Tonight, we saw the second semi-final of the fifth edition of Ukraine’s national selection – Vidbir! The remaining eight of the 16 semi-finalists performed their entries live for the first time, with three qualifying for the final on the 22nd of February! The line-up for the final is now compete.
Last week, KRUTЬ, Jerry Heil and GO_A became the first three acts to qualify for the final of Vidbir 2020. Tonight, the final line-up was complet , with an additional three songs qualifying for the final.
The Vidbir jury consists of 3 members, Andrii Danylko (Verka Serduchka), Tina Karol (Ukraine 2006) and Vitalii Drozdov. Notably, Jamala did not return after the mess that took place at Vidbir 2019. Like last year, the jury will have 50 percent of the say in the results with the other 50 percent coming from the Ukrainian public. Six acts qualify to the final on February 22nd overall.
The running order of tonight’s show, along with the qualifiers in bold, was as follows:
- Moonzoo feat. F.M.F. Sure – “Maze”
- Fo Sho – “Blck Sqr”
- Elina Ivashchenko – “Get Up”
- Oleksandr Poriadynskyi – “Savior”
- Garna – “Who We Are?”
- Khayat – “Call for Love”
- David Axelrod – “Horizon”
- Tvorchi – “Bonfire”
And here are the full results of this evening’s semi-final:
| Place | Act | Song | Jury | Televote | Total |
| 1 | Tvorchi | “Bonfire” | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| 2 | Khayat | “Call for Love” | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| 3 | David Axelrod | “Horizon” | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 4 | Elina Ivashchenko | “Get Up” | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 5 | Oleksandr Poriadynskyi | “Savior” | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| 6 | MOONZOO feat. F.M.F. Sure | “Maze” | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 7 | FO SHO | “BLCK SQR” | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 8 | Garna | “Who We Are?” | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Next week – the Final!
Next Saturday (22nd February) will see the six finalists of Vidbir 2020 compete to claim the Ukrainian ticket to Eurovision 2020. Let’s hope they actually make it this time! The running order for the final was drawn by the finalists at the end of last night’s show:
- KRUTЬ – “99”
- Jerry Heil – “Vegan”
- GO-A – “Solovei”
- David Axelrod – “Horizon”
- Khayat – “Call For Love”
- TVORCHI – “Bonfire”
Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest
Ukraine has competed in the contest 15 times, winning twice and regularly featuring in the top 10 – becoming a modern Eurovision powerhouse for songs and exceptional staging. To date, Ukraine remains one of two participating countries who have always qualified for the final.
While initially set to compete in the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, the country withdrew after controversy surrounding the winner of Vidbir 2019. MARUV won the national final with ‘Siren Song’ but was unable to agree the terms of the contract set by UA:PBC. The broadcaster was also unable to reach agreement with any of the other artists to participate either, forcing a withdrawal.
Did the right three songs qualify? Who are you rooting for to win Vidbir 2020? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the news in the run up to Rotterdam!
