| Vidbir | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Natsionalnyi Vidbir orNatsvidbir |
| Genre | Song contest |
| Developed by | 1+1 Production Former: Starlight Production Friends Production |
| Presented by | Timur Miroshnychenko Julia Sanina Vasyl Baidak Former: Zlata Ognevich Kateryna Pavlenko Masha Efrosinina Serhiy Prytula Oleksandr Pedan Dmytro Tankovych |
| Judges | Jamala Andriy Danylko Serhiy Tanchynets Former: Taras Topolia Julia Sanina Tina Karol Yaroslav Lodygin Vitaliy Drozdov Ruslana Konstantin Meladze Yevhen Filatov |
| Opening theme | "The Feeling" by Jason Tarver and Louise Dowd (2016–2020) |
| Country of origin | Ukraine |
| Original language | Ukrainian |
| No. of seasons | 9 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | STB Studios,Hostomel(2016) Palace of Culture "KPI",Kyiv(2017–2020) NAU Center of Culture and Arts, Kyiv(2022) Maidan Nezalezhnosti metro station, Kyiv(2023) National WWII History Museum, Kyiv(2024) |
| Original release | |
| Network | STB (2016–2020) Pershyi (2016–2022) Suspilne Kultura (2023–2025) |
| Release | 6 February 2016 (2016-2-6) – present |
Natsionalnyi Vidbir (Ukrainian:Національний відбір,IPA:[nɐts⁽ʲ⁾ioˈnɑlʲnɪjwid⁽ʲ⁾ˈbir]; meaning "National Selection"), informally known asVidbir, is aUkrainian musical competition originally organized bySuspilne andSTB, which determines theUkrainian representative at theEurovision Song Contest. In late August 2021, it was announced that the two broadcasters had terminated their partnership, and that Suspilne was looking for a new selection format for theEurovision Song Contest 2022, thus bringing an end to the original concept forVidbir.[1] In October 2021, Suspilne announced that the 2022 edition ofVidbir would be organized by it alone under a new format.[2]
In the first year of the show, the local record by SMS voting was set by receiving 344,268 unique votes, 37.77% of which supportedJamala,[3] who eventually became the winner of theEurovision Song Contest 2016.
1 | Winner |
2 | Second place |
3 | Third place |
X | Entry selected but did not compete |
| † | Upcoming |
| Year | Artist | Song | At Eurovision | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final | Points | Semi | Points | |||
| 2016 | Jamala | "1944" | 1 | 534 | 2 | 287 |
| 2017 | O.Torvald | "Time" | 24 | 36 | Host country | |
| 2018 | Mélovin | "Under the Ladder" | 17 | 130 | 6 | 179 |
| 2019 | Maruv | "Siren Song" | Withdrew[a]X | |||
| 2020 | Go_A | "Solovey" | Contest cancelled[b]X | |||
| 2022 | Alina Pash | "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" | Disqualified[c]X | |||
| 2023 | Tvorchi | "Heart of Steel" | 6 | 243 | Automatically qualified[d] | |
| 2024 | Alyona Alyona andJerry Heil | "Teresa & Maria" | 3 | 453 | 2 | 173 |
| 2025 | Ziferblat | "Bird of Pray" | Upcoming† | |||
Over the 8 editions of Vidbir, 11 music experts have been on the jury, two of themRuslana andJamala areEurovision winners in2004 and2016 respectively. Jamala is the only member of the Vidbir cast who has participated in every edition, as a contestant in 2016, as a jury member in 2017—2019, 2022—2025 and as an interval act in 2020.Several participants have had different roles in different editions of Vidbir.Julia Sanina was a participant in 2016, a jury member in 2023 and a presenter in 2024.Tina Karol was a jury member in 2020 and 2022, as well as a music producer in 2025.Kateryna Pavlenko is the winner of Vidbir 2020, host of the 2023 edition and will be one of the jurors of 2025 edition.Starting from 2023, the participants of the expert jury are selected through the Ukrainiane-governance appDiia.
