Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The local Media Services and Support Trust Fund (MTVA) and the Hungarian broadcaster Duna Media Service organised the national final A Dal 2019 in order to select the Hungarian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. As of 2024, this was Hungary's last entry in the contest, before the country withdrew the following year. The absence has continued in every edition since.

Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Country Hungary
National selection
Selection processA Dal 2019
Selection date(s)Heats:
19 January 2019
26 January 2019
2 February 2019
Semi-finals:
9 February 2019
16 February 2019
Final:
23 February 2019
Selected artist(s)Joci Pápai
Selected song"Az én apám"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (12th)
Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2018 2019

Background

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Prior to the 2019 contest, Hungary had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixteen times since its first entry in 1994.[1] Hungary's best placing in the contest was fourth, which they achieved with their début entry in 1994 with the song "Kinek mondjam el vétkeimet?" performed by Friderika Bayer. Hungary had attempted to participate in the contest in 1993, however, their entry was eliminated in the preselection show Kvalifikacija za Millstreet. Hungary withdrew from the contest for six years between 1999 and 2004 and also missed the 2006 and 2010 contests. In 2014, Hungary achieved their second-best result in the contest since their début, placing fifth with the song "Running" performed by András Kállay-Saunders. In 2016, Hungary placed 19th in the Eurovision final with the song "Pioneer" performed by Freddie. The following year they managed to finish in the top 10 again, now in the 8th place with "Origo" sang by Joci Pápai. In 2018 hard rock-metal band AWS represented the country in Lisbon, and placed 21st in the grand final with "Viszlát nyár.

The Hungarian national broadcaster, Media Services and Support Trust Fund (MTVA), broadcasts the event within Hungary and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. MTVA confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest on 1 October 2018. Since 2012, MTVA has organised A Dal, a national selection show which has managed to, thus far, produce entries that have qualified the nation to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest each year and has resulted in three top 10 placings in 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Before Eurovision

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Bogi Dallos and Freddie, the hosts of A Dal 2019

A Dal 2019

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A Dal 2019 was the eighth edition of the Hungarian national selection A Dal, which selected Hungary's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The competition consisted of 30 entries competing in three heats, two semi-finals, and a final. The hosts are Bogi Dallos and Freddie. At the first press conference on 3 December 2018, MTVA announced the hosts, the jury, the 30 competing songs, and introduced the new logo of the show. The former symbol was in use since the inauguration of the contest, and every year they added the current year in the logo. The new one looks like a play button, or a plectrum, written in the inside A DAL 2019.

Format

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Judges
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A jury panel consisted of four people:

  • Feró Nagy: the lead singer of the Hungarian band Beatrice
  • Lilla Vincze: the lead singer of the Hungarian band Napoleon Boulevard, was part of the Hungarian jury in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
  • Misi Mező: the lead singer and guitarist of the Hungarian band Magna Cum Laude
  • Miklós Both: two times Fonogram-award winner performer and composer.

Competing entries

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The top 30 entries of A Dal 2019

On 1 October 2018, MTVA opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 15 November 2018.[2][3][4][5][6] One of the finalists, Petruska, was disqualified after MTVA alleged that his song was plagiarized.[7]

