The Georgian public has spoken. A new champion has been crowned at The Voice Georgia, and a new Eurovision star is born. Iru Khechanovi will represent Georgia at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool.

The former Junior Eurovision star beat out eight acts in the grand finale of The Voice Georgia. Iru’s song will be presented at a later date. 

The Voice Georgia 2023: Iru Khechanovi will represent Georgia at Eurovision 2023

The final of The Voice Georgia saw eight acts battle it out for the Georgian Eurovision ticket.

  • Lika Siradze
  • Tina Datikashvili
  • Anka Tatarashvili
  • Likuna Tutisani
  • Giorgi Datiashvili
  • Kakha Aslamazashvili
  • Iru Khechanovi
  • Tako Kakalashvili

In the end, Iru toppled the competition, picking up 21.88% of the total vote. 

Wiwibloggs’ poll winner Likuna Tutisani placed third. 

 
 
 
 
 
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Who is Iru Khechanovi?

Iru Khechanovi is a Georgian singer. She will represent Georgia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning the fifth season of The Voice Georgia. 

In 2011, Iru represented Georgia at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest as part of the girl-group Candy. Their sugar-loaded track “Candy Music” won the competition, scoring 108 points. 

Iru joins the lineup of Eurovision alumni who have competed at both the main show and the Junior show. Other acts who have completed the double include Malta’s Destiny and Greece’s and the Netherlands’ Stefania.

How do I watch The Voice Georgia final?

You can recap The Voice Georgia online via the TV show’s official Facebook page

What do you think? Did the right act win? Share your thoughts in the comments below. 

38 Comments
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Yankee
Yankee
1 year ago

Has anyone won Eurovision that previously won or performed at JESC?

microfibertowel
microfibertowel
1 year ago
Reply to  Yankee

no but I believe there are two seventh places from previous Junior Eurovision winners and one 10th place from a Junior Eurovision participant

Crystal
1 year ago
Reply to  Yankee

Not yet. Both the Tomalchevy Sisters and Destiny have the best finish in Eurovision so far, both finishing in 7th place.

johny
johny
1 year ago

awful choice, they had potential eurovision winner in Lika, just so special singer who live her songs, but they gave victory in the voice flat singing boring typical girl, mediocre but says that she is better then anyone and got offended that her coach said that it was hard to pick between her nad her opponent, awful person

microfibertowel
microfibertowel
1 year ago
Reply to  johny

She just said that she thought it was smart her coach chose her over her opponent due to her experience. The voice edited it so it looks like Iru said it was smart her coach chose her over her opponent because her opponent had broken some bones and withdrew.

Iru is friends with her opponent and did not mean it that way to be clear lol?

Leafar
Leafar
1 year ago

Georgia listen. You do wonders at JESC this is your time to shine at ESC too c’mon !

Jose Uribe
Jose Uribe
1 year ago

So excited for her. She’s the blond girl from Candy Music. One of the most memorable JESc contestants for how much confidence and attitude she exuded at such a young age.

Stuart
Stuart
1 year ago

Songwise it’s a snooze fest. Any music professional on the jury would quickly realize that the songwriting is pretty meh. The rhythm of the verse melody and the rhythm of the chorus melody are the exact same for almost the entirety of the song and, aside from a slight derivative in the mid8, never offers anything new. For three minutes.

And lyrically… well… I mean. Yah.

She might be able to deliver a decent vocal though. Staging might save it.

Good luck Georgia.

microfibertowel
microfibertowel
1 year ago
Reply to  Stuart

they haven’t chosen a song yet.

TMay
TMay
1 year ago
Reply to  Stuart

bro is reviewing something that doesn’t exist yet

Benito Camelo
Benito Camelo
1 year ago

My favorite contestant won! Idk what to expect from her entry yet, but Iru being chosen feels like a good omen for Georgia this year!

TMay
TMay
1 year ago
Reply to  Benito Camelo

I really expect them to make it out of the semis finallu

Ari
Ari
1 year ago

I know Georgia left zero impact in a Eurovision final since what was it, 2016? But excluding the terribly boring 2017, I think they have consistently been one of the least bad countries in terms of music because they never sent offensively bad entries. They always had merit and were different. I think they are among those whose music sucked the least.

