Despite previously saying it was “not for Eurovision”, Ukraine’s public broadcaster UA:PBC has revealed that Go_A‘s latest single “SHUM” is one of three entries in the running to represent the country at the 2021 song contest.
The other two songs are called “Rano” and “Tserkovka”. Snippets of all three dropped on Wednesday 3 February, along with the news that the chosen song would be revealed the next day — Thursday 4 February.
Go_A’s songs for Eurovision 2021 — snippets
From listening to the three previews, it is clear that the band brought a wide variety of music to the table.
“Rano” (Рано)
Translating as “Early”, this channels folk-rock vibes. It is closest to their Eurovision 2020 entry “Solovey”. “Rano” bears some lyrical similarity, as the snippet starts with lines as: “Рано рано засвітило сонечко/ Рано рано сопівала голосна”.
#2. Rano pic.twitter.com/xgKLqYiegG
— Ukraine at Eurovision 🇺🇦 (@uapbc) February 3, 2021
“Tserkovka” (Церковка)
This is the most spiritual entry in terms of lyrics. And it’s perhaps the most experimental. The song title literally means “to church”. It’s hard to define the song based on the snippet UA:PBC shared. Obviously, that begs for more!
#3. Tserkovka pic.twitter.com/cPoyovRDBT
— Ukraine at Eurovision 🇺🇦 (@uapbc) February 3, 2021
“SHUM” (ШУМ)
“SHUM” has been a fan favourite since it’s release last month, with many campaigning for it to be the group’s Eurovision song. Go_A called the single “dark-techno”. In just a week, it has already reached half a million views on YouTube.
Ukraine’s internal selection process and jury
On 1 February, an internal jury, consisting of Jamala, Yevhen Filatov, Ruslan Kvinta, Dmytro Khorkin and Yaroslav Lodrygin, decided on Go_A’s Eurovision song.
In a Zoom call, the group presented the three entries. At the time, Jamala shared some details of the selection process on her Instagram story. She and her fellow jurors were seen giving feedback on the three tracks. We saw a fragment, with Yevhen Filatov saying over the call:
“(…) A kind of dark, diligent electronic music, if we can say so. Well, it seems to me that it would be great to have such capability…”
It wouldn’t be surprising if Yevhen were to back “SHUM” over the other two songs. After all, he is one of the founders of ONUKA, the best known electronic group in Ukraine.
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Which song do you want to represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2021? And which of the three snippets is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below!
I have no idea how or why the decision process has come about but as a UK citizen never exposed to Ukrainian electro folk music before, I can honestly say that Go_A are the best thing I have heard in Eurovision (and beyond) for years! Thank you Ukraine for bringing something so amazing to our untrained ears!
Where can I buy more of their tracks?!?
Judging from the snippets alone, Cerkovka catches my attention the most, but I don’t understand what the Ukranian broadcaster is trying to do. Shum is the only fully released song among the three and I’m pretty sure that makes a lot of people biased towards it. At the same time, a jury has already decided which song Go_A will be singing in May, BUT for some strange reason they still release the snippets as if people could choose. Like, what’s the point in sharing snippets of songs that were candidates, but didn’t make it? Snippets are usually used to tease… Read more »
“tserkovka” immediately grabbed me as well. I wonder did they strike a deal with Go_A that they will promote several album tracks to boost public interest in the band, not just their single?
But yes, I agree, it’s strange to spend so much effort producing a video and promoting one song out of three potential candidates, but not the others?
I do hope it’s a real choice, I’m not as much of a fan of Shum as other here.
The snippets sound promising, especially “Tserkovka”. “Shum” is great but a bit too repetitive for Eurovision, in my humble opinion. 🙂
From the snippets, my top 3 are:
1. Tserkovka
2. Rano (is it really “early”? Not “morning”?)
3. Shum
It is possible that if I heard entire songs I would change my mind though.
In Serbo-Croatian, ”rano” means ”early” as well, and Google translate claims it’s the same in Ukrainian.
but in polish as well as in ukrainian “rano” means “morning”
“Rano” means “early” in Ukrainian. Ukrainian word for “morning” is “ranok”. I’m from Ukraine, I can guarantee that.
“Rano” means “early” in Ukrainian.
PLS UKRAINE PICK TSERKOVKA
Idk, Shum seems like an obvious winner to me. Other songs are not even on the same level.
I can already imagine millions of Eurofans raving at home if “Shum” gets picked to represent Ukraine… Go_A is not your stereotypical EDM group. I mean they are, but they blend EDM with Ukrainian folk music. They are a SURE QUALIFIER with that song!
Perfect like every years, Ukraine send high quality entry like Italy. Not generic like Sweden and Russia.
This can be absolutely great – France this year is on a very high level and obviously The Roop will win again in Lithuania and will I will already have two favourites for Rotterdam.
Perhaps also three of them with Go_A´s entry. Eurovision needs this sound and style. I´m very looking forward !
I also love that it’s not just un-generic, it’s a super Ukrainian sound as well. Very in line with ONUKA and other contemporary Ukrainian artists, this is such a clear expression of countries in Eurovision bringing something uniquely theirs to the table. Regardless of whether it’s your taste or not, we should all applaud a contest that isn’t 42 identical G:Son pop tracks or ballads.
If Shum wins, that means 2 of our 4 current songs have tempo changes…
Redeem yourself, the ghost of Icebreaker
I love that they are continuing to sing in Ukrainian and not being forced to sing them in English
NOT IMPRESSED BIG TIME.
MY DEEPEST APOLOGIES. THEY ALL SOUNDS THE SAME AND ALL SOUNDS LIKE LAST YEAR. YEAH.. SPECIAL, ETHNIC, STAND IN OR STAND OUT, YOU HEARD ONE, YOU HEARD THEM ALL.
VELYKYY DISAPPOINTMENT
Psst…you forgot to turn off your caps lock
Maybe i didnt? Mmmmm
I AM QUITE SURE I DID NOT
I agree 🙁 i couldnt manage to listen snippets until the end how annoying they felt, had to turn off 🙁
no way people start blaming Khayat for the leaked info, are you crazy? ugh!
They all sound the same to me!
agree, they all the same stunning!
Stunning in how boring they can be and how annoying the singer voice can be, like torture.
Exactly. Heard one heard them all.
You obviously know nothing about eastern european folklore my friend. But that’s alright. But at least, stop being disrespectful.
I already see how folks gonna say Ukraine will have NQ if they pick Shum/Rano/Tserkovka haha!
I’m sure they will qualify with any of these, and don’t forget about staging , in this department Ukraine almost never failed
I would have liked if they released an EP with all three songs to listen to them all side by side but Shum is the pick for me.
The snippets of the other two don’t give me the ethnic vibes I crave.
But, I am beyond happy to not hear a word of English anywhere in there 🙂
Shum for the win !
i mean seriously, go_a didn’t tease the other songs like they did ‘shum’ as a youtube premiere or an instagram post. it’s so obvious they want it, and the public wants it. the decision panel would be complete idiots if they don’t pick it!
Ukraine’s coming back STRONG
Tserkovka (the Church) for the win!
so we will have Church of the Church cult lol
but seriously, I love this one the most
First of all I’d like to congratulate them for choosing to publicize their song on 4 February rather than around 10 March as it was planned. It seems that they believe it is futile to release their song among 30 others since it could get easily lost in this sea of songs. Regarding the songs, I think it is somewhat unfair to judge an already released song (that needs to be limited to 1 minute though) and 2 snippets. I like Shum but I think Solovey was better so I don’t think that this is necessarily their best option. My… Read more »
Who’s reporting that rano is the winner?
one of the biggest youtube music blogger in Ukraine, he posted it on his Insta stories,
he is friend of Khayat’s manager and Khayat is very close friend with the youngest member of Go_A band Igor (he plays on flute) they used to work a lot together on and off stage
so people assumed that Khayat leaked info about the song only because he is close friend of flutist Igor?
but why he would do it? it makes no sense lol
So, the song called “Early” has been declared a winner a bit… early.
Haha! but it’s totally can be fake leaks and Shum will win
They’re all interesting, and they’re all ethnic which was their goal. So in that regard, this selection is a success. (01) Shum – this is such a cool song, but I worry about it translating to the Eurovision stage (7.5/10) (02) Rano – it’s intense, moody, but I feel like it lost something in the process. Not a fan! (4.5/10) (03) Tserkovka – probably the safest entry, I like it, if Kateryna can pull off the lyrics at this speed it will be very distinguished indeed (7/10) I think I would actually prefer Tserkovka as a package deal because the… Read more »
It’s hard to tell from such short snippets for Rano & Tserkovka, but Rano seems to have the same problems that Solovey had which is not enough instrumentation and too much emphasis on Katya’s great vocals. Something that a lot of Western Europeans found very off-putting. Based on the clips I would pick Tserkovka because it has the biggest EDM/rave feel.
so apparently one of the biggest local music blogger leaked that Rano was picked as ESC entry
he was wrong)
SHUM is the best
Honestly I’m not a fan of Shum, while it is interesting and I like the dark vibe I find it flat and well underwhelming. From the snippets Rano sounds the most interesting to me
I dont like them all 🙁
In Ukrainian groups about Eurovision we have “spoilers” that “Rano” was chosen.
I hope it’s a lie and SHUM won
What exact Ukrainian groups are you talking about? Are they official? I’m rooting for Shum as well
Rano sounds so hard rocking wow!
Tserkovka has amazing beat )))
and Shum is epic !
so I don’t know what I would pick, they all are amazing, but we need full versions asap
I think the reaction to SHUM was so positive they’ve made an exception and added it to the selection, even though previously stated it wasn’t going to be included in the selection.
Well I think it’s pretty much “SHUM”. It sounds good, cool sound and very different to what we are used to listen. We’ll stand out for sure and impact viewers. With a good staging this could climb up to the top 10. Better than “Solovey” though I think it will need to be cut down to 3 min.
1)Go-a said our esc song will be out in February
2)Go-a released ‘Shum’ but said it’s not for ESC
3) Broadcaster said song will be picked by jury and released in March 10
4) Go-a releasing song in February 4 and ‘Shum’ potentially their entry
what a mess, lmao!
Hmm, Shum sounds the best to me
It has to be SHUM.
It’s an unusual situation, because comparing a song I already know and love with 2 10 seconds snippets is nothing but unfair. Though I’m now very intrigued to listen to “Rano”.
All sound great! Rano sounds promising but for now, I’m still leaning mainly towards Shum. I’ve playing it quite a lot on Spotify.
Ukraine: Go_A release “SHUM”… Delegation confirms it’s not their song for Eurovision 2021
Also Ukraine (possibly): Go_A will represent Ukraine with “SHUM” at Eurovision 2021
You just gotta love Ukraine 😀
so true! LMAO!
Tserkovka is more like “Little Church” instead of “to Church”. It sounds very intriguing to me. I wanna hear more; it seems much more EDM influenced. I like Shum but I worry that having to cut 1.5 minutes of the released version will butcher it by removing all the instrumental sections.
1) Tserkovka
2) SHUM
3) Rano
I love Go_A and how they just do their own thing. Nobody else is delivering this level of uniqueness. The only ones close are probably The ROOP and Little Big but it’s not the same. Go_A is just so different to the rest.
i REALLY like Go_A’s songs and effort.
Based on the snippers:
1) SHUM
2) Rano
3) Tserkovka
These snippets get me really excited for ESC. Thanks Ukraine! My first two can top Israël, Albania and even France for me (and for Rano, it’s not even a full song yet). So thrilled for this!
As always with Ukraine we have ‘unexpected’ surprises lol
I like all 3 songs, but Rano is my fav so far
One thing is certain – Ukraine will be in my top 10 this year. Probably top 5. Shum is absolutely stunning and the other two seem mesmerizing as well. I knew that Go_A and the Ukrainian juries, led by Jamala, won’t be picking anything generic. These songs are just fantastic! Shum is already in my top 3 of all songs released from NFs so far.
Theory: Go_A wanted SHUM from the beginning, said it was their entry (in their insta stories) but then UA:PBC interfered cause they wanted to have the last word. Eventually, they might have realised that SHUM is actually the best entry and now they wanna reveal their choice earlier cause there is no reason to wait as SHUM is a finished product and they don’t need to shoot a music video. I have to be careful though with that assumption cause I love SHUM so much and it would be hard to be disppointed again cause I already checked off thinking… Read more »
intresting thoughts, I’m just glad that all 3 songs sounds unique and will stand out no matter which one is picked
Lowkey think that Shum isn’t the song. It is too long, they filmed the video without the support budget of the broadcaster, which is very unusual for an internal selection + i’ve heard that most of the lyrics are from folk songs.. but we will see.
they said they filmed Shum videoclip on smartphone during one day
I mean it certainly looks that way hahah. Like I doubt they would do that for their eurovision song + again all music videos from internal selections are usually made with the help of the broadcaster.
I think that Shum has been selected cause there is no way they made a music video for the other two in like 4 days….
SHUM is amazing and Its gonna be one of my favorites!
Well, there goes Ukraine sailing straight into my top spot! I’ve not heard the whole songs but it is clear to me whichever they pick is going to be my favorite confirmed artist so far. I love Shum already and both the other two sound like they’re going to be great, Rano with it’s rock sensibilities and Tserkovka being very intriguing.
Well done Go_A!
Shum is by far their best release. Hope they give us a good version since its more than 4 minutes long
Go Shum!!! I would like if Rano and Tserkovka have an official release, though.
I love how Go_A says they have their song, and then they don’t, but then releases SHUM, says it is not for Eurovision, and then it potentially is. I wouldn’t be surprised if that one is selected since it seems to have good audience appeal but I hope we can hear the full version of the other two as well