Belarus participated in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Helsinki, Finland, following the country's victory at the with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" by Lordi. Organised by the European Broadcasti ...
with the song "
Work Your Magic" written by
Karen Kavaleryan
Karen Kavaleryan ( hy, Կարեն Կավալերյան; russian: Каре́н Кавалеря́н; born June 5, 1961 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian-Armenian lyricist. He currently holds the record (with Sharon Vaughn and Ra ...
and
Philip Kirkorov
Philipp Bedrosovich Kirkorov PAR (russian: Филипп Бедросович Киркоров; bg, Филип Бедросов Киркоров, Filip Bedrosov Kirkorov; born 30 April 1967) is a Bulgarian-born Russian pop singer. He is a five ...
. The song was performed by
Dmitry Koldun
Dmitry Aleksandrovich Koldun ( be, Дзмітры Аляксандравіч Калдун, Dzmitry Kaldun; russian: link=no, Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Колду́н; born 11 June 1985) is a Belarusian pop singer.
Koldun ros ...
. The Belarusian entry for the 2007 contest in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
was selected through the national final ''Eurofest 2007'', organised by the Belarusian broadcaster
(BTRC). The national final was a televised production which consisted of a semi-final and a final held on 15 December 2006 and 22 January 2007, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where three entries qualified to the final: one entry selected by a public televote and two entries selected by a seven-member jury panel. In the final, the jury panel selected "Work Your Magic" performed by Dmitry Koldun as the winner.
Belarus was competed in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 10 May 2007. Performing during the show in position 4, "Work Your Magic" was announced among the top 10 entries of the semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 12 May. It was later revealed that Belarus placed fourth out of the 28 participating countries in the semi-final with 176 points. In the final, Belarus performed in position 3 and placed sixth out of the 24 participating countries, scoring 145 points.
Background
Prior to the 2007 Contest, Belarus had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest three times since its first entry in 2004. Following the
introduction of semi-finals for the , Belarus had yet to qualify to the final. The nation's best placing in the contest was thirteenth in the semi-final, which it achieved in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
with the song "Love Me Tonight" performed by
Angelica Agurbash
Angelica Anatolyevna Yalinskaya (russian: Анжелика Анатольевна Ялиньская, translit=Anzhelika Anatol'yevna Yalin'skaya; be, Анжаліка Анатольеўна Ялінская, translit=Anzhalika Anatoĺjeŭna Ja ...
. In
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, Belarus failed to qualify to the final with the song "Mum" performed by
Polina Smolova
Polina Petrovna Smolova ( be, Паліна Пятроўна Смолава, translit=Palina Piatroǔna Smolava, ; born 3 September 1980) is a Belarusian pop singer and the Belarusian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song '' M ...
.
The Belarusian national broadcaster,
(BTRC), broadcasts the event within Belarus and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Since 2004, BTRC has organised a national final in order to choose Belarus' entry, a selection procedure that continued for their 2007 entry.
Before Eurovision
Eurofest 2007
''Eurofest 2007'' was the national final format developed by BTRC to select the Belarusian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The competition consisted of a semi-final and final held on 15 December 2006 and 22 January 2007, respectively. Both shows were hosted by
Denis Kurian
, native_name_lang =
, image =
, alt =
, caption =
, birth_name = Dzianis Kurian
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Minsk, BS ...
and Olga Schlager and broadcast on the
First Channel and
Belarus TV as well as online via the broadcaster's official website ''tvr.by''.
Competing entries
Artists and composers were able to submit their applications and entries to the broadcaster between 25 October 2006 and 20 November 2006. At the closing of the deadline, 66 entries were received by the broadcaster. Auditions were held between 29 November and 1 December 2006 at the Youth Variety Theater in
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
where a jury panel was tasked with selecting up to fifteen entries to proceed to the televised national final. The jury consisted of Mihail Finberg (chairman of the jury, director of the Belarusian State Academic Symphony Orchestra), Vladimir Rylatko (deputy head of the Belarusian Ministry of Culture),
Vasily Rainchik
Vasil Rainčyk ( be, Васіль Раінчык), also Vasily Rainchik, is a Belarusian musician and composer and also a professor at the Belarus University of Culture, Minsk, Belarus. He was also the leader of Vierasy, an early Belarusian pop ...
