Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Country Latvia
National selection
Selection processEirodziesma 2009
Selection date(s)Semi-final:
27 February 2009
Final:
28 February 2009
Selected entrantIntars Busulis
Selected song"Probka"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (19th)
Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2008 • 2009 • 2010►

Latvia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Probka" written by Kārlis Lācis, Jānis Elsbergs and Sergejs Timofejevs. The song was performed by Intars Busulis. The Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) organised the national final Eirodziesma 2009 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. Twenty songs were selected to compete in the national final, which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. In the semi-final, ten entries were selected to advance based on a public vote. Ten songs ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 28 February 2009 where two rounds of voting by the public and a five-member jury panel selected "Sastrēgums" performed by Intars Busulis as the winner. The song was later translated from Latvian to Russian for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Probka".

Latvia was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 14 May 2009. Performing during the show in position 3, "Probka" was not among the 10 qualifying entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Latvia placed nineteenth (last) out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 7 points.

Background

Prior to the 2009 contest, Latvia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nine times since its first entry in 2000.[1] Latvia won the contest once in 2002 with the song "I Wanna" performed by Marie N. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Latvia was able to qualify to compete in the final between 2005 and 2008 including with their 2008 entry "Wolves of the Sea" performed by Pirates of the Sea. Despite a possible boycott to be held between the three Baltic states due to the Russian participation in the 2008 South Ossetia war in Georgia as announced by Estonian Minister of Culture Laine Jänes, Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), which broadcasts the event within Latvia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry, confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest on 26 August 2008.[2][3] Latvia has selected their entries for the Eurovision Song Contest through a national final. Since their debut in 2000, LTV had organised the selection show Eirodziesma and on 3 November 2008, the broadcaster announced that they would organise Eirodziesma 2009 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2009 contest.[4]

On 17 December 2008, it was revealed that LTV had requested to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) their withdrawal from the 2009 contest due to budget cuts of 2 million Lats (over €3 million) by the Latvian government that led to the forced cancellation of planned shows for 2009 including Eirodziesma 2009.[5][6][7] After talks between the two parties for a way that the nation could participate in the contest, LTV confirmed their withdrawal on 20 December 2008 without being penalised for withdrawing three days after the deadline.[8][9][10] However, the EBU announced that Latvia would still participate on 12 January 2009 after a lowered participation fee was granted to LTV,[11][12] while LTV confirmed the continued organisation of Eirodziesma 2009 on 23 January 2009 after securing sponsorships and a cooperation agreement with the Ventspils Development Agency and Ventspils City Council.[13][14]

Before Eurovision

Eirodziesma 2009

Eirodziesma 2009 was the tenth edition of Eirodziesma, the music competition that selects Latvia's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition commenced with the semi-final on 27 February 2009 and concluded with a final on 28 February 2009. All shows in the competition took place at the Olympic Center in Ventspils, hosted by Uģis Joksts and Kristīne Virsnīte and broadcast on LTV1 as well as online via the broadcaster's official Eurovision Song Contest website eirovizija.lv.[15][16]

Format

The format of the competition consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. The semi-final, held on 27 February 2009, featured twenty competing entries facing a public vote where the top ten advanced to the final. The final, held on 28 February 2009, selected the Latvian entry for Moscow from the remaining ten entries over two rounds of voting: the first round selected the top three songs as determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote, and the second round (superfinal) selected the winner exclusively by a public vote.[13] The initial format was to broadcast five shows: three semi-finals each featuring nine competing entries from which three would advance directly to the final, a Second Chance round from which one would proceed to the final. However, such plans was later cancelled.[17][18] Both the jury and public vote assigned points from 1 to 10 based on ranking in the first round of the final, with the first place receiving one point and last place receiving ten points. Viewers were able to vote via telephone up to five times or via SMS with a single SMS counting as five votes.

