On stage we see a main singer, two female backing singers and 2 male instrumentalists and they kind of make a triangle shape on screen. The men are on a slight angle because they need space for all of their different instruments. The singer is wearing a rather odd, and slightly restricting-looking, outfit which is black and red and is sporting some circular earrings and a small crow. The backing singers are wearing similar outfits but without the red covering and then are in black outfits too.
The song starts off with a rather haunting, if not earwormy, flute introduction which certainly sets up the mood of what is to come. We have kick off with 2 verses, the first with atmospheric backing the second with much more of a pronounced beat. There is then a very brief drop before the chorus comes in. In a similar way to the verses, the first part is atmospheric whilst the second part contains the beat. We then return to the introductory flute refrain this time with the drum beat. We then have 2 more verses but this leads into a quieter refrain and Kateryna shows of the softer and melodic side of her tone and range. This then goes back to the chorus but the very last repeat has more of a broken down sound and this is the only part of the song where the singer is holding the mic and slightly moving around.
The setting of the song starts off very dark and beams of red light are pulsating in time with the music and the band can be barely seen at all. At the camera sweeps down from the back of the arena we finally see one of the instrumentalists playing the flute. This motif stays on throughout the performance but behind the band there are a series of images in black white and red such as mountains, grapes geometric shapes and runic symbols. During the instrumental bits there is a some vague movement with some shoulder shrugging as well as the final bit of chorus, all the rest of the movement is done through the instrumentalists and though the choice of camera shots.
This is the very first Eurovision song sung totally in Ukrainian which is a great first to have! Kateryna's voice is very shrill and distinctive and I can imagine that her style of singing might be quite marmite to the viewing public. Their style of music has been described as 'folktronica' and this is actually quite a good description on the genre mash up they are trying to portray and I think it will appeal to some but not to others. I also feel that the folk parks of this will resonate with voters in other ex-Soviet countries which may have more understanding of this style of storytelling. I think it is nice to have something so varied at Eurovision and I think it will stand out a lot considering most of what we've seen up to now has been more commercial.
Personally I was a little shocked that this had won the competition and it took me several listens to 'get over' her rather particular style of singing. The tune is repetitive and catchy as is the instrumentation. As much as I am okay with the song itself I do have reservations over the stage show. I long for more movement and interaction with the personnel on stage. I kind of wonder if they had three backing singers they could do some circle dancing or swaying in a line - they don't particularly do much singing in the verses so could be more active then. I would also advise Kateryna to vary her facial expressions a little so she looks less austere down the lens. Ukraine are one of the very few countries left with a 100% qualification to the final and I hope this will get them there again but the small niggles over language choice and singing style might be a barrier for getting votes.
Artist - GO_A
Song - Solovey (Nightngale)
Composers - Kateryna Pavlenko, Taras Shevchenko
Lyricists - Kateryna Pavlenko, Taras Shevchenko
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