Tonight, the Russian national final for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest was held. 16 acts competed and in the end, it was decided that Anastasiya Prikhodko will represent the host country with the song Mama.

The winner was chosen in two rounds. In the first round, televoting chose the top three:

1. Anastasiya Prikhodko – Mama (26%)
2. Valeriya – Back to love (14%)
3. Quatro – Ljobov (12%)

The jury then decided to send Anastasiya Prikhodko to the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. She is the first female solo singer to represent the country since 2005, when Natalia Podolskaya did so with the song Nonody hurt no one.

In 2008, Russia was represented by Dima Bilan, who finished third in the first semi final and first in the final with his song Believe. As winning country of 2008 and host countryof 2009, the country is directly qualified for the final of the contest this year on 16th May.

The winning performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX8Aof0M_hc

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