Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

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Eurovision Song Contest 2016
CountryFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
National selection
Selection processVidbir 2016
Selection date(s)Semi-finals:
6 February 2016
13 February 2016
Final:
21 February 2016
Selected entrant Jamala
Selected song"1944"
Selected songwriter(s)Jamala
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (2nd, 287 points)
Final result1st, 534 points
Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄201420162017►

Ukraine participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "1944" written and performed by Jamala. Ukraine returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after the nation withdrew from the 2015 due to financial and political reasons related to the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Contents

The Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) organised a national final in collaboration with commercial broadcaster STB in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. The national selection consisted of two semi-finals, held on 6 and 13 February 2016, and a final, held on 21 February 2016; nine entries competed in each semi-final with the top three from each semi-final advancing to the final. In the final, "1944" performed by Jamala was selected as the winner after tying for first place following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote—the tie was decided in Jamala's favour after "1944" scored the highest with the public. "1944" is the first Eurovision Song Contest song to feature lyrics in the Crimean Tatar language. The Ukrainian entry caused controversy and garnered international media interest both for Jamala, a Ukrainian singer of Crimean Tatar descent, and the song "1944", which was inspired by the story of her great-grandmother during the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars in the Soviet Union under the rule of Joseph Stalin. Despite media reports that the song could be disqualified due to its alleged political overtones, the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group cleared the song for the competition and stated that neither the title nor the lyrics of the song contained political speech.

Ukraine was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 12 May 2016. Performing during the show in position 14, "1944" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 14 May. It was later revealed that Ukraine placed second out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 287 points. In the final, Ukraine performed in position 21 and placed first out of the 26 participating countries, winning the contest with 534 points. This was Ukraine's second win in the Eurovision Song Contest; their first victory was in 2004.

Background

Prior to the 2016 contest, Ukraine had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twelve times since its first entry in 2003, [1] winning it in 2004 with the song "Wild Dances" performed by Ruslana. 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 had been the runner-up in the contest on two occasions: in 2007 with the song "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" performed by Verka Serduchka and in 2008 with the song "Shady Lady" performed by Ani Lorak. 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 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on 16 September 2015. [2] In the past, NTU had alternated between both internal selections and national finals in order to select the Ukrainian entry. Between 2011 and 2014, the broadcaster 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. In September 2014, the Ukrainian broadcaster announced that the country would not participate in the 2015 because of the unstable financial and political situation caused by the conflict in east Ukraine. [3] [4] Along with the announcement of their withdrawal, NTU revealed that it had discussed the matter with the organising body of the contest, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and that their absence would be limited to one year only with an expected return in 2016. [4] On 18 November 2015, it was announced that NTU would collaborate with commercial broadcaster STB in order to organise a national final to select the 2016 Ukrainian entry. [5] General director of NTU Zurab Alasania praised the collaboration between the two broadcasters stating that they would do everything possible for the Ukrainian contender to represent the country successfully. [6] Likewise, CEO of STB Vladimir Borodyansky stated that together the broadcasters would create "a national movement" by organising a selection that would involve the best producers, directors and choreographers. [6]

Before Eurovision

Vidbir2016

The logo of Vidbir 2016 Eurovision 2016 Ukraine national selection.jpg
The logo of Vidbir2016

Vidbir 2016 was the first edition of Vidbir which selected the Ukrainian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The competition took place at the STB Studios in Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast and consisted of two semi-finals held on 6 and 13 February 2016 and a final on 21 February 2016. [7] [8] All shows in the competition were hosted by Dmytro Tankovich and Oleksandr Pedan and broadcast on both UA:Pershyi and STB as well as online via NTU's YouTube broadcasts. [7] [9]

