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- Breaking news – ESC 2006 already has a winner! Simple as that, sung in English and French, "We Are the Winners" is this year's Lithuanian entry which already caused controversy in many European countries. "We are the winners of Eurovision", goes the refrain. Surely, they must be joking?
Well, it seems they are not. Or maybe they are, but they do it with charm. LT UNITED, the band responsible for this year's entry, is the "all star line-up" of Lithuanian popular performers. Created and masterminded by Andrius Mamontovas, the famous Lithuanian rock singer, they deliver this catchy song with a message that's hard to resist. Lithuanian President is a fan - he invited LT UNITED to his office to perform in the event staged to celebrate Lithuania's Independence Day. Two weeks later, the nation made the same choice - LT UNITED witnessed unprecedented support during the national selection of ESC, pocketing almost twice as many votes from the viewers as the closest runners-up. And their popularity keeps growing - in March, LT UNITED became Lithuanian ambassadors of United Nations Development Programme "Time To Help The Others".
"The idea of this song came to me during a live TV discussion about Eurovision. It just stuck in my head. Is the song ironic? Well, there's certain element of irony involved, of course. But the fact is, this is a song for the winners. A happy, uplifting song", A.Mamontovas said.
Viewers of the same broadcast witnessed his promise to write a song for ESC 2006. Everybody thought he was joking. But he wasn't. Immediately fascinated by his idea, five Lithuanian pop stars jumped aboard, forming the most ambitious line-up in Lithuanian pop history.
"This is the musical equivalent of national basketball team. Combined, the members of this line-up have the biggest experience of touring and performing in foreign countries. Our strength is unity, so I'm 100% sure about this idea", - A.Mamontovas said.
After winning Lithuanian ESC selection, LT UNITED chose an alternative approach of promotion. Forget the trips to European capitals and performances in nightclubs.
"There will be no public performances of this song until the day of ESC semi-final. No radio promo CDs to be issued, as well.
We're going to Athens not to compete against anybody. The fact is, we have the song of the Eurovision winners. And we are going to perform it", Andrius said.
In Eurovision Song Contest LT United won the six place. It's best win for Lithuania ever in ESC.
- CD
- Vilnius, Lithuania
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