Ukraine: Liveblog of the first semi with Anastasia Prikhodko

Kiev is calling! After a one year break, Ukraine is back in the Eurovision Song Contest. Which act will Ukraine send to Stockholm? Tonight, the first semi-final will take place and there is plenty of choice. Among the nine artists there are many famous names.

For example, one of the tonight’s participants is Anastasia Prikhodko, who represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Other big names are The Hardkiss, Jamala and the Brunettes Shoot Blondes. Which of them is going to the finals?

The first semi-final starts tonight at 18:00 CET and will be broadcast live on UA:PershyiSTB or Youtube.

The show has ended, the liveblog too – you can read back our comments below!

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22:07 – The decision has been made. Jamala won the first semi-final. The Hardkiss and Brunettes Shoot Blondes also go to the finals. Anastasia Prykhodko (ESC 2009) was eliminated. Thank you so much for following the first semi-final of Ukraine with us this year. We hope you’ve enjoyed the show (and commentary) and we’ll see you next week!

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22:00 – The final result:

  1. Jamala – 1944 (18 points)
  2. The Hardkiss – Helpless (17 points)
  3. Brunettes Shoot Blondes – Every Monday (13 points)
  4. Aida Nikolajchuk – Inner Power (12 points)
  5. Svitlana Tarabarova – Never Again (12 points)
  6. Tonya Matvienko – Tin Whistle (7 points)
  7. Anastasia Prykhodko – I am Free Now (7 points)
  8. Vladislav Kurasov – I’m Insane (7 points)
  9. Låvika – Hold Me (2 points)

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21:50 – Commercial break.

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21:45 – The points of the jury:

  1. Jamala – 1944 (9 points)
  2. Brunettes Shoot Blondes – Every Monday (8 points)
  3. The Hardkiss – Helpless (7 points)
  4. Svitlana Tarabarova – Never Again (6 points)
  5. Tonya Matvienko – Tin Whistle (5 points)
  6. Anastasia Prykhodko – I am Free Now (4 points)
  7. Vladislav Kurasov – I’m Insane (3 points)
  8. Aida Nikolajchuk – Inner Power (2 points)
  9. Låvika – Hold Me (1 point)

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21:38 – Now all the artists are coming on stage.

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21:36 – Ruslana asks Ivan to sing a duet.

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21:28 – There are 160,000 votes counted. We’re looking at a guest appearance of the candidate from Belarus: Ivan.

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21:27 – Welcome back. It’s time for the results!

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20:35 – The finalists will be selected by a combine tele and jury voting. Only one vote is allowed from every phone. The voting results will be announced after the break around 21:00 CET.

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20:27 – BREAK! We are back in an hour.

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20:24 – Time to view all the tracks again.

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20:15 – The last performance of tonight is provided by the Brunettes Shoot Blondes – an indie rock band formed at the beginning of 2010. In 2014 the band released the song ‘Knock Knock’ which immediately became a worldwide viral hit. With over 6 million views on YouTube, it was called a hype. Tonight, they sing ‘Every Monday’. During the performance, the background singers are wearing rabbit ears. The screen is very colorful and the song reminds me of the Beatles. In short, relaxing pop music and it is clear that they have much experience.

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20:02 – And again an anti-war song in the Ukrainian preselection. This time it’s the turn of Svitlana Tarabarova. She sings ‘Never Again’ and declared in several media that the song is dedicated to victims of world conflicts. The world war must never happen again is the main idea of the song. It starts like a sweet and small song, but that changes during the song: halfway it became a lot more bombastic. Svitlana wears a white dress and brings the song with full commitment. The screen behind her shows a city razed to the ground.

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19:55 – Something completely different is song number 7 sung by Aida Nikolaychuk. She is a Ukrainian pop singer and model. She was the winner of the third season of Ukraine’s X-Factor TV talent competition in 2012. Tonight, she sings a popsong in the style of Zara Larsson and Polina Gagarina. The song is called ‘Inner Power’ and honestly: she brings it with power. She stands alone on stage, wearing a red dress and on the screens you see flames.

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19:50 – We’re back!

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19:37 – And another commercial break. Hopefully, we will soon get back to you!

