After a huge three heats and two semi-finals, Lithuania's national final 'Pabandom iš naujo!' will finish this weekend and their 2022 Eurovision entry will be selected.
Over the last five weeks fans have watched as the 34 songs became the final 8, anticipating the looks served week after week by host Ieva Stasiulevičiūtė, and stanning The Roop lead vocalist Vaidotas Valiukevičius each time he made an appearance as a jury member.
Some favourites of the public and jury have emerged over the season. One of the key artists to watch for this weekend is Monika Liu with her song 'Sentimentai'. She came first and received 3965 votes from the public in her semi-final, more than three times the number of votes received by the runner up. She also topped the jury vote.
Also getting a lot of attention from fans has been Lolita Zero with her song 'Not Your Mother'. She came out on top of the public vote in her semi-final with 2281 votes, almost three times more than the runner up. She came 3rd place in the jury vote, behind Justė Kraujelytė and Gebrasy.
Aussievision Team Rankings
Ahead of the final this weekend, 16 members of the Aussievision team have ranked the eight finalists, using a scoring system of 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points.
The results from lowest to highest scoring are:
8. Justė Kraujelytė – 'How to get my life back' (74 points)
Highs: 8 points from Fleur, Josh and Guy.
Lows: 1 point from Cooper and Tim, 2 points from Dale.
"Vocally and stylistically, Juste is giving me B.A.E: Big Alanis Energy! Problem is, Alanis also bought the songs and the lyrics and the angst and the commitment, and I’m not getting any of that from Ms Kraujelytė." ~Mark
7. Queens of roses – 'Washing Machine' (83 points)
Highs: 12 points from mark, 10 points from Laura.
Lows: 1 point from Craig, Emma, Fleur and Estelle, 2 points from Hugo and Guy.
"What. A. Banger!!!!! Baby, that's a total fact!" ~ Laura
"Those girls have great vocals - shame they were given that song. Send them back next year with a better song to show off their harmonies!" ~Hayley
"Look, there’s a lot to work on here. But there’s a lot to work with. I think this sits somewhere in the middle of melodically interesting, lyrically gimmicky and visually potential-laden. And while I’m get to find if, I’m convinced there’s a feminist war-cry hiding somewhere underneath too." ~Mark
6. Rūta Loop – 'Call me from the cold' (92 points)
Highs: 12 points from Craig and Laura, 10 points from Cooper, Hayley and Josh.
Lows: 1 point from Dale, Mike and Guy, 2 points from Emma, Steven, Fleur, Liv and Estelle.
"This ballad is absolutely hauntingly beautiful. The minimalist instrumentation might leave the vocal a tad exposed compared to other entries but Rūta Loop really delivers with the live performance - especially with the lighting, which looks brilliant down the camera. I think it would be a fantastic choice for Lithuania this year - I'm obsessed!" ~Laura
"I love a pared-back electro track as much as the next man, and this one pushes all my buttons. Ruta is a competent performer and this is also staged spectacularly, with a use of light and shadow that would make Sennek weep. My only criticism is that I wish the final minute could find another gear to push this to the next level." ~Craig
5. Gebrasy – 'Into Your Arms' (93 points)
Highs: 12 points from Josh and Hugo, 10 points from Tim.
Lows: 1 point from Mark, 2 points from Mike.
"Gebrasy has a lot of good-will from me for his stellar effort in the Lithuanian NF 2021 with ‘Where’d You Wanna Go?’. While this song isn’t as strong, it still delivers on many levels. His delicate vocals deserve a space on the Eurovision stage and this song could do well." ~ Josh
"Such a beautiful song, right up my alley. Gebrasy has a great voice, and the song is so melodic, tasteful staging and this is the best musical package for me. Totally understand that this probably wouldn't do well at Eurovision, but that doesn't stop it from being my favourite in this selection." ~ Hugo
4. Ieva Zasimauskaitė – 'I'll be there' (95 points)
Highs: 12 points from Estelle and Guy, 8 points from Craig, Mike and Liv.
Lows: 2 points from Kyriakos, Mark and Laura, 3 points from Dale, Josh and Hugo.
"Beautiful clear, crisp vocals. No pretensions or gimmicks, leaving the song to do the work." ~Estelle
"Sadly I don't think this song has enough support from the public or jury to win, but it has become my favourite. Some may feel it wouldn't be strong enough to qualify at Eurovision, however a lot of people said that in 2018 about 'When We're Old'. She not only qualified then, but came 12th place in the Grand Final - and I think this is a better song. Ieva has a great understated, but emotive way of delivering the song, and it really draws me in." ~Guy
3. Augustė Vedrickaitė - 'Before you're 6 ft under' (97 points)
Highs: 12 points from Steven and Tim, 10 points from Kyriakos, Mark and Liv.
