Lithuania‘s broadcaster has announced the acts that will compete in the 2021 edition of the national final Pabandom iš naujo. The slimmed-down lineup will feature 23 acts, including 2020 winners The Roop, viral act Twosome and Lithuania’s Eurovision 2014 star Vilija Matačiūnaitė with her project Sunday Afternoon.
Unlike previous editions of the Lithuanian national final, which saw more than 50 acts competing over as many as ten shows, this year Pabandom iš naujo will involve just 23 acts and four shows. The 2021 edition will have two heats, one semi-final and a grand final.
LRT Producer Audrius Giržadas said that despite concern that this year’s contest may not have attracted many entries, they have been pleased with the numbers. He explained:
“Every year, the selections receive a lot of public attention. However, knowing how difficult this period was for the music industry, we anxiously awaited the applications from the participants. We are very pleased that the performers and groups did not run away and, considering the whole situation, were quite active in submitting applications. So we will be able to delight the audience with really high-quality and different performances during the selections.”
The competing acts were selected by a panel of specialists from LRT. They aimed to assess the “originality of the work, the quality of the performance and the potential to compete on the big stage of Eurovision.”
The final 23 were also selected to showcase a diverse range of acts and to reflect modern Lithuanian music.
The Roop returns
As confirmed last month, 2020 winners The Roop will return for another shot at Eurovision. The group were guaranteed a place in the Pabandom iš naujo grand final. The trio previously expressed excited for their 2021 entry, saying “We have a song and we have a vision. Let’s hope it will become Euro-vision.”
Also on the lineup is 2020 viral act Twosome. While their 2020 entry “Playa” did not make the grand final, it became a breakout hit, with its catchy lyric “I’m a Lithuanian basketball player”. This year the group also competed on a celebrity edition of X Factor Lithuania where they finished fourth.
Lithuania’s Eurovision 2014 star Vilija Matačiūnaitė is also returning to the national final. She’ll perform as her new music project Sunday Afternoon.
Gabrielius Vagelis will also be part of the 2021 lineup. He’s been a regular at Pabandom iš naujo in recent years. Last year he competed with “Tave čia randu”.
Pabandom iš naujo 2021 – Competing acts
- Aistė Brokenleg
- Aldegunda
- Be U
- Black Spikes“ with Indre Launikonyte
- Donata Virbilaitė
- Evelina Sašenko
- Evita Cololo
- Gabrielė Goštautaitė
- Gabrielius Vagelis
- Gebrasy (Audrius Petrauskas)
- Gintarė Korsakaitė
- Martyna Jezepčikaitė
- Milita Daikerytė
- Cosmic bride (Natalja Chareckaja)
- Norbertas/Norbė
- Rapolas Meškauskas
- Sunday Afternoon (Vilija Matačiūnaitė)
- The Roop
- Thomas Tumosa
- Titas ir Benas
- Twosome
- UnoBand
- Voldemaras Petersonas
Pabandom iš naujo 2021 is due to begin on Saturday 19 January.
What do you think of the Pabandom iš naujo 2021 lineup? Who would you like to see represent Lithuania at Eurovision 2021? Tell us your thoughts below!
Oh God. They’re all bad except for The Roop. They should just send The Roop without a selection.
There’s a part of me that wishes the Roop would just be internally selected, but that’s less my personal feelings and more based on the pandemic affecting Lithuania, where there’s been a major increase in cases. It’s gotten so bad in Lithuania that it’s been reported to be one of the worst hit European countries in recent weeks (at least that’s my impression–Lithuanian esc fans, can you chime in please). I almost question holding a selection when it might not be safe enough to do it, depending on what happens between now and the first scheduled heat. Maybe things could… Read more »
Yep, it’s bad. We are leading in Europe in cases per population. But I don’t think the national final will get cancelled, as this is the only show that brings LRT (the broadcaster) the most revenue. And yes, LRT would totally position money over health, as they have been casually doing for the whole year and didn’t cancel a single show. The NF will happen. Without the audience of course.
I wonder how it got so bad in Lithuania regarding COVID. This explosion just seems so recent. I hope things get better, and put it in perspective, no matter how bad your country is hit, be lucky you’re not living in America where I’m from–to say we dropped the ball on the virus is a massive understatement.
I wonder if the performances will be prerecorded in batches depending on person limits and then they air at once on the days of the national final.
The show won’t be much different from last year – recorded in the middle of the week and aired on Saturday. The performances were prerecorded in batches anyways, so no changes here.
Hi I’m Lithuanian and I can’t stand Lithuanian music. But the Roop was very different and original. Lithuanians music are copied from Russians trash and western countries. And so many of them can’t sing, just making music in the recording studio and fix’s with computer and after just miming on the stage. Just small group of music artists can name him self proper musician and so many of them work with international artists in Scandinavian, England, Germany, and in Lithuanian just left country side trash. Sorry I was very very hash, but this is reality
This would be totally true 15-20 years ago. You’re a bit late now, sir. Total nonsense.
What about Evelina Sašenko who competed at ESC2011 with “C’est ma vie”?
But you she just somewhere gon like the artist , and you can’t hear about her work and life like a musician and artist
Not that many artists i know, although its always good to see new faces.
