"Never Let You Go" is a pop/rock song that was performed by Dima Bilan

Dima Bilan

' is a Russian actor and pop singer . Bilan represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with "Never Let You Go", finishing second, and he won the contest in 2008 in Belgrade, with the song "Believe". He has had several Russian no. 1 hits....

 at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. He was representing Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 and ended up in 2nd place.

At the performance in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, Dima Bilan was wearing a white tank top with a number representing his place in the contest's running order - 13 and 10 in the semi-final and final respectively.
Bilan had two ballerina

Ballerina

A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...

s dancing in the background and a white piano covered in red rose petals, from which a ghost-like female figure emerged halfway through the song.

On the night of the semi-final the song was performed 13th, following Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

's Ich Troje

Ich Troje

Ich Troje is a Polish pop band.Former members are Magdalena Pokora , Justyna Majkowska , Elli Mücke and Ania Wisniewska ....

 with "Follow My Heart

Follow My Heart

"Follow My Heart" was the Polish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in English, Polish, German, Russian and Spanish by Ich Troje and Real McCoy...

" and preceding Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

's Sibel Tüzün

Sibel Tüzün

Sibel Tüzün is a Turkish pop/rock/jazz singer.- Life and career :Sibel began her musical education at the TRT Istanbul Children's Choir...

 with "Süper Star

Süper Star

"Süper Star" was the Turkish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, held in Athens, Greece. The song was sung, written and composed by Sibel Tüzün....

". The song received 217 points, placing 3rd in a field of 23 and proceeding to the final.

On the night of the final Bilan performed 10th in the running order, following Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

's Sidsel Ben Semmane

Sidsel Ben Semmane

Sidsel Ben Semmane is a Danish musician who represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens on May 20, 2006. She won the chance to sing on the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix on February 11, 2006 with the song "Twist of Love", written by Niels Drevsholt, which she later went onto sing at the...

 with "Twist of Love

Twist Of Love

"Twist of Love" was the Danish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in English by Sidsel Ben Semmane.As Denmark had finished in the top 10 in the 2005 contest, the song was pre-qualified for the final. Here, it was performed ninth, following Germany's Texas Lightning with "No No...

" and preceding FYR Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

's Elena Risteska

Elena Risteska

Elena Risteska is a Macedonian singer and song-writer. She represented Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, held in Athens with the song "Ninanajna" and finished on the 12th place. That is the best result made by Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest ever...

 with "Ninanajna

Ninanajna

"Ninanajna" was the Macedonian entry in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, performed in Macedonian and English by Elena Risteska, composed and produced by Darko Dimitrov and with lyrics by Rade Vrčakovski. Versions were also recorded entirely in each of the two languages...

". The song received 248 points, finishing second behind Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

's Lordi

Lordi

Lordi is a Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band, formed in 1996 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume-designer, Mr. Lordi. The band is known for wearing monster masks and using pyrotechnics during concerts...

.

This was Russia's best showing at Eurovision up to that time. He beat Alsou

Alsou

- Early life :Alsou was born in Bugulma, Tatarstan. Her father, Ralif Rafilovich Safin is a Russian oligarch, a former LUKoil executive and a current member of the Federal Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament. He is also the owner of the FC Zhemchuzhina-Sochi football team and was...

, who also came 2nd in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000

Eurovision Song Contest 2000

The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 13 May 2000 at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden, following Charlotte Nilsson's victory in Jerusalem the previous year. It was the first time since 1996 that the contest was held on mainland Europe. The...

, but by only 155 points. Since the introduction of the semi-final in 2004

Eurovision Song Contest 2004

The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...

, more countries are participating and voting in the contest, thus increasing the possible amount of scores a song can receive: in 2006, there were 38 nations taking part (Serbia-Montenegro pulled out of performing, but still voted), as opposed to 24 in 2000. Nevertheless, Alsou received 53.8% of the maximum possible points from 24 countries in 2000, whilst Dima's final tally equated to 54.4% of the maximum possible score available from the 38 voting countries.

The song was succeeded as Russian representative by Serebro

Serebro

Serebro are a Russian trio, formed in Moscow, Russia in 2006. They are also famously known as the band who finished third in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with the song "Song #1"...

 with "Song #1

Song Number 1

"Song #1" is a song by girl group Serebro. It was chosen to represent Russia at Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland. They performed in the 15th position following Latvia's Bonaparti.lv with "Questa Notte" and preceding Germany's Roger Cicero with "Frauen regier'n die Welt".Serebro...

".

Dima Bilan performed the song at the World Music Awards

World Music Awards

The World Music Awards is an international awards show founded in 1989 that annually honors recording artists based on worldwide sales figures provided by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . John Martinotti is an executive producer and co-founder of the show...

 in Earls Court

Earls Court

Earls Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district centred on Earl's Court Road and surrounding streets, located 3.1 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It borders the sub-districts of South Kensington to the East, West...

on 15 November 2006.

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Russian Airplay Chart	3