| Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2017 | ||||
| Country |  Ukraine | |||
| Selection process | Vidbir 2017 | |||
| Selection date | 25 February 2017 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Time" | |||
| Artist | O.Torvald | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Placement | ||||
| Final result | 24th, 36 points | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
Ukraine was represented at theEurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Time" written byYevhen Halych and Yevhen Kamenchuk. The song was performed by the bandO.Torvald. In addition to participating in the contest, the Ukrainian broadcasterNational Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in2016 with the song "1944" performed byJamala. NTU organised a national final in collaboration with commercial broadcasterSTB in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2017 contest inKyiv. The national selection consisted of three semi-finals, held on 4, 11 and 18 February 2017, and a final, held on 25 February 2017; eight entries competed in each semi-final with the top two from each semi-final advancing to the final. In the final, "Time" performed by O.Torvald was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.
As the host country, Ukraine qualified to compete directly in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Ukraine's running order position was determined by draw. Performing in position 22 during the final, Ukraine placed twenty-fourth out of the 26 participating countries with 36 points.
Prior to the 2017 contest, Ukraine had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fourteen times since its first entry in2003, winning it in2004 with the song "Wild Dances" performed byRuslana and in2016 with the song "1944" performed byJamala.[1] Following theintroduction of semi-finals for the2004 contest, Ukraine had managed to qualify to final in every contest they participated in thus far. Ukraine had been the runner-up in the contest on two occasions: in2007 with the song "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" performed byVerka Serduchka and in2008 with the song "Shady Lady" performed byAni Lorak. Ukraine's least successful result had been 19th place, which they achieved during the2005, with the song "Razom nas bahato" performed byGreenJolly.
The Ukrainian national broadcaster,National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU), broadcasts the event within Ukraine and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. In the past, UA:PBC had alternated between both internal selections and national finals in order to select the Ukrainian entry. Between 2011 and 2014, NTU had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Ukraine, with both the public and a panel of jury members involved in the selection. In September 2014, the Ukrainian broadcaster announced that the country would not participate in the2015 because of the unstable financial and political situation caused by thewar in east Ukraine.[2][3] Along with the announcement of their withdrawal, NTU revealed that it had discussed the matter with the organising body of the contest, theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU), and that their absence would be limited to one year only with an expected return in 2016.[3] In 2016, NTU in collaboration with the commercial broadcasterSTB had set up a national final with several artists and shows to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Ukraine, with both the public and a panel of jury members involved in the selection. NTU's collaboration with STB continued in 2017.
Vidbir 2017 was the second edition ofVidbir which selected the Ukrainian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. The competition took place at the Palace of Culture "KPI" inKyiv and consisted of three semi-finals held on 4, 11 and 18 February 2017 and a final on 25 February 2017. All shows in the competition were hosted bySerhiy Prytula and broadcast on bothUA:Pershyi andSTB as well as online via NTU'sYouTube broadcasts.[4][5]
The selection of the competing entries for the national final and ultimately the Ukrainian Eurovision entry took place over three stages.[6] In the first stage, artists and songwriters had the opportunity to apply for the competition either through an online submission form or by attending a scheduled audition during designated dates. Applicants also had the option of entering an online wildcard selection, the winner of which was to gain direct entry into the competition's final. However, it was later announced that the winner would compete in the competition's semi-finals instead. Twenty-four acts were selected and announced on 17 January 2017.[7] The second stage consisted of the televised semi-finals which took place on 4, 11 and 18 February 2017 with eight acts competing in each show. Two acts were selected to advance from each semi-final based on the 50/50 combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury. Both the public televote and the expert jury assigned scores ranging from 1 (lowest) to 8 (highest) and the two entries that had the highest number of points following the combination of these scores advanced to the final. The third stage was the final, which took place on 25 February 2017 and featured the six acts that qualified from the semi-finals vying to represent Ukraine in Kyiv. The winner was selected via the 50/50 combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury. Both the public televote and the expert jury assigned scores ranging from 1 (lowest) to 6 (highest) and the entry that had the highest number of points following the combination of these scores was declared the winner. Viewers participating in the public televote during the four live shows had the opportunity to submit a single vote per phone number for each of the participating entries via SMS or the Teleportal mobile application. In the event of a tie during the semi-finals and final, the tie was decided in favour of the entry that received the highest score from the public televote.