Key:
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Color key
| Year | Premiere | Final | Contestants | Episodes | Winner | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 February 2016 | 21 February 2016 | 18 | 3 | Jamala "1944" | The Hardkiss "Helpless" | Sunsay "Love Manifest" | |
| 4 February 2017 | 25 February 2017 | 24 | 4 | O.Torvald "Time" | Tayanna "I Love You" | Mélovin "Wonder" | |
| 10 February 2018 | 24 February 2018 | 18 | 3 | Mélovin "Under the Ladder" | Tayanna "Lelya" | Kadnay "Beat of the Universe" | |
| 9 February 2019 | 23 February 2019 | 16 | 3 | Maruv "Siren Song" | Freedom Jazz "Cupidon" | Kazka "Apart" | |
| 8 February 2020 | 22 February 2020 | 16 | 3 | Go_A "Solovey" | Khayat "Call for Love" | Krutь "99" | |
| 12 February 2022 | 8 | 1 | Alina Pash "Tini zabutykh predkiv" | Kalush Orchestra "Stefania" | Wellboy "Nozzy Bossy" | ||
| 17 December 2022 | 10 | 1 | Tvorchi "Heart of Steel" | Krutь "Kolyskova" | Jerry Heil "When God Shut the Door" | ||
| 3 February 2024[g] | 11 | 1 | Alyona Alyona andJerry Heil "Teresa & Maria" | Ziferblat "Place I Call Home" | Mélovin "Dreamer" | ||
| 8 February 2025 | 10 | 1 | Ziferblat "Bird of Pray" | Molodi "My Sea" | Masha Kondratenko "No Time to Cry" | ||
The final took place on 21 February 2016. The six entries that qualified from the semi-finals competed. The winner, "1944" performed byJamala, was selected through the combination of votes from a public tele-vote and an expert jury. Ties were decided in favour of the entries that received higher scores from the public tele-vote.[4] "1944" is the first Eurovision Song Contest song to feature lyrics in theCrimean Tatar language. 382,602 votes were registered by the tele-vote during the show.[5] In addition to the performances of the competing entries,2016 Irish Eurovision entrantNicky Byrne performed the 2016 Irish entry "Sunlight" as a guest.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Brunettes Shoot Blondes | "Every Monday" | 1 | 3.40% | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | NuAngels | "Higher" | 3 | 5.94% | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| 3 | The Hardkiss | "Helpless" | 6 | 21.11% | 5 | 11 | 2 |
| 4 | Jamala | "1944" | 5 | 37.77% | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| 5 | Sunsay | "Love Manifest" | 4 | 18.20% | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| 6 | Pur:Pur | "We Do Change" | 2 | 13.58% | 3 | 5 | 4 |
Final took place on 25 February 2017. Special guests includedAlma,Manel Navarro,Tamara Gachechiladze,Naviband, andKasia Moś.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Salto Nazad | "O, mamo!" | 1 | 11.35% | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 2 | Mélovin | "Wonder" | 2 | 31.22% | 6 | 8 | 3 |
| 3 | O.Torvald | "Time" | 5 | 25.57% | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| 4 | Illaria | "Thank You for My Way" | 4 | 7.43% | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Tayanna | "I Love You" | 6 | 16.69% | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| 6 | Rozhden | "Saturn" | 3 | 7.73% | 2 | 5 | 4 |
Final took place on 24 February 2018. Special guests includedMikolas Josef andMadame Monsieur. 179,455 unique votes were received from SMS and App voting.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Kadnay | "Beat of the Universe" | 3 | 18,61% | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| 2 | Tayanna | "Lelya" | 6 | 16,62% | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| 3 | The Erised | "Heroes" | 2 | 6,48% | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | Laud | "Waiting" | 4 | 11,56% | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| 5 | Vilna | "Forest Song" | 1 | 12,92% | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | Mélovin | "Under the Ladder" | 5 | 33,81% | 6 | 11 | 1 |
The final took place on 23 February 2019 with special guestsLake Malawi andBilal Hassani. More than 167,500 unique votes were received from SMS and app voting. Maruv was declared the winner after receiving the most votes among the six finalists. On 26 February 2019, three days after the final was aired, Ukraine withdrew from theEurovision Song Contest 2019 afterMaruv andUA:PBC were unable to reach an agreement on her participation in the contest as a result of controversy.[6][7]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Juries | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freedom Jazz | "Cupidon" | 6 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| 2 | Yuko | "Galyna guliala" | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 3 | Maruv | "Siren Song" | 5 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| 4 | Brunettes Shoot Blondes | "Houston" | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | Kazka | "Apart" | 3 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| 6 | Anna Maria | "My Road" | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote (SMS) / App | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Krutь | "99" | 5 | 19,90% | 4 | 9 | 3 |
| 2 | Jerry Heil | "Vegan" | 1 | 7,00% | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Go_A | "Solovey" | 6 | 25,43% | 6 | 12 | 1 |
