Live: Belarus decides for Stockholm

Live from Minsk, the national selection of Belarus for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. Who will succeed Uzari and Maimuna in Belarus and get the ticket for Stockholm? Ten songs will participate in the Belarusian national final with the winner being selected exclusively via a 100% public televote.

How came Belarus to these ten candidates? Artists and composers were able to submit their applications and entries to the broadcaster between 23 October 2015 and 21 November 2015. At the closing of the deadline, 91 entries were received by the broadcaster. Auditions were held and ten finalists were selected and announced on 1 December 2015 during BTRC’s evening news programme. Tonight, the show starts at 20:00 CET and will be broadcast on Belarus 1 as well as online via the broadcaster’s official website and this link from eurovision.tv.

Here is the list of musicians who will compete for the honour to represent Belarus in Stockholm:

  • Aleksey Gross – Flame
  • Sasha Zakharik – Glory Night
  • Valeria Sadovskaya – Not Alone
  • Radiovolna – Radiowave
  • THE EM – Turn Around
  • NAVI – Гэта зямля (This Land)
  • IVAN (Aleksandr Ivanov) – Help You Fly
  • Anastasia Malashkevich –Pray For Love
  • Kirill Ermakov – Running To The Sun
  • NAPOLI – My Universe

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21:42 – The decision has been made. IVAN will represent Belarus at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm. Thank you so much for following the national selection of Belarus with us this year. We hope you’ve enjoyed the show (and commentary) and we’ll see you and IVAN in Stockholm!

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21:39 – BREAKING: IVAN wins the national selection of Belarus for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest.

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21:37 – The voting is over! Now for the results!

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21:34 – The current top three:  IVAN in the lead with 20643 votes. NAPOLI on the second place with 19823 votes and on the third place: Kirill Ermakov with “Running To The Sun” (11672 votes).

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21:29 – Another interval act and IVAN has taken the lead. With eight minutes left for the televoting public.

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21:27 – Another recap. It seems to be a battle between two participants: NAPOLI and IVAN.

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21:23 – NAPOLI still in the lead, but IVAN is getting closer

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21:21 – Next interval act and some first results on Twitter. At this time, NAPOLI is leading. 

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21:18 – Do you remember her? Alyona represented Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö with the song “Solayoh”. She qualified from the semi-final and ended 16th in the final by scoring 48 points. Tonight, she sings a new song.

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21:10 – The televoting starts. Thirty minutes to think about ten songs. Thirty minutes until the lines close. Is that enough?

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21:00 – Commercial break!

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20:57 – And the last song for tonight. Napoli sings “My Universe”. Pocahontas? Beauty and the Beast? Frozen? Which Disney movie is this from? In 2013 Ukraine sent a far better song in the same genre: “Gravity” by singer Zlata Ognevich. Tonight, I miss the blue butterflies, unicorns, the giant and the mysterious floating island which Zlata brought to Malmö. A nice contribution to a qualifying round, but it will be difficult for Napoli to reach the final in Stockholm.

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20:53 – Song number nine. “Running To The Sun” by Kirill Ermakov. This modern pop song is really interesting. I like the beat and the changes and somewhere the song reminds me of bands like Five or N-SYNC. Lyrically, the song describes a man’s desires to step out to the light. He knows what to do, leaves his fears behind, runs to the sun, but then the sun is cruelly blinding him? Although it all sounds nice, the text is rather vague and meaningless. After three minutes, I keep thinking about the story behind the song. What does Kirill exactly want to tell us? Despite the text , this act is good and ready for Eurovision.

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20:49 – Anastasia Malashkevich with the song “Pray For Love”. One thing is certain, Anastasia brings strong vocals and a fierce stage presence. This year she combines soul with rock and this song sounds much better than her song from last year. Her attempt for 2016 contains a more modern song and located in the same genre as the Georgian entry from last year. In 2016 we see Anastasia as gothic chic. The question remains: is Anastasia able to be a strong, cool gothic chic like Nina Sublatti was last year?

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20:46 – The seventh song for tonight. And… Hey, is this the nephew of Max Jason Mai, the Slovak musician and singer-songwriter notable for his participation at the Eurovision Song Contest of 2012? No, it’s Alexander Ivanov with the rock song “How To Fly”. Alexander has the same hairdresser as Draco Malfoy and stage presence of a rock star. And his smoky vocals remind me of Chad Kroeger, lead vocalist of the Canadian rock band Nickelback. Although, something is missing. Alexander seems at ease on the stage, but I question whether this is going to stand out at the Eurovision-stage.

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20:41 – NAVI sings “This Land”. When I listen to this song I imagine someone running around in a field of colourful flowers. It’s a sweet song, but they really need to work on their chemistry. It all looks a little uncertain. Next time, can they create a Monica-and-Vaidas-effect? Perhaps more LED-screens displaying bright colourful rays in shades of red, blue, yellow and orange will help. Like Monica and Vaidas did in Vienna. Now something is missing and that bothers.

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20:37 – At the start of the act, the singers are lying on the floor like Loïc Nottet. Bright lipstick, pale faces, decent ballad. This “Turn Around” from EM does not come close to the world hit by Bonnie Tyler. Tonight, we are watching to two Belarusian guys singing a love song which, in one way or another, does not fit in 2016. At Eurovision, this probably would have done well in the nineties, but I do not see it happening tonight. And I also miss a spark of chemistry between the duo.

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20:32 – The fourth song tonight: “Radiowave” by Radiovolna. “Every other day, don’t you go insane. We’ll be waking up with a radio wave!” sings the lead singer of the band. A special message from Belarus and certainly not a candidate for the Pulitzer Prize. Fortunately the funky pop sound of Radiovolna gives the song something pleasant. Although it’s quite a catchy song, I must admit that the song gets boring after a while. Perhaps because it’s a simple and monotonous production?

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20:31 – And we are back. The show continues.

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20:27 – Commercial break!

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20:24 – Valeria Sadovskaya sings in a dress resembling the dress of Trijntje Oosterhuis, but then the red version. This “Not Alone” is certainly not comparable to the one by Armenian singer Aram Mp3. Although, this song is also a mix of different genres, it shoots in too much directions. For example, somewhere in the middle there is a bridge that comes out of nowhere. Some random African-style chanting. However the song has a promising start, somewhere halfway you are inclined to do something else. In short, it’s a chaotic song and I wonder whether this makes any chance of qualifying from the semis at the big Eurovision Song Contest.

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20:20 – Sasha Sakharik stands alone on stage and sings a decent pop song. Some words that come to my mind while she is singing “Glory Night”: Christmas, Santa, winter, sleigh. But without snow and where are the Christmas bells that are ringing? In the background we mainly see dancing starfish. I can’t imagine that Belarus will choose this song. If Belarus wants to bounce straight back into the final, this song isn’t the one to send for Stockholm.

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20:14 – “Flame” is the first song of the night. Alexey Gross sits behind the piano but after the chorus he gets up and walks to the center of the stage. Alexey has a great voice. That is one thing that is for sure. After his up-tempo song from last year, this “Flame” is a pleasant surprise. In comparison to last year, Alexey seems an entirely different person: this time we see a man who clearly believes every word he sings. Perhaps the text is a bit cliché, but certainly this entry of Alexey isn’t a bad one.

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20:08 – A duet. Teo and Olga are singing their new single!

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20:05 – Here we go! The show is hosted by Olga Ryzhikova and 2014 Belarusian Eurovision contestant Teo. Teo represented his country at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Cheesecake”. He ultimately finished 16th.

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20:00 – It is nearly time for the Belarusian final. The national final is about to start. We are ready for it!