Live: Georgia selects for Dusseldorf

Live coverage of the Georgian national selection. Seven acts will be competing to represent the country to the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Dusseldorf.

The time has come for Georgia to select their song for the Dusseldorf edition of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. Seven acts will be competing to represent the country on the first semi-final of the contest in May 10^th.

Watch online:
Live on 1TV-GPB at 15:30 CET (18:30 local time)
Via satellite on GPB (Turksat 3A 42.0E)
Webcast (GPB official)

The participants:

1. Temo Sajaia – Soldier song
2. Salome Korkotashvili – Love
3. Group “Sweet Pills” – Face to face
4. Dito Lagvilava & Group “November” – New day
5. Nini Shermadini – Rejected
6. Group ”The Georgians” – Loved, seen, dreaming
7. Group “Eldrine” – One more day

The show kicks-off with Sopho Khalvashi performing the song My Story from the Helsinki 2007 version of the contest. After a short interview about Sopho and her experience in Eurovision, we're proceeding to thepresentation of the professional jury. The result will be a mixture of the jury and the public vote that will select the next Georgian entrant in the contest.

The presentation of the songs has begun. First to come on stage

1. Temo Sajaia – Soldier song
   Temo is dressed with a dark blue suit with a red tie. His performance is energetic and enjoys the applause of the audience. This up tempo song is the perfect opening for the selection show. Moments after the performance, a short interview follows up.
2. Salome Korkotashvili – Love
   Salome comes up on stage and she seems to enjoy every minute of the song. The rnb part tries to be more interesting by the use of pyrotechnics. The song lyrics are repetitive to L.O.V.E. and the presentation can go anywhere.

3. Sweet Pills – Face to face
   Girl band Sweet Pills on stage right now and the presentation of the song is all about their looks. They are clad in sexy leather outfits. Their voices go well with each other though they are still unconvincing. They perform a dance routine to make the song look better and sound stronger.

4. Dito Lagvilava & “November” – New day
   Dito Lagvilava and November are getting on stage. The fourth song presents and group and a solo singer who unites together for this selection. They sing well together and their song is a rock ballad which seems to go well with the viewers. The long notes are not fully tuned but I can see this song do better if performed in English.

5. Nini Shermadini – Rejected
   Nini gets on stage. She appears in a black short outfit and sings an electro modern song. She owns the stage as she sings with great confidence but needs more vocal power to make the song sound stronger. The song can appeal to Eurovision with some re-work.
6. ”The Georgians” – Loved, seen, dreaming
   The Georgians are on stage and they rock it with their rocky entry. The vocals are average and pyrotechnics are used during the presentation of the song. The lead singer is accompanied by two guitarists and a drummer and they are clad in red trousers to present colours of the Georgian flag.

7. “Eldrine” – One more day
   The last song sees the female lead singer starting singing a rocky-electro song. She is joined by four musicians (two guitarists, synthesiser player and a drummer). Pyrotechnics are also used in this song. The rnb part makes the song different as it is a mix of everything

Eldirne are the last act to perform on the stage, concluding the first phase of the selection. Soon the televoting will begin and we are about to get to know the results of the mixture of televote and professional jury votes. A recap of all songs is aired as the public will also be part of the voting. The televoting has begun.

Sofia Nizharadze is on stage as she sings her song Shine that placed 9th in last year's Eurovision Song Contest final. Sofia sings another song entitled Sing my song.

The televoting is still on, as 1TV-GBP shows once again a recap of the participating songs.

Esctoday.com Poll results

1. Temo Sajaia – Soldier song (35.9 %)
2. Eldrine – One more day (21.7 %)
3. Nini Shermadini – Rejected (13.1 %)
4. Tako Gachechiladze – It’s OK (9.6 %)
5. Salome Korkotashvili – Love (8.6 %)
6. The Georgians – Loved, seen, dreaming (4.5 %)
7. Sweet Pills – Face to face (3.5 %)
8. Dito Lagvilava & Group “November” – New day (3.0 %)

It's obvious that on the esctoday.com poll the members of the site voted that Temo Sajaia and the song Soldier's song should represent Georgia to Dusseldorf. Now the only thing remaining is the official result to be announced.

GPB airs a features going through Georgian history in the Eurovision Song Contest. It previews all Georgian entries in the contest. They also show the controversial song Don't wanna put in. The song did not compete in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.

The results are out, Eldrine wins with the song One more day. The band is now on stage to perform once again the winning song.

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