Latvia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Beautiful Song", written by Ivars Makstnieks and Rolans Ūdris, and performed by Anmary. The Latvian participating broadcaster, (LTV), organised the national final Eirodziesma 2012 in order to select its entry for the contest. Twenty songs were selected to compete in the national final, which consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. In the semi-finals on 7 and 14 January 2012, five entries were selected to advance from each show. Ten songs ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 7 January 2012 where two rounds of voting by a public televote and a ten-member jury panel selected "Beautiful Song" performed by Anmary as the winner.
Latvia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 22 May 2012. Performed during the show in position four, "Beautiful Song" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Latvia placed sixteenth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 17 points.
Background
Prior to the 2012 contest, (LTV) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Latvia twelve times since its first entry in 2000. 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. Between 2009 and 2011, the nation had failed to qualify to the final for three consecutive years including with their 2011 entry "Angel in Disguise" performed by Musiqq.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, LTV organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its intentions to participate at the 2012 contest on 29 August 2011. LTV has selected its entries for the Eurovision Song Contest through a national final. Since their debut in 2000, LTV had organised the selection show Eirodziesma. Along with its participation confirmation, the broadcaster announced that they would organise Eirodziesma 2012 in order to select its entry for the 2012 contest.
Before Eurovision
Eirodziesma 2012 Eirodziesma 2012 was the thirteenth edition of Eirodziesma, the music competition that selects Latvia's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition commenced with the first of two-semi finals on 7 January 2012 and concluded with a final on 18 February 2012. All shows in the competition were hosted by Valters Frīdenbergs, Kristine Virsnite and Jolanta Strikaite and broadcast on LTV1 as well as online via the broadcaster's official website ltv.lv. The final was also streamed online at the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.
Format The format of the competition consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. The two semi-finals, held on 7 and 14 January 2012, each featured ten competing entries from which the top five advanced to the final from each show. The final, held on 18 February 2012, selected the Latvian entry for Baku from the remaining ten entries over two rounds of voting: the first round selected the top three songs and the second round (superfinal) selected the winner. Results during the semi-final and final shows were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote. Both the jury and public vote assigned points from 1-8, 10 and 12 in the semi-finals and the first round of the final, while the jury and public both assigned 8, 10 and 12 points to the three competing songs in the superfinal. Ties were decided in favour of the entries that received higher points from the public. 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 1 September 2011 and 14 October 2011. 71 entries were submitted at the conclusion of the submission period. The submitted songs were listed online on the website eirovizija.lv allowing users to vote for their favourite entries between 20 October 2011 and 1 November 2011. 15,279 online votes were received and a jury panel appointed by LTV evaluated the submitted songs and selected twenty entries for the competition, taking the results of the online vote into consideration. The jury panel consisted of Aivars Hermanis (composer, arranger and producer), Jolanta Gulbe (singer and vocal teacher), Zigfrīds Muktupāvels (singer and musician), Dace Pūce (director and producer), Olga Žitluhina (choreographer), Natalija Jansone (fashion designer) and members of the LTV Eurovision team. The performer auditions took place on 10 November 2011 where the jury panel evaluated the performances of the twenty songs and either approved or rejected their performers. The twenty competing songs were announced during a press conference on 8 November 2011, while the competing artists were announced on 1 December 2011. Among the artists were Andris Ābelīte who represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 as part of the group Bonaparti.lv and Jānis Vaišļa (member of Mad Show Boys) who represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 as part of the group Pirates of the Sea. "We Can Change the World" performed by Andris Ābelīte was performed in English for the semi-final, but the artist decided to translate the song to Latvian for the final. Artist SongSongwriter(s) Andris Ābelīte "Pēdējais vārds"Andris Ābelīte "We Can Change the World"Andris Ābelīte Angelina and Alisa May "Rollin' Up"Jevgeņijs Ustinskovs, Alisa May Anmary "Beautiful Song"Ivars Makstnieks, Rolans Ūdris Atis Ieviņš "Dancer"Artūrs Mangulis Elizabete Zagorska "You Are a Star"Atis Auzāns, Kārlis Streips Laura Bicāne and Romāns Sladzis "Freakin' Out"Laura Bicāne Mad Show Boys "Music Thief"Garijs Poļskis Maia "No Limits to Dream"Edgars Beļickis, Edgars Jass, Raitis Aukšmuksts, Maia Miks Dukurs and NBC "Sweet for Me"Miks Dukurs, Georgijs Girbu Nikolajs Puzikovs "Mīlestības nevar būt par daudz"Artūrs Palkevičs, Guntars Račs Paula Dukure "Celebration"Edijs Dukurs, Miks Dukurs Paul Swan "Wanna Be With You"Kaspars Pudniks, Paul Swan PeR "Disco Superfly"Ralfs Eilands, Edmunds Rasmanis Roberts Pētersons "She's a Queen"Austris Rietums, Līga Markova Rūta Dūduma "My World"Rūta Dūduma Samanta Tīna "For Father"Elmārs Orols, Samanta Tīna Samanta Tīna and Dāvids Kalandija "I Want You Back"Mārtiņš Grunte, Oskars Maizītis The 4 "Get It Started"BuGaGa Project, Sandris Vestmanis Triānas parks "Stars Are My Family"Aivars Rakovskis, Agnese Rakovska Valters Gleške and Lība Ēce "Better World"Valters Gleške, Māris Orehovs
