The third round of Ranina, Georgia’s method of selection for Junior Eurovision, finished this evening with the second five of the ten hopefuls leading famed Georgian polyphonic choir Shavnabada in song.
A fan favorite round of each season of Ranina, the internationally renowned Georgian male choir showcase the nation’s unique musical tradition, with the famed ensemble playing back-up and challenging each contestant to lead them.
Coached and led by Shavnabada’s choral director Dato Tsintsadze, Shavnabada also have history at Eurovision, with members forming Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao for Eurovision 2018, and providing backing vocals for Oto Nemsadze’s Eurovision 2019 entry “Keep on Going.”
Sandro Ashotia kicked off the evening with a rousing number driven by panduri playing, and earned a perfect 120 points as a result.
Andria Mishvelidze followed, and his perfect streak thus far came to an end with his score of 118 tonight.
However, heading into next week’s fourth week, we have a new leader in Anastasia Iremadze, who scored a perfect 120 points to give her a one point lead overall.
Ia Lachelle followed, earning 118 points. Sandro Gurgenadze was joined by Oto Bazerashvili, who was part of Anastasia & Ranina for Georgia’s Junior Eurovision 2023 entry. Sandro earned a standing ovation and a perfect 120 points.
Heading into next week’s first part of the third round, here are the scores so far:
- Anastasia Iremadze: 119 + 120 + 120 = 359
- Sandro Ashotia: 118 + 120 + 120 = 358
- Sandro Gurgenadze: 118 + 120 + 120 = 358
- Andria Mishvelidze: 120 + 120 + 118 = 358
- Andria Putkaradze: 117 + 120 + 120 = 357
- Barbara Morgoshia: 116 + 120 + 120 = 356
- Ia Lachelle: 117 + 120 + 118 = 355
- Mate Martiashvili: 114 + 120 + 120 = 354
- Giorgi Shashiashvili: 113 + 120 + 120 = 353
- Marta Nozadze: 114 + 120 + 118 = 352
Teona Tsiramua, the artistic director of the Gori Girls Choir, joined regular judges Dato Evgenidze and Nato Metonidze on the panel.
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.
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 joint most wins with France among Junior Eurovision nations with three victories (all Kukhianidze compositions) in 2008, 2011, and 2016.
Tune in to Ranina next Saturday, May 4th, 2024, for the first half of the fourth round on 1TV Georgia.
Now that three of four rounds have concluded, which one of these ten hopefuls do #YOU think has what it takes to win a fourth JESC crown for Georgia? Let us know in the comments, in our forum, or in our social media.
