Lithuania started their quest to find an act for Eurovision 2023 on Saturday. Heat 1 of Pabandom iš naujo 2023 included 15 competing acts.
But only ten of them could secure a place in the semi-finals.
The public and jury have had their say, and the results are confirmed.
Pabandom iš naujo 2023 heat 1 results
Jury vote
- Rūta Mur – 12 points
- Justė Kraujelytė – 10 points
- Alen Chicco – 8 points
- Paulina Paukštaitytė – 7 points
- Gabrielius Vagelis – 6 points
- Baiba – 5 points
- NOY – 4 points
- Luknė – 3 points
- IL SENSO – 2 points
- Joseph June – 1 point
- Aistė Pilvelytė – 0 points
- W.I – 0 points
- Justa Rubežiūtė – 0 points
- Multiks – 0 points
- Justin 3 feat. Dj AugustYno – 0 points
Public vote
- Rūta Mur – 12 points
- Gabrielius Vagelis – 10 points
- NOY – 8 points
- Alen Chicco – 7 points
- IL SENSO – 6 points
- Paulina Paukštaitytė – 5 points
- Joseph June – 4 points
- Justė Kraujelytė – 3 points
- Justa Rubežiūtė – 2 points
- Multiks – 1 point
- Baiba – 0 points
- Aistė Pilvelytė – 0 points
- Luknė – 0 points
- Justin 3 feat. Dj AugustYno – 0 points
- W.I – 0 points
Combined result
- Rūta Mur – “So Low”
- Gabrielius Vagelis – “Šauksmas”
- Alen Chicco – “Do You”
- Justė Kraujelytė – “Need More Fun”
- Paulina Paukštaitytė – “Let Me Think About Me”
- NOY – “Destiny’s Child”
- II SENSO – “Sparnai”
- Joseph June – “Vacuum”
- Baiba – “When the Lights Go Out”
- Luknė – “Paradise”
- Justa Rubežiūtė – “When I’ll Find”
- Multiks – “London”
- Aistė Pilvelytė – “We’re Not Running”
- Justin 3 feat. Dj AugustYno – “Not Giving Up”
- W.I – “You Can Not”
Running order
- Aistė Pilvelytė – “We’re Not Running”
- Joseph June – “Vacuum”
- Il Senso – “Sparnai”
- W.I – “You Can Not”
- Multiks – “London”
- Luknė – “Paradise”
- Gabrielius Vagelis – “Šauksmas”
- Alen Chicco – “Do You”
- Rūta Mur – “So Low”
- Justin 3 feat. Dj AugustYno – “Not Giving Up”
- Baiba – “When the Lights Go Out”
- Justa Rubežiūtė – “When I’ll Find”
- Noy – “Destiny’s Child”
- Paulina Paukštaitytė – “Let Me Think About Me”
- Justė Kraujelytė – “Need More Fun”
Who stood out to you in heat 1 of Pabandom iš naujo 2023? Can any of these acts go on to win the whole competition? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
I can’t unhear it now. The intro for Lukné’s “Paradise” is basically the same as the one for Raylee’s “Wild”.
Funny enough, I find myself singing the chorus to Victor Crone’s troubled waters when I hear paradise because the music composition sounds similiar.
Only two songs in Lithuanian? Really? Shame.
For this heat. There are actually five Lithuanian language songs in total and the other three are in heat two. Yes, it is a shame that there aren’t more Lithuanian language songs competing after Monika Liu, but what can you do about it?
The only reason I’m looking forward for this NF is because of Petunija’s song.
That song gives me Duncan Laurence, Jury winner vibes, if chosen Lithuania’s streak of respectable result will fortunately continue because I can’t see any of the other songs in this NF doing well except for this one, so please Lithuania choose this if you want to possibly get your best result ever..
