This year, Ukraine will once again choose its entry for Eurovision through the Vidbir selection show. The first step begins today, with the Ukrainian public starting to vote for a wildcard to join the already shortlisted finalists.
A preliminary vote to complete the final
This year, just like in 2024, Vidbir starts with a “Wildcard round”, to select an act that will join a shortlist of nine others in the national final. Ten entries are taking part in this preliminary round, although eleven were originally announced. One artist, the singer TESLENKO, withdrew in December, with the authorization of Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne.
The wildcards act are, in the “running order” prepared for the voting:
- ENLEO – “SUPERNOVA“
- Muayad – “AMNESIA“
- BRYKULETS – “Kryshtali“
- Ranrawi – “Anymore“
- GRISANA – “Kohoney“
- Clukhay Sashu – “Zhyvy“
- MON FIA – “Dive Inside“
- YAGODY – “Bramaya“
- Starykova Hrystyna – “Rise“
- FIЇNKA – “Kultura“
Voting begins today on the Diya app, and will last until Friday this week, January 17. The opening of the voting also means the wildcards have been released, and you can find them in the playlist below:
Final on February 8
The actual show will take place on February 8. The wildcard winner will join nine acts which have already been shortlisted, but which have yet to be released. These nine acts are, in alphabetical order:
- Abiye – “Dim“
- DK Enerhetyk – “Sil’“
- Future Culture – “Waste My Time“
- Khayat – “Honor“
- Krylata – “Stay True“
- Masha Kondratenko – “No Time To Cry“
- Molodi – “My Sea“
- Vlad Sheryf – “Wind of Change“
- Ziferblat – “Bird of Pray“
The voting will be split evenly between the televote and a jury of 3 musical professionals, which have been chosen through a public vote:
- Jamala (Ukraine’s representative in 2016, winning Eurovision that year)
- Serhiy Tanchynets (frontman of rock band Bez Obmezhen)
- Kateryna Pavlenko (lead vocalist of Go_A, Ukraine’s representative in Eurovision 2020 and 2021)
The winner will follow the steps of alyona alyona and Jerry Heil, who ended up in third place in Malmö last year, behind fan-favourites Switzerland and Croatia, with their song “Teresa & Maria”.
Who should win the wildcard round? What do you expect from the unreleased finalists? Tell us more in the comments below or on social media at @escxtra!