Lows: 1 point from Laura, Josh and Hugo, 2 points from Hayley.
"A good vocal, clear diction and a decent live performance elevate this electric guitar-driven rock song (with added rap). This *just* pipped another - very different - entry to my douze points." ~Steven
"What an absolute banger!! This has the perfect tone of rock pop there’s been for a while. It just sounds very gritty and enjoyable. A very enjoyable pump up song that holds up outside of Eurovision. I just hope it does well on Saturday" ~Tim
2. Monika Liu – 'Sentimentai' (103 points)
Highs: 12 points from Emma, Mike and Fleur, 10 points from Craig, Dale, Steven and Estelle.
Lows: 1 point from Kyriakos and Liv, 2 points from Josh.
"There's something about this that is so captivating. This woman is a born performer. Monika oozes confidence and sells this song extremely well. For me this is the standout of PiN this year." ~Fleur
"It's Monika's style of performance that really elevates this entry to the top of my rankings. She oozes class with her retro-inspired interpretation of the song, and with some additional elements to her staging this could stand out in a line up. The song itself is reminiscent of a track from the late 70's disco era. It ticks along without really hitting any heights and definitely needs the visual aspect to lift it into contention." ~Mike
"This gets my 12 points based on performance alone. Monika is so in the moment and living for this unique 60's psychedelic infused funk. It won't be everyone's cup of tea but will definitely stand out from the pack if it goes to Turin." ~Emma
"Monika Liu - Sentimentai - I'm not sure how competitive this song is, but I *adore* Monika's energy when she performs it. She vamps it up like a femme fatale in a French New Wave film, helped no end by the fact that her look recalls Agnes Varda, or Jeanne Moreau in The Bride Wore Black. It's definitely a good song, but I worry it might get lost in a program of 20+ songs at Eurovision." ~Craig
1. Lolita Zero - 'Not Your Mother' (145 points)
Highs: 12 points from Cooper, Dale, Hayley, Kyriakos, Liv, 10 points from Emma, Mike, Fleur, Hugo and Guy.
Lows: 1 point from Steven, 2 points from Craig and Tim.
"This is definitely a standout performance. I wouldn't necessarily call it a song per say, their isn't many impressive vocal moments either but this is definitely something that leaves a mark on the mind. Since first listen I've kept going back to watch this performance and it gets better and better each time. I don't see many or if any of these songs qualifying for the final in Turin so might as well go out with a bang Lithuania." ~Cooper
"This is the one song that will capture attention but it's more than that incredible outfit. That production gives me club performance at 2:00am and the dancers work so well with it all. It won't win a vocalist award but there's an x factor about this." ~Dale
"Well then - this is an interesting song! I have given it my 12 points as it stands out in this group, and Lithuania really need something to stand out. So ok, there are hardly any lyrics I get that, but it has a punchy beat and has a certain dark element to it. It had me moving in my chair. Now for this staging - this really stands out.. and the costume! I am not sure what he is meant to be and while slightly terrifying, I could not look away. Lithuania send this song please!" ~Hayley
"‘Not Your Mother’ - Whilst visually eye-catching, the almost atonal vocals mean that this is a non-starter for me. It’s a performance art piece not a song." ~Steven
"Now Lolita delivers a performance that is absolutely out of this world. ‘Not Your Mother’ is my personal favourite she looks iconic, has amazing stage presence and needs to go to Eurovision. There is not much vocally but the instrumental in the song and her fashion just blow me away! Let’s go to planet Lolita!" ~Kyriakos
"Please Lithuania - take the leap of faith and SEND THIS! It's not just a visual feast and an amazing performance but also a great track as well. Hypnotic, totally unique and unforgettable. As we know at Eurovision - standing out is half the game. It's no good being the fourth best female pop song, your competition at the end of the day will bleed your results dry. This is TOTALLY unique and special and nothing will be like it. Polarising but that actually gives you something to WERK with and a point of difference." ~Liv
How to watch:
You can watch the final of 'Pabandom iš naujo!' live on the LRT website here.
It will take place this weekend:
European time - 8:00 pm (CET) on Saturday 12th February
Australian time - 6:00 am (AEDT) on Sunday 13th February
For continued updates on 'Pabandom iš naujo!' and all the other national finals, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, find us @aussievisionnet