It’s confirmed: Kalush Orchestra will represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2022 with their song “Stefania”.
In a statement from broadcaster Suspilne, officials confirmed that the band that came second at Vidbir 2022 will be the Ukrainian flag bearers in Turin.
This comes 10 days after Vidbir took place. Kalush won the televote in the national selection, but ended up second as juries preferred Alina Pash’s “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”.
However, Pash was officially disqualified by Suspilne after sending the broadcaster forged documents related to her 2015 trip to Crimea.
Kalush: “We must reaffirm ourselves to the world”
It’s no secret that Ukraine’s political situation is incredibly delicate. The announcement of Kalush Orchestra as representatives came the day after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin recognised the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent countries and sent troops to both areas. This movement has been condemned as an invasion of Ukraine’s territory by a number of countries in Europe and by the United States.
In their statement, vocalist Oleh Psyuk addressed the situation: “In difficult times for our country, we must reaffirm ourselves to the world. That is why we are ready to present Ukraine with dignity to the whole of Europe.”
“We are grateful to everyone who supported us during the final of the National Selection for Eurovision 2022 and gave us first place in the SMS voting. We promise every Ukrainian that we will justify your choice”, he added.
The events leading to Kalush’s final confirmation has been full of drama, and it even led to the dismissal of Vidbir jury member and Suspilne’s former board member Yaroslav Lodygin. The Head of the broadcaster’s board also reacted, describing the technical difficulties in the show as “five minutes of shame.”
Are you satisfied with Kalush’s selection? Do you like “Stefania”? Sound off in the comment section below!
Comments on this article are now closed.
So it’s clear to me now Russia should be banned from Eurovision. There is no place for assailant in this contest.
Support for Ukraine!
Not just Russia… Belarus takes part in this war with soldiers so kick both out from the contest! Behind all toxic trolling haters.. Eurosong is here to connect the nations in Europe that we never ever make war and destroy the bridges between us!
I’m afraid what it could happen with Ukraine now. Will it happen anything similar when Bosnia and Herzegovina started to participate in Eurovision?
Italy 11,5/12
Lithuania 10/12
NEW Ukraine 9,5/12
Norway 9/12
Estonia 8/12
Czech Republic 7,5/12
San Marino 6,5/12
Here kids is a fantastic lesson, if things do not go your way, throw the biggest tantrum that you can, get all your Teddies and throw them as far as you can out of your cots, be rude af bitches to your competitor straight to their face, abuse judges, threaten legal action, and get your feral fans to trawl social media looking for dirt, all this will get you what you want even though you were not good enough in the first place.
Yeah, Russia likes to do that
this song is too shouted, I will not vote for it. Nothing really blends… The main singer is out of tune big time
Oh no, what will they do without your little vote? And if your problem is the live vocal, wouldn’t it be fare to judge their Eurovision performance and not to jump into conclusions beforehand?
They will finish meh without many “little votes”.
I kinda agree but these “little votes” are the reasons that a whole person’s career can change
Or a country’s history
No need to be so toxic… They just expressed their opinion on the song and it’s fine.
You may disagree on it, you know…
I agree on out of tune “big time” bit, but i think the song is fun 🙂
Ukraine can send a sack of potatoes and not only qualify, but also get a decent placing. This entry is actually great and with the right staging and the whole political drama, it could even WIN. It was the same with Jamala – it profited greatly from the sympathy Europeans have for Ukraine and their terrible situation. If Jamala was from Slovenia or Malta, it wouldn’t even qualify, so there’s that. Eurovision IS political and this entry will (like Jamala) represent so much more than just a nice song. At least viewers will read into it; mama Stefania could easily… Read more »
This is not quite right. In 2016, all the buzz was around the Russian Sergey Lazarev, so it looked like the Europeans did not care about politics. From the moment I listened to Jamala’s song I knew she will win. And she did. Because she was the best, and Sergey’s nasal voice couldn’t win over Jamala’s. Simply like that.
But their song is not about politics
I’m sad about Alina Pash but Kalush was my second pick, so I’m not too upset. They’re fun performers and will still qualify with ease. Excited for their performance in Turin this May 🙂
For a while I was concerned about Kalush’s reply to Suspilne’s offer, but I’m relieved they accepted, just for the sake of Ukraine’s participation. As for the song, I like it and I think it’ll do well, regardless of politics 🙂
Well, even though I’m not a huge fan, I must recognize that this song is unique. I will definitely not vote for it, but I can enjoy it to some extent.
