Earlier in this countdown series we talked about Candy. Now it’s time to check up on Anastasia Petryk, the JESC 2012 winner from Ukraine!
Amsterdam 2012: throwback
The Netherlands hosted the contest for the second time. That year the show took place at the Heineken Music Hall (Amsterdam).
12 countries took part, while Albania, Azerbaijan and Israel joined the contest for the first time. Previous Dutch winner Ralf Mackenbach performed during the interval with Kim-Lian van der Meij, one of the hosts, alongside the other participants.
That year Ukraine scored its first victory in Junior Eurovision with the song Nebo performed by Anastasiya Petryk. Georgia finished second, Armenia came third.
Life after Junior Eurovision
After the contest came to an end, Anastasia brought the trophy to her homeland. She flew to Kyiv and got the warmest reception right at the airport with red carpet, orchestra, flowers and a lot of fans gathered to meet her.
Later Anastasia and her family talked to journalists about the JESC winner’s journey. Moreover, it’s important to note that Victoria, her elder sister, performed for Ukraine at the Junior Eurovision in 2008 and came second that year.
I’m so happy I won, that’s for sure! I did my best at the contest. However, it was really stressful for me, especially when I got the last points counted and realised I came first.
Anastasia Petryk for gazeta.ua
Anastasia also added that she would like to see her elder sister Victoria taking part at the Eurovision Song Contest and winning it.
The girls’ father, Igor Petryk, shared his thoughts about his little daughter’s performance preparing process.
The songwriting process took almost a year. The stage outfit discussion and making took almost half a year. All our family went to Amsterdam to support Anastasia. My daughter was extremely nervous. She was chosen to represent the whole country, millions of people here support her. Nevertheless, she did her best and delivered a great performance! Nastya also made friends with all other participants.
Igor Petryk for gazeta.ua
What is Anastasia up to now?
Nowadays Anastasia is 18 years old already. Currently she studies stage vocals (Pop and Jazz) at International Humanitarian University in Odessa, Ukraine.
She released her latest single “Закрытые двери” (Zakrytye dveri / Closed doors) in 2017. However, we hope there’s a lot to come in the future.
The young singer posts regular updates such as photos and music covers on her Instagram page.
Have you watched Anastasia’s performance in 2012? Comment below or share your opinion with @escxtra on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
