Tonight, we saw the first semifinal of the fourth edition of Ukraine’s national selection – Vidbir! The first eight of the 16 semifinalists performed their entries live for the first time, with three qualifying for the final on the 23rd of February!
Last month, the initial list of Vidbir semi-finalists was revealed. I say ‘inital’, of course, because returning fan-favourite TAYANNA unexpectedly withdrew from the selection shortly after the announcement. Thankfully, fans were reassured by the news of rising Ukrainian pop starlet MARUV participating in semi one in her place. MARUV is most known for her 2018 hit “Drunk Groove”, which was submitted for Vidbir last year but not shortlisted for the live shows. She had previously participated in Vidbir 2016 as part of the group Pringlez.
Another returning acts tonight was Brunettes Shoot Blonde, who took part in Ukraine’s 2016 selection with “Every Monday“. Next week’s semi final will feature Laud, also took part last year and finished fourth in the final with “Waiting“, as well as KAZKA and Letay from the 2018 semi-finals.
Half of the Vidbir 2019 final line up revealed
So who are the finalists? Below are the three songs that qualified for the final:
- Yuko – “Galyna guliala“
- Maruv – “Siren Song”
- Brunettes Shoot Blondes – “Houston“
This meant that the following acts didn’t advance to the final, and so were knocked out of the running for the ticket to Tel Aviv:
- The Hypnotunez – “Hey”
- Letay – “Myla moya”
- Vera Kekelia – “Wow!“
- Tsesho – “Hate“
- Bahroma – “Nazavzhdy-Navsegda“
| Place | Act | Song | Jury | Televote | Total |
| 1 | MARUV | “Siren Song” | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| 2 | Brunettes Shoot Blondes | “Houston” | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| 3 | Yuko | “Galyna guliala” | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| 4 | Tsesho | “Hate” | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| 5 | Bahroma | “Nazavzhdy-Navsegda” | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 6 | Vera Kekelia | “Wow!” | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | Letay | “Myla moya” | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | The Hypnotunez | “Hey!” | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Format
As is the case for many national selections, the results of Vidbir 2019 are determined by 50% televote and 50% jury vote. In the semi finals, the jury consists of a three-person panel of judges, formed of the following:
- Jamala – singer-songwriter and the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 for Ukraine with “1944”. She was Ukraine’s second victor after Ruslana back in 2004 with “Wild Dances”.
- Andriy Danylko – Eurovision icon, comedian and singer; runner-up for Ukraine in Eurovision 2007 as the drag artist Verka Serduchka.
- Yevhen Filatov (The Maneken) – singer and producer; creator of group Onuka.
Did the right acts go through tonight? Who were your favourites? Let us know! Stay tuned for the second semi final of Vidbir 2019, which takes place 16th of February. In the meantime, be sure to follow @ESCXTRA on Twitter and like our Facebook page for the latest updates!
