Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Country  Belarus
National selection
Selection process National Final
Selection date(s) 22 January 2016
Selected entrant Ivan
Selected song "Help You Fly"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final result Failed to qualify
(12th, 84 points)
Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2015 • 2016 • 2017►

Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Help You Fly" written by Viktor Drobysh, Alexander Ivanov, Timofei Leontiev and Mary Susan Applegate. The song was performed by Ivan, which is the artistic name of singer Alexander Ivanov. The Belarusian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of ten competing acts participating in a televised production where public televoting selected the winner. "Help You Fly" performed by Ivan was selected as the winner with 23,167 votes.

Belarus was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 12 May 2016. Performing during the show in position 5, "Help You Fly" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Belarus placed twelfth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 84 points.

Background

Prior to the 2016 Contest, Belarus had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twelve times since its first entry in 2004.[1] The nation's best placing in the contest was sixth, which it achieved in 2007 with the song "Work Your Magic" performed by Dmitry Koldun. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Belarus had managed to qualify to the final four times. In 2015, Belarus failed to qualify to the final with the song "Time" performed by Uzari and Maimuna.

The Belarusian national broadcaster, National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC), broadcasts the event within Belarus and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The broadcaster has used both internal selections and national finals to select the Belarusian entry for Eurovision in the past. Since 2012, BTRC has organised a national final in order to choose Belarus' entry, a selection procedure that continued for their 2016 entry.[2]

Before Eurovision

National Final

The Belarusian national final took place on 22 January 2016. Ten songs participated in the competition and the winner was selected exclusively via a public televote.[2] The show was broadcast on Belarus 1, Belarus 24 and Radius FM as well as online via the broadcaster's official website tvr.by and the Eurovision Song Contest's official website eurovision.tv.[3][4]

Competing entries

Artists and composers were able to submit their applications and entries to the broadcaster between 23 October 2015 and 21 November 2015.[5] The chairman of BTRC, Gennady Davydko, encouraged applicants to submit entries in the Belarusian language.[6] At the closing of the deadline, 91 entries were received by the broadcaster.[7] Auditions were held on 26 November 2015 and 1 December 2015 at the BTRC "600 Metrov" studio where a jury panel was tasked with selecting up to fifteen entries to proceed to the televised national final.[7] The auditions were webcast online at the official BTRC website.[7] The jury consisted of Alexander Tikhanovich (chairman of the jury, singer), Vasily Rainchik (musician/composer), Olga Schlager (national final project manager), Olga Salamakha (deputy director of the TV channel Belarus 24), Marianna Nikolayeva (head of the department of arts at the Belarusian Ministry of Culture), Elena Treshchinskaya (head of the radio station "Radius FM"), Olga Ryzhikova (television host), Evgeny Perlin (television host), Alexander Mezhenny (director of the Shtam dance school), Sergei Andrianov (journalist), Olga Drozdova (producer, singer, and vocal coach), Ekaterina Samsonova (radio presenter), Dmitry Sankovich (radio presenter), Gunesh (singer), Iskui Abalyan (singer), Sasha Nemo (singer), Dmitry Koldun (singer, represented Belarus at Eurovision in 2007), Alyona Lanskaya (singer, represented Belarus at Eurovision in 2013) and Teo (singer, represented Belarus at Eurovision in 2014).[7] Ten finalists were selected and announced on 1 December 2015 during BTRC's evening news programme.[8]

The competing entries were presented to the public in the lead up to the national final through televised postcard presentations that aired to promote the show, a weekly review programme that covered the competing artists' preparations and appearances by the ten finalists in the BTRC morning programme Dobrai Ranitsy, Belarus.[4]

Final

The televised final took place on 22 January 2016 at the "600 Metrov" studio in Minsk, hosted by Olga Ryzhikova and 2014 Belarusian Eurovision contestant Teo.[3] Prior to the competition, a draw for the running order took place on 9 December 2015.[9] Public televoting exclusively selected the song "Help You Fly" performed by Ivan as the winner.[10]

In addition to the performances from the competitors, the show featured guest performances by the hosts Olga Ryzhikova and Teo, 2013 Belarusian Eurovision contestant Alyona Lanskaya, Gunesh, Sasha Nemo and Kattie.[4]

Draw Artist Song (English translation) Composer(s) Televote Points Place
1 Alexey Gross "Flame" Eugene Oleinik, Julia Bykova, Renee Pozzi 3,202 6 5
2 Sasha Zakharik "Glory Night" Alexandra Zakharik, Mariya Kirdun 727 1 10
3 Valeriya Sadovskaya "Not Alone" Valeriya Sadovskaya, Roman Kolodko 1,322 3 8
4 Radiovolna "Radio Wave" Vlad Chizhikov, Roman Kolodko 805 2 9
5 The EM "Turn Around" Maxim Aleinikov, Alexander Yatsevich, Colé van dais, Roy van der Merwe, Ian Fowell 2,164 4 7
6 NAVI "Heta ziamlia" (This land) Artyom Lukyanenko, Kseniya Zhuk 5,423 7 4
7 Ivan "Help You Fly" Viktor Drobysh, Alexander Ivanov, Timofei Leontiev, Mary Susan Applegate 23,167 12 1
8 Anastasiya Malashkevich "Pray for Love" Anastasiya Malashkevich, Alexandra Popkovich 2,680 5 6
9 Kirill Yermakov "Running to the Sun" Leonid Shirin, Kirill Yermakov, Natalia Tambovtseva 13,555 8 3
10 NAPOLI "My Universe" Leonid Shirin, Natalia Tambovtseva 22,399 10 2

