Sertab Erener, who earned the first Eurovision Song Contest victory for Turkey is upset about the way TRT will be selecting the Turkish representative for Kiev. After two years of internal selection of the Turkish representative, TRT turns back to the national final concept in 2005.
According to Sertab Erener, who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003 with Everyway that I can, Turkish broadcaster TRT has taken a step backward by turning back to the national final concept to select the entry for Kiev. Sertab believes that a national final will only attract unprofessional singers.
“TRT has certainly taken a step backward. The last two years have shown the great success we had with songs in English performed by internal selected artists.” says an upset Sertab Erener. Sertab won in 2003 and the Turkish band Athena reached the fourth place with For real this year in Istanbul.
Nevertheless TRT will organise a final for which songs in Turkish can be submitted unil 29th November. The national final, with a maximum of ten participants, will be held in Istanbul. A televote will decide who will represent Turkey at next year's Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev.
