Vidbir‘s producer Ruslan Kvinta had already described tonight’s final as a hot competition. He was right, as MARUV won tonight’s show with “Siren Song” amid explosive drama and red-hot words. She’ll represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2019 in Tel Aviv.
Vidbir 2019 drowns in its own political drama
Much of the show’s fire came from a political war of words. Controversially, multiple acts were interrogated about their relationship with Russia and their view towards Crimea. The lead singer of YUKO stated as a result that she would give up her Russian nationality as soon as she would received a Ukrainian passport. But that was only the first in a series of mind-blowing moments.
OMG, Did Jamala really just do that? ?#Vidbir #Vidbir2019 #Eurostb #Maruv #Jamala #Eurovision pic.twitter.com/kCc1oQ6o9e
— Ron K. (wiwibloggs) (@Ronkesc) February 23, 2019
After an unclear answer on the matter of Russia from MARUV, Jamala decided to give the singer an example of a question she might face at a Eurovision press conference from a hard-nosed journalist.
She asked: “Crimea, is that Ukraine or…?” to which MARUV immediately replied: “Ukraine, of course.”.
The most emotional moment of the night came from the duet Anna-Maria who had endured repeated and harsh criticism in recent weeks about their connection to Russia. The twins hailing from Crimea teared up when the host asked about their mother, who holds an administrative position in a Russian-controlled civil office. He asked if they agreed with their mother’s position.
Tonight was the culmination of multiple scandals and controversies that have cast a cloud over the Ukrainian preselection. First, fan favourite and two-time runner-up Tayanna announced her withdrawal. Between the shows, the judges were attacked online about their personal opinions.
More recently fans were not happy after Vidbir host Serhiy Prytula joked about Khayat, who was attacked on the subway, reportedly for his outré appearance.
And yes, as at Eurovision 2017, the drama even reached the upper echelons of the government. Vice prime minister Vyacheslav Kyrylenko caused a storm by writing a series of tweets indicating that he would prefer the country to withdraw from Eurovision rather than sending a Vidbir act that continued to tour Russia.
Eyebrow-raising results
Right before the voting lines opened, host Serhiy Prytula read out a note given to him by broadcaster UA:PBC. The message stated that the broadcaster might still reject the winner of Vidbir, as the selection show is mostly organised by commercial broadcaster STB, who cover most of the costs involved. This raised a few eyebrows as in four seasons of the show, such a note had never been read out. Hold your Pepsi, the drama might not be over just yet…
Eventually the results of Vidbir 2019 proved to be a real nail-biter too. The jury were not fully satisfied with any of the acts. As usual, they had starkly different opinions, with Yevhen Filatov and Jamala favouring Freedom Jazz, while Andriy Danylko wanted either MARUV or KAZKA.
The public thought otherwise. They cast over 167,000 unique votes…and MARUV earned the most. That put her past Freedom Jazz.
MARUV will represent Ukraine with “Siren Song”
Vidbir 2019 full results
11 points – MARUV
10 points – Freedom Jazz
8 points – KAZKA
5 points – Brunettes Shoot Blondes
4 points – YUKO
3 points – Anna-Maria
Vidbir 2019 jury results
6 points – Freedom Jazz
5 points – MARUV
4 points – YUKO
3 points – KAZKA
2 points – Brunettes Shoot Blondes
1 point – Anna-Maria
Vidbir 2019 televoting results
6 points – MARUV
5 points – KAZKA
4 points – Freedom Jazz
3 points – Brunettes Shoot Blondes
2 points – Anna-Maria
1 point – YUKO
Do you agree that MARUV is the best act to represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2019 with “Siren Song”? What was your favourite performance tonight? Let us know in the comments below!
Ukraine = North Korea
She is not going to participate. It was obvious that she would either get banned by the government, or disqualified, or they would find another way. After the Vidbir the organizers have commented on this that it doesn’t matter if she won or not, they still have to sign a contract. That sounded like a threat and it actually was. Every year this country is just not able to keep politics away from anything. Even more, it’s all about politics. I think Ukraine has to be disqualified from any events like this until they learn the rules and stop dictatorship.
Not only do they choose what I thik is the worst song so far, they also cannot keep politics out of it. Things like these really make me dislike people like Jamala
eurovision 2019 winner confirmed???
Can’t stand Jamala !
