I am back from Eurovision in Concert in Amsterdam and way behind schedule with these but we plough on. We now travel to the land of stone, wolves and khachapuri (try it if you haven’t already). It’s Georgia!
History
Georgia first took part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007. This year marks their 16th participation in the contest. Their best result to date is ninth place, which Sofia Nizharadze with “Shine” and Eldrine with “One More Day” achieved in 2010 and 2011 respectively. At the 2023 contest, Iru finished 12th in the second semi-final with “Echo”, leaving Georgia out of the final for the sixth consecutive year.
Selection
The Georgian broadcaster, Georgian Public Broadcasting (საქართველოს საზოგადოებრივი მაუწყებელი – Sakartvelos Sazogadoebrivi Mauts’q’ebeli – GPB) used an internal selection to select their 2024 entrant. Nutsa Buzaladze was selected to represent Georgia in Malmö.
Artist
Nutsa Buzaladze (ნუცა ბუზალაძე) was born on January 28 1997 in Tbilisi but grew up in Turkey. She started performing at the age of five, when she joined a children’s ensemble.
Nutsa’s solo career began in 2011 when she took part in Georgia’s Got Talent. In 2015, she competed in the fifth season of O Ses Türkiye. Her coach on the show was Hadise, who represented Turkey in 2009.
In 2017, Nutsa Buzaladze competed in the Georgian selection for Eurovision with “White Horses Run”, placing second. In 2019, she released her debut album “Nutsa22”, consisting of songs in Georgian and English. Her breakout hit “Gelodebi” (გელოდები – I’m waiting for you) came from this album.
In 2023, Nutsa participated in the 21st season of American Idol, finishing in the top 12. She is currently based in Dubai.
The song that Nutsa will perform in Malmö is called “Firefighter”. It was written and composed by Ada Skitka and Darko Dimitrov. Darko has written several Eurovision entries, including “Proud” (North Macedonia 2019).
Song Review
A song with “fire” in the lyrics that doesn’t rhyme with “desire” or “higher”? That’s a plus in my book.
Georgia are coming for blood this year. They bring a song full of attitude and catchy beats and pair it with a vocal powerhouse. Nutsa’s vocals really take this song to another level because she is pure power combined with smooth runs. I was not convinced by this song at first but when I saw the live performance, I was blown away. Nutsa is a perfomer and I think we can expect big things from her in Malmö.
Georgia are already in a historical year because they have qualified for UEFA Euro 2024 for the first time as an independent nation. This should also be the year that Georgia gets back to the Grand Final of Eurovision. I see it in the air.
The One That Got Away
If Nutsa got her chance at Eurovision after participating in the 2017 national selection, maybe we can add Trio Mandili to that list?
Trio Mandili are a trio who mainly perform Georgian polyphonic folk music accompanied by a panduri, a traditional Georgian stringed instrument. They quickly became popular in their home country and abroad. In 2017, they attempted to represent Georgia at Eurovision with “Me da shen” (You and me) but ended up finished 12th in the final.
If Nutsa finally got her chance at Eurovision, why can’t Trio Mandili?
წარმატებებს საქართველო!
Will Nutsa put out the fire or be burned? Leave your comments below. Stay tuned tomorrow for another Eurovision preview!
(Sources: eurovision.tv, GPB, YouTube)
Thinking About It 