
Mika Newton (Ukraine) 2nd press conference
06 May 2011 at 23:04 CESTThere were some problems with the 2nd rehearsal when an improperly repositioned camera disturbed Kseniya Simonova during her sand sketching.
But this was only a “short bump on the way” to producing a great final end-product. Says Mika: “As soon as you get off the stage you just feel so excited and cant wait to get back on stage again.”
The Ukraine has had unprecedented success in the Eurovision song contest since they joined the contest in 2003. The singer Ruslana won the contest in 2004 with her song Wild Dances and Verka Serduchka (Dancing Lasha Tumbai) and Ani Lorak (Shady Lady) each took second place in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
Despite these past triumphs, Mika is trying to maintain perspective: “The Ukraine has unprecedented statistics in the Contest and I'm very excited about perfoming my best.”
Mika sings the entry song Angel while Kseniya visually illustrates the story behind the song with her sand art projected onto a huge LED screen behind Mika as she sings. Says Kseniya: “This story is strange - on the one hand, it's universal. On the other hand, it's specific. It's about a girl who has lost her mom and is very alone. And then an angel comes and comforts her.” Kseniya feels a deep connection to the song because she has youn children of her own.
It was clear for Mika and her artistic team that she should sing in English because they want to communicate the story behind the song as clearly and dramatically as possible.
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