Georgia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018

Georgia took part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 which was held on 25 November 2018 in Minsk, Belarus.

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Country	Georgia
National selection
Selection process	Artist: Ranina Song: Internal selection
Selection date(s)	Artist: 18 May 2018 Song: 9 October 2018
Selected artist(s)	Tamar Edilashvili
Selected song	"Your Voice"
Selected songwriter(s)	Aleksandre Lordkipanidze Sopho Toroshelidze
Finals performance
Final result	8th, 144 points
Georgia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
◄2017 • 2018 • 2019►

Background

Main article: Georgia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2017 Contest, Georgia had participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest ten times since its debut in 2007, and since then they have never missed a single contest. Georgia is also the most successful country in the competition, with three victories in 2008, 2011 and 2016.

Before Junior Eurovision

Ranina

Georgia used an original children's talent show format for the first time, Ranina (Georgian: რანინა), as the selection method for their artist. Starting on 2 March 2018, the show lasted around two months with ten candidate artists.

Contestants

Contestant	Age	Final place	Episode of elimination
Tamar Edilashvili თამარ ედილაშვილი	12 years old	Winner	N/A
Nikoloz Vasadze ნიქოლოზ ვასაძე	10 years old	2nd place	Grand Finale
Anastasia Togonidze ანასთასია თოგონიძე	12 years old	3rd place
Davit Kimeridze დავით ქიმერიძე	12 years old	4th place	After Semi-final
Alexandre Zazarashvili ალექსანდრე ზაზარაშვილი	11 years old	5th place
Giorgi Tsiskadze გიორგი ცისაქაძე	13 years old	6th place	After Round 4
Maria-Elene Bezhashvili მარია-ელენე ბეჟაშვილი	12 years old	7th place
Mariam Saginashvili მარიამ საგინაშვილი	12 years old	8th place
Nikoloz Gogichaishvili ნიქოლოზ გოგიჩაიშვილი	13 years old	9th place
Nita Jakhua ნითა ჯახუა	12 years old	10th place

Round 1 (2 – 9 March 2018)

The jurors for this round were Davit Evgenidze, Natalia Kutateladze and Beka Gochiashvili.

Show 1 (2 March 2018) Guest artist: SALIO
Draw	Artist	Song	Jury scores												Final score
			D. Evgenidze				N. Kutateladze				B. Gochiashvili
1	Giorgi Tsiskadze	"Varskvlavebi" (ვარსკვლავები)	36				39				40				115
			9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
2	Nita Jakhua	"Mze" (მზე)	39				39				38				116
			9	10	10	10	9	10	10	10	9	9	10	10
3	Nikoloz Vasadze	"Gaivlis Dro" (გაივლის დრო)	40				40				40				120
			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
4	Nikoloz Gogichaishvili	"Rats Khvelaze Dzalian Gikhvars" (რაც ყველაზე ძალიან გიყვარს)	40				39				38				117
			10	10	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	9	9	10
5	Tamar Edilashvili	"Lale" (ლალე)	40				40				40				120
			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

Show 2 (9 March 2018) Guest artist: Niaz Diasamidze
Draw	Artist	Song	Jury scores												Final score
			D. Evgenidze				N. Kutateladze				B. Gochiashvili
1	Maria-Elene Bezhashvili	"Mezghvauris Simghera" (მეზღვაურის სიმღერა)	39				38				38				115
			9	10	10	10	9	9	10	10	9	10	9	10
2	Mariam Saginashvili	"Kari Kris" (ქარი ქრის)	40				40				40				120
			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
3	Davit Kimeridze	"Nami Vels (ნამი ველს)	40				39				39				118
			10	10	10	10	9	10	10	10	9	10	10	10
4	Anastasia Togonidze	"Dro" (დრო)	40				40				40				120
			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
5	Alexandre Zazarashvili	"Sakhli" (სახლი)	40				40				40				120
			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

Round 2 (16 – 23 March 2018)

The jurors for this round were Liza Bagrationi, Kakha Tolordava and Sophie Villy.

