Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The local Media Services and Support Trust Fund and the Hungarian broadcaster Duna Media Service Provider organised the national final A Dal 2018 in order to select the Hungarian entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal.
Background
Prior to the 2018 Contest, Hungary had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fourteen times since its first entry in. 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 and 2010 contests. In 2014, Hungary achieved their second best result in the contest since their début, placing fifth with the song "Running" performed by András Kállay-Saunders. In 2016, Hungary placed 19th in the Eurovision final with the song "Pioneer" performed by Freddie. Next year they managed to finish in the top 10 again, now in the 8th place with "Origo" sang by Joci Pápai.The Hungarian national broadcaster, Media Services and Support Trust Fund, broadcasts the event within Hungary and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. MTVA confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest on 10 October 2017. Since 2012, MTVA has organised A Dal, a national selection show which has managed to, thus far, produce entries that have qualified the nation to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest each year and has resulted in three top 10 placings in 2013, 2014 and 2017.
Before Eurovision
''A Dal 2018''
A Dal 2018 was the seventh edition of the Hungarian national selection A Dal, which selected Hungary's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The competition consisted of 30 entries competing in three heats, two semi-finals, and a final. The hosts are Kriszta Rátonyi and Freddie.Format
Judges
The jury panel consisted of four people:- Judit Schell: actress
- Misi Mező: the lead singer and guitarist of the Hungarian band Magna Cum Laude
- Károly Frenreisz: one of the biggest names and composers of the so called Big Generation, band-member of Metro, LGT and Skorpió
- Miklós Both: two times Fonogram-award winner performer and composer.
Competing entries
Among the qualifiers, there are some artists and bands who made their comeback to A Dal-stage. Ceasefire X and Péter Szikszai competed in 2016 as part of the boyband ByTheWay.
Viki Eszes is in the running now with
Gábor Heincz Biga and Viktor Király are no similar names in the national selection as well, they were part of the first ever A Dal-superfinal in 2012; the former with his song Learning to Let Go, and the latter with his siblings, performed Untried. Then in 2014 Viktor went on as a solo artist with Running Out of Time.
Gabi Knoll took part in the 2014 national selection with her song Sweet Memories, but did not advance to the next round.
Attila Kökény was the very first entrant of A Dal in 2012 with Tamara Bencsik.
The lead singer of the band Leander Kills took part in the show before at two occasions: in 2015 with his former band called Leander Rising, and in 2017 with the existing formation, with the song called Élet.
Maszkura és a tücsökraj competed in A Dal 2016, and gained the worst ever public score in the heats, scoring only 4 out of the maximum 10. This has since been given twice more in 2018, in the second semifinal for the entries sung by Cintia Horváth & Tomi Balogh and Nikoletta Szőke, Attila Kökény and Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos.
The Noémo's lead singer, Noémi Takácsová "BülBüls" sang Minden mosoly in 2014, while Odett was a wildcard entry in the 2013 edition of the contest. Then A Dal 2016 started with her English language song Stardust, but did not advance to the next stage.
Benjámin Pál and the Peet Project were two of the qualifiers a year before with their entries Father's Eyes and Kill Your Monster.
Ádám Szabó was in the race in several occasions before: after a quick elimination in 2013, he came back in 2015, and placed second in the grand final with Give Me Your Love. In 2017 he sang the song Together, and this time he is back with his electro-rock formation called yesyes.
The Matter was a finalist in 2016 with Uncle Tom, and would've take part in the 2018 selection as well, but withdrew due to family issues. The band Patikadomb replaced them with Jó szelet!.
Reni Tolvai made her first appearance in A Dal in 2012, and stayed at the first stage of the show with Élek a szemeidben. Later she came back in 2016, and advanced to the semi-finals.
Tamás Vastag marked his third presence in the national selection, as he took part in A Dal 2013 with Holnaptól, and a year later with Állj meg villág.
