In these weeks between the selection season and Eurovision itself, in Basel, artists and delegations are touring Europe through pre-parties and other occasions to showcase their entries, trying to get closer to victory. But what is the road to Eurovision victory? Now that the last preparties are over, we wait for the first rehearsals. And at ESCXTRA we look back at the last eight winners of the contest, and at their own road to victory. This week, we continue with the 2022 champions: Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra and their song “Stefania”.
Don’t forget to check our previous articles from this series:
- 2016 – From tragedy to trophy
- 2017 – Keeping up with the Sobrals
- 2018 – Toying with fire
- 2019 – Small-town boy on a big stage
- 2021 – Loud and naughty
Genesis of a song: Kalush, orchestra version
From Kalush to Kalush orchestra
Before Kalush Orchestra, there was Kalush. And before Kalush the band, there was another Kalush the city.
In 2019, rapper Oleh Psiuk (the one with the pink hat) and producer Vanyok Klymenko created a band, and looked for an instrument player to join them. Not unlike an Italian band a few years before, they published a Facebook post explaining that they needed a sopilka player (the sopilka being a Ukrainian sort of flute), and among the candidates, they chose Ihor Didenchuk. Didenchuk was also a member of Go_A, who ended up representing Ukraine in Eurovision 2020/2021.
These two formed the band Kalush, taking its name from the home city of Oleh, Kalush, in western Ukraine. They were joined by a third member, “Carpetman”, later called “DJ Kilimmen”, who is usually wearing a carpet mask and acting both as a singer and as a break dancer for the band. Behind the mask was Vlad Kurochka.
Kalush was a rap band first and foremost, and enjoyed a relatively good career, including collaborations with artists such as alyona alyona. Their main single was “Zori”, was streamed over 2 million times on Spotify.
But the desire to explore other genres was growing. Thus was born Kalush Orchestra: a “side-project” of Kalush, branching into the genres of folk rap and hip-hop, with a new vocalist (Dzhonni Dyvnyy, aka Johnny Strange) and additional instrument players an vocalists Tymofii Muzychuk and Vitalii Duzhyk. Their first big release was “Shtomber Womber”, in December 2021.
“Stefania”, an anthem to a mother
Their eventual Eurovision song, “Stefania” (or Стефанія in cyrillic) was written for Oleh’s mother, whose name is Stefania. It is an ode to motherhood and to the legacy one can receive from one’s mother: love, willpower, trust. The song alternates between a folkloric chorus sung by Tymofii Muzychuk and rapping verses by Oleh and Dzhonni Dyvnyy, with traditional instruments in the background: the sopilka and the telenka.
Why is the song “Stefania” called that way? Because my mum’s name is Stefania – I dedicated the song to my mum. She probably didn’t expect it and doesn’t even know about it yet. My mother and I may not have always had the best of relationships, but there are a lot of warm things I would like to say to her. I think she’ll be pleased if this song makes it to Eurovision. Аnd if it wins the contest in Italy, that would be great.
Oleh Psiuk about the song “Stefania”
The song did cover the contrasting aspects of Oleh’s relationship with his mother. In the first verse, he lauds his mother : “She rocked my craddle, gave me a rythm ; my willpower could probably not be taken away from me, because she gave it to me“. “She knew me very well; she was not deceived. Even when she was very tired; she rocked my craddle.” In his second chorus, however, he bemoans the way she sometimes treats him, like he is still a child. “I’m not in diapers but Ma, no Ma, enough; no matter how much I have grown up, I must pay for things. I am not a child, but she still loses her temper“.
Even though he wants to be treated like an adult, the chorus tells another story:
Stefania, Mum, Mum, Stefania
The field is blooming and she’s turning grey
Sing me a lullaby, Mum
I want to hear your mother tongue
The theme of the lullaby permeates the song: in the chorus, the singer wants a lullaby from his mother. Each rapping verse ends with the line “Luli, Luli, Luli”, a classic Ukrainian lullaby word. Even the beginning of the song, in its Vidbir live version (slightly different from the version below, as it added a few notes before the first vocals) gave this feeling of the “night lullaby”.
Earning the ticket: Trouble in Vidbir
Runners-up of the national selection
In 2016, Ukraine had won Eurovision by being the runner-up of both the juries and the televotes. It was only natural that their next winner would also “win” despite finishing second: this time, it was in the national selection.
