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Much-talked-of Belarus entry places 9th at 2009 Junior Eurovision Song Contest

The much-talked-of Belarus entry at the 2009 Junior Eurovision Song Contest was voted into the bottom half of the table despite having been regarded as one of the most likely winners.

Belarus with “Volshebny Krolik” (The Magic Rabbit), a Russian-language song backed by a hardcore rhythm with a piece of operatic gothic metal, placed ninth out of the 13 nations participating in the contest, which was held in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday.

However, the performance of Yury Dzemidovich, a 13-year-old Minsk schoolboy who authored and sang the song, has been considered a success in Belarus, where great importance is attached to the Eurovision song contests.

The boy and his song became an Internet sensation this past summer. A video of Yury singing “Volshebny Krolik” in the semifinal of Belarus’ national selection round notched hundreds of thousands of views within a few weeks. Many people made “Volshebny Krolik” their ringtone. Some critics insisted that there was something satanic in the song, but Yury said that the song had been inspired by Lewis Carrol’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Belarus won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 and 2007 and took second place in 2006 and sixth place in 2008.

Belarus’ capital city Minsk will host the 2010 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. //BelaPAN