Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

A Dal 2015 was the fourth edition of A Dal which selected the Hungarian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.[2] The competition consisted of six shows commenced on 24 January 2015 and concluded with a final on 28 February 2015.[3] All shows in the competition were broadcast on M1, Duna World, and online at adal2015.hu. A companion aftershow titled A Dal+ was also broadcast on M2 following each show.[4]

The studio of A Dal 2015 in the MTVA headquarters building

The format of the competition consisted of six shows: three heats, two semi-finals and a final. The six shows took place at MTVA Studio 1 in Budapest and was hosted by Csilla Tatár.[5] Tatár was joined during the shows by Levente Harsányi, who also hosted the green room segments in addition to presenting the aftershow A Dal+.[4] The three heats, held on 24 January 2015, 31 January 2015 and 7 February 2015, each featured ten entries with six advancing to the semi-finals from each show. The semi-finals, held on 14 and 21 February 2015, each featured nine entries with four advancing to the final from each show. The final, held on 28 February 2015, selected the Hungarian entry for Vienna from the eight remaining entries.[3]

Results during each show were determined by each member of the four-member judging panel and votes from the public. During the heats and the semi-finals, two rounds of voting determined which entries advance to the next stages of the competition.[6] In the first round of voting, each judge assigned scores to each entry ranging from 1 (lowest score) to 10 (highest score). The public acted as the fifth juror and also assigned one aggregate score between 1 and 10 by either submitting their score via an SMS or voting through a mobile app specifically designed for the competition. The summation of the judges scores and the aggregate score from the public's SMS and voting app submissions determined the final scores for the first round. In the heats, the top five entries with the highest scores advanced to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the top three entries with the highest scores advanced to the final. In the case of a tie among the entries in the first round of voting, the judging panel deliberated and determined which entries would advance. In the second round of voting, the remaining entries that did not qualify during the first round faced an SMS and mobile app vote where the single entry that receives the most votes from each heat and semi-final also advanced. In the case of a tie during the second round of voting, the entry which received a higher score during the first round of voting would have advanced and should a tie still persist in such a situation, the judging panel would deliberate and determine which entry would have advanced.

In the final, the eight remaining entries also faced two rounds of voting. In the first round, the judges assigned points to their six preferred entries: 4 (lowest), 6, 8 and 10 (highest). The top four entries determined by the judges qualified to the second round of voting. In the second round, the public exclusively determined the winning entry by voting via SMS and mobile app.[6]

The judging panel participates in each show by providing feedback to the competing artists and selecting entries to advance in the competition. The panel consisted of:[3]

• Pierrot – composer, performer, songwriter and producer
• Jenő Csiszár – television and radio host
• Magdi Rúzsa – singer-songwriter and Hungarian representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
• Philip Rákay – MTV programme director

Artists and composers were able to submit their applications and entries for the competition between 1 October 2014 and 15 November 2014.[7] Competing artists were required to either hold Hungarian citizenship or be able to speak Hungarian fluently. In addition, only artists that had a valid contract with a record company/professional management and that had either released an album or have had national radio airplays or television appearances were eligible to compete. Artists were permitted to collaborate with international composers and submit songs in English and/or in a recognised minority language in Hungary, however, in such cases a translation of the lyrics to Hungarian were required.[7] After the submission deadline had passed, over 300 entries were received by the broadcaster.[8]

A ten-member preselection jury selected thirty entries for the competition. The jury consisted of Pierrot, Jenő Csiszár, Magdi Rúzsa, Philip Rákay, Kata Nyitrai, Fecó Balázs, Attila Horváth, György Koós, Attila Izil Borcsik and Mátyás Milkovics.[9] Ten of the competing artists and songs were announced during a press conference on 8 December 2014.[10] The remaining twenty entries were revealed on 10 and 12 December 2014 during the radio programme Talpra magyar! on MR2 Petőfi Radio.[3][11][12] Among the competing artists are former Eurovision Song Contest entrants Kati Wolf, who represented Hungary in the 2011 Contest and Gergő Rácz (competing as a member of Fool Moon) who previously represented Hungary in the 1997 Contest as part of the group V.I.P.

Three heats took place on 24 January, 31 January and 7 February 2015. 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.

Two semi-finals took place on 14 and 21 February 2015. 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.

