Eurovision Song Contest 2000
Country Russia
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)11 March 2000
Selected entrantAlsou
Selected song"Solo"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result2nd, 155 points
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1997 • 2000 • 2001►

Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000, held on 13 May 2000 at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Public Russian Television (ORT) returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a two-year absence following their relegation in 1998. ORT first announced that the Russian entry for the 2000 contest would be chosen through a televised national final, however, they later opted to choose the nation's representative internally by jury. The selected song was "Solo", written by Andrew Lane and Brandon Barnes and performed by Alsou.

Prior to the contest, the entry was promoted by a music video and live performances in Riga, Tallinn and Saint Petersburg. Russia performed ninth out of the 24 countries competing in the contest and finished in second place, receiving 155 points and full 12-point marks from four countries. This marked the nation's highest placement in the contest to this point.

Background

Prior to the 2000 contest, Russia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest three times since its first entry in 1994.[1] Russia missed the 1996 contest when its selected song "Ya eto ya" by Andrey Kosinsky failed to qualify from the qualifying round, was relegated from the 1998 contest due to a poor average score from the preceding contests, and was unable to partake in the 1999 contest after ORT didn't air the previous contest on television, which was a requirement for participation in 1999.[2][3] By 2000, the country's best placing was ninth, which it achieved in 1994 with the song "Vechny strannik" performed by Youddiph.[1]

The Russian national broadcaster ORT broadcasts the event within Russia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry.[4] ORT confirmed their intentions to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 on 18 December 1999. Along with their participation confirmation, it was announced that a national final would be held to select the Russian entry.[5] This aspect was later discarded and the broadcaster ultimately chose the artist and song internally.[6]

Before Eurovision

Alsou (pictured in 2009) was selected to represent Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000

Internal selection

On 18 December 1999, ORT announced that a national final would take place on 19 February 2000 to select the Russian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 and opened a submission period for interested artists and composers to submit their entries through 15 February 2000.[5][7] The broadcaster received over 2000 applications at the conclusion of the deadline.[4][8] Despite this, plans for the national final were later abandoned by the broadcaster due to financial problems.[6]

On 11 March 2000, ORT announced that they had internally selected Alsou to represent Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "Solo".[4] Alsou's selection as the Russian representative was decided upon by a jury panel selected by ORT.[9] Written by Andrew Lane and Brandon Barnes,[8] the song became Russia's first entry to be performed in English at the contest.[10] Following the announcement, ORT president Konstantin Ernst stated that "This is a great opportunity for us to introduce Alsou to Europe. She has already reached No. 1 in Russia with several songs, and now she has a chance to captivate European audiences."[8]

Promotion

To promote the song as the Russian Eurovision entry, a music video for "Solo", directed by Debbie Bourn, was filmed in London.[11] Alsou also embarked on a promotional tour, performing "Solo" at Vernisazh Club in Riga, Latvia on 8 April 2000,[12] Dekolte Club in Tallinn, Estonia on 9 April,[13] and Oktyabrsky Concert Hall in Saint Petersburg, Russia on 10 and 11 April.[14][15]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 took place at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on 13 May 2000.[16] Twenty-four nations participated, including the previous year's winning country and host nation Sweden, the "Big Four" countries, the 13 countries which had obtained the highest average points total over the preceding five contests, and any eligible countries which had not competed in the 1999 contest.[17] As Russia did not compete in the 1999 contest, it was thus permitted to participate in 2000.[18] The running order for the contest was decided by a draw held on 21 November 1999;[17] Russia was assigned to perform 9th at the 2000 contest, following Norway and preceding Belgium.[19] The contest was televised in Russia on ORT live on 13 May,[20][21] with a delayed broadcast on 9 June.[22]

The Russian performance featured Alsou, dressed in a pink glittery outfit designed by Maria Grachvogel,[23] performing a choreographed routine with two male dancers.[24] The stage featured LED screen projections of blue smoke.[24] During the performance, Alsou and the dancers were also accompanied by three backing vocalists.[24][25] After the voting concluded, Russia scored 155 points, including four sets of the highest score of 12 points, from Croatia, Cyprus, Malta and Romania;[26] the nation placed second.[19] At the time, this result was the Russia's best placing in its competitive history, and was the nation's first finish in the top three.[1] Following the contest, the Russian delegation petitioned for contest winner Denmark's disqualification due to the use of a vocoder during their performance, however, the EBU did not pursue action and the results remained.[16]

Voting

The same voting system in use since 1975 was again implemented for 2000 contest, with each country providing 1–8, 10 and 12 points[27] to the ten highest-ranking songs as determined by a jury panel or the public through televoting, with countries not allowed to vote for themselves.[17] Russia opted to assemble a jury panel to determine which countries would receive their points.[28] The Russian spokesperson, who announced the points awarded by the Russian jury during the final, was Zhanna Agalakova.[24][29]

After Eurovision

"Alsou's second-placing was seen by many as a triumph for her homeland, after recent Eurovision contests had brought humiliation for top flight Russian singers at the annual event - broadcast around the world to an audience estimated at 100 million viewers. Even though Alsou calls England home for now, her success caused a major splash in the national newspapers here. Several papers said the Eurovision result was sweet balm for national pride, wounded by the national hockey team's disastrously low 11th place at the world championships, which finished last Sunday in St. Petersburg."

