Belarus: NAVI perform new version of ‘Historyja majho žyccia’ live

Last month, NAVI were selected to represent Belarus at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. They have since released their brand new album and are in the middle of promoting their entry Historyja majho žyccia. So far, they have performed at the Ukrainian Eurovision selection. Now, the duo have unveiled a brand new version of their song for the first time. The showcase happened on Saturday evening during a Belarusian television show that celebrates their sporting heroes.

An immediate fan favourite

NAVI quickly became a fan favourite following their victory last month with fans appreciating their joyful, uptempo song performed in their native language. The only criticism some fans had was that the refrain became a little too repetitive by the conclusion of the song. It seems NAVI were listening!
Even prior to now, the duo had experimented with different vocal melodies at the end of the song in order to avoid the song being deemed to repetitive by some. This was visible during their performance in the Belarusian national final.

A brand new ending

The new version of the song contains only very minor changes, and these all happen at the end. Originally, after the second and final chorus their very catchy “hey! hey!” hook continued to the end of the song. As you can see in the video below, following the second chorus female vocalist Kseniya now abandons the hook after just a few repetitions in favour of a new vocal melody. The “hey! hey!” hook is now sung by newly recorded backing vocals that take on somewhat of a Lion King-esque vibe. The changes allow for one final boost of uplifting euphoria in the last few seconds of the song. See what you think!

Are you liking the minor changes NAVI have made to the end of their song? Furthermore, with more songs now announced, do you think Belarus stand a good chance of returning to the Eurovision final for the first time since 2014? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and via our social media pages @escXtra!