Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Country  Belarus
National selection
Selection process Eurofest 2009
Selection date(s) Semi-final
15 December 2008
Final
19 January 2009
Selected entrant Petr Elfimov
Selected song "Eyes That Never Lie"
Finals performance
Semi-final result Failed to qualify (13th)
Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2008 • 2009 • 2010►

Belarus and Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) announced their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 on 29 September 2008 by releasing the rules of their national selection - "Eurofest 2009".[1][2] The song did not progress from the first semi-final of the competition.

Eurofest 2009

The country's quest to select their sixth entry at the Eurovision Song Contest began in a selection process, the first stage involving a professional jury which selected 15 songs to be performed at the semi-final of Eurofest 2009, which was then narrowed down to 5 by the jury for the final, which was decided by televoting.[1][2]

Submission of songs to BTRC was held from 5 October to 20 November 2008.[1][2] BTRC received a total of 126 entries for Eurofest 2009. Live auditions were held by BTRC to select the 15 artists that would compete in the semi-final on 15 December 2008. The names of the successful artists were released on 5 December.[3][4]

Semi-final

The semi-final of Eurofest 2009 was held on 15 December 2008. A professional jury selected five artists to qualify for the final in January. The finalists had an opportunity to change their selected songs before performing in the final again.[5][6][7]

Results of Semi-final
Draw Artist Song Language Authors
Original English Meaning
1 Alexei Krechet Joy and Freedom English V. Ruzov, A. Shenets
2 Petr Elfimov Eyes That Never Lie English P. Elfimov, V. Prokhozhy
3 Cola feat. Lidiya Zablotskaya Гудок
(Gudok) 		Dial Tone Russian Gridin, V. Shevchenko
4 SingeRin Don't Think About It English K. Dudich
5 Dakota (Дакота) Цябе забываю
(Ciabie zabyvaju?) 		I’m forgetting you Belarusian Dakota, G. Lobodenko
6 The Champions Shake It, Europe English Nils, O. Orakposim
7 Alex Patlis Band Кто сказал
(Kto skazal) 		Who said Russian Alex Patlis
8 Litesound feat. Dakota Carry On English V. Karyakin
9 Dominica This Is My Day English S. Sukhomlin, A. Kostugov
10 Dyada Vanya Наша Belarussia
(Nasha Belarussia) 		Our Belarussia Russian I. Vabishchevich
11 Veter V Golove Or Or And English A. Zakharik, G. Galushko
12 Anna Blagova & Yuriy Vaschuk Behind English Y. Vashchuk, A. Zhilina
13 Gunesh Fantastic Girl English Gunesh, M. Khaitbayeva
14 Victoria Belova Don't Give Up From Love English A. Klimka, V. Belova
15 Venera Big Game English A. Nabeyev

Final

The five qualifiers from the semi-final competed again in a national final on 19 January,[8][9] a show held at the Sports Palace in Minsk, and presented by singers Anastasija Tihanovich and Dmitry Koldun, with Koldun being the 2007 Belorussian entry, coming sixth. The interval act consisted of the 2008 Belorussian and Ukrainian entries, Ruslan Alehno and Ani Lorak. The host, Koldun, also performed. The winner was decided by televoting, and the running order for the songs was not held until the night of the contest.[10]

The contest was won by Petr Elfimov, with his rock song "Eyes That Never Lie". He received a landslide number of votes, receiving 11475 votes in total, over 4000 more than runner-up Gunesh.[11][12][13] The group "Veter v Golove" were the only act to have changed their song from the semi-final stage.

Final - 19 January 2009
Draw Artist Song Language Authors Televote Place
Original Meaning
1 Gunesh "Fantastic Girl" English Gunesh, M. Khaitbayeva 7 949 2
2 Petr Elfimov "Eyes That Never Lie" English P. Elfimov, V. Prokhozhy 11 475 1
3 Litesound feat. Dakota "Carry On" English V. Karyakin 4 385 3
4 Dominica "This Is My Day" English S. Sukhomlin, A. Kostugov 1 225 5
5 Veter V Golove Шпацыруем
(Špacyrujem?) 		Walking Belarusian A. Zakharik, G. Galushko 2 804 4

After being selected as the Belarusian entry, Elfimov promoted his entry in a number of countries before Eurovision, making guest appearances at both the Greek and Ukrainian national finals on 18 February and 8 March respectively.[14][15][16]

At Eurovision

A new version of "Eyes That Never Lie" was made after winning the Belarusian national final, which was produced by Tero Kinnunen at the Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, both known for their associations with symphonic metal band Nightwish.[17][18] Belarus competed in the first semi final where they failed to qualify, finishing 13th of 18 participants, scoring 25 points.

Points awarded to Belarus

Points Awarded to Belarus (Semi-Final 1)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points Awarded by Belarus[19]

Semi final

12 points Iceland
10 points Armenia
8 points Malta
7 points Sweden
6 points Turkey
5 points Bosnia and Herzegovina
4 points Israel
3 points Montenegro
2 points  Switzerland
1 point Romania

Final

12 points Norway
10 points Azerbaijan
8 points Russia
7 points France
6 points Ukraine
5 points Greece
4 points Estonia
3 points United Kingdom
2 points Iceland
1 point Armenia

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Eurofest 2009 rules published". Eurovision-Belarus. 2008-09-29. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  2. 1 2 3 Floras, Stella (2008-09-29). "Belarus: Welcome to the Eurofest project!". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  3. ↑ Bakker, Sietse (2008-12-05). "Belarus: BTRC announces 15 hopefuls". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
  4. ↑ "Belarus: BTRC announces the 15 participants". Oikotimes. 2008-12-05. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
  5. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2008-12-15). "Tonight: Semi final in Belarus". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 15 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  6. ↑ Bayliss, Marc Calleja (2008-12-15). "Belarus: BTRC airs the semifinal for Moscow selection tonight". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  7. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2008-12-15). "Live: semi final in Belarus (Transcript)". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  8. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2009-01-14). "Belarus: national final on 19th January". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 18 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
  9. ↑ Calleja Bayliss, Marc (2009-01-14). "Belarus: "Eurofest 2009" to take place on January 19". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
  10. ↑ Floras, Stella (2009-01-15). "Belarus: More Eurofest final details". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 18 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  11. ↑ Klier, Marcus (19 January 2009). "Belarus: Petr Elfimov to Eurovision". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 20 January 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  12. ↑ Fisher, Luke (2009-01-19). "Belarus: Petr Elfimov to Moscow!". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
  13. ↑ Siim, Jarmo (2009-01-19). "Belarus decided: Petr Elfimov to Moscow!". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 20 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
  14. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2009-02-18). "National final in Greece". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  15. ↑ Fantis, Giorgos (2009-02-18). "Live from Athens, the Greek national final". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  16. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2009-03-08). "National final in Ukraine". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  17. ↑ Backfish, Emma (9 February 2009). "Petr Elfimov records new version of song in Finland". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
  18. ↑ Floras, Stella (23 February 2009). "Belarus: New version of Eurovision entry". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  19. ↑ Eurovision Song Contest 2008
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