It’s been a rainy week in Malta, but young Mariam Mamadashvili brought “Mzeo” — her song about the sun. And on Sunday it became clear that Europe was feeling the warmth as they crowned her the winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

The 10-year-old starlet was the clear stand-out during the jury final on Saturday, drawing sustained applause one minute before her song was even finished. As we predicted in our jury review, she absolutely owned the adult jury, receiving 12 points from eight of the 17 juries (Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, The Netherlands and Ukraine).

She didn’t receive top marks from any members of the so-called “expert panal.” And she only finished sixth with the kids jury. But her overwhelming lead with the adult panel of music professionals proved insurmountable.

This marks Georgia’s third victory at Junior Eurovision, making it the most successful country in the contest. They surpass Armenia and Belarus, who each have two victories.

Armenia’s Anahit & Mary came second with their high-energy performance of “Tarber”, while Italy’s Fiamma Boccia came third with her tender number “Cara Mamma”.

PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO

JUNIOR EUROVISION 2016: FULL RESULTS

The final #JESC scoreboard #junioreurovision #jesc2016

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12 points breakdown

ADULT JURIES

Albania: 12 points to Georgia
Armenia: 12 points to Georgia
Australia: 12 points to Malta
Belarus: 12 points to Georgia
Bulgaria: 12 points to Georgia
Cyprus: 12 points to Georgia
Georgia: 12 points to Australia
Ireland: 12 points to Georgia
Israel: 12 points to Belarus
Italy: 12 points to Ireland
Malta: 12 points to Ireland
Macedonia: 12 points to Italy
The Netherlands: 12 points to Georgia
Poland: 12 points to Bulgaria
Russia: 12 points to Belarus
Serbia: 12 points to Armenia
Ukraine: 12 points to Georgia

EXPERT PANEL

Mads Grimstad: 12 points to Italy

Christer Bjorkman: 12 points to Belarus

Jedward: 12 points to Russia

KIDS JURIES

Armenia: 110
Malta: 105
Russia: 105
Italy: 103
Australia: 99
Georgia: 83
Bulgaria: 68
Netherlands: 65
Belarus: 65
Ireland: 57
Poland: 36
Macedonia: 24
Israel: 20
Albania: 13
Cyprus: 12
Ukraine: 12
Serbia: 9

What do you think of Mariam’s victory? Are you shocked or surprised by any of the other results? Let us know in the comments section below – and we’ll see y’all in Tblisi next year!

 

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Eva M.
Eva M.
7 years ago

@Kris: I see your point. I think that just like woth many othet things in life, Mariam got lucky in several ways–she performed last after a very intense show and the audience was alteady attuned. I am guessing that if she was first, she would not have succeeded so overwhelmingly. The audience in Malta is also more likely to connect with a classical ballad, than let’s say Serbia or Cyprus. But of course, it is never just luck–she already had a flawless performance and song which allowed her to show case her vocals. I really liked Lidia before the show,… Read more »

Kris
Kris
7 years ago

Eva M.,
Maybe what you are saying is right.I am happy with the winner but not with the winning song.About the mid-performance applause I reckon its due to her stopping singing mid-way in the song and her hands wide posture make it appear as the performance ended.But then again I didn’t see the jury final.

JESC for Kids Jurys and Popularvote
JESC for Kids Jurys and Popularvote
7 years ago

The adult jury voting college is a disaster for a Junior eurovision democracy.
JESC for Kids Jurys and Popular vote.

Erin
Erin
7 years ago

@MTD – The Israeli viewing figure can be easily explained: Sunday is an official work day in Israel, so for Israel to participate despite knowing fully well how problematic the timing is should be commended. However, IBA outsourced the JESC project to an independent producer named Tali Eshkoli. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t have a say in IBA’s promotion of the selection process or the manner in which it was marketed to the Israeli audience at large. IBA usually has low ratings in comparison to the other commercial channels at this time of the day (something ranging between 1.5% to… Read more »

Oxana
Oxana
7 years ago

@dutchie,
I agree, with broadband connection and assortment of live streams there’s no need to have TV box, especially for kids who unlikely will have own TV set to watch kids show at eve. Actually I had to jump with screwdriver and to reapply my network card to another device to watch the show on wide screen, my relatives said they are not going to watch it on TV. parents can watch some soap operas on news at that time so kids more likely used live streams from local broadcasters or youtube/jesc webtv

ESCFan
ESCFan
7 years ago

Georgia was the clear winner. ESC fans just complain too much and over everything!! Good job Malta, for the lack of resources this was amazing!

