Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their entry was selected through the national competition A Dal, organised by the Hungarian broadcaster Magyar Televízió. András Kállay-Saunders represented Hungary with the song "Running", which qualified from the first semi-final and placed 5th in the final, scoring 143 points. It is the second best position ever for Hungary, after 4th place in their debut year 1994.
A Dal 2014
A Dal 2014 was the third edition of the Hungarian national selection that selected Hungary's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. On 10 October 2013, MTV confirmed Hungary's participation in the 2014 Contest and opened the submission period for interested artists and composers to submit their entries until 1 December 2013. MTV abolished the language rule that required all song submissions to be in Hungarian and allowed for entries in English as well as thirteen recognized minority languages within Hungary: Armenian, Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Greek, Polish, Romani, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovakian, Slovenian and Ukrainian. However, songs that were submitted in a language other than Hungarian were required to be submitted with an accompanying Hungarian translation of the lyrics. At the close of the deadline, a record 435 submissions were received of which thirty were ultimately selected for the competition by a ten-member selection panel.Format
The format of the competition consisted of six shows: three heats, two semi-finals and a final. The three heats, held on 25 January 2014, 1 February 2014 and 8 February 2014, consisted of ten songs competing in each show with the top three selected by the jury and the top three selected by the televoters qualifying to the semi-finals. The semi-finals, held on 15 and 16 February 2014, each featured nine songs competing with the top two selected by the jury and the top two selected by the televoters qualifying to the final. The final, held on 22 February 2014, featured the eight remaining artists and songs competing, with the eventual selection of the Hungarian entry for Copenhagen. All shows in the competition were hosted by Éva Novodomszky and Gábor Gundel Takács, with Levente Harsányi and Krisztina Rátonyi conducting backstage interviews. Last year's winner, ByeAlex, also took part in the show as a digital commentator, who provided reports and facts regarding the competition.Judges
The jury panel participated in each show by providing feedback to the competing artists and selecting entries that advanced in the competition. The panel consisted of:- Kati Kovács - singer, lyricist and actress
- Jenő Csiszár - television and radio host
- Magdi Rúzsa - singer and Hungarian representative at the 2007 contest
- Philip Rákay - MTV programme director
Competing entries
| Artist | Song | Music / Lyrics |
| 2Beat or Not 2Beat | "Meg akarom mondani" | Tibor Stefaich, József Dornai |
| Belmondo | "Miért ne higgyem" | Zoltán Czutor |
| Bogi | "We All" | Zoltán Tóth G., Péter Halász |
| Bálint Gájer | "Elmaradt pillanatok" | Áron Romhányi, Bálint Gájer, Tamás Orbán |
| BülBüls | "Minden mosoly" | Géza Demeter, Gábor Bruzsa |
| Depresszió | "Csak a zene" | Halász Ferenc, Ádám Hartmann, Dávid Nagy, Zoltán Kovács, Miklós Pálffy |
| Dénes Pál | "Brave New World" | Gatti di Amalfi, Vera Jónás, Ákos Dobrády, Kriszta Kotsy, Dénes Pál |
| Extensive | "Help Me" | Krisztián Héjja, Máté Horvay, Attila Dolmán |
| Fool Moon | "It Can't Be Over" | Máté Bella, Gergő Rácz, Attila Galambos, Vajk Szente |
| Gabi Knoll | "Sweet Memories" | Mike Previti, Steve Horner, Gabi Knoll |
| Gigi Radics | "Catch Me" | Freja Blomberg, Maria Marcus, Charlie Mason |
| Group'N'Swing | "Retikül" | Áron Romhányi, Márton Lombos |
| Heni Dér | "Ég veled" | Krisztián Burai, Henrietta Dér, Ernő Bodócki, Norbert Szabó |
| Hien | "The Way I Do" | Nguyen Thanh Hien, Johnny K. Palmer |
| HoneyBeast | "A legnagyobb hős" | Zoltán Kovács |
| Ibolya Oláh | "1 percig sztár" | Ibolya Oláh |
| Joni | "Waterfall" | Johanna Tóth, Gabriella Wilson, Phil Greiss, Michael James Down, Emanuel Abrahamsson, Dimitri Stassos, Tamás Pataki |
| András Kállay-Saunders | "Running" | András Kállay-Saunders, Krisztián Szakos, István Tabár |
| Laura Cserpes | "Úgy szállj" | Péter Krajczár, László Mészáros, István Tabár |
| Leslie Szabó | "Hogy segíthetnék" | Leslie Szabó |