While I do enjoy love of my life, I didn’t really feel winner vibes from it because I think it’s a bit too low-key to be a winner, but it would still be a very good and respectable choice for Lithuania. Then again, I didn’t think Amar pelos doisWould win in 2017, and it did. Lithuania sent a similar low-key track in 2018 with when we’re old and it qualified when I didn’t think it would. I do want to wait for the other songs in heat 2 to to be released to see if it actually stacks up as… Read more »
I just reported that in another comment section on here. That’s a shame because it was my favorite song from Malta. And there’s another potential disqualification from Denmark, because Reiley performed his song in South Korea last autumn. It’s under review right now, but if this does result his disqualification, that means we have four disqualifications for this Eurovision season after Latvia and Lithuania. Has there ever been a Eurovision season with this many disqualifications or more before?
Oh no. Reiley is my favorite from Denmark :/
He’s not disqualified yet. As I said, according to the article I read on another Eurovision new site, it’s under review.
Good news, Reiley is not disqualified, but two songs from Moldova have been disqualified. Man, I’ve never seen so many disqualifications in the Eurovision season before.
Is Gabrielius Vagelis of Greek origin? Vagelis is a Greek name, LOL
it’s apparently most widespread in latvia according to forebears
Vagelis – male diminutive of “Vaga” (meaning “furrow”). So basically “Little furrow”. Greek and Lithuanian surnames do sound similar though! When I hear a Greek name, I sometimes check if they’re Lithuanian by any chance haha
Makes you wonder how close they are to Proto-Indo-European.
And isn’t Lithuanian the one living language with the closest resemblance to Proto Indo European? I wonder how many loanwords they have absorbed from Polish and Russian and another languages based on their history with those countries.
It is the least evolved of existing Indo-European languages, still retaining its Proto-Indo-European features that other languages have lost through development. Like every language, yes, we do have loanwords, but not a lot. I could not understand a Polish or Russian person, nor they could understand me. Their cursewords though – yes, we like those haha
Of course, you would retain the curse words as loanwords. They can be fun. What features does the Lithuanian language have that other European languages have shedded over the centuries? I watch a linguistic channel on YouTube called Langfocus and I would love for him to do a video on the Latvian and Lithuanian languages, which hasn’t happened yet but I can dream.https://www.youtube.com/@Langfocus/videos
Some features include:
I don’t get the hype over “So Low”. I recognize the qualities of the song, well produced and with a nice 80’s vibe but I don’t buy the song at all. Nothing makes me feel wow. I hope something better will come out of the songs in the next heat.
So, if, in your words, it is of a good quality , well produced and has a nice 80’s vibe, why you still don’t get the hype? 🙂
Somebody can acknowledge the qualities of a song, and still not understand the hype for it. I’m in a similar boat here. I like so low, but I don’t really love it enough to think it would be a good option for Eurovision. if it goes, I won’t mind it, but I can’t see it being a big favorite of mine among the other Eurovision songs. Even though there’s only televote in the semifinals, which is Lithuania’s big advantage, would be strong enough to attract a lot of votes outside of the diaspora voting in Ireland, Norway, and United kingdom,… Read more »
There will never be a song everyone likes. And in fact I don’t see too much hype about so low in here either. But I do have a hype about it just because of those things the previous person mentioned. Love good production and quality songs.
About the voting and winning – we shall see, if the song from lithuania deserves – they will win, if not – someone else will. It is all an entertainment to me.
Of course, you can’t please everybody. And you don’t have to like everything. You just gravitate towards the songs that speak to you. I really would like to see Lithuania do very well at Eurovision, maybe one day breach into the top five for their best result ever, but it may or may not be in the cards for this year. Of course, it will depend on what we get for heat two if they have something that’s truly competitive, but this could be a weak year for them and they could end up staying behind the semifinal for the… Read more »
Totally agree. It is still very early, let’s enjoy all selections for now and we shall see on a day 🙂
I agree. Let’s put a cap on discussions about winning songs are qualifying entries until everything is out. I just wanna listen to the songs and see what I like.
“So Low” is just amazing. So much 80’s flair. Wouldn’t mind if he wins it all.
Ok, just found out that HE is actually a SHE. But I stick to my opinion 😉
I love Gabrielius’s song. Would be a pleasure to watch him at Eurovision. Good luck!
Not that I take them seriously, but I took a check on the odds and Lithuania slipped down to ninth place, but that’s still not bad because it’s still within the top 10. Still, I hope the heat two is stronger so the lithuania can maintain a top 10 presence in the odds any (not that I really care anyway, I was just curious).
