In autumn last year Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) revealed that they would be using Georgian Idol to select both their artist and song for Eurovision 2019. And now, after three rounds of auditions, the country are a few steps closer to making that final decision. Ten contestants are set to battle it out in the live shows of the singing competition starting next week.

At the end of yesterday’s third audition show, the four judgesTinatin BerdzenishviliStephane MgebrishviliNatia Todua and Zaza Shengelia, brought back all the artists that had received a golden ticket following their initial audition. They had the very hard decision of whittling the contestants down to the final ten.

In the end, the following acts were chosen to advance to the next stage of the competition, in alphabetical order:

  • Besik Nemsadze
  • Dima Kobeshavidze
  • Giorgi Nakashidze
  • Giorgi Pruidze
  • Ikako Aleksidze
  • Liza Kalandadze
  • Mariam Kakhelishvili
  • Nini Tsnobiladze
  • Oto Nemsadze
  • Tamar Lachkhepiani

One name that might immediately stand out to Eurovision fans is Mariam Kakhelishvili. She of course represented Georgia at Junior Eurovision 2010, where she placed fourth with the song “Mari Dari”.

This also won’t be the first time that Dima Kobeshavidze and Oto Nemsadze have tried to represent Georgia at Eurovision. Both previously competed in Georgia’s Eurovision 2017 national final.

The final ten also includes a number of singing competition veterans. Giorgi Nakashidze won X Factor Georgia in 2015. Dima has also previously competed on the show.

Nini Tsnobiladze was the runner up on the first season of The Voice Georgia in 2012/13 and made it to the live shows of The Voice Ukraine in 2017. We have even previously listed her on one of our wish lists for who should represent Georgia at Eurovision.

Meanwhile, brothers Besik and Oto Nemsadze appeared on X Factor Ukraine and The Voice Ukraine respectively. Can we expect some heated sibling rivalry to develop in the upcoming live shows?

Next Saturday 26th January sees the start of the live shows of Georgian Idol, which will take place in Tbilisi Concert Hall. The final of the show is set for 2nd March and the eventual winner will have the opportunity to represent Georgia at Eurovision 2019.

Georgia’s Head of Delegation, Natia Mshvenieradze, confirmed last October that the grand final of Georgian Idol would be used to select both the singer and the song that will represent the country in Tel Aviv.

In December, GPB subsequently put out a call for songs. The deadline for submissions is the 1st February.

In the traditional Idol format, the finalists perform their ‘winner’s song’ — an original song that will be released as the debut singer of the series winner. It is possible that in the case of Georgian Idol, the winners’ songs will all be potential Eurovision entries.

Georgia will be hoping that this new format will finally bring them back to the Eurovision grand final after Tamara Gachechiladze and Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao both failed to make it out of the semi-finals in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Before the live shows start, you can familiarise yourselves with the final ten by watching their initial auditions below.

Besik Nemsadze

Dima Kobeshavidze

Giorgi Nakashidze

Giorgi Pruidze

Ikako Aleksidze

Liza Kalandadze

Mariam Kakhelishvili

Nini Tsnobiladze

Oto Nemsadze

Tamar Lachkepiani

What do you make of the top ten contestants in Georgian Idol 2019? Who do you want to see represent the country at Eurovision? Sound off in the comments below!

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ani
ani
5 years ago

MARIAM FTW!

KESC
KESC
5 years ago

Wooow, they all have great voices. Giorgi Pruidze’s voice reminds me a lot of Isaiah’s voice. And Ikako Aleksidze has such a strong voice. With a good song, I could see him end up high.

I’m positively surprised, don’t let me down, Georgia!

Geo
Geo
5 years ago

Ikako Aleksidze is amazing, my favorite among these 10. Not mentioning he’s uber cute, too. With a good song he could do well in Eurovision!

ani
ani
5 years ago

Nini ftw!

Weißbrot
Weißbrot
5 years ago

Wooooooow, Ikako Aleksidze sounds STUNNING! All of them are amazing tho, I wish we had such talented people competing on our German Idol. Compared to this, our show is a dumb joke lol. I’m sure Georgia will get something good out of this

ESCalator
ESCalator
5 years ago

Mariam was a true visionary, she served Netta’s winning song and performance 8 years ahead. lol