Format

The selection of the competing entries for the national final and ultimately the Ukrainian Eurovision entry took place over three stages. [10] In the first stage, artists and songwriters had the opportunity to apply for the competition either through an online submission form or by attending a scheduled audition during designated dates. [10] Eighteen acts were selected and announced on 26 January 2016. [11] The second stage consisted of the televised semi-finals which took place on 6 and 13 February 2016 with nine acts competing in each show. [8] [10] Three acts were selected to advance from each semi-final based on the 50/50 combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury. [7] Both the public televote and the expert jury assigned scores ranging from 1 (lowest) to 9 (highest) and the three entries that had the highest number of points following the combination of these scores advanced to the final. [12] The third stage was the final, which took place on 21 February 2016 and featured the six acts that qualified from the semi-finals vying to represent Ukraine in Stockholm. The winner was selected via the 50/50 combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury. [8] Both the public televote and the expert jury assigned scores ranging from 1 (lowest) to 6 (highest) and the entry that had the highest number of points following the combination of these scores was declared the winner. Viewers participating in the public televote during the three live shows had the opportunity to submit a single vote per phone number for each of the participating entries via SMS. [12] In the event of a tie during the semi-finals and final, the tie was decided in favour of the entry that received the highest score from the public televote. [12]

The jury panel that voted during the three shows consisted of: [13]

Crimean Tatar leaders pledged to enable people in Crimea to vote in the national selection; according to Crimean Tatar public figure Refat Chubarov: "If Crimeans are not able to vote in such Ukrainian competitions, we are silently agreeing with those who say Crimea is not part of Ukraine." In 2014 Crimea was unilaterally annexed by Russia. [14]

Competing entries

Artists and composers had the opportunity to submit their entries via an online submission form which accepted entries between 19 November 2015 and 20 January 2016. [15] In addition, interested performers could also attend auditions that were held between 5 and 20 December 2015 in the following cities and locations: [5]

  • 5–6 December 2015: Zaporizhia (Hotel "Inturist") and Kharkiv (Hotel "Kharkiv")
  • 12–13 December 2015: Odesa (Hotel "OK") and Lviv (Hotel "Dnister")
  • 19–20 December 2015: Dnipropetrovsk ("Parle" Conference Centre) and Kyiv (STB Headquarters)

Composer and producer Konstantin Meladze was assigned as the music producer of the show and was the lead in reviewing the received submissions and shortlisting entries to compete in the national final. [16] [17] On 26 January 2016, the eighteen selected competing acts were announced. [11] The eighteen acts were allocated to one of two semi-finals during a draw that took place on 27 January, which was hosted by Ruslana. [18] Among the competing artists was former Eurovision Song Contest contestant Anastasia Prikhodko, who represented Russia in 2009 with the song "Mamo". Viktoria Petryk represented Ukraine in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

ArtistSongSongwriter(s)
Aida Nikolaychuk "Inner Power"Alena Melnik, Evheniy Matyushenko
Alloise"Crown"Alloise, Alexey Casual Man
Anastasia Prikhodko "I Am Free Now"Shushan Sargsyan, Mykola Brovchenko
Arkadiy Voytyuk"Vse v tobi" (Все в тобі)Arkadiy Voytyuk
Brunettes Shoot Blondes "Every Monday"Andrey Kovalev
Jamala "1944"Jamala
Japanda"Anime"Alisa Kosmos
Lavika"Hold Me"Ivan Danchenko, Lavika, Freddy Newton
NuAngels "Higher" Alexander Bard, Andreas Öhrn, Chris Wahle
Peaks of Kings"Last Hope"Valentine Peak
Pringlez"Easy to Love" Anna Korsun
Pur:Pur"We Do Change"Nata Smirina, Evgeniy Zhebko
Sunsay "Love Manifest"Andrey Zaporozhets, Yevgeny Filatov
Svitlana Tarabarova "Never Again"Svitlana Tarabarova
The Hardkiss "Helpless" Yulia Sanina, Valeriy "Val" Bebko
Tonya Matvienko "Tin Whistle"Antonina Matviyenko, Maria Gedroits
Viktoria Petryk "Overload"Ylva Persson, Linda Persson, Niclas Haglund, William Taylor
Vladislav Kurasov "I'm Insane"Vladislav Kurasov, Natalia Rostova

Shows

Semi-finals

Two semi-finals took place on 6 and 13 February 2016. In each semi-final nine acts competed and the top three entries determined following the combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury advanced to the final of the competition, while the remaining six entries were eliminated. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2016 Belarusian Eurovision entrant Ivan performed the 2016 Belarusian entry "Help You Fly" and 2016 Spanish Eurovision entrant Barei performed the 2016 Spanish entry "Say Yay!" as guests in the first and second semi-finals respectively. [19] [20]