| Lil C | "Break Up" | Csaba Kelemen Krisztián Burai, Ernő Bodóczki |
| Lilla Polyák | "Karcolás" | Viktor Rakonczai, Gergő Rácz, Zsolt Homonnay, Johnny K. Palmer |
| Linda Király | "Everything" | Linda Király, Shannon Sanders, Tamás Király |
| Marge | "Morning Light" | Krisztián Szakos, Zsuzsanna Batta |
| Muzikfabrik | "This Is My Life" | László Sövegjártó, András Rozmann, Szilárd Sinka, Ákos Hegyi |
| Mystery Gang | "Játssz még jazzgitár" | Péter Egri |
| New Level Empire | "The Last One" | Zoltán Szilveszter Ujvári, Péter Krajczár, Sándor Nyújtó, Petra Mayer |
| Saci Szécsi and Böbe Szécsi | "Born To Fly" | Sarolta Szécsi, Zoltán Czutor, László "Diaz" Csöndör |
| Tamás Vastag | "Állj meg világ" | Tamás Vastag, Johnny Sanchez, Erik Mjörnell, Samuel Gajicki, Primož Poglajen |
| Viktor Király | "Running Out Of Time" | Viktor Király, Diamond Duggal, Tamás Király |
Shows
Heat 1
The first heat took place on 25 January 2014. The jury assigned scores to the ten participating songs resulting in the top three advancing further in the competition. The remaining seven songs faced an SMS vote which selected an additional three qualifiers to advance to the semi-finals. "Running Out Of Time" performed by Viktor Király, "Morning Light" performed by Marge and "Hogy segíthetnék" performed by Leslie Szabó were the jury qualifiers. "1 percig sztár" performed by Ibolya Oláh, "Retikül" performed by Group'N'Swing and "Csak a zene" performed by Depresszió were the SMS qualifiers.| Draw | Artist | Song | J. Csiszár | M. Rúzsa | P. Rákay | K. Kovács | Jury total | Result |
| 1 | Group'N'Swing | "Retikül" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 34 | SMS qualifier |
| 2 | Laura Cserpes | "Úgy szállj" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 28 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Lil C | "Break Up" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Ibolya Oláh | "1 percig sztár" | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 34 | SMS qualifier |
| 5 | Extensive | "Help Me" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Leslie Szabó | "Hogy segíthetnék" | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 35 | Jury qualifier |
| 7 | Hien | "The Way I Do" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 32 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Depresszió | "Csak a zene" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 33 | SMS qualifier |
| 9 | Marge | "Morning Light" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 36 | Jury qualifier |
| 10 | Viktor Király | "Running Out Of Time" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | Jury qualifier |
Heat 2
The second heat took place on 1 February 2014. The jury assigned scores to the ten participating songs resulting in the top three advancing further in the competition. The remaining seven songs faced an SMS vote which selected an additional three qualifiers to advance to the semi-finals. "Running" performed by András Kállay-Saunders, "Waterfall" performed by Joni and "We All" performed by Bogi were the jury qualifiers. "Karcolás" performed by Lilla Polyák, "This Is My Life" performed by Muzikfabrik and "Ég veled" performed by Heni Dér were the SMS qualifiers.| Draw | Artist | Song | J. Csiszár | M. Rúzsa | P. Rákay | K. Kovács | Jury total | Result |
| 1 | Heni Dér | "Ég veled" | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 35 | SMS qualifier |
| 2 | Belmondo | "Miért ne higgyem" | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 33 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Joni | "Waterfall" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 36 | Jury qualifier |
| 4 | 2Beat or Not 2Beat | "Meg akarom mondani" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 30 | Eliminated |
| 5 | Bogi | "We All" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 35 | Jury qualifier |
| 6 | Tamás Vastag | "Állj meg világ" | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Eliminated |
| 7 | Saci Szécsi and Böbe Szécsi | "Born To Fly" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 30 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Lilla Polyák | "Karcolás" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 31 | SMS qualifier |
| 9 | Muzikfabrik | "This Is My Life" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 34 | SMS qualifier |
