Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014


Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Belarusian entry was selected through a national final, organised by Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus. Teo represented Belarus with the self-composed song "Cheesecake" with lyrics by Dmitry Novik. The song qualified from the second semi-final to compete in the final. Belarus placed 16th in the final, scoring 43 points.

Before Eurovision

National final

On 15 October 2013, BTRC announced that a national final would be held to select Belarus' entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.

Competing entries

A submission period for interested artists and composers was opened and lasted until 24 November 2013. After the deadline passed, over 70 applications were received by the broadcaster. Artists that submitted songs were required to participate in an audition that took place between 28 and 29 November 2013 at BTRC studios. A professional jury selected fifteen artists and songs from the applicants to proceed to the televised national final, which were announced on 29 November 2013. The professional jury consisted of BTRC Chairman Gennady Davydko, musician/composer Vasily Rainchik, singer Alexander Tikhanovich, head of the radio station "Radius FM" Elena Treshchinskaya, director of the Shtam dance school Alexander Mezhenny, singer and 2013 Belarusian entrant Alyona Lanskaya, head of the department of arts at the Belarusian Ministry of Culture Marianna Malchik, soloist of the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater Eduard Martynyuk and head of the section of culture at TV Infoservice Mikhail Revutsky. On 5 December 2013, Alexey Gross withdrew from the competition at the request of his record label, Spamash, after it was revealed that his song "If I Could Do It All Again", composed by Marc Paelinck, had previously competed in the 2011 Maltese national final.

Final

The selected artists and songs competed at the national final which took place on 10 January 2014 at the studio 600 in Minsk, hosted by Olga Ryzhikova and Denis Dudinskiy. The equal combination of votes from a professional jury and the votes from the public resulted in a tie between "Now You're Gone" performed by Max Lorens and DiDyuLya and "Cheesecake" performed by Teo. The tie was resolved after each member of the jury cast one vote for one of the two songs. After an 8 to 0 vote, "Cheesecake" performed by Teo was the winner of the competition and was selected as Belarus' entry in Copenhagen.
In addition to the performances from the competitors, the show featured guest performances by Alexander Solodukha, Alexey Gross, 2013 Belarusian entrant Alyona Lanskaya, Joanna, Eliz, Beatris, Lena Voloshina, SGBAND, Aura, Vitaliy Voronko, 2006 Belarusian entrant Polina Smolova, 2008 Belarusian entrant Ruslan Alekhno and Gunesh. The members of the jury were Mikhail Revutsky, Alexander Mezhenny, Eduard Martynyuk, Elena Treshchinskaya, Marianna Malchik, Alexander Tikhanovich, Alyona Lanskaya and Vasily Rainchik.

At Eurovision

During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Belarus was drawn to compete in the second half of the second semi-final on 8 May 2014. In the second semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Belarus would perform 10th, following Ireland and preceding Macedonia. Belarus qualified from the second semi-final and competed in the final on 10 May 2014. During the winner's press conference for the second semi-final qualifiers, Belarus was allocated to compete in the first half of the final. In the final, the producers of the show decided that Belarus would perform 2nd, following Ukraine and preceding Azerbaijan. Belarus placed 16th in the final, scoring 43 points.
The Belarusian song "Cheesecake" originally contained a reference to Google Maps in the lyrics. Such references to companies and brands violate the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest and therefore the reference was replaced with alternate lyrics for its participation in the contest.
At the contest, Teo was joined on stage by three backing vocalists: Denis Lis, Artyom Akhmash and Yuriy Seleznyov, and two dancers: Alexander Zalesskiy and Andrey Martynov. Teo and the backing vocalists and dancers all wore black suits against a background of lighting that transitions between dark blue, red and yellow.
In Belarus, both the semi-finals and the final were broadcast on Belarus-1 and Belarus-24 with commentary by Evgeny Perlin. The Belarusian spokesperson revealing the result of the Belarusian vote in the final was 2013 Belarusian contest entrant Alyona Lanskaya.

Points awarded to Belarus

12 points10 points8 points7 points6 points

  • 5 points4 points3 points2 points1 point
  • Points awarded by Belarus

    Semi-final 2

    Points awarded in second semi-final:
    12 points
    10 points
    8 points
    7 points
    6 points
    5 points
    4 points
    3 points
    2 points
    1 point

    Final

    Points awarded in the final:
    12 points
    10 points
    8 points
    7 points
    6 points
    5 points
    4 points
    3 points
    2 points
    1 point

    Split voting results

    The following five members comprise the Belarusian jury:
    The Belarusian votes in the second semi-final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.

    Final

    The Belarusian votes in the grand final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.