Semi-final 1 – 6 February 2016
DrawArtistSongJuryTelevoteTotalPlace
PercentagePoints
1 Anastasia Prikhodko "I Am Free Now"42.89%377
2 The Hardkiss "Helpless"716.03%8152
3 Tonya Matvienko "Tin Whistle"52.83%278
4 Vladislav Kurasov "I'm Insane"33.91%476
5Lavika"Hold Me"10.73%129
6 Jamala "1944"949.22%9181
7 Aida Nikolaychuk "Inner Power"210.41%795
8 Svitlana Tarabarova "Never Again"67.24%6124
9 Brunettes Shoot Blondes "Every Monday"86.74%5133
Semi-final 2 – 13 February 2016
DrawArtistSongJuryTelevoteTotalPlace
PercentagePoints
1Arkadiy Voytyuk"Vse v tobi"45.34%6104
2Alloise"Crown"61.95%286
3Japanda"Anime"11.47%129
4 NuAngels "Higher"714.69%8152
5Pur:Pur"We Do Change"810.19%7153
6Peaks of Kings"Last Hope"33.38%368
7 Viktoria Petryk "Overload"24.64%467
8Pringlez"Easy to Love"55.30%5105
9 Sunsay "Love Manifest"953.03%9181
Final

The final took place on 21 February 2016. The six entries that qualified from the semi-finals competed. The winner, "1944" performed by Jamala, 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 public televote. [21] "1944" is the first Eurovision Song Contest song to feature lyrics in the Crimean Tatar language. [14] 382,602 votes were registered by the televote during the show. [22] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2016 Irish Eurovision entrant Nicky Byrne performed the 2016 Irish entry "Sunlight" as a guest. The Hardkiss and Jamala were tied at 11 points each but since Jamala received the most votes from the public she was declared the winner.

Final – 21 February 2016
DrawArtistSongJuryTelevoteTotalPlace
PercentagePoints
1 Brunettes Shoot Blondes "Every Monday"13.40%126
2 NuAngels "Higher"35.94%255
3 The Hardkiss "Helpless"621.11%5112
4 Jamala "1944"537.77%6111
5 Sunsay "Love Manifest"418.20%483
6Pur:Pur"We Do Change"213.58%354

Lyrical subject matter controversy

The 2016 Ukrainian entry garnered international media exposure both for Jamala, a Ukrainian singer of Crimean Tatar descent, and the song "1944", which was inspired by the story of her great-grandmother during the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars in the Soviet Union under the rule of Joseph Stalin. [14] [21] [23] Jamala stated that one of the reasons for entering the Ukrainian national selection and participating in the Eurovision Song Contest was so that people would hear a song written "in a state of helplessness", drawing comparison between the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars and the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014. [24] International media reported that although the song lyrics do not directly reference the Crimean deportation event in 1944, the entry could violate the Eurovision Song Contest rules which state that "no lyrics, speeches, gestures of political or similar nature shall be permitted". [25] Representatives of the Russian parliament's lower house, State Duma, called for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to reject the Ukrainian entry on the grounds that its selection was intended to offend Russia. [26] Crimea's deputy prime minister, Ruslan Baalbek, stated that the Ukrainian authorities used the song for political purposes with the aim of "capitalising on the tragedy of the Tatars to impose on European viewers a false picture of alleged harassment of the Tatars in the Russian Crimea." [27] In contrast, Mustafa Dzhemilev, a prominent Crimean Tatar politician in Ukraine, commended the selection of the song and stated: "I am confident that Jamala will present with dignity our country at the Eurovision. I believe that the whole world will know about 1944". [28]

During a press conference for the Ukrainian Independent Information Agency on 26 February, Jamala stated that "1944" has no political overtones and that she could not be held responsible for the interpretations others make from the lyrics. [29] Jamala also stated that she would change the lyrics if required to do so by the EBU. [29] In an interview for Euronews published on 3 March, Jamala stated that there is no political statement being made in the song and that the purpose of the song was to commemorate her great-grandmother and the thousands of Crimean Tatars. [30]

On 9 March, the EBU announced that the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group concluded that "1944" was eligible for the contest as neither the title nor the lyrics of the song contained political speech. [31]