The jury panel that voted during the four shows consisted of:[8]
Artists and composers had the opportunity to submit their entries via an online submission form which accepted entries between 1 September 2016 and 15 January 2017.[6] Interested performers could also attend auditions that were held between 6 November and 11 December 2016 in the following cities and locations:[9]
In addition to the online submission and auditions, artists and composers also had the option of submitting their entries for the wildcard selection at STB's official website which accepted entries between 1 September 2016 and 10 January 2017. The entries were then published online and users were able to cast one vote per day.[6] Composer and producerKonstantin Meladze was assigned as the music producer of the show and was the lead in reviewing the submissions received from the online submission and auditions, of which twenty-three entries were shortlisted to compete in the national final.[4] On 17 January 2017, the twenty-four selected competing acts, including the online wildcard winner, "Deep Shivers" performed by Kuznetsov, were announced.[7] The twenty-four acts were allocated to one of three semi-finals during a draw that took place on 20 January, which was hosted by Konstantin Meladze.
| Artist | Song | Votes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kuznetsov | "Deep Shivers" | 11,820 | 1 |
| Denis Povaliy | "Written On Your Heart" | 10,311 | 2 |
| Katya Syvun | "Pryvyd"(Привід) | 2,479 | 3 |
| Legenda Folium | "My Space" | 2,199 | 4 |
| One Light Inside | "Stay" | 1,920 | 5 |
| Kseniya Popova | "Let it Fall" | 1,919 | 6 |
| Litvinkovich | "Nasha lyubov"(Наша любов) | 1,375 | 7 |
| Alex Angel and Lady Gala | "Running for Love" | 1,296 | 8 |
| Nataliya Pylyponyuk and Dzhoan Sereso | "Serenada Ukrayini"(Серенада Україні) | 1,293 | 9 |
| Oksana Pryimak | "Za krai"(За край) | 1,077 | 10 |
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Aghiazma | "Synthetic Sun" | Kora Rex, Aghiazma |
| Anastasia Prudius | "Flow" | Anastasia Prudius, Anton Karskiy |
| Arsen Mirzoyan | "Geraldine" | Arsen Mirzoyan, Paul Manandise |
| Detach | "Distance" | Oleksiy Verenchik, Evhen Astafiev |
| Green Grey | "Future Is On" | Green Grey |
| Illaria | "Thank You for My Way" | Ivan Rozin, Anna Rozina, Illaria |
| Kadnay | "Freedom in My Mind" | Dmytro Kadnay, Pylyp Kolyadenko, Anton Karskiy |
| Kuznetsov | "Deep Shivers" | Ruslan Kuznetsov |
| Laliko | "Sugar Whisper" | Lali Ergemlidze |
| Letay | "Svit chekaye"(Світ чекає) | Ilya Reznikov |
| MamaRika | "We Are One" | Anastasiya Kochetova,Ivan Klymenko, Very the Jerry |
| Mélovin | "Wonder" | Kostyantyn Bocharov, Mickey Mic |
| Mila Nytych | "Mystery" | Yulia Hashevskaya |
| Monochromea | "Blue Bird" | Kristina Hromyak |
| O.Torvald | "Time" | Yevhen Halych, Yevhen Kamenchuk |
| Panivalkova | "Dokuchayu"(Докучаю) | Panivalkova |
| Payushchie Trusy | "Singing Pants" | Volodymyr Bebeshko, Olga Stepura |
| Roma Veremeychik and Lumiere | "Make It Real" | Roman Veremeychik |
| Rozhden | "Saturn" | Panos Liassi, Rafael Ishman, Rozhden Anusi |
| Salto Nazad | "O, mamo!"(О, мамо!) | Ivan Klymenko |
| Skai | "All My Love for You" | Oleh Sobchuk, John Hill |
| Tayanna | "I Love You" | Max Barskih, Tetiana Reshetniak |
| Vitaly Kozlovsky | "I'm Your Light" | Dmytro Bananov, Maryna Skomorokhova |
| Vivienne Mort | "Iniy"(Іній) | Daniela Zayushkina |
The three semi-finals took place on 4, 11 and 18 February 2017. In each semi-final eight acts competed and the top two entries determined following the combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury advanced to the final of the competition, while the remaining six entries were eliminated.