Opinion of Ukrainian politician Tatiana Montyana.
youtube.com/watch?v=0wMCsJwd57c&feature=youtu.be
The dictatorial country cannot participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Craziness happening! Maruv just shared this!
https://www.facebook.com/MaruvOfficial/photos/a.665194626885638/2580673932004355/?type=3&theater
Good to see MARUV reacting, that’s the best thing she can do now: talk, show the truth, absolute transparency. It’s too obvious they don’t want her, but what they’re doing is absolutely insane.
Agreed, its absolutely ridiculous. I hope she gets to represent Ukraine in the end. Hopefully the EBU can exert pressure on NTKU to cease this nonsense.
EBU should react. What they are doing is too serious to be ignored. They basically saying “you have two options: option 1, you are our slave: you obey, you can’t talk if we don’t let you do it, you pay. Option 2, you leave”. As MARUV says in that post, this goes against human rights (freedom of speech…). Disgusting, no matter what happens in Ukraine, it doesn’t justify this.
I am totally shocked.
Ukraine is one of the few countries this year that managed to select the right entry through their national final for Eurovision.
MARUV, please sign the contract and just cancel all your Russian tours for now. You can go on some tours in Russia again once you’re done with Eurovision.
It would be a pity for Ukraine to waste such a great chance.
I’m taking back some of my words after reading about the ridiculous rules MARUV has to follow after signing the contract.
Still wish to see her in Tel Aviv though. It would be a big loss for Ukraine if they decided not to send her.
Don’t try to justify the situation with words like “you’re not from Ukraine, you don’t understand the situation”. If the MARUV and Anna-Maria situation is problematic, don’t let them participate. This is a problem they had to fix BEFORE the national final, not during and after it. Eurovision will always have political drama, true, but this is a drama that they could avoid easily.
well, they wouldn’t earn more on sms votes than ))) didn’t want to lose probably
Currently my no. 1. I rarely hear songs and immediatley love them but I did in this case. Only Hatari from Iceland could top it if they win.
The world is so tired of Russian trolls.
Anyone else tired of the Ukraine/Russia drama at Eurovision? If you know some good songs from these places, you can send them to the Music World Festival – an online fan contest where you can represent any country in the world and best part — drama free haha http://www.musicworldfestival.com
Not tired at all. It has serious context. More tired of brexit yes brexit no.
If in ESC a journalist ask you about politics, you can answer : “I don’t talk about politics.” I was by Ukraine’s side in 2017 in Samoylova’s case, but at this point Ukraine has gone too far. It is only destroying careers, because every singer in Ukraine wants access to Russian market. Jamala is ignored by Russia after 1944, and now she wants to destroy everybody else, it seems.
Jamala was also giving concerts on some parties in Russia, and it was not that long time ago, in 2016 (I’m sure it wasn’t the only one). But she pretends to be a patriot, so no one cares…
If I were in her shoes, I’d reject the contract. She wasn’t even going to participate in Eurovision, she was approached by the broadcaster and invited to the selection, which I guess she used to promote herself. I’m not from Ukraine, but I think music industry of former Soviet republics is closely related to Russia and such contract would jeopardize her career. PS I forgot to mention the politicization during Vidbir, who are they to ask such questions? They are judge, they should be objective as it’s their job to give points to the contestants, assessing the song and not… Read more »
She was invited by private broadcaster STB, not by public UA:PBC. That was fault of UA:PBC of course that they didn’t supervise STB.
Things are turning worse for Maruv today.))) Today we got to know that Warner Music Russia own rights on song distribution and monetize it. :)))
Warner Music Russia is Warner Music not Kremlin Studios. They have zero will to be about politics so there won’t be issues from them. They want MARUV to tour Russia cuz it gives them more money that’s all.
I’m not liking Ukraine’s chances at the ESC this year. Regardless of whether they stick with Maruv, national selection controversies, particularly when they’re as severe as this one, are usually a kiss of death for that particular country.
It will be fine. No other country will bother asking her what do you think about Crimea. It’s a hot topic in Ukraine only, for obvious reasons.
Im really tired of Ukraine. Ask artists those questions in the selection. Cant Ukraine have a 1 year break?
Right now it looks like they could really use it.
Agree. If the hosts in Mello should ask the artists how they stand in the immigration issue becuse we have so many of them here right now. Syrian and Afghanistan boys.
I hope EBU will instruct all delegations, accredited journalists etc to not include political questions. It’s a celebration of music and diversity, there should be no room whatsoever for politics period.
As for the act, EBU is a family show and Israel is a liberal yet conservative country. “Dominatrix” doesn’t belong to ESC. Yes, people can switch the channel but how about being able to enjoy an un-niche performance? What feel the need to change the channel? It’s a once a year show, the biggest music show in the world.
