He was one half of the duo who gave Lithuania an 18th-place finish at Eurovision 2015. Now Vaidas Baumila has ditched his “This Time” duet partner Monika Linkyte in favour of a solo performance — with a twist.

Vaidas was a guest performer on the Lithuanian TV show Kitokie pasikalbejimai (Different Conversations), hosted by Justinas Jankevicius. Donny Montell was the featured guest of the show, but Vaidas found a way to upstage him.

During a break, Vaidas was entertaining the audience with a performance of his Eurovision song “This Time”. When it came to the iconic “one kiss!” moment, he paused, realising that as a solo performer, he didn’t have anyone to snog.

Cue show host Justinas. Vaidas called him on stage where he happily stood in for Monika. At the “one kiss!”, the two locked lips and had a proper smooch, much to the delight of the audience.

Petrui Gražuliui tai nepatiks Pasikvieti Baumil? ? sve?ius ir prasideda tokie dalykai… ?Pilnas vaizdo ?rašas – https://youtu.be/J9Pm-nmTSuY Posted by Kitokie pasikalb?jimai on Thursday, September 21, 2017

This isn’t the first time “This Time” has been accompanied by a same-sex kiss — though it is the first directly involving Vaidas.

At Eurovision 2015, the Lithuanian backing singers reconfigured and gave audiences male-male, male-female and female-female kisses — something for everyone. It was a bold move, but was rewarded with big cheers from the Vienna audience.

Vaidas’ reinvention of the staging keeps the cheeky spirit of the song alive, but adds a delightful 2017 twist.

Lithuania at Eurovision

Lithuania has had mixed fortune at Eurovision in recent years. While they have delivered songs like fan favourite “This Time” and Donny Montell’s top ten “I’ve Been Waiting for This Night” in 2016, not every Lithuanian entry is as successful.

In 2014, Vilija narrowly missed out on making the grand final with her electro-pop number “Attention”. While earlier this year, Fusedmarc were unable to translate their local popularity into Eurovision success. Their song “Rain of Revolution” placed a disappointing 17th place in its semi-final.

LRT has tentatively confirmed Lithuania’s participation in Eurovision 2018. It’s thought the broadcaster will again use some version of their national final “Eurovizijos” dain? uonkurso nacionaline atranka. Though fans are hoping it won’t be the long, repetitive series seen in previous years.

What do you think of Vaidas’ cute performance? Who should Lithuania send to Eurovision 2018? Share your thoughts below!

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