Artist Song Songwriter(s)
Acoustic Planet "Nyári zápor" Szabolcs Kölcsey
Timi Antal feat. Gergő Demko "Kedves világ!" Tímea Antal, Johanna Szigyártó
Olivér Berkes "Világítótorony" Olivér Berkes, Arnold Vígh, Tamás Molnár
Deniz "Ide várnak vissza" András Vámos, Dénes Rizner Dénes
Diana "Little Bird" Viktor Rakonczai, Tamara Olorga
Fatal Error "Kulcs" Mihály Balázs, Miklós Balázs, Zsolt Rimóczi, Dávid Rónai, Botond Kornyik, Bence Joós
Gotthy "Csak 1 perc" Norbert Kovács, Ádám Gotthard
Klára Hajdu "You're Gonna Rise" Klára Hajdu, Milán Szakonyi
Barni Hamar "Wasted" Barni Hamar
Dávid Heatlie "La Mama Hotel" Péter Turóczi, Dávid Heatlie
Konyha "Százszor visszajátszott" Mátyás Szepesi, Miklós Toldi, Dániel Haller, Márk Badics
Kyra "Maradj még" Kyra Fedor
Leander Kills "Hazavágyom" Leander Köteles
The Middletonz "Roses" Farshad Alebatool, Attila Fehér Holló, András Kállay-Saunders
Mocsok 1 Kölykök "Egyszer" Tamás Pulius, Ádám Horváth, Kristóf Molnár, Ádám Csekő
Monyo Project "Run Baby Run" Endre Molnár, Edit Molnár
Bogi Nagy "Holnap" Ferenc Molnár 'Caramel'
Nomad "A remény hídjai" Szabolcs Jánosi, Marcell Juhász, Ábel Mihalik, Levente Nagy
Gergő Oláh "Hozzád bújnék" Gábor Mészáros, Mária Osztás
Joci Pápai "Az én apám" József Pápai, Ferenc Molnár 'Caramel'
Rozina Pátkai "Frida" Rozina Pátkai, Márton Fenyvesi, Zsófia Bán
Petruska "Help Me Out of Here" András Petruska
Ruby Harlem "Forró" Tamás Heilig, Szandra Iván
Salvus "Barát" Zoltán Pötörke, Péter Erdélyi, Gergely Kiss, Dániel Szabó
The Sign "Ő" Máté Gábor Czinke
Gergő Szekér "Madár, repülj!" Gergő Szekér
USNK "Posztolj" Dániel Somogyvári, Alex Márta
László Váray "Someone Who Lives Like This" László Váray
Bence Vavra "Szótlanság" László Csöndör 'Diaz', Kata Kozma, Bence Vavra, Máté Fodor
yesyes "Incomplete" Ádám Szabó, Dávid Danka 'Walston', Péter Halász

Shows

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Heats
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Three heats took place on 19 January, 26 January and 2 February 2019. In each heat ten entries competed and six entries qualified to the semi-finals after two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, five qualifiers were determined by the combination of scores from each judge and an aggregate score from a public SMS and mobile app vote. In the second round of voting, the remaining five entries that were not in the initial top five faced a public vote consisting of votes submitted through SMS in order to determine one additional qualifier.

In addition to the competing entries, other performers featured during the shows. Skorpió performed their song "Azt beszéli már az egész város" as the interval act in heat 1, Bill Deák Blues Band performed in heat 2, and Fecó Balázs performed in heat 3.

