Griffiniskaja Laul 1

Griffiniskaja Laul 01 was the first edition of the annual Griffiniskaja Laul musical event. The contest was held between 16th and 23rd April 2020 at the Kralarrenaa in Kralingslæting, Foreõsvdetrre. The host and presenter of the show was Jüri Pootsmann. It was the first Griffin-wide music competition in this format.

The winner of the first Griffiniskaja Laul was Greyson Chance with the song "Dancing Next to Me", representing the principality of Sletterimaa. In second place were 5MIINUST x NUBLU representing the host principality of Foreõsvdetrre, and third place to Christopher with Ghost representing Meremaa. The winner of the contest represented Griffin Empire in the Waiting List Song Contest 196 in Xhumshët, Arkodrë, finishing in 3rd place.

The contest was broadcast by Griffin national broadcaster - GTV and watched by 16.23 million people (77% market share).

Location
Kralarrenaa is a multi-use domed stadium that is located in Memdimask, which is in a western part of Kralingslæting. It is one of the two multi-use domed stadiums to be built in Western Natia. The venue offers three separate configurations. In its rugby configuration, it has a nominal seating capacity of 30,681. For concerts, it is able to seat 40,000. Finally, a movable stand allows it to also be used for a variety of indoor sports, at various capacities, with a capacity of as low as 5,000 being possible. The venue also includes 33,000 square metres (360,000 sq ft) of office space, 300 student rooms, shops, including a club shop, a brewery and a gourmet restaurant.

Kralingslæting is the capital and most populous city of both Griffin Empire and the principality of Foreõsvdetrre, with a population of 12,292,895 residents as of 2020. Throughout history, it has been one of Natia's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, science and arts. The Foreõsvdetrre had a GDP of K709 billion ($808 billion) in 2017. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Worldwide Cost of Living Survey in 2018, Kralingslæting was the second most expensive city in the world. Another source ranked Kralingslæting as most expensive in 2018.

Format
Seven principalities of Griffin Empire submit their entry of choice to compete in a one night final. Each principality gives 1,5,8 10 and 12 points to their favorite songs via televoting. It is forbidden to vote to ones own principality. Seven Natian countries were internally invited to join the show as international juries. These nations gave points in the same way as Griffin televoting.

International juries' votes determine Griffin representative at the Waiting List Song Contest. Both juries and televoting combined determine the overall winner of the festival.

There was no official theme or slogan of the contest. Visual design used neon colours and futuristic elements. The host was Griffin singer Jüri Pootsmann who performed both the opening and interval acts.

Results
The winner of both international jury and Griffin vote was Sletterimaa meaning that Greyson Chance was both winner of the festival and Griffin representative at the Waiting List Song Contest.

Reception and result at the Waiting List Song Contest
The show recieved positive reviews from music critics, and was positively reviewed by audiences and scholars, who commented on the contest's cultural, historical, and political impacts. Quality of the show was praised, as well as the song lineup. All songs charted in Griffin Empire before the both Griffiniskaja Laul and Waiting List Song Contest even started.

Winning entry recieved positive reviews as well. Jon Ferklehtson from Kralewskovgrad Todan wrote: "Dancing Next to Me is pretty sweet and quite jam-packed. Chance experiences a temporary high, only to be disappointed, ultimately... All in all, “Dancing Next to Me” is a bop". While Anders Jaderup of SaudiGriffinisk' acknowledged "80’s pop sound that is truly making a comeback" writing that "(the song) is a very bold beginning to this new chapter for Chance, and is a track that will grow on you with each listen and have you intriguingly want to hear more". The song was a hot favourite to win the big contest as well finishing in the third place collecting 91 points.