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19:25 – It is the turn of singer Susana Jamaladinova – better known by her stage name Jamala. Early in 2011, she took part in the Ukrainian preselection 0f 2011 with the song ‘Smile’. The song was a crowd favorite and Jamala herself managed to land a spot in the finals of the competition, but she decided to withdraw from the competition claiming that the votes would again be rigged. This time, she attempts to represent Ukraine with the song ‘1944’. It is an ethno-pop-ballad, partly in Ukrainian and partly in English. Just like Anastasia, the lyrics are political. ‘When strangers are coming… They come to your house. They kill you all and say. We’re not guilty, not guilty.’ Whatever the content of the lyrics may be, this could be a real contender. The audience responds incredibly positive. 

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19:17 – Song number five: Lavika with the song ‘Hold Me’. She sings a breathtaking ballad. The song is kept small with piano and guitar music in the background. The song breathes a melancholic atmosphere. The decor is not totally original: on the screen a forest is projected. 

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19:05 – And there is Vladislav Kurasov! He has participated in many competitions and now it’s time for the Ukranian preselection of Eurovision. He sings ‘I am Insane’ – a pop ballad in the style of Dima Bilan. It sounds like a combination of Bilan’s songs ‘Never Ever Let You Go’ and ‘Believe’. Although he takes it well, I fear that the song is a bit dated. Because the field is very strong, I doubt Vladislav will bring it to the finals. However, the public is very enthusiastic.

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18:52 – And the third song! Tonya Matvienko sings ‘Tin Whistle’. Tonya has a special timbre of voice and manner of singing. The song is very unique and is nowhere to compare with: you feel like you are in the woods. In the background you can hear the sound of birds and some Ukrainian folk instruments. Every now and then you hear a choir sing. But you don’t see it on stage. Missed opportunity! Also this song is certainly not uninteresting for Eurovision.

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18:47 – And we are back!

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18:45 – The public is kept warm with some talk and jokes .

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18:35 – A commercial break. The viewers on YouTube can see how the floor is mopped.

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18:25 – The second song is ‘Helpless’ sung by The Hardkiss. They are a Ukrainian progressive-pop music band and are known for their original sound and unique fashion style as you can see on the stage. In 2012, The Hardkiss were nominated for the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Ukrainian Act. The singer wears a crown on her head and their song ‘Helpless’ has enormous potential. It is a mysterious rock song with various modern influences. For the viewer, these are three breathtaking minutes. The vocals, the rock atmosphere on stage, everything is right. This could be a very interesting, daring but especially good entry for Ukraine.

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18:15 – The first song of tonight is the rock-ballad ‘I Am Free Now’ sung by Anastasia Prikhodko. Anastasia is a Ukrainian traditional pop singer who represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 where she finished 11th. The song starts with piano notes but soon it turns into a folk rock song. Anastasia wears a white dress and stands on stage with four backing vocals. The decor is very simple and mostly blue. Prikhodko has an unusually deep contralto vocal range. Thereby, people will remember her. The lyrics of the song gets me thinking. Where is Anastasia actually singing about? ‘Try to change all my life. Get revenge, eye for eye. No more lies, no more why. I am free now…’ Anastasia arouses my curiosity, because of her political background. In 2014 Prikhodko joined a small tour that supported the Ukrainian army and she vowed never to perform in Russia again, accusing the country of occupying parts of Ukraine. So, it looks very much that this song has a political message. What will Ukraine find about this?

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18:09 -The judges are presented. Konstantin Meladze, Ruslana (winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 for Ukraine) and Andriy Danylko who represented Ukraine in 2007 as Verka Serduchka.

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18:00 – We have started!

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17:55 – It is nearly time for the first Ukrainian semi-final. We are ready for it!

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17:52 – These artists will perform tonight:

  • Jamala- 1944
  • The Hardkiss- Helpless
  • Brunettes Shoot Blondes- Every Monday
  • Svitlana Tarabarova- Never Again
  • Vladislav Kurasov- I’m Insane
  • Aida Nikolajchuk- Inner Power
  • Låvika- Hold Me
  • Tonya Matvienko- Tin Whistle
  • Anastasia Prykhodko – I am Free Now

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17:47 – How the finalists will be chosen

Tonight, three acts will be selected to advance from each semi-final based on the results of a public televote and the votes from an expert jury. The jury panel that will vote during the three shows will consist of Konstantin Meladze, Ruslana (winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 for Ukraine) and Andriy Danylko who represented Ukraine in 2007 as Verka Serduchka. The hosts of all three shows will be Dimitri Tankovich and Aleksander Pedan. On 26 January 2016, eighteen acts were selected and announced by the Ukrainian broadcaster. The selection of the Ukrainian entry for Eurovision will take place over three evenings.