Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Country Macedonia
National selection
Selection processSkopje Fest 2014
Selection date(s)12 November 2014
Selected entrantDaniel Kajmakoski
Selected song"Autumn Leaves"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (15th)
Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2014 • 2015 • 2016►

The Republic of Macedonia (officially under the provisional appellation "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", abbreviated "FYR Macedonia") participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Autumn Leaves", written by Joacim Persson. The song was performed by Daniel Kajmakoski. In November 2014, Macedonian broadcaster Macedonian Radio Television (MRT) organised the Skopje Fest 2014 in order to select the Macedonian entry for the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria. Daniel Kajmakoski and the song "Lisja esenski" emerged as the winner. The song competed in Macedonia's national final in Macedonian with lyrics by Aleksandar Mitevski and Kajmakoski himself. At the Eurovision Song Contest, however, Kajmakoski opted to perform the song in English under the title "Autumn Leaves". In the first of the Eurovision semi-finals, Macedonia failed to qualify to the final, placing fifteenth out of the 16 participating countries with 28 points.

Background[]

Main article: Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2015 Contest, Macedonia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fourteen times since its first entry in 1998.[1] Its best placing in the contest was twelfth, which it achieved in 2006 with the song "Ninanajna" performed by Elena Risteska. Following a string of non-qualifications from the semi-finals between 2008 and 2011, MRT opted to change their entry selection strategy from using the Skopje Fest national final to an internal selection. In 2012, the internal selection of Kaliopi (performing the song "Crno i belo") resulted in Macedonia qualifying to the final and placing 13th. However, the subsequent internal selections of Esma Redžepova and Vlatko Lozanoski in 2013 and Tijana Dapčević in 2014 both failed to take Macedonia to the final.

In June 2014, MRT held a survey on their website asking for advice regarding Macedonia's future participation in the Eurovision Song Contest.[2] The three votable options provided were: continuing with internal selections, returning to the national final format of selecting the entry, or withdrawing from the contest. Despite the option for withdrawal attracting the majority of the vote, MRT announced on 15 July 2014 that Macedonia would compete at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 and that the winner of the Skopje Festival 2014 would represent the country.[3]

Before Eurovision[]

Skopje Fest 2014[]

Daniel Kajmakoski performing at Skopje Festival 2014

Skopje Fest 2014 was a song contest organized by MRT that served as Macedonia's national final to select their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. The competition took place on 12 November 2014 at the Metropolis Arena in Skopje, hosted by Vasil Zafircev and was broadcast on MRT 1, MRT Sat and online via the broadcaster's official website mrt.com.mk.[4]

Competing entries[]

A submission period was opened for interested artists and composers to submit their entries between 26 May 2014 and 31 July 2014.[5] MRT received over 180 submissions at the closing of the deadline.[6] Thirteen entries were selected from the open submissions, while an additional seven entries were submitted by well-known composers directly invited by MRT for the competition.[7] The twenty competing artists and songs were announced on 26 September 2014 during the MRT programme Stisni Plej.[8][9]

Among the competing artists were former Macedonian contest entrants Tamara Todevska who represented Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 and Vlatko Ilievski who represented Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. Viktorija Loba represented Macedonia at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003 as part of the duo Marija & Viktorija. Among the competing composers were Vladimir Dojčinovski who co-composed the Macedonian entry in 2011, Grigor Koprov who composed the Macedonian entries in 1998 and 2007 as well as the Montenegrin entry in 2008, Vlado Janevski who represented Macedonia in 1998 and also co-wrote the 2000 Macedonian entry, Jovan Jovanov who composed the 2004 Macedonian entry and co-composed the 2009 and 2011 Macedonian entries, Lazar Cvetkoski who co-composed the 2013 and 2014 Macedonian entries and Magdalena Cvetkoska who wrote the lyrics for the 2013 Macedonian entry.

