Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Unsubstantial Blues" written by Magdi Rúzsa and Imre Mózsik. The song was performed by Magdi Rúzsa, who was selected to represent Hungary at the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland through the "Discovery of the Year" category of the 2007 Fonogram Hungarian Music Awards, organised by the Hungarian public broadcaster Magyar Televízió (MTV). In December 2006, MTV announced that they would be returning to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their withdrawal in 2006 due to financial reasons. Six artists competed in the "Discovery of the Year" category of the awards and Magdi Rúzsa was selected as the winner based entirely on a public televote. The Hungarian song, "Unsubstantial Blues", was internally selected and announced on 12 March 2007.

Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Country Hungary
National selection
Selection processArtist: Fonogram Hungarian Music Awards 2007
Song: Internal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 24 February 2007
Song: 12 March 2007
Selected entrantMagdi Rúzsa
Selected song"Unsubstantial Blues"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Magdi Rúzsa
  • Imre Mózsik
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (2nd, 224 points)
Final result9th, 128 points
Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2005 • 2007 • 2008►

Hungary competed in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 10 May 2007. Performing during the show in position 22, "Unsubstantial Blues" was announced among the top 10 entries of the semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 12 May. It was later revealed that Hungary placed second out of the 28 participating countries in the semi-final with 224 points. In the final, Hungary performed in position 8 and placed ninth out of the 24 participating countries, scoring 128 points.

Background
Main article: Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2007 contest, Hungary had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest seven times since their 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 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 contest.[2] In 2005, Hungary placed twelfth with the song "Forogj, világ!" performed by Nox.

The Hungarian national broadcaster, Magyar Televízió (MTV), broadcasts the event within Hungary and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Following their one-year absence, MTV confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest on 15 December 2006.[3] MTV has organised both internal selections and national selection shows to select the nation's entries. For 2007, the Hungarian broadcaster opted to utilize the Fonogram Hungarian Music Awards to select the artist and organize an internal selection to select the song.[4]

Before Eurovision

Fonogram Hungarian Music Awards 2007

The Hungarian entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was selected through the "Discovery of the Year" category of the 2007 Fonogram Hungarian Music Awards (Hungarian: Fonogram – Magyar Zenei Díj).[5] A 209-member preselection jury nominated six artists for the category based on their record sales in 2006 and the public was able to vote for their favourite artist by submitting an SMS between 10 and 24 February 2007.[6][7][8] The winner, Magdi Rúzsa, was selected via the public vote and announced during the awards show which took place on 24 February at the Jövő Háza Theater in Budapest and broadcast on m1 as well as online at mtv.hu.[9] Guest performers of the show were Back II Black, Magna Cum Laude, Quimby, Adrien Szekeres and Laci Gáspár, Moby Dick, Sugarloaf, Erős and Spigiboy, Desperado, Ghymes, Tamás Mester, Cotton Club Singers, Tankcsapda and 1998 Hungarian Eurovision entrant Charlie.[10]

Magdi Rúzsa's win caused controversy in Hungary, as the singer was born and raised in the Serbian province of Vojvodina, leading people to question why a "Serb" was representing the country rather than a Hungarian and speculation that the reason Rúzsa was crying upon receiving her award was due to the crowd heckling her beforehand.[11]

Discovery of the Year category results – 24 February 2007
Artist Label Televote Place
Angéla Póka Sony BMG — —
Eszter Bartók Tom-Tom Records — —
Eszter Szabó EMI — —
Magdi Rúzsa Universal Music/CLS Records 31,075 1
Wendigo Nail/Hammer 31,057 2
Wisdom Nail/Hammer — —

Song selection

On 12 March, it was announced that Magdi Rúzsa would perform the song "Unsubstantial Blues" at the Eurovision Song Contest. "Unsubstantial Blues" was written by Rúzsa herself and Imre Mózsik, and appeared on her debut album Ördögi angyal released in November 2006 under its Hungarian version titled "Aprócska blues".[12] Controversy later arose that Rúzsa had sung a verse of "Aprócska blues" as part of her audition for the reality television singing competition Megasztár in February 2006, thus violating the Eurovision Song Contest rules stating that "the entries (lyrics and music) must not have been commercially released and/or publicly performed before 1 October 2006".[13] In the end the song was allowed to remain in the competition.

