Lithuania was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Something", written and performed by Andrius Pojavis. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka (Eurovision Song Contest national selection) in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. The national final took place over ten weeks and involved 39 competing entries. In the final, seven entries remained, and the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify for the superfinal. In the superfinal, a jury vote entirely selected "Something", performed by Andrius Pojavis, as the winner.
Lithuania was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 14 May 2013. Performing during the show in position 10, "Something" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 18 May. It was later revealed that Lithuania placed ninth out of the 16 participating countries in the semifinal with 53 points. In the final, Lithuania performed in position 2 and placed twenty-second out of the 26 participating countries with 17 points.
Background
Prior to the 2013 contest, Lithuania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirteen times since its first entry in 1994. The nation's best placing in the contest was sixth, which it achieved in 2006 with the song "We Are the Winners", performed by LT United. Following the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Lithuania, to this point, had managed to qualify for the final five times. In the 2012 contest, "Love Is Blind" performed by Donny Montell qualified to the final, where the song scored 70 points and placed 14th.
For the 2013 contest, the Lithuanian national broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), broadcast the event within Lithuania and organised the selection process for the nation's entry. Other than the internal selection of their debut entry in 1994, Lithuania has selected their entry consistently through a national final procedure. LRT confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest on 12 September 2012 and announced the organization of "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka, which would be the national final to select Lithuania's entry for Malmö.
Before Eurovision
"Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka (Eurovision Song Contest national selection) was the national final format developed by LRT in order to select Lithuania's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. The competition involved an eight-week-long process that commenced on 3 November 2012 and concluded with a winning song and artist on 20 December 2012. The ten shows took place at the LRT studios in Vilnius and were hosted by Andrius Rožickas. The shows were broadcast on LRT televizija, LRT Lituanica, and LRT Radijas, as well as online via the broadcaster's website lrt.lt. The final was also streamed online on the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.
Format The 2013 competition involved 39 entries and consisted of ten shows. The first two shows were the introductory shows, where the competing artists covered Lithuanian and foreign hit songs. The third to seventh shows were the heats, consisting of seven or eight entries each. The top three entries from each heat proceeded in the competition, while LRT also selected three wildcard acts out of the remaining non-qualifying acts from the heats. The eighth and ninth shows were the competition's semi-finals, where nine entries participated in each show, and the top four from each proceeded to the final. In the final, the winner was selected from the remaining eight entries over two rounds of voting. The first round results selected the top three entries, while the second round determined the winner.
The results of each of the five heats were determined by a jury panel and public televoting. The qualifiers during the semi-finals and the first round of the final were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from the jury and public. The ranking developed by both streams of voting was converted to points from 1–8, 10 and 12 and assigned based on the number of competing songs in the respective show. The public could vote through telephone and SMS voting. Ties were decided in favour of the entry that received the most points from the jury. In the second round of the final, only the jury voted.