Too early for odds…
Fair enough. That’s my attitude too. I don’t really care that much about odds anyway.
They’re good indications on what the fandom wants though. If one performance can raise your country ranking from 20-ish place to 8th place, it’s probably a good sign with a meaning “People like it”. And vice versa.
IMHO Gabrielius once again soooooo boring. Hope R?ta or Justé for the ESC (and waiting for Heat 2)
I have a feeling heat two might be the stronger heat because four songs for that heat are already out, and I already like them more than most of the songs of this heat (although I do have my faves here—Gabrielius, Paulina and Ruta—in that order).
I added some songs to my playlist, and that chorus of “Need More Fun” is addictive. If there’s a sidebar competition here and elsewhere to see who can be the most 80s, this wins it for me.
I’m loving “So Low”. So magical and nostalgic. I was really carried away by it. Ruta’s voice is impressing. Maybe I would ditch the hat.
I’m also happy for Gabrielius. He has come up with a good staging at last. I think that’s been his biggest problem in his past participations. However, I prefer some of the other songs he brought to the contest.
Both are my 1st and 2nd right now.
Ruta Mur : so good but it’s not my winner and I hope she not win …
Gabrielius Vagelis : so good, Lithuanian song I love it ! his best song compared to the others he had done
Paulina : good pop song, she deserves more than this place… I can see her in the final!
Justé : charisma, joke act but it’s gooood !
Alen Chicco : beautiful voice and stage
Now, heat 2 with Agné, Petunija, Gebrasy, Antikvariniai & Monika Linkyté & Mario Junes !!
I liked Ruta MUR performance, she was definitely giving us a quality performance. I even get the nostalgic feelings it brings to some people. However, I think ESC 2023 will be filled with 80s disco inspired songs. This could easily be lost among the 20+ other entries that (I predict) will have similarities. Additionally, Lithuania herself sent two songs in a row inspired by retro disco. Personally, I’m sick of looking back in time and resurrecting the goofy oldies of the 1980s. It was fun a few years ago, but now it has become too repetitive. Thus, I will root… Read more »
But did that type of music actually get any airplay in Lithuania during the 80s when it was still an involuntary Soviet republic at the time? I can imagine there’s probably an underground movement to listen to banned music.
Lithuanians in the Soviet Union were not savages who had no idea what was going on in the rest of the world or what trends existed at the time. We had quite a diverse music selection. Particularly in the 80s and 90s. Songs by artists such as CC Catch, Modern Talking, Suzi Quatro, Alphaville, and Desireless come to mind as prime examples of what was listened to. There was also a huge interest in variety music, especially that sung in Lithuanian, French, and Italian. I think the reason behind the 80s and 90s music revival is the fact that the… Read more »
I apologize for my ignorance.
Everything is fine; we all make assumptions based on what we are told. I believed for a long time that Africa was one big starving desert before I started to work in the migration field. Until then, I had no objective perspective as to what Africa was or how people lived there. I blame it on the media for forming a very narrow view and on myself for not thinking independently enough.
Our family friends are from Lithuania, he was a dj in his time back in 70’s and used to play supertramp and menfriend manns earth band – that not even every person in developed countries would know, though they are extraordinary musically and vocally. Later on Pet shop boys was a thing he told us. So for sure, access to music in lithuania was versatile.
I really love these insights into regular peoples history because you don’t often get that perspective in your history class. You get caught up with the political history that you don’t think about what the average person was doing outside the halls of power.
Totally and it is not possible to know without talking to someone from that country, because all we got is media and then we just have our assumptions and understanding. Loved to listen to this Lithuanian friends story 🙂
Rut Mur heavily influenced by Depeche Mode i think circa 1982!
Exactly my opinion.