(musician/composer),
Alexander Tikhanovich
Alexander Grigorievich Tikhanovich ( be, Аляксандр Рыгоравіч Ціхановіч; 13 July 1952 – 28 January 2017) was a Soviet and Belarusian pop singer, former member of the ensemble Verasy. He was named Honored Artist and P ...
(national final project manager), Denis Shpitalnikov (head of music and entertainment programmes of BTRC), Anatoly Yarmolenko (director of the ensemble
Syabry) and
Yadviga Poplavskaya
Yadviga Konstantinovna Poplavskaya ( be, Ядвіга Канстанцінаўна Паплаўская, russian: Ядвига Константиновна Поплавская born 1 May 1949) is a Soviet and Belarusian singer, member of the fir ...
(singer).
Fifteen semi-finalists were selected and announced on 5 December 2006.
Semi-final
The televised semi-final took place on 15 December 2006 at the Republic Palace in
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
. Prior to the semi-final, a draw for the running order took place on 14 December 2006. Three songs qualified to the final. The fifteen competing entries first faced a public televote where one song advanced: "Angel mechty" performed by
Dmitry Koldun
Dmitry Aleksandrovich Koldun ( be, Дзмітры Аляксандравіч Калдун, Dzmitry Kaldun; russian: link=no, Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Колду́н; born 11 June 1985) is a Belarusian pop singer.
Koldun ros ...
. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining fourteen entries by the votes of jury members made up of music professionals: "How Long" performed by
Diana Gurtskaya
Diana Gudaevna Gurtskaya ( ka, დიანა ღურწკაია, russian: Диана Гудаевна Гурцкая, born 2 July 1978) is a famous Russian pop singer well-known in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Diana was born ...
and "Super Star" performed by The Project.
In addition to the performances from the competitors, the show featured guest performances by
2003 Belarusian Junior Eurovision contestant Volha Satsiuk and
2006 Belarusian Eurovision contestant Polina Smolova
Polina Petrovna Smolova ( be, Паліна Пятроўна Смолава, translit=Palina Piatroǔna Smolava, ; born 3 September 1980) is a Belarusian pop singer and the Belarusian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song '' M ...
.
Final
The televised final took place on 22 January 2007 at the Sports Palace in
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
. Prior to the final,
Dmitry Koldun
Dmitry Aleksandrovich Koldun ( be, Дзмітры Аляксандравіч Калдун, Dzmitry Kaldun; russian: link=no, Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Колду́н; born 11 June 1985) is a Belarusian pop singer.
Koldun ros ...
opted to change his song as the national final rules set by BTRC allowed for the finalists to completely change their candidate songs. The votes of jury members made up of music professionals selected the song "
Work Your Magic" performed by Dmitry Koldun as the winner.
In addition to the performances from the competitors, the show featured guest performances by former Belarusian Eurovision contestants
Aleksandra and Konstantin
Aleksandra and Konstantin ( Belarusian: , Aliaksandra i Kanstantsin) is a Belarusian musical duo composed of singer Aleksandra Kirsanova ( be, Аляксандра Кірсанава, Aliaksandra Kirsanava) and guitarist Konstantin Drapezo ( be, ...
(
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
),
Angelica Agurbash
Angelica Anatolyevna Yalinskaya (russian: Анжелика Анатольевна Ялиньская, translit=Anzhelika Anatol'yevna Yalin'skaya; be, Анжаліка Анатольеўна Ялінская, translit=Anzhalika Anatoĺjeŭna Ja ...
(
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
) and
Polina Smolova
Polina Petrovna Smolova ( be, Паліна Пятроўна Смолава, translit=Palina Piatroǔna Smolava, ; born 3 September 1980) is a Belarusian pop singer and the Belarusian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song '' M ...
(
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
), former Belarusian Junior Eurovision contestants
Ksenia Sitnik
Ksenia Mikhailovna Sitnik, translit. ''Ksienija Michajlaŭna Sitnik''; russian: Ксения Михайловна Ситник, translit. ''Kseniya Mikhaylovna Sitnik'' (born 15 May 1995), sometimes also transliterated as Kseniya Sitnik or Xen ...
(
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
) and Andrey Kunets (
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
), former Eurovision Song Contest winners
Carola
Carola is a female given name, the Latinized form of the Germanic given names Caroline or Carol.