Promotion

Ivan made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Help You Fly" as the Belarusian Eurovision entry. On 6 February, Ivan performed "Help You Fly" during the first semi-final of the Ukrainian Eurovision national final.[11] On 2 April, Ivan performed during the Eurovision PreParty Riga, which was organised by OGAE Latvia and held at the Spikeri Concert Hall in Riga, Latvia.[12] On 3 April, he performed during the Eurovision Pre-Party, which was held at the Izvestia Hall in Moscow, Russia and hosted by Dmitry Guberniev.[13] On 9 April, Ivan performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Hera Björk.[14] Between 11 and 13 April, Ivan took part in promotional activities in Tel Aviv, Israel and performed during the Israel Calling event held at the Ha'teatron venue.[15]

At Eurovision

Ivan during a press meet and greet

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[16] On 25 January 2016, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Belarus was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2016, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[17]

Once all the competing songs for the 2016 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Belarus was set to perform in position 5, following the entry from Israel and before the entry from Serbia.[18]

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Belarus on Belarus 1 and Belarus 24 with commentary by Evgeny Perlin.[19][20] The Belarusian spokesperson, who announce the top 12-point score awarded by the Belarusian jury during the final, was 2015 Belarusian representative Uzari.[21]

Semi-final

Ivan during a rehearsal before the second semi-final

Ivan took part in technical rehearsals on 4 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May.[22] This included the jury show on 11 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[23]

The Belarusian performance featured Ivan performing on stage alone wearing a beige outfit with a transparent screen prop that displays holograms of a nude image of Ivan, wolves, people and musicians playing instruments.[24][25] The stage colours transitioned between blue and red with the LED screens displaying landscapes and wolves. Ivan was joined by five off-stage backing vocalists: Anna Linnéa Isbäck, Herman Gardarfve, Jimmy Claeson, Melanie My Rosas and Ksenia Pavroz.[26]

At the end of the show, Belarus was not announced among the top 10 entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final.[27] It was later revealed that Belarus placed twelfth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 84 points: 52 points from the televoting and 32 points from the juries.[28]

Voting

Voting during the three shows was conducted under a new system that involved each country now awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.[29] In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.[30]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belarus and awarded by Belarus in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:[28][31][32][33]

Points awarded to Belarus

Points awarded by Belarus

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Belarusian jury:[29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Belarus Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 Granger, Anthony (21 October 2015). "Belarus: 2016 singer to be selected by televote only". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 "The Belarusian representative at Eurovision 2016 will be announced during the national selection round in 10 days". tvr.by. BTRC. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Eurovision-2016. 5 days left till final". tvr.by. BTRC. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay (23 October 2015). "Belarus: BTRC opens submission period for national selection". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Romanova, Ekaterina (17 September 2015). "На «Евровидение-2016» поедет белорусскоязычная песня?" (in Russian). Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belorussii. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Прослушивание претендентов на участие в "Евровидении-2016" проходит в Белтелерадиокомпании" (in Russian). BTRC. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  8. ↑ Lynch, Danny (1 December 2015). "Ten finalists for Belarus confirmed!". ESCBubble. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Weaver, Jessica (9 December 2015). "Belarus: Running order decided; national final on 22 January". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Brey, Marco (22 January 2016). "IVAN will represent Belarus!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  11. ↑ Omelyanchuk, Olena (6 February 2016). "Ukraine: Results of the first semi-final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (3 April 2016). "Overview of the Eurovision Pre-Party Riga 2016". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  13. ↑ Granger, Anthony (3 April 2016). "Tonight: Russian Eurovision Pre-Party". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  14. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (10 April 2016). "Highlights of the 8th Eurovision In Concert". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  15. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (14 April 2016). "First ever preview party held in Israel". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  16. ↑ Jordan, Paul (21 January 2016). "Semi-Final Allocation Draw on Monday, pots revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  17. ↑ Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  18. ↑ Jordan, Paul (8 April 2016). "Running order of the Semi-Finals revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  19. ↑ "IVAN выступит на "Евровидении" во втором полуфинале под 5-м номером". tvr.by (in Russian). BTRC. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  20. ↑ "БТ: выступление Иванова никак не дискредитирует Беларусь". sputnik.by (in Russian). Sputnik. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  21. ↑ Petersson, Emma (14 May 2016). "De presenterar jurygruppernas röster 2016". svt.se (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  22. ↑ "Media Activities" (PDF). eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  23. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (11 May 2016). "Time for the juries to make their choice". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  24. ↑ Nilsson, Helena (4 May 2016). "Third day of rehearsals". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  25. ↑ Escudero, Victor M. (7 May 2016). "Day 6 at the Globe Arena". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  26. ↑ "IVAN: Help you fly". eurovisionartists.nl (in Dutch). Eurovision Artists. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  27. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (12 May 2016). "10 more finalists through to the Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  28. 1 2 "Eurovision Song Contest 2016 Second Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  29. 1 2 "Here are the judges for Eurovision 2016!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  30. ↑ Jordan, Paul (18 February 2016). "Biggest change to Eurovision Song Contest voting since 1975". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  31. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2016 Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  32. ↑ "Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 Second Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  33. ↑ "Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 May 2016.

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