All pictures: D. Umbraso (LRT)

After two heats and two semi-finals, ten acts remain in Lithuania’s Pabandom iš Naujo 2023. Only one of those ten will be able to fly the Lithuanian tricolour and represent the Baltic nation at Eurovision in Liverpool.

Unlike recent years, the national selection seems to be a more open race in 2023. Although Beatrich and Rūta Mur emerged victorious in their heats and semis, neither managed to win the televoting in their semi-final. Instead, Il Senso claimed the public votes in semi-final one, and MoonBee did the same thing during the second semi.

We’ll find out Lithuania’s winner on 18 February, when the grand final takes place. But for the time being, we want to know your opinion. Who do you think should represent Lithuania this May in Liverpool?

Pabandom iš Naujo 2023 finalists

Click on the song titles to watch the semi-final performances.

Poll: Who should win Lithuania’s Pabandom iš Naujo 2023?

In this poll, you can vote for as many of your favourites as you wish to. But remember you can only vote once – so choose wisely!

Grand final details

Like earlier shows of the selection, both a jury and SMS votes will decide the winner of Pabandom iš Naujo 2023. The only difference is that the show will not be recorded and will instead be broadcast live inside one of LRT’s studios, located in the country’s capital Vilnius.

As with the semi-finals, Giedrius Masalskis and Augustė Nombeko will also host the grand final.

Who are you rooting for in the grand final? Do you think any of these acts can help to keep Lithuania’s qualification streak at Eurovision? Let us know in the comments below.

72 Comments
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Jamie
Jamie
1 year ago

Tvorchi will perform as guests!

Saya
Saya
1 year ago

I think Ruta will win

Let’s called it Jury fav I mean would probably get highest vote from JURY
Ruta, Beatrich and Putunija will fight for 12 points

Meanwhile Televotes
Ii Senso and Moonbee surprisingly doing so well with Televotes follow up by Ruta, Paulina and Monika.

Juarez Neto
Juarez Neto
1 year ago

Paulina, R?ta and Gabrielius are all fantastic, I really can’t pick one.

lasse braun
lasse braun
1 year ago

team ruta & the bees is here!

🙂

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  lasse braun

Who are the bees? I’m confused.

lasse braun
lasse braun
1 year ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

they are flying to the moon.
🙂

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago

All right, I’m heading off to a Doctor Who convention today, so I’m not gonna be able to comment much this weekend, but I want to say something. Everyone has a different favorite for Lithuania, but there can only be one winner and whoever wins this Saturday, can we all be civil to the winner and each other? I’m sick of people throwing temper tantrums because the outcome wasn’t what they wanted. Whatever the outcome will be, Please don’t spread hate on the winner or people who like the winner, but also don’t be too obnoxious to others that your… Read more »

Jamie
Jamie
1 year ago

Anything but Ruta Mur. So boring.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Jamie

Who do you want then?

Jamie
Jamie
1 year ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

Anyone but Ruta Mur. Can’t stand her voice, bleh.

Diana
Diana
1 year ago

100% rooting for Ruta mur. Only song in the final that I love

amar pelos dois
amar pelos dois
1 year ago
Reply to  Diana

Me too, dear Diana !

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
1 year ago

This is a really close call, in my opinion. A lot of these entries are quite good songs, performers and/or concepts that just don’t quite have that “winner” factor. Wherever you look, something is missing. Normally I would send “the one at the piano” (Petunija), except that unfortunately in 2023, Estonia’s Alika is already representing us emotional pianists very well. Sigh. So, what next? Would an ‘80s British throwback song (“So low”) stand out in Liverpool, or would Beatrich’s band sound be more mainstream? Then there are the belter singers – You’d think you can’t go wrong with Paulina’s vocal… Read more »

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

It’s definitely difficult to say who should be the representative because I think it could be anyone, but don’t forget that things can be elevated at the eurovision stage whoever goes. An open field can actually be really exciting because you’re truly on the edge of your seat of who’s gonna win. It could be you’re truly on the edge of your seat of who’s going to win. It could be unpredictable. I do think, though, that’s gonna come down to Ruta Mur and Beatrich , because they’re the only two singers that have won their heat and semifinal over… Read more »

Sabrina
Sabrina
1 year ago

No runaway winner this time. When I’ve listened to the original/extended version of Petunija’s song, I though she would become my favorite, but I haven’t felt the same way about her PiN’s performances. I have a sweet spot for Gabrielius, but I think his song misses memorable moments.

