Krut wins first Ukranian semi before Jerry Heil

KRUT has won the first semi final of Vidbir in Ukraine. KRUT won both the jury- and televoting. The other qualifiers are Go_A and Jerry Heil, who share the second place.

Jerry Heil, famous for her interesting song lyrics and her big hit “Ochrana Otmiena”, is one of the top favorites to win the ticket to Rotterdam. Tonight however, she was surpassed by an impressive performance by former The Voice participant KRUT. She used the traditional Ukranian Bandura instrument in her performance.

Check out the three qualifying performances: Krut, Jerry Heil and Go-A.

Among the eliminated artists was Katya Chilly, a successful singer in the Ukranian celtic music scene.

“Maruv-rule” excludes big names from Vidbir competition

Vidbir, the successful Ukranian preselection format, has a different outlook this year. The introduction of the controversial “Maruv-rule” excludes any singers who have ever performed in Russia or Crimea. This means that basically any arrived or experienced Ukranian performer cannot take part. Therefore, Vidbir has been forced to focus on young talent. The participant list includes several The Voice participants and a few unknown names.

Check out the full results (qualifiers in bold):

Artist Song Points Rank
[O] “Tam, kudy ya ydu” 5 7
Jerry Heil “Vegan” 13 2
Katya Chilly “Pich” 7 5
Krut “99” 16 1
Go-A “Solovey” 13 2
Cloudless “Drown me down” 10 4
Gio “Feeling so lost” 6 6
Assol “Save it” 2 8

Read more about Tina Karol (the new jury member who replaced Jamala).