People named Carola include:
Acting
* Carola Braunbock (1924–1978), Czech-born East German actress
*Carola Höhn (1910–2005), German actres ...
(
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
) and
Marie N
Marija Naumova-Bullīta (born and professionally knows as Marija Naumova 23 June 1973) is a Latvian singer of Russian descent. Under the stage name Marie N, she sings a broad range of music ranging from pop to musical theatre and jazz, and has ...
(
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
),
2006 Latvian Eurovision contestants Cosmos
The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity.
The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...
and
2006 Russian Eurovision contestant Dima Bilan
Dima Nikolayevich Bilan (russian: Ди́ма Никола́евич Била́н; born Viktor Nikolayevich Belan, russian: Ви́ктор Никола́евич Бела́н, links=no; 24 December 1981) is a Russian singer, songwriter and acto ...
.
Preparation
The official music video of the song, filmed in February 2007 and directed by Oleg Gusev, was presented to the public on 8 March 2007 on the
First Channel. The concept of the video was based on the music video of the song "
Jaded
Jaded may refer to:
* ''Jaded'' (album), a 2003 album by To/Die/For
* ''Jaded'' (film), a 1998 film starring Carla Gugino
* ''Jaded'', a 2002 skateboard film from ''Thrasher Magazine''
Songs
* "Jaded" (Aerosmith song), 2000
* "Jaded" (Disclos ...
" by American band
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...
.''
''
Promotion
Dmitry Koldun made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Work Your Magic" as the Belarusian Eurovision entry. Between 3 February and 5 March, Dmitry Koldun performed "Work Your Magic" during the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
,
Macedonian,
Montenegrin and
Spanish Eurovision national finals, and the presentation shows of the 2007
Cypriot
Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus.
* Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes:
**Armenian Cypriots
**Greek Cypriots
**Maronite Cypriots
**Turkish C ...
and
Bosnian Eurovision entries''.'' In February and April, Koldun participated in promotional activities in Russia where he performed the Russian version of "Work Your Magic", titled "Day mne silu", during the
Channel One programmes ''Novye pesni o glavnom'' and ''Vysshaya liga'', as well as during the
NTV NTV may refer to:
Television
* NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh
* NTV (India), Telugu regional channel
* NTV (Kenya)
* NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia
* NTV (Newport Televis ...
programme ''Glavniy Geroy''.' Between 13 and 15 April, Koldun performed during events which were held in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, and
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, as well as appearing during the
RTL 4
RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free-to-air, free-to-cable television channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment chan ...
programme ''Life & Cooking'' in
The Netherlands
)
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, image_map =
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, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. In addition to his international appearances, Dmitry Koldun also participated in promotional activities in Belarus where he performed during the ''Za Nezavisimuyu Belarus'' event, which was at the
Minsk Hero City Obelisk
Minsk Hero City Obelisk is a 45 meters tall monument in the shape of an obelisk located on the Victors Avenue in Minsk, Belarus. The Obelisk is dedicated to the fact that Minsk was declared a Hero City on 26 June 1974 for its people's bravery dur ...
in
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
on 25 March.''
''
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "
Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
contest are required to qualify from the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. On 12 March 2007, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order for the semi-final on 10 May 2007. Belarus was drawn to perform in position 4, following the entry from
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
and before the entry from
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
.
For the Eurovision Song Contest, Dmitry Koldun performed under the artistic name of Koldun, which is the Russian word for "magician". Accompanying Koldun on stage were two male dancers: Alexandr Bodyanski and Fredrik Olofsson, and two female dancers: Natalia and Ilona Donchenko, along with Mariam Merabova providing backing vocals.
At the end of the semi-final, Belarus was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. This marked the first time that Belarus qualified to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since the
introduction of semi-finals in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
. It was later revealed that the Belarus placed fourth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 176 points.
Shortly after the semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine the running order of the final. This draw was done in the order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Belarus was drawn to perform in position 3, following the entry from
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and before the entry from
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Belarus placed sixth in the final, scoring 145 points, which is the best result for Belarus to date.
Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belarus and awarded by Belarus in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Moldova in the semi-final and to Russia in the final of the contest.
Points awarded to Belarus
Points awarded by Belarus
References
{{Eurovision Song Contest 2007
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...