Ruta Mur on repeat
I’ve seen all of the performances now, and I think that this semi had a lot of middle of the road entries. Not many bad ones, not many good ones either. Gabrielius Vagelis was hands down my winner tonight. Very lovely song with a great flow in the chorus. I like that it’s dark and mystical. Ruta Mur would come second with her vibey synth song. She did a great job of transporting me in time. I’d probably want some sort of build-up, but it’s still a nice song. I can’t believe I’m saying this, as I disliked the previously… Read more »
Here is a ranking of the view counts of all 15 heat 1 songs (as of 1/21/23 and rounded up):
I think I just realized something that might explain the weird results of heat 1. We didn’t expect Ruta Mur to win the heat (maybe be a semi finalist at best), but her song So Low was one of the earliest songs that was released for Lithuania before most of the songs of this heat were even out (four months ago to be exact), so people may have already had some familiarity with So Low and that’s why it won the heat. On the other hand, four of the five singers that didn’t qualify tonight–Aist? Pilvelyt?, Multiks,Justin 3 feat. Dj… Read more »
I think the top ten in the odds is because of Petunija. She’s going to perform in the second heat with Love Of My Life. I suggest you to watch it on Youtube and you can see why! Amazing song and voice!
I have heard Love of My Life and I do think it’s a really good song, but I am still reserving judgment of it being one of the best songs until the rest of the songs are out for heat 2.
People said it was because of Pauline’s performance before the heat 1 but maybe it’s because of Gabrielus popularity. The heat 2 has already been recorded?
I think you may be right in this theory. I can only speak from my own perspective, but I much prefer hearing the songs 2-3 times before making some judgment. Especially when hearing it for the first time ever on stage, other things, like stying and set design, can draw away attention. While I don’t think it’s the only reason Ruta Mur won (after seeing all the performances, I’d put her as 2nd after Gabrielius), it certainly helped.
Well, I would bet on Ruta doing well at Eurovision with THAT voice!
Gabrielius did’t came up higher because of jury votes. In televote he got only ~100 votes less than the 1st place and ~400 more than the 3rd, so the result is quite great. But the jury gave him only 5th place!
Always the same story with jury points to Gabrielius:) and that’s sad, because a lot of people are really rooting for him…
Joseph June all the way! ?
The question mark was supposed the sunglasses emoji.
* to be, dammit
I think the semi finals will be as far as Joseph June goes, same as last year. Doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy him though. I have liked songs that never make it to the final of these national selections.
Yep, I guess you’re right.
If I may suggest a few notes for next year. While I appreciate Lithuania cutting down the number of competing entries and shows for this year, I think we could cut down the number of qualifiers from 10 to 8-9 for the semi finals so more of the weaker songs are left behind.
I think there’s a fault in the format where somebody qualifies on 3 points.
No fault it is just their way of scoring
When you allow 10 out of 15 qualifiers to go through, you’re going to get a few weaker songs going through that shouldn’t go through at least in my opinion. Also, it all depends on the combo of points.
Depends. That kind of ratio would probably do justice at Sanremo or MGP. PIN usually has a strong top batch, but not as many solid middle-level entries to warrant so many qualifiers. Same goes for Malta.
I think you may have hit the crux of the problem with this national final. Yes, Lithuania can have strong songs, but they are constantly surrounded by a lot of crap to put it bluntly. It’s really going to take a lot of filtering to see who is strong enough to make an impact at Eurovision.
Ok I watched the show, Gabrielus, Pauline and Alen Chicco were my fav songs/performances, I didn’t know what to expect with the results since Lithuania is pretty unpredictable, Fusedmarc remains a mistery for me, and again really surprised to see R?ta Mur at the top but it’s deserved her perf was good, it’s just that it wasn’t under my radar comparing to others, anyway, big congrats to all the qualifiers.
*mYstery….
Rain of Revolution was also a misery to listen to, so you’re not fair off.
Lol from mystery to misery 😉
Rain of Revolution is still one of my guilty pleasures. YahYah, Yah Yah!!
Why not, you have totally the right, I mean if they managed to win their NF it’s because they were an audience for that song but personally I didn’t see appeal in it that’s why it’s still a mystery for me.
It’s their choice at the end of the day, even if it baffles us.
PIN really stepped up its production game. Even though there’s no clear winner yet, the performances looked great! No one was mistreated. I’m 100% sure we’ll see the winner in heat 2.
Or, we may have seen her!
