Ukraine went calling out to Europe once again, for the second semi-final of Vidbir 2019. Another eight hopefuls performed tonight in order to secure the Ukrainian ticket to Eurovision 2019.

After the points were added up, it was revealed that Freedom Jazz, Anna Maria and KAZKA will join MARUV, Brunettes Shoot Blondes and YUKO for the final show of Vidbir 2019.

Unlike last week, the jury and the voters at home seemed quite in disagreement. Notably, former favourites KAZKA were not in the public’s top three, but survived thanks to the jury’s votes.

Vidbir 2019: Semi-Final Two

This week, the acts again faced jury members Jamala, Andriy Danylko and Yevhen Filatov, as well as the televoters. Both the jury and televote contributed 50% of the overall results.

Yevhen revealed during the show that it had not been an easy week for him. Yevhen said he had been attacked by MARUV’s fans for giving her a low score and commenting that he wouldn’t add the song to his personal playlist.

As the second semi-final of Vidbir 2019 was expected as the stronger one, containing many of the fan favourites, it was not surprising to see that the eventual results were tight, meaning that we had to say “goodbye” to some of our favourite entries.

Qualified for the final

Freedom Jazz – “Cupidon”

Although Freedom Jazz consists of ten girls, only six of them appeared on stage, delivering their entry “Cupidon”, mixing cabaret and jazz. The eye-brower raising element was not the song or performance this time, but the fact that one of the three soloists was heavily pregnant. Andriy especially loved the performance. He was hoping that it would reach the final and subsequently asked his personal assistent for his phone, so that he could vote for the group in the break. Yevhen told the group that their performance was solid.

Anna Maria – “My Road”

Anna Maria received praise for their performance and song tonight. Andriy Danylko told them that when he first listened to their song, in the car, his personal driver told him that he really liked the track. Yevhen added that they should really write that album they want to after they wrote a song like “My Road”.

KAZKA – “Apart”

Andriy Danylko again pointed out that KAZKA are on top of the Ukrainian industry right now. “Apart” found resonance with the judges, who all liked the performance for different reasons. Jamala liked the dynamic movements of the group with every line they sang, Andriy said that “Apart” has a special “aura” over it, while Yevhen appreciated the song’s similarity to their hit “Plakala”.

Did not qualify

Ivan Navi – “All for the love”

The combination of funk and gospel made Jamala enthusiastic, as well as it reminded the whole panel of “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake. This was rather not positive as Danylko noted that Ivan lacked some individuality as he asked “A Justin Timberlake-like song, a Justin Bieber-like look, where is Ivan NAVI?”.

Kira Mazur – “Dykhaty”

Branded as a possible rival to finalist YUKO, Kira Mazur brought us another folktronica experiment on stage. The jury was however not quite feeling this entry. Next to that, Yevhen pointed out that the performance, including the red colours, was too dramatic for Eurovision, as he said the contest is positive, namely a “celebration”.

LAUD – “2 dni”

Jamala is a known fan of LAUD, but tonight, she doubted the international appeal of his entry, calling it an “Ukrainian single”. She compared it LETAY’s entry of last week, which she also branded as an “Ukrainian single” earlier in the broadcast. Andriy agreed with her, as he was not sure whether it is a “festival” type of song.

Khayat – “Ever”

With his unique style that doesn’t fit any format, Khayat brought an original product on stage. Yevhen pointed out that this is positive, as every artist needs to find their style. However, he added that though Khayat is a young and original artist, it would not be succesful if he were to represent his country with this type of song at Eurovision. Both Jamala and Andriy agreed with him, with the latter calling the song a possible “toilet break”.

Braii – “Maybe”

Braii‘s performance was probably the most ordinary of the season. Yevhen said that the song could have been featured on a soundtrack of a series, because of its indie sound. Jamala pointed out how the lead singer dressed up sexy as well, but in a more intelligent manner than MARUV last week. Andriy added that he listened the song not once in his car, but multiple times as he liked it.

