Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

participated in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, Germany, selecting their entry internally. This was the country's fifteenth participation in the contest after debuting in 1994.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

On 5 March 2011, C1R announced that they had internally selected

Alexey Vorobyov Alexey Vladimirovich Vorobyov (russian: Алексей Владимирович Воробьёв; 19 January 1988) is a Russian singer and actor who performs both in Russian and English. For international purposes Vorobyov is also credited as ...

to represent Russia in Düsseldorf with the song "Get You" produced by

RedOne Nadir Khayat ( ar, نادر الخياط; born 9 April 1972), better known by his stage name RedOne, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. As a record producer and songwriter, he has worked with many high-profi ...

. Vorobyov previously attempted to represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest twice, placing fifth in the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

national final with the song "New Russian Kalinka" and placing fourth in the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

national final with the song "Angelom byt". RedOne also composed the entry "Dance Alone" performed by Love Generation which failed to qualify from the Second Chance round of the 2011 Swedish Eurovision national final ''

Melodifestivalen 2011 Melodifestivalen 2011 was a Swedish song contest held between February and March 2011. It selected Sweden's 51st song to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, and was the 50th edition of Melodifestivalen. Eric Saade, with the song "Pop ...

''. Alexey Vorobyov was selected as the Russian entrant by an expert committee from nine shortlisted candidates, among them which also included

Avraam Russo Avraam Russo (russian: Авраам Руссо, hy, Աբրահամ Ռուսսո, ar, أفرام روسو); born as Abraham Zhanovich Ipjian (russian: Абрахам Жанович Ипджян; born July 21, 1969) is a Syrian-born Russian po ...

Buranovskiye Babushki Buranovskiye Babushki (russian: Бурановские бабушки, ; udm, Брангуртысь песянайёс, Brangurtyś pesänajos; both meaning "Buranovo Grannies") is an Udmurt-Russian ethno-pop band comprising eight elderly wo ...

Glukoza Natalya Ilinichna Ionova (russian: link=no, Наталья Ильинична Ионова; born 7 June 1986), better known by her stage name Glukoza ( rus, Глюкоза, p=ɡlʲʊˈkozə, ''glucose''), is a Russian singer. Biography Ionova ...

Jamala Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova, ; rus, Суса́на Али́мовна Джамалади́нова, Susána Alímovna Dzhamaladínova, sʊˈsanə ɐˈlʲiməvnə dʐəməlɐˈdʲinəvə, links=yes. (born 27 August 1983), known professionally ...

, Mark Tishman,

Philipp 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 ...

Vera Brezhneva Vira Viktorivna Halushka ( uk, Віра Вікторівна Галушка; russian: link=no, Вера Викторовна Галушка, ''Vira Viktorivna Halushka''; born 3 February 1982), better known by her stage name Vera Brezhneva (russi ...

and

Vlad Sokolovsky Vlad Sokolovsky (real name- Vsevolod Andreyevich Sokolovsky, born 24 September 1991, Moscow) is a Russian singer, songwriter, producer, dancer, and TV host. In the past, he performed as a dancer in Todes ballet and as a singer in the duo BiS. H ...

, as reported by Russian media. "Get You" was set to be presented to the public on 12 March 2011 during the Russian version of ''

Star Academy ''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements. Format There are many versions of t ...

'', broadcast on Channel One, however the song was leaked on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

prior to the presentation on 6 March 2011. "Get You" was written and composed by RedOne,

AJ Junior Achraf Janussi, better known as AJ Junior, and also known as AJ Janussi, is a well-known songwriter and music producer based in Sweden. The credits may also use A Janussi, Ashraf Janussi and sometimes Jannusi as well. He closely cooperates with re ...

Bilal "The Chef" Bilal Hajji, sometimes also known as The Chef (at times Bilal "The Chef" or Bilal "The Chef" Hajji) is a Moroccan-Swedish songwriter and record producer. Based in Sweden, of Moroccan origin, he has worked with many worldwide artists and celebriti ...

Eric Sanicola Eric Sanicola (born May 6, 1981) is an American music producer and songwriter credited on numerous Gold and Platinum albums, including various ''Billboard'' magazine charting singles. Career Since the start of his career in 2003, he has wr ...

and Vorobyov himself.

At Eurovision

Russia began the Eurovision journey with Alex Sparrow (Alexey Vorobyov) as their representative in 2011. Russia competed in the first semi-final on 10 May 2011, with position 7. Russia had been tipped as an early favourite by the bookmakers to win the 2011 contest. After voting ended, Russia qualified for the grand final on Saturday 14 May, achieving 9th place and 64 points. The public awarded Russia 4th place with 93 points and the jury awarded 16th place with 31 points. After the first semi, Russia drew position 10 for the grand final. At the end of voting in the grand final, Russia ended 16th with 77 points, the worst placing for Russia since 1995, and only the second time they placed outside the top 15. The public awarded Russia 7th place with 138 points and the jury awarded 25th (last) place with 25 points.

Voting

Points awarded to Russia

Points awarded by Russia

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2011

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011

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 ...