Back in February, GO_A won Vidbir 2020 and confirmed that “Solovey” would be the entry bringing Ukraine back to Eurovision following their withdrawal last year. After yet more drama and uncertainty, the band were set to compete…only for the contest to be cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic.
Thankfully, the band were soon confirmed to be returning for the 2021 contest, as UA:PBC and STB internally-selected them to represent Ukraine at the next contest.
Despite the continued uncertainty surrounding the 2021 contest, the band are already making plans for their 2021 entry. In a recent interview with lead singer Kateryna Pawłenko on 1+1, she revealed that the band will be presenting 5 possible entries to the public.
A new national final format?
In the interview, Kateryna expressed that winning Vidbir was “unusual” and “unexpected”. Regarding the announcement from the EBU that 2020 entries would not be eligible for the next contest, she said the following:
Initially, I was upset [that the song Solovey will not go to Eurovision], I did not think that we would need a completely new composition. […] We received a lot of comments in which fans wanted our next song. We’ve decided that in that case we will prepare five of which the listeners will choose one.
GO_A’s lead singer Kateryna Pawłenko on the contest’s cancellation
Does this mean that Vidbir will be replaced by another selection? The format described is similar to those used by Israel and Romania this year, wherein one act performs a selection of songs and the public votes on the entry. Plans for a selection are yet to be confirmed by the broadcasters involved, but we’ll likely hear more updates later in the year on their plans.
About GO_A
GO_A are a Ukrainian electro-folk band that formed in Kiev in 2012. The band comprises of Kateryna Pavlenko, Ihor Didenchuk, Taras Shevchenko and Ivan Hryhoriak.
The band’s big break came in 2015, when their single “Vesnianka” (Веснянка) reached number one Kiss FM 10Dance chart for six weeks. The song was also awarded ‘The Best Song In Ukraine’ 2015 and ‘the Discovery of the Year’ by Kiss FM. The following year, they released their debut album dy na zvuk (Іди на звук).
Earlier this year, it was revealed that GO_A would be making their Vidbir debut in 2020. The band qualified from the first semi-final in second place, and went on to win the final with top points from both the jury and the televote.
However, as ever with Ukraine, it hasn’t been plain sailing. Following their win, their participation was put into jeopardy when the Ministry of Justice has frozen all accounts and funding of the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) due to historical debts. Thankfully, the parties involved are working to insure that Ukraine remain in contention this time.
Eurovision 2021
At the end of March, we put together an article with everything we know about Eurovision 2021 so far. This includes the countries to confirm their participation, the returning national finals and the artists that have been internally-selected to participate next year. So far, the 13 confirmed artists are:
- 🇦🇺 Australia – Montaigne
- 🇦🇹 Austria – Vincent Bueno
- 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan – Efendi
- 🇧🇪 Belgium – Hooverphonic
- 🇧🇬 Bulgaria – VICTORIA
- 🇬🇪 Georgia – Tornike Kipiani
- 🇬🇷 Greece – Stefania
- 🇮🇱 Israel – Eden Alene
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands – Jeangu Macrooy
- 🇷🇴 Romania – Roxen
- 🇪🇸 Spain – Blas Cantó
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland – Gjon’s Tears
- 🇺🇦 Ukraine – GO_A
With 22 countries confirming their intentions/terms of participation for next year’s contest, this leaves 19 countries who were due to participate in the 2020 contest left. We expect that the remaining broadcasters will publish more information in the coming months, depending on the political climate.
In the meantime, 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 over the coming months.