Show 3 (16 March 2018)
Draw	Artist	Song	Jury scores												Final score
			L. Bagrationi				K. Tolordava				S. Villy
1	Tamar Edilashvili	"Circle Of Life" (The Lion King)	36				35				40				111
			10	9	8	9	9	9	8	9	10	10	10	10
2	Nikoloz Gogichaishvili	"Where Is Love" (Oliver!)	36				36				37				109
			10	8	9	9	10	10	7	9	10	9	9	9
3	Nikoloz Vasadze	"Bare Necessities" (The Jungle Book)	40				40				40				120
			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
4	Nita Jakhua	"Wouldn't It Be Loverly" (My Fair Lady)	36				35				38				109
			9	9	9	9	9	9	8	9	9	10	9	10
5	Giorgi Tsiskadze	"Go To The Distance" (Hercules)	36				39				40				115
			9	8	9	10	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	10

Show 4 (23 March 2018)
Draw	Artist	Song	Jury scores												Final score
			L. Bagrationi				K. Tolordava				S. Villy
1	Anastasia Togonidze	"Reflection" (Mulan)	39				36				39				114
			10	9	10	10	10	9	8	9	10	10	9	10
2	Davit Kimeridze	"Can You Feel The Love Tonight" (The Lion King)	40				40				40				120
			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
3	Maria-Elene Bezhashvili	"Journey To The Past" (Anastasia)	37				37				38				112
			10	9	8	10	10	9	8	10	10	9	9	10
4	Alexandre Zazarashvili	"Your Song" (Moulin Rouge!)	39				39				39				117
			10	10	9	10	10	10	9	10	10	10	9	10
5	Mariam Saginashvili	"Friends Like Me" (Aladdin)	38				37				37				112
			10	9	9	10	9	9	9	10	9	9	9	10

Round 3 (30 March – 13 April 2018)

The jurors for this round were Buka Kartozia, Nino Katamadze and Zviad Bolkvadze.

Show 5 (30 March 2018) Guest artist: The Quintessence
Draw	Artist	Song	Jury scores												Final score
			B. Kartozia				N. Katamadze				Z. Bolkvadze
1	Nikoloz Gogichaishvili	"Chum Baghnarshi" (ჩუმ ბაღნარში)	33				36				35				104
			8	9	9	7	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	9
2	Tamar Edilashvili	"Tatris Gogona" (თათრის გოგონა)	36				36				36				108
			9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	9	9	8
3	Giorgi Tsiskadze	"Iagundisa" (იაგუნდისა)	33				38				36				107
			8	9	9	7	9	9	10	10	8	9	10	9
4	Nita Jakhua	"Sdzinavs T’bas" (სძინავს ტბას)	31				32				34				97
			8	8	8	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9
5	Nikoloz Vasadze	"Janaia" (ჯანაია)	39				39				38				116
			10	10	10	9	9	10	10	10	9	10	10	9

Show 6 (13 April 2018) Guest artist: The Quintessence
Draw	Artist	Song	Jury scores												Final score
			B. Kartozia				N. Katamadze				Z. Bolkvadze
1	Mariam Saginashvili	"K’rimanch’uli" (კრიმანჭული)	33				36				35				104
			8	9	9	7	9	9	9	9	9	8	9	9
2	Alexandre Zazarashvili	"Ai Balam, Balam" (აი ბალამ, ბალამ)	36				38				37				111
			9	9	10	8	9	9	10	10	8	9	10	10
3	Anastasia Togonidze	"Mze Shina Da Mze Gareta" (მზე შინა და მზე გარეთა)	38				39				34				111
			10	10	9	9	10	10	9	10	8	9	9	8
4	Maria-Elene Bezhashvili	"Sach’idao" (საჭიდაო)	33				36				36				105
			8	9	8	8	9	9	9	9	10	8	9	9
5	Davit Kimeridze	"Vagipi" (ვაგიფი)	40				39				36				115
			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9

Round 4 (20 – 27 April 2018)

The jurors for this round were Zaza Marjanishvili, Maia Datunashvili and Misha Mdinaradze.

