Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

Eurovision Song Contest 2010
Country	Latvia
National selection
Selection process	Eirodziesma 2010
Selection date(s)	27 February 2010
Selected artist(s)	Aisha
Selected song	"What For?"
Selected songwriter(s)	Jānis Lūsēns Guntars Račs
Finals performance
Semi-final result	Failed to qualify (17th)
Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2009 • 2010 • 2011►

Latvia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "What For?" written by Jānis Lūsēns and Guntars Račs. The song was performed by Aisha. The Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) organised the national final Eirodziesma 2010 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway. Ten songs were selected to compete in the national final on 27 February 2010 where two rounds of voting by a public televote and a five-member jury panel selected "What For?" performed by Aisha as the winner.

Latvia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 25 May 2010. Performing during for the show in position 6, "What For?" 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 seventeenth (last) out of the 17 participating countries in the semi-final with 11 points.

Background

Main article: Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2010 contest, Latvia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest ten times since its first entry in 2000.^[1] 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. However in 2009, the nation had failed to qualify to the final with their entry "Probka" performed by Intars Busulis.

The Latvian national broadcaster, Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), broadcasts the event within Latvia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Despite financial instabilities that could have resulted in a withdrawal, LTV confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest on 15 December 2009 after securing sponsorships and a cooperation agreement with the Ventspils City Council.^[2][3] Latvia has selected their entries for the Eurovision Song Contest through a national final. Since their debut in 2000, LTV had organised the selection show Eirodziesma. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster announced that they would organise Eirodziesma 2010 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2010 contest.^[3]

Before Eurovision

Eirodziesma 2010

Eirodziesma 2010 was the eleventh edition of Eirodziesma, the music competition that selects Latvia's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition consisted of a final on 27 February 2010 that took place at the Jūras vārti Theatre in Ventspils and hosted by Uģis Joksts and Kristīne Virsnīte. The show was broadcast on LTV1 as well as online via the broadcaster's official website ltv.lv and the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.^[4]

Format

The format of the competition consisted of one show held on 27 February 2010. The final featured ten competing entries from which the Latvian entry for Oslo was selected over two rounds of voting: the first round selected the top three songs and the second round (superfinal) selected the winner. Results both rounds were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a jury panel and a public televote. Both the jury and public assigned points from 1 to 10 based on ranking in the first round of the final, with the first place receiving one point and last place receiving ten points. In the superfinal, the jury and public both assigned points from 1 to 3 also based on ranking with the first place receiving one point and last place receiving three points. 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.^[5]

The jury panel that voted in the competition consisted of:

• Uldis Marhilēvičs – composer
• Daiga Mazvērsīte – musicologist
• Niks Matvejevs – singer
• Atis Volfs – DJ at Pieci.lv
• Intars Busulis – singer, trombonist, radio host and 2009 Latvian Eurovision entrant

Competing entries

Artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 23 December 2009 and 15 January 2010.^[6] All artists and songwriters were required to have Latvian citizenship or residency unlike in previous years.^[7] 79 entries were submitted at the conclusion of the submission period. A jury panel appointed by LTV evaluated the submitted songs and selected ten entries for the competition.^[8] The jury panel consisted of Uldis Marhilēvičs (composer), Niks Matvejevs (singer), Kārlis Lācis (composer), Ance Krauze (singer and vocal teacher), Marija Naumova (Latvian Eurovision Song Contest 2002 winner), Artis Volfs (DJ at Pieci.lv), members of the LTV Eurovision team and creators of the LTV7 programme SeMS.^[9] The ten competing artists and songs were announced during a press conference on 22 January 2010. Among the artists was Lauris Reiniks who represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 as part of the group F.L.Y.^[10][11]

