Silvester Belt is going to Eurovision! After 5 weeks of semi-final heats, Lithuania’s EUROVIZIJA.LT concluded tonight in a glittering, black-tie final at the Švyturio Arena in Klaipėda, Lithuania. Catch up on all the happenings here.
Crowd and ESCunited reader favourite Silvester Belt and “Luktelk” emerged victorious after two rounds of final performances. Bands Shower and The Roop finished second and third respectively after encore performances in Lithuania’s new EUROVIZIJA.LT format.
Eurovizija.LT Show Summary
Before all this, the top ten selected by the LRT jury and the Lithuanian public went head to head, toe to toe, and hook to hook to decide Lithuania’s champion for Malmö.
Aistè kicked off the show with the unmistakably ABBA-esque “We will rule the world”. Žalvarinis was up next with one of the few Lithuanian songs on offer this year, the folk-rock “Gaudė vėjai” to enthusiastic applause from the crowd.
Vilnius-based duo Pluie de Comètes took to the stage with the atmospheric “Be careful”. Lithuania fans will recognize Justé Kraujelyté, the singer of Pluie de Comètes, from last year’s Prabandom iš naujo where she finished in ninth place with the menacing “Need more fun”. Silvester Belt’s moody and energetic “Luktelk” was next. The crowd got into this one, clapping to the beat.
The second half kicked off with week one qualifiers, VB Gang and their understated “Kaboom!!!”. Just kidding, this song is a neon Euro-pop party and was the perfect start to the more contemplative second half. On stage next were Il Senso and their operatic “Time”. Il Senso also competed in the 2023 national final with “Sparnai”, which finished tenth.
Rock band Shower was next with “Impossible”, a moody song about heartbreak, followed by Monika Marija who kept the heartache coming with her ballad “Unlove You Starting tomorrow”. The show got back to its disco beginnings with Queens of Roses and their catchy “Walk Through Fire”.
The Roop closed out the show with “Simple Joy” and the magnetic eyebrow and dance stylings of lead singer Vaidotas Valiukevičius. The Roop competed in Rotterdam in 2021 with “Discotheque”, finishing eighth in the grand final, Lithuania’s second highest placing after LT United’s “We are the winners” in 2006.
This year, Lithuania debuted a new voting system. The public and jury voted on all ten finalists with the top three performers taking to the stage again for a “super final” round. The choice of finalist in this round was in the public’s hands alone. During the initial vote calculation, the crowd was serenaded by girl group MAN-GO.
The public and the jury were in agreement with the top three sending Shower, Silvester Belt, and The Roop to the super final round.
The rankings for the remaining finalists are here:
- VB Gang – “Kaboom!!!” (Jury: 6, Public: 7)
- Monika Marija – “Starting tomorrow” (Jury: 7, Public: 3)
- Aistè – “We Will Rule the World” (Jury: 4, Public: 4)
- Žalvarinis – “Gaudė vėjai” (Jury: 3, Public: 5)
- Il Senso – “Time” (Jury: 2, Public: 6)
- Pluie de Comètes – “Be careful” (Jury: 5, Public: 1)
- Queens of Roses – “Walk Through Fire” (Jury: 1, Public: 2)
While the top three finalists prepared for their second round, Eurovision contender Dons from neighbouring Latvia sang his song “Hollow”. Following the super final performances, Monika Linkytė performed her 2023 song “Stay”, which finished 11th in Liverpool.
An overjoyed Silvester Belt took to the stage for his victory performance to rapturous applause from the live crowd. Big congratulations to all performers and thank you again to LRT for making the national final available to the international community!
What do #YOU think about Lithuania’s new national selection format? Will #YOU be cheering for Silvester Belt in Malmö? We’re on social media @ESCUnited, or join our discord or forum page!
