We move swiftly on from the first Baltic country to our second. Lithuania have never won the contest but finished in the top 10 as recently as 2016. After the explosion of noise that was their little-liked entry last year, their super long running national selection has resulted in a complete contrast – a quiet and subtle ballad. Will it return Lithuania to the grand final? 

In a nutshell, this is so much better than Lithuania’s effort last year. Now it’s not the most exciting or memorable song you’ll hear this year (and why it’s appearing in this position in my list) but it’s heartfelt, soft and sweet. Ieva herself seems lovely – she charmed the crowd at the London Eurovision Party and remarkably, given she was on late and how quiet a ballad it is, the crowd kept their talking down! She performed it well of course, it’s just not a song to set the contest on fire.

How will it do? It’s been given a tough job by the show runners, that’s for sure. Already drawn in the tougher half of the tougher semi-final, it’s been given 6th place in the running order, sandwiched between two of the pre-contest favourites. While that may sound like a death knell for its chances, it may yet not be the case. The contrast in styles of song could help Ieva, plus both Ireland and the UK vote in this semi, so that will bring some guaranteed televotes.

Official music video:

Live performance at Lithuanian national final:

Lithuania at the Eurovision Song Contest:

 First entered: 1994

Appearances (excluding this year): 18

Best result: 6th in 2006

Last year’s result: 17th in semi-final (did not qualify)