Artist Song Songwriter(s)
Aleksandar Tarabunov and Toni Mihajlovski "Marija" (Мариjа) Robert Bilbilov, Toni Mihajlovski
Aleksandra Janeva "Vo tvojot svet" (Во твоjот свет) Vančo Dimitrov, Ana Pandevska
Aleksandra Mihova "Srce čuva spomeni" (Срце чува спомени) Andrijana Janevska, Veronika Stojanovska
Daniel Kajmakoski "Lisja esenski" (Лисjа есенски) Joacim Persson, Aleksandar Mitevski, Daniel Kajmakoski
Dimitar Andonovski "Se što ti vetiv" (Се што ти ветив) Lazar Cvetkoski, Magdalena Cvetkoska
Evgenija Čančalova "Da ne te sakam" (Да не те сакам) Grigor Koprov, Jelena Bulinac
Goran Naumovski and Sanja Kerkez "Mig bez tebe" (Миг без тебе) Andrijana Janevska
Joce Panov "Ni Lj od ljubovta" (Ни Љ од љубовта) Saša Dragić, Vlado Janevski
Lena Zatkoska "Alo" (Ало) Risto Samardžiev
Lidija Kočovska and Marijan Stojanovski "Sonce niz oblaci" (Сонце низ облаци) Trajče Stavreski, Maja Pavlovska
Miyatta "Zaljuben" (Заљубен) Tanja Carovska
Nade Talevska "Znam" (Знам) Aleksandar Masevski, Biljana Pašarikovska
Nina Janeva "Bluz za..." (Блуз за...) Davor Jordanovski, Toni Mihajlovski
Risto Samardžiev and Vlatko Ilievski "Sever-Jug" (Север-Jуг) Vladimir Dojčinovski, Risto Samardžiev
Sanja Gjoševska "Sakam da letam" (Сакам да летам) Duke Bojadžiev
Tamara Todevska "Brod što tone" (Брод што тоне) Robert Bilbilov
Tanja Carovska "Ako mi se vratiš" (Ако ми се вратиш) Tanja Carovska
Vera Janković "Se plašam" (Се плашам) Darko Tasev, Vesna Malinova
Verica Pandilovska "Samo za tebe" (Само за тебе) Salvatore Monetti, Jasmina Kantardžieva
Viktorija Loba "Edna edinstvena" (Една единствена) Jovan Jovanov, Elvir Mekić

Final[]

The final took place on 12 November 2014.[10] All twenty competing entries were accompanied by the MRT orchestra, conducted by Ljupčo Mirkovski.[11] A 50/50 combination of public televoting and seven international jury groups selected "Lisja esenski" performed by Daniel Kajmakoski as the winner.[12][13][14] Monetary prizes were also awarded to the top three songs: the winner received €20,000, the second place received €10,000 and the third place received €5,000.[15] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the competition featured guest performances by 2002 and 2007 Macedonian Eurovision representative Karolina Gočeva and 2012 Macedonian Eurovision representative Kaliopi.[16]

Final – 12 November 2014
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
1 Lena Zatkoska "Alo" 14 0 52 0 0 14
2 Tanja Carovska "Ako mi se vratiš" 27 5 241 0 5 10
3 Daniel Kajmakoski "Lisja esenski" 54 10 3,597 12 22 1
4 Vera Janković "Se plašam" 4 0 70 0 0 14
5 Risto Samardžiev and Vlatko Ilievski "Sever-Jug" 1 0 254 0 0 14
6 Evgenija Čančalova "Da ne te sakam" 48 8 2,688 10 18 3
7 Aleksandra Mihova "Srce čuva spomeni" 6 0 93 0 0 14
8 Lidija Kočovska and Marijan Stojanovski "Sonce niz oblaci" 0 0 205 0 0 14
9 Joce Panov "Ni Lj od ljubovta" 12 0 492 5 5 11
10 Goran Naumovski and Sanja Kerkez "Mig bez tebe" 1 0 158 0 0 14
11 Aleksandar Tarabunov and Toni Mihajlovski "Marija" 24 4 303 4 8 5
12 Aleksandra Janeva "Vo tvojot svet" 21 3 295 3 6 9
13 Miyatta "Zaljuben" 15 0 279 2 2 12
14 Tamara Todevska "Brod što tone" 69 12 781 8 20 2
15 Sanja Gjoševska "Sakam da letam" 32 6 228 0 6 8
16 Nade Talevska "Znam" 38 7 226 0 7 6
17 Viktorija Loba "Edna edinstvena" 6 0 735 7 7 7
18 Verica Pandilovska "Samo za tebe" 0 0 50 0 0 14
19 Nina Janeva "Bluz za..." 16 1 265 1 2 13
20 Dimitar Andonovski "Se što ti vetiv" 18 2 674 6 8 4

Preparation[]