At Eurovision
Magdi Rúzsa performing at the Eurovision Song Contest

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the 2006 contest are required to qualify from the semi-final on 10 May 2007 in order to compete for the final on 12 May 2007. On 12 March 2007, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order for the semi-final and Hungary was set to perform in position 22, following the entry from Andorra and before the entry from Estonia.

The semi-final and the final were broadcast in Hungary on m1 with commentary by Gábor Gundel Takács.[14] The Hungarian spokesperson, who announced Hungarian votes during the final, was Éva Novodomszky.

Semi-final

Magdi Rúzsa took part in technical rehearsals on 4 and 6 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May. The Hungarian performance featured Magdi Rúzsa dressed in a white tank top and blue jeans with the stage displaying a bus stop sign where she stood with a suitcase and the LED screens projecting orange designs.[15][16] On stage, Magdi Rúzsa was joined by two guitarists, a drummer and a pianist: Péter Hoffer, Barnabás Kovács, Gábor Madarász and Gábor Závodi.[17]

At the end of the show, Hungary was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that the Hungary placed second in the semi-final, receiving a total of 224 points.[18]

Final

The draw for the running order for the final was done by the presenters during the announcement of the ten qualifying countries during the semi-final and Hungary was drawn to perform in position 8, following the entry from Slovenia and before the entry from Lithuania. Magdi Rúzsa once again took part in dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May before the final and performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 12 May. Hungary placed ninth in the final, scoring 128 points.[19]

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Hungary and awarded by Hungary in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Serbia in the semi-final and the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Hungary

Points awarded by Hungary

References
  1. "Hungary Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  2. Bakker, Sietse. "UPD Hungary withdraws for Athens 2006". ESCToday. Retrieved December 12, 2005.
  3. Royston, Benny (2006-12-15). "42 countries compete in Helsinki". Esctoday. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  4. "2007 Rúzsa Magdi – HogyVolt?" (in Hungarian). 2009. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  5. "A díjról 2007". Fonogram (in Hungarian). 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
  6. "Jelöltek 2007". Fonogram (in Hungarian). 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
  7. "Újra lesz magyar indulója az Eurovíziós Dalfesztiválnak!". MAHASZ (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  8. "FONOGRAM Magyar Zenei Díj". fonogram.hu (in Hungarian). 2007-02-24. Archived from the original on 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  9. "Hungary searches for the song for ESC 2008". ESC Hungary. 2007-11-09. Archived from the original on 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  10. "Program 2007". Fonogram (in Hungarian). 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  11. Kuipers, Michael (2007-02-26). "Eurovision Rúsza wins by just 18 votes - ESCToday.com". Eurovision News, Polls and Information by ESCToday. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
  12. Kasapoglou, Yiorgos (12 March 2007). "Hungarian song announced". ESCToday.
  13. Viniker, Barry (20 April 2007). "Hungary: Did Magdi break the rules?". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 22 April 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  14. Kalmár, Csaba (8 May 2007). "Gundel Takács újra képernyőn" (in Hungarian). Origo. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  15. "Melancholy for Hungary". eurovision.tv. 2007-05-04. Archived from the original on 2007-05-14. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  16. "Hungary, Iceland, Belgium and Slovenia on stage". eurovision.tv. 2007-05-06. Archived from the original on 2007-05-12. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  17. "Hungary". Six on Stage. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  18. "Semi-Final of Helsinki 2007". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  19. "Grand Final of Helsinki 2007". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  20. "Results of the Semi-Final of Helsinki 2007". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  21. "Results of the Grand Final of Helsinki 2007". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
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