Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

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Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Country Latvia
National selection
Selection processSupernova 2018
Selection date(s)Introduction show:
25 January 2018
1 February 2018
Semi-finals:
3 February 2018
10 February 2018
17 February 2018
Final:
24 February 2018
Selected entrantLaura Rizzotto
Selected song"Funny Girl"
Selected songwriter(s)Laura Rizzotto
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (12th)
Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2017 • 2018 • 2019►

Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) organized the national final Supernova 2018 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon
, Portugal. 21 songs were selected to compete in the national final, which consisted of four shows: three semi-finals and a final. In the semi-finals on 3, 10 and 17 February 2018, two entries were selected to advance from each show alongside two wildcards selected by LTV. Eight songs ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 24 February 2018 where a public televote and a four-member jury panel selected "Funny Girl" performed by Laura Rizzotto as the winner.

Latvia was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 10 May 2018. Performing during the show in position 14, "Funny Girl" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Latvia placed twelfth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 106 points.

Background

Main article: Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2018 contest, Latvia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eighteen times since its first entry in 2000.

introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Latvia was able to qualify to compete in the final between 2005 and 2008. Between 2009 and 2014, the nation had failed to qualify to the final for six consecutive years. After managing to qualify to the final in 2015 and 2016, Latvia failed to qualify in 2017 with the song "Line" performed by Triana Park
.

The Latvian national broadcaster,

Eirodziesma. In a response to the nation's failure to qualify to the final at Eurovision since 2008, between 2013 and 2014, the competition was rebranded and retooled as Dziesma. However, after failing to produce successful entries those two years, LTV developed the Supernova national final since 2015 which produced two out of three Latvian entries that managed to qualify the nation to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. In early December 2017, the broadcaster announced that they would organise Supernova 2018 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2018 contest.[3]

Before Eurovision

Supernova 2018

Supernova 2018 was the fourth edition of

LTV1 as well as online via the streaming platform Replay.lv and the official Supernova website supernova.lsm.lv with commentary by Toms Grēviņš and Edgars Bāliņš.[6]

Format

The format of the competition consisted of four shows: three semi-finals and a final. LTV broadcast two introductory shows on 25 January and 1 February 2018 that covered the background preparation processes and auditions that occurred prior to the competition. The three semi-finals, held on 3, 10 and 17 February 2018, each featured seven competing entries from which two advanced to the final from each show. LTV also advanced two wildcard acts to the final from the remaining non-qualifying entries in the semi-finals. The final, held on 24 February 2018, selected the Latvian entry for Lisbon from the remaining eight entries.

Results during the semi-final and final shows were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote.[7] In the semi-finals, both the jury and public vote assigned points from 1 to 7 based on ranking, with the first place receiving one point and last place receiving seven points. In the final, both the jury and public vote assigned points from 1 to 8 also based on ranking with the first place receiving one point and last place receiving eight points. Ties were decided in favour of the entries that received higher points from the public. Viewers were able to vote via telephone or via SMS. The online vote conducted through the official Supernova website allowed users to vote once per each accepted social network account: Draugiem.lv, Facebook and Twitter. Votes conducted through Spotify were based on unique listener counts, with each stream counting as one vote for each entry.[8]

The jury participated in each show by providing feedback to the competing artists and selecting entries to advance in the competition. The panel consisted of:

  • Rūdolfs Budze–DJ Rudd – DJ and producer
  • Jolanta Gulbe – jazz singer
  • Jānis Lūsēns
    – composer

Competing entries

Artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 6 September 2017 and 15 October 2017.[3] 63 valid entries out of 93 were submitted at the conclusion of the submission period. The submitted songs were listed online on the official Supernova website allowing users to either select the "Like" or "Dislike" option for each entry between 18 and 29 October 2017.[9] 152,082 votes were received and local and international jury panels appointed by LTV evaluated the submitted songs and shortlisted 33 entries, taking the results of the online vote into consideration.[10][11] Auditions in front of the local jury took place on 5 November 2017 at the Alfa Park in Riga and featured the 33 shortlisted entries. The local jury panel consisted of Ilze Jansone (Supernova producer), Toms Grēviņš (radio DJ and journalist) and two members of the jury panel during the live shows: Rūdolfs Budze–DJ Rudd and Jolanta Gulbe.[12] The twenty-one selected performers and songs were determined on 9 November 2017 and all relevant parties were informed. The twenty-one competing artists and songs were announced on 6 December 2017.[7][13]