On 16 March 2015, the official Eurovision version of the Macedonian entry was premiered by the Macedonian broadcaster with the release of the official music video.[17] At the Skopje Festival 2014, Kajmakovski performed the song in Macedonian; however, it was announced that at Eurovision he would perform "Lisja esenski" in English as "Autumn Leaves". The track was originally written in English by Swedish songwriter Joacim Persson. Kajmakovski worked with Macedonian producer Robert Bilbilov to create the final English version of the song.[18]

At Eurovision[]

Daniel Kajmakoski at the Eurovision Song Contest opening ceremony

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation.[19] The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[20] On 26 January 2015, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Macedonia was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 19 May 2015, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[21]

Once all the competing songs for the 2015 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Macedonia was set to perform in position 8, following the entry from Estonia and before the entry from Serbia.[22]

All three shows were televised on MRT 1 and MRT Sat as well as broadcast via radio on Radio Skopje with commentary by Karolina Petkovska. MRT also broadcast the three shows on MRT 2 and MRT 2 Sat with commentary in the Albanian language.[23] The Macedonian spokesperson, who announced the Macedonian votes during the final, was Marko Mark.[24]

Semi-final[]

Daniel Kajmakoski at a dress rehearsal for the first semi-final

Kajmakoski took part in technical rehearsals on 11 and 15 May,[18][25] followed by dress rehearsals on 18 and 19 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries.[26]

The stage show featured Kajmakoski dressed in a trench coat and performing choreographed movements with his backing vocalists. The stage lighting transitioned between dark blue and warm colours such as gold and red. The background LED screens displayed medieval ruins, flowing autumn leaves and a sky that transitions from grey to yellow as the song progresses.[18][25] On stage, Kajmakoski was joined by three ex-Blackstreet members: Mark Middleton, Eric Williams and Jeremy Hanna (who had previously been former members of the American R&B group Blackstreet (MERJ)) .[27]

At the end of the show, Macedonia failed to qualify to the final and was not announced among the top ten nations.[28] It was later revealed that Macedonia had placed fifteenth, receiving a total of 28 points.[29]

Voting[]

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the grand final.[30]

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Macedonia had placed sixteenth (last) with the public televote and fifteenth with the jury vote in the first semi-final. In the public vote, Macedonia scored 22 points, while with the jury vote, Macedonia scored 42 points.[31] In addition, the EBU announced that it had disqualified the Macedonian jury results in the final due to irregularities. The exclusion of the votes was decided upon in consultation with the contest's independent voting observer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and based upon the decision of the Executive Supervisor and the Chairman of the Reference Group. Macedonia's votes in the final were produced solely by the public televote.[32]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Macedonia and awarded by Macedonia in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to Macedonia[]

Points awarded to Macedonia (Semi-final 1)[33]
Score Country
12 points  Serbia
10 points  Albania
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points
3 points  Australia
2 points  Estonia
1 point  Moldova

Points awarded by Macedonia[]

Detailed voting results[]

The following members comprised the Macedonian jury:[30]

  • Antonio Dimitrievski (jury chairperson) – music producer
  • Ana Kostadinovska – music teacher, backing vocal
  •  [mk] – singer
  • Sara Nikolovska – professional musician
  • Andrijana Jovanovska – lyric writer, music journalist
Detailed voting results from Macedonia (Semi-final 1)[35]
Draw Country A. Dimitrievski A. Kostadinovska A. Belov S. Nikolovska A. Jovanovska Average Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Points
01  Moldova 11 8 10 7 7 9 4 6 5
02  Armenia 13 3 3 5 9 5 5 4 7
03  Belgium 4 2 5 2 2 2 10 5 6
04  Netherlands 8 13 11 6 8 11 11 10 1
05  Finland 14 14 15 15 15 15 9 13
06  Greece 3 5 7 14 10 6 7 7 4
07  Estonia 10 15 9 13 11 13 6 9 2
08  Macedonia
09  Serbia 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 12
10  Hungary 15 12 14 12 14 14 13 15
11  Belarus 9 9 8 10 6 7 15 12
12  Russia 2 4 2 4 3 3 3 3 8
13  Denmark 12 10 4 11 13 12 14 14
14  Albania 7 6 6 3 4 4 1 2 10
15  Romania 6 7 13 8 12 10 12 11
16  Georgia 5 11 12 9 5 8 8 8 3
Detailed voting results from Macedonia (Final)[36]
Draw Country Televote Rank Points
01  Slovenia 3 8
02  France 23
03  Israel 14
04  Estonia 9 2
05  United Kingdom 24
06  Armenia 8 3
07  Lithuania 22
08  Serbia 2 10
09  Norway 21
10  Sweden 6 5
11  Cyprus 26
12  Australia 11
13  Belgium 10 1
14  Austria 20
15  Greece 12
16  Montenegro 7 4
17  Germany 17
18  Poland 25
19  Latvia 19
20  Romania 15
21  Spain 16
22  Hungary 27
23  Georgia 18
24  Azerbaijan 13
25  Russia 5 6
26  Albania 1 12
27  Italy 4 7