Vidbir 2018: Semi-Final 2 combined results

16 points – Freedom Jazz – “Cupidon”
12 points – Anna Maria – “My Road”
12 points – KAZKA – “Apart”

9 points – LAUD – “2 dni”
8 points – Khayat – “Ever”
8 points – Ivan Navi – “All for the love”
5 points – Braii – “Maybe”
2 points – Kira Mazur – “Dykhaty”

Vidbir 2019: Semi-Final 2 jury results

8 points – Freedom Jazz – “Cupidon”
7 points – KAZKA – “Apart”
6 points – LAUD – “2 dni”
5 points – Anna Maria – “My Road”
4 points – Ivan Navi – “All for the love”
3 points – Braii – “Maybe”
2 points – Khayat – “Ever”
1 point – Kira Mazur – “Dykhaty”

Vidbir 2019: Semi-Final 2 televoting results

8 points – Freedom Jazz – “Cupidon”
7 points – Anna Maria – “My Road”
6 points – Khayat – “Ever”
5 points – KAZKA – “Apart”
4 points – Ivan Navi – “All for the love”
3 points – LAUD – “2 dni”
2 points – Braii – “Maybe”
1 point – Kira Mazur – “Dykhaty”

Lake Malawi performs as an interval act

During the results show, Lake Malawi performed their song “Friend of a Friend” for the first time on a television broadcast since they were announced as the Czech representatives for Eurovision 2019. Subsequently, they revealed that Jamala (who was dancing to their song), MARUV and Brunettes Shoot Blondes were their favourites in the Ukrainian selection.

Did your favourites go to through or did they crash out? Do you agree with the results? Let us all know in the comments below!

Read all our Ukraine news here

68 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
RIL
RIL
5 years ago

My top 6 :
1. MARUV – Siren Song
2. Anna Maria – My Road
3. Brunettes Shoot Blondes – Houston
4. KAZKA – Apart
5. Freedom Jazz – Cupidon
6. Yuko – Galyna guliala

MikolasFan
MikolasFan
5 years ago

oh well that was an interesting and dramatic semi , first of all i LOVE LOVE Lake Malawi , their life performance was awesome and charming and the front-man is so sexy and cute ….aww…lol Vocally the best were Anna Maria and Khayat , with these kinda voices you can sing everything i guess, tough their songs weren’t the best for me, “my road” sounds a bit dated and “ever” has a very specific sound, but i think Khayat deserved to qualify anyway, juries were cruel with him , the best song for me is “Apart” , such a beautiful… Read more »

JeyDelRey
JeyDelRey
5 years ago

MARUV and Anna-Maria are definitely my favorite entries in the final. Fingers crossed but well done Ukraine for an amazing Vidbir, so well produced!

West
West
5 years ago

I admit I wasn’t watching the whole show and didn’t listen to songs before – I only listen to qualifiers (btw. my favourites are Kazka – but she needs to stop holding back and Freedom Jazz – what a fun song!). Out of curiousity I listened to Khayat and my jaw dropped – that was amazing! Not surpriced that he didn’t qualify though – it’s not a song for everyone.
As for Lake Malawi – I like the revamp. I know that even this isn’t the final version, but it’s a lot better than the performance on Offstage with Kraig.

Mil
Mil
5 years ago

I am laughing at everyone who says Maruv has strong vocals. Like really?

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
5 years ago
Reply to  Mil

her song doesn’t require strong vocals anyway, she’s serving a good song and that’s all that matters

Hermès
Hermès
5 years ago
Reply to  Mil

Like… really. Start at 5:08 to see her perform « zombies »
https://youtu.be/EY1fgkR4k-s

NickC
NickC
5 years ago

Maruv for the win….It is so outrageous that it really stands out.

Fatima
Fatima
5 years ago

Ok what jury did to the Khayat was a crime, he didn’t deserve such a low rank, yes his song maybe was too specific and not a winning one but the way he hits low notes and then goes higher and higher is outstanding… my jaw was on the floor… he had to be in the final, people seems adore him, i guees has a good chances win next year with a little bit more appealing song Kazka was a disappointment for me,Sasha has such a beautiful voice and tember i heard bits of her live concert on youtube, it… Read more »

Thomas
Thomas
5 years ago

Tbh Freedom Jazz was amazing and kudos to the center singer performing at 8 MONTHS pregnant! Very impressive.
Kazka needs a lot of work. So far MARUV or Freedom Jazz will be my pick.

