BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/04/2009

Introducing the 2009 entries: Belarus

All entries in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest are known, but the actual contest is still about a month away. As a warm-up, we introduce one of the entries every day in random order. Part thirty-three is dedicated to the entry from Belarus.

Basic information

Performer: Petr Elfimov (Пётр Ялф?маў)

Song: Eyes that never lie

Language: English

Music: Petr Elfimov

Lyrics: Valery Prokhozhy

Draw: 4th in the first semi final

The song

Eyes that never lie is a mid-tempo rock song with pop elements. Through the lyrics, the singer sings a beloved person's praise:

You chased sorrow away

You changed night into day

You cured all of my pain

With your eyes that never lie

All my life I waited

Thinking I would never fly

Then you looked and saw my wings

With your eyes that never lie

The singer

Petr Elfimov was born in 1980 to a family of musicians as his mother is a famous conductor and his father is a singer in a choir. His own stage debut came at the young age of six. In the late 1990s, he founded his first band Egoist and in 2004, he won the first prize in the Popular Song Contest of Vitebsk. He also competed in other music contests all around Europe. Over those years, he attended various music schools and he graduated from the Belarusian State Music Academy in 2005. He has been a pop vocal coach since and currently he is working on his master degree.

In 2004, Petr Elfimov was a backing singer for Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, Alexandra & Konstantin did not make it to the final on the country's debut. In 2009, he entered the Belarusian national selection as a soloist and could win with Eyes that never lie. He is the third male solo performer representing Belarus in a row and he maintains the country's tradition of singing in English at the competition.

The national selection

The Belarusian selection was turned upside down this year. Although there was a semi final and a final again, this time the semi final qualifiers were chosen by the jury and the eventual winner was chosen by televoting. Petr Elfimov was the clear winner of the national final with 11,475 votest ahead of Gunesh, who finished second with 7,949 votes.

Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest

Belarus entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004 and was not very successful at the beginning being eliminated in the semi final on its first three attempts. However, it changed in 2007 Koldun qualified for the final and finished sixth overall. In 2008, the country did not make it to the final again.

Мы жадаем Беларусi i Пятру Ялфiмаву усяго найлепшага i добрага рэзультату у Маскве!

Мы желаем Петру Елфимову удачи и хорошего результата в Москве!

Videos

Petr Elfimov speaks to esctoday.com: