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Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

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Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Country Georgia
National selection
Selection processArtist: Internal selection
Song: Evrovizia 2016 - Airchie sheni simgera!
Selection date(s)Artist: 15 December 2015
Song: 15 February 2016
Selected artist(s)Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz
Selected song"Midnight Gold"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (9th, 123 points)
Final result20th, 104 points
Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2015 • 2016 • 2017►

Georgia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Midnight Gold" written by Kote Kalandadze and Thomas G:son. The song was performed by Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz, who were internally selected in December 2015 by the Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) to compete at the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. A national final was held to select the song that Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz would perform. An open call for song submissions was held which resulted in the shortlisting of five entries that were presented to the public on 3 February 2016. The public had until 15 February to vote for their favourite song. The results of the public vote combined with the votes of an international jury resulted in the selection of "Midnight Gold" as the Georgian entry.

Georgia 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 16, "Midnight Gold" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 14 May. It was later revealed that Georgia placed ninth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 123 points. In the final, Georgia performed in position 23 and placed twentieth out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 104 points.

Background

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Main article: Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2016 contest, Georgia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eight times since their first entry in 2007.[1] The nation's highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been ninth place, which was achieved on two occasions: in 2010 with the song "Shine" performed by Sofia Nizharadze and in 2011 with the song "One More Day" performed by Eldrine. The nation briefly withdrew from the contest in 2009 after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) rejected the Georgian entry, "We Don't Wanna Put In", for perceived political references to Vladimir Putin who was the Russian Prime Minister at the time.[2][3] The withdrawal and fallout was tied to tense relations between Georgia and then host country Russia, which stemmed from the 2008 Russo-Georgian War.[4] Following the introduction of semi-finals, Georgia has, to this point, failed to qualify to the final on only two occasions. In 2015, Georgia qualified to the final where the country placed 11th with the song "Warrior" performed by Nina Sublatti.

The Georgian national broadcaster, Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB), broadcasts the event within Georgia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. GPB confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on 15 September 2015.[5] Georgia has selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest both through national finals and internal selections in the past. In 2013 and 2014, GPB opted to internally select the Georgian entry while in 2015, the Georgian entry was selected via a national final. For their 2016 participation, the artist was selected internally by the broadcaster, while the song was selected through a national final.

Before Eurovision

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Artist selection

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On 15 December 2015, the broadcaster held a press conference and announced that they had internally selected Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz to represent Georgia in Stockholm.[6] During the press conference, GPB announced that a national final would be held to select their song.[7]

Evrovizia 2016 - Airchie sheni simgera!

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GPB opened a public song submission from 15 December 2015 until 8 January 2016. The broadcaster sought songs that fit the style of the selected musicians: "melodic song structure of alternative and indie rock with electronic beats, synths and/or samples, and club orientation of post-disco dance music." Over 100 songs were received by the submission deadline and an expert commission selected the top five songs from the received submissions.[6][7] The songs were presented to the public on 3 February 2016 during the GPB First Channel programme Komunikatori, hosted by Vakho Khvichia and Elene Margvelashvili, and the public was able to vote for their favourite song through telephone and SMS between 4 and 15 February 2016.[8] The winning song, "Midnight Gold", was determined upon by the combination of the votes of an international jury and the public televote, and was announced on 15 February during Komunikatori.[9] The international jury consisted of Andy Mikheev (journalist and Eurovision expert), Christer Björkman (supervisor of Melodifestivalen and producer of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest), Sasha Jean Baptiste (staging director) and Marvin Dietmann (choreographer).[10] An advisory online vote was held during the public voting period, which was also won by "Midnight Gold" with 9,604 votes.[11]

Final – 15 February 2016
Draw Song Songwriter(s) Jury Televote Total Place
Votes Points Votes Points
1 "Midnight Gold" Kote Kalandadze 13 32.5 1,310 50 82.5 1
2 "Pain in My Heart" Giorgi Sikharulidze 11 27.5 9 0.34 27.84 5
3 "Right or Wrong" Sandro Sulakvelidze 12 30 15 0.57 30.57 3
4 "Sugar and Milk" Gia Iashvili 14 35 42 1.6 36.6 2
5 "We Agree" Nika Kocharov, Vazha Marr 10 25 142 5.42 30.42 4
Detailed International Jury Votes
Draw Artist A. Mikheev C. Björkman S.J. Baptiste M. Dietmann Total
1 "Midnight Gold" 5 3 2 3 13
2 "Pain in My Heart" 4 2 4 1 11
3 "Right or Wrong" 3 1 3 5 12
4 "Sugar and Milk" 2 5 5 2 14
5 "We Agree" 1 4 1 4 10

Preparation

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Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz recorded the final version of "Midnight Gold" at the Red Bull Studios in Berlin following the national final.[12] The performers worked with Swedish composer Thomas G:son to refine and create a three-minute version of the song.[13] On 11 March, the final version of the song premiered together with the music video on the GPB programme Komunikatori.[13] The music video was based on two concepts: one written and directed by Temo Ezugbaia and the other written by Nika Kocharov and directed by Temo Kvirkvelia. The final version of the video was directed by Nestan Sinjikashvili.

