Latvia: Supernova 2019 entries get revamped ahead of selection

As Latvia’s national selection approaches, several of the semi-finalists have released revamped versions of their entries. We started with 33 ‘auditions’ from a longlist of hopefuls, which was later cut to a shortlist of 16. The changes range from slight modifications to production to  name and lyric changes…

‘YOU get a revamp, and YOU get a revamp!’

Although not all of the final versions have been released, there is already a notable difference from the demos we initially heard. Most notably, perhaps, is Edgars Kreilis changing his song title from “Fire” to “Cherry Absinthe”, with lyrical adjustments to reflect this. This is most likely to avoid confusion with Double Faced Eels’ entry, which is also called “Fire”.

We’ve comprised a list of the semi finalists with embedded links to their final versions for Supernova.

• Adriana Miglāne – “Scared of Love”
• Aivo Oskis – “Somebody’s Got My Lover”
• Alekss Silvērs – “Fireworks”
• Double Faced Eels – “Fire”
• Edgars Kreilis – “Cherry Absinthe” (formerly called “Fire”)
• Kristiāna Bumbiere – “Remedy”
  
• Laika Upe – “Listen To The Way That I Breathe”
• Laime Pilnīga – “Awe”
• Markus Riva – “You Make Me So Crazy”
• Samanta Tīna – “Cutting The Wire”

Meanwhile, we await non-demo versions for the following entries:

• Carousel – “That Night”
• Dziļi Violets feat. Kozmens – “Tautas dziesma”
• Elza Rozentāle – “You Came on Tiptoe”
• Kris & Oz – “Midnight Streets”
• Kristīne Pastare (Peress) – “Smaragdi un pelni”
• Līga Rīdere – “Būšu tepat”
  

It was previously reported that the format will consist of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. The two semi-finals will feature eight competing entries each, from which three will be selected to advance to the final from each show. With the first semi final due to take place on the 26th of January, it is unknown which acts will be allocated to each semi.

Results during the semi-final and final shows will be determined by a jury panel and votes from the public. One of the ‘major’ changes to the selection that were announced back in the summer was a move towards more radio-friendly entries. As such, the jury will consist of representatives from leading Latviaian radio stations. 

Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest

Latvia made its Eurovision debut back in 2000. Their first representative was Brainstorm with “My Star“, which finished in an impressive third place with 136 points. Latvia didn’t have to wait too long to score its first victory as they won the contest in 2002 with Marie N and “I wanna”. Since the introduction of the semi-finals, however, Latvia has struggled to achieve good results. In fact, they only managed to reach the top 10 twice (in 2005 and 2015) and missed out on qualifying for the grand final every year from 2009 to 2014 and in both 2017 and 2018.

In Lisbon, Laura Rizzotto flew the Latvian flag at the contest with “Funny girl”. Despite her charismatic performance, she placed 12th, just 6 points shy of qualification. Can any of this year’s Supernova bring Latvia back to the final? Time will tell…

What do you think of the revamps? Which final versions are you still waiting for? In the meantime, be sure to follow @ESCXtra on Twitter and like our Facebook page.