Preparation

As part of NTU's collaboration with the commercial broadcaster STB, all costs related to the preparations surrounding the Ukrainian entry, including travel and accommodation in Stockholm, were covered by STB. [22] In early March, Jamala began rehearsals for her Eurovision performance together with stage director and choreographer Konstantin Tomilchenko. [32] Jamala announced that her performance would feature 3D mapping graphics developed by Front Pictures. [33] In early April, Jamala collaborated with Vogue Ukraine in a special project which involved the presentation of nine stage costume designs by different designers. [34] On 12 April, Jamala and the Vogue team ultimately selected the costume designed by Ivan Frolov. [35] Jamala's outfit for the contest was ultimately determined during the rehearsals in Stockholm where the costume by Frolov and an additional two options designed by STB chief stylist Dmitry Kuryata were considered. [36]

Promotion

Following Jamala's victory at the Ukrainian national final, the singer stated that an extensive promotional tour would not be necessary as the internet solves many problems by allowing access to information and performances. [37] Jamala's PR manager, Denis Kozlovskiy, noted that the international media interest the song received had already completed a large part of the promotional campaign. [29] Jamala announced that she would focus her promotional efforts in Ukraine where she would begin a concert tour which featured several dates scheduled in March and April prior to the Eurovision Song Contest. [38] [39] On 23 April, Jamala performed "1944" during the STB programme Ukrayina maye talant Diti . [40]

In addition to her appearances within Ukraine, Jamala also promoted "1944" on 9 April during a performance at the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Hera Björk. [41]

At Eurovision

Jamala during a press meet and greet ESC2016 - Ukraine Meet & Greet 21.jpg
Jamala during a press meet and greet

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country (Sweden) and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. [42] On 25 January 2016, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Ukraine was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2016, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. [43]

Once all the competing songs for the 2016 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Originally, Ukraine was set to perform in position 15, following the entry from Denmark and before the entry from Norway. [44] However, following Romania's disqualification from the contest on 22 April and subsequent removal from the running order of the second semi-final, Ukraine's performing position shifted to 14. [45]

In Ukraine, both the semi-finals and the final were broadcast on UA:Pershyi with commentary by Timur Miroshnychenko and Tetiana Terekhova. [46] The three shows were also broadcast via radio on Radio Ukraine with commentary by Olena Zelinchenko. [47] The Ukrainian spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Ukrainian jury during the final, was 2007 Ukrainian representative Verka Serduchka. [48]

Semi-final

Jamala took part in technical rehearsals on 5 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. [49] This included the jury show on 11 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. [50]

Jamala during a rehearsal before the second semi-final ESC2016 - Ukraine 03.jpg
Jamala during a rehearsal before the second semi-final

The Ukrainian performance featured Jamala performing on stage in a blue costume designed by Ivan Frolov together with two backing vocalists. [51] [52] [53] [54] The performance focused on Jamala as the predominately dark stage displayed yellow, red and orange colours and patterns with a large colourful tree appearing on the LED screens during the final chorus. The stage director and choreographer for the Ukrainian performance was Konstantin Tomilchenko. The two backing vocalists that joined Jamala on stage were Alina Kosenko and Aleksandra Makarovskaya. [55]

At the end of the show, Ukraine was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. [56] It was later revealed that Ukraine placed second in the semi-final, receiving a total of 287 points: 152 points from the televoting and 135 points from the juries. [57]

Final

Shortly after the second semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the reverse order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Ukraine was drawn to compete in the second half. [58] Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Ukraine was subsequently placed to perform in position 21, following the entry from Latvia and before the entry from Malta. [59]

Jamala during the winner's press conference ESC2016 winner's press conference 04.jpg
Jamala during the winner's press conference

Jamala once again took part in dress rehearsals on 13 and 14 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. [60] Jamala performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 14 May. Ukraine won the contest placing first with a score of 534 points: 323 points from the televoting and 211 points from the juries. [61] This was Ukraine's second victory in the Eurovision Song Contest; their first victory was in 2004. [62]

Marcel Bezençon Awards

The Marcel Bezençon Awards, first awarded during the 2002 contest, are awards honouring the best competing songs in the final each year. Named after the creator of the annual contest, Marcel Bezençon, the awards are divided into 3 categories: the Press Award, given to the best entry as voted on by the accredited media and press during the event; the Artistic Award, presented to the best artist as voted on by the shows' commentators; and the Composer Award, given to the best and most original composition as voted by the participating composers. Jamala was awarded the Artistic Award, which was accepted at the awards ceremony by Jamala. [63]