| Artist | Song ' | Composer |
| Andy Roll | "Turn the Lights On" | András Dutka |
| AWS | "Viszlát nyár" ' | Dániel Kökényes, Bence Brucker, Áron Veress, Soma Schiszler / Örs Siklósi |
| Ceasefire X | "Satellites" | Bence András Vavra, Norbert Szűcs / Kata Kozma |
| Cintia Horváth & Tomi Balogh | "Journey " | Tamás Balogh, Cintia Horváth |
| Fourtissimo | "Kisnyuszi a kalapban" ' | Valéria Ferencz-Kuna, Márton Kuna, Gyula Ferencz-Kuna, Bence Kuna / Valéria Ferencz-Kuna, Bence Kuna |
| Gabi Knoll | "Nobody to Die For" | Gabi Knoll, Krisztián Burai, Stanislav Bendarzsevszkij / Gabi Knoll |
| Gábor Heincz Biga | "Good vibez" | Gábor Heincz / Adrián Méhes |
| Gergely Dánielfy | "Azt mondtad" ' | Gergely Dánielfy / Árpád Völgyesi |
| Ham ko Ham | "Bármerre jársz" ' | Zoltán Tóth G. / Zsolt Kathy |
| Leander Kills | "Nem szól harang" ' | Leander Köteles |
| Living Room | "Kirakat élet" ' | Benjamin Pál / Benjamin Pál, Patrik Prommer |
| Maszkura és a tücsökraj | "Nagybetűs szavak" ' | Szabolcs Biró, Gábor Boros, Attila Földesi, Csaba Kertész, Dániel Vikukel / Szabolcs Biró |
| Maya ‘n’ Peti | "Nekem te" ' | Edvárd Szalma, Péter Szikszai |
| Nene | "Mese a királyról" ' | Milán Erik Vörös, Renáta Katalin Orsovai, József Márkosi, Evelin Boda, Szabolcs Balázs Varga, Péter Ferencz / Renáta Katalin Orsovai |
| Nikoletta Szőke, Attila Kökény and Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos | "Életre kel" ' | Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos / Péter Müller Sziámi |
| Noémo | "Levegőt!" ' | Noémi Takácsová, Dániel Ferenc Szabó, Bálint Artúr Szeifert, István Tóth / Noémi Takácsová, Márton Jeszenszky |
| Nova Prospect | "Vigyázó" ' | József Kiss / Bálint Schautek |
| Odett | "Aranyhal" ' | Miklós Toldi, Odett Polgár / Szabolcs Hujber |
| Patikadomb | "Jó szelet!" ' | Gábor Dobos, Tamás Kátai, Gyula Ujvári / Gábor Dobos |
| Peet Project | "Runaround" | Péter Ferencz, Olivér Magán, Attila Závodi, Martin Gudics, Marcell Gudics / Péter Ferencz |
| Reni Tolvai | "Crack My Code" | Máté Bella, Johnny K. Palmer / Johnny K. Palmer |
| Roland Gulyás | "H Y P N O T I Z E D" | ByeAlex |
| SativuS | "Lusta lány" ' | Márton Szabó / Gábor Pájer |
| Tamás Horváth | "Meggyfa" ' | Tamás Horváth |
| Tamás Vastag | "Ne hagyj reményt" ' | Krisztián Sztevanovity / Dusán Sztevanovity |
| Viki Singh | "Butterfly House" | John King / Andy Vitolo |
| Viktor Király | "Budapest Girl" | Viktor Király, Ashley Hicklin, Marcel Závodi / Viktor Király, Ashley Hicklin |
| #yeahla feat. Viki Eszes | "1 Szó Mint 100" ' | Péter Jelasity |
| yesyes | "I Let You Run Away" | Ádám Szabó, Dániel Somogyvári / Flóra Petneházy |
| Zsolt Süle | "Zöld a május" ' | Zsolt Süle, Péter Bodnár / Zsolt Süle |
Shows
Heat 1
The first heat took place on 20 January 2018 where ten entries competed. Six entries qualified to the semi-finals after two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, five qualifiers were determined by the combination of scores from each judge and an aggregate score from a viewer vote based on scores submitted through SMS, mobile app and online voting. In the second round of voting, the remaining five entries that were not in the initial top five faced a public vote in order to determine one additional qualifier. The first five qualifiers were "Nem szól harang" performed by Leander Kills, "Zöld a május" performed by Zsolt Süle, "Nobody to Die For" performed by Gabi Knoll, "Satellites" performed by Ceasefire X, and "Budapest Girl" performed by Viktor Király. "Ne hagyj reményt" performed by Tamás Vastag was the final qualifier. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, János Kóbor and Balkan Fanatik performed as the interval act for the show.| Draw | Artist | Song | Viewers | Total | Result | ||||
| 1 | Living Room | "Kirakat élet" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 36 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Tamás Vastag | "Ne hagyj reményt" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 36 | Advanced |
| 3 | Noémo | "Levegőt!" | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 39 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Leander Kills | "Nem szól harang" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 44 | Advanced |
| 5 | Zsolt Süle | "Zöld a május" | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 44 | Advanced |
| 6 | Gabi Knoll | "Nobody to Die For" | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 40 | Advanced |
| 7 | Fourtissimo | "Kisnyuszi a kalapban" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 33 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Ceasefire X | "Satellites" | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 41 | Advanced |
| 9 | Viktor Király | "Budapest Girl" | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 43 | Advanced |
| 10 | Patikadomb | "Jó szelet!" | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 33 | Eliminated |
Gallery
Heat 2
The second heat took place on 27 January 2018 where ten entries competed. Six entries qualified to the semi-finals after two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, five qualifiers were determined by the combination of scores from each judge and an aggregate score from a viewer vote based on scores submitted through SMS, mobile app and online voting. In the second round of voting, the remaining five entries that were not in the initial top five faced a public vote in order to determine one additional qualifier. The first five qualifiers were "Aranyhal" performed by Odett, "I Let You Run Away" performed by yesyes, "Azt mondtad" performed by Gergely Dánielfy, "Good Vibez" performed by Gábor Heincz Biga, and "Viszlát nyár" performed by AWS. "Lusta lány" performed by SativuS was the final qualifier. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, James Karácsony and Margaret Island performed as the interval act for the show.| Draw | Artist | Song | Viewers | Total | Result | ||||