Competing entries

Artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 3 November 2008 and 30 November 2008. All artists and songwriters were required to have Latvian citizenship or residency, however foreign collaborations were allowed as long as one-thirds of the composition were by Latvian songwriters.[19] 108 entries were submitted at the conclusion of the submission period.[20][21] A jury panel appointed by LTV evaluated the submitted songs and selected twenty-one entries for the competition. The jury panel consisted of Daina Markova (musicologist and content editor at LTV), Raimonds Macats (musician and composer), Aivars Hermanis (musician and producer), Ance Krauze (singer and vocal teacher), Dace Pūce (director and producer), Jegors Jerohomovičs (music critic and cultural journalist), Edmunds Kaševskis (producer at Radio SWH) and members of the LTV Eurovision team: Iveta Lepeško, Zita Kaminska, Arvīds Babris, Baiba Saleniece and Uldis Salenieks. The twenty-one competing artists and songs were announced on 9 December 2008.[22][23] Among the artists was Valters Frīdenbergs who represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 as part of Walters and Kazha.[24]

On 12 January 2009, Kristīna Zaharova withdrew "I Wish I Could Pretend" from the competition in favour of the song competing in the 2009 Irish Eurovision national final.[25][26] On 13 February 2009, LTV announced that the song "In Love We Trust" would be performed by Policistas instead of Aisha, Ella and Olga, while the song "Have to Say Goodbye" would be performed by Astra Dreimane instead of Madara Celma.[27]

Artist Song Songwriter(s)
Aisha feat. G-Point "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" Kjell Jennstig, Leif Golkuhl
Astra Dreimane "Have to Say Goodbye" Madara Celma
Camillas "Time Goes" Romāns Falkenšteins, Ņina Kovaiko
Dace and Frīdis "Running Around" Mārtiņš Freimanis
Edijs Šnipke "Make My Day" Edijs Šnipke
Fidji "Don't Want to Say Goodbye" Katrīna Tene, Tarmo Keränen
Ginta Ēķe "Be Yourself" Kristaps Krievkalns, Ginta Ēķe
Girts Zebuliņš "Place to Be" Andris Barons, Brita Barone, Diāna Dubrovska
Intars Busulis "Sastrēgums" Kārlis Lācis, Jānis Elsbergs
Iveta Baumane and Ivo Grīsniņš-Grīslis "Tic Tac" Ingars Viļums
Johnny Salamander "Party" Jānis Gūža, Meldra Gūža
Ketta "Without You" Pavel Murashov
Kristīna Zaharova "I Wish I Could Pretend" Lauris Reiniks, Gordon Pogoda
Kristīna Zaharova and Annija Putniņa "Angel of Mine" Mārtiņš Freimanis
Miks Dukurs "Aizejot" Edijs Dukurs, Miks Dukurs
Natālija Tumševica "Dynamite" Mikael Erlandsson
Policistas "In Love We Trust" Tomass Kleins, Guntars Račs
Sabīne Berezina feat. PeR "Bye, Bye" Markus Riva
Simply 4 "When The Sun Is Going Down" Artūrs Palkevičs, Leonīds Jevsejevs, Sergejs Ivanovs
Triānas parks "Call Me Any Time You Need a Problem" Aivars Rakovskis, Agnese Rakovska
Valters Frīdenbergs "For a Better Tomorrow" Valters Frīdenbergs

Shows

Semi-final

The semi-final took place on 27 February 2009.[28] Twenty acts competed and the ten entries with the highest number of votes from the public qualified to the final.[29][30]

Semi-final – 27 February 2009
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Camillas "Time Goes" 1,434 8
2 Dace and Frīdis "Running Around" 603 15
3 Girts Zebuliņš "Place to Be" 1,239 12
4 Johnny Salamander "Party" 399 19
5 Miks Dukurs "Aizejot" 533 16
6 Iveta Baumane and Ivo Grīsniņš-Grīslis "Tic Tac" 1,510 7
7 Ginta Ēķe "Be Yourself" 448 18
8 Natālija Tumševica "Dynamite" 1,601 5
9 Triānas parks "Call Me Any Time You Need a Problem" 1,427 9
10 Intars Busulis "Sastrēgums" 1,730 4
11 Kristīna Zaharova and Annija Putniņa "Angel of Mine" 2,935 1
12 Astra Dreimane "Have to Say Goodbye" 316 20
13 Edijs Šnipke "Make My Day" 719 14
14 Ketta "Without You" 1,415 10
15 Policistas "In Love We Trust" 1,401 11
16 Fidji "Don't Want to Say Goodbye" 517 17
17 Aisha feat. G-Point "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" 2,564 3
18 Simply 4 "When The Sun Is Going Down" 2,704 2
19 Sabīne Berezina feat. PeR "Bye, Bye" 1,559 6
20 Valters Frīdenbergs "For a Better Tomorrow" 856 13

