Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 explained

Year:2022
Country:Latvia
Preselection:Latvian: [[Supernova (Latvian TV series)|Supernova]] 2022
Preselection Date:Semi-final:
5 February 2022
Final:
12 February 2022
Entrant:Latvian: [[Citi Zēni]]|i=no
Song:Eat Your Salad
Sf Result:Failed to qualify (14th)

Latvia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with "Eat Your Salad" performed by Latvian: [[Citi Zēni]]|i=no. The Latvian broadcaster Latvian: [[Latvijas Televīzija]]|i=no (LTV) organised the national final Latvian: Supernova 2022 in order to select the Latvian entry for the contest. 17 songs were selected to compete in the national final, which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. In the semi-final on 5 February 2022, ten entries were selected to advance alongside a wildcard selected by LTV. Eleven songs ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 12 February 2022 where a public televote and a seven-member jury panel selected "Eat Your Salad" performed by Citi Zēni as the winner.

Latvia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 10 May 2022. Performing during the show in position 2, "Eat Your Salad" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Latvia placed fourteenth out of the 17 participating countries in the semi-final with 55 points.

Background

See main article: Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to the 2022 contest, Latvia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-one times since its first entry in 2000.[1] Latvia won the contest once in with the song "I Wanna" performed by Marie N. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the, Latvia was able to qualify to compete in the final between 2005 and 2008. Between 2009 and 2014, the nation had failed to qualify to the final for six consecutive years before managing to qualify to the final in 2015 and 2016. Latvia had failed to qualify to the final for four consecutive years since 2017 including with their entry "The Moon Is Rising" performed by Samanta Tīna.

The Latvian national broadcaster, Latvian: [[Latvijas Televīzija]]|i=no (LTV), broadcasts the event within Latvia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. LTV confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest on 30 August 2021.[2] Latvia has selected their entries for the Eurovision Song Contest through a national final, with the exception of 2021 when the Latvian entry was internally selected. Since their debut in 2000 until 2012, LTV had organised the selection show Latvian: [[Eirodziesma]]. In a response to the nation's failure to qualify to the final at Eurovision since 2008, between 2013 and 2014, the competition was rebranded and retooled as Latvian: Dziesma. After failing to produce successful entries those two years, LTV developed and had organised the Latvian: [[Supernova (Latvian TV series)|Supernova]] national final since 2015. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster announced that they would return with organising Latvian: Supernova 2022 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2022 contest.

Before Eurovision

Supernova 2022

Latvian: Supernova 2022 was the seventh edition of Latvian: [[Supernova (Latvian TV series)|Supernova]], the music competition that selects Latvia's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition commenced with the semi-final on 5 February 2022 and concluded with a final on 12 February 2022. All shows in the competition took place at the LTV studios in Riga, hosted by Ketija Šēnberga and 2003 Latvian Eurovision entrant Lauris Reiniks and broadcast on LTV1 as well as online via the streaming platform Replay.lv. An alternative broadcast also occurred on LTV7 with presentation in sign language.[3]

Format

The format of the competition consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. The semi-final, held on 5 February 2022, featured seventeen competing entries from which the top ten advanced to the final from each show. LTV also advanced a wildcard act to the final from the remaining non-qualifying entries in the semi-final. The final, held on 12 February 2022, selected the Latvian entry for Turin from the remaining eleven entries.[4] Results during the semi-final and final shows were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote, with both the jury and public vote assigning points from 1-8, 10 and 12 based on the number of competing songs in the respective show.[5] Ties were decided in favour of the entries that received higher points from the public. Viewers were able to vote via telephone or via SMS.[6]

The jury voted in each show and selected entries to advance in the competition. The panel consisted of:[7]

Competing entries

Artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 7 October 2021 and 7 December 2021.[8] A record 130 entries were submitted at the conclusion of the submission period.[9] A jury panel appointed by LTV evaluated the submitted songs and selected sixteen performers and songs, which were announced on 5 January 2022.[10] Among the artists were Reinis Sējāns (member of Bujāns) who represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 as part of Cosmos, Intars Busulis (member of Bujāns) who represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, Emīls Balceris and Marats Ogļezņevs (members of Bermudu Divstūris) who both represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 as Musiqq, Ralfs Eilands (member of Latvian: Mēs Jūs Mīlam|i=no) who represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 as part of PeR, and Aminata who represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.[11] An additional entry, "I'm Just a Sinner" performed by Miks Galvanovskis, was announced on 15 January 2022 following an online vote among ten entries on the official Supernova website between 10 and 14 January 2022.[12] Among the artists competing in the online vote was Katrīna Dimanta who represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as part of Aarzemnieki.[13]