In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guests in the first semi-final included2017 Belarusian Eurovision entrantNaviband performing the 2017 Belarusian entry "Historyja majho žyccia" and a Belarusian version of theEurovision 2016 winning song "1944" byJamala, and2017 Georgian Eurovision entrantTamara Gachechiladze performing the 2017 Georgian entry "Keep the Faith", while2017 Spanish Eurovision entrantManel Navarro performed the 2017 Spanish entry "Do It for Your Lover" as a guest in the second semi-final.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Skai | "All My Love for You" | 6 | 9.54% | 5 | 11 | 4 |
| 2 | Roman Veremeychik and Lumiere | "Make It Real" | 2 | 6.30% | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | Monochromea | "Blue Bird" | 3 | 4.35% | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| 4 | Laliko | "Sugar Whisper" | 1 | 4.29% | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 5 | Salto Nazad | "O, mamo!" | 8 | 11.82% | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| 6 | MamaRika | "We Are One" | 5 | 8.76% | 4 | 9 | 5 |
| 7 | Tayanna | "I Love You" | 7 | 30.05% | 8 | 15 | 1 |
| 8 | Arsen Mirzoyan | "Geraldine" | 4 | 24.90% | 7 | 11 | 3 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Letay | "Svit chekaye" | 1 | 5.76% | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 2 | Mila Nytych | "Mystery" | 3 | 7.66% | 3 | 6 | 7 |
| 3 | Kuznetsov | "Deep Shivers" | 2 | 18.08% | 7 | 9 | 5 |
| 4 | Aghiazma | "Synthetic Sun" | 5 | 7.66% | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| 5 | Detach | "Distance" | 4 | 17.71% | 6 | 10 | 3 |
| 6 | Rozhden | "Saturn" | 8 | 11.18% | 5 | 13 | 2 |
| 7 | Panivalkova | "Dokuchayu" | 6 | 10.37% | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| 8 | Illaria | "Thank You for My Way" | 7 | 21.59% | 8 | 15 | 1 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Payushchie Trusy | "Singing Pants" | 2 | 3.48% | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| 2 | O.Torvald | "Time" | 7 | 19.70% | 7 | 14 | 1 |
| 3 | Anastasia Prudius | "Flow" | 3 | 7.71% | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| 4 | Vitaly Kozlovsky | "I'm Your Light" | 1 | 5.27% | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | Kadnay | "Freedom in My Mind" | 8 | 14.50% | 5 | 13 | 3 |
| 6 | Mélovin | "Wonder" | 5 | 23.84% | 8 | 13 | 2 |
| 7 | Green Grey | "Future Is On" | 4 | 10.15% | 4 | 8 | 5 |
| 8 | Vivienne Mort | "Iniy" | 6 | 15.36% | 6 | 12 | 4 |
The final took place on 25 February 2017. The six entries that qualified from the semi-finals competed. The winner, "Time" performed byO.Torvald, was selected through the combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury. Ties were decided in favour of the entries that received higher scores from the public televote.[10] 193,622 votes were registered by the televote during the show. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guests included2017 French Eurovision entrantAlma performing the 2017 French entry "Requiem" and2017 Polish Eurovision entrantKasia Moś performing the 2017 Polish entry "Flashlight". O.Torvald andTayanna were tied at 10 points each at the end of the show but since O.Torvald received a higher score from the public they were declared the winners.
| Draw | Song | K. Meladze | Jamala | A. Danylko | Total | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "O, mamo!" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | "Wonder" | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 2 |
| 3 | "Time" | 2 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 5 |
| 4 | "Thank You for My Way" | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 4 |
| 5 | "I Love You" | 6 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 6 |
| 6 | "Saturn" | 5 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 3 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Salto Nazad | "O, mamo!" | 1 | 21,978 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 2 | Mélovin | "Wonder" | 2 | 60,455 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
| 3 | O.Torvald | "Time" | 5 | 49,514 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| 4 | Illaria | "Thank You for My Way" | 4 | 14,388 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Tayanna | "I Love You" | 6 | 32,319 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| 6 | Rozhden | "Saturn" | 3 | 14,968 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
O.Torvald made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Time" as the Ukrainian Eurovision entry. On 2 April, O.Torvald performed during theLondon Eurovision Party, which was held at theCafé de Paris venue inLondon and hosted byNicki French andPaddy O'Connell.[11] On 8 April, O.Torvald performed during theEurovision in Concert event which was held at theMelkweg venue inAmsterdam, Netherlands and hosted byCornald Maas andSelma Björnsdóttir.[12]
All countries except the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the host country, are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As the host country, Ukraine automatically qualified to compete in the final on 13 May 2017.[13] In addition to their participation in the final, Ukraine is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 25 January 2016, Ukraine was assigned to broadcast and vote in the second semi-final on 11 May 2017.[14][15]
In Ukraine, both the semi-finals and the final were broadcast onUA:Pershyi with commentary byTetyana Terekhova and Andriy Horodyskyi.[16] The three shows were also broadcast via radio onRadio Ukraine with commentary by Olena Zelinchenko and Roman Kolyada.[17] The Ukrainian spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Ukrainian jury during the final, was2013 Ukrainian representativeZlata Ognevich.
