Georgia’s Junior Eurovision 2024 campaign kicked off last week, with ten young hopefuls battling it out over the course of four rounds, a semi-final, and a Grand Final to earn the right to represent the Caucasus nation in Spain later this year.
Last week, Andria Putkaradze led the pack with 117 points, with Barbara Morgoshia coming in second with 116 points. Mate Martiashvili and Martha Nozadze earned 114 points, while Giorgi Shashiashvili got 113 points.
This week’s episode of Ranina, the second part of the first “tour,” featured the second batch of five of the ten hopefuls performing duets with past Ranina participants.
Each contestant can potentially earn up to 120 points per round. There’s 10 points available for each judge across the four judging categories of vocals, performance, artistry and collaboration.
The five contestants with the highest scores after four tours (usually spread over eight weeks) progress to the Semi-Finals, where the top three progress to the Grand Final.
However, this week, Andria Mishvelidze kicked off the evening with a perfect 120 points in his duet with last year’s contestant Anaroza Gaprindashvili.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1149236766073708&ref=sharing
Ia Lichelle paired up with Gabriel Lomsadze to earn 117 points.
Anastasia Iremadze was joined by a group of Ranina 2022 graduates including Ranina co-host Vache Gvianishvili and the two boys from last year’s representatives, Nikoloz Kharati and Oto Bazerashvili. Anastasia impressed with a near-perfect 119 points.
Sandro Gurgenadze paired up with Anastasia Vasadze, who won the sixth season of Ranina and led Georgia at Junior Eurovision 2023 with “Over the Sky.” This balladic duet earned Sandro 118 points from the judges.
Sandro Ashotia finished the evening, and the Duets Round, by performing with Ranina fifth season winner Mariam Bigvava (who came in third at Junior Eurovision 2022 with “I Believe”). Another Sandro with another previous Ranina winner resulted in another 118 point haul.
Next week, Saturday, April 6, 2024, another tour will begin at 21:30 p.m. Georgian local time. Assuming the show follows the format of previous years, the other tours will include a performance of a traditional Georgian song with the famed polyphonic choir Shavnabada, a performance with young Georgian jazz and acapella group Quintessence, and a performance of a song from either a famed Western musical or cartoon.
Hosted by David Aladashvili, with Ranina 2022 finalist Vache Ghviniashvili as co-host and green room interviewer, this is the seventh time that Ranina will be used to select Georgia’s representative at Junior Eurovision. The song is usually released close to the European Broadcasting Union deadline, with the songwriter selected internally (more often than not, it’s serial JESC winning songwriter Giga Kukhianidze).
The best performance by Georgia in the Ranina era is Mariam Bigvava, who came in 3rd at Junior Eurovision 2022 with “I Believe,” one year after Niko Kajaia’s 4th place with “Let’s count the Smiles.”
Last year, 1TV mixed up the formula slightly by pairing Season 6 winner Anastasia Vasadze with Season 5 finalists Nikoloz Kharati and Oto Bazerashvlili on “Over the Sky.” Georgia came in 14th, equaling their lowest ever placement of Giorgi Rotiashvili’s “We Need Love” from 2019.
Overall, Georgia has the most wins among Junior Eurovision nations with three victories (all Kukhianidze compositions) in 2008, 2011, and 2016.
Do #YOU think Georgia should persist with “Ranina” as its method of selection for Junior Eurovision? If so, do #YOU want to mix up the formula with a new type of singing challenge for the contestants? Let us know in the comments, in our forum, or in our social media.
