Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Country  Georgia
National selection
Selection process Internal Selection
Selection date(s) Artist: 31 December 2017
Song: 13 March 2018
Selected entrant Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao
Selected song "For You"
Selected songwriter(s) Davit Malazonia
Irina Sanikidze
Finals performance
Semi-final result Failed to qualify (18th, 24 points)
Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2017 • 2018 • 2019►

Georgia will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. Iriao was internally selected by the Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) on 31 December 2017 to perform the song that represented the nation at the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal.

Background

Prior to the 2018 Contest, Georgia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest ten 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 three occasions. In 2017, Georgia failed to qualify to the final with the song "Keep the Faith" performed by Tamara Gachechiladze.

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 2018 Eurovision Song Contest on 2 October 2017.[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, in 2015, the Georgian entry was selected via a national final, and in 2016, the artist was internally selected while the song was chosen in a national final. For their 2017 participation, the entry was selected through a national final. In 2018 the artist was internally selected.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

On 31 December 2017, GPB announced Iriao as the Georgian entrant at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.[6] They represented Georgia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal.[7]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 took place at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal and consisted of two semi-finals on 8 and 10 May and the final on 12 May 2018. 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) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progressed to the final.

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country 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. 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.

Points awarded to Georgia

Points awarded to Georgia (Semi-final 2)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Georgia

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Georgian jury:[8]

  • David Evgenidze – Chairperson – composer, musician
  • Zurab Ramishvili – jazz musician
  • Eliso Shengelia – musical producer
  • Salome Bakuradze – singer
  • Kakhaber Grigalashvili – singer

References

  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: GPB confirms participation in Eurovision 2018". esctoday.com. Esctoday. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Borneo Jazz - Iriao". Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  7. ↑ "Music band Iriao will present Georgia at 2018 ESC - 1TV". 1TV. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  8. ↑ Groot, Evert (30 April 2018). "Exclusive: They are the expert jurors for Eurovision 2018". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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