At Eurovision

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Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz during a press meet and greet

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (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.[14] 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. Georgia was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2016, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[15]

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. Georgia was set to perform in position 17, following the entry from Norway and before the entry from Albania.[16] But after Romania was removed from the running order of the competition, Georgia's position shifted to 16.[17]

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Georgia on GBP First Channel with commentary by Tuta Chkheidze and Nika Katsia.[18][19] The Georgian spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Georgian jury during the final, was 2015 Georgian Eurovision entrant Nina Sublatti.[20]

Semi-final

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Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz during a rehearsal before the second semi-final

Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz took part in technical rehearsals on 5 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May.[21] This included the jury show on 11 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[22]

The Georgian performance featured Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz performing in a band set-up dressed in outfits designed by Georgian designer Marika Kurdubadze.[23][24][25][26] The stage colours were yellow and purple with the fast moving lights and LED screen patterns creating a psychedelic look. The camera work for the performance featured mirror and duplication effects that created a kaleidoscopic effect. The performance also featured smoke and pyrotechnic effects. The staging director for the Georgian performance was Sacha Jean-Baptiste.[27] The Georgian performers were joined by one off-stage backing vocalist: Lars Säfsund.[28]

At the end of the show, Georgia was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final.[29] It was later revealed that Georgia placed ninth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 123 points: 39 points from the televoting and 84 points from the juries.[30]

Final

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Shortly after the second semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the reverse order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Georgia was drawn to compete in the second half.[31] Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Georgia was subsequently placed to perform in position 23, following the entry from Malta and before the entry from Austria.[32]

Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz once again took part in dress rehearsals on 13 and 14 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show.[33] Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz performed a repeat of their semi-final performance during the final on 14 May. Georgia placed twentieth in the final, scoring 104 points: 24 points from the televoting and 80 points from the juries.[34][35]

Voting

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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.[36] 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.[37]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Georgia and awarded by Georgia 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:

Points awarded to Georgia

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Points awarded by Georgia

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Detailed voting results

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The following members comprised the Georgian jury:[36]

  • George Asanishvili (jury chairperson) – sound engineer
  • Mikheil Javakhishvili – singer, musical producer
  • Helen Kalandadze – singer
  • Nata Natsvlishvili – singer-songwriter
  • Zaza Orashvili – stage and video director
Detailed voting results from Georgia (Semi-final 2)[38]
Draw Country Jury Televote
G. Asanishvili M. Javakhishvili H. Kalandadze N. Natsvlishvili Z. Orashvili Rank Points Rank Points
01  Latvia 7 14 6 11 3 6 5 3 8
02  Poland 17 9 8 4 8 8 3 4 7
03   Switzerland 2 8 7 13 6 4 7 16
04  Israel 10 5 5 12 7 5 6 10 1
05  Belarus 16 10 15 5 10 14 5 6
06  Serbia 12 7 13 15 11 16 9 2
07  Ireland 11 11 11 10 12 13 15
08  Macedonia 8 17 17 1 14 15 13
09  Lithuania 9 13 4 8 13 9 2 2 10
10  Australia 4 4 3 14 5 3 8 7 4
11  Slovenia 13 15 16 6 4 12 14
12  Bulgaria 14 16 9 2 17 17 6 5
13  Denmark 6 6 12 9 9 7 4 12
14  Ukraine 1 1 1 17 1 1 12 1 12
15  Norway 15 3 10 7 15 10 1 11
16  Georgia
17  Albania 5 12 14 3 16 11 17
18  Belgium 3 2 2 16 2 2 10 8 3
Detailed voting results from Georgia (Final)[39]
Draw Country Jury Televote
G. Asanishvili M. Javakhishvili H. Kalandadze N. Natsvlishvili Z. Orashvili Rank Points Rank Points
01  Belgium 1 3 3 9 4 2 10 21
02  Czech Republic 15 10 13 15 14 12 20
03  Netherlands 8 19 24 14 9 15 15
04  Azerbaijan 16 20 12 19 20 21 4 7
05  Hungary 7 21 20 20 13 19 9 2
06  Italy 9 22 23 4 15 14 14
07  Israel 18 11 5 11 8 8 3 19
08  Bulgaria 24 23 14 22 25 24 8 3
09  Sweden 3 13 4 6 2 5 6 11
10  Germany 19 14 10 8 12 10 1 13
11  France 17 15 8 1 7 7 4 18
12  Poland 25 9 11 17 24 20 7 4
13  Australia 4 2 2 12 3 3 8 10 1
14  Cyprus 10 17 17 16 17 17 12
15  Serbia 11 16 16 10 10 11 23
16  Lithuania 6 8 6 13 6 6 5 6 5
17  Croatia 12 7 21 2 19 9 2 24
18  Russia 21 18 19 24 23 23 3 8
19  Spain 23 12 22 25 11 22 16
20  Latvia 5 5 7 5 5 4 7 5 6
21  Ukraine 2 1 1 7 1 1 12 2 10
22  Malta 20 4 18 23 16 18 25
23  Georgia
24  Austria 22 25 25 21 18 25 17
25  United Kingdom 14 24 9 3 21 13 22
26  Armenia 13 6 15 18 22 16 1 12

