LRT, the Lithuanian broadcaster, has announced that the submission window for Pabandom iš naujo 2021 has opened.
Songwriters and artists can send their submissions in until December 14 2020. The songs will be examined by a working group, who will have until December 23 to come to a decision on which songs should progress to the televised shows. Gytis Oganauskas, Deputy General Director of LRT and head of the working group, commented:
“Last year’s changes in the national selection paid off, therefore there will be no major changes in this year’s selection rules, except for the circumstances related to the pandemic.”
All songs submitted must be no more than three minutes in length and must not have been released or publicly performed before September 1 2020. In accordance with new Eurovision rules, backing vocals can be pre-recorded but the main vocals and any other major vocals must be sung live. A full list of the rules can be found here (in Lithuanian).
The working group that will select the songs includes:
- Gytis Oganauskas – Deputy Director General of LRT, Head of Working Group
- Vytautas Bikus – Composer of “This Time” (Lithuania 2015) and “When We’re Old” (Lithuania 2018)
- Audrius Giržadas – Chief Producer of the LRT Television Program Department;
- Ramūnas Zilnys – Editor-in-Chief of LRT Popular Music;
- Darius Užkuraitis – Senior Editor of the LRT Music Editorial Board;
- Giedrius Masalskis – Head of the LRT Radio Programs Department;
- Rūta Putnikienė – Head of LRT Communication and Marketing Department;
- Justina Sokolovskė – LRT Communication and Marketing Department Project Manager;
- Povilas Varvuolis – Television director
The participants will be revealed on January 16. The selection will last no longer than six shows but the precise number of shows will depend on how many songs are selected. The Roop, who were due to represent Lithuania at Eurovision 2020 with “On Fire”, will automatically be given a place in the final should they choose to participate.
All of the money collected through public voting will be given towards funding for the winner’s performance at Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam. LRT is also hosting a virtual meeting with music producers on to answer their questions about the selection on November 10 at 09:00 CET. Anyone wishing to attend can register here.
Source: LRT
Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest
Lithuania debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, however on their debut they finished in last place with nul points. Lithuania didn’t return to the contest until 1999 when Aiste finished 20th with the song “Strazdas”. Lithuania’s best result came in 2006 when LT United performed “We Are The Winners”; they finished 6th in the final with a total of 162 points. Lithuania’s only other top 10 finish came in 2016 when Donny Montell performed “I’ve Been Waiting For This Night” in Stockholm, he received 12 points from the public in Ireland, Norway & United Kingdom.
