Now Eurovision 2026 is firmly behind us and we’ve had a chance to properly digest the wild ride of Vienna, it’s now time to discuss What Went Wrong. We’ve all had a chance to mull over the results of the contest. The Eurovision 2026 final saw some very dramatic results, but 10 acts did not get a chance to see that.
In our tenth part Tom, Kittens, and Molly discuss what went wrong with Georgia.
Who are Bzikebi?
“Bzikebi is a three-piece musical group made up of Giorgi Shiolashvili, Mariam Tatulashvili and Mariam Kikuashvili. The band formed in 2008 to represent Georgia at Junior Eurovision in Limassol, Cyprus. The group won, giving Georgia its first of four Junior Eurovision wins. The band have sporadically released music together, but have since carried on with their own solo projects, before reuniting for Eurovision 2026.
Their song for Eurovision 2026 – “”On Replay”” – was written by Giga Kukhianidze and Liza Japaridze, otherwise known as Lizi Pop, who represented Georgia at Junior Eurovision 2014.”
What are the issues with the selection?
Tom: I find this song to be such a guilty pleasure for me. And I have to admit now, it is one of my most played tracks of the 2026 season. But I think too much hope was put on “former JESC winners compete again” and not enough was put into making them actually competitive in a modern context. I think internally selecting has worked for Georgia in the past, but more effort and intention has to be put into the choice if Georgia wants to qualify for the Grand Final.
Kittens: Choosing the lauded JESC winners after JESC must have seemed like such an easy choice. I cannot blame them for going down that route when they’ve had a very evident problem picking a decent entry in the past. But normally what’s happened with JESC entrants is that they’ve grown musically and as artists since JESC. And I don’t think that’s what has happened here – instead it’s the same thing just older – and it needed to be refined.
Molly: On the announcement of Bzikebi, the Georgian selection process seemed (in theory) to have improved. Having a long-sought-after act, an early announcement and reintroduction through JESC 2025, Bzikebi seemed to be the best choice for Georgia. However, they should’ve learnt from their mistakes in choosing another JESC winner to represent them again, considering what happened in 2023 with Iru. The time gap between Bzikebi’s win and their entry in 2026, with no music or performances in the middle, was a telling sign that the act might not translate well to live performances.
Was the song and act good enough to be in Eurovision?
Tom: I really want to say yes… I love this song and adore these 3. But I’m not blind and the performance was not up to scratch. George is the talent in this trio, and I love both the Miriams, but they struggled to keep up with him vocally in 2026, and it shows that they are out of practice. Maybe it would have been better if George was solo, or paired with others, or had additional support on stage. I think throw 2 other vocalists in this, and let Miriam & Miriam concentrate on choreography, and this could’ve been much better.
Kittens: I think it’s evident to most that this was not working vocally, so I won’t dwell on that. Unfortunately the song got too absorbed by everything else. In theory the lalalalala section should have been so catchy, but i kept forgetting it in comparison to the others in the semi. You can’t pick your competitors for sure, but the song lacked that proper hook to make it stick in your brain. Unfortunately it just being *there* was never going to help it pick up the vote.
Molly: On Replay is a song I struggle to define. On release, I loved it, found it incredibly catchy, the bridge lived rent-free in my head for a week, and it was different to every song in the line-up; however, the tight turnaround of release to pre-party season made the song fade into the background. It was a bit of “fun” in Semi 1, but with that semi containing the Ferto combined with being stuck in the first half, it just existed and never made the impact it wanted to.
Did the staging compliment the song and stand out?
Tom: I do like the graphics here. But this NEEDED a prop, they get so swamped on this large stage. The choreography is catchy, the outfits work well I think – but I’m not sure the vast majority of people got the reference. But the staging as it was in Vienna was just not enough to be at all competitive. Give this a better staging and better vocals, and yeah this could’ve had a shot.