Kinda sad that Evelina was forgotten in the article.
At this point its too early to call the victor, but since the roop is already qualified and has a huge following, i would say that they have a great chance of a second victory.
who cares, such a boring nf, would’ve been better to just internally select The Roop
Boring if you’ve last seen it years ago, yes. Last year’s rebranded PIN was shockingly good.
I agree ! From the staging to the camera shots, it was surprisingly good !
I’m looking forward to Brokenleg returning – they had a quirky song last year and hope they go for something similarly bold this year too.
Evelina Sasenko doesn’t even get a mention?
I’m really excited, especially to see Gabrielus and The Roop return. The Lithuanian preselection always feels like such a weird fever dream to me and I’m here for it!
So excited for this!
Lithuania never releases songs, they get revealed as the show progresses. Only 2 heats so it ain’t that bad of a wait.
So Ieva and Monique will no competing 😀 thanks god ( i love them, but The Roop should win !!)
Monique said she’s done with Eurovision forever.
if she really said that then i’m glad she’s done. i adored her and her song but if she has an attitude like that she has no right to represent lithuania ever
Ummm… I don’t know why you think that way. She has no attitude at all. Barely advertised her song, barely gave any interviews, did not cry or complain after losing like some participants did. She’s just very young, maybe that’s why it came across that way for you.
Tu neiteisus. Ji jau turi eurovizine daina tik su ja eis i atranka kitamet greiciausiai. Bikus sake parase jai jau daina
This year, things were messy. If I’m not mistaken, Monique’s studio version was released weeks after we already knew the song.
In a way, it made me always alert. 🙂 I found both good and bad sides to that kind of release process. At least they had one, unlike Dora. 🙁
Yessss! Gabrielius is in. “Tave cia randu” deserved much much better. The staging was a mess though.
My prediction over how the contestants will be broken up:
11 per heat, with 5 or 6 qualifying
12 in the semi-final, with 6 or 7 qualifying
7 or 8 in the final including the Roop.
Is that about right?
A shame that you mentioned twosome returning in the article but not Evelina Sasenko who represented Lithuania in 2011 and won her semifinal jury vote.
I don’t know, somebody else could win. You never know, and sometimes I’ve side-eyed certain choices winning over the wins (*ahem* 2017 and 2019).
All right, we’ve got our participants and a schedule. I just realized that based on the calendar, the final will happen on February 6th, which happens to be my birthday! Wouldn’t it be cool if the Roop win again, but I want to be open minded about other entrants in case somebody else wins. I see we’ve got a shorter schedule, probably due to the pandemic, but I hope everything goes well. Speaking of the pandemic though, for my all excitement and well wishes, I can’t help but be a little worried about Lithuania during the coronavirus pandemic. I was… Read more »
Chile, the clownery! Just send The Roop. At least it’s only 4 shows (still too long for this awful line-up).
What a weak line-up. No big names except for The Roop. Lithuania should be grateful they decided to try again! They worked with Universal Music on their new song so I have big hopes.
It sucks so hard that in the very first year that they had 1st place in the odds that eurovision got cancelled.. hope they get their win soon.
If the Roop have a strong successor song and they win the national final again, Lithuania could have a chance.
Evelina Sasenko is back too
Trying to find someone who cares lol
Hahahaha
I’m not gonna front and pretend that even if the other participants bring brilliant songs, Im not 100% rooting for The Roop.
I am just really happy to have Twosome back again. I am looking forward to something quirky. Hopefully it will be as entertaining as Playa or Hello.
I expected the Roop to be back, but it’s nice to have a confirmation. I hope their new song is as interesting as their last one.
While I wasn’t necessarily a big fan of Attention, I see Vilija as a charismatic performer and I hope she’ll deliver. Evelina Sašenko, what a vocal! And Gabrielius is back too!
Looking forward to it, for sure! 🙂
Twosome? Oh no.
Very excited for The Roop (obviously) and Gabrielius Vagelis (Tave Cia Randu was massively underrated in Pabandom Is Naujo and deserved better). The rest I don’t really have any expectations, but I’m willing to be impressed and also discover more Lithuanian talent!
Gabrielius for esc2022 then
What an effortless win for The Roop. I’m Lithuanian and this by far the WEAKEST list of all time. Half of the participants are Xfactor Lithuania participants, and not even the good ones. Thank God this freakshow is only 4 shows, otherwise I would be bored to death.
How can we judge if this is going to be a weak national selection if the songs aren’t released yet? I’d hold off judging until the songs are out.
I know all of them and their capabilities. Trust me, there won’t be any good songs from the majority of this lineup. They are just fillers. Out of 24 artists I can only see 3 that could actually bring some competition for The Roop: Gabrielius Vagelis, Evita Cololo and Milita Daikeryte. And that says it all.
You think this is rigged just to let the Roop win again? By that logic, why not just internally select them instead of saddling them with weaker competitors as you say they are?
Literally did not say that it’s “rigged”. As Una already mentioned, bigger artists did not bother to compete with The Roop as they are the elephant in the room. So the broadcaster filled the selection with a mediocre lineup out of desperation. I actually predicted this happening when Eurovision was cancelled and The Roop were not given a free ticket to Rotterdam.