Petunija? I think she’s the reason why Lithuania is 8th in the odds haha
Well done to LRT and everyone involved. I have watched all of these performances back, and I have two burning questions.
1. During the performance for “Not Giving Up,” was the lead singer’s show supposed to fly off at the start?
2. For “Need More Fun,” the singer appeared to be completely missing from the stage for the first half of the song. Was this a mistake, or was this intentional?
It’s shoe, not show* (typo)
For 2. it intentional!
I figure they were going for a Robert Palmer mannequin/Grace Jones robot kind of thing but it seems like kind of a bad choice to make the main performer one of the clones. I liked the song, though.
Of the NQs, I’ll only miss “London,” which tapped into an 80s jangle-pop sound a little bit different than the 80s neon-synth sound dominating here and elsewhere. Maybe just a little wan, a little too cute with the topic.
I was so-so on the “So Low” studio track as some other people seem to be, but liked the performance here.
My favorite moment was Alen exposing his nipples and then saying “hey.” 🙂
I hadn’t listened to most of the songs before this heat (they weren’t even released if i remember correctly) so I was going into this quite blindly. I think most songs were meh at best but still pretty good quality, especially the overall stagings of the songs. The ones I quite liked were Joseph June’s Vacuum, Lukne’s Paradise and Juste Kraujelyte’s Need more fun. I kind of don’t understand the hype with Ruta Mur’s song even though it’s enjoyable but overall nothing much for me.As a whole, I’m happy with the qualifiers as all of the ones I liked or… Read more »
I personally don’t put up high expectations for the Lithuania because I’m aware that the majority of the songs will be crap, so I just hope for the gems to rise to the top.
Why you say crap songs? Recently lithuania is really showing quality..
The hype around Ruta is not only her great live voice, but also the staging, particularly at the beginning of the song and the 80s vibe, but not the energy we’re normally used to. This Yazoo levels of melancoly that we really haven’t seen much of.
This easily could’ve been a semi-final with R?ta Mur, Gabrielius Vagelis, Alen Chicco, Just? Kraujelyt?, and Paulina Paukštaityt? qualifying for the final.
I feel like we could’ve just gotten away with eight semifinalists from this heat. I wonder and hope that heat two will be stronger. I like The four heat 2 songs that are already out more than most of the songs here, but I like the ones you listed that qualified tonight (other than juste).
I am the only one who heard in Lukne’s song – Rayle (Norway 2020 – almost same melody)
Me too! I was telling a friend of mine part of the songs sounded like Raylee – Wild.
song
Ruta/Gabrielius/Noy could challenge – others are out
Ruta, Paulina and Juste by far the best tonight.
I just watched the performance of the winner of the heat. I don’t think I wanna listen to the other 9 now lol.
Checking out the other 9. I heard nothing I liked. Good performances overall it’s just the songs are meh at best.
Disagree. Nothing meh about quite a few of them
I admit, I was surprised that Ruta Mur ended up winning both jury and televote for the heat. It was a good performance, but I wonder if it being released really early compared to the entries helped in her favor.
So pleased for Ruta Mur. It’s very rare that my favourite is a winner with juries and the televote. I am so pleased for her, it was such an accomplished and unique performance and the song is great. I’d be really pleased if she made it to Eurovision.
Ruta deserved it. Performance really grabbed me. Really works. What a nice surprise.
Gabrielius was also very good.
Jury must be drunk giving 5 points to Baiba, 7 points to Paulina, 6 points to Gabrielius and 10 points to Just? Kraujelyt?. Now I’m worried we’re turning back to EDKNA results after some successful years. I hope the voting will become more rational in the Semis.
I wouldn’t worry too much. Ruta Mur was the clear standout in this semi, and they placed first with both jury and public.
With a wide net, some bad fish will inevitably get caught into it. Yeah, there are definitely some weird results, but I think after heat 2 airs, things might smooth out.
But on the other hand, they weren’t biased towards Aist? Pilvelyt? because of past entries so she was eliminated fairly.