| 11 | Peet Project | "Runaround" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 36 | Eliminated |
| 12 | Odett | "Aranyhal" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 39 | Advanced |
| 13 | yesyes | "I Let You Run Away" | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 43 | Advanced |
| 14 | Maya 'n' Peti | "Nekem te" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 30 | Eliminated |
| 15 | Viki Singh | "Butterfly House" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 34 | Eliminated |
| 16 | SativuS | "Lusta lány" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 34 | Advanced |
| 17 | Gergely Dánielfy | "Azt mondtad" | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 45 | Advanced |
| 18 | Nene | "Mese a királyról" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 37 | Eliminated |
| 19 | Gábor Heincz Biga | "Good Vibez" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 43 | Advanced |
| 20 | AWS | "Viszlát nyár" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 45 | Advanced |
Gallery
Heat 3
The third heat took place on 3 February 2018 where ten entries competed. Six entries qualified to the semi-finals after two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, five qualifiers were determined by the combination of scores from each judge and an aggregate score from a viewer vote based on scores submitted through SMS, mobile app and online voting. In the second round of voting, the remaining five entries that were not in the initial top five faced a public vote in order to determine one additional qualifier. The first five qualifiers were "Nagybetűs szavak" performed by Maszkura és a tücsökraj, "Bármerre jársz" performed by Ham ko Ham, "Meggyfa" performed by Tamás Horváth, "Életre kel" performed by Nikoletta Szőke, Attila Kökény and Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos, and, after jury deliberation, "Journey " performed by Cintia Horváth & Tomi Balogh. "H Y P N O T I Z E D" performed by Roland Gulyás was the final qualifier. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Fecó Balázs and Veca Janicsák performed as the interval act for the show.| Draw | Artist | Song | Viewers | Total | Result | ||||
| 21 | Nova Prospect | "Vigyázó" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 37 | Eliminated |
| 22 | Cintia Horváth & Tomi Balogh | "Journey " | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 37 | Advanced |
| 23 | Maszkura és a tücsökraj | "Nagybetűs szavak" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 38 | Advanced |
| 24 | Roland Gulyás | "H Y P N O T I Z E D" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 35 | Advanced |
| 25 | Reni Tolvai | "Crack My Code" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 37 | Eliminated |
| 26 | Ham ko Ham | "Bármerre jársz" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 38 | Advanced |
| 27 | #yeahla feat. Viki Eszes | "1 Szó Mint 100" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 35 | Eliminated |
| 28 | Andy Roll | "Turn the Lights On" | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 33 | Eliminated |
| 29 | Tamás Horváth | "Meggyfa" | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 42 | Advanced |
| 30 | Nikoletta Szőke, Attila Kökény and Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos | "Életre kel" | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 44 | Advanced |
Gallery
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 10 February 2018 where nine entries competed. Four entries qualified to the final. In the first round of voting, three qualifiers were determined by the combination of scores from each judge and an aggregate score from a viewer vote based on scores submitted through SMS, mobile app and online voting. In the second round of voting, the remaining six entries that were not in the initial top three faced a public vote in order to determine one additional qualifier. The three qualifiers were "Zöld a május" performed by Zsolt Süle, "Azt mondtad" performed by Gergely Dánielfy, and "Good Vibez" performed by Gábor Heincz Biga. The final qualifier was "Nem szól harang" by Leander Kills. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Kimnowak and János Kardos-Horváth performed as the interval act for the show.| Draw | Artist | Song | Viewers | Total | Result | ||||
| 1 | Ham ko Ham | "Bármerre jársz" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 36 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Gábor Heincz Biga | "Good Vibez" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 42 | Advanced |
| 3 | SativuS | "Lusta lány" | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 33 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Gabi Knoll | "Nobody to Die For" | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 37 | Eliminated |
| 5 | Maszkura és a tücsökraj | "Nagybetűs szavak" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 37 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Zsolt Süle | "Zöld a május" | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 45 | Advanced |
| 7 | Roland Gulyás | "H Y P N O T I Z E D" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 35 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Gergely Dánielfy | "Azt mondtad" | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 47 | Advanced |
