Marian van de Wal will represent Andorra at the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev. Marian defeated Ishtar Ruiz and Mar Capdevila in the Andorran final held tonight. The voting ended in a tie between Marian van de Wal and Mar Capdevila. The Andorran rules state that in such case the youngest jury member has the final decision and thus Marian van de Wal has been selected to represent Andorra.
Each singer performed two songs in Catalan during the one and a half hour lasting show: a ballad and a more up tempo song. Marian van de Wal sang Quan sommiis fes-ho amb mi, a song that appeared on Nina's (Spain 1989) Catalan album Començar de Zero and Quina sort, a Catalan version of Shakira's Suerte/Whenever, wherever.
Round 1
Ishtar Ruiz – Sóc jo (Marta Sanchez)
Marian van de Wal – Quan sommiis fes-ho amb mi (Nina)
Mar Capdevila – Tot queda enrera (the Eagles)
Round 2
Ishtar Ruiz – Boig per tu (Sau)
Marian van de Wal – Quina sort (Shakira)
Mar Capdevila – Pensa en mi (Luz Casal)
The Andorran televoting audience selected Mar Capdevila as their favourite and thus awarded her 2 points. The professional jury, consisting of 5 members all had 1 vote to hand out. Ishtar Ruiz and Mar Capdevila both received 1 vote. 3 jury members awarded their vote to Marian van de Wal.
The results of the Andorran national final:
1. 3 points | Marian van de Wal
2. 3 points | Mar Capdevila
3. 1 point | Ishtar Ruiz
A tie between Marian van de Wal and Mar Capdevila occured. The Andorran rules state that in such case the youngest jury member has the final decision. Therefore Marian van de Wal will represent Andorra at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest and Ishtar Ruiz and Mar Capdevila, who finished second in last year's Andorran selections as the duo Bis a Bis, once again miss out on a ticket to the Eurovision Song Contest.
Before the final, esctoday.com had contact with Marian van de Wal, who has her roots in the Netherlands. “I do all to avert singing Catalan with an accent and I don't believe that being Dutch is an advantage in this contest,” Marian told. “The Catalan language is very important here in Andorra and I try to show that I can represent Andorra in the right way and not as a half Dutch, half Catalan singer.”
In a second show to be held on 22nd January, Marian van de Wal will sing 3 songs in Catalan. A professional jury and SMS voting will then decide which song will be sent to Kiev.