Show 7 (20 April 2018) Songs by Paul McCartney
Draw	Artist	Song	Jury scores												Final score
			Z. Marjanishvili				M. Datunashvili				M. Mdinaradze
1	Nikoloz Vasadze	"Say, Say, Say"	40				40				39				119
			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	10
2	Giorgi Tsiskadze	"Yesterday"	40				39				39				118
			10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	10	9	10
3	Nita Jakhua	"Penny Lane"	38				34				34				106
			10	9	9	10	7	8	10	9	8	8	8	10
4	Nikoloz Gogichaishvili	"My Valentine"	36				40				39				115
			9	8	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	10
5	Tamar Edilashvili	"The Fool On The Hill"	40				40				40				120
			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

Show 8 (27 April 2018) Songs by Paul McCartney
Draw	Artist	Song	Jury scores												Final score
			Z. Marjanishvili				M. Datunashvili				M. Mdinaradze
1	Davit Kimeridze	"Let It Be"	40				39				38				117
			10	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	9	9	10	10
2	Anastasia Togonidze	"Ebony & Ivory"	39				40				40				119
			10	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
3	Mariam Saginashvili	"Blackbird"	39				33				38				110
			10	9	10	10	8	8	8	9	9	9	10	10
4	Maria-Elene Bezhashvili	"Eleanor Rigby"	38				40				39				117
			9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	10
5	Alexandre Zazarashvili	"Hey Jude"	40				40				39				119
			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	10

At the end of Show 8, the semi-finalists were announced. The five participants who collected the most points throughout the four tours advanced to the next round. They are Alexandre Zazarashvili, Anastasia Togonidze, Davit Kimeridze, Nikoloz Vasadze, and Tamar Edilashvili.

Semi-final (4 – 11 May 2018)

The jurors for the first semi-final were Misha Mdinaradze, Sopho Khalvashi and Beka Gochiashvili.

Semi-final 1 (4 May 2018) Guest artist: Iriao
Draw	Artist	Song	Jury ranking after Semi-final 1
			M. Mdinaradze	S. Khalvashi	B. Gochiashvili
1	Alexandre Zazarashvili	"ჩონგურს სიმები გავუბი" ("Chongurs Simebi Gavubi")	5th	4th	4th
2	Anastasia Togonidze	"მივალ გურიაში, მარა" ("Mival Guriashi, Mara")	2nd	5th	5th
3	Nikoloz Vasadze	"Take Five"	3rd	2nd	2nd
4	Davit Kimeridze	"ქალაქური მოტივები" ("Kalakuri Mot’ivebi")	4th	3rd	3rd
5	Tamar Edilashvili	"გზავნილი ყანჩელს" ("Gzavnili Q’anchels")	1st	1st	1st

The jurors for the second semi-final were Misha Mdinaradze, Sopho Toroshelidze and Beka Gochiashvili.

Semi-final 2 (11 May 2018) Songs by "The Jackson 5"
Draw	Artist	Song	Result
1	Nikoloz Vasadze	"I Want You Back"	2nd
2	Tamar Edilashvili	"I'll Be There"	1st
3	Davit Kimeridze	"Ben"	4th
4	Alexandre Zazarashvili	"Who's Loving You"	5th
5	Anastasia Togonidze	"I Wanna Be Where You Are"	3rd

Final (18 May 2018)

The jurors for the Final were Davit Evgenidze, Maia Datunashvili and David Malazonia.

