American Idol 2023 Finalist Nutsa Buzaladze to compete for Georgia in Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final
Congratulations to Nutsa Buzaladze who has qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest final! The American Idol season 21 Top 12 finalist competed on Semi-final part 2 Thursday night (May 9) and earned enough votes to move on to the next round. Nutsa will represent her home country Georgia with a song titled “Firefighter.”
In an interview with Billboard in Malmö, Sweden where the contest is taking place this year, the big voiced singer shared that Georgian producers allowed her to be involved with “every little detail.” She, along with producers, listened to 300 songs, finally settling on “Firefighter” by Darko Dimitrov, a Macedonian producer who “has a lot of experience in Eurovision.” Ada Skitka from Estonia penned the lyrics.
After American Idol last Spring, Nutsa stayed in the United States to perform various gigs. “I really loved the song, but only the chorus,” Nutsa told Billboard. “I flew from Miami to Macedonia, and we spent three days in the studio finishing the song. It was a very creative process.”
The Eurovision Song Contest will air around the world on Saturday May 11 at 3 pm EDT/PDT. In American fans can stream the broadcast on Peacock. If you’d like to catch up on Nutsa’s semi-final performance, the two semi-final episodes are also online to stream.
Unfortunately, You Tube videos from the live shows are unavailable in the United States. But if you know your way around VPN, go for it!. I did. Georgia was called next to last in the big reveal. It must have been nerve wracking for Nutsa!
Viewer voted determined the 20 countries advancing from the semi-finals. However, a combination of viewer votes and jury votes from every country competing in the competition will determine Saturday’s winner.
2024 Eurovision Song Contest mired in controversy. Netherlands disqualified in early hours!
The “big five” countries–Germany, Spain, France Italy and the United Kingdom–are automatically eligible for the Grand Finale without having to compete in the semi-finals. The reigning winner–Sweden, also advanced automatically. See the 26 countries below who became eligible to compete in Saturday’s competition,
But actually, there are only 25 now, as the Netherlands was dramatically disqualified Saturday morning! According to ABC News:
Competition organizer the European Broadcasting Union said Swedish police were investigating “a complaint made by a female member of the production crew” against Dutch performer Joost Klein. The organizer said it wouldn’t be appropriate for Klein to participate at the event in Malmo while the legal process was underway.
Klein, a 26-year-old Dutch singer and rapper, had been a favorite of both bookmakers and fans with his song “Europapa.”
He failed to perform at two dress rehearsals on Friday, and the EBU had said it was investigating an “incident.” Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, one of dozens of public broadcasters that collectively fund and broadcast the contest, said that as Klein came offstage after Thursday’s semifinal he was filmed without his consent and in turn made a “threatening movement” toward the camera.
The broadcaster said Klein didn’t touch the camera or the female camera operator, and called his expulsion “very heavy and disproportionate” punishment.
Also, pro-Palestinian fans have been protesting the inclusion of Israel in light of the war the country is waging in the Gaza strip. Individual contestants have also been delivering speeches, skipping rehearsals, waving flags, etc.
Here are the countries that advanced to the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final:
Germany – Big Five
Spain – Big Five
France – Big Five
Italy – Big Five
United Kingdom – Big Five
Sweden – Reigning winners
Serbia – Qualified from Semi-final one
Portugal – Qualified from Semi-final one
Slovenia – Qualified from Semi-final one
Ukraine – Qualified from Semi-final one
Lithuania – Qualified from Semi-final one
Finland – Qualified from Semi-final one
Cyprus – Qualified from Semi-final one
Croatia – Qualified from Semi-final one
Ireland – Qualified from Semi-final one
Luxembourg – Qualified from Semi-final one
Latvia – Qualified from Semi-final two
Austria – Qualified from Semi-final twoNetherlands – Qualified from Semi-final two DISQUALIFIED!
Norway – Qualified from Semi-final two
Israel – Qualified from Semi-final two
Greece – Qualified from Semi-final two
Estonia– Qualified from Semi-final two
Switzerland – Qualified from Semi-final two
Georgia – Qualified from Semi-final two – Nutsa Buzaladze will sing “Firefighter”
Armenia– Qualified from Semi-final two
