The lead singer of The Roop, Vaidotas Valiukevičius, has told Lithuanian broadcaster LRT that he is confident the group can win Pabandom iš naujo again.
Ready to wave the flag a second time
Last week, LRT revealed the acts taking part in next year’s national selection, with The Roop confirmed to return. In an interview with the broadcaster, Vaidotas Valiukevičius spoke about why the group decided to compete again.
“We decided to participate, because the feeling that this trip is not over is not abandoned. We were elected, delegated, but we could not go out and represent our country.”
Vaidotas Valiukevičius on The Roop returning to Pabandom iš naujo
In addition, Vaidotas went on to say that he hopes The Roop can “continue to carry the Lithuanian flag and finally take it to Rotterdam”.
Not harmed by quarantine
Moreover, the interviewer asked Vaidotas if he felt that this year was a challenge for the group.
“Quarantine didn’t do us much harm as a group – we had a lot of activity. We gave a lot of interviews both in video calls and in writing. Not only for Lithuania, but also for foreign media.
We have not given up all these years – although Eurovision has been cancelled, we have said that no one has cancelled our band and our songs. We tried our best to make it heard and worked hard every day.”
Vaidotas Valiukevičius
23 acts will take part in Pabandom iš naujo, which begins on 16 January. The winner is to be selected by the Lithuanian public and a 5-member jury.
Lithuania at Eurovision
Lithuania first entered the contest in 1994 with “Lopšinė mylimai” by Ovidijus Vyšniauskas. Last year in Tel Aviv, Jurijus Veklenko sang “Run With The Lions” and finished 11th in Semi-final 2 with 93 points, narrowly missing out on the Grand final.
This year in Rotterdam would have been the Baltic nation’s 21st Eurovision appearance, if the contest hadn’t been cancelled.
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