Yaroslav Lodygin, who sat on the jury that selected Go_A’s entry for Eurovision 2021, has said in an interview with The Euro Trip podcast that the group have complete creative freedom for their performance in Rotterdam.
Their entry, “Shum”, is already set to be shortened as it is longer than the three-minute limit set by the EBU. Lodygin, who is a member of UA:PBC’s managing board, has also outlined the broadcaster’s expectations for Eurovision 2021, saying that “the minimum for us is to break into the finals”.
Taking fan reactions on board
Speaking to the podcast host Rob Lilley, Yaroslav Lodygin revealed that any changes, including a possible language change to English, would be decided by Go_A, and not the broadcaster.
It is going to be shorter, for the rest of the changes I cannot say… I think that the musicians know better than some executives what to do with their song to make it better… They are free to go in any direction, and we will support any creative decision they make.
– Yaroslav Lodygin, speaking on The Euro Trip podcast
As a member of the broadcaster’s managing board, he also explained that he spends some of his day checking out the latest reactions to “Shum” on YouTube.
I spend like half an hour of each day watching the reaction videos on YouTube, and discussing them with my colleagues.
– Yaroslav Lodygin, speaking on The Euro Trip podcast
Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021
Following Eurovision’s cancellation in 2020, UA:PBC quickly announced that Go_A would return to represent Ukraine at the 2021 contest in Rotterdam.
Last month, it was then announced that a five-member jury, including Eurovision 2016 winner Jamala, would select Go_A’s entry for Eurovision with the winner being announced in March. However, days later, snippets of the three potential entries were released on Instagram and the release date was moved to 4th February.
It was then announced that “Shum” would be Ukraine’s entry for Eurovision 2021, which was released a week earlier as a new single for the group.
Would you like to see any changes made to the entry? Are you a fan of “Shum”?
Let us know in the comments below or on social media @ESCXTRA.
The song is perfect. Some people say it\’s creepy but this\’s only because of their covid outfits. Most The people love the music and the vocals. The song sounds perfect and I hope when they cut it, it\’s still going to sound as great. Please don\’t sing in English. There\’s no need for it. On the contrary, people love hearing different languages.