Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Country	Ukraine
National selection
Selection process	Evrobachennya 2007 –Natsionalyni vidbir
Selection date(s)	9 March 2007
Selected entrant	Verka Serduchka
Selected song	"Dancing Lasha Tumbai"
Selected songwriter(s)	Andriy Danylko
Finals performance
Final result	2nd, 235 points
Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2006 • 2007 • 2008►

Ukraine participated in Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" written by Andriy Danylko. The song was performed by Verka Serduchka, which is the drag stage persona of Andriy Danylko. The Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) organised a national final in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. Seven entries competed in the national selection held on 9 March 2007 and "Danzing" performed by Verka Serduchka was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote. The song was later retitled as "Dancing Lasha Tumbai". The Ukrainian entry caused controversy due to Serduchka being a drag performer as well as alleged political references in the song.

As one of the ten highest placed finishers in 2006, Ukraine automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing during the show in position 18, Ukraine placed second out of the 24 participating countries with 235 points.

Background

Main article: Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2007 contest, Ukraine had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest four times since its first entry in 2003, winning it in 2004 with the song "Wild Dances" performed by Ruslana. ^[1] Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Ukraine had managed to qualify to final in every contest they participated in thus far. Ukraine's least successful result had been 19th place, which they achieved during the 2005, with the song "Razom nas bahato" performed by GreenJolly.

The Ukrainian national broadcaster, National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU), broadcasts the event within Ukraine and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. NTU confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest on 19 January 2006. ^[2] In the past, the broadcaster had alternated between both internal selections and national finals in order to select the Ukrainian entry. In 2005 and 2006, NTU had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Ukraine, with both the public and a panel of jury members involved in the selection. Despite the Ukrainian broadcaster initially announcing that the 2007 Ukrainian entry would be internally selected, a national final was ultimately organised. ^[3]

Before Eurovision

Verka Serduchka was selected to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Evrobachennya 2007 –Natsionalyni vidbir

The Ukrainian national final took place on 9 March 2007 at the NTU Studios in Kyiv. The show was hosted by Maria Orlova and Timur Miroshnychenko and broadcast on Pershyi Natsionalnyi. ^[4]

Format

The selection of the competing entries for the national final and ultimately the Ukrainian Eurovision entry took place over two stages. In the first stage, artists and songwriters had the opportunity to apply for the competition through an online submission form. Eight acts were selected and announced on 13 February 2007, one of them which was later withdrawn. ^{[5] [6]} The second stage was the televised final, which took place on 9 March 2007 and featured the remaining seven acts vying to represent Ukraine in Helsinki. ^[7] The winner was selected via the 50/50 combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury. Both the public televote and the expert jury assigned scores ranging from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest) and the entry that had the highest number of points following the combination of these scores was declared the winner. ^[8] Viewers participating in the public televote during the show had the opportunity to submit their votes for the participating entries via telephone or SMS. In the event of a tie, the tie was decided in favour of the entry that received the highest score from the jury. ^[9]

Competing entries

Artists and composers had the opportunity to submit their entries via an online submission form which accepted entries between 24 January 2007 and 10 February 2007. ^[10] A five-member selection panel consisting of Volodymyr Hryshko (opera singer), Svyatoslav Vlokh (President of the World Dance Sport Federation), Oksana Novytska (Vice President of the Confederation of Designers and Stylists of Ukraine), Olena Mozgova (director of music and entertainment at NTU) and Vitaliy Dokalenko (general director of NTU) reviewed the 18 received submissions and shortlisted eight entries to compete in the national final. ^{[5] [11]} On 13 February 2007, the eight selected competing acts were announced. ^[5] On 22 February 2007, Vitaliy Kozlovskiy withdrew from the national final due to disagreements with the format of the competition. ^[6]

Final

The final took place on 9 March 2007. Seven entries competed and the winner, "Danzing" performed by Verka Serduchka, was selected through the combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury. Ties were decided in favour of the entries that received higher scores from the jury. ^[9] The jury panel consisted of Yan Tabachnyk (composer), Svyatoslav Vlokh (President of the World Dance Sport Federation), Oksana Novytska (Vice President of the Confederation of Designers and Stylists of Ukraine), Olena Mozgova (director of music and entertainment at NTU) and Vitaliy Dokalenko (general director of NTU). ^[12] 17,597 votes were registered by the televote during the show. ^[8] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Irina Bilyk, Natalia Mohylevska, 2003 Ukrainian Eurovision entrant Oleksandr Ponomaryov, 2006 Ukrainian Eurovision entrant Tina Karol, 2007 Belarusian Eurovision entrant Dmitry Koldun, 2007 Maltese Eurovision entrant Olivia Lewis, 2007 Polish Eurovision entrant The Jet Set and 2007 Romanian Eurovision entrants Todomondo performed as guests. ^{[13] [14]}