ArtistSongSongwriter(s)
and Atis Ieviņš"Call the Lights"Antra Stafecka, Atis Ieviņš, Oskars Deigelis
Dārta Stepanova"Latvian: Brīnumzeme|i=no"Valters Pūce,
Edvards Strazdiņš"Open Road"Edvards Strazdiņš, Kerija Hauptmane
"My Voice"Katrīna Dimanta, Reinis Briģis
"Let Me Go"Marta Ritova, Armands Varslavāns
Mārtiņš Strods"One More Time"Mārtiņš Strods, Evija Smagare
"I'm Just a Sinner"Miks Galvanovskis, Reinis Briģis
Rihards Bērziņš"1+1"Rihards Bērziņš
Tētis"Latvian: Labākie vārdi|i=no", Valters Osis
Toms Kalderauskis"Naked Smile"Liene Stūrmane, Kaspars Ansons, Toms Kalderauskis
ArtistSongSongwriter(s)
Aminata"I'm Letting You Go"Aminata Savadogo
Beatrise Heislere"On the Way Home"Edvards Grieze, Beatrise Heislere
"Bad"Marats Ogļezņevs
Bujāns"He, She, You & Me"Intars Busulis,,,
Latvian: [[Citi Zēni]]|i=no"Eat Your Salad"Roberts Memmēns, Jānis Pētersons, Dagnis Roziņš, Jānis Jačmenkins
Elīna Gluzunova"Latvian: Es pabiju tur|i=no"Jānis Šipkēvics, Marts Pujāts
Inspo"A Happy Place"Nadīna Stirniniece, Aivars Lietaunieks
"Promises"Kaspars Ansons, Anna Zankovska
Linda Rušeniece"Pay My Own Bills"Ralfs Eilands, Rūdolfs Ozols, Valters Sprūdžs
Markus Riva"If You're Gonna Love Me"Markus Riva
Latvian: Mēs Jūs Mīlam|i=no"Rich Itch"Rūdolfs Ozols, Valters Sprūdžs, Ralfs Eilands
"First Love"Miks Dukurs
"I'm Just a Sinner"Miks Galvanovskis, Reinis Briģis
"Can't Get You Outta My Head"Elviss Pētersons
Raum"Plans",,
The Coco'nuts"In and Out of the Dark"Marija Valmiera, Pēteris Narubins, Toms Valmiers, Monta Kurme, Benijs Zeltkalis, Artūrs Strautmanis
Zelma"How"Arturs Liede, Andrjus Jaņuns, Arta Zelma Jēgere

Semi-final

The semi-final took place on 5 February 2022. In the semi-final seventeen acts competed and the top ten entries qualified to the final based on the combination of votes from a jury panel and the Latvian public.[14] On 10 February 2022, LTV announced that the song "First Love" performed by Miks Dukurs had been awarded a wildcard to qualify to the final due to technical issues that impacted his semi-final performance.[15]

Semi-final5 February 2022
DrawArtistSongResult
1Latvian: [[Citi Zēni]]|i=no"Eat Your Salad"Advanced
2Miks Dukurs"First Love"Advanced
3Linda Rušeniece"Pay My Own Bills"Advanced
4Elīna Gluzunova"Latvian: Es pabiju tur|i=no"Advanced
5Raum"Plans"Advanced
6Patriks Peterson"Can't Get You Outta My Head"Eliminated
7Latvian: Mēs Jūs Mīlam|i=no"Rich Itch"Advanced
8Katō"Promises"Eliminated
9Miks Galvanovskis"I'm Just a Sinner"Advanced
10Markus Riva"If You're Gonna Love Me"Eliminated
11The Coco'nuts"In and Out of the Dark"Eliminated
12Aminata"I'm Letting You Go"Advanced
13Bermudu Divstūris"Bad"Advanced
14Beatrise Heislere"On the Way Home"Eliminated
15Zelma"How"Eliminated
16Bujāns"He, She, You & Me"Advanced
17Inspo"A Happy Place" Advanced

Final

The final took place on 12 February 2022. The eleven entries that qualified from the semi-final competed. The song with the highest number of votes based on the combination of votes from a jury panel and the Latvian public, "Eat Your Salad" performed by Latvian: [[Citi Zēni]]|i=no, was declared the winner.[16] [17] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show featured guest performances by 2021 Estonian Eurovision entrant Uku Suviste and 2021 Lithuanian Eurovision entrant The Roop.[18]