  Jury and public voting qualifier   Public voting qualifier

Heat 1 – 19 January 2019
Draw Artist Song F. Nagy L. Vincze M. Mező M. Both Viewers Total Result
1 Gergő Szekér "Madár, repülj!" 8 9 8 8 8 41 Advanced
2 Konyha "Százszor visszajátszott" 6 8 8 8 8 38 Advanced
3 László Váray "Someone Who Lives Like This" 5 6 6 6 6 29 Eliminated
4 Rozina Pátkai "Frida" 5 7 7 7 5 31 Eliminated
5 Barni Hamar "Wasted" 6 6 5 5 7 29 Eliminated
6 Olivér Berkes "Világítótorony" 5 8 6 6 8 33 Eliminated
7 Timi Antal feat. Gergő Demko "Kedves világ!" 10 9 6 6 8 39 Advanced
8 Nomad "A remény hídjai" 6 7 7 7 8 35 Advanced
9 Gergő Oláh "Hozzád bújnék" 7 9 9 8 8 41 Advanced
10 Deniz "Ide várnak vissza" 6 7 6 6 9 34 Advanced
Heat 2 – 26 January 2019
Draw Artist Song F. Nagy L. Vincze M. Mező M. Both Viewers Total Result
1 Dávid Heatlie "La Mama Hotel" 7 7 6 7 7 34 Eliminated
2 The Middletonz "Roses" 8 8 9 8 8 41 Advanced
3 Klára Hajdu "You're Gonna Rise" 5 8 7 6 6 32 Eliminated
4 Gotthy "Csak 1 perc" 5 5 4 4 8 26 Eliminated
5 Acoustic Planet "Nyári zápor" 8 9 9 9 8 43 Advanced
6 Fatal Error "Kulcs" 9 9 9 9 9 45 Advanced
7 Bence Vavra "Szótlanság" 7 9 8 7 8 39 Advanced
8 Diana "Little Bird" 6 7 7 6 8 34 Eliminated
9 The Sign "Ő" 7 7 8 8 8 38 Advanced
10 yesyes "Incomplete" 7 6 7 7 8 35 Advanced
Heat 3 – 2 February 2019
Draw Artist Song F. Nagy L. Vincze M. Mező M. Both Viewers Total Result
1 Leander Kills "Hazavágyom" 7 8 7 7 9 38 Eliminated
2 Petruska "Help Me Out of Here" 8 8 9 8 7 40 Advanced
3 Monyo Project "Run Baby Run" 7 7 7 7 7 35 Eliminated
4 Bogi Nagy "Holnap" 8 9 8 8 8 41 Advanced
5 Salvus "Barát" 7 8 6 7 8 36 Eliminated
6 Ruby Harlem "Forró" 7 8 9 9 7 40 Advanced
7 Joci Pápai "Az én apám" 8 9 8 8 8 41 Advanced
8 Kyra "Maradj még" 5 6 6 5 6 28 Eliminated
9 USNK "Posztolj" 6 6 7 7 9 35 Advanced
10 Mocsok 1 Kölykök "Egyszer" 8 8 8 7 8 39 Advanced
Semi-finals
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Two semi-finals took place on 9 and 16 February 2019. In each semi-final nine entries competed and four entries qualified to the final after two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, three qualifiers were determined by the combination of scores from each judge and an aggregate score from a public SMS and mobile app vote. In the second round of voting, the remaining six entries that were not in the initial top three faced a public vote consisting of votes submitted through SMS in order to determine one additional qualifier. Following the semi-final, Petruska was disqualified after MTVA alleged that his song was plagiarised. He was replaced in the final by Gergő Oláh, who had originally been eliminated but who was awarded a wildcard.

In addition to the competing entries, other performers featured during the shows. Miklós Varga and his children performed as the interval act in semi-final 1, and Republic performed in semi-final 2.

  Jury and public voting qualifier   Public voting qualifier   Disqualified   Wildcard qualifier