Final – 9 March 2007

Draw	Artist	Song	Jury	Televote				Total	Place
				Phone	SMS	Total	Points
1	Godo	"Stolen Rain"	1	142	779	921	2	3	7
2	Evgenia Vlasova	"I Will Be (Ya budu)" (Я буду)	6	499	4,069	4,568	6	12	2
3	Olena Hrebenyuk	"Zla bol'she net" (Зла больше нет)	2	391	2,035	2,426	5	7	4
4	Verka Serduchka	"Danzing"	7	734	5,123	5,857	7	14	1
5	neAngely	"Ya znayu, eto ty" (Я знаю, это ты)	4	47	536	683	1	5	6
6	Vasil Bondarchuk	"Serebrom" (Серебром)	5	176	1,997	2,173	4	9	3
7	Aviator	"Angely" (Ангелы)	3	95	874	969	3	6	5

Controversy

The choice of Verka Serduchka, a drag performer, as the Ukrainian Eurovision representative was fiercely criticized by several media and politicians of different parties. Taras Chornovil of the Party of Regions stated: "I guess some of our esteemed experts saw those "hot Finnish guys" dressed as monsters but didn't quite understand that there is subculture and there is pseudoculture. Those monsters are part of their subculture, which has the right to exist. But all these hermaphrodites have never been accepted anywhere. Therefore I think that this will be a serious embarrassment factor and the world will see us as complete idiots." ^[15]

In addition, "Danzing" caused controversy due to the lyrics "Lasha Tumbai" being phonetically similar to "Russia goodbye", allegedly a reference to the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004 and 2005. ^[16] Serduchka clarified that "Lasha Tumbai" is a Mongolian phrase for "whipped cream", "milkshake" or "churned butter", although it was subsequently confirmed that there are no such words in Mongolian and that the catchphrase bears no meaning at all, and Serduchka would later confirm that there "Lasha Tumbai" was in fact meaningless, only chosen because she needed a rhyme for the song. ^[17] "Danzing" was retitled as "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" for the Eurovision Song Contest. ^[18]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations except the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), the host country, and the ten highest placed finishers in the 2006 contest are required to qualify from the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final. As one of the ten highest placed finishers in the 2006 contest, Ukraine automatically qualified to compete in the final on 12 May 2007. In addition to their participation in the final, Ukraine is also required to broadcast and vote in the semi-final on 10 May 2007. ^[19] On 12 March 2007, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order. As one of the three wildcard countries, Ukraine chose to perform in position 18 during the final, following the entry from Serbia and before the entry from the United Kingdom. ^[20]

In Ukraine, both the semi-final and the final were broadcast on Pershyi Natsionalnyi with commentary by Timur Miroshnychenko. The Ukrainian spokesperson, who announced the Ukrainian votes during the final, was Kateryna Osadcha.

Final

Verka Serduchka during a rehearsal before the final

Verka Serduchka took part in technical rehearsals on 7 and 8 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. The Ukrainian performance featured Verka Serduchka performing on stage in a silver costume as well as sunglasses and a silver star hat designed by Anzhela Lysytsia, together with two dancers dressed in silver with military boots and tie and three backing vocalists, one of them which also played the accordion, dressed in gold and standing on raised platforms. ^{[21] [22]} The performers did a dance routine on a stage with flashing lights while disco balls and light projectors appeared on the LED screens. ^{[23] [24]} The two dancers that joined Verka Serduchka on stage were Sergey Ogurtsov and Tudor Zberea, while the three backing vocalists were Elena Romanovskaya, Natalia Gura-Golubovskaya and Vasily Goldakovskiy. ^[25] Ukraine placed second in the final, scoring 235 points. ^[26]

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Ukraine and awarded by Ukraine in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Belarus in the semi-final and the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Ukraine

Points awarded to Ukraine (Final) ^[27]