Final12 February 2022
DrawArtistSongJuryTelevoteTotalPlace
VotesPoints
1Miks Dukurs "First Love"02,1160011
2Raum"Plans"53,486279
3Linda Rušeniece"Pay My Own Bills"63,3941710
4Bermudu Divstūris"Bad"224,216687
5Miks Galvanovskis"I'm Just a Sinner"716,0605124
6Bujāns"He, She, You & Me"338,92410133
7Elīna Gluzunova"Latvian: Es pabiju tur|i=no"83,5723115
8Latvian: [[Citi Zēni]]|i=no"Eat Your Salad"1250,56612241
9Inspo"A Happy Place"46,432488
10Latvian: Mēs Jūs Mīlam|i=no"Rich Itch"126,692786
11Aminata"I'm Letting You Go"1030,9838182

Ratings

Show! rowspan="2" scope="col"
Air dateViewing figures
NominalShare
Semi-final5 February 2022149,2008.2%[19]
Final12 February 2022154,9008.5%

Preparation

On 22 March, Citi Zēni released the official music video for "Eat Your Salad", which was directed by Niklāvs Vētra, produced by Mārtiņš Goldbergs and Elīna Sargune, and choreographed by Beāte Svarinska with support from the Riga Tourism Development Bureau LiveRiga.[20]

Promotion

Citi Zēni made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Eat Your Salad" as the Latvian Eurovision entry. On 26 March, Citi Zēni performed during the Barcelona Eurovision Party, which was held at the Sala Apolo venue in Barcelona, Spain and hosted by Sharonne and Giuseppe Di Bella.[21] On 3 April, Citi Zēni performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Hard Rock Hotel in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Paddy O'Connell and SuRie.[22] [23] On 7 April, Citi Zēni performed during the Israel Calling event held at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel.[24] On 9 April, Citi Zēni performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the AFAS Live venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Edsilia Rombley.[25] On 16 April, Citi Zēni performed during the PrePartyES 2022 event which was held at the Sala La Riviera venue in Madrid, Spain and hosted by Ruth Lorenzo.[26] On 30 April, Citi Zēni performed during the Adriatic PreParty which was held online and organised by Hrvatski Eurovizijski Klub.[27]

In addition to their international appearances, Citi Zēni appeared during the Zelta Mikrofons 2022 award show on 26 February, held at the Art and Media Technical School in Riga where they received the ELVI Song of the Year award for their song "Limuzīns Uz Krīta".[28] The band also released several acoustic and drum covers of former and 2022 Eurovision songs prior to the contest, including a performance recreation of the Latvian winning entry "I Wanna" performed by Marie N.[29] [30] [31]

At Eurovision

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. On 25 January 2022, an 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. Latvia was placed into the first semi-final, which was held on 10 May 2022, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[32]

Once all the competing songs for the 2022 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. Latvia was set to perform in position 2 following the entry from and after the entry from .[33]

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Latvia on LTV1 with all shows featuring commentary by and Lauris Reiniks.[34] [35] The Latvian spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Latvian jury during the final, was Samanta Tīna.[36] [37] [38]

Semi-final

Citi Zēni took part in technical rehearsals on 30 April and 4 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May. This included the jury show on 9 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. The Latvian performance featured the members of Citi Zēni performing on stage wearing brightly coloured suits in a retro fashion to match the style of the song. The performance was fast paced and featured audience interaction and brightly coloured LED lights in the background. The performance was concluded with lead singer Jānis Pētersons performing a split. The performance also featured pyrotechnic effects.[39]

At the end of the show, Latvia was not announced among the top 10 entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. This was Latvia's fifth consecutive non-qualification to the grand final having last appeared in 2016. It was later revealed that Latvia placed fourteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 55 points: 16 points from the televoting and 39 points from the juries.