Artist Song Songwriter(s)
Agnese Stengrēvics "You Are My World" Helvijs Stengrēvics, Agnese Stengrēvics
Dvines "More Than Meets the Eye" Andris Strazds, Dvines
Ed Rallidae "What I Had with You" Aminata Savadogo
Edgars Kreilis "Younger Days" Edgars Kreilis
Hypnotic "Pray" Sabīne Geiba, Beatrise Heislere, Ruslans Kuksinovičs
In My Head "Sunset" Evija Smagare, Armands Varslavāns
Jenny May "Soledad" Maija Stuģe, Martin Karl Hägglund, Martin Björn Hanzén, Tim Erik Åström, Michael Javier Hernan Barraza Alfaro
Katrīna Gupalo and the Black Birds "Intoxicating Caramel" Katrīna Gupalo
Katrine Lukins "Running Red Lights" Katrine Lukins, Andris Lukins, Kaspars Ansons
Kris and Oz "Morning Flight" Artūrs Osipovs, Kristīne Morina, Kristīne Sisējeva, Aleksandrs Solovjovs
Laura Rizzotto "Funny Girl" Laura Rizzotto
Lauris Valters "Lovers Bliss" Lauris Valters
Liene Greifāne "Walk the Talk" Liene Greifāne, Ylva Persson, Linda Persson
Madara "Esamība" Madara Fogelmane
Markus Riva "This Time" Kaspars Ansons, Edgars Krastiņš, Quincy Thompson, Miķelis Ļaksa
Mionia "You" Maija Līcīte
Monta "1000 Roses" Monta Ķimene
Rahu the Fool "Oh Longriver" Pēteris Narubins, Rahu the Fool
Riga Reggae "Stop the War U2" Horens Stalbe, Vladimirs Eglītis, Mārtiņš Burkevics, Renarts Braufmanis
Ritvars "Who's Counting?" Ritvars Vulis
Sudden Lights "Just Fine" Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis, Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis

Shows

Semi-finals

The three semi-finals took place on 3, 10 and 17 February 2018. In each semi-final seven acts competed and the top two entries qualified to the semi-final based on the combination of votes from a jury panel and the Latvian public.[14] On 12 February 2018, LTV announced that the song "This Time" performed by Markus Riva, which was originally announced as a non-qualifier during the second semi-final, had been awarded a wildcard to qualify to the final due to a technical failure with the online vote that led to changes in placing.[15] On 20 February 2018, the song "Just Fine" performed by Sudden Lights was announced to have been awarded a second wildcard to qualify to the final.[16]

A guest juror was also featured in each semi-final: member of

Ralfs Eilands for the second semi-final and 2010 Latvian Eurovision entrant Aija Andrejeva
for the third semi-final.

