Lithuania announces the acts that will compete in “Eurovizijos Atranka”

The broadcaster responsible for the Lithuanian participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, LRT has announced the acts that will compete in their National Final Eurovizijos Atranka. The contest will be hild in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

A shortened process.

As we have previously reported, Eurovizijos Atranka will have a drastically reduced process. Unlike in 2016 and 2017 who had 10 shows and 2018 who had 9 shows. In 2019, this will be reduced to seven shows consisting of four Quarter-Finals, two Semi-Finals and one Grand-Final. In the Grand-Final a winner will be announced and thus will represent Lithuania in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

So after a submission process, where artists and songwriters were invited to submit their entries. LRT have reduced the pool to a shortlist of 49 artists. They are as follows.

1. Audrius Petrauskas – 2018 Quarter-Finalist with “In My Bones”
2. Gabriela Ždanovičiūtė
3. Twosome – 2018 Semi-Finalists with “Hello”
4. Glossarium
5. MaNNazz
6. Migloko
7. Rūta Statkevičiūtė
8. Šarūnas Mačiulis
9. Aldegunda
10. Matas Ligeika
11. Simona Klušienė
12. Monika Marija
13. Valdas Lacko – 2018 Quarter-Finalist with “Dying Inside”
14. Original Copy
15. Donata Virbilaitė – 2018 Quarter-Finalist with “Powerful”
16. Gražvydas Sidiniauskas
17. Jurgis Brūzga – 2018 Runner-Up with “4love”.
18. Banzzai
19. Valerija Iljinaitė
20. Lukas Bartaška
21. Justina Budaitė – Backing singer for Donny Montell in 2016
22. Justina Žukauskaitė – 2018 Quarter-Finalist with “Love Doesn’t Lie”
23. Paulina Paulauskaitė
    
24. Tiramisu
25. Giedrius Nakas
    
26. La Forza
27. Emilija  Gogolytė
28. Tomas Sinickis
29. Dagna Kondrotaitė
30. Antikvariniai Kašpirovskio dantys
31. Jurgis Didžiulis
32. Valdemars Petersons
33. Queens of Roses – 2017 Quarter-Finalists with “Fisherman”
34. Jurijus Veklenko
35. Viktorija Vyšniauskaitė
36. Algirdas Daumantas Ciūnys
37. Edgaras Lubys – Regular Eurovizijos Atranka entrant
38. Allen Chicco
39. Živilė Gedvilaitė – 2018 Quarter-Finalist with “Melody”
40. Soliaris
41. Saulės kliošas
42. Laimingu būti lengva
43. Elizabeth Olshey – 2018 Quarter-Finalist with “Bejausmis”
44. Arvydas Kriščikas
45. Filtered Tools
46. Emilija Valiukevičiūtė – 2018 Quarter-Finalist with “Bye Bye”
47. Indrė Juodeikienė
48. Sofi
49. Gabrielė Rybko

The first Quarter-Final will be recorded on 20th December 2018 at 19:00 Lithuanian time. This will be shown on 5th January 2019 at 21:00 Lithuanian time, so 20:00 CET, 19:00 GMT. 

Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Debuting in 1994 when Ovidijus Vyšniauskas sang  “Lopšinė mylimai”. Lithuania came Twenty-Fifth and Last-Place with the dubious honour of achieving the infamous “Nill Points”. They have appeared in a further 18 contests, missing the contests in 1995 due to relegation, through to 1998 and missing the contests in 2000 and 2003. 

Lithuania have more often than not qualified for the final, with eight qualifications to six non-qualifications. The Baltic nation’s best result came in Athens in 2006 where LT United performed “We Are The Winners” coming in Sixth-Place with 162 points.

Donny Montell is a notable Lithuanian participant. Being the first and so far only Lithuanian to represent Lithuania more than once. He performed in 2012 with the song “Love Is Blind” coming in Fourteenth-Place, amassing 70 points. He returned to the contest in 2016 likewise in Baku, qualified again for the final. This time doing better with the song “I’ve Been Waiting For This Night”. He came in the Top-10, in Ninth-Place achieving 200 points. This remains Lithuania’s largest points haul to date.