Jamala’s statement from her Instagram account: “That’s the National Selection for Eurovision-2019. I want to say a few more words. Eurovision is, first of all, a holiday of music, such a song Olympics. However, in a situation in which our country is now, it is difficult for me, as well as for many of our citizens, to control the emotions during such talks that sounded on the stage of the National Selection, especially in relation to the Crimea. And that’s why it’s important for me to emphasize that this did not affect how I evaluated the participants. I was guided… Read more »
Thanks to Jamala votes singer with armenian heritage Arsen Mirzoyan didnt go to ukranian national final 2017with song Geraldine. She dont vote for song, politics decide her votes in Vidbir
Jamala is half Armenian what are you talking about? The fact she didn’t vote for the Armenian more shows her professionalism
Trying to look at things from Maruv’s perspective:
On one hand, if she cancels her tour, she could lose a ton of money and some nice olive branch-extending between the two countries.
On the other hand, her own country should probably take precedence over touring elsewhere. And Eurovision is a huge opportunity to expand her audience.
I’d personally be bummed if she didn’t make it to Tel Aviv, but we shall see.
She won’t need Russia if she makes success in contest.
All this mess is hard to understand. If Ukraine wants to win some televoting points from Russia because Maruv is wellknown there won’t hurt… Jamala got 10 herself, Melovin got 8.
Does it remind anyone of the interval act in 2017?
FINALLY! That’s what we needed !!! Thank you Ukraine! It will not win but it’s spectacular. Lovin it!!!!
The demo of Cyprus song has leaked.
OK, on the one hand, the sound and structure are very similar to Fuego, which is kind of what I worried about. It’s a little less ethnic than Fuego, but the tune and the timing of the drops are quite close.
On the other hand, it is a helluva banger and I was dancing in my seat. Hey, if it ain’t broke…
where is the link?
It’s way to generic for me. Fuego has ethnic element that made it pop but this is more like a Melfest song in the final. Plus, I like Wear Your Love more.
It’s like Maruv and Foureira collab. I don’t like it.
Lets admit that the demo of replay is better than most of the entries this year.
ANNOUNCEMENT
With regards to the first demo take of “REPLAY” that allegedly was leaked, we would like to inform you and clarify that it was just that: the very first rough demo recorded in Athens when discussions with Tamta were still at an early stage. It is most unfortunate that this was leaked as it does not reflect the actual song that will be published as planned on March 5th 2019. Stay tuned for the actual REPLAY…
Honestly, I’m so in love with it. Some people calling it generic, idc it sounds like an amazing banger
its like fuego last year. everyone was bashing it until eleni walked on stage….
nah,no one was bashing eleni. People just ignored her until she walked on stage.
Side note, related to Ukraine: remember how they were saying Verka Serduchka is gonna show up in Tel Aviv? Apparently, she’d be part of a larger act that would also involve (according to the site that ends in Voix and starts with Euro) Mans, Conchita, Eleni, and (apparently) Alexander Rybak. The idea being that they’d all perform each other’s songs rather than their own. So, you’d get Verka singing “Heroes” and Conchita singing “Dancing Lasha Tumbai.” Wonder what the others would do (Alex and Eleni trading songs would be quite funny). I think it sounds hilarious, if they can pull… Read more »
What is happening is ridiculous: a great perfomance won but the co-prime minister of ukraine (!) said that they cant send a singer who did concerts in russia. WELL, WHY DID YOU INVITED HER TO COMPETE?
Ebu should do something but -as always- they are sleeping
Crimea is…
youtube.com/watch?v=xBOIWMJkmnE
This needs to be toned way down for performance in May, in my opinion, it’s broadcast at prime time viewing. Poland 2014 was nothing compared to this!! God what is wrong with this years choices!!!
i guess you havent watch eurovision, especially loboda in 2009
Yes I have been watching, since 1979 lol but that doesn’t mean I’m a prude in any way it just doesn’t do anything for me and seems wholly inappropriate
I’m just laughing at all these fake patriotism. They don’t even have history what Crimea are they talking about? They will probably cry and withdraw next year after Sergey wins. 🙂
Oh please, let’s not dive into that. It serves no point, and produces even more negativity.
Yeah and Russia has a very beautiful history of invading its neighboring countries. Go brag about that you little… ok, I won’t say that.
Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine… so who’s your next target?? Oh of course it’s Belarus.