On another note.
Lake Malwali was pretty awesome too! I personally liked the lower register he sang in an the colors were so fun! As i said, the Czech National Final needs to be LIVE cause his song came to life!!!

Loin dici
5 years ago

I don’t know if Vidbir would allow wildcards, but if they do, Khayat is a good option.

Oleh
Oleh
5 years ago
Reply to  Loin dici

No way. Unfortunately

Sabrina
Sabrina
5 years ago

Another very well produced semi, though the first one had bolder staging ideas. I like all the six finalists and I can think of good arguments for most of them to grab the trophy.

PS: I’m shipping Jamala and Lake Malawi’s Albert. He’s very very camera friendly.

jin
jin
5 years ago

Is it possible that they giveTseSho a wild card? I am not into songs of this semi

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
5 years ago

Can someone explain Freedom-Jazz to me? 25% in the televote? What happened?

Isti
Isti
5 years ago

The only song I love is Kazka’s Apart. In my opinion this is the band’s only good song. I don’t like Plakala… Yeh, her voice wasn’t on the top, but I think she can improve it. I really hope that Ukraine will send them. <3

Oleh
Oleh
5 years ago
Reply to  Isti

I don’t see how Sasha can improve her voice. The best thing they could have done is hiring a “surrogate” singer and making Sasha a back vocal, thus becoming Kazka ft. XXX (good singer’s name)

Isti
Isti
5 years ago
Reply to  Oleh

Earlier, Sasha was one of the big favorites, no one knew she has a weak voice?

Blobby
Blobby
5 years ago
Reply to  Isti

oh they knew. they were just hoping for the best lol

James
James
5 years ago

Same the televote didn’t favor Laud this time around. 🙁

Tasha
Tasha
5 years ago
Reply to  James

his tember is still amazingly beautiful but the song was too forgettable…last year ‘waiting’ was better imho

David F
David F
5 years ago

Ukraine’s NF series is year on year one of the most interesting and well-produced. There is so much talent and creativity here, it’s great to see.

Ukraine might be at the geographical edge of Europe, but you are at the heart of Eurovision. ♥

Zebb
Zebb
5 years ago

those ridiculous arguments against Ever

Alex
Alex
5 years ago

The KAZKA singer sounded like she was impersonating Britney Spears lol. She also looked like she was about to cry.. MARUV has to win this. I know she will top the televote but I’m afraid the juries will rank her low and kill her chances

Susane
Susane
5 years ago

Im so so angry with jury right now, how dare they did dirty to such talanted and humble artist like Khayat? Among male vocalists this year Khayat was the best of both semis, he wouldn’t win Vidbir of course but he had to be in the final, poor sweetie, his face when public starting chearing him up was priceless ….he was so touched…poor sweetie 🙁

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
5 years ago
Reply to  Susane

Khayat has STAR quality. He’ll be back. His song was the best in this SF, in my opinion.

Miki Bihon
Miki Bihon
5 years ago
Reply to  Susane

They robbed him like they robbed Vera. I hope both of them will come back stronger than ever.

Héctor
Héctor
5 years ago

How Freedom Jazz topped both the jury and the televote is beyond my understanding. This could be another wrong choice in the NF season. They are annoying and the song is below average. I supposse the pregnant singer grabbed some sympathy votes. I really like the other two entries. Anna Maria and “My Road” kind of reminds me of NuAngels’ “Higher”, it was my guilty pleasure back in 2016. Though Anna Maria have more vocal control. “Apart” is interesting with that spiritual vibe mixed with traditional and electronic sounds, but KAZKA’s vocals were a bit weak. My top 6 :… Read more »

Hermès
Hermès
5 years ago

I am living for the Ukrainian voters !! They’d send Khayat to the finals and KAZKA to work on her vocals instead. It’s such a shame that she can’t seem to be able to hit any note, given the beautiful voice that she has… Anyway #teamMaruv all the way. But please may she work on that staging – get rid of these attrocious and distracting glasses and focus on a mysterious light show to enhance erotism and class to her number and she’s a potential Eurovision winner ! The soft vocals of the studio version don’t translate so well on… Read more »