Final

The final took place on 28 February 2009. The ten entries that qualified from the semi-final competed and the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, three songs advanced to the second round, the superfinal, based on the combination of votes from a jury panel and the Latvian public. In the superfinal, the song with the highest number of votes from the public, "Sastrēgums" performed by Intars Busulis, was declared the winner.[31][32] The jury panel that voted in the final consisted of Daiga Mazvērsīte (musicologist), Jānis Lūsēns (composer), Aivars Hermanis (musician and producer), Jolanta Gulbe (singer and vocal teacher) and Edmunds Kaševskis (producer at Radio SWH).[33]

In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers included participant Kristīna Zaharova, 2004 Latvian Eurovision entrant Fomins and Kleins, 2008 Latvian Eurovision entrant Pirates of the Sea, 2009 Lithuanian Eurovision entrant Sasha Son and 2009 Polish Eurovision entrant Lidia Kopania.[34][35]

Final – 28 February 2009
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Votes Points Votes Points
1 Simply 4 "When The Sun Is Going Down" 47 9 5,351 2 11 7
2 Aisha feat. G-Point "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" 25 6 4,781 4 10 6
3 Kristīna Zaharova and Annija Putniņa "Angel of Mine" 33 7 6,127 1 8 2
4 Sabīne Berezina feat. PeR "Bye, Bye" 39 8 1,998 10 18 9
5 Iveta Baumane and Ivo Grīsniņš-Grīslis "Tic Tac" 48 10 3,310 8 18 10
6 Intars Busulis "Sastrēgums" 6 1 4,871 3 4 1
7 Natālija Tumševica "Dynamite" 14 2 3,376 7 9 3
8 Camillas "Time Goes" 19 3 2,431 9 12 8
9 Triānas parks "Call Me Any Time You Need a Problem" 20 4 3,846 6 10 4
10 Ketta "Without You" 24 5 4,160 5 10 5
Detailed Jury Votes
Draw Song Juror 1 Juror 2 Juror 3 Juror 4 Juror 5 Total
1 "When The Sun Is Going Down" 9 10 10 9 9 47
2 "Hey Hey Hey Hey" 5 5 6 6 3 25
3 "Angel of Mine" 8 6 7 5 7 23
4 "Bye, Bye" 7 8 8 8 8 33
5 "Tic Tac" 10 9 9 10 10 48
6 "Sastrēgums" 1 1 2 1 1 6
7 "Dynamite" 3 4 1 4 2 14
8 "Time Goes" 4 2 5 3 5 19
9 "Call Me Any Time You Need A Problem" 6 3 3 2 6 20
10 "Without You" 2 7 4 7 4 24
Superfinal – 28 February 2009
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Intars Busulis "Sastrēgums" 21,027 1
2 Natālija Tumševica "Dynamite" 5,662 3
3 Kristīna Zaharova and Annija Putniņa "Angel of Mine" 19,679 2

Ratings

Viewing figures by show
Show Air date Viewing figures Ref.
Nominal Share
Semi-final 27 February 2009 222,000 10.2% [36]
Final 28 February 2009 306,000 14%

Preparation

On 1 March, it was announced that "Sastrēgums" would be translated from Latvian to Russian for the Eurovision Song Contest, titled "Probka" with lyrics by Sergejs Timofejevs.[37][38] The official music video for the song was released on 24 March.[39]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries. 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 30 January 2009, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals. Latvia was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 14 May 2009.[40][41][42] The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 16 March 2009 and Latvia was set to perform in position 3, following the entry from Ireland and before the entry from Serbia.