So I guess I would go with Ruta Mur. “So Low” is a good 80’s throwback powered by a very interesting voice. Wouldn’t complain if Lithuania picked Beatrich though. Her song is just fine, but her energy and stage presence are wonderful.

Benito Camelo
Benito Camelo
1 year ago
Reply to  Sabrina

I’d be fine with either Beatrich or Ruta too! Both have an edge for me, the former performance-wise and the latter song-wise

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago

Out of curiosity, I made a top ten based on the points each song got across both semi finals to see where they land up. I don’t know or think the real results will resemble it but I just wanted to see a hypothetical result based on semi final ranking. Note that for ties I put the song with the higher jury score above as the rules spell it out. Beatrich–Like a Movie–20 (12 jury, 8 televote) Ruta Mur–So Low–20 (10 jury, 10 televote) Petunija–Love of My Life–19 Paulia–Let me Think About Me–18 Monika Linkyte–Stay–17 (10 jury, 7 televote) Moonbee–Rumor–17… Read more »

Héctor
Héctor
1 year ago

Ruta Mur took me places the first time I listened to “So Low”. I can relate to the lyrics and I love this kind of retro 80s heavy synthed music. I’m a melancholic, yep. And this give me the feels, straigh to the core. I don’t think it will be appreciate by the televote if winning but I would be glad to see this act on the Eurovision stage.

Beatrich and Gabrielius would be my 2nd and 3rd options.

Anoni
Anoni
1 year ago

Oooof, I am so sorry but I can’t get the hype about the fan favorites… Beatrich’s song is okay but Ruta Mur’s….My favorites(Need more fun and Do what you do) have zero chances of winning so I don’t think there’s any point in me watching the final this Saturday.

Xxx
Xxx
1 year ago

I want like 6-7 of them at the Eurovision. Can Lithuania give some of them to other countries?

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Xxx

I take it you haven’t listened to all 30 songs of the selection. I have, and the majority of them are not worth your time (other thing get Gebrasy , who Sadly didn’t make it). You came in at the perfect time to get invested with Lithuania because their final is this week.

Jamie
Jamie
1 year ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

That’s what I will always say – PIN is too long. They don’t need 30 songs when only 6 really good ones fight in the final anyways. If 80% of songs have no chance, what’s the point of having them?

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Jamie

Well, this is fewer songs than usual and they did shave off a show, so it’s a step in the right direction. Yes, I wish there were more high quality songs and less filler, but I am satisfied with most of the finalists we got here.

Pat
Pat
1 year ago

Paulina for the win please!

Amar pelos dois
Amar pelos dois
1 year ago

Ruta Mur or Gabrielius. Please not Beatriche !

Devitto
1 year ago

I would like to see Paulina or Petunija winning the most. Strategically speaking, Petunija is probably a better choice when surrounded by fast music. However, I think Beatrich will win. May I say, I find either Paulina, Petunija, Beatrich, Mario Junes, Ruta Mur or Monika Linkyte to be a pretty decent representative. However, I think only Petunija and Beatrich with decent luck at running order, could reach TOP-10, the others I’ve mentioned are probably all qualifiers, but anywhere between 15th and 25th spot placer as 26th traditionally is reserved for Germany.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Devitto

But Estonia also has a piano playing female ballad in semifinal two and I don’t want those two countries to fight it out. I like Petunija don’t get me wrong, but she seems more favored by the jury than the Tele vote in this selection and since there are no juries in the Eurovision semi finals, that could be a problem. Though lithuania usually does better with the televote than jury anyway, so who knows. While I am fond of many of these finalists, I believe Beatrich would be the best choice because I could see it as an energetic… Read more »

Thallo
Thallo
1 year ago

Let Me Think About Me is so good, I’m surprised it’s only 4th in this poll.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Thallo

Actually, it’s number three as of now. It’s kind of close.

Zanoni
Zanoni
1 year ago

Petunija sounded like an instant classic to me– in its 3:30 version. I’ve still enjoyed her PIN performances, but the song has felt unbalanced between chorus and verse and an outro that needs to be cut down. Beatrich has undeniable star power and a hooky song that might just be too simple. Paulina has brought the performances with a good-enough song. I love Mario’s song’s swagger but I don’t know if the personality stands out enough. Juste has the dumb earworm that I was quite addicted to for a while. Ruta is the one that I don’t quite get– it… Read more »

Escfan
1 year ago

I haven’t really been following this selection but I think I saw Ruta Mur ranking well with the jury and televote so im assuming thats one of the favourites.

