Eurovizijos Atranka 2019 continued on LRT tonight, with the broadcast of the third heat of the show, which was recorded on January 16. The judges had already voiced their opinion, so it was the turn of the public to see if they agreed.
Prior to the show there was huge buzz about the return of Monika Marija and her song Criminal – but did she please the jurors and public. Let’s find out.
The Hosts
Our regular hosts for this season Giedrius Masalskis and Gabrielė Martirosianaitė were there again to wish us a labas vakaras, and to wish the contestants well Giedrius was in a grey suit, while Gabrielė was in a white blouse and black trousers.
The Judges
Tonight’s judges, all in black were perennial favourite music reviewer Ramūnas Zilnys, who has still to spot a potential Lithuanian Eurovision winner. Joining the expert tonight were actor and film director Vytautas Rumšas and music producer Leonas Somovas.
The Songs
Laimingu Būti Lengva – Pasaulio vidury
The jury was very critical of tonight’s opening number. They felt in was un-rehearsed and lacked energy. They could not decide if the performance was cool or was making a serious comment. Either way it was regarded as not a good opening for the show. The four men group did not seem to be working together, and looked as if they were getting ready for a quick trip to the pub.
Voldemars Petersons – Dancing with the Stars
Two dancers accompanied Voldemars on stage., which was considered fortunate, as the judges felt he ran out of power as the song progressed. The song, they felt lacked a hook and was constructed in an odd manner with the guitar and vocals. This was a slow mournful song, with little frill but a good competition entry.
La Forza – Leisk tave paguosti
Three Ivanka Trump look a likes Ivan Nekrašiūtė, Renata Norvilė and Vaida Genytė The judges felt that with the ladies all singing together, they would have done better with a lead vocalist. The judges thought this would appeal more to elder viewers. It was a bit of a downer of a song , the ladies deserved better material.
Sofija Eitutytė – My 7th Life
This performance was described as beautiful, but as the judges correctly pointed out, was not easy to remember, like so many of the entries this year.The colours and staging was the highlight for the judges here. The song had a bit of a sixties feel but is unlikely to be heading to Tel Aviv.
Antikvariniai Kašpirovskio Dantys – Mažulė
The choreography was praised in the this performance. The song was also predicted to do well in clubs, due to its very good rhythm. This was the judges supposed favourite so far of the night. It did contain enough of Lithuanian craziness to be a potential entry but hopefully the judges are starting to realise this wouldn’t even get out of the semi finals.
Dagna – The Rush
The judges said they liked this performance and song very much. They were very taken by the excellent vocals. The sound of modern dance music impressed the judges so much, they gave Dagna a disappointing four points. Dagna looked very regal in a white dress and red cape.
Jurgis Brūzga – CTRL ALT DELETE
Jurgis came second in last years Lithuanian contest with the song 4Love. In his pyjamas, Jurgis performed a song that the judges felt had great verses and a hook, and was easy to remember. It was a piece of understated soul with a bit of a hip hop beat which went off the boil mid way through, not as good as last year’s song.
Kali – Don‘t B3long
Under red solar light staging, Kali was described as cool, modern and beautiful. The staging though was considered to be better than the song. It was almost rap but slightly more melodic. One of the female backing singers tried in vain to lift it to another level.
Cheri – Again
This performance was highly praised. The voice and the performance was excellent. The biggest fault was that the judges didn’t feel Cheri spoke to the females in the audience and was told to find ways to connect. She started off at the piano before standing and revealing an unfortunate pair of trousers. Despite the brief unexpected rap in the middle this was actually pretty good.
120 – No Doubt
Were the judges having a laugh when they said that they loved this performance and they would like to see it in Tel Aviv, because it was perfect. Surely not. The two white rappers in coordinated red costumes certainly were the liveliest act tonight. The added dance routine seemed to please the studio audience.
Monika Marija – Criminal
The judges and no doubt, audience felt the web in the hair, added nothing to the performance. However of course the singing was perfect, but after announcing last week, that she will now have two songs in the competition, has Monika shot herself in the foot. Web aside this was a classy performance way ahead of anything else on offer. Stunning. Think on Lithuania.
Jurijus – Run with the Lions
The judges found Yuri’s voice enchanting. In fact they even said that now it may be difficult to pick a best performance of the evening, and Yuri was now in the running. Yuri was the only contestant tonight sporting a Lithuanian top ten haircut. During the broadcast it seemed the public were disagreeing with the esteemed judges, but this was a very polished performance.
Jurgis DID & Erica Jennings – Sing!
The novelty of this song is the duo want the audience to sing along. They may have succeeded, but from the pair that brought you Skamp and Inculto, it got annoying very quickly indeed. Erica is a great singer and probably missed a golden opportunity last year. If this wins it will quickly go down as one of the most irritating Eurovision entries ever – We Are The Winners and Eastern European Funk be damned.
The Results
| Judges | Public | Total | Position | |
| Laimingu Būti Lengva | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Voldemars Petersons | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| La forza | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sofija Eitutytė | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Antikvariniai Kašpirovskio Dantys | 6 | 7 | 13 | 4 |
| Dagna | 4 | 6 | 10 | |
| Jurgis Brūzga | 5 | 5 | 10 | 6 |
| Kali | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Cheri | 8 | 3 | 11 | 5 |
| 120 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |
| Monika Marija | 10 | 8 | 18 | 2 |
| Jurijus | 12 | 12 | 24 | 1 |
| Jurgis DID & Erica Jennings | 8 | 10 | 18 | 3 |
Lithuania In The Eurovision Song Contest
Perhaps as this will be Lithuania’s 20th Eurovision appearance, it has encouraged two past participants to return. In 2001 the group SKAMP consisting of members Victor “Vee” Diawara, Vilius Alesius and Erica Jennings sang the song You’ve Got Style taking the country to 13th place with 35 points. Erica has returned this year, despite dropping out last year as she didn’t like the judges giving a critique for her song. No such concerns this year apparently, although now she’s wanting the rules changed so more than six people can appear ion stage. Yes Erica You’ve Got Style.
In 2010 the group Inculto, members Aurelijus Morlencas, Sergej Makidon, Jievaras Jasinskis, Laurynas Lapė and Jurgis Didžiulis performed Eastern European Kind Of Funk, but failed to really impress anyone. Undaunted,Jurgis is back with his wife Erica, for another try with Sing. Tonight’s results probably mean we won’t be seeing them in this years Eurovision.