References

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  1. ^ "Georgia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  2. ^ Bakker, Sietse (10 March 2009). "Georgian song lyrics do not comply with Rules". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  3. ^ Jonze, Tim (11 March 2009). "Eurovision 2009: Georgia pulls out of contest over 'Putin song'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Putin jibe picked for Eurovision". BBC News. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Georgia to take part at Eurovision 2016". eurovision-georgia.ge. Georgian Public Broadcaster. 15 September 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  6. ^ a b "ნიკა კოჩაროვი & Young Georgian Lolitaz საქართველოს 2016 წლის ევროვიზიის სიმღერის კონკურსზე წარადგენენ". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). Georgian Public Broadcaster. 15 December 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  7. ^ a b Brey, Marco (15 December 2015). "Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitas to represent Georgia". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  8. ^ Brey, Marco (3 February 2016). "Georgia: Five songs presented". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  9. ^ Brey, Marco (29 January 2016). "Georgia: Song presentation on February 3rd". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  10. ^ Brey, Marco (15 February 2016). ""Midnight Gold" is the Georgian song for Stockholm". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  11. ^ "ESCKAZ - Eurovision 2016 - Young Georgian Lolitaz (Georgia / Грузия)". esckaz.com. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  12. ^ "რამდენიმე საათში გაირკვევა რომელი სიმღერით წარდგებიან ნიკა კოჩაროვი & Young Georgian Lolitaz ევროვიზიაზე". eurovision-georgia.ge (in Georgian). Georgian Public Broadcaster. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ a b Mamsikashvili, Rezo (11 March 2016). "WATCH: Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz release music video for "Midnight Gold"". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  14. ^ Jordan, Paul (21 January 2016). "Semi-Final Allocation Draw on Monday, pots revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  15. ^ Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  16. ^ Jordan, Paul (8 April 2016). "Running order of the Semi-Finals revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  17. ^ "TVR (Romania) no longer entitled to take part in Eurovision 2016". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  18. ^ "2016 წლის ევროფესტივალის პირდაპირ ეთერს პირველ არხზე თუთა ჩხეიძე გაუძღვება". eurovision-georgia.ge (in Georgian). Georgian Public Broadcaster. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  19. ^ "ევროვიზია 2016. პირველი ნახევარფინალი". eurovision-georgia.ge (in Georgian). Georgian Public Broadcaster. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  20. ^ Granger, Anthony (26 April 2016). "Georgia: Nina Sublatti is Announcing the Jury Points". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  21. ^ "Media Activities" (PDF). eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  22. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (11 May 2016). "Time for the juries to make their choice". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  23. ^ "Georgian contenders of 2016 ESC preparing for departure for Stockholm". eurovision-georgia.ge. Georgian Public Broadcaster. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  24. ^ Brey, Marco (5 May 2016). "Day 4 at the Globe Arena". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  25. ^ Salmon, Josh (5 May 2016). "Georgia: Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz's psychedelic first rehearsal". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  26. ^ Brey, Marco (7 May 2016). "Day 6 at the Globe Arena". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  27. ^ "Director Sacha Jean-Baptiste Works with Georgian Contenders of 2016 ESC". 1tv.ge. Georgian Public Broadcaster. 23 March 2016. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  28. ^ "Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz: Midnight gold". eurovisionartists.nl (in Dutch). Eurovision Artists. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  29. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (12 May 2016). "10 more finalists through to the Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  30. ^ "Second Semi-Final of Stockholm 2016". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  31. ^ Brey, Marco (12 May 2016). "The Second Semi-Final winners' press conference". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  32. ^ Brey, Marco (13 May 2016). "Running order for the 2016 Grand Final revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  33. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (13 May 2016). "Juries voting tonight for the 2016 Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  34. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (14 May 2016). "Ukraine wins 2016 Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  35. ^ "Grand Final of Stockholm 2016". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  36. ^ a b "Here are the judges for Eurovision 2016!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  37. ^ Jordan, Paul (18 February 2016). "Biggest change to Eurovision Song Contest voting since 1975". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  38. ^ a b c "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Stockholm 2016". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  39. ^ a b c "Results of the Grand Final of Stockholm 2016". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
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