—Alexander Bratersky from The Moscow Times on result's reception in Russia.[31]

Reception

Russia's success at the contest was greeted with positive reactions in the Russian press; Vechernyaya Moskva proclaimed the result "a matter of national pride",[32] while Kommersant expressed that "this fragile girl has regained the national prestige that was ruined by Russian hockey" and labelled the result "near-triumph".[6] Alsou herself stated that she was "immensely happy that [she] was able to support the musical glory of the country."[33] By August, "Solo" had become the best-selling single in Russia, selling over 64,000 copies.[34]

Impact and legacy

In their book Performing the 'New' Europe: Identities, Feelings and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest, Karen Fricker and Milija Gluhovic credited Russia's success in the contest that year for starting the nation's "more focused and concerted pursuit of Eurovision gold", which included "consciously modeling their singers and musical material on Europop."[23] Vitaly Gizzatulin from Argumenty i Fakty wrote that Alsou's result "returned the interest of the domestic public to this song contest".[35] Aleksey Kryzhevsky of Expert noted that Alsou's success "strengthened the foreign reputation of Russian pop,"[36] while Leonid Pavlyuchik from Trud noted that Alsou's second-place finish "brought her unprecedented popularity".[37]

Various Eurovision participants cited the performance as an influence for their own participations in the contest; in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets, 2011 Eurovision winners for Azerbaijan Ell & Nikki have cited inspiration towards Alsou's performance: "Both Eldar and I almost simultaneously, since 2000, began to dream of performing at the competition. For example, I was very inspired by Alsou, her second place in 2000, but Azerbaijan did not participate in Eurovision at that time, and it seemed like a distant dream."[38] 2018 Russian representative Yulia Samoylova has also stated that "[her] dream to get to the Eurovision Song Contest was born when [she] saw the performance of the wonderful singer Alsou at this contest".[39]