Semi-final 1 – 3 February 2018
Draw Artist[17] Song Jury Public Vote Total Place Result
Internet Televote Spotify
streams 		Points
1 Katrīna Gupalo and the Black Birds "Intoxicating Caramel" 5 222 357 24% 4 9 5 Eliminated
2 Rahu the Fool "Oh Longriver" 6 140 165 3% 7 13 6 Eliminated
3 Dvines "More Than Meets the Eye" 3 386 356 3% 5 8 4 Eliminated
4 Agnese Stengrevics "You Are My World" 7 260 168 16% 6 13 7 Eliminated
5 Sudden Lights "Just Fine" 4 1,835 1,154 18% 1 5 3 Wildcard
6 Edgars Kreilis "Younger Days" 2 755 550 31% 2 4 2 Advanced
7 Liene Greifāne "Walk the Talk" 1 509 686 5% 3 4 1 Advanced
Semi-final 2 – 10 February 2018
Draw Artist Song Jury Public Vote Total Place Result
Televote Spotify
streams 		Points
1 Hypnotic "Pray" 6 167 12% 5 11 5 Eliminated
2 Madara "Esamība" 2 613 25% 2 4 1 Advanced
3 Markus Riva "This Time" 3 685 18% 1 4 2 Wildcard
4 In My Head "Sunset" 5 117 11% 7 12 6 Eliminated
5 Ritvars "Who's Counting?" 1 319 10% 4 5 3 Advanced[a]
6 Monta "1000 Roses" 7 153 11% 6 13 7 Eliminated
7 Riga Reggae "Stop the War U2" 4 423 13% 3 7 4 Eliminated
Semi-final 3 – 17 February 2018
Draw Artist Song Jury Public Vote Total Place Result
Internet Televote Spotify
streams 		Points
1 Jenny May "Soledad" 7 227 211 12% 6 13 7 Eliminated
2 Ed Rallidae "What I Had with You" 5 323 211 17% 3 8 4 Eliminated
3 Katrine Lukins "Running Red Lights" 6 244 96 16% 5 11 6 Eliminated
4 Lauris Valters "Lovers Bliss" 2 369 254 12% 4 6 2 Advanced
5 Mionia "You" 3 141 145 14% 7 10 5 Eliminated
6 Kris and Oz "Morning Flight" 4 463 316 14% 2 6 3 Eliminated
7 Laura Rizzotto "Funny Girl" 1 2,536 1,234 15% 1 2 1 Advanced

Final

The final took place on 24 February 2018. Commercial Director of

Ralfs Eilands and 2016 Latvian Eurovision entrant Justs.[21]

Final – 24 February 2018
Draw Artist Song Jury Public Vote Total Place
Internet Televote Spotify
streams 		Points
1 Sudden Lights "Just Fine" 2 2,357 1,563 28% 2 4 2
2 Ritvars "Who's Counting?" 4 490 488 11% 6 10 4
3 Madara "Esamība" 3 2,785 1,490 18% 4 7 3
4 Liene Greifane "Walk the Talk" 8 800 398 7% 5 13 7
5 Lauris Valters "Lovers Bliss" 6 366 285 5% 8 14 8
6 Edgars Kreilis "Younger Days" 5 781 413 9% 7 12 6
7 Laura Rizzotto "Funny Girl" 1 5,172 2,956 12% 1 2 1
8 Markus Riva "This Time" 7 2,839 2,321 10% 3 10 5

Ratings

Viewing figures by show
Show Date Viewing figures Ref.
Nominal Share
Final 24 February 2018 130,900 6.9% [22]

Promotion

Laura Rizzotto made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Funny Girl" as the Latvian Eurovision entry. Between 8 and 11 April, Laura Rizzotto took part in promotional activities in Tel Aviv, Israel and performed during the Israel Calling event held at the Rabin Square.[23] On 21 April, Laura Rizzotto performed during the ESPreParty event which was held at the Sala La Riviera venue in Madrid, Spain and hosted by Soraya Arnelas.[24] In addition to her international appearances, on 24 March, Laura Rizzotto performed during the Eurovision PreParty Riga, which was organised by OGAE Latvia and held at the Crystal Club Concert Hall in Riga.[25]

At Eurovision

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 29 January 2018, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Latvia was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 10 May 2018, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[26]

Once all the competing songs for the 2018 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Latvia was set to perform in position 14, following the entry from Hungary and before the entry from Sweden.[27]

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Latvia on

LTV1 with all shows featuring commentary by Toms Grēviņš who was joined by Magnuss Eriņš for the final.[28] The Latvian spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Latvian jury during the final, was Dagmāra Legante
.

Semi-final

Laura Rizzotto during a rehearsal before the second semi-final

Laura Rizzotto took part in technical rehearsals on 2 and 5 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May. This included the jury show on 9 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[29]

The Latvian performance featured Laura Rizzotto performing alone on stage wearing a red lace jumpsuit with a train attached. The stage lighting transitioned from red to yellow accompanied by white spotlights with the light rig being set in a lowered position. In regards to the performance, the singer stated: "'Funny Girl' is a song that is introspective. It's about a girl who has been keeping a secret and now has decided to share it with the world. It's an emotional journey. My outfit represents passion, drama and confidence, and I like the way it makes me feel."[30][31] Laura Rizzotto was joined by four backing vocalists: Antra Kūmiņa, Edgars Zvirbulis, Iluta Alsberga and Kristīne Pastare.[32]

At the end of the show, Latvia was not announced among the top 10 entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Latvia placed twelfth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 106 points: 14 points from the televoting and 92 points from the juries.

