Quick Facts
Biography
Belarus participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 which took place in Tbilisi, Georgia on 26 November 2017. The Belarusian entry for the 2017 contest in Tbilisi, Georgia was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). A national final, which took place on 25 August 2017, saw ten competing acts participating in a televised production where the winner was determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from a jury made up of music professionals and a public telephone vote. Helena Meraai won the national final by receiving the most votes from both the professional jury and televoters and she represented Belarus in Georgia with the song "I Am The One".
Background
Prior to the 2017 contest, Belarus had participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest fourteen times since its first entry at the inaugural contest in 2003. Belarus have taken part in every edition of the contest since 2003, and have won the contest twice: in 2005 with Ksenia Sitnik performing the song "My vmeste"; and again in 2007 with Alexey Zhigalkovich performing the entry "S druz'yami". The country hosted the 2010 contest in Minsk. In 2016, Alexander Minyonok represented Belarus in Valletta, Malta with the song "Musyka moikh pobed (Music is My Only Way)". It ended in 7th place with 177 points.
Before Junior Eurovision
National final
The national final took place on 25 August 2017. It consisted of ten competing acts participating in a televised production where the winner was determined by a 50/50 combination of both telephone vote and the votes of a jury made up of music professionals. The show was opened by the last year's representative Alexander Minyonok, who performed his entry “Musyka moikh pobed (Music Is My Only Way)”. He also sang a cover version of Shawn Mendes' song "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back". Moreover, some of the singers that did not manage to reach the national final, but showed potential at the live auditions, were also guests of the show. At the end of the show, it was revealed that Helena Meraai won the national final by receiving the most votes from both the professional jury and televoters. The public televote in the final registered 38,729 votes. Respectively, Helena won the televote with 53,7%.
| Final – 25 August 2017 | ||||||||
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| Draw | Artist | Song | English translation | Televote | Jury | Total | Place | |
| 1 | Helena Meraai | "Ya samaya" | I am the one | 20,799 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 1 |
| 2 | Anastasia Timofeyevich | "Volshebniy svet" | Magic light | 1,174 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| 3 | Ruslana Panchishina | "Tantsui so mnoy" | Dance with me | 2,006 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 4 |
| 4 | Elena Mataras | "Ty reshaesh sam" | You decide for yourself | 1,603 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 7 |
| 5 | Yaroslav Sokolikov | "Okean" | Ocean | 1,687 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 3 |
| 6 | Stefania Sokolova | "Mama" | Mom | 1,179 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 |
| 7 | Arina Pekhtereva and Anastasia Dmitrachkova | "Muzyka-Vselennaya" | Music Universe | 967 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| 8 | Quartet of the National Center for Children's Art V. Mulyavina | "Prodolzhay idti" | Continue to go | 1,843 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 5 |
| 9 | Maria Zhilina | "Vyshei" | Higher | 6,046 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 2 |
| 10 | Anastasia Zhabko | "Letim k mechtam" | We fly to the dreams | 1,425 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
Artist and song information
Helena Meraai
Helena Meraai (Russian: Хелена Мерааи; born 2 May 2003) is a Belarusian singer. She represented Belarus in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "I am the One". She took part in the Russian version of The Voice Kids, where she was defeated in the battle round. Shortly after, she represented Russia in the 2016 edition of the children's festival New Wave Junior as part of a trio, where she won along with two other girls. Her mother is Belarusian, while her father is from Syria.
On 26 October 2018, it was announced that Maraai would host the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018, alongside TV presenter Eugene Perlin and singer Zinaida Kupriyanovich, in Minsk. Meraai is the fourth person under the age of sixteen to host the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, after Ioana Ivan in 2006, Dmytro Borodin in 2009 and Lizi Japaridze in 2017, and is also the second former participant to host an edition of the contest. The following day it was confirmed that Meraai would host the green room. Earlier in the year she was one of the green room hosts alongside Ruslan Aslanov at the Belarusian national final.
| Preceded by Helen Kalandadze and Lizi Japaridze | Junior Eurovision Song Contest presenter 2018 | Succeeded by Ida Nowakowska, Aleksander Sikora and Roksana Węgiel |
"I Am the One"
"I Am the One" is a song by Belarusian singer Helena Meraai. It represented Belarus in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017.
At Junior Eurovision
During the opening ceremony and the running order draw which both took place on 20 November 2017, Belarus was drawn to perform in position 5 on 26 November 2017, following Armenia and preceding Portugal.
Voting
The results of the 2017 Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be determined by national juries and an online audience vote. Every country will have a national jury that will consist of three music industry professionals and two kids aged between 10 and 15 who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury will be 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 first phase of the online voting will start on 24 November 2017 when a recap of all the rehearsal performances will be shown on junioreurovision.tv before the viewers can vote. After this, voters will also have the option to watch longer one-minute clips from each participant's rehearsal. This first round of voting will stop on Sunday, 26 November, at 15:59 CET. The second phase of the online voting will take place during the live show and will start right after the last performance and will be open for 15 minutes. International viewers can vote for a minimum of three countries and a maximum of five. They can also vote for their own country's song. These votes will then be turned into points. The number of points will be determined by the percentage of votes received. For example, if a song receives 20% of the votes, thus it will receive 20% of the available points. The public vote will count for 50% of the final result, while the other 50% will come from the professional juries.
Points awarded to Belarus
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| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
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| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
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- Belarus received 69 points from Online voting.
Points awarded by Belarus
| 2000s |
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| 12 points |  Georgia | ||||||||
| 10 points |  Russia | ||||||||
| 8 points |  Armenia | ||||||||
| 7 points |  Australia | ||||||||
| 6 points |  Netherlands | ||||||||
| 5 points |  Ukraine | ||||||||
| 4 points |  Poland | ||||||||
| 3 points |  Italy | ||||||||
| 2 points |  Malta | ||||||||
| 1 point |  Macedonia | ||||||||
| Split voting results from Belarus | |||||||||
| Draw | Country | Average Rank | Points | ||||||
| 01 |  Cyprus | 15 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | ||
| 02 | Poland | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | |
| 03 | Netherlands | 5 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | |
| 04 | Armenia | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | |
| 05 |  Belarus | ||||||||
| 06 |  Portugal | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 13 | ||
| 07 |  Ireland | 9 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 12 | ||
| 08 | Macedonia | 14 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 1 | |
| 09 | Georgia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 | |
| 10 |  Albania | 13 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 | ||
| 11 | Ukraine | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 5 | |
| 12 | Malta | 10 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 2 | |
| 13 | Russia | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| 14 |  Serbia | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | ||
| 15 | Australia | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | |
| 16 | Italy | 8 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 3 | |
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| 01 | Cyprus | 15 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | ||
| 02 | Poland | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | |
| 03 | Netherlands | 5 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | |
| 04 | Armenia | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | |
| 05 | Belarus | ||||||||
| 06 | Portugal | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 13 | ||
| 07 | Ireland | 9 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 12 | ||
| 08 | Macedonia | 14 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 1 | |
| 09 | Georgia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 | |
| 10 | Albania | 13 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 | ||
| 11 | Ukraine | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 5 | |
| 12 | Malta | 10 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 2 | |
| 13 | Russia | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| 14 | Serbia | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | ||
| 15 | Australia | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | |
| 16 | Italy | 8 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 3 | |
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