I like a few songs that I heard in the selection:
Beatrich
Petunija
Gabrielius
Paulina
and Ruta Mur’s.

I dont reallu mind which gets selected.

Vivian
Vivian
1 year ago

Well all the songs I myself liked are already knocked out. I can’t really think of a proper contender I myself like :\

Korotán Korí
Korotán Korí
1 year ago

Beatrich or nothing please. If Ruta wins, the fandom will all of the sudden forget how much they “loved” the song and put it on their bottom.

The Voice of Reason
The Voice of Reason
1 year ago
Reply to  Korotán Korí

Not really. It will be in my top!

Ritoli
Ritoli
1 year ago

Gabrielius Vagelis with some REVAMP… for sure!

Knut Olav
Knut Olav
1 year ago

After all my favs fell on Super Saturday, including two sour runners-ups, I badly need Beatrich to win the only final this Saturday! So go Beatrich, take “Like A Movie” to Liverpool!

Soni
Soni
1 year ago

Monika is just on a different level, could easily be my personal winner this year.

Lucille
1 year ago

I just want either Beatrich, Pauline or Petunija.
If Ruta gets chosen she would flop so bad like, don’t get me wrong I like the song but I showed this to a friend who just casually watches ESC final with me when the time comes, and he said this song is awful, if Lithuania wants to do well they mist not pick Ruta as the broader audience won’t be pleased with this.

WannaEatMySpaghetti
WannaEatMySpaghetti
1 year ago
Reply to  Lucille

I don’t like So Low neither but you can’t predict the success of a song just based on the opinion of one of your friends.

Lucille
1 year ago

The thing is many other people think this too, the live performance video LRT uploaded has lots of comments with lots of likes saying this song is “trash”,”soulless” and that it would flop.

This is not just my friends opinion but also many people outside of lithuanias opinion.

Anyway I wish for her success and I wanna say that ppl are really underestimating her.

Héctor
Héctor
1 year ago
Reply to  Lucille

You can call it trash if you wish but for sure it is not soulless. I think it may be more of a problem of the listener than of the song.

I’m not Lithuanian and I’m loving it.

If you have followed Eurovision you should know the favs always get some hate.

Faezdel
Faezdel
1 year ago
Reply to  Lucille

Also, there’s “many people” who like the song. Not only in Lithuania but abroad. As simple as that, you can’t measure the potential success of a song in Eurovision based only in the opinion of a few friends or people you know…

Roro31
Roro31
1 year ago

For me :

1. Beatrich
2. Paulina P.
3. Ruta Mur
4. Petunija
5. Monika Linkyte
6. Mario Junes
7. Juste Kraujelyte
8. MoonBee
9. Il Senso

With Beatrich, Paulina & Ruta Mur, Lithuania Can go to the final !
But Beatrich its my favorite for saturday’s final !

Tom
Tom
1 year ago

Ruta Mur for me please.

EProduc
EProduc
1 year ago

None of these songs will qualify, Ruta Mur included. It’s an interesting performance but the song lacks that spark that people only tuning in for the show want to feel on Eurovision.

The Voice of Reason
The Voice of Reason
1 year ago
Reply to  EProduc

For me there’s a spark that attracts me to the song.

Dani
Dani
1 year ago

Petunija is my favourite of the selection. Gabrielus Vagelis and Beatrich are following behind.

Amigo
Amigo
1 year ago

I am all up for Ruta Mur! I feel Ruta is the star here and her just standing there on the stage adds something extra. For me she is so charismatic and full of energy and she is literally just standing there. The song itself is not going to win ESC, not even reach top 10 but I just feel like I need this song in ESC. I can’t stop singing or listening it since the first time I heard it. This song will have its fans, Ruta herself will have even more fans and will take Lithuania to the… Read more »

So Low
So Low
1 year ago
Reply to  Amigo

Amigo, we need to be friends!!! I’m loving Ruta
=)

Amigo
Amigo
1 year ago
Reply to  So Low

So Low, be my friend!! ?

So Low
So Low
1 year ago
Reply to  Amigo

I do. Hehe! My first Eurovision friend, thank u. I wonder what is your number 2 of the season? I really love PIN every year, always delivers some gems. Very quirky in a wonderful way.

Héctor
Héctor
1 year ago
Reply to  Amigo

Same here.