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. 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. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Latvia and awarded by Latvia 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:

Points awarded to Latvia

Points awarded to Latvia (Semi-final 2)[33]
Score Televote Jury
12 points
10 points
8 points  Georgia
7 points  Georgia
6 points
5 points
4 points  Poland
3 points
2 points  Denmark  Hungary
1 point  Ukraine  Romania

Points awarded by Latvia

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Latvian jury:[35]

  • Valters Pūce (jury chairperson) – composer, musician, producer, conductor, music educator
  • Mārtiņš Makreckis (Makree) – music producer, songwriter
  • Aminata Savadogo (Aminata) – singer, songwriter, music producer, model, represented Latvia in the 2015 Contest
  • Annija Putniņa – singer, actress, head of musical theatre department in Riga Cathedral Choir School
  • Agnese Cimuška – CEO at Music Export Latvia
Detailed voting results from Latvia (Semi-final 2)[33]
Draw Country Jury Televote
V. Pūce Makree Aminata A. Putniņa A. Cimuška Rank Points Rank Points
01  Norway 3 6 9 4 10 6 5 7 4
02  Romania 12 4 5 12 9 8 3 15
03  Serbia 11 12 11 5 6 11 14
04  San Marino 15 11 14 17 15 17 17
05  Denmark 13 13 17 13 11 16 4 7
06  Russia 16 14 4 15 17 12 1 12
07  Moldova 7 7 7 7 2 5 6 3 8
08  Netherlands 1 3 2 6 12 3 8 10 1
09  Australia 4 2 3 2 3 1 12 9 2
10  Georgia 6 5 16 9 8 9 2 6 5
11  Poland 14 17 13 8 7 13 12
12  Malta 2 8 10 1 13 4 7 13
13  Hungary 9 15 8 11 16 14 8 3
14  Latvia
15  Sweden 17 1 1 10 1 2 10 5 6
16  Montenegro 8 9 15 16 14 15 16
17  Slovenia 5 16 12 3 4 7 4 11
18  Ukraine 10 10 6 14 5 10 1 2 10
Detailed voting results from Latvia (Final)[34]
Draw Country Jury Televote
V. Pūce Makree Aminata A. Putniņa A. Cimuška Rank Points Rank Points
01  Ukraine 18 10 12 18 12 18 8 3
02  Spain 26 14 25 16 15 23 25
03  Slovenia 14 26 24 1 13 10 1 22
04  Lithuania 3 6 16 8 6 7 4 1 12
05  Austria 13 3 2 10 8 4 7 19
06  Estonia 1 8 8 12 5 3 8 2 10
07  Norway 5 16 13 5 21 11 9 2
08  Portugal 24 7 10 26 22 17 26
09  United Kingdom 6 25 26 2 26 9 2 18
10  Serbia 12 18 11 9 14 15 23
11  Germany 11 4 5 14 7 8 3 17
12  Albania 10 22 20 17 24 22 24
13  France 22 1 7 11 3 2 10 16
14  Czech Republic 23 17 17 25 2 13 7 4
15  Denmark 17 21 22 13 19 24 6 5
16  Australia 7 9 6 4 4 5 6 13
17  Finland 19 19 14 24 20 26 21
18  Bulgaria 8 15 4 19 25 14 20
19  Moldova 20 20 15 6 18 16 4 7
20  Sweden 4 2 1 3 1 1 12 11
21  Hungary 15 24 9 20 23 20 12
22  Israel 2 23 18 21 10 12 3 8
23  Netherlands 9 5 3 7 9 6 5 15
24  Ireland 21 11 21 15 17 21 14
25  Cyprus 16 12 19 22 11 19 10 1
26  Italy 25 13 23 23 16 25 5 6

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ Ritvars, who was originally announced as a qualifier over Markus Riva during the second semi-final, was allowed by the Supernova organisers to compete in the final despite changes in ranking.