Finally! I’ve been on pins and needles whether Kalush Orchestra would accept the offer to be the representative or not and they have accepted. I know it’s going to be rough times for Ukraine ahead, but I am glad that they are not withdrawing from Eurovision.
i actually really like this
no meme
Ukraine may have bigger fish to fry come May, so I do hope they are in Turin! That being said, Ukrainian folk hip hop is a genre that I’ve never heard on the radio in Australia (I can’t imagine why) LOL. I like it, I don’t love it! I am not going to compare this entry to Alina Pash, except to say I would give Alina 8.5/10 and this 7, based purely on musical preference.
Do not like it …. What a mess – bring sand lady with u (Thanks for – in an advance) just my opinion
It´s a good song and they will find his place at the final… not a winner song but a song with good potential for a good place at the final 😉
Well what to say? Staging great. Impression great. Sympathy from the voters great. Asa performance – love it.
BUT so derivitive from last year – the opening vocal section is almost the same as Schum, likewise the instrumental flute break – the same as Schum.
Their song is incredible and deserved to win!! I LOVED it the first time I’ve hard it!! 😀
We already know it’s going to be a brilliantly staged, emotionally-charged performance which will stand out.
Very happy that Ukraine won’t withdraw. I don’t know whether this will qualify or how well it would do in the grand final.
I dont lije this song. But its gonna winnof the situation in Ukraina, thats why peopke love this song
First impressions. The costumes made me question is this a novelty act. And now I can’t get love city groove out of my head.
Baby, baby, baby, you got me going crazy
I’m feeling kinda high, my mind is getting hazy
But when I think of you, I know just what to do
You make me feel so happy when I’m feeling blue
In the morning when the sun shines down on your body
I know we’re really making love now
idk
i kinda hate and like this song
Umm, I don’t know what to think. I really really love Stefania, but the fact that they were chosen after Alina’s disqualification still upsets me a bit. I would have felt better if Kalush Orchestra had won in the first place (no offense to Alina, her song was really great)
Come May most people won’t be aware of the drama and will be reacting to the songs on merit and first impression. It is just people like us who over analyse everything. This will go down a treat and I also imagine a huge audience response to Ukraine.
Nice, we changed the song and we are still in Top 5 🙂
If only there weren’t the rap lyrics parts..
those parts literally make the song. eurovision needs more rap in my opinion it dosent all have to be some pop show
I’m fine with them, I think they suit the song (compared to the rap in Alina Pash’s song… the rap there was HORRIBLE!)!!
I tend to agree with you. Her “spoken word” felt out of place.
Masterpiece
I wish Ukranian broadcaster respected their artist more, I’m happy to see them go, but I just think they are way over the fuss they created with their dumb ruling.
I love Ukraine, but I believe even they (ukrainians) are fed up to see their artists being used as a political tool. Newsflash, you are not entitled to their representation and agenda, have some simpathy and respect for your talents.
Ukrainians just expect their artists will not repeat moscow propaganda narratives.
Ukraine is now my number 1 – like last year. Good job Ukraine. Amazing song.
I love it!
Of course I would prefer if they got there without all the drama we had to read about, but the fact is I love “Stefania” and Ukraine will probably have one more time the most creative entry in Eurovision. Even if I’m not a regular listener of the genre, I believe rap deserves to be more represented in the contest and the way Kalush mix it with folk music makes the whole thing much more palatable to a general audience. It already expanded my musical horizons, which is my favorite thing about ESC.
It’s been exactly the same experience for me. Sanremo opened my ears to it (both Rancore and Willie Peyote won me over during the week), I started listening to more Italian and French music featuring rappers (Madame Monsieur has a bunch of good tracks doing it) and to my surprise 2 of my favorites of this season so far involve rap, the other being “Calle de la Llorería”.
Though I prefer “DÉGRÁ.DÊ” (another one of my favorite tracks of the season), I don’t see Portugal picking it. On the other hand, Fuld Effekt seems to have a good chance in Denmark, especially if Fyr & Flamme’s win indicates the Danish audience want to leave the cozy years behind them. What’s curious is that if all of them get to Eurovision, they’ll be all in the same semi and they won’t even be the only high energy acts there.
If only Portugal would pick it, give us the african flavour into the contest and enrich our diverse experiences hopefully in the Grand Final… Sometimes the unexpected can happen…
It would be great, but I guess the only chance the Portuguese jury would vote for it is if it become a huge televote favorite like “Telemóveis”.