Mbappe
Mbappe
1 year ago

Lithuania’s glory days are officially over for now, nothing here that comes close at all to The Roop and Monika Liu, but it was always going to be very tough for a smaller country like them to maintain that level. Out of these 10, I’d also have to go with Ruta Mur.

LTman
LTman
1 year ago
Reply to  Mbappe

Future’s promising though, Lithuania has a ton of incredibly talented young artists that haven’t tried to compete in esc selection yet. 90% of artists participating in esc selections are almost complete unknowns.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Mbappe

Maybe not this year, But I wouldn’t completely write it off. You can’t always strike it gold every year, and who knows maybe Lithuania will be better next year. But let’s focus what we’ve got for this year and see how it goes.

Although, I will admit, I’m a little nervous about next year, because Lithuania never does well in a year that ends with a four.

1994: last place with 0 points
2004: didn’t qualify
2014: didn’t qualify

but I don’t want to think about next year. Let’s get back on track with 2023.

Colin
Colin
1 year ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

All of these three songs just weren’t that strong to begin with, no matter the year. This PIN finals already has many better options.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Colin

Fair point, but it’s just a pattern I noticed. I hope 2024 can break that curse and maybe Lithuania could get a top 5 placing or win. What a way to go for full circle, from last place to winner within a 30 year span.

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
1 year ago

I think Beatrich has the most potential to get them out of the Eurovision semi final but Petunija has the highest ceiling in terms of potential result. I’d go with either of those two or possibly even consider Paulina as another act that could be well-received. Although she wouldn’t have much in the way of qualification chances, I really like Monika’s song, too.

For various reasons, the other acts shouldn’t be under consideration. Sparnai and Rumour are particularly awful.

West
West
1 year ago

I am firmly on team Ruta – though there are other songs that I also enjoy.

Žilvinas
Žilvinas
1 year ago

Beatrich!
R?ta Mur would be a good pick too but I’m vibing with ‘Like a Movie’ so much more <3

Tibor
Tibor
1 year ago

I think they should go with Ruta Mur and her Ahnoni-like dark alto. This early 80s bareboned synth sound has really grown on me over the last weeks, although it is very throwback, but in a fashionable way. Beatrich could be a good alternative, but there’s still no studio cut of “Like a movie”, so it’s hard to tell for me, how much I’m into it.

Jamie
Jamie
1 year ago
Reply to  Tibor

“Like a Movie” studio cut is coming on the 17th! Heard some of it, it’s really well produced.

Tibor
Tibor
1 year ago
Reply to  Jamie

Good to know, I’ll keep an eye out for it.

Paul
Paul
1 year ago

I really feel like Lithuania should be much higher in them being odds based on Ruta Mur. She’s an unconventional pop star – which is usually well received in the contest and the song doesn’t sound like anything else this year so will stand out (as well as being a good sounding song)

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Paul

Lithuania is usually underrated by the odds so I wouldn’t take them seriously.

Jamie
Jamie
1 year ago
Reply to  Paul

Odds said Monika Liu wouldn’t qualify…

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Jamie

And she did. Lithuania knows how to defy the odds.

The Voice of Reason
The Voice of Reason
1 year ago

Ruta Mur! So Low is such a vibe! It captures the emptiness and sadness of relationships with the synthwave catchiness of the 80s. Ruta also has a unique voice, comparable only to Alison Moyer. She puts a LOT of expression and feeling in. The staging is also really interesting and can be developed at Eurovision. If the televoters don’t appreciate this, the jury WILL! Depending on the rest of the entries, I can actually see this coming in the top 15!

Colin
Colin
1 year ago

It’s an interesting track, especially because of how well Ruta performs it. It’s quite linear, and there’s not much climax, but the atmosphere draws you in. The televoters would *have to* appeciate it to a certain degree for the juries to even have the opportunity to give it more points. The semis are entirely televote-dependent.

The Voice of Reason
The Voice of Reason
1 year ago
Reply to  Colin

I can see a lot of older voters but also those from the gay community voting it for some reason.

Teddi
Teddi
1 year ago

Mhm, I don’t like any of these songs but if I had to choose I’d pick Il Senso. They sounded the best to me.

Colin
Colin
1 year ago

Even with a few undeserving eliminations, Lithuania still has an ecclectic and interesting finals. Personally, I’d go with Gabrielius Vagelis or Petunija. He has the edge for me because I really want to hear Lithuanian again, but they are both good. Considering that the juries and the televoters couldn’t agree on anything thus far, I assume this is still an open game for everyone.