Eurovision televoters did not feel InCulto's "Eastern European Funk." Photo used courtesy of the European Broadcasting Union.

VILNIUS — The final nail on the coffin of the Baltic states’ Eurovision hopes was hammered in Thursday night when Lithuania’s entrant InCulto failed to qualify into the final.

While the title suggests its homegrown, InCulto’s song “Eastern European Funk” is actually the most multicultural entrant the Baltic states have ever put up, as the band is fronted by the Colombian-born Jurgis Didžiulis, which the song’s Latin-ska flavor showcases. However, despite the feel-good, bouncy nature of the song in contrast to the semifinals’ many serious, slow numbers Europe’s televoters didn’t bite. Maybe the glitter underwear was a little too much?

Of course, politics may have played a part. One of the primary criticisms of the contest is that people vote more for their neighbors or ethnicities (bolstering Turkey and Israel among others) as studies have shown in past years.

This year the Baltic states were divided between the two semifinals — Latvia and Estonia went up Tuesday, while Lithuania was Thursday, cutting the overall population of the three countries roughly in half.

Regardless of why or how, though, it’s certainly a disappointment for the Singing Revolution nations, especially considering that Latvia won in 2002 and Estonia in 2001. Lithuania has never won the contest.

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