And in the improbable case they make it, I guess the Eurovision juries would be completely insensitive to it like they were to “Birth of a New Age”. But I hope FdC keeps including entries like these, so in the future they may have a better chance to win, because viewers will start getting used to it.
I know you’re not a fan, but they were a change of pace in their decisions. Let’s see if it’ll stick though. At least their lineup is more diverse this year, which maybe is another step on this direction.
Ambitious, I think it has chances of getting top10!
It will grow on people; it did for me. Little rework, even better staging, oh yes! Top 10. I think they should replace “Stefania” with “ukrainia” in the end verses.
Love the song and really hope they get to the finals – it will be amazing to have some representation from them during this time!
Still sad for Alina, but good luck Ukraine, hope to see you in the final!
I’ve seen people like ‘Ukraine is gonna finish bottom 5’. Let it sink in that most of the viewers, nearly ALL of them actually, will know nothing about Alina nor of the Vidbir drama. This can certainly do well if Ukraine applies its annual supply of staging magic.
Not as good as Shadows of forgotten ancestors. But I wish Ukraine all the best!
I like it better.
Good luck Ukraine! Pitty for Alina, she really had a song specially for this situation but its her fault that she went to Crimea illegally and forged documents later.
I hope that Kalush will do a great revamp and that the entire hall in Turin will dance with this song.
What a historical representation. I hope they make it and I hope they do well.
Yes for the song, no for the ethic. Simple. But I wish good luck to them.
And before anyone calls me pro-Russia, I’m not. I’m really with Ukraine in this fight. I just think ukrainian television (not the public) doesn’t deserve to be represented at all. They really did a bad job with this national final disaster.
They are not. Kalush state they are representing their country.
And you think this will change anything for Suspilne? They will applaud themselves for sending a good song and will not question the way they organise the selection or even the way they treat the artists.
Ukrainian television might have done a bad job but in the end the people’s winner prevailed, so they repaired the bad job. it was not the fault of KO so I am very happy for them
I hope they can make it to Eurovision at all, considering everything that’s happening in Ukraine and Russia at the moment. Good luck to them!
But they went to Mach using a Sputnik in 2013. Is it not against the rules?!!!
So Ihor gonna represent Ukraine in Eurovision three year on row, wow 😀
I love this entry. Hope they will do well in Eurovision !!
This is great news! Ukrainian public voted for them, and I see this as a confirmation of Ukrainian democracy coming through. I hope Russia does not send anyone to Eurovision. I am not saying that the Russian act would be representative of Putin, but Europe needs to send a STRONG message to Russia to BACK THE F*** OFF.
Its a music contest. Stop involving politics pls. Both Ukraine and Russia are welcome here.
congratulations to kalush but i’m disappointed how this all turned out. i hope major artists boycott vidbir editions to come because it is by far the most unprofessional and corrupt national selection. i live in the USA but am of ukrainian descent so i have always been so excited to watch my home country’s eurovision selection but unfortunately this edition will be the last i will watch. i’m not going to watch another one of my favorite artists get dragged through the mud because of the broadcasters lack of competency
Really like this!
I love when Ukraine combines their folk and traditional music with more contemporary styles.
We had ethno-dance last year with the amazing Go_A and now we have ethno-rap with Kalush.
Ukraine experiments and I’m happy for them to continue to do so. Fusing your traditional beats with a modern twist is in my opinion, what Eurovision should be.
Best of luck Kalush, best of luck Ukraine.
Great choice for Ukraine. Bringing the party to Turin and proving your spirits remain unbroken.
Not sure why Russia is still allowed to compete when Belarus isn’t. Russia’s actions are far worse, but hope Ukraine goes on to beat Russia easily in May.
ditto!
Great song! The guy is out of tune, but the atmosphere is really nice. My number 11 <3
Great!
Idk how I personally feel about the decision. On the one hand it’s kiiiiiiiinda backstabbing Alina, but on the other (bigger) hand, Ukraine is now still my #1, they won the televoting and Ukraine could use all the positivity it can get rn. Suspilne is VERY lucky that they had such a strong selection of songs.
Who agrees that this would be a fantastic opening to semi final 1?
I was more for Alina’s song, but this song is great too. I really like it. It will end up high.
Aside from music. I feel sorry for people from Ukraine and Russia. Normal people don’t want any war in their yard. This just went too far. If Albanians in Kosovo can unilaterally declare independence from Serbia and be recognized from the West, why can not Russians do the same. And not just them. We have other examples too. I don’t understand neither USA nor NATO.