Vidbir 2019: MARUV, Brunettes Shoot Blondes and YUKO top the first semi-final in Ukraine

Hello Europe, hello Australia — it’s Kyiv calling! On Saturday Ukraine kicked off the first semi-final of Vidbir 2019, the country’s national final for Eurovision.

Ukraine is always in for a bit of drama. So naturally tonight had a sprinkling of it before the show even started. Tonight’s semi-final was meant to include two-time Vidbir runner-up Tayanna. But she withdrew her bid in the weeks leading up to the show. The Ukrainian broadcasters behind the show subsequently announced rising star MARUV as the replacement act. And, as a newly confirmed finalist, it’s clear she made the most of it.

With the same format as last year, the top three acts advanced to the final of the preselection. They were determined by a combination of televoting and the opinion of an expert panel, once again consisting of Eurovision 2016 winner Jamala, composer and producer Yevhen Fylatov and the real man behind one of our favourite drag queens Verka Serduchka — Andriy Danylko.

Oh what a night. We saw everything: from The Hypnotunez’ walking Illuminati sign to Letay flying off with a bunch of coloured balloons to Brunettes Shoot Blondes’ magical machine.

Ultimately, only three acts could advance to the final of 23 February. Perhaps for the first time in Vidbir history, the jury and the televoting public actually agreed! Together they sent MARUV, Brunettes Shoot Blondes and YUKO to the final.

Vidbir 2019: Who made the final?

MARUV – “Siren Song”

MARUV gave us some butt slapping and perhaps the most over-the-top pair of glasses of the season. The performance was the most provocative of the night, if not in Vidbir history. Jamala recognised this and was worried that it was perhaps too explicit to be allowed on the Eurovision stage. Andriy disagreed and eventually gave MARUV his top points in the jury voting. Though he also added that if MARUV wanted to play the “provocative” card, she should have played it more distinctively, while also commenting that she lacked energy in tonight’s performance.

Brunettes Shoot Blondes – “Houston”

Some music lovers might call it vandalism, but the guys Brunettes Shoot Blondes once bought a 17th century piano and completely deconstructed it. Not to break it, but to re-construct something special out of the remains. They added nearly every single instrument thinkable into the empty piano and turned it into a proper machine. Though an interesting show element, the jury commented that they could not rely on this “machine” alone to impress the viewers.

YUKO – “Galyna guliala”

Another performance, another experiment. YUKO announced that they would bring Ukrainian folktronica on stage. However, their song is not original….but uses motifs and lyrics from traditional Ukrainian music. Jamala reminded them that that is not allowed according to Eurovision rules. While she used motifs and lyrics from Crimean Tatar music in “1944”, she added that she made sure that her song was a new one.

Eliminated acts

The Hypnotunez – “Hey”

Overall, the judges enjoyed the performance of The Hypnotunez, which was noted as both happy and crazy. It was a bombastic start of the competition, but Jamala said that one cannot play instruments live at Eurovision, as The Hypnotunez also enjoy improvising.

Letay – “Myla moya”

The almost unrecognisable returnee brought us perhaps the most crazy performance we have seen this NF season so far! Andriy Danylko revealed that he was scared when Letay was flying around in the air, holding his microphone in one hand and balloons in the other, but this also led to Letay receiving some praise about his singing in combination with his difficult (and slightly creepy) mini-circus on stage.

Vera Kekelia – “Wow!”

Former girlband member Vera Kekelia was set to “Wow!” us tonight with her debut solo single, but she didn’t convince the judges. Though dressing the part of a diva in a thin golden-glitter dress, all jury members agreed that she could have shown more attitude and could have surprised more.

TseSho – “Hate”

TseSho revealed that they received hate on their track from Eurovision fans before even stepping on the stage, with many people commenting that their song was definitely not final-worthy. The song showed the first big divide on the jury panel of the year. Jamala did not hate TseSho at all and said she liked that the group had prepared a concept and message. Andriy was more critical and stated that Eurovision is a song contest after all and “Hate” is not a song, rather a performance.

Bahroma – “Navzazhdy-Navsegda”

“Navzazhdy-Navsegda” tells us a story about love without borders according to Bahroma. The group subsequently received love from both Jamala and Yevhen, but Andriy thought “Navzazhdy-Navsegda” wasn’t suitable for Eurovision.

Vidbir 2019: Semi-Final 1 jury results

8 points – YUKO – “Galina guliala”
7 points – Brunettes Shoot Blondes – “Houston”
6 points – MARUV – “Siren Song”
5 points – TseSho – “Hate”
4 points – Vera Kekelia – “Wow!”
3 points – Bahroma – “Navzazhdy-Navsegda”
2 points – Letay – “Myla moya”
1 point – The Hypnotunez – “Hey”

First semi-final televoting results

8 points – MARUV – “Siren Song”
7 points – Brunettes Shoot Blondes – “Houston”
6 points – TseSho – “Hate”
5 points – YUKO – “Galina guliala”
4 points – Bahroma – “Navzazhdy-Navsegda”
3 points – Letay – “Myla moya”
2 points – Vera Kekelia – “Wow!”
1 point – The Hypnotunez – “Hey”

Combined first-semi-final of Vidbir 2019 results

14 points – MARUV – “Siren Song”
14 points – Brunettes Shoot Blondes – “Houston”
13 points – YUKO – “Galina guliala”
11 points – TseSho – “Hate”
7 points – Bahroma “Navzazhdy-Navsegda”
6 points – Vera Kekelia – “Wow!”
5 points – Letay – “Myla moya”
2 points – The Hypnotunez – “Hey”

Do you agree with the results of the first semi-final of Vidbir 2019? Did your favourites go through? Let us know in the comments below!

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