UKRAINE

The Ukrainian Final was held on February 21st at the STB Pavilion in Gostomel, Kiev, hosted by Dmitry Tankovich & Alexander Pedan. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals where the field of 18 was reduced to a final of just 6. The winner was chosen by  a 50-50 split of televoting and jury. There was a tie for first place when all the results were in but as the televote took precedence the winning song was announced as “1944” sung by Jamala.

This is a world away from the Disney ballads and pop-fuelled numbers that Ukraine is renowned for. This is a much more paired down affair in terms of music production and the performance level. The song starts off very quiet and mysterious and the lyrics are very dark, almost menacing, but the whole thing is very compelling and emotional. There are no big tricks, no props no intricate staging - just her and 2 backing singers. Her semi final performance was much stringer vocally and she looked much more comfortable too. I’m not sure the dress she wore in the final suited the song or her personality.

The lyrics of he song are influenced by the experience of Jamala’s grandmother who was one of the many of the Crimean Tatars deported in the 1940s by the Soviet Union at the hands of Joseph Stalin, However many will hear the song and align it also with current political situation in Ukraine. Of course, Eurovision rules prohibit songs with lyrics that could be interpreted as having political content so it will be interesting to see if this song stands as it is OR if it withdrawn completely

Jamala is no stranger to music festivals and competitions around Europe. Her big breakthrough came in 2009 when she won the “New Wave” which catapulted her name into the spotlight and was featured in many local television programmes and concerts. However, she also took out time to concentrate not only on a pop career but dabbled in jazz and classical music. In 2011, entered "Smile" to the Ukrainian national final, but withdrew as he had no faith in the voting procedure.

This has a totally different feel to anything else in the contest up to now. It is a very emotional song with a very simple  performance. One criticism of Jamala is that her voice and diction is quite odd to the point that it is off-putting. Some see her singing style as engaging; some see it as over the top and quite shouty. I personally like the song, the performance and think that the very simple staging will work in its favour. If this does get to go to Eurovision I am certain that the song will get a lot of sympathy and support in the hall but I am not totally convinced that this will automatically convert into votes. I see this qualifying from its semi final but ending up mid table in the final. 

ARTIST – Jamala
SONG - 1944
MUSIC - Jamala
LYRICS – Art Antonyan, Jamala