Show Your Love for Tina Karol
09 July 2020 at 08:00 CESTThe Athens-based Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 was won by Finnish hard rock band Lordi. Alongside them, many other Eurovision legends took the stage that year, including Dima Bilan from Russia, who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, Carola, who won the Contest back in 1991 and Anna Vissi, who represented Greece for the third time.
That year, Ukraine was represented by now-famous singer, Tina Karol. With her upbeat and positive pop song, she recorded Ukraine’s second of many top 10 positions at the Contest. Ukraine had their debut at the Eurovision Song Contest only 3 years before her participation and had already won in 2004 and hosted the show in 2005.
We met Tina Karol when she was part of the Ukrainian National Final, Vidbir, back in February 2020. About her participation in 2006, Tina said: "It’s a music festival, a festival for musicians and a festival of technology. It’s a festival of expression, emotions and drive! It gives you life! It’s a festival you want to see every year!"
Tina Karol’s performance is most likely remembered for her incredibly long high note and her energetic dance routines. She received points from 29 countries and received the magic ‘Douze-points’ from Portugal. "We put every effort to create something very natural so that it would be a real drive," Tina said about her performance.
After her performance, Ukraine placed in the top 10 on many occasions. Most notable were a third-place for Zlata Ognevich in 2013, a second-place for Ani Lorak in 2008 and another victory with Jamala in 2016. Whenever Ukraine participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, they always reached the final. Next to Australia, they are the only country left to do so. We asked Tina why she thinks Ukraine is so successful at the Contest: "Our artists are talented. We have a musical and singing nation. We are special and we stand out. We have interesting ethnos and when we put it into music it becomes very unique!"
Vidbir 2020 winners Go_A will return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021. What advice does Tina have for them? "Pursue your dream, no matter what. Give it your all on the stage, live in the here and now when you are there. Fight for yourself and for the country. Love music! Don’t think of it as a competition, but think of the power of the song, the power of music, the power of spirit and the power of sound. You have to believe in this energy and you will definitely leave no one without attention."