Lithuania sends charming Ieva with cute ballad
Lithuania is not one of the most attention grabbing nations in Eurovision. They are hardly ever mentioned as a pre-contest favourite and in the past 10 years they only made it into top 10 once. In terms of qualification for the grand final however, the Baltic state is not doing too bad at all. Out of their last ten participations they made it to Saturday night on six occasions. This year it might be a close call for the Lithuanian delegation when Ieva Zasimauskaité will take the stage with her stripped back ballad ‘When We’re Old’.
Lithuania will participate in the stronger first semi final and has to perform in between favourites Czech Republic and Israel who both bring loud, upbeat pop tracks. This is a huge contrast with Ieva’s soft and tender ballad. This could work as a huge advantage, if the Lithuanian delegation comes up with a memorable performance that underlines the sweet message of the song. If they fail at this, the song will be forgotten by the time Israel takes the stage. Personally ‘When We’re Old’ took me a few listens to warm to and this is a disadvantage in the contest. Ieva does have a natural, charming stage presence though, which will help sell the song and her live vocals have proven to be strong enough to carry the tune. If Lithuania does get the performance right this could be a dark horse and even reach top 10 in the final, but it could just as well be forgotten and end up in the bottom of its semi final. I personally would not miss the song if Lithania did not make it, but somehow I am still hoping Ieva gets it right and will warm the heart of every single viewer!
Review of Semi Final Performance:
Before rehearsals in Lisbon started, nobody gave Lithuania a chance to qualify from this tough semi final. The Lithuanian delegation took a risk with this quiet, slow ballad. The people who immediately dismissed this song, did not take into account the power of simplicity and of course the lovely message in the lyrics in combination with an impeccable staging. Vocally she held her own and it was a cute moment of serenity in between the busy and loud acts of Czech Republic and Israel. If the draw of starting positions is in their favour, they might offer the same in the final of 26 songs. For the diversity in terms of styles in the final it is great to have Lithuania there this year!
Review of Final Performance:
Lithuania came to the contest not being one of the favourites at all, but when Ieva qualified for the final, there was a hype train that predicted great things for her in the final. Interestingly enough, her lovely ballad about growing old with her husband (who appears at the end), only finished ninth in the semi and was not even in the top 10 of the juries. Her warm vocal performance was appreciated more in the final when the juries put her 11th again, but this time out of 26 contestants. Televoters voted her tenth, resulting in a respectable 12th position for Lithuania!
Read our other Eurovision 2018 reviews: ARMENIA – AUSTRALIA – AUSTRIA – AZERBAIJAN – BELARUS –BELGIUM – BULGARIA – CROATIA – CYPRUS – CZECH REPUBLIC – DENMARK – ESTONIA – FINLAND – FRANCE – FYR MACEDONIA – GREECE – ICELAND – ISRAEL – LATVIA – MALTA – MONTENEGRO – THE NETHERLANDS – NORWAY – ROMANIA – RUSSIA – SPAIN – SWEDEN – SWITZERLAND – UKRAINE – UNITED KINGDOM