The Ukrainian selection kicks off tonight
06 February 2016 at 01:01 CETThe hosts of all three shows in the Ukrainian national selection, two semi-finals and the final, will be Dimitri Tankovich and Aleksander Pedan. These two professional presenters promise an entertainig and thrilling programme!
The first semi-final in Kyiv starts tonight at 18:00 CET and will be broadcast live on UA:Pershyi, STB or Youtube. From each semi-final only three candidates will qualify for the final on the 21st of February. The finalists will be selected by a combine tele and jury voting. Only one vote is allowed from every phone. The voting results will be announced after the break around 21:00 CET.
The first semi-final on the 6th of February
- Anastasia Prykhodko - I am Free Now
- The Hardkiss - Helpless
- Tonya Matvienko - Tin Whistle
- Vladislav Kurasov - I'm Insane
- Låvika - Hold Me
- Jamala - 1944
- Aida Nikolajchuk - Inner Power
- Svitlana Tarabarova - Never Again
- Brunettes Shoot Blondes - Every Monday
Get to know the nine acts in the first semi-final
Jamala is a Ukrainian singer of Crimean Tatar descent. She performs music of her own composition in different genres from jazz, soul, rhythm&blues to pop. Jamala is known to Eurovision fan as a participant in the Ukrainian national final in 2010 where she inspired the audience with her cheerful song Smile. In 2014 Jamala starred in the Ukrainian drama film The Guide that was selected as the Ukrainian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards.
Jamala’s song 1944 is inspired by the tragical story of her great-grandmother and many fates of Crimean Tatar families.
The band Hardkiss consists of five members: Julia Sanina (lead singer), Val (guitar), Kreechy (drums), Roman Skorobagatko (guitar), Vitaliy Oniskevich (keyboards). They are known with their appearances at different international festivals like MIDEM festival, Park Live, Koktebel Jazz Festival etc. In 2012 The Hardkiss were the nominees of the international MTV EMA award ("Best Ukrainian Act") and of the national music award YUNA, having won in two nominations - "The best new act" and "The best music video" (Make-Up). In 2013 The HARDKISS became "voice and face" of the PEPSI TM in Ukraine and the nominees of YUNA in the nomination "The best band".
In the Ukrainian national semi-final, the band will perform their experimental rock ballad Helpless.
Brunettes Shoot Blondes is an indie rock band based in Kyiv, Ukraine, formed at the beginning of 2010. In 2014 the band released a self-produced music video for the song Knock Knock which immediately became a worldwide viral hit. With over 6 million views on YouTube, it was called an Internet sensation and positively reviewed by such medias as Billboard, Yahoo! Music, The Daily Mirror, USA Today and many others.
The band’s songs and videos are now on rotation on various radio and TV stations. The musicians have already performed numerous shows and festivals in their homeland and on the stages of Europe. Currently Brunettes Shoot Blondes is working on their debut album and looking for a record label.
In the first semi-final the band will perform Every Monday.
Svitlana Tarabarova is a singer, an actress, a song writer and producer. Svitlana participated in different editions of Star Factory under the pseudonym Alice Tarabarova. She is the prize winner of the National Music Awards Song of the Year 2014. In the first semi-final of the Ukrainian selection, Svitlana will perform Never Again, a song about latest sad occurences in Eastern Ukraine.
Vladislav Kurasov is a singer and a songwriter. He reached the third place in the TV talent show X-Factor-2 Ukraine in 2011. Vladislav is the winner of the TV show Star Ring and the 2013 International Songwriting Competition The People's Voice Winner. In the Ukrainian national semi-final Vladislav will perform I’m Insane which is "reflection of my feelings and emotions", as the artist said in one of his interviews.
Aida is a pop singer and a model. She participated in the various musical competitions. Aida was the winner of the third season of Ukraine's TV talent show X-Factor in 2012. Her debut single On Your Planet was released in 2013. One year later, the singer introduced her first album My Pod Odnim Nebom. Aida was one of the finalists in the Ukrainian national final in 2014. This year, Aida will perform Inner Power, the English version of her song Ver'.
Låvika’s real name is Lyubov Yunak. She is not only famous as a pop, dance and reggae singer, but also as an actress and a professional choreographer. Lavika released three albums (Heart in the Form of Sun, All Dance, Touch with Lips) and numerous singles. Her songs became popular as radio hits in Ukraine. Since 2011 Lavika keeps contract with one of the biggest record companies in Ukraine, Moon Records.
In the first Ukrainian national semi-final Låvika will perform her tender ballad Hold Me.