More chance of Tajikistan winning
As much as I liked Jamala, the whole show was very disrespectful. Not all Russian people are to blame for the political atmosphere. Sad because I expected Ukraine to take the higher road instead of leveling down to the same level of Russian politics. This is a song contest not a political interrogation. Jamala lost a lot of credibility.
It can be difficult to take the high road when hurting, and Ukraine must hurt a lot. That kind of an event is hard on a nation. Those Crimea/Russia questions last night were not in the ESC spirit – not that Jamala’s song was not political and it won. Her performance was however wonderful. But PLEASE, NO MORE POLITICS IN ESC. It damages its credibility.
I AM LOVIN’ IT:-)))))
Russia has 3,5 million Ukrainians working there at the moment and another 1,2 million of refugees from Eastern Ukraine (UN data)(Donbass). Does the Government of Ukraine blame them for working in Russia too?
Why you post it here? It have nothing to do with contest,
I see how Russians are happy with this situation, its disgusting how trolls spread their propaganda here.
It has nothing to do with govermement, its a private channel who selected artists for Vidbir
Well, it was actually Jamala and the Ukrainian TV who introduced politics in 2019 Vidbir so you can’t really complain now.
“I see how Russians are happy with this situation” I am not sure about Russians. Actually, 99.9% of them don’t even know that MARUV has been chosen. What I am sure about is that the people who voted for MARUV are happy with this situation because they wanted MARUV to represent them 🙂
You know nothing about the situation if you think the government is not involved… Nothing is private there anymore. I agree that the above comment is rather irrelevant for the ongoing discussion, but yours is not far from it. And make sure you differentiate “russian trolls” from people who are fed up with all this trash
Seems like Vova was kicked out of the gay club because he had to direct all his cyberwarfare this way. Embarrassing Russians.
This can never be Eurovision without that one outlandish uptempo banger without any necessary vocal talents but an over the top provocative choreography that will make Madonna say “it’s reductive, look it up” again … and that beat and those horns. That’s it … fans don’t need to be desperate and depressed after 17 entries that scream “we are trying to be musical credible” anymore … with this Ukrainian entry … the Gay Pride can start right now … But wait … this can never be Eurovision without … yeah …exactly … both Russia and Ukraine jumping at each other’s… Read more »
UA:PBC are being dicks with this entire drama about activities of acts and performers involving any form of contact with Russia, and if they ban MARUV from participating in ESC, the EBU must immediately disqualify Ukraine and prevent them from participating in the following 3 years. I believe there will be no greater shame than to be the first ever country to be disqualified from ESC.
Agree. The whole show was an utter nightmare.
greater shame is to send Maruv in ESC))))
You mean shame on Ukrainian folks?
If you put the opinion of minority as dominant, it would mean only one thing: authoritarianism.
Russians would love it, dont they?
Meanwhile Ukraine is now 4th fave to win after Russia, Sweden and Italy, according to odds. The odds dropped sharply after Maruv won.
Wtf what odds…Sweden has not selected yet and this year’s lineup is sadly poor. Sweden goes downhill.
If they wanted an artist with absolutely no tie to Russia to represent Ukraine (which is understandable), why didn’t they filter them out BEFORE the national final? I’m sorry but it’s really awkward and cringey to interrogate them on live television like this like they’re war criminals. And they use the foreign journalists as an excuse, pretending they have to “train” them before Eurovision… This looks like bullying on live television and it’s really sad to watch.
It was such a shame. It looked like that the participants were publicly humiliated on purpose.
And I am extremely happy that after such humiliation and propaganda the people of Ukraine actually voted for MARUV and the most recent public opinion polls show that the people of Ukraine don’t believe anymore their government propaganda about the war. Most of them know that there’s a civil war in Eastern Ukraine provoked by the government of Ukraine. And when the current president doesn’t win in the elections peace will come to Ukraine 🙂
Get lost Russian troll! Ugh!
I am a troll, but Poroshenko is going to lose the elections. PEACE! 🙂
With regard to political part of the Ukrainian NS, the governmental bodies should say earlier that some singers who were in Russia or smth like that, won’t be allowed to the ESC to represent Ukraine. The participants make expenses, waste their time and nerves. Maruv was not going to participate, she was invited to participate by the Ukrainian NS. For what reason? The answer is obvious. Few participants.
look, there’s no such law so government can’t say that/ but there’s people of Ukraine who wants their participant to act that way – no ties with Russia. there’s no law but as you can see jury and voters can express their support based on that factor. So you can say “shame on government” as many times as you want it won’t change a thing. A voter picks their favs, if jury have big difference in points with a voter they are questioned “why” and if they “bribed by someone” so jury will avoid major difference in points with a… Read more »
Yes. 2/3 should be removed, because no one deserves to be publicly humiliated. If the participants were explained in a normal manner before the NS that people do not want to see the contestant who had ties with Russia, there wouldn’t be such circus. Your TV channels only wanted to make money with the help of all participants without thinking that anyone could win NS who had ties with Russia.