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Latvia on LTV1 with all shows featuring commentary by Kārlis Streips. The Latvian spokesperson, who announced the Latvian votes during the final, was Roberto Meloni.

Semi-final

Intars Busulis took part in technical rehearsals on 5 and 8 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 13 and 14 May.[43] The Latvian performance featured Intars Busulis wearing a blue jacket with circular badges, a blue shirt and a red tie, joined on stage by a keyboard player, two guitarists and two backing vocalists. Busulis interacted with the other performers during the performance, while the LED screens displayed the silhouette of a city and a road signpost that mentioned the names of several European cities: Stockholm, Brussels, Riga, Rome, Berlin, Oslo and Yerevan.[44][45] The director for the Latvian performance was Viktors Runtulis.[46] The musicians that joined Intars Busulis were: Gints Pabērzs, the co-composer of "Probka" Kārlis Lācis and Kaspars Zemītis, while the two backing vocalists were Jolanta Strikaite and Vineta Elksne.[47]

At the end of the show, Latvia was not announced among the top 10 entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Latvia placed nineteenth (last) in the semi-final, receiving a total of 7 points.[48]

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Latvia and awarded by Latvia in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Estonia in the semi-final and to Norway in the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Latvia

Points awarded to Latvia (Semi-final 2)[49]
Score Country
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points  Lithuania
5 points
4 points
3 points
2 points
1 point  Estonia

Points awarded by Latvia

Detailed voting results

Detailed voting results from Latvia (Final)[51][52]
Draw Country Results Points
Jury Televoting Combined
01  Lithuania 6 6 12 7
02  Israel
03  France 4 4 8 5
04  Sweden 2 2
05  Croatia 1 1
06  Portugal
07  Iceland 12 5 17 8
08  Greece
09  Armenia
10  Russia 8 8 6
11  Azerbaijan 7 7 4
12  Bosnia and Herzegovina
13  Moldova 2 2
14  Malta 5 5 1
15  Estonia 8 10 18 10
16  Denmark 7 7 3
17  Germany
18  Turkey
19  Albania
20  Norway 10 12 22 12
21  Ukraine 1 1
22  Romania
23  United Kingdom 3 3 6 2
24  Finland
25  Spain