The final took place on 28 February 2015 where the eight entries that qualified from the semi-finals competed. Four songs from each semi-final, eight songs in total, qualified to compete. In the first round, the jury selected the top four songs to proceed to the second round. Instead of assigning scores immediately after each performance, the jury announced their votes after all of the songs were performed. A different voting system for the jury was used with each juror assigning points to their four preferred entries: 4 (lowest), 6, 8 and 10 (highest). In the second round, "Wars for Nothing" performed by Boglárka Csemer – Boggie was selected as the winner via a public vote consisting of votes submitted through SMS and mobile app. 145,000 votes were registered in the second round.[18]

Boggie at a dress rehearsal for the first semi-final

Boggie took part in technical rehearsals on 12 and 15 May,[27][28] followed by dress rehearsals on 18 and 19 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries.[29]

The stage show featured Boggie in a long crimson dress with two female backing vocalists in dark blue dresses with light coloured tops and two male backing vocalists in dark suits. The staging for the song was minimalistic with a story being told through the images displayed on the background LED screens. The performance began in a dark setting with a single spotlight on Boggie and then transitioned to a starry sky and images of the solar system focusing on Earth. The LED screens then displayed an arsenal of guns rotating to form a tree, finally transitioning into a scenic view of meadows and blue skies.[27][28] On stage, Boggie was joined by four backing vocalists: Krisztina Szeder-Szabó, Orsi Sapszon, Milán Szakonyi and Domonkos Dely.[30]

At the end of the show, Hungary was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final.[31] It was later revealed that Hungary placed eighth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 67 points.[32]

Boggie during a press meet and greet

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winner's press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final. Hungary was drawn to compete in the second half.[33] Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Hungary was subsequently placed to perform in position 22, following the entry from Spain and before the entry from Georgia.[34]

Boggie once again took part in dress rehearsals on 22 and 23 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show.[35] Boggie performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 23 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Hungary finished in twentieth place with 19 points.[36][37]

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant 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 could 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 were released shortly after the grand final.[38]

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Hungary had placed twenty-second with the public televote and seventeenth with the jury vote. In the public vote, Hungary scored 21 points, while with the jury vote, Hungary scored 29 points.[39]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Hungary and awarded by Hungary in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

The following members comprised the Hungarian jury:[38]

• Tamás Z. Marosi (Pierrot; jury chairperson) – singer-songwriter, music producer, game designer
• Mátyás Milkovics – composer, music producer
• Odett Polgár (Odett) – singer-songwriter
• Róbert Hrutka – guitarist, singer, composer, orchestrator, musician
• Juli Fábián – singer, songwriter, lyricist

Detailed voting results from Hungary (Semi-final 1)[42]

Draw	Country	Pierrot	M. Milkovics	Odett	R. Hrutka	J. Fábián	Jury Rank	Televote Rank	Combined Rank	Points
01	Moldova	9	15	14	7	14	13	11	14
02	Armenia	11	14	13	14	9	14	9	12
03	Belgium	7	2	1	2	4	1	5	2	10
04	Netherlands	6	9	12	13	1	7	14	11
05	Finland	14	5	4	15	10	12	4	9	2
06	Greece	2	6	8	10	2	5	10	8	3
07	Estonia	4	7	2	3	13	6	1	3	8
08	Macedonia	8	13	15	12	15	15	15	15
09	Serbia	12	10	3	9	12	8	6	7	4
10	Hungary
11	Belarus	10	8	11	6	11	10	13	13
12	Russia	5	3	10	1	8	4	2	1	12
13	Denmark	1	4	7	8	6	3	7	4	7
14	Albania	15	12	9	5	5	9	12	10	1
15	Romania	13	11	5	11	7	11	3	6	5
16	Georgia	3	1	6	4	3	2	8	5	6

Detailed voting results from Hungary (Final)[43]

Draw	Country	Pierrot	M. Milkovics	Odett	R. Hrutka	J. Fábián	Jury Rank	Televote Rank	Combined Rank	Points
01	Slovenia	18	15	24	15	18	22	14	18
02	France	11	25	19	24	21	23	26	26
03	Israel	20	17	18	9	25	18	7	13
04	Estonia	16	6	2	6	20	9	2	4	7
05	United Kingdom	14	26	14	11	24	21	21	22
06	Armenia	22	24	25	25	13	25	18	24
07	Lithuania	25	23	15	10	12	16	24	20
08	Serbia	23	13	10	14	23	15	9	12
09	Norway	6	2	9	13	14	7	13	7	4
10	Sweden	10	4	7	3	1	2	4	2	10
11	Cyprus	5	10	17	7	5	8	20	15
12	Australia	4	8	5	8	3	4	6	3	8
13	Belgium	15	3	1	2	4	3	3	1	12
14	Austria	8	12	16	17	7	10	19	16
15	Greece	2	9	20	23	8	11	25	19
16	Montenegro	24	20	26	26	26	26	17	23
17	Germany	3	18	21	18	6	12	11	11
18	Poland	9	11	8	22	16	13	12	14
19	Latvia	1	1	3	4	2	1	10	6	5
20	Romania	21	21	11	12	11	14	8	10	1
21	Spain	12	14	22	21	17	17	16	17
22	Hungary
23	Georgia	7	5	4	5	10	5	15	8	3
24	Azerbaijan	17	19	23	19	22	24	23	25
25	Russia	13	7	6	1	9	6	5	5	6
26	Albania	26	16	12	16	19	19	22	21
27	Italy	19	22	13	20	15	20	1	9	2