Voting

Voting during the three shows was conducted under a new system that involved each country now awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. [64] In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final. [65]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Ukraine and awarded by Ukraine in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to Ukraine

Points awarded by Ukraine

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Ukrainian jury: [64]

Detailed voting results from Ukraine (Semi-final 2) [66]
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
O. KsenofontovM. BurmakaV. KovalV. ChachibayaA. FranceRankPointsRankPoints
01Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 837645683
02Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 101212811101112
03Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 1311167131416
04Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 565424792
05Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 97491065210
06Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 651111158314
07Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 71061699213
08Flag of North Macedonia.svg  Macedonia 17171717161715
09Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 243553856
10Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1223111247
11Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 1191314121312
12Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 128151561165
13Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 16141010141511
14Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
15Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1513913812101
16Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia 31614177438
17Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 1415812171617
18Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 4112321074
Detailed voting results from Ukraine (Final) [67]
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
O. KsenofontovM. BurmakaV. KovalV. ChachibayaA. FranceRankPointsRankPoints
01Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 5311121018
02Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 15151412181421
03Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1616137141222
04Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 24341147210
05Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 91051769213
06Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 20232116212117
07Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 356375616
08Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 1291015510192
09Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 10798874101
10Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 22242323242420
11Flag of France.svg  France 14112213101314
12Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 61216991138
13Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 7681126574
14Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 23252525252511
15Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 17131814201725
16Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 1122311283
17Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 25221718222324
18Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 212124241222112
19Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 11141220231615
20Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 424643865
21Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
22Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 18172022192019
23Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia 88115158356
24Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 19191519161912
25Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 24181910131823
26Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia 1320721171547

After Eurovision

Petition for cancellation of tender results

Ukraine is, and will remain, the winner of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. Whether you agree or disagree, we call upon those who signed this petition to embrace the result, valid in accordance with the rules, and to continue a constructive dialogue about how to further strengthen and improve the Eurovision Song Contest.

EBU, [68]

A petition was started on Change.org on 15 May 2016 calling on the EBU and the contest's organisers to void the final results in view of the fact that the overall winner only placed second in both the jury and televote.[ citation needed ] The EBU later responded to the petition by stating that Jamala's win was decided upon by juries made up of professionals of the music industry and by the viewing public. The EBU went on to say that Ukraine would remain the winner, regardless of the petition's view. [68]

Song release date eligibility

Following the contest, reports emerged of a potential rule violation in regards to the eligibility of the Ukrainian entry after a video performance of "1944" dating back to May 2015 was discovered on YouTube. [69] [70] The video featured Jamala performing a medley of songs, which included an early version of "1944" with different lyrics. According to the rules of the contest, songs "must not have been commercially released before the 1st of September 2015". However, the rules also specify that if a song had been made available to the public prior to that date, the entry would be evaluated for eligibility and could still compete as long as the release did not give the song an unfair competitive advantage against the other entries. [71] On 19 May 2016, the EBU released a statement clearing the entry of any rule violations as the insignificant viewership of the video was seen as not having given the song an unfair advantage. [69] The rule was used by the EBU in prior contest years to clear the 2013 Dutch entry and the 2013 Belarusian entry for the competition. [70]

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Ukraine participated in Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Angel" written by Ruslan Kvinta and Maryna Skomorohova. The song was performed by Mika Newton.

Ukraine participated in Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Be My Guest" written by Gaitana and Kiwi Project. The song was performed by Gaitana. The Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) organised a national final in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Twenty-one entries competed in the national selection held on 18 February 2012 and "Be My Guest" performed by Gaitana was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a seven-member jury panel and a public televote.

Ukraine participated in Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Gravity" written by Karen Kavaleryan and Mikhail Nekrasov. The song was performed by Zlata Ognevich. The Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) organised a national final in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. Nineteen entries competed in the national selection held on 23 December 2012 and "Gravity" performed by Zlata Ognevich was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote.

Ukraine participated in Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Tick-Tock" written by Mariya Yaremchuk and Sandra Bjurman. The song was performed by Mariya Yaremchuk. The Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) organised a national final in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. Twenty entries competed in the national selection held on 21 December 2013 and "Tick-Tock" performed by Mariya Yaremchuk was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1944 (song)</span> 2016 song by Jamala

"1944" is a song written and performed by Ukrainian singer Jamala. It represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 and won with a total of 534 points.