Let me remind you that Maruv won because of televotes. Of course, others will argue with this. Last year was the same. Netta’s live performance got a lot of dislikes. My question is “why?”. People forgot about the RESPECT. Please, respect the people who gave their votes to the performer they like most. Also, you forgot that there were many contestants who were almost nude on the stage in previous years. ESC is not a family show. It begins late in the evening. You, however, should not allow your kids to watch TV til midnight. The problem is in your… Read more »
This article is a joke and full of inaccurate translations, the pro-russia campaign in full pedal power here to discredit Ukraine. Yes there were tense moments with the questioning but unless a country is illegally occupied and waged a ground war against yours, then you can’t understand the reason. Remember Jamala is from Crimea. As for the contract, it’s to make her clear her schedule so she can be free for ESC? I’m sure most other esc countries have something similar.
That all said, absolutely amazing winner. Ukraine made a great choice tonight.
This is the best package so far this year. I felt exactly the same seeing this for the first time as I did when I watched ‘Toy’ last year. I think changes and improvements were made for the NF from the semi final performance. If they continue to tweak it, this can only get better. The NF performance was toned down from the semi final which had more spanking and was more sexualised.
Amazing entry, well done! As for bringing politics into this, what else is new? 😛
This absolutely bangs!! The staging is so powerful and honestly it’s nothing the ESC hasn’t seen before I don’t think it would be that much of an issue. Praying that all is good and Maruv can still represent Ukraine this year because this is absolutely top 10 material and probably in the top 3 best songs so far this year with the whole package
The truth is hard to be sexual on Eurovision stage. Maybe it just me, but it feels like family oriented show. So sexy comes out cringy at times. For example, Poland couple of years ago. However, I think this song will go straight to the final and top 10 for sure.
The Polish entry was cringey and bordered ‘carry on….’ with the inuendos. Maruv’s performance is a different genre of sexy: the women present themselves as powerful and there is a clear sense they are in control without resorting to a cliche.
I think you might be right. It all depends on staging and styling. I wish Maruv all the luck in the world. I’m really happy that she won. This performance just feels fresh and new.
…”women present themselves as powerful”… well, I see women on the floor spreading theire legs apart… it all looks so cheap and oversexed… but the “male” audience will like it (although the majority doesn’t fancy women)
Then close your eyes and let us enjoy 21st century.
Rule 3.2 of the ESC establishes that “The lyrics and/or performance of the songs shall not bring the Shows, the ESC as such or the EBU into disrepute”. I’m sorry are there no limits to what you can do on this stage for a show that is supposed to be family friendly? She is spanking herself on stage and then imitates some kind of a weird human centipede group sex train scenario with the girls. On top of that the melody is NOT as addictive as Fuego, so I don’t think the comparisons are called for. It’s an okay song… Read more »
I’m sorry you’re stuck in early XXth century. The whole point of the show is to embody a modern day siren, not the Ariel kind but the mythological one. A woman in power, using he sensual voice to drag men talking to their hubris then kill them. If you have a problem with sexy choreographies you’ve missed the last 30 years of pop music. However I agree with you that some things can be improved. She could still find a way to make her voice shine through better, and work on her ending (she acknowledged that she still has 10… Read more »
Have they revamped it already? Not that I mind. I love the new version more than the original which is so good! Ukraine looking good for another top 5.
It’s ok. Different for a change. I don’t find it too sexy or cheap because it very much reminds me of american Burlesque. And Burlesque is meant to be exactly like that.
It’s just a bit of a pity for me that her voice is not dominating the song imo.
I also would like to see more fake guitar playing. That part is fricking awesome.
I like the song, but it needs better staging. I mean Ukraine is at war, so its hard to be apolitical. However, the whole national selection process seems to be messy af. I happy with outcome, but I understand that this might not be everyone’s cup of tea,
Ukraine’s worst entry by far . She needs to be able to sing live as it is on the studio version. As it stands her vocal capabilities are very weak. Her backing singers carry the song . Last year Russia didn’t qualify for the first time . I can see this happening to Ukraine this year . If this is really a top 10 as people put it , then it really is a very weak year . For me this is the worst song so far this year , pitty because the song itself has much potential . My… Read more »