(J)ESC Fanatic
(J)ESC Fanatic
7 years ago

@CharlieChan

I loved it! The choreography was insane! 😀

dutchie
dutchie
7 years ago

@mtd
I think you need to bear in mind that kids watch less and less tv. The internet is where it’s at. The Dutch broadcaster has very smartly moved their entire Junior Eurovision project to a Youtube channel, with the girls acting in a daily vlog following their progress toward the final. It’s quite successful, their average vlog has a hundred thousand views (which is way more than the videos of the actual Junior Eurovision channel…).

Other countries would be wise to follow suit. Kids love talent shows, you just need to market them wisely.

CharlieChan
CharlieChan
7 years ago

Did anyone liked The Netherlands (with me of course)?

Roelof Meesters
Roelof Meesters
7 years ago

This was songwise the best JESC ever. All the countries did their best to write the best song they could, and everyone did. Before the show Georgia was my last, but live it was very good and the camera was AMAZING. The presenters weren’t too bad at all, but when Valerie said Armenia goth 110 poiunts, I could fly to Malta and slap her. It was baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. It ruined everytrhing. The cameras weren’t too bad at all, I was dissapointed by the fact that there weren’t real fireworks. I hope Georgia doesn’t host, because their stages in ADULT eurovision are… Read more »

Ron
Ron
7 years ago

Some people here need to get a life. Imagine how sad the contestants (especially Mariam) would be if she read all these negative comments. Whether you agree with the outcome or not, congratulate her on her victory and wish all of them continued success. One aspect of the show I found absolutely gross is at the end when they had Armenia vs Georgia scenario like they did with Russia vs Ukraine. Seeing the anticipation and how literally Anahit, Mary and Mariam were shaking was very unfair for kids their age. They should have made it more seamless even if it… Read more »

Sveped
Sveped
7 years ago

@CookyMonzta: Last time the last singer won JESC, was in 2007 when Belarus won. That year, Armenia also came in second place. It also happened in 2005 and 2006.

I was surprised when I discovered that Georgia won. I has Georgia in the bottom half of my list. My bet was on Italy to win. Anyway. When I saw the performance of Georgia, I really understand why she won. It was a really great performance and gave me goosebumps. Congratulation to Georgia!

MTD
MTD
7 years ago

Viewing figures came in today from various TV stations.

Goodbye JESC. Really. They killed it. FINALLY, I may add.

Italy – an average of just under 50,000 viewers (drop from 80,000)
Bulgaria – 280,000 viewers (drop from 2 million viewers!!! But they hosted last year, so…)
Netherlands – 257,000 viewers (down from 339,000).
Israel – 33, 000 viewers (LOL).

Over and out!

Jack
Jack
7 years ago

I’m so glad the UK pulled out of this contest 10 years ago and hope it stays out. How adults can get any sort of pleasure out of watching amateur kids dancing woodenly and screeching their songs is beyond me.

Around
Around
7 years ago

@(J)ESC Fanatic

No, at the first rehearsal there was one blue dress. At the final this was replaced by a (light) pink one.

Timselvision
Timselvision
7 years ago

I had Georgia last and Russia first, but Georgia had by far the best performance & had the most winner vibes. Really disappointed that vocals once again decided the outcome once again tho, I was rooting for Armenia a lot at the end – but based on the performance, deserved victory.

Páll
Páll
7 years ago

Armenia has only one victory though, not two as stated…. !!!!!!!!

(J)ESC Fanatic
(J)ESC Fanatic
7 years ago

@Around

No, they are the same with the ones they wore in the first rehearsal.

Around
Around
7 years ago

Did someone also noticed that the outfits of The Netherlands were different from the first and second rehearsal?

Reese
Reese
7 years ago

Amazing winner. I rememeber watching all those youtube tops and almost everybody put her last and i was so sad because she was one of my favourites from the beginning. Love to Georgia from Ukraine <3
I hope that next year JESC will be hosted in beautiful Tbilisi

dutchie
dutchie
7 years ago

It was a really bad show, the camera shots and the sound were just awful. Here’s hoping Malta doesn’t get to host Eurovision in the near future.

The Georgian girl is surely talented, her song is forgettable but so were most others.