UncelDick
UncelDick
5 years ago

So how the hell that young guy Khayat who was literally no name weeks ago got more televoting points than very very much famous Kazka with their millions fan base? oh dear….. Vidbir always full of dramatic twists …lol

i loved Freedom Jazz and Anna Maria the most , wouldn’t mind if one of them win, Lake Malawi were really cool, much better than studio version 🙂

Miki Bihon
Miki Bihon
5 years ago
Reply to  UncelDick

The people there have watched Ukraine’s version of The Voice. Khayat had one million views in his audition performance https://youtu.be/YlX0MQC902A

Fatima
Fatima
5 years ago
Reply to  Miki Bihon

Yeah! That was simply sensational performance of Khayat, that how most people have found out about him, with this kind of song he could win Vidbir next year, im looking forward for his coming back on Vidbir, as he promised: )

OohHoney
OohHoney
5 years ago

I’m sorry but that train wreak of “my road” shouldn’t have even been chosen for the national final let alone qualify over Khayat – Ever.
What. A. Joke.

Loin dici
5 years ago

Lake Malawi brought me vibin’!

A great set of qualifiers. Each has something to offer in the table.

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
5 years ago
Reply to  Loin dici

They were SO good. Really think they might qualify now. They are just so damn likeable!

Peters
Peters
5 years ago

Freedom Jazz is really good. Quirky and really good stage presence. I don’t mind them winning. Semi 1 is shaping up to be an interesting one.

Chris
Chris
5 years ago

I’m even slightly ashamed to say I absolutely love Freedom Jazz! Absolutely love it, it’s on repeat at the moment.

Eurovision fan since 2014
Eurovision fan since 2014
5 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Apparently, we’re in the same boat, I have a soft spot for them too! 🙂

Nick
Nick
5 years ago

oh god …..just was reading local Ukrainian twitter, Facebook and YouTube comments , thousands angry people out there…. lol Most of the comments about how Khayat was horribly robbed bu jury, people are really adore this guy, and how Kazka was bad live , i agree about Khayat, his voice is unbelievable and unique ,jury were too harsh with him and he is total cutie pie…aww …but hey he said he will come back next year , so we will see:) Though i don’t agree about Kazka’ comments, she sounds pretty clear just very very quietly in my opinion, her… Read more »

Olia
Olia
5 years ago
Reply to  Nick

If you listened her singing in real time you’d understand. It was truly awefull. But her management quickly cleaned up the mess and put recording over that performance. So what you hear now is not what the audience heard in real time. I think what real makes people and is that the jury didn’t comment her terrible singing, but couldn’t stop praising her. People feel the jury was bribed to push for Kazka.

Kat
Kat
5 years ago
Reply to  Olia

that’s nonsense. I watched the show live on Ukrainian TV channel, Kazka had no choice to have voice over as everything went live, real time. And if it was voice over then why it still had issues then?

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
5 years ago

kazka flopping in televote is all i needed. they’re only hyped bc of plakala but it’s literally their only good song. maruv needs to pull thru !!!

Alex M
Alex M
5 years ago

“Drunk groove” is the only Maruv’s song that became popular. Also Kazka’s vocals are not that good, but Maruv is not singing at all. It’s just bad on all levels

willchrisiam
willchrisiam
5 years ago

Sadly this semi was a bit of a letdown. I enjoyed the first one a lot more. But what left me perplexed the most was Freedom Jazz topping both the jury and televote. Like how? The ”song” is beyond dated and repetitive and the performance was very cheap. I’m excited for MARUV next week and I hope they stop that ”it’s too provocative” nonsense. Loboda anybody?!

Peter M
Peter M
5 years ago

Just send Maruv and I’ll be happy 🙂 I’m worried that the jury might ruin her chances though

Lolek
Lolek
5 years ago

“Yevhen revealed during the show that it had not been an easy week for him. Yevhen said he had been attacked by MARUV’s fans for giving her a low score and commenting that he wouldn’t add the song to his personal playlist.”