Semi-final 1 – 9 February 2019
Draw Artist Song F. Nagy L. Vincze M. Mező M. Both Viewers Total Result
1 USNK "Posztolj" 6 6 7 7 8 34 Eliminated
2 yesyes "Incomplete" 7 6 7 7 8 35 Eliminated
3 Konyha "Százszor visszajátszott" 6 8 8 8 8 38 Eliminated
4 The Sign "Ő" 7 7 8 8 7 37 Eliminated
5 Petruska "Help Me Out of Here" 8 8 9 9 8 42 Disqualified
6 Acoustic Planet "Nyári zápor" 9 9 9 10 8 45 Advanced
7 Deniz "Ide várnak vissza" 6 7 6 7 9 35 Eliminated
8 The Middletonz "Roses" 8 8 8 8 9 41 Advanced
9 Bence Vavra "Szótlanság" 8 9 9 8 8 42 Advanced
Semi-final 2 – 16 February 2019
Draw Artist Song F. Nagy L. Vincze M. Mező M. Both Viewers Total Result
1 Gergő Szekér "Madár, repülj!" 9 9 8 8 9 43 Advanced
2 Nomad "A remény hídjai" 7 7 7 7 8 36 Eliminated
3 Mocsok 1 Kölykök "Egyszer" 8 8 8 7 8 39 Eliminated
4 Bogi Nagy "Holnap" 8 9 9 8 8 42 Advanced
5 Gergő Oláh "Hozzád bújnék" 7 9 9 8 8 41 Wildcard
6 Timi Antal feat. Gergő Demko "Kedves világ!" 10 8 6 6 8 38 Eliminated
7 Fatal Error "Kulcs" 8 8 8 8 8 40 Advanced
8 Ruby Harlem "Forró" 7 8 8 8 7 38 Eliminated
9 Joci Pápai "Az én apám" 9 10 9 8 9 45 Advanced
Final
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The final took place on 23 February 2019 where the eight entries that qualified from the semi-finals competed. The winner of the competition was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the jury determined the top four entries that would advance to the second round. The voting system for the four jurors was different from the method used in the heats and semi-finals. Each juror announced their scores after all songs had been performed rather than assigning scores following each performance and the jurors ranked their preferred top four entries and assigned points in the following manner: 4 (lowest), 6, 8 and 10 (highest). The four entries with the highest total scores proceeded to the second round. In the second round, "Az én apám" performed by Joci Pápai was selected as the winner via a public vote consisting of votes submitted through SMS, mobile app and online voting. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers included AWS, the winner of A Dal 2018 and representative of Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.

  Advanced to the second round   Winner

Final – First Round – 23 February 2019
Draw Artist Song F. Nagy L. Vincze M. Mező M. Both Total Place
1 The Middletonz "Roses" 0 4 0 4 8 6
2 Gergő Oláh "Hozzád bújnék" 0 0 0 0 0 8
3 Bogi Nagy "Holnap" 10 6 0 0 16 4
4 Fatal Error "Kulcs" 8 0 0 0 8 6
5 Joci Pápai "Az én apám" 0 10 10 6 26 1
6 Gergő Szekér "Madár, repülj!" 0 0 4 8 12 5
7 Acoustic Planet "Nyári zápor" 6 0 6 10 22 2
8 Bence Vavra "Szótlanság" 4 8 8 0 20 3
Final – Second Round – 23 February 2019
Artist Song
Acoustic Planet "Nyári zápor"
Bogi Nagy "Holnap"
Joci Pápai "Az én apám"
Bence Vavra "Szótlanság"

At Eurovision

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According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2019, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Hungary was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 14 May 2019, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[8]

Once all the competing songs for the 2019 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Hungary was set to perform in position 7, following the entry from Czech Republic and preceding the entry from Belarus.[9]

Semi-final

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Hungary performed seventh in the first semi-final, following the entry from Czech Republic and preceding the entry from Belarus. At the end of the show, Hungary was not announced among the top 10 entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Hungary placed twelfth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 97 points: 32 points from the televoting and 65 points from the juries, therefore missing out the final for the first time since 2010 when the country did not participate. With the old voting system, Hungary would have ranked 12th with 49 points.

Voting

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Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results will be released shortly after the grand final.[10]

Points awarded to Hungary

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Points awarded to Hungary (Semi-final 1)[11]
Score Televote Jury
12 points   Serbia
10 points   France
8 points
7 points
6 points   Slovenia
5 points   Estonia
4 points   Czech Republic
3 points
2 points
1 point   Australia

Points awarded by Hungary

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Detailed voting results

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The following members comprised the Hungarian jury:[10]

