Over 5 heats and a total of 44 songs, Lithuania ultimately chose the experimental rock band, Katarsis, and their song “Tavo Akys.” Katarsis will perform 8th in the second semi-final.

“Tavo Akys” is a clearly emotional song and has its fair share of fans. The muted blue-gray color scheme, minimal staging, and a hairstyle that obscures the lead singer’s face for part of the performance results in a very moody package complete with slo-mo exploding buildings. There is also some sad angsty serious head banging and wandering around the stage. 

The song title means “Your Eyes” in Lithuanian, and here are some of its super uplifting lyrics (translation by eurovisionworld.com):

We have some questions about the staging choices in the national final. Are they supposed to be wearing prison uniforms or scrubs? Why is it just so dark on stage at the beginning?

Also, what’s going on with the LED screen narrative? Asteroids? Post tornado? Earth explosion?

The last minute of this song does not do it any favors. They repeat the Lithuanian word tavo – meaning “your” – for the whole minute with some “aaahs” thrown in. To be fair this is probably the most ~Eurovision~ aspect of this entry, but it pushes a song that already is not quite working for us further down in our rankings.

This is another example of where any sort of objective valuation or ranking breaks down. In a different setting we would probably like the song and even the staging a lot more. But, this is Eurovision and we are here for the spectacle, the bright colors, and the glitter. “Tavo Akys” is not that. It’s like… having sushi at an Italian restaurant. Cool bro, but why?

To close on a positive note, Lithuania’s entry in 2022 ended up being one of our favorites, despite our initial impressions. We ranked Monica Liu’s “Sentimentai” at the very bottom, but it continued to grow on us right up to the start of the contest. So we can’t rule Katarsis out completely. Maybe Lithuania is a slow burn country again, and we just haven’t caught fire yet.