Score	Country
12 points	Andorra   Czech Republic   Latvia   Poland   Portugal
10 points	Belarus   Georgia   Israel
8 points	Estonia   Ireland   Lithuania   Russia   United Kingdom
7 points	Greece   Moldova   Spain
6 points	Armenia   Finland   Iceland
5 points	Bosnia and Herzegovina   Croatia   Germany
4 points	Austria   Cyprus   France   Romania   Slovenia
3 points	Bulgaria   Denmark   Hungary   Malta   Serbia   Sweden   Turkey
2 points	Macedonia   Montenegro   Norway    Switzerland
1 point	Belgium   Netherlands

Points awarded by Ukraine

Points awarded by Ukraine (Semi-final) [28] Score Country 12 points   Belarus 10 points   Georgia 8 points   Serbia 7 points   Slovenia 6 points   Moldova 5 points   Poland 4 points   Hungary 3 points   Latvia 2 points   Bulgaria 1 point   Turkey

Points awarded by Ukraine (Final) [27] Score Country 12 points   Belarus 10 points   Russia 8 points   Georgia 7 points   Moldova 6 points   Serbia 5 points   Armenia 4 points   Slovenia 3 points   Bulgaria 2 points   Romania 1 point   Turkey

References

1. "Ukraine Country Profile". EBU . Retrieved 20 December 2015.
2. "Ukraine 2007".
3. Klier, Marcus (19 January 2007). "Ukraine: internal selection confirmed". Esctoday. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
4. "UKRAINIAN NATIONAL FINAL 2007".
5. "Пісенний марафон Київ - Гельсінкі «Євробачення–2007"". NTU (in Ukrainian). 13 February 2007. Archived from the original on 3 November 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
6. "Козловський спасував перед Сердючкою і не поїде на "Євробачення"". tabloid.pravda.com.ua (in Ukrainian). 23 February 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
7. Klier, Marcus (9 March 2007). "Ukraine: the complete line-up". Esctoday. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
8. ""Підсумки голосування у національному відборі Міжнародного Пісенного Конкурсу «Євробачення – 2007"". NTU (in Ukrainian). 15 March 2007. Archived from the original on 28 October 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
9. "Витяг із протоколу засідання Ради керівників Національної телекомпанії України від 13 лютого 2007 року". 1tv.com.ua (in Ukrainian). 21 February 2007. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
10. "Євробачення-2007, правила відбору". NTU (in Ukrainian). 24 January 2007. Archived from the original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
11. "Непрогнозируемая история". day.kyiv.ua (in Russian). 13 February 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
12. "Україна обрала Вєрку Сердючку своїм представником на міжнародному пісенному конкурсі «Євробачення-2007»". 1tv.com.ua (in Ukrainian). 10 March 2007. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
13. "Відбір на "Євробачення-2007" в Україні пройде без україномовної пісні". unian.ua (in Ukrainian). 7 March 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
14. "Гості з Європи". 1tv.com.ua (in Ukrainian). 7 March 2007. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
15. ""ФРАЗА" - Новости - Чорновил: Сердючка опозорит Украину". Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
16. "The politics of entertainment at Eurovision | Music | DW.DE | 15.05.2013" . Retrieved 18 May 2013.
17. Swain, Marianka (26 February 2022). "Eurovision has long been a battleground between Russia and Ukraine". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
18. Kuipers, Michael (18 March 2007). "Eurovision Ukrainian song title change - ESCToday.com". Eurovision News, Polls and Information by ESCToday. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
19. Bakker, Sietse (20 May 2006). "Results of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
20. Klier, Marcus (12 March 2007). "LIVE: draw of the running order". Esctoday. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
21. "Топ-10 нарядов украинских артистов на "Евровидении"".
22. "Verka kommt aus der Ukraine!". eurovision.tv. 7 May 2007. Archived from the original on 12 May 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
23. Holyer, Steve (7 May 2007). "15. Verka Serduchka's rehearsal is absolutely lasha tumbai". Esctoday. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
24. West-Soley, Richard (8 May 2007). "18. Verka fever: Hartwall all a-glitter UPD". Esctoday. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
25. "Ukraine". Six on Stage. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
26. "Grand Final of Helsinki 2007". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
27. "Results of the Grand Final of Helsinki 2007". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
28. "Results of the Semi-Final of Helsinki 2007". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.