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Eurovizija.LT 2026 wrapped in Vilnius with the kind of scoreboard that gives delegation heads palpitations and spreadsheet nerds a new favourite tab. In the end it was Lion Ceccah who clawed past SHWR to take the ticket to Vienna with Sólo quiero más – but only after the rules book was dusted off and the televote was called in to break a dead heat at the top.
A format that finally bites, some people on the arse!
LRT’s rebooted Eurovizija.LT has taken a while to find its feet, but this year’s edition finally felt like it meant business. Five heats, an online wildcard with added voting skullduggery with loads of discounted votes, and then the big finish at Twinsbet Arena gave Lithuania a proper season arc rather than a conveyor belt of shows that all blurred into one.
The voting was simple enough: 50% jury,televote, points doled out Eurovision‑style and, crucially, any tie decided in favour of whoever the viewers liked more. You can probably guess why that last line suddenly mattered.
On the night the jury went for SHWR’s Contact!, throwing it the full 12 points and leaving Lion Ceccah second. Vilnius Voices’ choir entry Grįšim completed the podium with 8, while Nøra Blu, Black Biceps and Lolita Zero filled out the upper mid‑table. Down at the business end, Atikin and Walls of Water were scraping single digits and Noy was politely ignored with the dreaded nul. It looked like a classic case of the juries backing one flavour of pop, while the public were busy stanning something else entirely.
Lithuania clicks “vote”
Once the voting window slammed shut, the scale of Lion’s support became obvious. Sólo quiero más hoovered up 38,747 votes – more than twice SHWR’s 15,764 – and that translated into the maximum 12 televote points. Atikin’s Deganti žemelė and Nøra Blu’s Hold My Own rounded out the top four with the public, while the rest were left fighting over scraps. Poor Noy managed just 493 votes, and a big fat zero in both columns.
Put it all together and the final table looked like this:
| Artist | Song | Jury pts | Televote pts | Televote total | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rug!le | Ikona Žemaitė | 4 | 3 | 1,211 | 7 | 8 |
| Walls of Water | Unshakable | 1 | 2 | 1,161 | 3 | 10 |
| Lion Ceccah | Sólo quiero más | 10 | 12 | 38,747 | 22 | 1 |
| Nøra Blu | Hold My Own | 7 | 7 | 7,012 | 14 | 3 |
| Noy | Stand up | 0 | 0 | 493 | 0 | 11 |
| Atikin | Deganti žemelė | 2 | 8 | 10,501 | 10 | 6 |
| SHWR | Contact! | 12 | 10 | 15,764 | 22 | 2 |
| Vilnius Voices | Grįšim | 8 | 4 | 2,716 | 12 | 5 |
| Lolita Zero | Salve in meum mundum | 5 | 5 | 3,232 | 10 | 7 |
| Paulé | Sako | 3 | 1 | 1,062 | 4 | 9 |
| Black Biceps | Let me cook | 6 | 6 | 3,892 | 12 | 4 |
Both Lion and SHWR ended up on 22 points, but with the televote firmly in Lion’s corner, the rules did what they were supposed to do and handed Sólo quiero más the trophy. SHWR, for all that jury love, had to settle for the silver.
Winners, nearly‑winners and “oh”
There are a few stories hiding in that table. Nøra Blu, who had to crawl in via the wildcard with the help of some nefarious voting patters, finished a very respectable third with a perfectly balanced 7+7. Black Biceps and Vilnius Voices, my two favourites, shared fourth on 12, but with very different profiles – one leaning into the televote, the other riding jury goodwill. Lolita Zero who another favourites group did what Lolita Zero always does: delivered full theatre, divided opinion and landed smack in the middle.
Where this leaves Lithuania
Whether Sólo quiero más can turn those domestic numbers into something meaningful on the scoreboard in Vienna is another matter – but on this evidence, the Lithuanians have at least given themselves a fighting chance and a national final worth talking about.