| 9 | Leander Kills | "Nem szól harang" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 41 | Advanced |
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 17 February 2018 where nine entries competed. Four entries qualified to the final. In the first round of voting, three qualifiers were determined by the combination of scores from each judge and an aggregate score from a viewer vote based on scores submitted through SMS, mobile app and online voting. In the second round of voting, the remaining six entries that were not in the initial top three faced a public vote in order to determine one additional qualifier. The three qualifiers were "Viszlát nyár" performed by AWS, "Budapest Girl" performed by Viktor Király, and "I Let You Run Away" performed by yesyes. The final qualifier was "Meggyfa" by Tamás Horváth. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Adrien Szekeres and Charlie Horváth performed as the interval act for the show.| Draw | Artist | Song | Viewers | Total | Result | ||||
| 1 | Cintia Horváth & Tomi Balogh | "Journey " | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 36 | Eliminated |
| 2 | AWS | "Viszlát nyár" | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 46 | Advanced |
| 3 | Odett | "Aranyhal" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 37 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Viktor Király | "Budapest Girl" | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 42 | Advanced |
| 5 | Nikoletta Szőke, Attila Kökény and Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos | "Életre kel" | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 37 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Tamás Horváth | "Meggyfa" | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 38 | Advanced |
| 7 | Tamás Vastag | "Ne hagyj reményt" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 36 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Ceasefire X | "Satellites" | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 40 | Eliminated |
| 9 | yesyes | "I Let You Run Away" | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 45 | Advanced |
Final
The final took place on 24 February 2018 where the eight entries that qualified from the semi-finals competed. The winner of the competition was be selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the jury determined the top four entries that would advance to the second round. The voting system for the four jurors was different from the method used in the heats and semi-finals. Each juror announced their scores after all songs had been performed rather than assigning scores following each performance and the jurors ranked their preferred top four entries and assign points in the following manner: 4, 6, 8 and 10. The four entries with the highest total scores proceeded to the second round. The four entries with the highest total scores that proceeded to the second round were "I Let You Run Away" performed by yesyes, "Azt mondtad" performed by Gergely Dánielfy, "Viszlát nyár" performed by AWS, and "Budapest Girl" performed by Viktor Király. In the second round, "Viszlát nyár" performed by AWS was selected as the winner via a public vote consisting of votes submitted through SMS, mobile app and online voting. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers included Joci Pápai, the winner of A Dal 2017 and representative of Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, as well as one of the judges, Misi Mező and his band Magna Cum Laude, and György Ferenczi.| Draw | Artist | Song | Total | Result | ||||
| 1 | Leander Kills | "Nem szól harang" | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | — |
| 2 | yesyes | "I Let You Run Away" | 10 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 28 | 2 |
| 3 | Zsolt Süle | "Zöld a május" | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4 | Tamás Horváth | "Meggyfa" | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 5 | Gábor Heincz Biga | "Good Vibez" | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | — |
| 6 | Gergely Dánielfy | "Azt mondtad" | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 36 | 3/4 |
| 7 | AWS | "Viszlát nyár" | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 8 | Viktor Király | "Budapest Girl" | 6 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 30 | 3/4 |
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 29 January 2018, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Hungary was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 10 May 2018, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.Once all the competing songs for the 2018 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Hungary was set to perform in position 13, following the entry from Malta and preceding the entry from Latvia.
Semi-final
Voting
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry 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 was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Hungary and awarded by Hungary in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
Points awarded to Hungary
Points awarded by Hungary
Split voting results
The following five members comprised the Hungarian jury:- János Karácsony – Chairperson – composer, guitarist, singer
- Balázs Bolyki – gospel singer, musician, composer, producer, lyricist, vocal coach
- Alexandra Pintácsi – singer
- Lilla Vincze – singer
- Zoltán Szabó – composer, producer