Kittens: Staging crimes hit list here quite honestly. From the moment I saw the video I knew this had problems, and they manifested on stage pretty much how I would expect. All of the style and staging from the video was reduced to… Well, 3 people and some mediocre visuals. And that just revealed that without the display, the song just… Wasn’t that good? And so the whole thing fell apart a bit. A lot of wasted potential here tbh – it’s not like they can’t do it because obviously we’ve seen them do it! just… This ain’t it.
Molly: Oh honey. Yes, it stood out BUT for all the wrong reasons. I could write an essay on the staging faults, but I will keep it brief. The music video was sleek and tightly choreographed, which was just forgotten about. The stage felt so empty and devoid of life, with the LED robots certainly… a choice. For a song about living in the moment and humankind being irreplaceable, it felt incredibly slow and completely disconnected. The outfits as well, no comment.
Could this song have qualified if changes were made?
Tom: I’m gunna throw this out there. This song (admittedly with a better vocal) but with Luke Black 2023 style staging, or something leaning more into the robotic, gamer visual that actually worked, and yeah I think it had a chance. Maybe thats wishful thinking, but I truly love this song and these three JESC legends. It needed a LOT of changes though.
Kittens: It would have needed a lot of help. The song needed an overhaul. The staging was off, the vocal was bad, there was no charisma. As it’s not just one thing that was the culprit I’m going to say no it couldn’t have qualified unless they had about a year to make the changes unfortunately!
Molly:The song needed a complete overhaul. The vocals were non-existent; there was no connection between the members, combined with the awful staging, it was a disaster waiting to happen. More live performances to build confidence and delivery may have slightly upped the Jury score, but not enough to guarantee qualification. The main appeal would’ve been to the public, who were already divided by the song, and, combined with the lack of impact, saw no hope. If practical measures had been taken rather than name promotion, maybe a chance could’ve occurred, but it would be a borderline qualifier.
What are our outlooks for future contests?
Tom: Georgia seem to struggle of recent. And this felt like an in emergency break glass selection by picking a JESC winner, with not enough staging and production help thrown at it. I’d love Georgia to maybe send something more authentic and traditional in future, I think that could do better for them. I don’t think a single entry they’ve sent in the 2020s so far, has felt specifically Georgian. And I think thats not a great sign.
Kittens: The outlook is bleak if things remain like this. I think Georgia have really struggled again to make a solid selection, but also struggled to think hard about what needs to go into the staging and production to make this really stand out. Putting an artist with history on stage doesn’t always work – and this is something they’ve learned fresh this time, but how many times can they be ‘learning’ this at this point – the progress isn’t happening. They need to look deep and find out why.
Molly: Georgia needs to work out what they want to be within this contest. They have the artists available, but something always goes wrong in delivery. Bzikebi, on paper, could’ve been Georgia’s best scorer of the 2020s, but the lack of care in staging destroyed all these chances. If Georgia can establish a public connection to achieve votes and execution in the final product to appeal to the Jury, they can stand a chance. For now, the delegation needs to rethink their priorities.
Watch the accompanying discussion video here:
Georgia’s Eurovision Journey
“Georgia’s history in Eurovision has been mixed since they began competing in 2007, represented by Sopho Khalvashi with “”Visionary Dream””. Their highest placements – both coming in 9th – were achieved in 2010 and 2011, with Sopho Niharadze performing Shine and Eldrine with One More Day. They have not qualified for the final since 2016, where they were represented by Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz with Midnight Gold.
For 2026, GPB selected former Junior Eurovision winners Bzikebi to represent Georgia with their song “”On Replay””. In Vienna, Georgia failed to qualify for the final, earning just 5 points in the semi-final, ultimate placing fifteenth − last. “
What do think about our thoughts? Do you think Georgia could have qualified? Let us know in the comments or on social media! Be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we prepare for Eurovision 2027!
Source: That Eurovision Site
Image Credit: Alma Bengtsson / EBU