Eurovizija show 6 sees 12 more qualifiers from the early rounds performing a second time. Eight will move on to the next round. The judges, Ramunas Zilnys and Darius Uzkuraitis, are joined by conductor Vytautas Lukočius and Paul Meškėla. They have seen the performances as they were recorded for today and gave their points and comments. The Lithuanian public will get their chance to view the performances today. The show begins at 20:00 CET and you are encouraged to watch it live on the LRT feed. If you’d like to watch more than one show today, try out ESC+Plus Live Feeds.
- Sasha Song “Never Felt Like This Before”
First up today was Sasha Song, who knows what he should be doing here, having represented Lithuania in 2009. New judge Lukočius thought Sasha articulated the song well, saying the night had started off on a “high note.” Zilnys reflected that he was happy the staging seemed better this time around.
- Valerija Iljinaitė “You Made Me Glow”
Colds seem to be going around the country as Valerija had spent the earlier portion of the day in the hospital. While noticeable to some judges, Valerija was still called a “a great singer” by Uzkuraitis with Meškėla agreeing adding she, “has excellent [vocal] capabilities.”
- Alanas Chošnau “7 Days”
Zilnys commented on the changed visuals for this act, saying his last time his kids “said that they want to vote for the uncle of “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” when Alanas had performed with a large a detail on his coat—decide for yourself if this is a good comment or not. Lukočius was still less than happy with the choreography, he encouraged the singer to work with someone to improve it.
- Greta Zazza “Like I Love You”
Simply labeled “ready for the Eurovision stage,” this song was liked by each of the panel members. Uzkuraitis called in a ‘fully realized’ performance. Indeed, Greta tied for second place and remains one of the favorites to go all the way with her song, behind the lady who had the benefit of performing directly after her.
- Aistė Pilvelytė “I’m Like a Wolf”
“You have one of the best songs in the competition,” stated Zilnys, Uzkuraitis, and the rest of the panel. However, it was noted that the difficulty of the song’s high notes could be the cause of disappointment with one ‘slip.’ Penned by Latvia’s Aminata, Aistė is highly considered the talent of 2017 with the song to beat.
- Evaldas Vaikasas “Fire Kisses”
“I’m Like a Wolf” seemed to eclipse not just the song before it, but easily the one after it. Evaldas did find some mercy from the judges performing directly after a standout song. Lukočius said he enjoyed the “timbre” of the singer’s voice, but felt the drive and passion for the song was missing, specifically pointing out Evaldas’ repetitive hand movements.
- Neringa Šiaudikytė “One More Night”
Uzkuraitis also expressed sympathy for Neringa, who as performed on Eurovizija a number of times, but he told the tough truth. The song that Neringa had chosen from the submissions just wasn’t good enough compared again with “I’m Like a Wolf” or “Like I Love You.”
- Queens of Roses “Fisherman”
The girl band was helped last time by a strong showing with the public televote, but Uzkuraitis still found the song and its chances ‘lacking.’ Zilnys liked the girls’ naughty image, but disliked the song, wishing the rules allowed for a replacement song to “Fisherman.”
- Vidas Bareikis & Ieva Zasimauskaitė “I Love My Phone”
Lukočius and Meškėla, newer to the panel both liked the song here, with Lukočius commenting positively on how important the topic of one’s phone is in their lives. The score balanced out more as the other panelists had seen the novelty of the performance before and knew that as the competition enters the last few episodes, the freshness of a novelty wears off quickly.
- Kotryna Juodzevičiūtė “Love Shadow”
Meškėla raved “fantastic” about Kotryna’s song, while Zilnys and Uzkuraitis both wished the singer had stayed in her white dress instead of the metallic brace dress she was now wearing for aesthetic purposes, even if it seemed reticent of Laura Tesoro.
- Golden Monkeys “Septyni dievai”
The only Lithuanian language song left in the competition, “Seven Gods” as the song is translated, had the panel wondering how it would. Normally happy to promote national talent, the panel now wondered if there was another way “to find other means to express the spirit of Lithuania..,” but sincerely admired performers for doing well and keeping the culture of the contest local.
- Mia “Sacrifice”
Mia refused to come down from her throne, so to speak, and the panel wasn’t entirely happy with it. Uzkuraitis questioned the entire need for the throne at all in relation to the song. Zilnys wondered if Eurovision viewers would ‘get’ the throne. Meškėla finally veered away from the topic of the fine chair, saying he liked the song, but he did end up suggesting a possible dismount.
Three strong songs were shown tonight and the doubt of their presence in the finals is not it doubt. Aistė, Greta, and Sasha Song, have all been standouts in earlier heats and will continue to be favorites as the other songs will scramble for the lower points and eventually be removed from the competition. This is the point in Eurovizija where fans do question the necessity of extra shows with similar songs. For a song to move up from the lower regions of the scoreboard, something very drastic would have to happen. Incredible staging would be more likely than newfound vocal ability, but neither are likely. As Zilnys had suggested, there may be an opportunity here to provide the artists with an opportunity to try a different song from a different pool of submissions or a collection of better songs kept aside for such a change in rules.
As it stands, the three highlights here will join those from the other group that performed last week in Show 9, where the best of both groups will be combined. The question seems to be forming, Can the ‘legitimate and contemporary’ works hold off growing momentum from Lolita Zero? The highly stylized act has been polling well with Lithuanians and broader Eurovision audiences, despite a lack of credibility musically.
Remember to watch this entertaining installment of Eurovizija at 20:00 CET on the LRT feed or on our ESC+Plus Live Feeds.
Who was your favorite this week? Give us a holler in the comments below. HINT: Paula!