A number of publications have retrospectively listed the Alsou's performance as one of the best Russian Eurovision performances; it has been included in unranked lists of the best Russian Eurovision Song Contest performances by Voice, TV Centre and the Russian edition of Glamour magazine.[10][40][41] MTS included the performance on their list of "Most Iconic Eurovision performances,"[42] a 2016 Wiwibloggs poll resulted in "Solo" being chosen as the third-best Russian Top 5 Eurovision song,[43] and in 2021, music critic Artem Makarsky, in an article for The Village, ranked the performance as the ninth-best Russian Eurovision performance.[44] Conversely, in May 2021, Slovo i delo included Alsou's performance on their list of the "Russia's worst Eurovision performances", describing the performance as "frankly weak".[45]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Russia". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  2. ↑ Arefyev, Egor (20 April 2017). "Чем грозит России пропуск «Евровидения»" [What threatens Russia with missing Eurovision?]. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Евровидение по-русски: представители России и их победы" [Eurovision in Russian: representatives of Russia and their victories]. news.ru (in Russian). 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Aptekareva, Marina (11 March 2000). "Алсу ждёт Стокгольм" [Alsou is waiting for Stockholm]. Trud (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  5. 1 2 "По пути" [On the way]. Nezavisimaya Gazeta (in Russian). Archived from the original on 22 December 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 Maltsev, Igor (16 May 2000). "Алсу спасла Россию" [Alsou saved Russia]. Kommersant (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "Эксклюзив у ОРТ" [Exclusive at ORT]. Telesputnik (in Russian). 2 February 2000. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Kruzin, Aleksey (15 April 2000). Williamson, Nigel (ed.). "Global Music Pulse". Billboard. p. 57. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Ded ZVUKAR (17 March 2000). "Лолиточка против Гейзихи: кто победит?". zvuki.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Самые яркие выступления России на "Евровидении"" [The brightest performances of Russia at Eurovision]. TV Center (in Russian). 14 May 2021. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  11. ↑ Chebysheva, Ksenya (20 May 2000). "Наши барышни распелись" [Our ladies are singing]. Trud (in Russian). Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "Алсу живее всех живых". Biznes & Baltiya (in Russian). 10 April 2000. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  13. ↑ Nikolenko, Pavel (12 April 2000). "Алсу, или Русская Тони Брэкстон" [Alsou, or the Russian Toni Braxton]. Molodezh Estonii (in Russian). Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  14. ↑ ""Solo" Алсу понравилось питерцам". Vesti (in Russian). Saint Petersburg, Russia. 13 April 2000. p. 4.
  15. ↑ "У неё все впереди. Первый сольный концерт Алсу прошёл в Петербурге". Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti (in Russian). 14 April 2000.
  16. 1 2 "Stockholm 2000". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  17. 1 2 3 "Rules of the 45th Eurovision Song Contest, 2000" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  18. ↑ "Jerusalem 1999 – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  19. 1 2 "Final of Stockholm 2000". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  20. ↑ "Программа телевидения с 8 по 14 мая" [TV program from May 8 to May 14] (PDF). Argumenty i Fakty (in Russian). p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  21. ↑ "Российская победа на "Евровидении"" [Russian victory at Eurovision]. Nezavisimaya Gazeta (in Russian). Archived from the original on 15 March 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  22. ↑ "Программа телевидения с 5 по 11 июня" [TV program from June 5 to June 11] (PDF). Argumenty i Fakty (in Russian). p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  23. 1 2 Fricker, K; Gluhovic, M, eds. (2013). Performing the 'New' Europe: Identities, Feelings and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 113. ISBN 9781137367976 – via Google Books.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Eurovision Song Contest 2000 (Television programme). Stockholm, Sweden: Sveriges Television (SVT). 13 May 2000.
  25. ↑ Maitland, Jonathan (2003). Flop Idol. Simon & Schuster. p. 93. ISBN 9780743430258.
  26. ↑ "Results of the Final of Stockholm 2000 - Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  27. ↑ "In a Nutshell – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. 31 March 2017. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  28. ↑ "Алсу прорубила окно в европейскую попсу" [Alsou has cut a window into European pop music]. Argumenty i Fakty (in Russian). 17 May 2000. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  29. ↑ "Собкором российского Первого телеканала в Нью-Йорке стала Жанна Агалакова" [Zhanna Agalakova became the anchor of the Russian Channel One in New York]. runyweb.com (in Russian). 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  30. 1 2 "Results of the Final of Stockholm 2000". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  31. ↑ Bratersky, Alexander (19 May 2000). "Alsou's Victory Has Nation Singing". The Moscow Times.
  32. ↑ Aleksandrova, Yulia (19 May 2000). "Алсу пришла второй" [Alsou came second]. Vechernyaya Moskva (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  33. ↑ "16-летняя Россиянка прорубила "окно" в Евровидение" [16-year-old Russian girl cut a "window" into Eurovision]. Segodnya (in Russian). No. 71. 16 May 2000. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  34. ↑ "За Алсу взялись по-настоящему" [They really took up Alsou]. Kommersant-Dengi (in Russian). No. 34. 30 August 2000. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  35. ↑ Gizzatulin, Vitaly (19 February 2013). "«Евровидение 2013»: чем Дина Гарипова собирается удивить зрителей" [Eurovision 2013: what is Dina Garipova going to surprise the audience with?]. Argumenty i Fakty (in Russian). Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  36. ↑ Kryzhevsky, Alexey (22 March 2004). "Муси-пуси-бизнес" [Musi-pusi-business]. Expert (in Russian). Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  37. ↑ Pavlyuchik, Leonid (11 May 2001). ""Мумий Тролль" намерен покорить Европу" ["Mumiy Troll" intends to conquer Europe]. Trud (in Russian). Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  38. ↑ "Победителей "Евровидения" вдохновили Билан и Алсу" [The Eurovision winners were inspired by Bilan and Alsou]. Delfi (in Russian). 16 May 2011. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  39. ↑ Nevskaya, Yana (11 May 2018). "Участница конкурса «Евровидение» Юлия Самойлова: «Меня не сломить!»" [Eurovision participant Yulia Samoilova: "I won't break!"]. Amurskaya Pravda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  40. ↑ Staff (18 May 2021). "«Татушки» и бабушки: 10 самых ярких участников «Евровидения» от России" ["Tatushki" and grandmothers: the 10 brightest participants of the Eurovision Song Contest from Russia]. The Voice (in Russian). Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  41. ↑ Maslennikova, Darya (13 May 2016). "9 ярких выступлений России на Евровидении" [9 outstanding performances of Russia at Eurovision]. Glamour (in Russian). Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  42. ↑ "Ностальгируем по «Евровидению»: десять знаковых номеров прошлых лет" [Nostalgic for Eurovision: ten iconic numbers of the past years]. MTS (in Russian). 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  43. ↑ David Thielen (28 October 2016). "POLL: Which Top 5 Eurovision song from Russia is your favourite?". Wiwibloggs. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  44. ↑ Makarsky, Artem (18 May 2021). Levchenko, Lesha (ed.). "Музыкальный критик оценивает все номера России на «Евровидении»" [Music critic evaluates all Russian numbers at Eurovision]. The Village (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  45. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210521085012/https://slovodel.com/606659-nazvany-pyat-khudshikh-rossiiskikh-vystuplenii-za-vsyu-istoriyu-evrovideniya

Further reading

  • Napier-Bell, Simon (2022). Sour Mouth, Sweet Bottom: Lessons from a Dissolute Life. Unbound. p. 275-278. ISBN 9781800181892.
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