It seems that more and more artists try to make the most of the exposure offered to them by their participation in their respective national finals for the Eurovision Song Contest by getting their fans involved in all stages of their preparation. Recently, Olivia Lewis, the Maltese representative in Helsinki, had her outfit chosen by public vote through her official site. Rūta �čiogolevaitė, the Lithuanian star, who participates in her county's national final has taken matters a step further.

Rūta will be participating in the Lithuanian final with the song If I ever make you cry, written by two of the members of Gravel (4th in 2006 Lithuanian final). There are two versions of the song and Ruta and her team have a hard time deciding which one to send to the final. One version has a more rock sound to it, the other is a dance version. "The audience is the most important factor in the Eurovision Song Contest" she says. So she has decided to put the matter to public vote through the delfi.lt site. In the upcoming Red quarter final (which is not really a qualifying process, as all ten acts will proceed to the semi) Rūta will perform one of the versions, but in the semi and hopefully the Lithuanian final she will go for the version chosen by the fans.

Click here to listen to the two versions of the song (external link in Lithuanian).

Rūta Ščiogolevaitė has had a long history of second places. In 1999 she participated in the Lithuanian final, but her career actually kicked off when she took part in the Fizz Superstar contest for young artists where she came second. The same placing she achieved and in her second attempt for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004. In 2006 she took part in the popular TV reality show Dance Top 10. Although she was the runner up once more, it was that show that made her one of the best known artists in Lithuania

A very special thanks to Arvydas Makselis for his contribution to the article.