Alekseev has won the national final in Belarus and will represent the Eastern country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song ‘Forever’. With that victory, Alekseev will succeed the duo NAVIBAND, who made it to the final on behalf of Belarus last year.
In the final, some familiar names took part, like the group NAPOLI and Gunesh. Bot acts took part in Belarus before. Alekseev already emerged as an early fan-favourite in the community, despite allegations that his song should have been disqualified, breaching the rules of being performed prior to the 1st of September.
Controversy in Belarus before the show
The national final in Belarus sparked some controversy, even before the competition took place. After eleven finalists were revealed, it emerged that a Russian language version of Alekseev’s entry “Forever” had been performed at several concerts he performed prior to 1 September 2017. Eurovision rules state that no entry may have been made publicly available prior to 1 September of the previous year, as it may give songs an unfair advantage.
However, Alekseev was still allowed to take part, making seven of the ten other competing artists write an open letter to the Belarusian broadcaster, stating that they would withdraw from the national selection if Alekseev was not disqualified. Participant Sofi Lapina officially announced her withdrawal from the competition, leaving only ten acts for the actual show.
Results
Draw | Name of artist | Name of song | Televote | Points | Jury vote | Total | Place |
1 | Adagio | Ty i ja (You and Me) | 581 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
2 | Alekseev | Forever | 5184 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 1 |
3 | Shuma | Chmarki (Clouds) | 3042 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 3 |
4 | NAPOLI | Chasing Rushes | 1236 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 4 |
5 | Anastasiya Malashkevich | World on Fire | 804 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 7 |
6 | Gunesh | I won’t Cry | 1041 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 2 |
7 | Radiovolna | Subway Lines | 599 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 6 |
8 | Alen Hit | I don’t Care | 718 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 9 |
9 | Lexy Weaver | Ain’t You | 699 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
10 | Kirill Good | Deja Vu | 1359 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 5 |
7