O.Torvald took part in technical rehearsals on 5 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 10, 12 and 13 May. This included the semi-final jury show on 10 May where an extended clip of the Ukrainian performance was filmed for broadcast during the live show on 11 May and the jury final on 12 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[18] As the host nation, Ukraine's running order position in the final was decided through a random draw that took place during the Heads of Delegation meeting in Kyiv on 14 March 2017. Ukraine was drawn to perform in position 22.[19] Following the second semi-final, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. While Ukraine had already been drawn to perform in position 22, it was determined that Ukraine would perform followingGermany and before the entry fromBelgium.[20]
The Ukrainian performance featured the members of O.Torvald performing on stage in a band set-up in black costumes together with a backing vocalist. The stage featured a head that transitioned from grey to blue colours, with its eyes lit up in light blue and changed to red towards the end of the performance. The LED screens displayed predominately turquoise colours that turned into black at points, accompanied by a mountainous imagery that extended upwards showing a sunrise before the conclusion of the song.[21][22] The backing vocalist that joined O.Torvald on stage was Dasha Mineyeva.[23] Ukraine placed twenty-fourth in the final, scoring 36 points: 24 points from the televoting and 12 points from the juries.
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Ukraine and awarded by Ukraine in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
| Score | Televote | Jury |
|---|---|---|
| 12 points | ||
| 10 points | ||
| 8 points | ||
| 7 points |  Azerbaijan | |
| 6 points | ||
| 5 points | ||
| 4 points |  Georgia |  Israel |
| 3 points |  Portugal | |
| 2 points |  Poland | |
| 1 point |  Belarus |  Bulgaria |
|
|
The following members comprised the Ukrainian jury:[26]
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y. Rybchynsky | S. Grachov | Y. Pryadko | S. Gagarin | Illaria | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 |  Serbia | 11 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 18 | ||
| 02 |  Austria | 12 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 12 | ||
| 03 |  Macedonia | 13 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 13 | |
| 04 |  Malta | 14 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 12 | 17 | ||
| 05 |  Romania | 15 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| 06 |  Netherlands | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 14 | |
| 07 |  Hungary | 16 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| 08 |  Denmark | 17 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 15 | ||
| 09 |  Ireland | 3 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 11 | |
| 10 |  San Marino | 18 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | ||
| 11 |  Croatia | 1 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| 12 |  Norway | 5 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 4 |
| 13 |  Switzerland | 7 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 2 | |
| 14 | Belarus | 4 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 |
| 15 | Bulgaria | 2 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 16 |  Lithuania | 8 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 10 | 1 | |
| 17 |  Estonia | 10 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 3 | 8 | |
| 18 | Israel | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y. Rybchynsky | S. Grachov | Y. Pryadko | S. Gagarin | Illaria | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 | Israel | 23 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 17 | ||
| 02 | Poland | 4 | 16 | 24 | 19 | 24 | 18 | 14 | ||
| 03 | Belarus | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 8 |
| 04 | Austria | 22 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 13 | 24 | 22 | ||
| 05 |  Armenia | 8 | 11 | 12 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 16 | ||
| 06 | Netherlands | 9 | 4 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 23 | |
| 07 |  Moldova | 2 | 1 | 16 | 5 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| 08 | Hungary | 10 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 4 |
| 09 |  Italy | 24 | 25 | 11 | 13 | 23 | 21 | 13 | ||
| 10 | Denmark | 11 | 24 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 | ||
| 11 | Portugal | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 10 |
| 12 | Azerbaijan | 12 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 11 | |
| 13 | Croatia | 6 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 15 | |
| 14 |  Australia | 13 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 19 | |
| 15 |  Greece | 7 | 14 | 23 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 21 | ||
| 16 |  Spain | 18 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 25 | ||
| 17 | Norway | 21 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 1 | |
| 18 |  United Kingdom | 14 | 19 | 20 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 18 | ||
| 19 |  Cyprus | 16 | 12 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 12 | ||
| 20 | Romania | 17 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 3 | |
| 21 |  Germany | 15 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 23 | 24 | ||
| 22 | Ukraine | |||||||||
| 23 |  Belgium | 19 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| 24 |  Sweden | 20 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 7 | |
| 25 | Bulgaria | 25 | 7 | 17 | 23 | 25 | 22 | 9 | 2 | |
| 26 |  France | 1 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
