Lithuania kicked off the first heat of its newly rebranded national final, Pabandom iš Naujo! Nacionalinė Eurovizijos Atranka 2020. The first 12 acts performed their songs and in the end, half the acts were sent home. Among the lucky qualifiers were last year’s runner-up Monika Marija and fan favourite Gabrielius Vagelis.

While the performance were pre-recorded earlier in the week, the voting was live. And while in previous years, the jury gave their scores and comments after each performance, this year they kept quite. Both the jury and televote scores were revealed for the first time tonight.

Among the acts who will be heading to the semi-finals in February is 2019 runner-up Monika Marija. She performed her 2020 entry “If I Leave”, a country-rock-influenced mid-tempo number. Monika topped the vote with both the jury and televoters, making her the overall winner of the heat.

Also qualifying was Gabrielius Vagelis, last seen in the 2018 national final. He brought his trademark avant-garde wardrobe to his performance of his electropop ballad “Tave čia randu” (“I find you here”). He placed fourth in the overall ranking.

Rounding out the qualifiers were the sisterly group Baltos Varnos with “Namų dvasia”, ’90s-inspired rappers Meandi with “DRIP”, Oxford student Andy Vaic with “Why Why Why” and the smooth songstress Petunija with “Show Ya”.

But with these six heading to the semi-finals, it sadly meant that six others missed out. We said goodnight to Aika, Glossarium, Aistay, Justinas Lapatinskas, Lukas Norkūnas, as well as Donata Virbilaitė and her plastic man.

We Go Again! 2020 – Heat One results

Monika Marija – “If I Leave” (24 points) Baltos Varnos – “Namų dvasia” (20 points) Meandi – “DRIP” (18 points) Gabrielius Vagelis – “Tave čia randu” (13 points) Andy Vaic – “Why Why Why” (12 points) Petunija – “Show Ya” (11 points) Aika – “Paradas” (8 points) Glossarium – “Game Over” (6 points) Aistay – “Dangus man tu” (5 points) Justinas Lapatinskas – “Highway Story” (1 point) Donata Virbilaitė – “Made of Wax” (1 points) Lukas Norkūnas – “Atsiprašyk” (0 points)

The six qualifiers will head to the semi-finals in February, where they’ll be joined by the qualifiers from the upcoming other two heats. There, the contestants will compete for the eight places in the grand final, due to take place on 15 February.

What do you think of the first six qualifiers? Could any of these acts go on to win? Tell us your thoughts below!

Read more Lithuania 2020 news here!