Competing entries LRT opened a submission period on 12 September 2012 for artists and songwriters to submit their entries with the deadline on 1 October 2012. Both artists and songwriters could also apply separately. The 39 entries selected for the competition were announced during the introductory shows on 20 and 27 October 2012. Among the artists was previous Lithuanian Eurovision contestant Linas Adomaitis, who represented Lithuania in 2004. Artist Song Songwriter(s) Al Bagdo "Backdoor Superman" Vytautas Diškevičius Alive Way "Revolution" Justinas Stanislovaitis Andrius Pojavis "Something" Andrius Pojavis Baiba Skurstene "I'm on Fire" Vytautas Bikus Beissoul and Gabrielė Griciūtė "Beautiful Life" Raigardas Tautkus, Raimondas J. Nabus, Beissoul, Gabrielė Griciūtė Berta Timinskaitė "Missing You, Missing Me" Eric Palmqwist, Erik Nyholm, Johan Gunnarsson Božolė "Happy and Free" Andrius Borisevičius Chill Out, Have No Doubt "Time" Vytautas Karpauskas, Daniel Okeoghene Williams DAR "Jump!" Arvydas Martinėnas, Gorgi D'Oro "Will You Recognize Me?" Gediminas Rimkus Rimkevičius, Jurgita Čekatauskaitė Eden "War Without End" Andrej Viazinin, Jan Suchodolski, Oksana Treščenko Eglė Jakštytė "Give Me the Music" Justinas Chachlauskas, Algis Gintautas El Fuego "Ledo gabalėlis" Laura Remeikienė Elvina Milkauskaitė "Closer" Raigardas Tautkus, Žaneta Daubarytė Feliksas Merlin "Silent Scream" Feliksas Kutka, Rodion Kolomin Freezing Kiss "Nothing to Lose" Paulius Jasiūnas, Sergėjus Kosiuga Gabrielius Vagelis "Sacrifice" Erik Nyholm, Niklas Hast, Sam McCarthy Gerai Gerai and Miss Sheep "War in the Wardrobe" Vilius Tamošaitis Giedrė Smolskaitė "Stay Awake Tonight" Raigardas Tautkus, Gabrielė Griciūtė Gintarė Korsakaitė "Dreaming" Raigardas Tautkus, Jokūbas Daubaris, Gabrielė Griciūtė, Raimondas J. Nabus Girmantė Vaitkutė "Time to Shine" Vytautas Bikus Glaam "Love Is Freedom" Jonny Rose Ieva and Gabrielius "I Fall in Love" Raigardas Tautkus, Raimondas J. Nabus Julija Jegorova "I'll Carry You" TJ Oosterhuis, Raphaella Mazaheri Asadi, Hiten Bharadia Kvinta Loudside "Toks gyvenimas" Stanislavas Stavickis Linas Adomaitis "I W Tonight" Linas Adomaitis, Bjorn Hansen Monika Linkytė "Baby Boy" Dmitrij Šavrov Multiks "Crazy" Paulius Burba Mundis and Elvina "Aš ilgiuosi tavęs" Emanuel Gonzales Neringa Šiaudikytė "Used to Be" Raigardas Tautkus Nėrius Pečiūra "Kas gali pakeisti gyvenimą" Nėrius Pečiūra Saulės Broliai "Loreen" Vytautas Bikus, Donatas Petreikis Sepa and Asorti "Money" Edgaras Piščikas Sophie "Make It Happen" Sophie, Einius Jarutis Timohi "Time for Life" Timohi Ugnė Smile "Call to Your Mum" Ugnė Kudlaitė, Giedrius Balčiūnas Valery "Taip noriu vėl" Vytautas Karpauskas, Valerija Iljinaitė Vincentas Linkevičius "Dance the Night" Mindaugas Lapinskas, Eglė Petrošiūtė Vudis and Samanta Tīna "Hey Chiki-Mama" Arvydas Martinėnas, Gorgi
Jury members The jury panel in all shows consisted of 20 members. Four of the members commented on the performances in the heats and the semi-finals, while seven of the members commented on the performances in the final. +Featured jury members by show Jury member Heats Semi-finals Final Occupation(s) 1 2 3 4 5 1 2Andrius Mamontovas musicianDarius Užkuraitis musicologist, Opus 3 director Deivydas Zvonkus composerDonatas Montvydas singer-songwriterPovilas Meškėla lead singer of the group Rojaus tūzaiRamūnas Zilnys journalistSasha Song singer-songwriterSaulius Urbonavičius television and music producerVaidas Stackevičius producer Vytautas Miškinis director of the "Ąžuoliukas" choirZita Kelmickaitė musicologist
Shows
Heats The five heats of the competition aired between 3 November and 1 December 2012 and featured the 39 competing entries. The top three entries from each heat advanced to the semi-finals, while the bottom entries were eliminated.
Following the first heat, "I'll Carry You" performed by Julija Jegorova was disqualified as the song had been publicly performed by German singer Onita Boone before 1 September 2012. On 6 December 2012, LRT announced the three entries that had received a wildcard to also proceed to the semi-finals.
