Hungarian national broadcaster MTV has today opened the submissions process for A Dal 2017, therefore confirming that the popular national selection format will be used to select the Hungarian Eurovision Song Contest entry for the sixth consecutive year. Submissions will close on November 20th and singers must be Hungarian citizens, or speak Hungarian as a native language. However, international songwriters can submit songs as long as they are performed by singers fitting the aforementioned criteria.
For 2017, the A Dal organisers are looking for even higher quality entries and have introduced two new rule changes to make this happen. Firstly, singers applying to take part in A Dal 2017 must be experienced performers and either having released a studio album or performed their original music on national radio or television is a requirement to prove this. Not only this, but the second rule indicates that the singers must have a recording contract with a manager or a label.
Since their comeback in 2011 following absence from the contest the previous year, Hungary have secured a 100% qualification record by qualifying for the final for six years in a row. A Dal was responsible for five of these entries and internally selected Kati Wolf was responsible for the other, starting the run of qualifications back in 2011. While Hungary’s best Eurovision result remains Friderika Bayer’s 4th place at the country’s debut appearance in a Eurovision final back in 1994, András Kállay-Saunders placed in a fantastic 5th in 2014 in a much larger field with Running. This year, Freddie finished in 19th place with his song Pioneer after securing a top 4 finish in the first semi-final.
What do you think of the rule changes for A Dal 2017? Do you think they could give Hungary an opportunity to take their first Eurovision victory? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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