In a long but very entertaining Saturday evening show, the group PeR have been picked as the Latvian representatives for the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest.
PeR is actually an abbreviation that stands for "Please explain the Rhythm". The group was founded in 2007 and has been famous for their vocal and beatbox music. Last year, they came second in the Latvian Eurovision selection with Disco Superfly. This year they took part with two songs, and both of them qualified for tonight's final! In the end, PeR went on to take the trophy with Here We Go.
The suspense in the hall had already built up once Marta Ritova, Grupa PeR and Samanta Tina had been chosen as super-finalists out of the 12 participating entries by a joint decision of the TV public and the jury.
This is the running order of the Dziesma 2013 final (super-finalists in bold):
One - Niko
Fool In Love - Dāvids Kalandija & Dināra
When You Are With Me - Antra Stafecka
Sad Trumpet - Grupa PeR
The One - Pieneņu Vīns
I Am Who I Am - Marta Ritova
Higher And Higher - Liene Candy
I Need A Hero - Samanta Tina
Cold Heart - Ieva Sutugova
Love - Headline
Upside Down - Sabīne Berezina
Here We Go - Grupa PeR
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The Latvian final boasted some truly exceptional stage acts, from an almost hyperactive dance performance of Niko's backing dancers to an amazing combination of singing and artistic dancing by Antra Stafecka in her cabaret-like act, from painted faces in Pieneņu Vīns' act to Liene Candy's and Samanta TIna's grand ballads. It was an entertaining evening for sure!
A 50/50 mix of televoting and an expert jury voted on all the acts, selecting the three super-finalists. After ten more minutes of voting, the winning act and Latvian Eurovision representative was chosen.
The show
Mārtiņš Meiers, Madara Botmane and Anta Aizupe hosted tonight's final of Dziesma 2013. The show was kicked off with a synthesis of folk music and modern DJ sounds performed on stage.
As guest acts, two 2012 Eurovision Song Contest representatives sang during the interval: Anmary from Latvia, and Ott Lepland from neighbouring Estonia. Apart from them, the popular Latvian band Labvēlīgais Tips also sang for the public in Ventspils, followed by DaGamba, Vineta Elksne, Dons and Jānis Stībelis followed suite.