References

  1. ↑ "Latvia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Floras, Stella (22 August 2008). "Estonia: Minister discusses possible boycott of Eurovision in Moscow". ESCToday. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  3. ↑ van Tongeren, Mario (26 August 2008). "Latvia not to boycott ESC in Moscow". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  4. ↑ Medinika, Aija (15 December 2009). "Latvia confirms participation in 2010". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  5. ↑ Supranavicius, Alekas (17 December 2008). "Latvia: LTV withdrew or just cancelled the national selection?". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
  6. ↑ Viniker, Barry (18 December 2008). "Latvia confirms withdrawal request". ESCToday. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  7. ↑ Press Release (18 December 2008). "Latvia: LTV confirms withdrawal from the 2009 Eurovision edition". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  8. ↑ Viniker, Barry (17 December 2008). "Latvia: Eurovision participation likely". ESCToday. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
  9. ↑ Konstantopoulos, Fotis (20 December 2008). "Latvia: LTV officially out and confirmed". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
  10. ↑ Viniker, Barry (20 December 2008). "Latvia Eurovision withdrawal accepted". ESCToday. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
  11. ↑ Siim, Jarmo (12 January 2009). "43 countries to take part in Moscow!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  12. ↑ Murray, Gavin (12 January 2009). "Eurovision 2009: 43 countries for Moscow". ESCToday. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  13. 1 2 Floras, Stella (23 January 2009). "Latvia: National final on 28th February". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  14. ↑ "Noskaidrojusies Eirodziesmas pusfināla dalībnieku uzstāšanās kārtība". eirovizija.lv (in Latvian). 13 February 2009. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "Eirovīzijas nacionālā atlase būs skatāma arī internetā". eirovizija.lv (in Latvian). 27 February 2009. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  16. ↑ Klier, Marcus (28 February 2009). "Tonight: National final in Latvia". Esctoday. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  17. ↑ Medinika, Aija (3 November 2008). "Three semifinals in 2009 for Latvia". ESCToday. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  18. ↑ Costa, Nelson (3 November 2008). "Latvia: LTV decides on February 28". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  19. ↑ Medinika, Aija (3 November 2008). "Three semifinals in 2009 for Latvia". Esctoday.
  20. ↑ Repo, Juha (2 December 2008). "Latvia: 108 songs for Eurovision received". ESCToday. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  21. ↑ Costa, Nelson (2 December 2008). "108 songs submitted to Eirodziesma 2009". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  22. ↑ Floras, Stella (9 December 2008). "Latvia: Semi-finalists for Eirodziesma 2009 announced". Esctoday.
  23. ↑ Medinika, Aija (28 January 2009). "Latvia: 21 songs confirmed for Eurovision semifinal". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  24. ↑ "LATVIAN SEMI-FINAL 2009".
  25. ↑ Medinika, Aija (12 February 2009). "Latvia: Lauris Reiniks drops Eurodziesma for Irish final". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  26. ↑ Costa, Nelson (12 February 2009). "Latvia: Lauris Reiniks drops Latvian for Irish final". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  27. ↑ Floras, Stella (13 February 2009). "Latvia: Songs online – Semi running order decided". Esctoday. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  28. ↑ Medinika, Aija (27 February 2009). "Semi final in Latvia". ESCToday. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  29. ↑ Calleja Bayliss, Marc (27 February 2009). "Latvia: Results from Eirodziesma 2009 Semifinal". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  30. ↑ Medinika, Aija (27 February 2009). "Latvia: Ten acts for Eurodziesma final". ESCToday. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  31. ↑ Calleja Bayliss, Marc (28 February 2009). "Intars Busulis wins Eirodziesma 2009". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  32. ↑ Schacht, Andreas (28 February 2009). "Intars Busulis: from Riga to Moscow!". EBU. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  33. ↑ "Latviju "Eirovīzijā" pārstāvēs Intars Busulis". apollo.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  34. ↑ "Live from Ventspils, the Eirodziesma 2009 final". Oikotimes. 28 February 2009. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  35. ↑ Bayliss, Marc Calleja (28 February 2009). "First round results are in; Superfinalists". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  36. ↑ Medinika, Aija (8 March 2009). "Latvia: Eirodziesma 2009 viewer ratings". Esctoday. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  37. ↑ Floras, Stella (1 March 2009). "Latvia: Sastregums to be performed in Russian". Esctoday. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  38. ↑ "Latvia: To Russia(n) with love". ESCToday. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  39. ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (24 March 2009). "Latvia: Intars Busulis releases video". Esctoday. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  40. ↑ Bakker, Sietse (30 January 2009). "LIVE: The Semi-Final Allocation Draw". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  41. ↑ Konstantopolus, Fotis (30 January 2009). "LIVE FROM MOSCOW, THE ALLOCATION DRAW". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  42. ↑ Floras, Stella (30 January 2009). "Live: The Eurovision Semi Final draw". ESCToday. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  43. ↑ "2009 Eurovision Song Contest Preliminary schedule" (PDF). eurovision.tv. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  44. ↑ "Latvia's Intars rocks the arena". eurovision.tv. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  45. ↑ "Latvia: Stuck in a Russian traffic jam". eurovision.tv. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  46. ↑ "Latvia 2009".
  47. ↑ "Latvia". Six on Stage. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  48. ↑ "Second Semi-Final of Moscow 2009". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  49. 1 2 "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Moscow 2009". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  50. ↑ "Results of the Grand Final of Moscow 2009". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  51. ↑ Bakker, Sietse (31 July 2009). "Exclusive: Split jury/televoting results out!". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  52. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2009 - Full Results". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original (XLS) on 6 June 2011.
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