We have reached the end of our preview journey for Eurovision 2023. Our final destination is the country we should have been heading to under different circumstances; the land of sunflowers, grain and strong people. It’s Ukraine!
History
Ukraine first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003. They will take their 18th appearance in the contest this year. One year after their debut, Ruslana gave Ukraine their first ever win with the song “Wild Dances”. Ukraine then went on to place in the top 10 on eight occasions from 2005-2014, four of those being top 5 placings. Jamala gave Ukraine its second victory in 2016 with “1944”, making Ukraine the first Eastern European country to win the contest twice. Ukraine is the last remaining country that has qualified from every single semi-final that they have been in. At the 2022 contest, Kalush Orchestra gave Ukraine its third victory with “Stefania”, scoring the highest televote score since the new voting system was introduced in 2016.
As winners of the 2022 contest, Ukraine was originally supposed to host this year’s contest. However, after security concerns surrounding the ongoing war in the country, the EBU deemed Ukraine unable to host. This is the first time since 1980 that the contest will not be held in the country that won the contest the year before.
Selection
The Ukrainian broadcaster, National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (Natsionalna Suspilna Teleradiokompaniia Ukrainy – Національна суспільна телерадіокомпанія України – UA:PBC), organised the seventh edition of Vidbir to select their 2023 entry. A total of ten songs competed in the final. The winner was selected by a combination of an in-studio jury, whose members were selected by the public (50%), and public voting (50%). After coming second in the jury vote and first in the public vote, Tvorchi won the Ukrainian ticket to Liverpool.
Artist
Tvorchi are a duo consisting of Andrii Hutsuliak (Андрій Гуцуляк) and Jimoh Augustus Kehinde. Andrii is from Vilkhovets in western Ukraine while Jimoh is from Nigeria. The duo met while they were both students at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Ternopil National Medical University.
In 2017, Tvorchi released their debut single “Slow”, which was followed by another single “You” later in the year.
In 2018, Tvorchi released their debut album “The Parts”, which was followed by their first Ukrainian-language single “Molodist” (Молодість – Youth).
On February 14 2019, Tvorchi released their second album “Disco Lights”. One week later, they released a music video for “Believe”. Within a few days, the video garnered 400,000 views on YouTube, and the song reached number 9 in the Google Play charts in Ukraine. In the summer of 2019, they performed at musical festivals throughout Ukraine such as Faine Misto in Ternopil, Atlas Weekend in Kyiv and Ukrainian Song Project in Lviv.
In 2020, Tvorchi participated in Vidbir and placed fourth in the final with “Bonfire”. In September of that year, they released their third album, “13 Waves”, which was recorded remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On December 19 2020, the duo won two Culture Ukraine Awards for Best New Artist and Best English-Language Single for “Bonfire”. They were also nominated at the YUNA 2021 Music Awards in four categories, including “Album of the Year”.
In 2021, Tvorchi released their fourth album “The Road”.
The song that Tvorchi will perform in Liverpool is called “Heart of Steel”. It was written and composed by both members of the duo. As reigning champions, Ukraine automatically qualify for the final.
Song Review
Ukraine do not fuck around when it comes to Eurovision. They understand that relying on what did well for you before won’t always work.
This song serves equal parts slickness and darkness. Jimoh has this air of coolness about him that compliments his silky vocals. This is juxtaposed with the dark beats that reflects the current situation in Ukraine. Despite the dark times, Ukraine contuniues to persevere. That is not something to be pitied.
As for its chances in the contest, I’m not sure entirely where this will end up. I don’t think it will win but I’m sure that Ukraine can be proud of their Eurovision entry once again.
The One That Got Away
Kalush Orchestra won Eurovision with a song about children singing to their mothers. We almost had the opposite of that this year.
Maryna Krut, better known as Krutь, is no stranger to Vidbir. She finished third in the 2020 edition with “99”. She returned this year with her trusty bandura with the song “Kolyskova” (Колискова – Lullaby). In this song, a mother sings her child to sleep while her husband is out on the frontlines of the war against Russia. Its haunting melody helped Krutь reach second place. It would have also made a fine host-but-not-host entry. If Krutь has finished third and second, the only thing left is first place….
Успіхів Україно!
Do you have a heart of steel or is it rusted? Leave your comments below. Stay tuned tomorrow for another Eurovision preview!
Lastly, thank you for following me for another series of Eurovision previews! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to pack for Liverpool. See you next year!
(Sources: eurovision.tv, UA:PBC, YouTube)
Thinking About It 