Vidbir 2022 took place over one unique show, on February 12, with eight songs taking part. Kalush Orchestra were the fifth to perform, and started with a slightly longer intro, as explained above, with just a few notes played on repeat, as the camera approached the stage. Only the silhouettes of the band members could be seen, cut by bright orange projectors behind them. The first chorus hit with Tymofii, backed by the vocalists, before the rapping verse of Oleh, completed by Johnny Strange.
The “luli” part was already accompanied by the performers balancing from left to right, but the whole performance was much more organic than the one we would later see in Eurovision. A square box or podium, covered in traditional motives, was used by Johnny Strange and Carpetman.
According to the band’s PR, Oleh’s mother (the actual Stefania) had not heard the song before and would discover it during the performance. You can see her in the video, reacting, at the 2m mark.
Kalush Orchestra comfortably won the televote, gaining almost 50% of the votes (38,634 ou of 77,843). But just as in 2016, Vidbir used a “fixed points” system that translated the ranking into a fixed scale of points: in this case, the winner of the televote earned 8 points. The jury of 3 members had ranked them third (with a low ranking from Yaroslav Lodyhin, member of the broadcaster’s managing board), giving them 6 points, for a total of 14. This still put it below the jury winner, Alina Pash, who was second in the televote, thus earning 15 points (8 from the jury, 7 from the public). This made her the winner of Vidbir 2022.
Alina Pash sang “Tini Zabutykh Predkiv” (aka “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”), which was a mix of folkloric ballad in Ukrainian with a spoken words part in English. The lyrics spoke of the history of Ukraine, with references to medieval history and old mythological gods. The title “Tini Zabutykh Predkiv” was also a reference to a 1965 film of the same name, which heavily focused local customs and traditions, despite decades of cultural erasure by the Soviet Union.
Tensions were already rising between Russia and Ukraine, and the eventual large-scale invasion did not come in a vacuum. The song echoed the situation, while still remaining hopeful for the future: “Remember your ancestors / But write your own history“.
Alina’s withdrawal and the Maruv precedent
But the same situation that brought a special echo to “Tini Zabutykh Predkiv” ended up pushing it away from Eurovision. Three days after the final, broadcaster UA:PBC suspended the participation of Alina Pash by withholding the signing of the final contract between the singer and the broadcaster.
It was alleged that Pash had made a journey to Crimea in 2015, and had lied to the broadcaster about the way she had entered the territory. UA:PBC asked the Border Services of Ukraine for more information and suspended the process of validating Alina’s participation in the meantime. A day later, Alina Pash herself withdrew, and the “Maruv precedent” was in everyone’s minds.
I don’t want this virtual war and hate. The main war now is the foreign one which came to my country in 2014. I don’t want to be part of this dirty story anymore. With a heavy heart, I withdraw my candidacy as a representative of Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest. I want to thank everyone who supports me and helps me, who hears my song and the important message, not gossip about me. Thank you! The story continues with you and it is up to us to decide what it will be.
Alina Pash on Eurovision 2022
In 2019, a situation not too different from this had occurred: the winner of Vibir, Maruv, had built her career in both Russia and Ukraine, and was still touring Russia. Although it was never alleged that she had broken any law in this regard, the Ukrainian broadcaster requested that she delay all upcoming appearances and performances in Russia in order to become the Ukrainian representative. Later MARUV revealed that the broadcaster’s contract had additionally banned her from doing any improvisation on stage without their approval, that she would not be allowed to communicate with journalists without their consent, and that she would have to comply with any instruction from UA:PBC.
She refused to sign the contract, so the broadcaster asked the runner-up (Freedom Jazz), who refused. So did the band that had placed third, Kazka. Eventually, just a few days after selecting a very competitive song, Ukraine had to withdraw from Eurovision in the middle of the season.
Just as in 2019, the runner-ups were offered the ticket to Eurovision. But unlike Freedom Jaz, they accepted it. On February 22, they were officially announced as the Ukrainian representative for Turin.
A day before that, Russian president Vladimir Putin had escalated the bilateral situation between both countries by recognizing the independence of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansks, two separatist entities at the Russian-Ukrainian border. The next step was clear. Two days after “Stefania” had been chosen, Putin went back on TV to announce a “special military operation”, and the Russian armed forces started their invasion of Ukraine.
This article continues on the next page.