Voting

See also: Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest. 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. 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.[40] In addition, each member of a national jury may only take part in the panel once every three years, and no jury was permitted to discuss of their vote with other members or be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.[41] The individual rankings of each jury member in an anonymised form as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.[42] [43]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Latvia and awarded by Latvia in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Latvian jury:[42] [43]

+
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
Juror 1Juror 2Juror 3Juror 4Juror 5RankPointsRankPoints
0116 16 16 15 15 16 16
02
0313 10 5 4 7 10 1 2 10
042 9 7 7 8 7 4 11
0512 15 6 13 13 12 12
069 1 1 1 6 1 12 1 12
0715 14 14 12 11 15 15
088 8 4 11 3 8 3 8 3
0914 13 15 14 10 14 3 8
106 7 9 2 9 6 5 5 6
1110 11 11 10 4 11 14
123 5 8 3 12 5 6 9 2
1311 12 12 16 14 13 10 1
141 6 13 8 2 3 8 6 5
155 4 2 5 1 2 10 13
164 2 3 6 16 4 7 4 7
177 3 10 9 5 9 2 7 4
+
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
Juror 1Juror 2Juror 3Juror 4Juror 5RankPointsRankPoints
0123 7 12 13 14 16 24
0224 25 22 24 25 25 20
038 3 5 11 5 5 6 11
0419 13 21 20 22 22 10 1
057 20 2 16 15 8 3 21
0612 23 23 25 16 20 14
0720 11 3 1 13 6 5 6 5
089 14 10 19 6 13 16
096 21 15 6 10 11 13
1017 2 13 21 23 12 7 4
114 8 14 8 9 7 4 12
121 1 6 3 1 1 12 1 12
1315 12 11 9 8 14 19
1410 10 19 4 12 10 1 2 10
1522 9 18 17 7 17 22
1621 24 16 10 19 19 23
175 6 9 5 2 4 7 25
1813 19 7 15 11 15 17
1918 15 24 23 20 23 4 7
202 4 8 2 4 2 10 5 6
2114 5 4 14 21 9 2 18
223 17 1 7 3 3 8 8 3
2316 18 20 18 17 21 15
2425 22 25 22 24 24 9 2
2511 16 17 12 18 18 3 8