Racal
Racal
7 years ago

@Ming: Of course no one will remember her in 3 weeks. Even winners of the actual Eurovision are forgotten 24 hours after their win. 🙂

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
7 years ago

Here I go, here in New York City, my first time ever watching the entire Junior Eurovision from beginning to end. I went purely visual this time, and this is how I saw it: (1) Russia, (2) Georgia, (3) Poland, (4) Italy, (5) Bulgaria, (6) Macedonia, (7) Ukraine, (8) Ireland, (9) Israel, (10) Belarus, (11) Albania, (12) Australia, (13) Cyprus, (14) Armenia, (15) Serbia, (16) Malta, (17) Netherlands. Very Sloppy of Valerie to give away Armenia’s young jury score. Once she let it slip, it was obvious that Mariam from Georgia won. It was a tough call for me between… Read more »

Ming
Ming
7 years ago

Disgusting result. This is the worst song I ever heard and Russia, Australia or Armenia should have won. Nobody will remember this girl in three weeks.

rusforever
rusforever
7 years ago

I think that Macedonia, Serbia maybe Israel and Cyprus withdrawn from contest next year. Intersting from 2013 to 2016 , some ex yugoslavia countries finished last.
2013 Macedonia
2014 Croatia
2015 Macedonia
2016 Serbia

rusforever
rusforever
7 years ago

EBU with nordic lobby ruin both contest , especially junior with this system of voting . Jedward from Ireland as expert juries gave points for Ireland. Adult Juries push so hard Georgia and some other countries to win, and dont belive that Serbia , Ukraine got so little points from kids juries

???????
???????
7 years ago

This year’s edition of the Junior Eurovision really disappoints, but not because of the winner (I love Mariam!) or even the terrible, terrible hosting Malta has displayed. If the adult contest is 50/50 Adult Jury/Televote, shouldn’t Junior Eurovision be 50/50 Kids Jury/Televote… NO ADULT JURY?! It was the Adult Jury that ruined the results (and the one expert panelist that gave 12 points to Belarus)! Recognize the problem and fix it!

Petter
Petter
7 years ago

We need to have televoting back. Please don’t seperate and destroy Junior Eurovision from Eurovision. We would like to watch this contest for years on. It’s stupid to watch it, when you can’t vote for your favourite songs. That’s the truth.
Bring back the televoting!

Joy
Joy
7 years ago

Adult juries walked over the kids’s opinion. Kids’ would’ve liked to see a happy and catchy song winning the contest.

Ben Rafter
Ben Rafter
7 years ago

One of the worst JESC’s ever. Horrible hosts. Very small stage. Poor production. Annoying dancers on the stage. No televote. Adults decided result. Macedonia 12th? Are you taking the piss ???? shocking result and very poor results. Add televote next year, Georgia have a proper arena and get decent hosts – because I was so disappointed. Unless things change I won’t ever watch JESC again.

RB
RB
7 years ago

WIWI you’re wrong..Malta won the JESC twice as well (on 2013 & 2015).
Please take note 🙂

Zebb
Zebb
7 years ago

I still haven’t managed to check it 😐 Well, totaling comments below and the winner result, it reminded me dark horse of adult ESC this year. But honestly, Georgia and Russia were the only good entries I actually remembered from first and only listen round while rest merged into indistinct musical spot. And well, exclusion of televoting is a joke, had better just to loose influence if EBU needed it that much…

mocosuburbian
mocosuburbian
7 years ago

beautiful song!

beccaboo1212
7 years ago

@Chicken Kyiv? Stop! There is no need for a long-running kids’ singing contest to die after being around for over a decade. ABU Asia-Pacific Song Contest is definitely coming soon, but it’s not gonna replace Junior Eurovision.

Vladimir
Vladimir
7 years ago

Was Serbia really that bad?

olvresc
olvresc
7 years ago

During the voting, all I did was shouting WTF? Mzeo was my least favourite entry, and I actually thought it would place last. And it won? There were so many countries that would’ve deserved it instead of Georgia, but my honest opinion is that Russia should’ve won.

Make Frans Trend Again (and again)
Make Frans Trend Again (and again)
7 years ago

I respect Georgia’s victory. Having been so late to keep myself updated with the entrants and their respective songs, Georgia’s singing caught me by surprise and am fine with her victory. Probably if I have rooted to any other entrants months ago and immediately chose them as my favorites, I would also be so mad about people voting Georgia as the winner. Yet that might imply my bias in the end but I am not accusing that fans who kept track of the contest since the choosing of entrants are too biased as well.

Hiro
Hiro
7 years ago

We’ll see, next year JESC would be filled with ballads lol
Not that I hate ballads tho, I really like Miriam’s performance and after the performance I wish she didn’t finished last because she is so cute and her performance was good…. and yes, my wish comes true. she finished first lol

Mark
Mark
7 years ago

This was a bad year. Georgia was the clear winner.