The fact that he is so openly talking about who he doesn’t like because of fans isn’t really a good sign for a singing contest. “Judicial impartiality” aside, he isn’t even trying maintain an appearance of it…

Eurovision fan since 2014
Eurovision fan since 2014
5 years ago

Freedom Jazz and Lake Malawi, simply amazing! Loved the revamped version of Friend of a Friend, a fresh sound I was boping into! Gurls were great as well, am I mistaken or one of the ladies was in advanced pregnancy?

zxc
zxc
5 years ago

8th month

Bruno
Bruno
5 years ago

1) Kazka has the most beautiful song in Vidbir ( but needs improve live vocal)
2) Khayat was so robbed (he should be in finale)
3) If Freedom Jazz won Vidbir i would be laughing like crazy
4) I still don’t like Maruv’ song ,though she is a real pro artist

zxc
zxc
5 years ago

Kazka is not bad live, she sings pretty clear. But looks kinda scared and unconfident.

666
666
5 years ago
Reply to  zxc

i kinda agree now that i think about it she did not look that confident

Olia
Olia
5 years ago
Reply to  zxc

Believe me it was terrible. She was off 90% of the time. But her management quickly cleaned up the mess and put recording over that performance. It disappeared about two hours after it aired on tv. I couldn’t fin d anywhere the real recording of her singing last night. Someone is really pushing them for the win. Which would be a total embarrassment. She is a studio artist. She can’t perform l ive: flat vocals, flat emotions.

Jo.
Jo.
5 years ago

Kazka qualifying is what matters to me, even tho their staging was kinda boring tonight.

And Jamala was totally into Lake Malawi hahaha. They sound pretty good live, I think the Czechs have a good chance of qualifying.

666
666
5 years ago

Apart is still my fav bu they reallly need to improve their live vocals. if they dont aprove by next week MAUV will be my favorite to win

kyamranasanov
kyamranasanov
5 years ago

So, final ranking
1 – Freedom Jazz
2 – BSB
3 – Maruv
4 – Yuko
5 – Kazka
6 – Anna Marie

Tasha
Tasha
5 years ago

The BIGGEST crime of Vidbir 2019 is HOW Khayat was ROBBED, the guy with the most magical male voice i ever heard in Vidbir….it reminds me Melovin’s story from 2017 all over, viewers adored him and jury just slashed him with no mercy… poor guy, have you seen his puppy eyes and how he was touched by viewers reaction on his finale place, he whispered ‘thank you …thank you” and he looked so sad…but he will come back next year and i want him win! that story how he was beaten up by three jerks in subway week ago makes… Read more »

willchrisiam
willchrisiam
5 years ago
Reply to  Tasha

Although I agree he deserved a higher jury score, he was off key almost the whole song. I saw him on The Voice and was left impressed so I guess it was the nerves…

Tasha
Tasha
5 years ago
Reply to  willchrisiam

Bloggers from the backstage of Vidbir were twitting that during Khayat’ performance there were technical problems with sound , i guess he haven’t heard himself, but i agree about nerves, he looks like a lost puppy….sob

Joe
Joe
5 years ago
Reply to  Tasha

It’s about the song not about the voice.

Tasha
Tasha
5 years ago
Reply to  Joe

yes, song wasn’t strong enough,but he didn’t deserve 2 points from jury anyway….there were much worse songs than his

esc1234
esc1234
5 years ago

Every single entry is so well produced…. Ukraine does great national selections and uk cant find a well produced song…..

Peyton
Peyton
5 years ago

I know this technically isn’t Ukrainian news, but did anyone else think Lake Malawi were FANTASTIC tonight??! I thought their entire performance was great and honestly think they have a chance at qualifying now!! They also rose quite a few places in my top 🙂
For Ukraine, I’m still hoping MARUV wins, especially after KAZKA’s vocals tonight… I just hope the juries can rank MARUV high enough to let her win

West
West
5 years ago
Reply to  Peyton

It seems Lake Malawi listened to reactions of people on their song and revamped it to get rid of the most annoying parts – like singing the second “She was my neighbour…” instead of saying that.

Joe
Joe
5 years ago
Reply to  West

It’s still a song about nothing though.

Fefe
Fefe
5 years ago
Reply to  Peyton

those vocals were just so on point!

voix
voix
5 years ago

the studio version of apart is amazing, but i am afraid that vocals were the issue tonight. Its a pity cause they create amazing music and plakala has managed to be a hit across europe, but the live perfomance isnt as strong :/

Joe
Joe
5 years ago
Reply to  voix

She should have more backing vocals like MARUV.