Shows
Semi-finals The two semi-finals took place at the NA Studio in Marupe on 7 and 14 January 2012. In each semi-final ten acts competed and the top five entries qualified to the final based on the combination of votes from a jury panel and the Latvian public. The jury panel that voted in the first semi-final consisted of Marts Kristiāns Kalniņš (musician), Ieva Kerēvica (singer and vocal teacher), Daira Āboltiņa (film critic), Sandris Vanzovičs (music journalist), Jānis Vinters (motorcyclist and farmer), Binnija Ārberga (beauty salon owner), Yana Kay (member of 2003 Latvian Eurovision entrant F.L.Y.), Emīls Balceris (member of 2011 Latvian Eurovision entrant Musiqq), Jānis Žaržeckis (plastic surgeon) and Elīna Breice (choreographer), while the jury panel that voted in the second semi-final consisted of Uldis Marhilēvičs (composer), Māra Upmane-Holšteina (singer), Alberts Kivlenieks (choreographer), Šeila (fashion artist), Jānis Deinats (photographer), Laima Liberte (Draugiem.lv project manager), Ilona Brūvere (director), Akvelīna Līvmane (actress), Kārlis Auzāns (producer and composer) and Jānis Stībelis (musician). + Semi-final 1 – 7 January 2012 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points Votes Points 1 Atis Ieviņš "Dancer" 54 4 342 1 5 10 2 Nikolajs Puzikovs "Mīlestības nevar būt par daudz" 31 2 833 3 5 9 3 Maia "No Limits to Dream" 68 7 485 2 9 7 4 Samanta Tīna and Dāvids Kalandija "I Want You Back" 72 8 924 5 13 5 5 Angelina and Alisa May "Rollin' Up" 23 1 1,108 6 7 8 6 Laura Bicāne and Romāns Sladzis "Freakin' Out" 39 3 1,431 8 11 6 7 Paula Dukure "Celebration" 86 12 849 4 16 3 8 Andris Ābelīte "We Can Change the World" 59 5 1,865 12 17 2 9 Rūta Dūduma "My World" 66 6 1,123 7 13 4 10 PeR "Disco Superfly" 82 10 1,584 10 20 1
+ Semi-final 2 – 14 January 2012 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points Votes Points 1 Miks Dukurs and NBC "Sweet for Me" 50 5 455 2 7 9 2 Valters Gleške and Lība Ēce "Better World" 34 2 1,912 10 12 6 3 The 4 "Get It Started" 35 3 802 4 7 8 4 Anmary "Beautiful Song" 67 7 1,265 7 14 3 5 Paul Swan "Wanna Be With You" 22 1 219 1 2 10 6 Roberts Pētersons "She's a Queen" 61 6 1,330 8 14 2 7 Samanta Tīna "For Father" 47 4 1,018 6 10 7 8 Elizabete Zagorska "You Are a Star" 89 10 780 3 13 5 9 Mad Show Boys "Music Thief" 97 12 1,988 12 24 1 10 Triānas parks "Stars Are My Family" 78 8 961 5 13 4
Final The final took place at the Rio Cinema in Ventspils on 18 February 2012. The ten entries that qualified from the preceding two semi-finals competed and the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top 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 jury and public, "Beautiful Song" performed by Anmary, was declared the winner. The jury panel that voted in the final consisted of Marija Naumova (Latvian Eurovision Song Contest 2002 winner), Olga Rajecka (singer), Andris Ērglis (singer), Raimonds Tiguls (composer), Daiga Mazvērsīte (musicologist and Latvijas Radio 2 program manager), Sigita Jevgļevska (actress), Jānis Šipkēvics (chairman of the board of Radio SWH), Raimonds Bergmanis (weightlifter), Biruta Ozoliņa (singer and musician) and Elmans Zeinalovs (Ambassador of the Azerbaijan Republic to Latvia).
In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers included Olga Rajecka, cello trio DaGamba, 2011 Latvian Eurovision entrant Musiqq and 2012 Swiss Eurovision entrant Sinplus. + Final – 18 February 2012 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points Votes Points 1 Rūta Dūduma "My World" 74 12 478 2 14 4 2 Samanta Tīna and Dāvids Kalandija "I Want You Back" 74 10 973 6 16 2 3 PeR "Disco Superfly" 65 5 2,394 8 13 5 4 Triānas parks "Stars Are My Family" 55 4 500 3 6 9 5 Paula Dukure "Celebration" 69 7 530 4 11 8 6 Andris Ābelīte "Pēdējais vārds" 66 6 967 5 11 7 7 Anmary "Beautiful Song" 70 8 3,039 10 18 1 8 Elizabete Zagorska "You Are a Star" 18 1 297 1 2 10 9 Mad Show Boys "Music Thief" 34 2 3,081 12 14 3 10 Roberts Pētersons "She's a Queen" 55 4 1,420 7 11 6 + Superfinal – 18 February 2012 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points Votes Points 1 Samanta Tīna and Dāvids Kalandija "I Want You Back" 112 12 918 8 20 2 2 Anmary "Beautiful Song" 104 10 4,645 12 22 1 3 Mad Show Boys "Music Thief" 84 8 4,218 10 18 3
Preparation On 16 March, Anmary released the official music video for "Beautiful Song" which was directed by Aija Strazdiņa, choreographed by the Most Wanted Crew studio, and filmed in Riga at the studios of Radio SWH and Sound Division as well as at the Ēdole Castle and the Riga International Airport.
Promotion Anmary specifically promoted "Beautiful Song" as the Latvian Eurovision entry by performing during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Ruth Jacott and Cornald Maas on 21 April.
At Eurovision