Song for the Origin 03

**Song for the Origin 03** was the third edition of the show Song for the Origin, the Czech selection method for The Origin Song Contest. It was used to choose the Czech representatives for the eighth edition of the contest. The show took place on 28th March 2020 and consisted of a single final with 11 entries.

The selection was won by ILÆY with her Turkish-language song "Giderayak". She represented the Czech Republic at The Origin Song Contest 08 in Brussels, Belgium. This marked the first time the country did not send a song in English or Czech.

## Background

On 24th December 2019, the Czech Republic confirmed their participation at The Origin Song Contest 08. The very same day, it was also confirmed that the show Song for the Origin will return as the selection method of the Czech entry for the upcoming edition of TOSC for the third edition in a row.

## Format

Song for the Origin 03 was the third edition of the contest. It was a single-night event and was held in the country's capital, Prague. Eleven songs participated in the final, with the international juries and the national televote voting for their favourite. The entry that obtained the highest score from both the jury and the public was declared the winner and was given the rights to represent the Czech Republic at The Origin Song Contest 08.

### Presenters

The show was presented by German-Czech blogger and singer Katja Krasavice.

## Competing entries

Initially, the Czech broadcaster announced that ten songs have been chosen after the song submission period. However, due to disagreements with some of the artists, the line-up was declared void and the selection process began from scratch. On 12th February 2020, the new line-up consisting of 11 songs was released.

### Selected entries

Most notably, last edition's winners Vesna returned to the competition. This time they were accompanied by violinist Terezie Kovalová.

     *Winner*

## Final

The final was held on 28th March 2020 in the O2 Arena in Prague.

### Results

Similarly to the previous two editions, the voting consisted of 50% jury and 50% televoting. In the beginning, Song for the Origin 02 winners Vesna alongside Terezie Kovalová took an early lead. However, they were soon overtaken and a neck-to-neck race between "Giderayak", "Motherland" and "Seaside" emerged. In the end, the Polish jury voted in favour of "Seaside", resulting in GIUDI being the jury winner. After a thrilling televoting sequence, won by ILÆY with the impressive amount of 77 points, she was declared the winner of the selection with 134 points. This also marked the first time the results' outcome was decided by the televote.

### International jury vote

The international juries were chosen by the broadcaster on a number of different criteria. The selected juries were as follows:

* Belarus
* Croatia
* Faroe Islands
* Latvia
* San Marino
* Spain
* Turkey
* Ukraine

## Incidents

### Katja Krasavice

* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
* Katja Krasavice hosting the event
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Huge controversy sparked when Katja Krasavice was announced as the host of the selection. Some people complained that she's not "Czech enough" to host an event of this kind while others feared that the already not so family-friendly show will become even more scandalous. Before the show, Katja said in an interview that "I don't care what people say and I won't let them get on my back. I'm here to deliver the most provocative show you've ever witnessed." Indeed, the show received strong public backlash from the Czech viewers due to her shameless behaviour, use of profane language and style of clothing. However, the show was praised outside of the Czech Republic, receiving positive feedback from neighbouring Poland, for which is speculated that DZIARMA is responsible.