A double reason to celebrate for Svetlana Loboda

Tonight's show started at 17:00 CET and was broadcast live by the Ukrainian public broadcaster NTU. It took place at the National Palace Ukraina in Kyiv. Several elaborate dance performances of Ukrainian artists were integrated in the show. One of the finalists, the band NikitA, decided to withdraw their entry Beauty Saves The World. Nevertheless, they performed another song playback during the interval act. Thus only 14 contestants fought for victory tonight in Kyiv. The participants performed their entries in the following order:

• Lenara - Flash
• Goryachiy Shokolad - Kiss
• Tetyana Bryantseva - Sweet And Sugar Baby
• Denis Barkanov - You Are My Love And Pain
• Zaklyopki - Time Is Up
• Natalia Volkova - Gush
• 4 Kings - Tearin' Up My Heart
• Ana - You’re Like A Paradise
• Svetlana Loboda - Be My Valentine
• GODO - Zahadayemo Bazhannya
  
• Alexander Panayotov - Superhero
• Ira Poison - You Freed Me
• Kishe - Midnight
• Tori Joy - Smile

14 contestants sang their songs in English, only GODO performed in Ukrainian. Alexander Panayotov was wearing a checkered black and white mask on his face. For technical reasons he had to perform his entry again. Svetlana Loboda's "Valentines" were four dancers, dressed in traditional Ukrainian kossack clothes and different hats, wearing artificial black moustaches - at the same time, she rocked the stage herself, playing the drum kit. Natalia Volkova  was accompanied on stage by a man seated in a bathtub, occasionally spattering her with water.

In between, the viewers voted for their favourites while several national and international stars performed on stage. Some sangers dedicated their entries the International Women's Day.

Special guests of tonight's show were the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest representatives from several countries.  Among them were Sasha Son with his song Love from Lithuania, Lidia Kopania with I Don't Wanna Leave from Poland, Jade Ewen with My Time from the United Kingdom and the Belarusian participant Petr Elfimov with Eyes That Never Lie.

In the end, there were two reasons to celebrate for Svetlana Loboda tonight: the International Women's Day and her victory in the Ukrainian national selection. She received the highest points from both the televoting and the jury. And thus, Svetlana Loboda will represent her country in Moscow with the song Be My Valentine. Here is the full result:

1. Svetlana Loboda - Be My Valentine - 28 points
   
2. Zaklyopki - Time Is Up  - 22 points
3. Alexander Panayotov - Superhero  - 22 points
4. Ira Poison - You Freed Me  - 22 points
5. Denis Barkanov - You Are My Love And Pain  - 19 points
6. Tori Joy - Smile  - 18 points
7. Natalia Volkova - Gush  - 16 points
8. Goryachiy Shokolad - Kiss  - 13 points
9. Lenara - Flash  - 12 points
10. GODO - Zahadayemo Bazhannya  - 11 points
11. 4 Kings - Tearin' Up My Heart  - 10 points
12. Kishe - Midnight  - 8 points
13. Tetyana Bryantseva - Sweet And Sugar Baby  - 5 points
14. Ana - You’re Like A Paradise  - 4 points

Svetlana Loboda started her music career singing in the band Ketch, founded by herself. Later, she became a member of the well-known Ukrainian pop group Via Gra for a few months. With this band, Svetlana took part in Sorochinskaya Yarmarka and released a video clip for the song Biologiya. In total, she released four albums to date. Her singles are known in Ukraine and neighbouring countries as well. Svetlana has already received the Ukrainian National Olymp Award. Moreover, she is popular for being not only a musician, but also a photographer and creator of her own clothing line.