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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: National Final
Selection date(s)Artist: 15 December 2015
Song: 15 February 2016
Selected artist(s)Nika Kocharov &
Young Georgian Lolitaz
Selected song"Midnight Gold"
Selected songwriter(s)
Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2015 • 2016 • 2017►

Georgia will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Midnight Gold" written by Kote Kalandadze and Thomas G:son. The song will be 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.

Background

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

Artist selection

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]

Song selection

GPB announced that a public song submission would be opened 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 entries were received by the submission deadline.[7][6] An expert commission selected the top five songs from the received entries. The songs were presented to the public on 3 February 2016 via the GPB programme Komunikatori.[8] The public was able to vote for their favourite song between 4 and 15 February 2016 through free televoting and internet voting. On 15 February, the winning song was determined on Komunikatori where the votes of an international jury were combined with the results of the public televote.[9] The international jury consisted of Andy Mikheev (journalist, Eurovision expert), Christer Björkman (producer of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest), Sasha Jean Baptiste (staging director), and Marvin Dietmann (choreographer). The winning song was "Midnight Gold".[10]

Draw Song Composer(s) Jury Vote Public Vote Total Place
A. Mikheev C. Björkman S.J. Baptiste M. Dietmann Total
1 "Midnight Gold" Kote Kalandadze
5
3
2
3
13
1,310
82.50
1
2 "Pain in My Heart" Giorgi Sikharulidze
4
2
4
1
11
9
27.84
5
3 "Right or Wrong" Sandro Sulakvelidze
3
1
3
5
12
15
30.57
3
4 "Sugar and Milk" Gia Iashvili
2
5
5
2
14
42
36.60
2
5 "We Agree" Nika Kocharov, Vazha Marr
1
4
1
4
10
142
30.42
4

Preparation

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.[11] The performers worked with Swedish composer Thomas G:son to refine and create a three minute version of the song.[12] On 11 March, the final version of the song premiered together with the music video on the GPB programme Komunikatori.[12] 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

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 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.[13] 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.[14]

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.[15] But after Romania was removed from the running order of the competition, Georgia's position shifted to 16.[16]

The two semi-finals and the final will be broadcast in Georgia on GBP First Channel with commentary by Tuta Chkheidze.[17] The Georgian spokesperson, who will announce the top 12-point score awarded by the Georgian jury during the final, will be 2015 Georgian Eurovision entrant Nina Sublatti.[18]

Semi-final

Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz will take part in technical rehearsals on 5 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May.[19] This includes the jury show on 11 May where the professional juries of each country will watch and vote on the competing entries.

The Georgian performance features Nika Kocharov and the Young Georgian Lolitaz performing in a band set-up dressed in outfits designed by Georgian designer Marika Kurdubadze.[20][21][22][23] The stage colours are yellow and purple with the fast moving lights and LED screen patterns creating a psychedelic look. The camera work for the performance features mirror and duplication effects that create a kaleidoscopic effect. The performance also features smoke and pyrotechnic effects. The staging director for the Georgian performance was Sacha Jean-Baptiste.[24] The Georgian performers will be joined by one off-stage backing vocalist: Lars Säfsund.[25]

Voting

Voting during the three shows will be conducted under a new system that will involve 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 will consist 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 will judge each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.[26] 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 will be released shortly after the grand final.[27]

Split voting results

The following five members will comprise the Georgian jury:[26]

  • George Asanishvili – Chairperson – sound engineer
  • Mikheil Javakhishvili – singer, musical producer
  • Nata Natsvlishvili – singer-songwriter
  • Zaza Orashvili – stage and video director
  • Helen Kalandadze – 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 to take part at Eurovision 2016". eurovision-georgia.ge. Georgian Public Broadcaster. 15 September 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. 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. ^ "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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Jordan, Paul (21 January 2016). "Semi-Final Allocation Draw on Monday, pots revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  14. ^ Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  15. ^ Jordan, Paul (8 April 2016). "Running order of the Semi-Finals revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  16. ^ "TVR (Romania) no longer entitled to take part in Eurovision 2016". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  17. ^ "Tuta Chkheidze will be announcer of the live broadcasting of 2016 ESC". eurovision-georgia.ge. Georgian Public Broadcaster. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  18. ^ Granger, Anthony (26 April 2016). "Georgia: Nina Sublatti is Announcing the Jury Points". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  19. ^ "Media Activities" (PDF). eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  20. ^ "Georgian contenders of 2016 ESC preparing for departure for Stockholm". eurovision-georgia.ge. Georgian Public Broadcaster. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  21. ^ Brey, Marco (5 May 2016). "Day 4 at the Globe Arena". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  22. ^ Salmon, Josh (5 May 2016). "Georgia: Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz's psychedelic first rehearsal". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  23. ^ Brey, Marco (7 May 2016). "Day 6 at the Globe Arena". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  24. ^ "Director Sacha Jean-Baptiste Works with Georgian Contenders of 2016 ESC". 1tv.ge. Georgian Public Broadcaster. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  25. ^ "Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz: Midnight gold". eurovisionartists.nl (in Dutch). Eurovision Artists. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  26. ^ a b "Here are the judges for Eurovision 2016!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  27. ^ Jordan, Paul (18 February 2016). "Biggest change to Eurovision Song Contest voting since 1975". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
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