| 10 | András Kállay-Saunders | "Running" | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 38 | Jury qualifier |
Heat 3
The third heat took place on 8 February 2014. The jury assigned scores to the ten participating songs resulting in the top three advancing further in the competition. The remaining seven songs faced an SMS vote which selected an additional three qualifiers to advance to the semi-finals. "It Can't Be Over" performed by Fool Moon, "The Last One" performed by New Level Empire and "Brave New World" performed by Dénes Pál were the jury qualifiers. "Catch Me" performed by Gigi Radics, "Játssz még jazzgitár" performed by Mystery Gang and "A legnagyobb hős" performed by HoneyBeast were the SMS qualifiers.| Draw | Artist | Song | J. Csiszár | M. Rúzsa | P. Rákay | K. Kovács | Jury total | Result |
| 1 | Gigi Radics | "Catch Me" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | SMS qualifier |
| 2 | Fool Moon | "It Can't Be Over" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 35 | Jury qualifier |
| 3 | Bálint Gájer | "Elmaradt pillanatok" | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 33 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Gabi Knoll | "Sweet Memories" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 29 | Eliminated |
| 5 | New Level Empire | "The Last One" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 36 | Jury qualifier |
| 6 | BülBüls | "Minden mosoly" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 30 | Eliminated |
| 7 | Linda Király | "Everything" | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 34 | Eliminated |
| 8 | HoneyBeast | "A legnagyobb hős" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 34 | SMS qualifier |
| 9 | Dénes Pál | "Brave New World" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 38 | Jury qualifier |
| 10 | Mystery Gang | "Játssz még jazzgitár" | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 31 | SMS qualifier |
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 15 February 2014. The jury assigned scores to the nine participating songs resulting in the top two advancing further in the competition. The remaining seven songs faced an SMS vote which selected an additional two qualifiers to advance to the final. "Running Out Of Time" performed by Viktor Király and "We All" performed by Bogi were the jury qualifiers. "The Last One" performed by New Level Empire and "Csak a zene" performed by Depresszió were the SMS qualifiers.| Draw | Artist | Song | J. Csiszár | M. Rúzsa | P. Rákay | K. Kovács | Jury total | Result |
| 1 | Mystery Gang | "Játssz még jazzgitár" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 31 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Joni | "Waterfall" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Viktor Király | "Running Out Of Time" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 39 | Jury qualifier |
| 4 | Group'N'Swing | "Retikül" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 32 | Eliminated |
| 5 | Bogi | "We All" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 38 | Jury qualifier |
| 6 | Depresszió | "Csak a zene" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 34 | SMS qualifier |
| 7 | Leslie Szabó | "Hogy segíthetnék" | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 35 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Gigi Radics | "Catch Me" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Eliminated |
| 9 | New Level Empire | "The Last One" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 36 | SMS qualifier |
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 16 February 2014. The jury assigned scores to the nine participating songs resulting in the top two advancing further in the competition. The remaining seven songs faced an SMS vote which selected an additional two qualifiers to advance to the final. "Running" performed by András Kállay-Saunders and "It Can't Be Over" performed by Fool Moon were the jury qualifiers. "Brave New World" performed by Dénes Pál and "A legnagyobb hős" performed by HoneyBeast were the SMS qualifiers.| Draw | Artist | Song | J. Csiszár | M. Rúzsa | P. Rákay | K. Kovács | Jury total | Result |
| 1 | Muzikfabrik | "This Is My Life" | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 34 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Lilla Polyák | "Karcolás" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Dénes Pál | "Brave New World" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 38 | SMS qualifier |
