MELOVIN to Lisbon for Ukraine with 'Under The Ladder'

Ukraine's national selection for Eurovision 2018 was organised by broadcaster UA:PBC, which collaborated with STB to organise the competition. The show was held in the Palace of Culture in the capital, Kyiv. The format included two semi-finals which were held over the previous two weeks. Serhiy Prytula hosted the national selection for 2018 which saw 18 participants fight for the opportunity to represent Ukraine in Portugal. The winner was chosen through a combination of jury and public votes. 

About the winner 

After MELOVIN won the Ukrainian version of X Factor in 2015, he started working on his first album Face To Face.

Last year, he took part in Ukraine's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Wonder. He finished third, after O.Torvald and Tayanna with more than 60.000 televotes, a record number at that time. 

His song for Lisbon, Under The Ladder is about failures that lead to success.

About the show

The jury this year consisted of Eurovision 2016 winner Jamala, artist and composer Adrii Danylko otherwise known as Verka Serduchka, and Yevhen Filatov, sound producer of the band ONUKA - interval act of the Grand Final in Kyiv in 2017. 

The finalists of Vidbir 2018 were:

• Kadnay – Beat of the Universe  
• Tayanna - Lelya 
• The Erised - Heroes 
• Laud - Waiting 
• Vilna - Forest song 
• MELOVIN – Under The Ladder 

Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 

Ukraine made its debut at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Hasta la Vista performed by Oleksandr Ponomariov, finishing in 14th place. The next year Ruslana with her song Wild Dances took Europe by storm scoring the first victory for Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest. The rest, as they say, is history. 

In fourteen appearances at the Eurovision Song Contest, the country has never missed a Grand Final. Nine of those 14 entries have finished in the top 10, five have finished in the top three, and two have been winners. Jamala scored in 2016 Ukraine’s second victory in the Eurovision Song Contest with 1944. Ukraine hosted the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv under the slogan Celebrate Diversity.  

In Lisbon, Ukraine will participate in the second half of the Second Semi-Final on Thursday 10th May.