As the final of the Lithuanian national "Eurovision" selection is approaching, not only fans in Lithuania, but also foreign journalists writing about the great song contest are closely following the candidates to represent our country. The team of the contest news and reviews portal Eurodiena.lt traditionally contacted eight representatives of portals from different countries and asked them to evaluate the songs of this year's Lithuanian finalists. Most of them agreed that the song played on Saturday was the most catchy and had the best chance of getting a good result.
BBC journalist and Wiwibloggs founder William Lee Adams, journalists from Aussievision, Eurowizja.org, ESCXTRA, ESC Bubble, That Eurovision Site, ESC Plus and YouTube gave their assessments. content creator Luke White. They have been following the national selections of Lithuania and other countries for many years, so they gladly agreed to share their opinion about the overall quality of the selection and evaluate the applications of the finalists.
Silvester Belt with the song "Luktelk" received the biggest fans of "Eurovision" from abroad. In their ratings, journalists gave this performer an average of 1,42 places (five first places, one second and third place each). Reviewers praised the modern sound and memorability of the song, the choice to sing in Lithuanian, and the completeness of the application. Their second best choice is The Roop with "Simple Joy", averaging a 3,28 (including four runners-up). This return to selection was met with positive reviews, but most reviewers agreed that this year's entry was not up to par with On Fire and Discoteque.
Next in line are the group "Queens of Roses" (average 3,43 place, including one first), "VB Gang" (average 4,14 place, including one first), Monika Marija (4,85), Žalvarinis (5,28) , Pluie de Comètes (7,71). At the bottom of the top ten are Il Senso (8), AISTÈ (8,14) and Shower (8,71).
Zarste received not only compliments, but also criticism
Nick from ESC Bubble was one of the journalists who named Silvester Belt's "Luktelk" as his favorite: "It's a very fresh and modern sounding track. I think this song could make it to the top ten in Malmö, both the audience and the panel should like it. The vocals, choreography and catchiness are all very important aspects of this song. Although I don't speak Lithuanian, this song easily gets stuck in my head. It would be great fun to see such a strong piece on the big Eurovision stage."
Nick gave Queens of Roses second place and VB Gang third. The reviewer also shared his opinion about the application of one of the pre-selection favorites The Roop: "I was in the final of the Lithuanian national selection in 2020 Beautiful and I remember how impressed I was by On Fire. However, their new song is definitely not as memorable as their previous ones. I think that sending "The Roop" to Lithuania would be a big step back compared to their own songs and to the works of both Monikas in 2022 and 2023, especially with a very strong song from a new artist in the selection."
He also singled out the song of the group "Shower", which was ranked last by foreign journalists: "I was very surprised that this song won the semi-finals of the national selection. I liked the melody of the song, but I don't think the song would be a big success outside of Lithuania."
BBC journalist and Wiwibloggs founder William Lee Adams' favorite songs also include "Luktelk" and "Kaboom!!!". Speaking about this VB Gang entry, he emphasized the good vibes it exudes: “The song isn't really cutting edge or high quality, but it makes me laugh and make me smile. In the last minute of the song, the full climax of the song is reached. I think that the audience would like this song at Eurovision, but it would be very low in the commission table."
According to Hayley from Aussievision, the quality of the Lithuanian national selection final this year is very good, the songs are diverse, so a really interesting show awaits on Saturday. In addition to the performances of VB Gang and Silvester Belt, she also remembered the band Queens of Roses. The reviewer admitted that she did not expect to like the song so much: "These girls really know how to sing!" Their voices sound great together, and the track is inspired by the disco style and speaks of the strength of women."
Kamil Polewski from the Eurowizja.org portal also shared his opinion and evaluations of the finalists. He said that when asked about the studio recordings of the finale songs, his opinion of the songs was positive, but most of them did not impress Kamil after seeing the live performances at the audition.
Speaking to Eurodiena, he compared what he thought were the main contenders: "Unlike The Roop, Silvester has everything Eurovision needs - a great, contemporary song, a good performance. It would be another great performance of the young generation of Lithuanian singers on the international stage. And what I like most is that the song is performed in Lithuanian!"
Journalist Tim from That Eurovision Site also gave Silvester Belt's "Luktelk" the best rating, calling it "a sort of response to Troye Sivan's work". Hugo from ESC Plus agreed with him, saying that it is a song that sticks in your mind after the first listen.
The "Eurovision" reviewer said that the quality of the Lithuanian national selection, which this year became "EUROVIZIJA.LT", has improved significantly in recent years. However, from his point of view, there is still room for improvement - LRT could organize a shorter selection for which only the highest quality songs would be selected.
ESCXTRA's journalist Lisa, among others who often mentioned Silvester Belt and VB Gang, also did not hide her sympathy for Queens of Roses: "I really love this girl pop group!" I really liked all the songs they did in the national selection before. They sound great and just radiate joy. I want to celebrate with them in the best clubs in Vilnius."
Finally, creator Luke White, who has tens of thousands of views with his reviews on the YouTube platform, expressed his opinion about this year's selection. According to him, this year's final is diverse and will be very interesting to watch live.
Loved by foreign journalists, he called "Luktelk" "an engaging piece with elements of the 80's style, which you want to listen to again and again once it's turned on." Monika Marija, who is participating in the selection for the fourth time, also left a strong impression on him: "It's a very emotional song, in which the singer's vocals are revealed very beautifully. With her performance, she perfectly conveys the emotion of the piece and transports the listener to another space."
Last year, in an identical Eurodiena survey, foreign journalists expressed their support for Monika Linkyta, who won the selection final and carried the Lithuanian flag to Liverpool, where she reached 11th place.
There is not much left to wait until the atomazga, who will win the right to represent Lithuania in the big "Eurovision" song contest in May. We will find out whether the support of Lithuanians will coincide with the sympathies of foreign journalists, this Saturday, February 17, during the live broadcast from Klaipėda.