References[]

  1. ^ "F.Y.R. Macedonia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  2. ^ Lewis, Pete (5 June 2014). "FYR Macedonia: Doubts over Eurovision Song Contest 2015 participation". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  3. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (15 July 2014). "FYR Macedonia: MRT confirms participation in Eurovision 2015". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  4. ^ Weaver, Jessica (12 November 2014). "Watch now: Skopje Fest – FYR Macedonia select their entry". Esctoday.
  5. ^ "Конкурс за избор на музички композиции за фестивалот „Скопје 2014"". MRT (in Macedonian). 27 May 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  6. ^ Juhász, Ervin (23 September 2014). "180 songs received for Skopje Fest!". escbubble.com. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  7. ^ "ESC 2015 - Daniel Kajmakoski (Macedonia)". ESCKAZ. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Кој ќе ја претставува Македонија на Евровизија 2015?!" (in Macedonian). Vistina.mk. 26 September 2014. Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Познати учесниците на Скопскиот фестивал". MRT (in Macedonian). 26 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  10. ^ Omelyanchuk, Olena (15 July 2014). "Save the date for the F.Y.R. Macedonian national selection!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  11. ^ Granger, Anthony (1 November 2014). "Macedonia: Skopje Fest 2015 Details Announced". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  12. ^ Juhász, Ervin (31 October 2014). "Running order, special guests, juries, and more information about Skopje Fest". escbubble.com. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  13. ^ Ko, Anthony (12 November 2014). "FYR Macedonia: Daniel Kajmakoski Is Off To Eurovision After Winning Skopje Fest 2014". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  14. ^ Granger, Anthony (12 November 2014). "Macedonia: Danijel Kajmakoski Has Won". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Официјални резултати од Фестивалот на забавни мелодии „Скопје 2014"". MRT (in Macedonian). 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  16. ^ "Билетите за Скопски фестивал пуштени во продажба преку "Купи карти за се"" (in Macedonian). Ekonomski Lider. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  17. ^ Halpin, Chris (16 March 2015). "FYR Macedonia: Daniel Kajmakoski presents video for "Autumn Leaves"". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  18. ^ a b c Omelyanchuk, Olena (15 May 2015). "Daniel Kajmakoski: "We are still working on our choreography"". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  19. ^ Siim, Jarmo (10 February 2015). "Australia to compete in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  20. ^ Brey, Marco (25 January 2015). "Tomorrow: The semi-final allocation draw". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  21. ^ Escudero, Victor M. (26 January 2015). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  22. ^ Siim, Jarmo (23 March 2015). "Running order of Semi-Finals revealed". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  23. ^ "Даниел ја носи Америка на "Евровизија 2015"". Nova Makedonija (in Macedonian). 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 14 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  24. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (23 May 2015). ""Good evening Vienna" - Voting order revealed". eurovision.tv. EBU. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  25. ^ a b Omelyanchuk, Olena (11 May 2015). "Daniel from F.Y.R. Macedonia: I receive support from my idols". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  26. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (18 May 2015). "Juries...start voting!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  27. ^ Omelyanchuk, Olena (6 May 2015). "Daniel Kajmakoski's stage performance - who is in?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  28. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (19 May 2015). "We have our first ten finalists". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  29. ^ "First Semi-Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  30. ^ a b Bakker, Sietse (1 May 2015). "Exclusive: Here are this year's national juries!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  31. ^ Adams, Willy Lee (25 May 2015). "Semi final split results: Who the jury hurt at Eurovision 2015". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  32. ^ Galagher, Robyn (24 May 2015). "Voting Scandal: Jury votes for FYR Macedonia and Montenegro Excluded". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  33. ^ a b "Results of the First Semi-Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  34. ^ "Results of the Grand Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  35. ^ "Full Split Results | First Semi-Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  36. ^ "Full Split Results | Grand Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
Retrieved from ""