Two days before Christmas, the following 23 acts were announced to be taking part in Pabandom iš naujo! 2021:

• Aistė Brokenleg
• Aldegunda
• Be U Group
• Black Spikes with Indre Launikonyte
• Donata Virbilaitė
• Evelina Sašenko
• Evita Cololo
• Gabrielė Goštautaitė
• Gabrielius Vagelis
• Gebrasy (Audrius Petrauskas)
• Gintarė Korsakaitė
• Martyna Jezepčikaitė
• Milita Daikerytė
• Cosmic Bride (Natalja Chareckaja)
• Norbertas/Norbė
• Rapolas Meškauskas
• The Roop
• Thomas Tumosa
• Titas ir Benas
• Twosome
• Sunday Afternoon (Vilija Matačiūnaitė)
• UnoBand
• Voldemaras Petersonas

Since the line up was announced, both Evelina Sašenko and Gintarė Korsakaitė have withdrawn from the Contest – leaving 20 acts in the two heats and The Roop, who are automatic finalists. With the first of the two heats starting next Saturday, it is unlikely that the withdrawn acts will be replaced.

On Evelina Sašenko’s withdrawal, she had the following to say:

“When I came up with the request to participate, the situation was different. Now everything is complicated, even leaving home is not easy. I live on the outskirts of Trakai, the police are standing near the house, even when going to the store you need to show documents. I realized that in such circumstances, when there are a couple of weeks before filming, I will not be able to properly prepare for the selection, rehearse. And if you are already going to Eurovision, you need to take it seriously. I certainly do not give up the idea of ​​trying our hand at selection in the future. This year would be a beautiful anniversary – I participated in Eurovision ten years ago. After that, I said for several years that I would never go there again, but now I feel that I want to try again. A piece about these strange times, about this situation. About the elements of life. I will definitely present the song, but later.”

On Gintarė Korsakaitė’s withdrawal, she had the following to say:

“I was going to participate but then I canceled the application.”

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Author: Richard Taylor

Source: ESCXtra