Key Qualifier Wildcard qualifier Entry disqualified
+ Heat 1 – 3 November 2012 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points 1 Vudis and Samanta Tīna "Hey Chiki-Mama" 10 222 6 16 4 2 Vincentas Linkevičius "Dance the Night" 6 285 8 14 5 3 Gabrielius Vagelis "Sacrifice" 12 276 7 19 2 4 Ugnė Smile "Call to Your Mum" 5 147 4 9 6 5 Saulės Broliai "Loreen" 8 1,006 12 20 1 6 Valery "Taip noriu vėl" 4 215 5 9 7 7 Andrius Pojavis "Something" 7 411 10 17 3 8 Julija Jegorova "I'll Carry You" — 122 3 — —
+ Heat 2 – 10 November 2012 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points 1 Alive Way "Revolution" 7 314 6 13 5 2 Mundis and Elvina "Aš ilgiuosi tavęs" 5 549 7 12 6 3 Giedrė Smolskaitė "Stay Awake Tonight" 8 300 5 13 4 4 Nėrius Pečiūra "Kas gali pakeisti gyvenimą" 3 121 4 7 8 5 Feliksas Merlin "Silent Scream" 4 29 3 7 7 6 Ieva and Gabrielius "I Fall in Love" 10 638 10 20 2 7 Timohi "Time for Life" 6 966 12 18 3 8 Beissoul and Gabrielė Griciūtė "Beautiful Life" 12 624 8 20 1
+ Heat 3 – 17 November 2012 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points 1 Multiks "Crazy" 4 228 4 8 8 2 Eglė Jakštytė "Give Me the Music" 7 298 5 12 6 3 Eden "War Without End" 3 1,367 12 15 4 4 Elvina Milkauskaitė "Closer" 5 931 10 15 3 5 Sophie "Make It Happen" 8 654 6 14 5 6 Neringa Šiaudikytė "Used to Be" 10 811 8 18 2 7 Berta Timinskaitė "Missing You, Missing Me" 6 206 3 9 7 8 Božolė "Happy and Free" 12 662 7 19 1
+ Heat 4 – 24 November 2012 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points 1 Freezing Kiss "Nothing to Lose" 4 163 4 8 7 2 D'Oro "Will You Recognize Me?" 5 231 5 10 6 3 Gintarė Korsakaitė"Dreaming" 10 1,258 10 20 2 4 Linas Adomaitis "I W Tonight" 12 1,320 12 24 1 5 Glaam "Love Is Freedom" 6 414 6 12 5 6 Girmantė Vaitkutė "Time to Shine" 8 912 7 15 3 7 Chill Out, Have No Doubt "Time" 3 74 3 6 8 8 Gerai Gerai and Miss Sheep "War in the Wardrobe" 7 1,195 8 15 4
+ Heat 5 – 1 December 2012 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points 1 Kvinta Loudside "Toks gyvenimas" 5 110 5 10 6 2 Sepa and Asorti "Money" 4 84 4 8 7 3 Al Bagdo "Backdoor Superman" 6 304 7 13 5 4 Baiba Skurstene "I'm on Fire" 7 262 6 13 4 5 El Fuego "Ledo gabalėlis" 8 452 8 16 3 6 DAR "Jump!" 10 1,743 12 22 2 7 Monika Linkytė "Baby Boy" 12 1,133 10 22 1
Semi-finals The two semi-finals of the competition aired on 8 and 15 December 2012 and featured nine entries each. The top four entries from each semi-final advanced to the final, while the bottom five were eliminated. Monika Linkytė, who advanced from the second semi-final, later withdrew from the competition due to a laryngitis infection.
Key Qualifier Entry withdrawn
+ Semi-final 1 – 8 December 2012 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points 1 Gerai Gerai and Miss Sheep "War in the Wardrobe" 12 1,712 12 24 1 2 Neringa Šiaudikytė "Used to Be" 5 1,236 8 13 5 3 Gabrielius Vagelis "Sacrifice" 6 270 3 9 7 4 Saulės Broliai "Loreen" 4 239 2 6 9 5 Elvina Milkauskaitė "Closer" 3 1,434 10 13 6 6 Andrius Pojavis "Something" 7 1,129 6 13 4 7 Timohi "Time for Life" 2 951 5 7 8 8 Ieva and Gabrielius "I Fall in Love" 8 1,149 7 15 2 9 Božolė "Happy and Free" 10 332 4 14 3