All songs for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 have been selected. During the weeks between the national final season and the actual Eurovision Song Contest, we will introduce all 43 entries in random order. Part five of the series is dedicated to the Lithuanian entry.

Basic information

Performer:	Evelina Sašenko
Song:	C'est ma vie
Language:	English and French
Music:	Paulius Zdanavi�ius
Lyrics:	Andrius Kairys
Draw:	17th in the first semi final

The song

C'est ma vie is an operatic ballad. Through the lyrics, the protagonist tells that she has found her place in life by finding the love of her life:

C'est ma vie (This is my life)
Je dis oui (I say yes)
No more rain around
Iknow i have found
Everlasting Love for life

The performer

Evelina Sašenko has Polish and Lithuanian roots. At the age of six, she won a popular singing contest for children and since then she has been performing on many stages in Lithuanianbut also in other countries in Europe. In 2009, she won the classical talent search Triumfo arka on Lithunian television. After that victory, she was invited to perform with the Lithuanian State Syphony Orchestra. Furthermore, she is currently studying for her masters degree in jazz singing.

In 2010, she took part in the Lithuanian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. With For this I'll pray, she finished second in the third semi final and third in the final. In 2011, she returned to the contest. This time she won both the second semi final and the final with her new song C'est ma vie.

The songwriters

C'est ma vie was written by Paulius Zdanavi�ius and Andrius Kairys. Paulius Zdanavi�ius is a professional jazz pianist who has also contirbuted music to various other TV projects.

The national selection

The 2011 Lithuanian national selection consisted of three semi finals and a grand final. 13 songs qualified for the final, where the winner was chosen in two rounds of voting. In the first round, televoting and a jury selected the top three and in the second round the eventual winner was decided.

Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest

Lithuania took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 1994 and finished last with nil points on their debut. It would take until 1999 that the country returned to the competition and again with no great success. The only top ten placing to date came in 2006 when LT United finished sixth in the final.

Statistics

This will be Lithuania's twelfth participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. It will only be the second time that the country is being represented by female solo performer but it will be the tenth year in a row (and the tenth in eleven times since the abolishment of the language rule) that the Lithuanian entry will be performed mainly in English. It will be the second time that the Lithuanian entry features some words in French.

The Lithuanian entry will be performed as the 17th in the first semi final, after the protest song from Portugal and before the mid-tempo pop song from Azerbaijan. Statistically, Evelina Sasenko should be happy with that position. Operatic songs are rare in the Eurovision Song Contest, but Slovenia managed to qualify for the final the only time so far with a song in that genre from a late position in 2007.

Mes linkime Lietuvai ir Evelina Sašenko sekmÄ�s ir gero rezultato Düsseldorfe!

Videos

Live performance in the national final:

The preview video:

2010 national final performance:

Singing Edith Piaf's La vie en rose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StosHT8rBrM

Tomorrow, we will take a look at the Finnish entry.

Previous parts of the series:

1. Estonia
2. Italy
3. Croatia
4. Slovakia