References

  1. ^ "Latvia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  2. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (4 August 2016). "Latvia: LTV confirms participation in Eurovision 2017". esctoday.com. Esctoday. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Agadellis, Stratos (10 December 2017). "Latvia: LTV releases details on Supernova 2018". esctoday.com. Esctoday. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Latvia: Supernova 2018 To Start On February 3rd". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  5. ^ Herbert, Emily (9 January 2018). "Latvia: Supernova 2018 To Start On February 3rd". Eurovoix.
  6. ^ "Šovakar noskaidrosies vēl divi konkursa "Supernova 2018" finālisti". parmuziku.lv (in Latvian). 17 February 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  7. ^ a b Weaver, Jessica (10 December 2017). "Latvia: Supernova 2018 participants revealed". esctoday.com. Esctoday. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Latvia 2018". ESCKAZ. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  9. ^ Weaver, Jessica (10 December 2017). "Latvia: Online voting in Supernova 2018 now open". esctoday.com. Esctoday. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  10. ^ Adams, William Lee (3 November 2017). "Latvia: Supernova 2018 producers reveal that 72% of People's Jury responses were dislikes". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  11. ^ "«Supernova 2018» atlases žūrija izvēlējusies visus dalībniekus nākamajai kārtai". Supernova.lsm.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  12. ^ Weaver, Jessica (10 December 2017). "Latvia: Jury hearing phase takes place for Supernova 2018". esctoday.com. Esctoday. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  13. ^ Herbert, Emily (6 December 2017). "Latvia: Supernova 2018 Participants Announced". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  14. ^ Halpin, Chris (19 February 2018). "Latvia: Split results of Supernova 2018 semi-finals released ahead of wildcard reveal". Wiwibloggs.
  15. ^ Hyde, Anne (12 February 2018). "Supernova results overturned!". escbubble.com.
  16. ^ ""Supernova 2018" otro iespēju jeb "wild card" saņem "Sudden Lights"". kokteilis.lv (in Latvian). 20 February 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  17. ^ Weaver, Jessica (23 January 2018). "Latvia: Supernova 2018 kicks off on 3 February; semi-final 1 acts allocated". ESCToday.
  18. ^ Melne, Kristīne (26 February 2018). "Ekskluzīvi: atklāti 'Supernovas' balsojuma dati" (in Latvian). Delfi.lv. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  19. ^ "Šogad Latviju Eirovīzijā pārstāvēs Laura Rizzotto" (in Latvian). LSM. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  20. ^ Mercereau, Damien (9 March 2018). "2018 : Laura Rizzotto, la touche brésilienne de la Lettonie" (in French). Le Figaro. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  21. ^ ""Supernova 2018" fināla tiešrraidē uzstāsies "Prāta vētra", "Instrumenti" un Ralfs Eilands". supernova.lsm.lv (in Latvian). 24 February 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  22. ^ "Televīzija". KANTAR Latvija (in Latvian). Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Israel: Watch the performances at Israel Calling 2018 Party in Tel Aviv". INFE. 11 April 2018. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Over 20 acts to appear at Madrid's ESPreParty this weekend". eurovision.tv. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  25. ^ Zwart, Josianne (26 March 2018). "Riga calling: Latvia's capital hosted first Eurovision 2018 pre-party". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  26. ^ Jordan, Paul (29 January 2018). "Which countries will perform in which Semi-Final at Eurovision 2018?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  27. ^ "Running order for Eurovision 2018 Semi-Finals revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  28. ^ DELFI (19 April 2018). "Zināms, kas komentēs 'Eirovīzijas' tiešraides". Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  29. ^ "Lisbon 2018: Rehearsal Schedule". eurovisionworld.com. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  30. ^ Groot, Evert (2 May 2018). "Latvia's 'Funny Girl' shows her serious side during first rehearsal". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  31. ^ Sigurðsson, Hlynur (2 May 2018). "Day 4: Latvia – Laura Rizzotto delivers sensual first rehearsal for Latvia". escXtra. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  32. ^ "Latvia". Six on Stage. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  33. ^ a b c "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Lisbon 2018". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  34. ^ a b "Results of the Grand Final of Lisbon 2018". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  35. ^ Groot, Evert (30 April 2018). "Exclusive: They are the expert jurors for Eurovision 2018". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2018.

External links

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