Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004

On 22 January 2004, C1R announced a submission period for interested artists and composers to submit their entries until 15 February 2004. The broadcaster received over 700 submissions at the conclusion of the deadline, including entries from Anastasia Stotskaya, Avraam Russo, Dima Bilan, Reflex and Smash. A jury panel evaluated the received submissions and selected the Russian entry.{{cite web |url=https://vsluh.ru/novosti/obshchestvo/fabrikantka-yuliya-savicheva-predstavit-rossiyu-na-evrovidenii_27913/ |title="Фабрикантка» Юлия Савичева представит Россию на «Евровидении"|author=|date= 11 March 2004|website= vsluh.ru|publisher= |access-date= 27 August 2022|quote=}} The jury consisted of Konstantin Ernst (general manager of C1R), Aleksandr Fifeman (general producer of C1R), Marina Danielyan (service manager of C1R), Yuriy Aksyuta (music director of C1R), Vladimir Matetsky (singer-songwriter and producer) and Valeriya (singer).{{cite web|last=Mikheev|first=Andy|title=Russia 2004|url=http://www.esckaz.com/2004/rus.htm|access-date=12 July 2013|work=ESCKaz}}

On 10 March 2004, C1R announced that they had internally selected Yulia Savicheva to represent Russia in Istanbul, and that a song produced by Maxim Fadeev had also been selected.{{cite web|last=Bakker|first=Sietse|date=10 March 2004|title=Julia Savicheva participates for Russia|url=http://www.esctoday.com/2327|access-date=12 July 2013|work=ESCToday.com}}{{cite web|last=Mikheev|first=Andy|title=Eurovision 2004 Yulia Savicheva|url=http://esckaz.com/russia/2004e.htm|access-date=12 July 2013|work=ESCKaz}} The Russian song, "Believe Me", was presented to the public on 24 March 2004 through the release of the official music video.{{cite web|last=Bakker|first=Sietse|date=19 March 2004|title=Russia: Julia Savicheva's song titled Believe me|url=http://www.esctoday.com/2366|access-date=12 July 2013|work=ESCToday.com}}{{Cite web|last=Bakker|first=Sietse|date=24 March 2004|title=Russia: believe it or not, this is Believe me!|url=http://esctoday.com/news/read/2383|access-date=5 March 2021|website=Esctoday}} "Believe Me" was composed by Maxim Fadeev, with lyrics by Marina Boroditskaya (under the pseudonym Brenda Loring).

File:Julia Savicheva - Russia 2004.jpg

For the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, a semi-final round was introduced in order to accommodate the influx of nations that wanted to compete in the contest. Since Russia placed 3rd in the previous contest year, Russia automatically qualified to compete in the final along with the Big Four countries and nine other nations that were also successful in the 2003 Contest. 22 semi-finalists competed for 10 spots in the final, joining Russia among the 14 pre-qualified nations. On 23 March 2004, Russia was drawn to perform 14th in the final on 15 May 2004, following Belgium and preceding a slot allotted for a semi-finalist qualifier, which was ultimately filled by Macedonia.{{cite web|first=Sietse|last=Bakker|title=Eurovision 2004: this is the running order!|url=http://www.esctoday.com/2382/eurovision_2004_this_is_the_running_order/|work=ESCToday.com|date=23 March 2004|access-date=12 July 2013}}

The Russian performance featured Savicheva performing an athletic routine with four male dancers, choreographed by Kamel Ouali.{{cite web|first=Barak|last=Itamar|title=A very athletic stage act of Russia|url=http://www.esctoday.com/2665/a_very_athletic_stage_act_of_russia/|work=ESCToday.com|date=9 May 2004|access-date=12 July 2013}}{{cite web|first=Roel|last=Philips|title=Kamel Ouali: man behind French and Russian act|url=http://www.esctoday.com/2673/kamel_ouali_man_behind_french_and_russian_act/|work=ESCToday.com|date=9 May 2004|access-date=12 July 2013}} After the voting concluded, Russia scored 67 points and placed 11th.{{cite web |title=Grand Final of Istanbul 2004 |url=https://eurovision.tv/event/istanbul-2004/grand-final |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |access-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418181619/https://eurovision.tv/event/istanbul-2004/grand-final |archive-date=18 April 2021 |url-status=live}} Since Russia was among the top 10 countries, excluding the nations that constitute the Big Four, Russia pre-qualified to compete directly in the final of the 2005 Contest.

C1R chose not to broadcast the semi-final of the competition on 12 May 2004 and therefore, Russia was ineligible to participate in the voting.{{cite web|first=Roel|last=Philips|title=Walloon Belgians refuse to broadcast qualifier round|url=http://www.esctoday.com/2599/walloon_belgians_refuse_to_broadcast_qualifier_round/|work=ESCToday.com|date=5 May 2004|access-date=12 July 2013}} The final was broadcast on Channel One, with commentary by Yuriy Aksyuta and Elena Batinova. The voting spokesperson for Russia was Yana Churikova.{{cite web |last1=Bakker |first1=Sietse |title=And here are the votes from… the spokespersons |url=http://esctoday.com/2750/and_here_are_the_votes_from-_the_spokespersons/ |publisher=ESCToday |access-date=19 April 2021 |date=14 May 2004}}

While most of Europe implemented televoting already in 1998, this was the first year Russia managed to implement televoting as well. Following the release of the televoting figures by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that a total of 96,955 televotes were cast in Russia during the final.{{Cite web |date= |title=Press Release - Record numbers for the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040609225232/http://www.eurovision.tv/english/1182.htm |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=eurovision.tv}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest}}

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2004}}

2004

Category:Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004

Eurovision