| 4 | HoneyBeast | "A legnagyobb hős" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 37 | SMS qualifier |
| 5 | Marge | "Morning Light" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 35 | Eliminated |
| 6 | András Kállay-Saunders | "Running" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | Jury qualifier |
| 7 | Ibolya Oláh | "1 percig sztár" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 33 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Fool Moon | "It Can't Be Over" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 38 | Jury qualifier |
| 9 | Heni Dér | "Ég veled" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 35 | Eliminated |
Final
The final took place on 22 February 2014. 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 are performed. A different voting system for the jury was used with each juror assigning 4 points to the song they placed fourth, 6 points to the song they placed third, 8 points to the song they placed second and 10 points to the song they placed first. "We All" performed by Bogi, "Running" performed by András Kállay-Saunders, "It Can't Be Over" performed by Fool Moon and "Running Out Of Time" performed by Viktor Király were selected by the jury for the second round of voting. In the second round, a public SMS vote solely selected "Running" performed by András Kállay-Saunders as the winner.| Draw | Artist | Song | J. Csiszár | M. Rúzsa | P. Rákay | K. Kovács | Jury total | SMS vote |
| 1 | Depresszió | "Csak a zene" | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 | Bogi | "We All" | 10 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 26 | |
| 3 | András Kállay-Saunders | "Running" | 4 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 30 | 1st |
| 4 | New Level Empire | "The Last One" | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | — |
| 5 | Dénes Pál | "Brave New World" | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — |
| 6 | Fool Moon | "It Can't Be Over" | 0 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 22 | |
| 7 | Viktor Király | "Running Out Of Time" | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 18 | |
| 8 | HoneyBeast | "A legnagyobb hős" | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
At Eurovision
During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Hungary was drawn to compete in the second half of the first semi-final on 6 May 2014. In the first semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Hungary would close the semi-final and perform 16th, following Montenegro. Hungary qualified from the first semi-final and competed in the final on 10 May 2014. During the winner's press conference for the first semi-final qualifiers, Hungary was allocated to compete in the second half of the final. In the final, the producers of the show decided that Hungary would perform 21st, following Switzerland and preceding Malta. Hungary placed 5th in the final, scoring 143 points.On stage, András Kállay-Saunders was joined by dancers Alexandra Likovics and Tibor Nagy and backing vocalists Rozina Cselovszky and Kyra Fedor. The Hungarian performance was based on the song's theme of domestic violence with the choreography between the two dancers resembling a fight. The LED projections during the performance transitioned from a nighttime cityscape during the verses to fast moving red lines during the chorus.
In Hungary, both the semi-finals and the final were broadcast on M1 with commentary by Gábor Gundel Takács. The Hungarian spokesperson revealing the result of the Hungarian vote in the final was Éva Novodomszky.
Points awarded to Hungary
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
Points awarded by Hungary
Semi-final 1
Points awarded in first semi-final:| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
Final
Points awarded in the final:| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
Split voting results
The following five members comprised the Hungarian jury:- Zoltan Palásti Kovács – Chairperson – musical teacher, music historian, musician, DJ, producer
- Kati Kovács – performer, singer, songwriter
- Attila Náksi – DJ, music producer, record company owner
- Péter Dorozsmai – musician, producer, songwriter, sound engineer
- Vera Tóth – singer, songwriter, lyricist
Semi-final 1