Tonya Matvienko as the daughter of Nina Matvienko, a famous folk singer and the owner of different national prizes. In 2011, Tonya took part in the first season of show Holos Krayiny (The Voice of the Country) and reached second place. The singer has about twenty songs in her repertoire. She is also working at her new album at the moment. Tonya’s entry for the Ukrainian national selection includes modern folk elements. "In the beginning of Tin Whistle you can hear my grandmother’s voice that has been recorded in 80s" explains singer.
Anastasia Prikhodko is a Ukrainian folk rock and pop singer, known for her deep contralto. In 2007 Anastasia won the seventh edition of the Russian talent TV show Star Factory. She represented Russia in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow where she finished 11th with her song Mamo.
In this year's Ukrainian selection Anastasia will sing I am Free Now.
The second semi-final on the 13th of February
- SunSay - Love Manifest
- Pur:Pur - We Do Change
- Peaks of Kings - Last Hope
- Pringlez - Easy To Love
- Victoria Petryk - Overload
- Arkadij Vojtjuk - Vse V Tobi
- ALLOISE - Crown
- NeAngely (Nuangels) - Higher
- Japanda - Anime
Get to know the nine acts in the second semi-final
A band SanSay was founded in 2007. Andrei Zaporozhets (Sun) is a lead vocal. SunSay performs funk, reggae, soul and folk style.
Pur:Pur was founded in 2008 in the city of Kharkiv and became popular through Internet. Pur:Pur consists of three members: Nata Smirina (lead vocal), Evgeni Zhebko (guitar), Gregori Oleynik (drums). The band performs indie-rock, jazz and bossa nova. Pur:Pur sang at various festivals like Gogol-Fest, Stereoleto and others. For the Ukrainian national semi-final the band prepared the song We Do Change.
Peaks of Kings is a newly founded rock band from the city of Mukacheve from Western Ukraine. The band consists of Valentin Madyar (lead vocal), Tomasz Mikitin (guitar), Mikhailo Koshtura (bass guitar), Danilo Zvenyhorodski (drums) and Lyubov Lukina (keyboards). The Eurovsion song Last Hope is the band’s first entry. "This song is about human feelings, about love between a female and a male. The Eurovision Song Contest is not an experiment but a huge chance for us", said musicians.
A band Pringlez comes from Kharkiv. The band consists of Anna Korsun (vocals), Andrey Gustey (guitar, back vocal), Anatoly Bulash (guitar, back vocal), Vitaly Inutochkin (drums) and Evgeny Chernobrovkin (bass). Pringlez perfoms pop-rock, euro-pop and electoronic. The band's song Easy To Love was written by their lead vocalist Anna Korsun. The song is about love at first glance.
Victoria Petryk participated in the 2008 Junior Eurovision Song Contest where she reached second place with her song Matrosy. In 2010, at age 13, Victoria was a contestant on the TV show Ukraine’s Got Talent 2 where she made it to the semi-final stage singing with her eight-year-old sister, Anastasiya Petryk. Victoria was a finalist in the Ukrainian national final in 2014 and came second with her song Love Is Lord behind only Mariya Yaremchuk.
Victoria will participate in this year's Ukrainian national selection with the song Overload.
Arkadi Voityuk is from a small town of Kovel in Western Ukraine. In 2011 the musician was one of the finalists in the TV talent show X-Factor. In the same year he released his first single Let Me Free. In 2013, Arkadi was among finalists in the contest New Wave. His debut album is called G7. In the Ukrainian semi-final Arkadi will sing Vse V Tobi.
ALLOISE’s real name is Alla Moskovka. In 2004 the singer was a band member of Tomato Jaws, and in 2007 a lead vocal in the band Gorchitza. Since 2012 ALLOISE began her career as a solo singer. Besides singing Alla Moskovka is also a stage actor. About her Eurovision entry Crown the singer says: "It is very energetic, uncompromising with a power of fight."
The iconic pop duo from Ukraine is famous for its outstanding powerful voices and striking charisma of its vocalists. NuAngels are two female singers Victoria and Slava. The duo was created by Yuri Nikitin. A song Higher for this year’s national Ukrainian selection was written by Alexander Bard, Andreas Öhrn and Chris Wahle.
Japanda is a trio consisting of the sisters Ksenia and Alina Kosmos and Daria Karkhanova. The band performs j-pop, the Japanese pop music. In the Ukrainian natona semi-final the trio will sing Anime. "For Japanda the participation in the contest is more important than the victory", said the trio.
The Ukrainian national final with six finalists will take place on the 21st of February. Don't miss the show at eurovision.tv!
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