Vidbir is the first Eurovision 2023 selection on our calendars: The Ukrainian national final is set to be held on 17 December in Kyiv’s Independence Square metro station, according to a tender call released by Suspilne. With the submission window closing next week, Ukrainian microblog Muzvar has rounded up all the latest Vidbir gossip.
Vidbir is usually a powerful mix between the established and the new, and this next edition will likely be no exception.
According to Muzvar, big names like Jerry Heil, Khrystyna Soloviy and Krut are among those who are considering submitting a bid to the Ukrainian broadcaster.
Vidbir 2023 most established rumoured acts
Jerry Heil
26-year-old Yana Shemayeva — better known as Jerry Heil — found fame as a YouTuber. She debuted with her song “Okhrana, otmenya” in 2019, which proved to be a smash hit. In 2020, she took part in Vidbir with her song “Vegan”, reaching the final of the show.
Khrystyna Soloviy
29-year-old Khrystyna Soloviy grew up in Lviv and specialised in folk singing throughout her school career. She received her debut on Holos krainy in 2013, but has since gone on to release four albums and receive multiple YUNA nominations, including for Best Singer in 2019. On top of that, she has duetted with Kalush Orchestra and served as a juror in Ukraine’s JESC selection this year.
Krut
Maryna Krut appeared on both Holos krainy and X Factor in Ukraine. However, her big break came with her sweet and soothing Vidbir 2020 song “99”, which won the show’s first semi-final. In the final, it finished in third place. Since then, Krut has established herself as a songwriter, penning songs for Junior Eurovision, among other things.
Chico & Qatoshi
Chico — that’s Roman Kovalenko — and Qatoshi — that’s Mykola Sopronyuk — were both relatively unknown musicians until this Spring. Chico worked as songwriter, most notably composing Wellboy’s “Husy”, while Qatoshi was active as a rapper in his native Chernivtsi. In 2022, after an earlier feat, they collaborated on the track “ZSU Will Win”, with which they achieved a lot of local support. Their follow-up “Lastivki” attracted more than nine million views within three months on YouTube.
Tvorchi
Back in 2020, electro pop duo Tvorchi reached the final of Vidbir, winning the second semi-final of the show with their song “Bonfire”. Although their final performance did not turn out as they had initially hoped it would, success eventually came their way as they quickly became a name in the Ukrainian music scene after their show. In the space of two years, the duo won four YUNAs.
Skylerr & 100lytsia
Skylerr — that’s Valeriya Kurdyavets — took part in the tenth series of X Factor Ukraine, but missed out on the live shows. 100lytsia (pronounced as “sto-LY-tsia”, a pun on the Ukrainian words for “100” and “capital city”) started releasing music in 2021. Both reached fame after their fuse duet “Vechornytsi” achieved popularity, gathering a total of over one million streams on Spotify.
Who would you like to see represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2023? Who would you like to see in Vidbir this year? Let us know in the comments down below!
K A Z K A
Wow, these are some vibes. Looking forward to the national final
I think Khrystyna Soloviy should participate in Eurovision 2023. Her songs are so amazing!
Will they build a stage With a show or will it be green screened like the junior Eurovision participants?
I would love to see Krut’ or Jerry Heil represent Ukraine in Liverpool/Glasgow
Antsya (who were included in Vidbir preselection this year with the amazing “Bomba”) is also rumoured. Vidbir will probably be very exciting once again!
Rooting for Jerry Heil!
So Vidbir will take place on December 17. I wonder if this means Ukraine will be the first country To have their entrant out first before Albania, just like last year With both Bulgaria and Czech Republic? Of course, this depends on when Albania will schedule FIK Which is usually towards the end of December. Heck, maybe we will get somebody out before Ukraine’s selection day, but we’ll see.
Still hoping to see Tayanna winning the selection one day
I wish she had won with Leyla. That’s a song I still go back to.
Or I love you from 2017.
Nice list. And I’m sure it will only get better when the confirmed list is out.
If Chico & Qatoshi are participating, they’ll win.
They produced many songs dedicated to the Ukrainian forces with dance beats that went viral on Ukrainian TikTok and Facebook, etc. They weren’t really known before that, but now their songs are huge.
Would love to see Khayat back in the game, but I also love Tvorchi very much. Pop from Ukraine is so cool!
Bonfire was the highlight of the national selections that year for me!
what about alyona alyona?
waiting ,a return in Vidbir Tayanna and maybe Kazka
Krut would indeed be a nice contribution to the variety at ESC (but of a good kind!).