The results were as follows (Top ten qualified): R?ta MUR – “So Low” – 12+12 – 24 points Gabrielius Vagelis – “Šauksmas” (Shout) – 6+10- 16 points Alen Chicco – “Do You” – 8+7 – 15 points Just? Kraujelyt? – “Need More Fun” – 10+3 – 13 points NOY – “Destiny’s Child” – 4+8 – 12 points Paulina Paukštaityt? – “Let Me Think About Me” – 7+5 – 12 points Il Senso – “Sparnai” (Wings) – 2+6 – 8 points Joseph June – “Vacuum” – 2+4 – 6 points Baiba – “When the Lights Go Out” – 5+0 – 5… Read more »
disappointed with Aist? Pilvelyt? – “We’re Not Running”
I mean disappointed with Aiste Pilvelyte – “We’re Not Running”
Big name out!
As it should – the song was rly let down
No real shocker, Baiba made it, that’s kind of unexpected, but she will undoubtedly be eliminated in the semi. And I’m not sure why Juste Kraujelyte is so popular. The rest seems about right to me. Lukne was a little low, I blame it on the dress.
Just? Kraujelyt? did make the final last year, although I don’t like her song this year as much as her previous entry.
Yes, I remember. I wasn’t sure why she was so popular last year, either.
Lukne is copy of Rayle (Norway 2020 NS) – melody
Ruta low came first over all
I would say it was deserved. Distinctive vocals, one of the best songs of the night, strong chorus.
For those who stopped watching, Gabrielius was 2nd, Alen Chicco 3rd, Paulina only 5th.
Haven’t felt winner vibes tonight (Lithuania spoiled me with Monika Liu, The Roop, Ruta Loop, Moniqué… so my expectations are quite high about them now), but Gabrielius, Ruta Mur, Lukné (she’s so bubbly!) and Paulina were my highlights of the 1st semi.
Gabrielius and Ruta will fight on the top of the scoreboard, I suppose. Though he has been overlooked before, so we never know.
Yeah, Ruta Mur was the one I was feeling most, but I wouldn’t be opposed to giving the track another spin in the studio.
Just watched the video, amazing quality. To me it is awesome an the fact that she nailed it live makes it even more wow
I would say the song doesn’t need a revamp per say, but could benefit from some changes do become more competitive.
About Gabrielius, I also missed a hook. Which is a pity, because it has it all: his gorgeous tone, production values, he hasn’t messed up with staging this time… but it’s one of those songs it will take a while to memorize.
I don’t think, Gabrielius can win with this song, but everything else is fixed, so it’s just a matter of time.
I am mesmerised by Ruta tbh
Now that all 15 songs of heat 1 have been performed, here is my personal ranking:
I admit I wasn’t wowed by favourites Gabrielius and Paulina. Not bad, but my winners are Alen and Ruta.
Liked them too
Since ten songs are qualifying for the semis, I don’t think we’ll lose anything noteworthy tonight, will we?
wow 10 songs are you sure about that?
Apparently so
Juros praising Ruta Mur
Paulina Paukstaityte sounded good during the verses, but the chorus is kind of shrieky. I’m not sure about this.
“Need more fun” wants to be electro and disco at the same time. The singer not being on stage for two thirds of the performance was kind of strange.
Yeah noticed that. Haha. Thought she might never appear!!
Yeah, that was a weird choice.
I need more fun – lost after Paulina’s song
amazing, show stopping, never seen before – PAULINA!! omg
Are you Being serious, or sarcastic?
what do you think?
Okay, PAULINA is my winner of PIN 2023 at the moment. Gabrielius is awesome, but Paulina was simply flawless at everything. I want her to win the national selection. Damn gurl, you go!!!
Sameee here
For now, Paulina and Gabrielius are the two singers I would love to see you at eurovision. We’ll see if next week brings us more potential contenders but for now, they will do.
It feels to me as if I have heard Baiba’s song before – 40 years ago. I’m not into this.
With Justa Rubeziute we’re back in the karaoke bar. Perhaps I’ll like this better in the studio cut, it’s kind of bouncy, but her singing is distracting me from the actual melody.
The bubbly retro synth of “Destiny’s child” is catchy, but his singing was flat, and the melody hasn’t got a lot of variation to it.