Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Lithuanian entry was selected through a national final, that consisted of heats, semi-finals and a final, organised by the Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television. Andrius Pojavis represented Lithuania with the song "Something", which placed 22nd and scored 17 points in the final.
Before Eurovision
„Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka
On 12 September 2012, LRT released the rules for their selection procedure, which outlined a selection that would consist of heats, semi-finals and a final. The heats were scheduled to begin on 3 November 2012, followed by the semi-finals on 8 December 2012 and the final 20 December 2012.
Competing entries
Artists and composers must be Lithuanian, with songs submitted by 1 October 2012. LRT opted to include two introduction shows where the selected artists performed a song of their choice and establish their candidacy to represent Lithuania.
Heat 1
The first heat was held on 3 November 2012. Eight acts competed for three spots in the semi-finals. The results of the heat were revealed on 9 November where Gabrielius Vagelis, Saulės Broliai, and Andrius Pojavis qualified to the final. Julija Jegorova participated in the heat, placing last in the public vote, but was later disqualified, as it was discovered that her song had been previously performed by German singer Onita Boone prior to the 1 September deadline, thus breaking the rules of the competition. For this reason her song was not included in the jury voting, which occurred after the show.
Heat 2
The second heat was held on 10 November 2012. The acts that qualified for the semi-finals were revealed on 16 November, and they were Beissoul & Gabrielė Griciūtė, Ieva Zasimauskaitė & Gabrielius Vagelis, and Timohi. Gabrielius Vagelis had already managed to qualify from the first heat as a solo act. Giedrė Smolskaitė was later awarded a wildcard spot in the semi-finals.
Heat 3
The third heat was held on 17 November 2012. The qualifying acts were revealed on 22 November, and they were Božolė, Neringa Šiaudikytė, and Elvina Milkauskaitė. It was later announced that Sophie had been awarded a place in the semi-finals by means of a wild card.
Heat 4
The fourth heat was held on 24 November 2012. The acts that had progressed to the semi-finals were revealed on 29 November, and they were Gintarė Korsakaitė, Linas Adomaitis and Girmantė Vaitkutė. Gerai Gerai & Miss Sheep were later revealed to have qualified to the semi-finals as well, after they received a wildcard.
Heat 5
The fifth heat was held on 1 December 2012. Unlike previous heats, this round contains only seven songs. The acts who had made it through to the semi-finals were revealed on 6 December, and they were El Fuego, DAR and Monika Linkytė.
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final was held on 8 December 2012. Nine acts competed for four spots in the final. The qualifying acts were revealed on 13 December, and they were Gerai Gerai & Miss Sheep, Andrius Pojavis, Ieva & Gabrielius and Božolė. Gerai Gerai & Miss Sheep received top marks from both the public and jury vote, despite only qualifying to the semi-final as a wildcard.
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final was held on 15 December 2012. The qualifying acts were revealed immediately following the show, and they were Monika Linkytė, Linas Adomaitis, Girmantė Vaitkutė and DAR. Monika Linkytė was originally announced as a qualifier, however, she withdrew from the competition shortly before the final on 20 December due to a laryngitis infection.
Final
The final was held on 20 December 2012. In the first round where the public and the jury decided the top 3, Gerai Gerai & Miss Sheep, Girmantė Vaitkutė and Andrius Pojavis proceeded to the superfinal. In the superfinal, the jury solely selected Andrius Pojavis with the song "Something" as the winner.
Preparation
On 10 February, LRT organized a televised fundraiser in Vilnius where viewers were able to donate money in order to fund the Lithuanian participation. The fundraiser collected 100,000 litas which went towards paying extra preparation costs. Andrius Pojavis revealed that a new version of the song had been produced which included the introduction of backing vocals.
At Eurovision
Lithuania was allocated to compete in the first semi-final on 14 May for a place in the final on 18 May. In the first semifinal, the producers of the show decided that Lithuania would perform 10th, following Montenegro and preceding Belarus. Lithuania qualified from the first semi-final, placing 9th and scoring 53 points. At the first semi-final winners' press conference, Lithuania was allocated to perform in the first half of the final. In the final, the producers of the show decided that Lithuania would perform 2nd, following France and preceding Moldova. Lithuania placed 22nd in the final, scoring 17 points.