Artist	Song	Songwriter(s)
Aisha	"What For?"	Jānis Lūsēns, Guntars Račs
Dons	"My Religion Is Freedom"	Zigmars Liepiņš, Jānis Liepiņš, Nikita Kellermans
H2O	"When I Close My Eyes"	Staņislavs Judins, Jānis Strapcāns
Ivo Grīsniņš Grīslis	"Because I Love You"	Ingars Viļums
Konike	"Digi digi dong"	Edijs Šnipke, Andris Konters
Kristīna Zaharova	"Snow in July"	Jānis Strazds, Guntars Račs
Kristīne Kārkla-Puriņa	"Rišti räšti"	Raimonds Tiguls, Valts Ernštreits
Lauris Reiniks	"Your Morning Lullaby"	Lauris Reiniks
PeR	"Like a Mouse"	Mārtiņš Freimanis
Triānas parks	"Lullaby for My Dreammate (Diamond Lullaby)"	Agnese Rakovska

Final

The final took place on 27 February 2010. The running order draw for the ten competing entries took place on 3 February 2010 during the LTV7 programme SeMS.^[12] The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, three songs advanced to the second round, the superfinal, based on the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public televote. In the superfinal, "What For?" performed by Aisha was selected as the winner through the combination of votes from the jury and public.^[13] Aisha and Dons were tied at 3 points each but since Aisha received the most votes from the public she was declared the winner.^[14][15] In addition to the performances of the competing songs, the show featured guest performances by the band Lady's Sweet, singer Roberts Pētersons, 2005 Latvian Eurovision entrant Kārlis Būmeisters and 2010 Swiss Eurovision entrant Michael von der Heide.^[16][17]

Final – 27 February 2010

Draw	Artist	Song	Jury	Televote	Total	Place
1	PeR	"Like a Mouse"	10	10	20	10
2	Triānas parks	"Lullaby for My Dreammate (Diamond Lullaby)"	3	8	11	6
3	Aisha	"What For?"	2	1	3	1
4	Lauris Reiniks	"Your Morning Lullaby"	7	4	11	4
5	Dons	"My Religion Is Freedom"	1	2	3	2
6	Konike	"Digi digi dong"	6	5	11	5
7	H2O	"When I Close My Eyes"	8	9	17	9
8	Kristīne Kārkla-Puriņa	"Rišti räšti"	5	7	12	8
9	Ivo Grīsniņš Grīslis	"Because I Love You"	4	6	10	3
10	Kristīna Zaharova	"Snow in July"	9	3	12	7

Detailed Jury Votes

Draw	Song	Juror					Total	Points
		1	2	3	4	5
1	"Like a Mouse"	10	9	7	8	9	43	10
2	"Lullaby for My Dreammate (Diamond Lullaby)"	3	3	3	4	1	14	3
3	"What For?"	2	2	2	1	4	11	2
4	"Your Morning Lullaby"	5	7	9	9	8	38	7
5	"My Religion Is Freedom"	1	1	1	2	2	7	1
6	"Digi digi dong"	7	8	6	3	7	31	6
7	"When I Close My Eyes"	9	6	8	6	10	39	8
8	"Rišti räšti"	4	4	5	7	6	26	5
9	"Because I Love You"	6	5	4	5	3	23	4
10	"Snow in July"	8	10	10	10	5	43	9

Superfinal – 27 February 2010

Draw	Artist	Song	Jury	Televote	Total	Place
1	Dons	"My Religion Is Freedom"	1	2	3	2
2	Ivo Grīsniņš-Grīslis	"Because I Love You"	3	3	6	3
3	Aisha	"What For?"	2	1	3	1

Detailed Jury Votes

Draw	Song	Juror					Total	Points
		1	2	3	4	5
1	"My Religion Is Freedom"	2	2	1	1	2	8	1
2	"Because I Love You"	3	3	3	3	1	13	3
3	"What For?"	1	1	2	2	3	9	2

Promotion

Aisha specifically promoted "What For?" as the Latvian Eurovision entry on 24 April 2010 by performing during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Lexion venue in Zaanstad, Netherlands on 24 April and hosted by Cornald Maas and Marga Bult.^[18]

At Eurovision

Aisha at the Eurovision Opening Party in Oslo

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 7 February 2010, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Latvia was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 25 May 2010, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.^[19] The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 23 March 2010 and Latvia was set to perform in position 7, following the entry from Finland and before the entry from Serbia

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Latvia on LTV1 with all shows featuring commentary by Kārlis Streips. The Latvian spokesperson, who announced the Latvian votes during the final, was Kārlis Būmeisters.