Ukraine participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Time" written by Yevhen Halych and Yevhen Kamenchuk. The song was performed by the band O.Torvald. In addition to participating in the contest, the Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2016 with the song "1944" performed by Jamala. NTU organised a national final in collaboration with commercial broadcaster STB in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv. The national selection consisted of three semi-finals, held on 4, 11 and 18 February 2017, and a final, held on 25 February 2017; eight entries competed in each semi-final with the top two from each semi-final advancing to the final. In the final, "Time" performed by O.Torvald was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.

<i>1944</i> (album) 0000 studio album by Jamala

1944 is the fourth studio album by Ukrainian recording artist Jamala. It was released on 10 June 2016 in Europe through Universal Music Denmark and on 10 July 2016 in United States through Republic Records. The album includes the single "1944".

Ukraine participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Under the Ladder" written by Mike Ryals, Kostyantyn Bocharov and Anton Karskyi. The song was performed by Mélovin, which is the artistic name of singer Kostyantyn Bocharov. The Ukrainian broadcaster Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) organised a national final in collaboration with commercial broadcaster STB in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal. The national selection consisted of two semi-finals, held on 10 and 17 February 2018, and a final, held on 24 February 2018; nine entries competed in each semi-final with the top three from each semi-final advancing to the final. In the final, "Under the Ladder" performed by Mélovin was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.

<i>Vidbir</i> Ukrainian musical competition

Yevrobachennia. Natsionalnyi Vidbir, informally known as Vidbir, is a Ukrainian musical competition originally organized by the public broadcaster Suspilne and STB, which determines the Ukrainian representative at the Eurovision Song Contest. In late August 2021, it was announced that the two broadcasters had terminated their partnership, and that Suspilne was looking for a new selection format for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, thus bringing an end to the original concept for Vidbir. In October 2021, Suspilne announced that the 2022 edition of Vidbir would be organized by them alone under a new format.

Ukraine originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Siren Song" written by Hanna Korsun and Mikhail Busin. The song was performed by Maruv, which is the artistic name of singer Hanna Korsun. The Ukrainian broadcaster National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) organised a national final in collaboration with commercial broadcaster STB in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. The national selection consisted of two semi-finals, held on 9 and 16 February 2019, and a final, held on 23 February 2019; eight entries competed in each semi-final with the top three from each semi-final advancing to the final. In the final, "Siren Song" performed by Maruv was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.

Ukraine originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Solovey" written by Taras Shevchenko and Kateryna Pavlenko. The song was performed by the band Go_A. Ukraine returned to the Eurovision Song Contest, after the nation withdrew in 2019 due to contractual disagreements with their chosen representative Maruv on conditions of taking part in the Ukrainian delegation. The Ukrainian broadcaster Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) organised a national final in collaboration with commercial broadcaster STB in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The national selection consisted of two semi-finals, held on 8 and 15 February 2020, and a final, held on 22 February 2020; eight entries competed in each semi-final with the top three from each semi-final advancing to the final. In the final, "Solovey" performed by Go_A was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.

Ukraine participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Shum" written by Kateryna Pavlenko, Taras Shevchenko and Ihor Didenchuk. The song was performed by the band Go_A, which were announced by the Ukrainian broadcaster Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) as the Ukrainian representative for the 2021 contest on 18 March 2020 after they were due to compete in the 2020 contest with "Solovey" before the event's cancellation. The song "Shum" was selected as the Ukrainian entry on 1 February 2021 and announced on 4 February 2021.

Ukraine participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with the song "Stefania" performed by the group Kalush Orchestra. The Ukrainian broadcaster Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) organised a national final in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2022 contest. Eight entries competed in the national selection held on 12 February 2022 and "Tini zabutykh predkiv" performed by Alina Pash was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote. UA:PBC confirmed on 16 February 2022 that Pash would not represent Ukraine following controversy regarding her travel history to the territory of Crimea, and announced the national final runner-up, "Stefania" performed by Kalush Orchestra, as the Ukrainian entry on 22 February 2022.

Ukraine participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with "Heart of Steel" performed by Tvorchi. The Ukrainian national broadcaster, Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC), organised a national final in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2023 contest. As the winning country of the 2022 contest, Ukraine automatically qualified for the final. Tvorchi performed in position 19 and finished in sixth place overall with 243 points.

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