"Echo" is a song by Georgian singer

Iru Khechanovi Irina "Iru" Khechanovi (; born 3 December 2000), also known mononymously as Iru (stylised in all caps), is a Georgian singer and songwriter. As a member of the girl group Candy, she won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Cand ...

, released on 16 March 2023. The song represented

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is the upcoming 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It is set to take place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, after , winner of the with the song "Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to meet the demand ...

after Khechanovi won the fifth season of ''

The Voice Georgia ''The Voice'' (), known in English as ''The Voice Georgia'', is a Georgian reality television show and singing competition broadcast on 1TV. From seasons one through three, the show was called ''The Voice of Georgia'' (, , ) and was broadcast ...

'', Georgia's national selection to choose their artist for that year's

Eurovision Song Contest 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 ...

. Competing in the second semi-final in that year's Eurovision Song Contest, the song failed to qualify for the grand final, finishing in 12th with 33 points.

Background and composition

In interviews, Iru reported that "Echo" took three to four days to write, and two to three weeks in order to complete the production for the song's release. The song was written immediately after Iru's victory in ''

'', leaving Iru "emotionally drained". The song is reported as a song that describes one's process of trying to find love. In multiple interviews, Iru would compare the song's beginning as to when one is without love, saying that the person is lost. Then, with a self-described "bomb of love" that fills up the person with the emotion of love, the person becomes a completely different person.

Eurovision Song Contest

''The Voice Georgia''

The Georgian representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was selected through the fifth season of ''

'', the Georgian version of the reality television singing competition format ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

''. The competition commenced on 8 December 2022 and concluded with a final on 2 February 2023. In the final of the show, eight artists would compete, with Iru being drawn to perform last. Singing

Loreen Loreen may refer to: *Loreen (singer), Swedish singer *Loreen Rice Lucas (1914–2011), a Canadian author * "Loreen" (song), 1986 song by German singer Sandra See also *Loren (disambiguation) *Lorene *Loreena Loreena is a female given name. It may r ...

's "

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

", she would emerge victorious with a total of 21.88% of the televote. With the victory, she was selected to represent

in the

. "Echo", however, was internally selected by

Georgian Public Broadcasting Georgian Public Broadcaster ( ka, საქართველოს საზოგადოებრივი მაუწყებელი, ) is the national public broadcaster of Georgia. History It started broadcasting radio in 1925, and ...

(GPB) after Khechanovi had won the competition, and was announced to release on 16 March by GPB.

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the " Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, 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

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(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 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Georgia was placed into the second semi-final, which was held on 11 May 2023, performed in the second half of the show. Iru's Eurovision performance featured Iru wearing a white dress and Iru making "psychotic moments" with her face, which according to Iru was to display numerous traits, including love, passion, and sass. In the second semi-final, "Echo" would garner a 12th place finish with 33 points, failing to qualify for the grand final.

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2023 2023 singles 2023 songs Eurovision songs of 2023 Eurovision songs of Georgia (country)