Jay
Jay
1 year ago
Reply to  Ari

2017 was not boring. You just have no soul

Thanos
Thanos
1 year ago

Haven’t followed the Voice of Georgia. Which genre of music do you think we must expect from them? (They usually are really creative in this sector)

Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
1 year ago
Reply to  Thanos

This screams Greece 2021 to me

microfibertowel
microfibertowel
1 year ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

which honestly would be great haha
Last Dance was my #1

johny
johny
1 year ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

she is too bland for such songs

DavidESC
DavidESC
1 year ago
Reply to  Thanos

Hopefully not Keep the Faith 2.0

Vivian
Vivian
1 year ago

Oh this was one of the girls from the JESC 2011 act! I remember LOVING it when I watched that. Good luck Georgia, I hope that with them being in a weaker semifinal (probably) that means we’ll finally see them qualify again for the first time since 2016!

Thallo
Thallo
1 year ago

If they give IRU a song as good as Mariam Bigava’s JESC entry, she could land Georgia their best result ever.

gjon's tears of joy
gjon's tears of joy
1 year ago
Reply to  Thallo

Iru even wrote the lyrics for Mariam’s song last year 😉

sam
sam
1 year ago

i believe this is the first time a former JESC participant will represent georgia at the big contest. they’re the most successful country at JESC, so i have high hopes that iru will deliver us something great

Vivian
Vivian
1 year ago
Reply to  sam

I believe the only other ones are the Tolmachevy Twins (Russia 2006 – 2014), OG’3NE (Lisa, Amy & Shelly) (Netherlands 2007 – 2017) and Destiny Chukunyere (Malta 2015 – 2020/2021)

sam
sam
1 year ago
Reply to  Vivian

don’t forget stefania!

Ria van de Velde
Ria van de Velde
1 year ago
Reply to  sam

And for get not Nevena from Serbia

DavidESC
DavidESC
1 year ago

Ieva Zasimauskaite was also in the Junior Eurovision. She was a backing vocalist in 2007

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Vivian

Actually, there are several more Junior Eurovision artists you left off who also participated at the grown up contest. Poland’s Weronika Bochat of KWADro (2004) was a backing singer for Marcin Mrozi?ski in 2010 Nevena Božovi? (2007) was the first Junior Eurovision artist to represent as a main artist and the only two time participant as of now. She first competed with Moje 3 in 2013 and competed as a solo artist in 2019. San Marino’s Michele Perniola (2013) and Anita Simoncini from the Peppermints (2014) competed as a duo for 2015. Armenia’s Monica Manucharova (2008) was a backing singer… Read more »

Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
1 year ago

Georgia, welcome to the final and glory again!

Karl
Karl
1 year ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We don’t even have a song. I hope they don’t fook it up by choosing a boring balad. I do hope Georgia make the final. It’s been too long. But a boring ballad in a televote-only semifinal is probably not the best way to go about it.

Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
1 year ago
Reply to  Karl

I don’t think they’re gonna send ballad, I expect something like Greece 2021, definitely something uptempo and fun.

Nikita Zhukov
Nikita Zhukov
1 year ago

Good luck to Georgia
It’s been a while since we’ve seen them in the grand final, hopefully this year will be the end of their NQ streak

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago

I have a question that’s been bugging me. Do each of the eight finalists have an original song already in their back pocket to compete at eurovision with, or are they going to be assigned to a newly compose song after the voice is over?

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
1 year ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

My guess is the delegation has a handful of songs picked out that they can revamp into the winner’s style, whoever it is. The voice is usually not a comptetition for established artists, so I wouldn’t count on them necessarily having purchased or written a song in anticipation. And February might be too late to start workshopping something completely new when the song has to be submitted to the EBU in March.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Elizabeth

Yeah, I suspect there might already be some composed songs already, but in a demo stage so they can modify to fit the winner’s style of singing whoever that will be. I don’t think a new song will be composed from scratch within a month.

Joe
Joe
1 year ago

I’m just begging for Georgia to have a song as good as their ambitions are lofty. That hasn’t happened in too long and hopefully their singer will inspire great things so they can FINALLY qualify again.

Andy
Andy
1 year ago

One Liverpool ticket and 8 runners ! Good luck to all and let the game begin

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago

Good luck to everyone tonight! May the best singer win tonight and we should welcome them to Liverpool.