Kazakhstan was represented at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "", written by Ivan Lopukhov, Artem Kuzmenkov, Kamila Dairova, and Daneliya Tuleshova, and performed by Tuleshova herself. The Kazakh participating broadcaster, Khabar Agency (KA), organised a televised national final to select its entry for the contest. The entry went on to place 6th at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest with 171 points. This marked the first time Kazakhstan participated in any Eurovision event.
Background
On 25 November 2017, Channel 31 of Kazakhstan revealed their intention to participate in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018. Initial claims emerged on 22 December 2017 from both the Kazakh Minister of Culture and Sports, Arystanbek Mukhamediuly; and the Director General of Channel 31, Bagdat Kodzhahmetov; that the broadcaster had applied to become a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), with the hope of participating both in the Eurovision Song Contest and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Kodzhahmetov invited Daneliya Tuleshova, winner of the fourth season of Ukraine's version of The Voice Kids, to take part in the casting process to represent Kazakhstan in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. However, the EBU made a statement the following day rejecting the possibility of any broadcaster from Kazakhstan to become an active member of the EBU, since the country is neither within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) nor is a member of the Council of Europe.
Prior to the 2018 contest, Channel 31 had sent a delegation to the and contests and broadcast the latter live. Channel 31 also stated its intention to broadcast the contests in 2018 and 2019. Khabar Agency (KA) has been an associate member of the EBU since January 2016.
Before Junior Eurovision National final KA held a national final on 22 September 2018. Ten songs participated in the competition and the winner was selected through a jury and public televote.
Competing entries Artists were able to submit their entries between 1 August 2018 and 31 August 2018. From all songs submitted, an eleven-member jury panel selected 10 songs for the competition. The jury panel consisted of Tamara Assar, Mariya Sadvakasova, Erke Esmahan, Kairat Nurtas, Roza Rymbaeva, Alan Azhibayev, Lyalla Sultankyzy, Renat Gaisin, Bagim Mukhitdenova, Meirambek Bespaev and Dimash Kudaibergenov.
Artist Song Songwriter(s) Binura Saudabay "Arnaý" P. Dumitrescu Daneliya Tuleshova "Òzińe sen" Artem Kuzmenkov, Kamila Dairova, Daneliya Tuleshova Dinar Nadirbekova "Bul álem ertegideı" E. Komar, Kamila Dairova, Y. Zhukov Maria Zatvarnitskaya "Baqytyń men" A. Duisenov Meirzhan Zhidebai "Elester" A. Mukasheva Sanat Asuat "Erekshe" M. Kadyrmurat, D. Chabanov Suikum Kabylbek "Elge sálem" A. Segizbayeva, B. Zhelderbayev Yerzhan Maksim "Elimdi súıemin" A. Duysenbi, U. Zholdasov Zere Amirbekova "Qos qanat" Tetyana Reshetnyak, Kamila Dairova, Zere Amirbekova Zhanelya Kaldybek "Álemdi mahabbat saqtaıdy" A. Ilyanova, P. Dumitrescu
Final The final took place on 22 September 2018 at the Halyk Arena in Almaty, hosted by Maya Bekbaeva, Nursultan Qurman, Marat Oralgazin and Erkebulan Myrzabek. Ten competing acts participated in a televised production where the winner was determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from jury members made up of music professionals and a public telephone vote. The jury panel consisted of Tamara Assar, Mariya Sadvakasova, Erke Esmahan, Kairat Nurtas, Roza Rymbaeva, Alan Azhibayev, Lyalla Sultankyzy, Renat Gaisin, Bagim Mukhitdenova, Meirambek Bespaev and Dimash Kudaibergenov.
The winner was Daneliya Tuleshova with the song "" (Kazakh Cyrillic: ; ), which was written by herself, Artem Kuzmenkov, and Kamila Dairova, and composed by Ivan Lopukhov.
+Final – 22 September 2018 Artist SongJuryTelevote Total PlaceVotesPoints 1Zere Amirbekova"Qos qanat"2 798 2Sanat Asuat"Erekshe"3 8114 3Meirzhan Zhidebai"Elester"12 8202 4Maria Zatvarnitskaya"Baqytyń men"5 6115 5Suikum Kabylbek"Elge sálem"1 2310 6Zhanelya Kaldybek"Álemdi mahabbat saqtaıdy"7 3107 7Yerzhan Maksim"Elimdi súıemin"833810183 8Dinar Nadirbekova"Bul álem ertegideı"4 599 9Binura Saudabay"Arnaý"6 4106 10Daneliya Tuleshova"Òzińe sen"1094612221
At Junior Eurovision During the opening ceremony and the running order draw which both took place on 19 November 2018, Kazakhstan was drawn to perform third on 25 November 2018, following Portugal and preceding Albania. She placed 6th, with 171 points.
Voting
+ Points awarded to Kazakhstan Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point Kazakhstan received 103 points from the online vote
+ Points awarded by Kazakhstan Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Detailed voting results The following members comprised the Kazakh jury:
Aruzhan Ardak Dinaya Galiya Baibossynova Mukhammed Ali Zhugunusov Renat Gaisin
+ Draw Country Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Rank Points 01 7 5 5 9 3 5 6 02 16 19 17 19 18 19 03 04 19 10 18 14 17 17 05 9 6 7 8 6 7 4 06 8 18 12 11 16 13 07 15 7 10 13 11 11 08 12 11 6 7 7 9 2 09 10 12 15 16 19 16 10 17 14 16 10 13 15 11 3 1 2 3 4 2 10 12 6 9 11 6 10 8 3 13 5 8 8 5 8 6 5 14 2 3 3 12 2 4 7 15 11 16 13 17 9 14 16 1 2 1 2 5 1 12 17 13 13 9 15 14 12 18 14 17 19 18 15 18 19 4 4 4 1 1 3 8 20 18 15 14 4 12 10 1
References