| 4 | David Axelrod | "Horizon" | 3 | 11,30% | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Khayat | "Call for Love" | 4 | 20,93% | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| 6 | Tvorchi | "Bonfire" | 2 | 15,44% | 3 | 5 | 4 |
Following the cancellation of theEurovision Song Contest 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,Go_A was internally re-selected torepresent Ukraine in the2021 edition, this time with the song "Shum".[8][9]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote (SMS) / App | Total | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1[h] | Cloudless | "All Be Alright" | 1 | 3,410 | 4.81% | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| 2 | Michael Soul | "Demons" | 2 | 1,239 | 1.75% | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| 3 | Our Atlantic | "Moia liubov" | 5 | 1,605 | 2.27% | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| 4 | Barleben | "Hear My Words" | 4 | 2,740 | 3.87% | 3 | 7 | 5 |
| 5 | Kalush Orchestra | "Stefania" | 6 | 31,634 | 44.66% | 8 | 14 | 2 |
| 6 | Roxolana | "Girlzzzz" | 3 | 5,034 | 7.11% | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| 7 | Wellboy | "Nozzy Bossy" | 7 | 5,642 | 7.96% | 6 | 13 | 3 |
| 8 | Alina Pash | "Tini zabutykh predkiv" | 8 | 19,535 | 27.58% | 7 | 15 | 1 |
Followingcontroversy regarding her travel history,Alina Pash's status as a legitimate participant, and therefore winner, ofVidbir was challenged, which resulted in her participation being ceased bySuspilne as well as her withdrawal. The runner-up,Kalush Orchestra, was chosen as the Ukrainian entrant for theEurovision Song Contest 2022.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Public vote (viaDiia) | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Moisei | "I'm Not Alone" | 1 | 5,393 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | OY Sound System | "Oy, tuzhu" | 5 | 2,496 | 2 | 7 | 8 |
| 3 | Demchuk | "Alive" | 7 | 3,936 | 4 | 11 | 5 |
| 4 | Jerry Heil | "When God Shut the Door" | 8 | 45,657 | 9 | 17 | 3 |
| 5 | Fiinka | "Dovbush" | 6 | 11,109 | 7 | 13 | 4 |
| 6 | Krutь | "Kolyskova" | 10 | 33,614 | 8 | 18 | 2 |
| 7 | Tember Blanche | "Ya vdoma" | 2 | 3,411 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 8 | Angelina | "Stronger" | 3 | 2,424 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| 9 | 2Tone | "Kvitka" | 4 | 4,681 | 5 | 9 | 6 |
| 10 | Tvorchi | "Heart of Steel" | 9 | 54,041 | 10 | 19 | 1 |
In this edition, the public determined a wildcard entry through an online vote.[10] During the show, aired on 3 February 2024, the voting app crashed, causing the voting window to be extended to the following day.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Public vote (viaDiia) | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Yaktak | "Lalala" | 6 | 107,227 | 10 | 16 | 4 |
| 2 | Ingret | "Keeper" | 8 | 15,238 | 2 | 10 | 6 |
| 3 | Nazva | "Slavic English" | 2 | 14,852 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| 4 | Anka | "Palala" | 5 | 19,183 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
| 5 | Drevo | "Endless Chain" | 4 | 16,235 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| 6 | Alyona Alyona andJerry Heil | "Teresa & Maria" | 10 | 723,297 | 11 | 21 | 1 |
| 7 | Mélovin | "Dreamer" | 9 | 82,838 | 9 | 18 | 3 |
| 8 | Skylerr | "Time Is Running Out" | 3 | 38,177 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| 9 | Ziferblat | "Place I Call Home" | 11 | 64,276 | 8 | 19 | 2 |
| 10 | Yagody | "Tsunamia" | 7 | 62,269 | 7 | 14 | 5 |
| 11 | Nahaba | "Glasss" | 1 | 23,593 | 5 | 6 | 10 |
The final was held on 8 February 2025 with many veteran Ukrainian Eurovision performers as guests, includingAlyona Alyona,Jamala,Jerry Heil,Kalush,Kateryna Pavlenko,Mélovin,Ruslana,Tina Karol, andTvorchi.Artem Kotenko andSvitlana Tarabarova also performed "Hear Me Now," which finished in third place atJunior Eurovision Song Contest 2024.[11][12]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Public vote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Vlad Sheryf | "Wind of Change" | 1 | 2,302 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | Abiie | "Dim" | 2 | 5,595 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 3 | Molodi | "My Sea" | 7 | 70,885 | 9 | 16 | 2 |
| 4 | Future Culture | "Waste My Time" | 5 | 2,338 | 2 | 7 | 8 |
| 5 | Masha Kondratenko | "No Time to Cry" | 8 | 62,439 | 8 | 16 | 3 |
| 6 | Khayat | "Honor" | 10 | 44,299 | 6 | 16 | 4 |
| 7 | Fiїnka | "Kultura" | 6 | 52,858 | 7 | 13 | 5 |
| 8 | Krylata | "Stay True" | 4 | 11,726 | 4 | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Ziferblat | "Bird of Pray" | 9 | 90,390 | 10 | 19 | 1 |
| 10 | DK Enerhetyk | "Sil" | 3 | 19,556 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Year | Semi-Final | Final | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Second | Third | |||
| 2016 | 9.7% | 10.3% | — | 13.5% | [13][14][15] |
| 2017 | 10.6% | 8.8% | 8.2% | 9.1% | [16][17][18][19] |
| 2018 | 9.0% | 11.3% | — | 13.9% | [20][21][22] |
| 2019 | 10.8% | 11.1% | 13.1% | [23][24][25] | |
| 2020 | 10.7% | 10.4% | 13.3% | [26][27][28] | |
| 2022 | — | 3.83% | [29] | ||
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