| Eurovision Song Contest 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Poland | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Piosenka dla Europy 2006 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 28 January 2006 | |||
| Selected entrant | Ich Troje & Real McCoy | |||
| Selected song | "Follow My Heart" | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Failed to qualify (11th, 70 points) | |||
| Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Poland’s entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens was "Follow My Heart", sung by Ich Troje. It was the second time the group represented Poland, following their 7th place in 2003 in Riga. This time the group was joined on stage by German dance music producer Olaf Jeglitza a.k.a. Real McCoy who enjoyed a couple of massive dance hits in the mid 1990s. "Follow My Heart" is a 1990s style synthesizer led track and is also multi-lingual (the version performed at the ESC contained lyrics in Polish, German, English and Russian). The song was composed by André Franke, and the lyrics were written by Michał Wiśniewski, Jacek Łągwa and Real McCoy.
Before Eurovision[edit]
Piosenka dla Europy 2006[edit]
Piosenka dla Europy 2006 was the national final organised by TVP in order to select the Polish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The show took place on 28 January 2006 at the TVP Studio 5 in Warsaw, hosted by Artur Orzech and Agnieszka Szulim. A combination of public televoting and jury voting selected the winner. The show was broadcast on TVP1 and TVP Polonia as well as streamed online at the broadcaster's website tvp.pl.[1] The national final was reported to have received a market share of 36% in Poland.[2]
Competing entries[edit]
TVP opened a submission period for interested artists and songwriters to submit their entries between 11 November 2005 and 10 December 2005.[3] The broadcaster received 112 submissions at the closing of the deadline.[4] An eleven-member selection committee selected fifteen entries from the received submissions to compete in the national final. Among the members of the selection committee were Bogdan Olewicz (composer), Zygmunt Kukla (conductor, composer), Robert Sankowski (journalist), Janusz Kosiński (journalist) and Piotr Klatt (journalist and entertainment editor at TVP1). The selected entries were announced on 20 December 2005.[5] Among the competing artists was Ich Troje, who represented Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003.
Final[edit]
The televised final took place on 28 January 2006. Fifteen entries competed and the winner, "Follow My Heart" performed by Ich Troje feat. Real McCoy, was determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from a professional jury made up of six music professionals and a public vote. The jury consisted of Maryla Rodowicz (singer), Maria Szabłowska (Polish Radio), Elżbieta Skrętkowska (creator of Szansa na Sukces), Beata Drążkowska (OGAE Poland), Zygmunt Kukla (conductor, composer) and Robert Leszczyński (journalist). Ich Troje feat. Real McCoy and Katarzyna Cerekwicka were both tied for the first place with 17 points, however the results of the public vote took precedence and led to the victory of Ich Troje feat. Real McCoy. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Bajm and 2004 Polish Eurovision entrants Blue Café performed as the interval acts.[6]
| Final – 28 January 2006 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song (English translation) | Composer(s) | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
| 1 | Agata Torzewska | "Goodbye" | Agata Torzewska, Gregorz Kopala | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 2 | Danzel | "Undercover" | Johan Waem | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| 3 | Katarzyna Moś | "I Wanna Know" | Katarzyna Moś, Jacek Balon, Robert Janson | 4 | 0 | 4 | 11 |
| 4 | Maciej Silski | "Za karę" (For punishment) | Maciej Silski, Michał Grymuza | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| 5 | Leonie Kuizenga | "Love Is What We All Need" | Jeremy Ebell, Leonie Kuizenga, Romeo Samuel, Sietse Bakker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 6 | Ich Troje feat. Real McCoy | "Follow My Heart" | André Franke, Michał Wiśniewski, Jacek Łągwa, Real McCoy | 5 | 12 | 17 | 1 |
| 7 | Dezire | "Good Girl" | Ana Rusowicz, Bartek Gasiul, Filip Siejka, Maja Studzińska | 12 | 2 | 14 | 4 |
| 8 | Ha-Dwa-O | "Popatrz na mnie" (Look at me) | Sonia Neumann, Tomasz Konfederak, Bartosz Wielgosz | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 9 | Katarzyna Cerekwicka | "Na kolana" (On my knees) | Kasia Cerekwicka, Piotr Siejka | 10 | 7 | 17 | 2 |
| 10 | Sławomir Uniatowski | "Kocham Cię" (I love you) | Janusz Onufrowicz, Piotr Kellaer | 7 | 6 | 13 | 5 |
| 11 | Mosqitoo | "Jeżeli jesteś – wołam Cię" (If you're there I'll call you) | Ania Dąbrowska, Monika Głębowicz, Rafał Malicki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 12 | Brathanki | "W nas ciepło wiosen" (The warmth of spring within us) | Zbigniew Książek | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| 13 | The Jet Set | "How Many People" | Kamil Varen, Tray, Mateusz Krezan | 8 | 8 | 16 | 3 |
| 14 | Kto To | "Zero do stracenia" (Nothing to lose) | Slawomir Szudrowicz, Jerzy Delwo | 6 | 3 | 9 | 7 |
| 15 | Queens | "I Fell In Love" | Marcin Nierubiec | 0 | 10 | 10 | 6 |
At Eurovision[edit]
Performance[edit]
Some notable changes to the group took place in comparison with their previous ESC entry and other performances. First of all, the current female vocalist Anna Świątczak (and Wiśniewski's love interest, pregnant with their baby) was joined by her predecessors Magda Femme (also Wiśniewski's former wife) and Justyna Majkowska, therefore (combined with Real McCoy) reaching the limit of six performers on stage. Secondly, Wiśniewski sported green rather than usual red hair, which was not related to the ESC but rather to a promotional contract with a mobile network operator, whose color code is green.
The group performed in ornate costumes displaying an eclectic mix of different historical styles and themes. The whole performance was rather full of gravitas and pompous, with Łągwa sitting by a grand piano and Wiśniewski kissing Świątczak and displaying affection towards the unborn baby. This was somewhat counterbalanced by Real McCoy wandering around the audience while delivering his rap lines (he was the only artist not to actually perform on stage in ESC 2006).
Follow My Heart came 11th out of 23 entries in the semi-final, which was a repeat of the 2005 result (Poland also placed 11th in the semi-final), and a near miss, as only the 10 entries that come first in the semi-final advance to the final night.[7] Therefore, Poland will have to compete in the semi-final again in ESC 2007.
Voting[edit]
Points awarded to Poland[edit]
| Score | Country |
|---|---|
| 12 points | |
| 10 points |  Ukraine |
| 8 points |  Lithuania |
| 7 points |  Ireland |
| 6 points |  Germany |
| 5 points |  Russia |
| 4 points |
|
| 3 points |
|
| 2 points |
|
| 1 point |
|
Points awarded by Poland[edit]
|
|
References[edit]
- ^ "Krajowy Finał Eurowizji 2006 na żywo w iTVP". wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Oglądalność Piosenki dla Europy 2008". eurowizja.org (in Polish). 25 February 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ Bakker, Sietse (11 November 2005). "Polish final on 28th January". Esctoday.
- ^ Górecki, Kamil (16 December 2005). "Full list of songs submitted to Polish selection". Esctoday.
- ^ Bakker, Sietse (20 December 2005). "TVP announced 15 participants 2006 selection". Esctoday.
- ^ "Blue Cafe i Bajm podczas Eurowizji". wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). 20 January 2006. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Semi-Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Results of the Semi-Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Results of the Grand Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
