Article written by Volodymyr Tsvyk
A year ago, Jerry Heil graced the Eurovision stage with alyona alyona, representing Ukraine with the powerful “Teresa & Maria” in Malmö. The performance secured Ukraine a place in the top three. Already known at home for her viral hits, Eurovision propelled Jerry to the international spotlight.
Speaking exclusively to Wiwibloggs, Jerry opened up about Eurovision as a spiritual home, her post-contest creative outburst, and the deeper layers of her new music. This includes the dark pop track “Love Me Hard”, which she calls a bridge to the next chapter of her music journey.
“Eurovision is a family” – Jerry Heil reflects back on 2024
For those who need a reminder, Jerry Heil tried to get to Eurovision three times – in 2020, 2022 and 2024. She got lucky last year, a true third time lucky. It brought the singer from Vasylkiv not just Eurovision fame, but also support and admiration from an audience across the continent.
For Jerry, Eurovision was never just a one-night performance. “It feels like family,” she tells our correspondent Volodymyr Tsvyk. “A place where you’re supported, where you can be yourself. Where your culture is truly heard.”
“Now I meet fans everywhere – in the UK, Switzerland, Sweden, even Malta! The energy of Eurovision fans is phenomenal. They don’t just watch the final, they follow national selections too.”
As her global profile has grown, Jerry says the biggest expectations now come from within: “It’s not pressure. It’s inspiration.”
Since last year’s Eurovision, Jerry has released a total of 24 songs, culminating in her most personal and sonically diverse project to date – the full-length album АРХЕТИПИ (“Archetypes”). Twenty-four songs is a staggering output for any artist, and especially one still processing the emotional weight of representing her country during wartime.
“I didn’t even realise it was 24!” she laughs. “I guess I was driven by the urge to evolve, to be heard, to find that golden grail of Ukrainian music that blends tradition and modernity.
Asked how she avoided burnout, Jerry smiles: “Maybe I’m a phoenix. I do burn out – but I rise again. Faith gives me strength. And my team. And my light-bringers – the fans who come to every show, who make art inspired by mine. I feel responsible for them and deeply grateful.”
Jerry Heil’s new album discussed track-by-track
Released on May 2, АРХЕТИПИ is more than an album. It’s a self-portrait in sixteen songs, each representing a distinct facet of Jerry Heil’s identity: the naive girl, the rebellious introvert, the joyful flirt from 2019, the mythical Mavka and others.
“These aren’t Jungian archetypes,” she clarifies. “They’re mine. Born from emotional patterns, personal states. Sometimes I find myself thinking, ‘Oh, it’s you again, Melancholy. Come in, let’s write about the beauty of meaninglessness.’.”
Some tracks on the album were written over five years ago, while others were born in the chaotic weeks after Eurovision 2024. All of them are strikingly different from each other, but beautifully complex in the same way, just like Jerry herself.
“If every day is different,” she says, “why should my songs sound the same?”
In her track “IF YOU CHEAT”, Jerry shares a furious, flirtatious persona unlike any she’s worn before. “It’s rare for me,” she admits. “But I love how it flips the script. It’s the woman saying, “If you cheat, I’ll rip your hair out.” You don’t know where the joke ends and the threat begins.” She wrote the song during the emotional period of time after the Eurovision – a moment of rawness, she says, where she allowed a different kind of energy to come through.
But fury isn’t the only feeling coursing through АРХЕТИПИ. “КИШЕНЬКА”, written during the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, offers a deeply maternal image: a mother placing soil into her son’s pocket as he heads to war. It’s one of the album’s most sombre, cinematic tracks – tender and haunting.
Other moments are brighter, though no less layered. “РИБКИ ЗА СКЛОМ” is a joyful tribute to alyona alyona – not just a co-singer, but a friend. “It’s my way of saying thank you to Alyona and her early albums,” Jerry explains. “I’ve played her songs for taxi drivers abroad – they’re always blown away.”
“НАЇВНА” brings a delicate softness to the project, reflecting the childlike wonder that still lives inside her.
Meanwhile, “НА КИЛИМІ” leans into punk energy and a poetic monologue – a hybrid of spoken word and defiant vulnerability. “I judge people by their clothes and their faces,” she says in the lyrics, before asking the listener to simply lie next to her on the carpet.
Then there’s the playful sensuality of “КОТУСИК”, a song originally written during her studies at Berklee. It’s a purring, cozy, slightly chaotic love letter to intimacy. “It’s about that moment when you want to be held like a cat under a scratchy wool blanket,” she laughs.
Closing the album is a song unlike anything Jerry has released before: the dark, seductive, English-language track “Love Me Hard”. She calls it the “bridge” to her next era.
“It has this magnetic, dangerous energy. It’s about dominance and surrender. About how love can feel violent even when it’s mutual. It asks: are there rules in love? And if so, who writes them?” The song, and its video, blur the line between reality and performance. Jerry sees it as a turning point – sonically, emotionally, and visually.
What’s next for Jerry Heil?
While many artists try to replicate the success of a Eurovision song, Jerry is doing the opposite. She’s shapeshifting, taking risks, and going deeper. “If I return to Eurovision,” she says, “it won’t be to repeat myself. It would have to be with a new story which impresses the world with something Ukrainian, something unique.”
A next album is already taking shape – Jerry began working on it while finalizing “ARKHYETYPY”. As she explains, “Nothing I do will negate ‘Archetypes’. It’s a continuation. I started working on the new songs even while finishing the last album. Because music nourishes me.”
For Jerry, the transition from “LOVE ME HARD” to what’s coming next isn’t a break – it’s an evolution. “What lies beyond that bridge? Art. Just art,” she grins.
But before all of that, she will also perform on stage in Basel!
Are you excited to see Jerry Heil back at Eurovision as part of an interval act? Have you listened to her latest album? Let us know in the comments down below!
Excited to hear her song with Within Temptation!