Eurovision 2004 - Number 44 - Rūta Ščiogolevaitė - "Over"
This isn't Rūta Ščiogolevaitė's first dance at a Lithuanian national final, but this is the beginning of a remarkable run of five entries over the next twelve years in which she is never out of the top five. Who is Rūta? From the age of 14, she's been taking singing lessons at a conservatoire in Vilnius. She's been touring and singing all over the world throughout her student years. She's been collaborating with other Lithuanian musicians and singing backing vocals. By 2004, she was on the cusp of becoming one of the more well-known singers in Lithuania.
In 1999, she took part in the first Lithuanian national selection show, but on that occasion she didn't make it into the top four. After five years refining her craft, she's back with a song written by the same group of Estonians who are also busy writing songs for Euro Laul this year...
Over is power pop that at times threatens to deploy some of the hooks of Call Me Maybe seven years before that song was written, but backs off that into a 1980s-infused vocal showcase for Rūta. She's got it. Even if she's pushing her voice to the limits of the power notes it can handle, she's proves she can sing this material with confidence. She is a performer who knows how to handle a stage. The magnitude of her presence far exceeds everyone else in Eurovizijos Atranka this year.
The jury wanted her. They placed her first of all the acts. However, the televote were besotted with a big name band and quirkier performances. They placed her fifth leaving her in a three-way tie for first place.
I have no idea what the tie-break rule was. The act that came third was the one the televoters wanted. Rūta was the judges choice and came second. The act that came second with both won the tie-break. It may well have been decided by running order with the earlier performance winning. Rūta lost to the the ultimate compromise candidate, and subsequently Lithuania finished 16th in the first Eurovision semi-final.
Eurovizijos Atranka this year was her launch pad. By 2007, and her next appearance in the national final, she had been voted Lithuania's Brightest Star and had the biggest radio hit of that year. Despite all this success Rūta never won Eurovizijos Atranka. She hasn't represented Lithuania at Eurovision and remains of the bigger national final secrets. Her last attempt came in 2016 (after declaring in 2011 she wouldn't return) by which time she'd been a judge on the Lithuanian X Factor, won the Lithuanian Masked Singer and has been a mentor on the Lithuanian Voice.
