Tayanna’s “Kvitka” deemed ineligible for Vidbir 2018

Bad news for Ukraine’s fan favourite Tayanna. The singer submitted her song “Kvitka” for Ukraine’s national selection, Vidbir 2018. However, broadcaster UA:PBC have just announced that the song breaks EBU rules and therefore cannot take part…

Selecting “Kvitka”

Tayanna set her eyes on the Ukrainian ticket for Lisbon early in the season. Last year, she already took part in Vidbir. Deemed a favourite, she was obviously disappointed when O.Torvald eventually won the ticket to represent Ukraine on home soil. “I Love You”, Tayanna’s entry, eventually finished in third in the OGAE Second Chance Contest.
When choosing her entry for Vidbir 2018, the 33 year old singer decided to let her fans choose. She gave us four songs to choose from and would submit the winner to UA:PBC. That winner eventually was “Kvitka”.

A little too soon…

UA:PBC have now deemed the song ineligible for their selection process. Their reason: Tayanna performed the song before the famous September 1st date. Interestingly, that rule seems to have become a little vague over the past few years.
Eventual Eurovision songs “Birds” and “1944” were also performed well before the cut off date. EBU then stated the new formulation of the rule was that no commercial release before September 1st would be allowed. Whether Tayanna has also broken that rule, is not clear. The Ukrainian broadcaster stated their decision on Twitter, which you can see below.

TAYANNA will not participate in #Vidbir2018 with "Kvitka"

The song was already performed before September 1, 2017. According to the #Eurovision Song Contest rules, it can't take part in the show.

Soon the singer will present a brand new uptempo track. Tick-tock! pic.twitter.com/kaZmqw17aK

— Ukraine in Eurovision (@uapbc) January 11, 2018

Tayanna’s new song?

UA:PBC have announced that Tayanna will have the opportunity to bring us a brand new song for Vidbir 2018. The time is ticking though, as submissions will close soon.
Looking at the tweet above, the singer still has her eyes set on representing her country in Lisbon. It seems she will bring us a new entry very soon. Just like “Kvitka” and unlike “I Love You”, uptempo will be her way for 2018. UA:PBC have even released what seems to be a short snippet of her new entry.
https://twitter.com/uapbc/status/951522405259804673
What do you think? Are UA:PBC right to disqualify “Kvitka” from their national selection? Let us know below or on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter!