Ukraine: Alina Pash, Kalush Orchestra and Wellboy among eight Vidbir 2022 finalists

In a press conference on Monday, Suspilne announced the acts that are going to compete in Vidbir 2022, Ukraine’s Eurovision 2022 selection. This was after the broadcaster earlier published a longlist of 27 acts. A total of eight acts will fight for the right to represent the country at Eurovision in Turin on 12 February.

This year, the Ukrainian selection will be decided on one night. This is a drastic change from the original Vidbir selections produced by commercial broadcaster STB, where the production company held a show that was similar to the country’s X Factor format. 

Friends Production, who earlier won the tender to produce the new Vidbir, was responsible for the local adaption of Star Academy – Fabryka Zirok, which ran on Novy Kanal from 2007 to 2011. During the press conference, Suspilne producer Yaroslav Lodygin said that the producers listened to every single of the 284 entries. 

Vidbir 2022 show details

The production company’s general director Oleksiy Honcharenko told Eurovision commentator Timur Miroshnychenko in his online show Eurovision Dressing Room that the choice of a one-night national final was very deliberate. He stated that he only wanted the eight most interesting acts to take the stage to give the audience a feeling that the choice would be difficult. On top of that, he said that he wanted to incorporate a variety of genres. 

During the press conference, Honcharenko said that it is not “Euroradio”, but “Eurovision”, stressing the importance of not only the vocal aspect, but also of the visual aspect of the performances. 

Responding to a question from Eurovision blogger Lyonya Polishchuk, the producers confirmed that the body of the jury is not yet fully decided. The producers confirmed that Mariya Yefrosinina will host the show after Serhii Prytula hosted the show on STB for several years. Timur Miroshnychenko will be the Green Room host. 

The show’s will be held in a different studio than earlier Vidbirs too. This year show will be held in the Centre of Culture and Arts of the National Aviation University in Kyiv. In addition to the announcement of the acts, a draw to determine the running order was held, similar to the Eurovision semi-final allocation draw. 

Vidbir 2022: list of participants and draw

First half

Cloudless – “All Be Allight” 

Michael Soul – “Demons” 

Our Atlantic – “Moya lyubov”

LAUD – “Head Under Water”  (DISQUALIFIED)

Barbelen – “Hear My Words” (REPLACEMENT)

Second half

Alina Pash – “Tini zabutykh predkiv” (“Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”)

Kalush Orchestra – “Stefaniia” 

Roxolana – “Girlzzzz” 

Wellboy – “Nozzy Bossy” 

Vidbir 2022: acts and songs

Alina Pash – “Tini zabutykh predkiv” (“Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”)

Alina Pash will definitely bring some flair to the contest. The title of her song is a reference to an extremely famous 1960s film about the culture and spirit of her home region. The Transcarpathian-born “Bitanga” hitmaker has been topping fan wishlists for several years. Alongside Wellboy, Alina Pash was one of the young Ukrainian artists to appear on the Tina Karol collaboration album Молода кров (Young blood). She has received international criticial acclaim too. Most recently, Alina won a Music Moves Europe Talents Award (a successor of the EBBA Awards) at Eurosonic Noorderslag, following in the footsteps of alyona alyona. 

Wellboy – “Nossy bozzy”

One of the hottest names on the list is Wellboy. Born as Anton Vel’boy in the Sumy Oblast village of Hrun’, he rose to fame participating in the 2019 series of X Factor Ukraine. There, he was an outspoken favourite of judge Andriy Danylko. He scored one of the biggest local hits of 2021 with “Husy” (“Geese”). Similar to that single, his current music style combines countryside kitsch with rap and alternative pop — in stark contrast with the typical Ukrainian pop star. 

Kalush Orchestra – “Stefaniia”

Hailing from the Carpathian town of the same name, Kalush Orchestra combines ancient Ukrainian traditions with modern sounds of rap and hip hop.  One of its members, Ihor Didenchuk, already has some experience under his belt. In 2021, he stood on the Eurovision stage as part of Go_A. Besides him, the group consists of rapper Oleh Psyuk, backing Dzhonni Dyvnii, multi-nstrumentalists Tymofii Muzychuk and Vitalii Duzhyk — as well as Kylymen, a DJ and man of the dark Kalush streets. One of the latest singles the band released, “Shtomber Womber”, is three minutes long.

ROXOLANA – “Girlzzzz”

Prior to her participation in the ninth season of Holos krainy, Roksolana Sirota worked as a manager in an agricultural business. During Holos krainy, she reached the Knock-Out stage as part of Potap’s team. After this,  ROXOLANA signed to the Mamamusic label, which houses some of the country’s biggest acts including Verka Serduchka. Although she has yet to break through to the mainstream, ROXOLANA has collaborated with the likes of KAZKA and Nina Matvienko.  

LAUD – “Head Under Water”

Having participated in multiple editions of Vidbir, LAUD – whose real name is Vladyslav Karashchuk – was always a jury favourite. He participated in the 2016 edition of Holos krainy, but his Vidbir participations were his big breakthrough. Since those, he has duetted with Tayanna, performed at Atlas Weekend and most recently, released his album Dual. 

Michael Soul – “Demons”

Vidbir 2022 got the Belarusian flavour in its selection as Michael Soul made the final eight the selection. The Belarusian singer has worked from Kyiv since 2021. Eurovision fans might remember him from his attempts to represent his country of birth. In 2019, he was a local fan favourite with the Vlad Freimann-produced (that’s Vlad from VAL) song “Humanize”, but eventually came fourth. He previously sang as a backing vocalist for NAVIBAND at the contest in 2017.

Our Atlantic – “Moya lyubov” (“My love”)

Our Atlantic is an indie-pop group from Uman, consisting out of graduates from the P. D. Demuts’kiy Uman Regional Musical College. The group took part in Koza Music Battle, one of the largests music competitions in Western Ukraine and performed at the festival Faine misto. In 2018, the group released their first mini-album Pillows, followed by their debut EP Час розваг in 2020. 

Cloudless – “All be alright”

Pop-rock electronic four-piece band Cloudless rose to fame during the 2020 edition of Vidbir. The group participated in the first semi-final of the show, but was just eliminated, finishing in fourth position. The Kyiv group have since used 80s rock influences in their music, which is noticible in their Eurovision 2022 bid “All be alright”. Their songs have been featured in countless popular Ukrainian films and series, including Oryol i reshka and #Shkola.