Chicken Kyiv?
Chicken Kyiv?
7 years ago

Malta is a former English colony still part of the English commonwealth to this day and children are taught English early on, but it seems they managed to find the only 2 people in malta who can’t speak English and asked them to host.

The whole show screamed low budget from start to finish, think Jesc is on its dying breath soon to be replaced by Asiavision Song Contest

Darren
Darren
7 years ago

Of course, another Top 5 finish for everyone’s favourite European nation Australia, and not one person finds it suspicious. Part of the reason I hate Australia in ESC events is the overhyping that they receive. Give them a place outside of the top 10 for once, at least make it realistic. Anyways, well done Georgia, it’s a great result for the country, and I really hope Tbilisi steps up to the plate next year to host. Decent Top 10 finish for Ireland too making a slight gain on their result from last year. Would be nice to see them go… Read more »

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
7 years ago

What a great performance! Great winner and at least five really good songs that could have won.
The ending of the voting was exciting. Really thought Armenia might do enough!

Oxana
Oxana
7 years ago

@Erin, could be. However why Israeli would do it with simple song contest if they had prime minister from Ukraine and many other high ranking officials from C.I.S and Ukraine? why they would care for a song contest? Actually I liked the song and its warm peaceful message. I don’t think there’s something wrong with it. There’s only 17 contestants. not 40, 30 or even 20. there’s no room for graceful 15th place or even for bottom 5. this contest designed to be cruel and harsh on kids at the 2d part of scoreboard (and it’s half of them). with… Read more »

Erin
Erin
7 years ago

@Oxana – You’re absolutely right. He is as much Israeli as any other native Israelis and so many of us have a second citizenship because we’re a nation of immigrants after all, so my point was that it’s a grave mistake if the Israeli expert committee actually applied that line of thinking. If you ask me, I tend to believe the thought of Tim not being a ‘full-fledged’ Israeli did cross their mind because none of the members was a new immigrant or represented the former C.I.S community which makes for over a million people here.

Oxana
Oxana
7 years ago

@Erin,

it’s rummored over web that Tim Sannikov in addition to his Russian name and fluent Russian speaking skills also have 2d sitizenship (Russian). But with visual appearance he have no one should question his credibility – it’s written on his face. I doubt Israeli paired him with a girl for that reason, maybe they just wanted duo to fill niche.

Erin
Erin
7 years ago

Eva, D got it pretty much right under the old system where the joint jury and tele vote results were combined into one set of votes instead of 2. Each country has 58 points to give from 1 till 12, so 58 times 17 equals 986. @D – That’s a real good job. You got your 986 points divided fair and square. Georgia won with an average of 7.67 points which shows that it was a very close competition. I think both the ESC and JESC should consider a 60:40 ratio in favor of the tele vote or kids juries… Read more »

D
D
7 years ago

@Eva M: My estimate is using the OLD system with each country only presenting one set of scores rather than two sets presented separately. It is far from perfect as we only have the top 10 from each country to work with rather than all 17 but is still interesting.

Eva M.
Eva M.
7 years ago

@D: Your estimates under no judge panel system do not add up. If we exclude the 3 Judge panel, and assuming the Wikipedia votes are correct (I have not checked them independently against the board results), this is what the ranking would have been: 1. Georgia 144 + 83 = 227 2. Armenia 99 +110 = 209 3. Malta 73 + 105 = 178 4/5. Italy 70 + 103 = 173 5/4. Australia 74 + 99 = 173 6. Russia 65 + 105 = 170. As a relsult of the 3 extra judges, Russia was moved fo fourth, Italy to… Read more »

D
D
7 years ago

My best estimate of the result using the old system (only using the top 10 adult and kids jury rankings that have been published so far) and not including the “expert” panel is as follows:
1) Georgia 123
2) Armenia 114
3) Italy 100
4) Malta 95
5) Russia 92
6) Australia 90
7) Belarus 82
8) The Netherlands 80
9) Bulgaria 70
10) Ireland 51
11) Poland 22
12) F.Y.R. Macedonia 20
13) Cyprus 14
14) Albania 11
15) Ukraine 9
16) Israel 8
17) Serbia 5

Erin
Erin
7 years ago

I mostly agree with Spirk’s take on the songs, except for Russia and Israel. I believe Russia’s act was poetry in motion which I expected would do much better with the adult juries than the kids. It turned out to be the other way around, but it doesn’t change the fact that after Mariam, Sofia left a profound impression both aesthetically and vocally. I heard the rumors about a possible rift or rivalry between the girls caused by a power struggle or an artistic dispute among some members of the Russian delegation, but that is irrelevant to the quality they… Read more »