Semi-final

Aisha took part in technical rehearsals on 16 and 20 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 24 and 25 May. This included the jury show on 24 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. The Latvian performance featured Aisha performing on stage in a champagne outfit. The stage featured a large half-circle of blue-grey draperies against a dark setting as well as the use of smoke effects and a wind machine.^[20][21] Aisha was joined on stage by four backing vocalists: Katrīna Cīrule, Lāsma Ivansone, Madara Kačoreka and Raili Orrava.^[22]

At the end of the show, Latvia was not announced among the top 10 entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Latvia placed seventeenth (last) in the semi-final, receiving a total of 11 points.^[23]

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the grand final.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Latvia had placed seventeenth (last) with both the public televote and the jury vote in the first semi-final. In the public vote, Latvia scored 12 points, while with the jury vote, Latvia scored 15 points.^[24]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Latvia and awarded by Latvia in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Estonia in the semi-final and to Germany in the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Latvia

Points awarded to Latvia (Semi-final 1)^[25]

Score	Country
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points	Estonia
5 points	Finland
4 points
3 points
2 points
1 point

Points awarded by Latvia

Points awarded by Latvia (Semi-final 1)[25] Score Country 12 points  Estonia 10 points  Russia 8 points  Belgium 7 points  Portugal 6 points  Finland 5 points  Belarus 4 points  Poland 3 points  Serbia 2 points  Iceland 1 point  Malta

Points awarded by Latvia (Final)[26] Score Country 12 points  Germany 10 points  Denmark 8 points  Russia 7 points  Ukraine 6 points  Portugal 5 points  Spain 4 points  Belgium 3 points  Romania 2 points  Azerbaijan 1 point  Armenia

References

1. "Latvia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
2. Viniker, Barry (23 October 2009). "New crisis for the Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
3. Medinika, Aija (15 December 2009). "Latvia confirms participation in 2010". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
4. Medinika, Aija (27 February 2010). "LIVE: National final in Latvia". Esctoday. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
5. "Eirodziesma 2010". 4lyrics. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
6. Siim, Jarmo (4 January 2010). "Latvia cuts back on semi-finals". ESCToday. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
7. Hondal, Victor (23 December 2009). "Latvia launches quest for a Eurovision entry". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
8. Hondal, Victor (15 January 2010). "79 songs submitted to Eirodziesma 2010". ESCToday. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
9. "Cūkmens un Mārtiņš Rītiņš uz Eirovīziju netika". jauns.lv (in Latvian). 22 January 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
10. Hondal, Victor (22 January 2010). "LTV reveals 10 Eirodziesma finalists". ESCToday. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
11. Siim, Jarmo (22 January 2010). "LTV reveals Latvian final ten". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
12. Medinika, Aija (3 February 2010). "Running order for Eirodziesma 2010 revealed". ESCToday. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
13. Dahlander, Gustav (27 February 2010). "Aisha to represent the Latvian flag in Oslo". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
14. Medinika, Aija (27 February 2010). "Latvia has decided - Aisha to Oslo!". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
15. Vanzovičs, Sandris (1 March 2010). "Aishai dienu pirms fināla mainīts priekšnesums". nra.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 1 March 2010.
16. Medinika, Aija (27 February 2010). "LIVE: National final in Latvia". ESCToday. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
17. Grillhofer, Florian (28 February 2010). "Michael von der Heide presents new version of his song". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
18. Romkes, René (1 April 2010). "14 countries line up for Eurovision in Concert so far". ESCToday. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
19. Bakker, Sietse (4 February 2010). "Sunday: Watch the Semi-Final Allocation Draw!". EBU. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
20. "Draperies and gospel for Latvia". eurovision.tv. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
21. "Aisha asks What For?". eurovision.tv. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
22. "Latvia". Six on Stage. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
23. "First Semi-Final of Oslo 2010". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
24. Bakker, Sietse (28 June 2010). "EBU reveals split voting outcome, surprising results". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
25. "Results of the First Semi-Final of Oslo 2010". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
26. "Results of the Grand Final of Oslo 2010". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.

External links

• Official LTV Eurovision site (in Latvian)
• Eirodziesma 2010 songs