  • Attila Borcsik (Izil; jury chairperson) – head of music, DJ, music curator
  • Béla Patkó [hu] (Kiki) – performer, singer
  • Mátyás Szepesi [hu] – singer, songwriter, lyricist, lead singer of the band Konyha
  • Judit Korsós [hu] (Lola) – singer, presenter
  • Alexandra Iván – singer, songwriter, lyricist, lead singer of Ruby Harlem
Detailed voting results from Hungary (Semi-final 1)[11]
Draw Country Jury Televote
Izil Kiki M. Szepesi Lola A. Iván Rank Points Rank Points
01   Cyprus 9 10 14 14 11 15 8 3
02   Montenegro 16 4 16 13 7 13 14
03   Finland 15 5 15 12 14 14 16
04   Poland 1 3 7 9 4 3 8 5 6
05   Slovenia 3 16 12 7 6 8 3 4 7
06   Czech Republic 6 1 11 2 1 2 10 7 4
07   Hungary
08   Belarus 10 2 1 1 2 1 12 11
09   Serbia 8 6 3 11 5 4 7 9 2
10   Belgium 7 15 8 6 12 12 12
11   Georgia 11 14 5 15 3 9 2 15
12   Australia 5 9 6 5 8 6 5 6 5
13   Iceland 2 11 10 10 15 10 1 2 10
14   Estonia 12 13 2 4 9 5 6 3 8
15   Portugal 4 7 13 8 13 11 13
16   Greece 13 12 4 3 10 7 4 10 1
17   San Marino 14 8 9 16 16 16 1 12
Detailed voting results from Hungary (Final)[12]
Draw Country Jury Televote
Izil Kiki M. Szepesi Lola A. Iván Rank Points Rank Points
01   Malta 15 7 26 16 10 17 20
02   Albania 20 20 24 24 24 25 22
03   Czech Republic 6 3 18 3 1 1 12 17
04   Germany 21 15 20 10 9 19 25
05   Russia 16 14 21 21 14 22 4 7
06   Denmark 5 10 7 14 3 5 6 19
07   San Marino 23 26 11 26 26 23 5 6
08   North Macedonia 14 9 1 1 5 2 10 12
09   Sweden 18 1 14 6 13 7 4 13
10   Slovenia 3 21 22 15 15 14 8 3
11   Cyprus 11 23 16 20 19 21 18
12   Netherlands 9 13 5 8 8 10 1 3 8
13   Greece 8 22 3 18 21 13 24
14   Israel 7 25 15 19 7 15 11
15   Norway 2 12 9 22 17 11 2 10
16   United Kingdom 12 8 13 9 2 9 2 26
17   Iceland 1 24 19 17 25 12 1 12
18   Estonia 13 16 6 11 23 16 15
19   Belarus 4 6 8 2 4 3 8 23
20   Azerbaijan 17 5 2 7 18 6 5 9 2
21   France 26 18 10 13 12 20 10 1
22   Italy 10 2 4 5 20 4 7 7 4
23   Serbia 19 11 12 12 11 18 21
24    Switzerland 25 4 23 4 6 8 3 6 5
25   Australia 24 17 17 23 16 24 14
26   Spain 22 19 25 25 22 26 16

References

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  1. ^ "Hungary Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  2. ^ Juhász, Ervin (27 September 2018). "The Winner Of A Dal 2019 To Represent Hungary In Eurovision 2019 In Israel!". escbubble.com. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  3. ^ Gallagher, Robyn (28 September 2018). "Hungary: Duna Media launches A Dal 2019… and confirms participation in Tel Aviv". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  4. ^ Maddalozzo, Riccardo (28 September 2018). "Hungary confirms participation in Tel Aviv and A Dal continues". escxtra.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  5. ^ Farren, Neil (27 September 2018). "Hungary: Eurovision 2019 Participation Confirmed". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Hungary is looking for you!". eurovision.tv. 2 October 2018. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  7. ^ Herbert, Emily (18 February 2019). "Hungary: Petruska Disqualified from A Dal 2019". EuroVoix. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  8. ^ Jordan, Paul (28 January 2019). "Eurovision 2019: Which country takes part in which Semi-Final?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Exclusive: This is the Eurovision 2019 Semi-Final running order!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  10. ^ a b Groot, Evert (30 April 2019). "Exclusive: They are the judges who will vote in Eurovision 2019!". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "Results of the First Semi-Final of Tel Aviv 2019". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Results of the Grand Final of Tel Aviv 2019". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
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