Final (18 May 2018)
Draw	Artist	Song	Place
1	Anastasia Togonidze	"თოლიები" ("Toliebi")	Third place
2	Nikoloz Vasadze	"გზა სიარულმა დალია" ("Gza Siarulma Dalia")	Second place
3	Tamar Edilashvili	"მზეო, ლილეო" ("Mzeo, Lileo")	Winner

Artist and song information

Tamar Edilashvili
Background information
Born	(2005-05-11) 11 May 2005 Tbilisi, Georgia
Occupation	Singer
Instrument	Vocals

Tamar Edilashvili

Tamar Edilashvili (born 11 May 2005) is a Georgian child singer. She represented Georgia at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Minsk, Belarus.

The young singer currently studies at the NK School-Lyceum and the E. Mikeladze Central Music School. Tamar is no stranger to music competitions, having participated in the X Factor Georgia in 2017 and reaching the semi-final.

In October of last year, the three-month-long competition Ranina had begun, which saw Tamar and nine other entrants participate in multiple rounds of the show. During one of the shows, Tamar performed with Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao, the group that represented Georgia at this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

At Junior Eurovision

During the opening ceremony and the running order draw which both took place on 19 November 2018, Georgia was drawn to perform thirteenth on 25 November 2018, following Australia and preceding Israel.

Voting

The same voting system that was introduced in the 2017 edition was used, where the results were determined by 50% online voting and 50% jury voting. Every country had a national jury that consisted of three music industry professionals and two children aged between 10 and 15 who were citizens of the country they represented. The rankings of those jurors were combined to make an overall top ten.

The online voting consisted of two phases. The first phase of the online voting began on 23 November 2018 when a recap of all the rehearsal performances was shown on the contest's website Junioreurovision.tv before the viewers could vote. After this, voters also had the option to watch longer one-minute clips from each participant's rehearsal. This first round of voting ended on 25 November at 15:59 CET. The second phase of the online voting took place during the live show and began right after the last performance and was open for 15 minutes. International viewers were able vote for a minimum of three and a maximum of five songs. They were also able to vote for their own country's song. These votes were then turned into points which were determined by the percentage of votes received. For example, if a song received 10% of the votes, it received 10% of the available points.

Points awarded to Georgia

Score	Country
12 points	Ireland Israel Russia
10 points	France Italy Wales
8 points	Armenia
7 points	Ukraine
6 points
5 points	Australia Kazakhstan Macedonia
4 points
3 points
2 points	Azerbaijan Netherlands Portugal Serbia
1 points	Poland
Georgia received 39 points from the online vote

Points awarded by Georgia

Score	Country
12 points	Malta
10 points	Ukraine
8 points	Australia
7 points	Italy
6 points	Kazakhstan
5 points	Poland
4 points	France
3 points	Ireland
2 points	Netherlands
1 point	Belarus

Detailed voting results

Detailed voting results from Georgia

Draw	Country	Juror A	Juror B	Juror C	Juror D	Juror E	Average Rank	Points Awarded
01	Ukraine	1	1	2	3	3	2	10
02	Portugal	19	14	18	16	14	19
03	Kazakhstan	14	7	15	4	4	5	6
04	Albania	13	19	16	15	16	17
05	Russia	15	8	12	14	9	12
06	Netherlands	16	11	10	6	7	9	2
07	Azerbaijan	12	16	17	17	18	18
08	Belarus	18	9	9	7	11	10	1
09	Ireland	11	15	4	13	8	8	3
10	Serbia	10	18	14	9	12	13
11	Italy	4	2	5	5	5	4	7
12	Australia	3	4	3	2	2	3	8
13	Georgia
14	Israel	8	17	6	19	19	16
15	France	6	5	7	12	10	7	4
16	Macedonia	5	10	19	11	13	11
17	Armenia	9	12	8	18	17	14
18	Wales	17	13	13	10	15	15
19	Malta	2	3	1	1	1	1	12
20	Poland	7	6	11	8	6	6	5