Thankfully this year there will be only one 'Supernova' show, to be broadcast on February 8, after last year's 'two-semis-and-then-a-final' format stretched the attractions of repeatedly listening to Eurovision type songs well beyond the limits of human endurance.
The prize for the winner will be a ticket to the 65th International Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
There is also a major overhaul of the judging procedure. Though 26 songs are on the long list released January 9, the all-powerful jury will choose 8 songs to compete in the final, at which point the public will get to vote. Before that all the songs will be available on a dedicated YouTube channel, with the judges supposed to take their apparent popularity there into account when making their selections. The eight songs for the Supernova final will be announced in one week's time on January 16.
“Television viewers will only be actively involved in the evaluation of the songs by voting in the live broadcast of the final. Eight final songs will be chosen by the jury, also considering how the songs will be judged by the audience on the YouTube platform,” said Ilze Jansone, producer of Supernova 2020. Eight final songs will be announced in a week - January 16th.
This year's Supernova competition received a record number of 126 songs. The 26 songs on the long list (in random order) are listed below.
Many of the performers are already familiar faces from previous Eurovision efforts, including hardy perennials Markus Riva and Samanta Tina, but there are also acts the public will not have seen before.
You can follow the latest news on the Supernova website.
Supernova 2020 entrants
Elizabeth Gaile " For You"
Liva "Not That Important To You"
Annemarija Moiseja "Undo"
Celeste "Like Me"
Rūta Ķergalve “Izgaismots”
Laika Upe “All My Roads”
Audiokvartāls “Connection”
Toms Kalderauskis “Be My Truth”
Markus Riva “Impossible”
Katrīna Bindere “I Will Break Your Heart”
Shanti “Voices In My Mind”
Madara “Māras zeme”
Samanta Tīna “Still Breathing”
Sabīne Blūma-Blūmane “Beauty Will Save The World”
Maia “Make It Real”
Edgars Kreilis “Tridymite”
Katrīna Dimanta “Heart Beats”
Antra Stafecka un Atis Ieviņš “Coming Over”
Aivo Oskis “Dive Deep”
Bad Habits “Sail With You”
ANNNA “Polyester”
Alise Haijima “Me Me Song”
DRIKSNA “Stay”
Miks Dukurs “I’m Falling For You”
Alekss Silvers "Again"
Signe and Janis “Inner Light”
You can follow the latest news on the special Supernova website .