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public vote.
Denmark participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Believe Again" written by Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Michael Larsson and Ronan Keating. The song was performed by Brinck. The Danish broadcaster DR organised the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2009 in order to select the Danish entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. Ten songs competed in a televised show where the winner was selected over three rounds of voting. The results of the first round were decided upon through the combination of jury voting and public voting while the results in the second and third round were determined solely by public televoting. "Believe Again" performed by Brinck was the winner after gaining the most public votes in the third round.
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "What If We" written by Marc Paelinck and Gregory Bilsen. The song was performed by Chiara, who had previously represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest in the 1998 and 2005 edition where she achieved third and second place with the songs "The One That I Love" and "Angel", respectively. The Maltese entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia was selected through the national final GO Malta EuroSong 2009, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of a semi-final round and a final, held between 8 November 2008 and 7 February 2009, where "What If We" performed by Chiara eventually emerged as the winning entry after scoring the most points from a jury in the first round and gaining the most votes from a public televote in the second round with 12,249 votes.
Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Is It True?" written by Óskar Páll Sveinsson, Tinatin Japaridze and Christopher Neil. The song was performed by Yohanna, which is the artistic name of singer Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir. The Icelandic entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia was selected through the national final Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2009, organised by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). The selection consisted of four semi-finals and a final, held on 10 January, 17 January, 24 January, 31 January and 14 February 2009, respectively. Four songs competed in each semi-final with the top two as selected by a public televote advancing to the final. In the final, "Is It True?" performed by Yohanna emerged as the winner exclusively through public televoting.
Slovenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Love Symphony" written by Andrej Babić and Aleksandar Valenčić. The song was performed by the group Quartissimo featuring Martina. Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija organised the national final EMA 2009 in order to select the Slovenian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. 20 entries competed in the national final which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. Fourteen of the entries competed in the semi-final and the top eight entries were selected to advance alongside six pre-qualified songs following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote. Fourteen entries qualified to compete in the final where "Love Symphony" performed by Quartissimo and Martina Majerle was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.
Slovakia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Leť tmou" written by Rastislav Dubovský, Petronela Kolevská and Anna Žigová. The song was performed by Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková. In September 2008, the Slovak broadcaster Slovenská televízia (STV) announced that they would return to the Eurovision Song Contest after an eleven-year absence. The broadcaster selected the Slovak entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia through the national final Eurosong 2009. 50 entries competed in the national final which consisted of six shows: five semi-finals and a final. Entries were selected to advance from the semi-finals based on the votes of a seven-member jury panel as well as the votes from the public. Sixteen entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 8 March 2009 where a public televote selected three of the entries to proceed to a second round of voting. In the second round of voting, "Leť tmou" performed by Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková was selected as the winner after scoring the most points from the jury.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Eyes That Never Lie" written by Petr Elfimov and Valery Prokhozhy. The song was performed by Petr Elfimov. The Belarusian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia was selected through the national final Eurofest 2009, 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 15 December 2008 and 19 January 2009, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where the top five entries as determined by a jury panel qualified to the final. In the final, public televoting selected "Eyes That Never Lie" performed by Petr Elfimov as the winner with 11,475 votes.
Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Bistra voda" written by Aleksandar Čović. The song was performed by the band Regina. On 12 January 2009, the Bosnian broadcaster Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT) revealed that they had internally selected Regina to compete at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. Their song, "Bistra voda", was presented to the public during a show entitled BH Eurosong Show 2009 on 1 March 2009.
Croatia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Lijepa Tena" written by Tonči Huljić and Vjekoslava Huljić. The song was performed by Igor Cukrov featuring Andrea. The Croatian broadcaster Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) organised the national final Dora 2009 to select the Croatian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. A total of twenty-four entries competed in the national final which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. In the semi-final on 27 February 2009, six entries qualified to compete in the final on 28 February 2009 alongside ten pre-qualified songs. In the final, "Lijepa Tena" performed by Igor Cukrov was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a six-member jury panel and a public televote.
Ukraine participated in Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Be My Valentine! " written by Evheniy Matyushenko and Svetlana Loboda. The song was performed by Svetlana Loboda. The Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) organised a national final in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. The national selection consisted of a semi-final, held on 21 February 2009, and a final, held on 8 March 2009; thirty-one entries competed in the semi-final with the top fifteen advancing to the final. In the final, "Be My Valentine!" performed by Svetlana Loboda was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a seven-member jury panel and a public televote. The song was later retitled as "Be My Valentine! ".
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Dance with Me" written by Zé Szabó and Kasai. The song was performed by Zoli Ádok. The Hungarian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia was selected internally by the Hungarian public broadcaster Magyar Televízió (MTV). "If You Wanna Party" performed by Márk Zentai was initially announced as the Hungarian entry on 3 February 2009, however, the song was withdrawn on 4 February 2009 as it was presented in 2004 as the Swedish Big Brother theme song "We Became Friends". "Magányos csónak" performed by Kátya Tompos was announced as the replacement entry on the same day, however, the song was also withdrawn on 10 February 2009 and "Dance with Me" performed by Zoli Ádok was announced as the final replacement on 23 February 2009.
Poland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "I Don't Wanna Leave" written by Alex Geringos and Bernd Klimpel. The song was performed by Lidia Kopania. The Polish broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) organised the national final Piosenka dla Europy 2009 in order to select the Polish entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. The national final took place on 14 February 2009 and featured ten entries. "I Don't Wanna Leave" performed by Lidia Kopania was selected as the winner after gaining the most points following the combination of votes from a four-member jury panel and a public vote.
Georgia originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "We Don't Wanna Put In" written by Stephane Mgebrishvili and Bibi Kvachadze. The song was performed by the group Stephane and 3G. The Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) held a national final in order to select the Georgian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. An open call for submissions was held which resulted in the shortlisting of ten entries that were presented to the public during a televised production on 18 February 2009. The results of a public televote combined with the votes of an expert jury resulted in the selection of "We Don't Wanna Put In" performed by Stephane and 3G as the Georgian entry.
"It's My Time" is a song by Jade Ewen, the British entry for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Moscow, Russia, in May 2009. The song was composed and written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren and became the UK's most successful Eurovision entry since 2002 by coming fifth, and a significant improvement on the previous and following year's entries, which both came last in the contest.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "That Sounds Good to Me" written by Pete Waterman, Mike Stock and Steve Crosby. The song was performed by Josh Dubovie. The British entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway was selected via the national final Eurovision: Your Country Needs You 2010, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected through two rounds of voting.