Who will Lithuania choose tonight to suceed 4Fun in representing the country in the next Eurovision Song Contest? In a few minutes the Lithuanian final starts from the LRT studios in Vilnius and fourteen acts will be fighting it for the lucky ticket to Belgrade.
The show
The show, which starts at 20:00 CET will be hosted by Rolandas VilkončiusandGabrielė Bartkutė. 14 songs will be presented and the winner is to be chosen by televoting. Ruslan Alehno, the Belarussian representative at the Eurovision Song Contest2008, will be present and will sing his entryHasta La Vista.LRThave scheduleda TV link withAzerbaijan that have just chosen their first representative in the Eurovision Song Contest tonight.
Webcast
A webcast will be provided here.
Live coverage
Good old Lithuanian webcast is buffering every few seconds as usual. The show has started and the jury, whose role is advisory only tonight, has started wishing the contestants Good Luck.
1.Ingrida �iliūtė – You and I
Ingrida goes first tonight with up tempo pop and an all black presentation. Good, well coordinated choreography and no problem with Ingrida's vocals. The crowd gives her a big round of applause.
Helsinki memories now, footage of 4Fun, Santa, Marija takes us back to May 2007 which brings chills down the spine to the die hard fans 🙂
2.Vilma Voroblevaitė – Vakaras (Evening)
A lyrical, up tempo ballad with an ethnic touch now by Vilma. The singer stands alone forefront stage, accompanied by four backing vocalists. Vilma has a lovely voice and performs Vakaras, which is quite atmospheric, excellently. She is actually much better than in the semi final but she could have gone for a better choice of dress. Although her khaki, sack dress suits her low profile style and modesty of the song, it is not what would captivate the audience's attention.
3. Julija and Girma – To my soul
Time for Julija now, the 2007 Lithuanian representative who is giving it another go. To my soul is an unconventional song, in a powerful, haunting way. Both Julija and Girma are dressed in elegant black dresses as are the backing vocalists. The studio is dark and the laser show is impressive and the two ladies perform their song to perfection. P.S. The webcast is painful 🙁
4.Laiptai – Aš rasiu (I will find)
Old rockers now on stage. A typical up tempo rock song, performed ina powerful way by Laiptai, who prove you are never "too old to rock n' roll". The audience seems to join in the entusiasm and gives Laiptai a huge round of applause.
Radio broadcast online
As the webcast is hopeless at times , you can listen to the show here . On the left of your screen, in the middle of the page you will see Tiesiogiai internetu, underneath click on the symbol on the right of LR.
5. Funnybeat – Evertown
A Joan Jettish rock song now by Funnybeat. The song is rhytmic and memorable, strong vocals and a powerful performance by Funnybeat but the audiences does not sound too crazy about it as the applause is rather lukewarm.
6. Augustė – Do somethin'
One of the favourites tonight now, due to Auguste's popularity in Lithuania. A slow anti war ballad with a message for the world. Aiste and her backing vocalists, all in white, are sitting on a rotating platform, the singer herself looking more beautiful than ever. Flawless vocals, although the song is not what you would call challenging. The performance is elegant and classy and the crowd cheers. That is the kind of song one would like to listen to at home but not one that can stand out on Eurovision stage.
7. Mini Me – Yes
One more favourite now, up tempo and rhythm from Mini me. She is dancing, singing and sitting on the black leather couch they've brought on stage. A catchy, RnB dance tune that could just win it tonight. The performance is good overall and the chorus sticks to mind, Mini me is correct and happy and the audience loves it.
8.Pokeris – Stone
A drop in tempo now as Pokeris performs her ballad accompanied by a violoncello and keyboards. Elegantly dressed in a simple, black satin dress she is much better than in the semi final. Stone is a love song, but it does not evoke the kind of feelings that would make it stand out among the the rest of the participants of the second semi final in Belgrade.
9.Justas – Muziką garsiau! (Music louder!)
Remember Dima Bilan's white sleeveless vest in Athens? Justas is wearing a similar one as he performs his rock entry. Accompanied by three dancers he takes over the stage and catwalk in the most energetic performance of the evening. He hits the last high note of the song well but it seems to last for ever and ever.
10.Jeronimas Milius – Nomads in the night
One more favourite is on now. The stage turns a dreamy blue now (was all red before) and enters Jeronimas looking like a pirate just like he did in the first semi final he won. The song, he penned himself, is a beautiful ballad, quite demanding vocally and he does a pretty decent job, apart from a couple of notes that went amiss. Jeronimas is probably one of the best vocalists of the night and the song is well received by the audience.
11.Aistė Pilvelytė – Troy on fire
Time for the second wildcard and a song we have been waiting anxiously to hear. Up tempo and epic Aiste's song is one of the best tonight. Flames in the backdrop and the stage turns all red. Aiste is looking impressive in her red, ancient Greek style evening gown and her long dark hair down. Her performance is excellent as she hits all the high notes perfectly, although she seemed to have forgotten the lyrics towards the end. A very possible winner, she will be soon followed by two more of the night's hot favourites, by Sasha son and Raimonda.
12. Sasha Son – Miss Kiss
The crowd cheers wildly as Dima enters the stage, he has been leading the polls all last week. Miss Kiss is a mid tempo, sentimental ballad, sweet and memorable from the first notes. Casually dressed and accompanied by five dancers, Sasha does a good job and receives a very prolonged applause by the audience.
13.Raimonda – Birdie Tweet
Lucky thirteen for popular Idol participant Raimonda who is enthusiastically welcomed by the audience. Soberly dresssed in a black, short sleeved dress and white shirt she performs her sweet love song to perfection. Birdie tweet is a lovely ballad as well and it would be interesting to see how it will do against the other favourite ballads of the evening.
14.Nerri – Step into this world
Last song for the evening and the tempo goes up by Nerri. A white suit and black shirt for Nerri, all black for her backing vocalists. She has a great voice but the song does not offer her the opportunity to display her vocal abilities fully as it is rather forgetable.
Soon the voting will start and the Belorussian representative, Ruslan Alehno will take the stage to perform Hasta la vista.
The webcast has collapsed entirely nowas the recap of the songs has started. Fortunately we are safe with the radio streaming which is holdingon strong.