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Latvia Country Profile. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 6 November 2014.
  2. Web site: Washak . James . 30 August 2021 . Latvia: LTV Confirms It Will Hold A National Selection For Eurovision 2022 . 10 June 2022 . Eurovoix.
  3. Web site: Sestdien "Supernovas" fināls! . 10 June 2022 . Supernova.lsm.lv . lv.
  4. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 5 October 2021 . Latvia: Supernova 2022 Submissions Open on October 7 . 1 November 2021 . Eurovoix.
  5. Web site: Tiešraidē noskaidroti Latvijas Televīzijas konkursa "Supernova" finālisti . 10 June 2022 . Supernova.lsm.lv . lv.
  6. Web site: Zināma mūziķu uzstāšanās secība SUPERNOVAS pusfinālā 5. februārī . 10 June 2022 . Supernova.lsm.lv . lv.
  7. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 16 May 2022 . Latvia: Supernova 2022 Jury Revealed . 16 May 2022 . Eurovoix.
  8. News: 7 October 2021 . Search for Latvia's Eurovision contender starts . lsm.lv . Latvijas Televīzija . 22 January 2022.
  9. Web site: Farren . Neil . 8 December 2021 . Latvia: 130 Songs Submitted for Supernova 2022 . 10 June 2022 . Eurovoix.
  10. Web site: Iepazīsties ar "Supernovas" 16 pusfinālistiem! Vēl vienu dalībnieku izvēlēsies interneta balsojumā . 2022-01-05 . lsm.lv . Latvijas Televīzija . lv.
  11. Web site: LATVIAN NATIONAL FINAL 2022 . 10 June 2022 . natfinals.50webs.com.
  12. Web site: 15 January 2022 . "Supernovas" pusfinālistu sarakstā iekļūst arī Miks Galvanovskis . 10 June 2022 . lsm.lv . lv.
  13. Web site: Granger . Anthony . Latvia: Voting Commences for 17th Supernova 2022 Semi-Finalist . 10 January 2022 . Eurovoix.
  14. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 5 February 2022 . Latvia: Supernova 2022 Semi-Final Results . 10 June 2022 . Eurovoix.
  15. Web site: Terry . Connor . 10 February 2022 . Latvia: LTV awards Miks Dukurs a wildcard for the Supernova 2022 final . 10 February 2022 . ESCUnited.
  16. Web site: Terry . Connor . 2022-02-12 . Citi Zēni has won Supernova 2022 and will represent Latvia in Turin! . 2022-02-12 . ESCUnited.
  17. Web site: 14 February 2022 . "Citi zēni" LTV konkursā "Supernova" pārliecinoši līderi gan skatītāju, gan žūrijas balsojumā . 14 February 2022 . lsm.lv . Latvijas Televīzija . lv.
  18. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 9 February 2022 . Latvia: Supernova 2022 Final Running Order & Guests Announced . 9 February 2022 . Eurovoix.
  19. Web site: Televīzija . 10 June 2022 . KANTAR Latvija . lv.
  20. Web site: Balins . Edgars . 22 March 2022 . Eat Your Salad! Latvia's Citi Zeni release their official music video for Eurovision 2022 . 10 June 2022 . Wiwibloggs.
  21. Web site: Postma . Angus . 8 March 2022 . Citi Zēni to perform at Barcelona Eurovision Party . 10 June 2022 . That Eurovision Site.
  22. Web site: London Eurovision Party 2022 . 10 June 2022 . Wiwibloggs.
  23. Web site: London Eurovision Party . 10 June 2022 . londoneurovision.com.
  24. Web site: Rössing . Dominik . 23 April 2022 . TONIGHT: Israel Calling 2022 full show rebroadcast . 10 June 2022 . escXtra.
  25. Web site: Tarbuck . Sean . 7 April 2022 . Line-up complete for Amsterdam's Eurovision in Concert 2022 . 10 June 2022 . escunited.com.
  26. Web site: Korypas . Andreas . 17 April 2022 . Spain: Watch all the live performances of the artists at the PrePartyES 2022! . 10 June 2022 . Eurovisionfun.
  27. Web site: Washak . James . 26 April 2022 . Croatia: Ten Acts Confirmed for the Adriatic PreParty 2022 . 10 June 2022 . Eurovoix.
  28. Web site: 27 February 2022 . Ukrainai veltītā ceremonijā pasniegti "Zelta mikrofoni" . 10 June 2022 . Satori . lv.
  29. Web site: Grace . Emily . 3 May 2022 . Latvia: Citi Zēni Release Acoustic Covers of "Halo" and "De Diepte" . 10 June 2022 . Eurovoix.
  30. Web site: Grace . Emily . 21 April 2022 . Latvia: Citi Zēni Release Drum Cover of Netta's "Toy" . 10 June 2022 . Eurovoix.
  31. Web site: Grace . Emily . 10 May 2022 . Latvia: Citi Zēni Recreate Eurovision 2002 Winning Performance . 10 June 2022 . Eurovoix.
  32. Web site: Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Eurovision 2022: Which Semi-Final is your country performing in? . 2022-01-25. 2022-01-25.
  33. Web site: 29 March 2022. Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Semi-Final running orders revealed!. 29 March 2022. Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
  34. Web site: 5 May 2022 . Eirovīzijas nedēļā LTV – raidījumi ar "Citiem zēniem", diskusijas un konkursa tiešraides . 7 May 2022 . . lv.
  35. Web site: Grace . Emily . 8 May 2022 . Latvia: Toms Grēviņš And Lauris Reiniks To Commentate On Eurovision 2022 . 8 May 2022 . Eurovoix . en-GB.
  36. Web site: 12 May 2022 . Eurowizja 2022: kto będzie prezentował wyniki głosowania? . 14 May 2022 . Eurowizja.org . OGAE Polska . pl-PL.
  37. Web site: 14 May 2022 . Eurovision 2022 Spokespersons – Who will announce the points? . 14 May 2022 . Eurovisionworld . en-gb.
  38. Web site: 14 May 2022 . Eurovision 2022, tante eurostars fra chi annuncerà i voti: l'elenco completo . 14 May 2022 . Eurofestival News . it-IT.
  39. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 3 April 2022 . Latvia: All The Details About Citi Zēni's Rehearsal . 16 May 2022 . Eurovoix . en-GB.
  40. Web site: Voting–Eurovision Song Contest . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210526162423/https://eurovision.tv/about/voting . 26 May 2021 . 26 May 2021 . European Broadcasting Union.
  41. Web site: Fairness–Eurovision Song Contest . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210526162414/https://eurovision.tv/about/in-depth/fairness/ . 26 May 2021 . 26 May 2021 . European Broadcasting Union.
  42. Web site: Juries in the First Semi-Final of Turin 2022 . 15 May 2022 . European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
  43. Web site: Juries in the Grand Final of Turin 2022 . 15 May 2022 . European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
  44. Web site: Results of the Second Semi-Final of Turin 2022. European Broadcasting Union. 15 May 2022.
  45. Web site: Results of the Grand Final of Turin 2022. European Broadcasting Union. 15 May 2022.