North Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020

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Eurovision Song Contest 2020
Country North Macedonia
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 15 January 2020
Song: 8 March 2020
Selected entrantVasil
Selected song"You"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Nevena Neskoska
  • Kalina Neskoska
  • Alice Schroeder
Finals performance
Final resultContest cancelled
North Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2019 • 2020 • 2021►

North Macedonia planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was to be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Macedonian-American singer Vasil was selected by Macedonian Radio Television (MRT) to represent the country with the song "You", written by Nevena Neskoska, Kalina Neskoska and Alice Schroeder. To promote the entry, a music video was released and Vasil made several appearances on Macedonian television. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the contest was cancelled in mid-March.

Background[]

Main article: North Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2020 contest, North Macedonia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nineteen times since its first entry in 1998.[1] The nation's best result in the contest to this point was seventh, which it achieved the previous year in 2019 with the song "Proud" performed by Tamara Todevska. Following the introduction of semi-finals to the format of the contest in 2004, North Macedonia has featured in only six finals.

Macedonian Radio Television (MRT) broadcasts the event within North Macedonia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. North Macedonia has previously selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest through both national finals and internal selections. MRT confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest on 6 September 2019.[2] For 2015, North Macedonia selected their entry using the national final Skopje Fest. From 2016 onwards, the broadcaster internally selected North Macedonia's entries, resulting in a single qualification to the final during this period, in 2019. On 6 September 2019, MRT confirmed their participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, whilst on 4 January 2020 confirming that they would continue with the internal selection format for the 2020 contest.[3][4]

Before Eurovision[]

Internal selection[]

On 15 January 2020, MRT announced that they had internally selected Vasil Garvanliev to represent North Macedonia in Rotterdam. Vasil previously competed in the contest as a backing vocalist for Tamara Todevska the previous year with the song "Proud", which finished in seventh place overall, winning the jury vote.[5] Following the announcement, a song submission period was opened for interested composers to submit their songs until the end of January 2020.

On 14 February 2020, it was announced that Vasil would perform the song "You" at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was written by Nevena Neskoska, Kalina Neskoska and Alice Schroeder.[6][7] "You" was produced and arranged by Nevena Neskoska, Darko Dimitrov and Lazar Cvetkoski. An official music video was also filmed to promote the song, which was directed by Milena Vitman, recorded and edited by Gjorgi Vacev and produced by Jellmaz Dervishi.[8] The entry was presented to the public on 8 March 2022 via the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel.[9]

Following the cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, Vasil spoke on National Television in North Macedonia, where he revealed that he would have been joined by four backing dancers at the contest: Martija Stanojkovic, who represented Macedonia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016, Barbara Popovic, who represented Macedonia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2013, Aleksandra Janeva, who acted as a backing vocalist alongside Vasil for Tamara Todevska at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, and Lina Pejovska.[10]

The only thing I feel most sorry about is that "You" did not get the chance to be presented on the stage in its real light. Except for the fact that we had brilliant team from Sweden, Tine Matulessy and Mari Forsman Ryberger, the same ladies that took care of Tamara’s performance last year at the contest in Tel Aviv, I would have been joined on stage by 4 amazing backing singers with whom the ethnic vibe of "You" would come to its fullest potential.

— Vasil[10]

At Eurovision[]

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was originally scheduled to take place at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and consist of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, followed by a final on 16 May 2020.[11] According to Eurovision rules, each country, except the host nation and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), would have been required to qualify from one of two semi-finals to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final would have progressed to the final.[12][13][14] On 28 January 2020, the allocation draw was held, placing North Macedonia into the first half of the first semi-final.[15] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the contest was cancelled on 18 March 2020.[16][17] The EBU announced soon after that entries intended for 2020 would not be eligible for the following year, though each broadcaster would be able to send either their 2020 representative or a new one.[18] On 20 January 2021, MRT announced through its social media accounts that Vasil would return to represent North Macedonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.[19]

Alternative song contests[]

Some of the broadcasters scheduled to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 organised alternative competitions. Austria's ORF aired Der kleine Song Contest in April 2020, which saw every entry being assigned to one of three semi-finals. A jury consisting of ten singers that had represented Austria at Eurovision before was hired to rank each song; the best-placed in each semi-final advanced to the final round.[20] In the third semi-final on 18 April, North Macedonia placed eleventh in a field of thirteen participants, achieving 42 points.[21] North Macedonia's song also participated in Sveriges Television's Sveriges 12:a in May,[22] though it was eliminated in the qualifying round.[23]

References[]

  1. ^ "F.Y.R. Macedonia Country Profile". Eurovision.tv. EBU. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  2. ^ "41 countries will 'Open Up' at Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Brown, Alistair (4 January 2020). "North Macedonia: Internal Selection Confirmed For Eurovision 2020". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Grace, Emily (6 September 2019). "North Macedonia: Eurovision 2020 Participation Confirmed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  5. ^ Gligorov, Miki (15 January 2020). "North Macedonia: Vasil Garvanliev to Eurovision 2020". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  6. ^ Granger, Anthony (14 February 2020). "North Macedonia: Vasil Garvanliev to Sing "You" at Eurovision 2020". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  7. ^ Granger, Anthony (3 March 2020). "North Macedonia: "You" To Be Released On March 8th". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  8. ^ Granger, Anthony (26 February 2020). "North Macedonia: Filming of Music Video for "You" Underway". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  9. ^ Granger, Anthony (8 March 2020). "North Macedonia: Reveals "You" Performed By Vasil". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Granger, Anthony (12 May 2020). "North Macedonia: Vasil Reveals How "You" Would Have Been Presented in Rotterdam". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest Rotterdam 2020". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 6 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Rules – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2020 – First Semi-Final". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2020 – Second Semi-Final". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  15. ^ Groot, Evert (28 January 2020). "Which country performs in which Eurovision 2020 Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Ματαιώθηκε από την EBU η διεξαγωγή της Eurovision 2020". ert.gr (in Greek). Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam is cancelled". European Broadcasting Union. 18 March 2020. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Intention to honour Eurovision 2020 songs and artists". European Broadcasting Union. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  19. ^ Granger, Anthony (20 January 2021). "North Macedonia: Vasil Confirmed As Eurovision 2021 Representative". Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Mr. Song Contest proudly presents – Der kleine Song Contest am 14., 16. und 18. April in ORF 1" (in German). ORF. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  21. ^ "Iceland Wins Der kleine Song Contest Semi-Final One". Eurovoix. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  22. ^ Dahlander, Gustav (3 April 2020). "Klart för Eurovision-vecka i SVT" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  23. ^ Ek, Torbjörn (11 May 2020). "De röstades vidare i svenska Eurovision-tävlingen" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
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