Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Ukraine participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. In addition to participating in the contest, the Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv after winning the competition in 2016 with the song "1944" performed by Jamala. The Ukrainian entry for the 2017 contest was selected through a national final, which NTU organised in collaboration with the commercial broadcaster STB.
| Eurovision Song Contest 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Ukraine | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Vidbir 2017 | |||
| Selection date(s) | Semi-finals: 4 February 2017 11 February 2017 18 February 2017 Final: 25 February 2017 | |||
| Selected entrant | O.Torvald | |||
| Selected song | "Time" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | Yevhen Halych Yevhen Kamenchuk | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 24th, 36 points | |||
| Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Background
Prior to the 2017 Contest, Ukraine had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirteen times since its first entry in 2003.[1] The nation had won the contest on two occasions: in 2004 with the song "Wild Dances" performed by Ruslana and in 2016 with the song "1944" performed by Jamala. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Ukraine had managed to qualify to the final in every contest they participated in thus far. Ukraine had been the runner-up in the contest on two occasions: in 2007 with the song "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" performed by Verka Serduchka and in 2008 with the song "Shady Lady" performed by Ani Lorak. Ukraine's least successful result had been 19th place, which they achieved during the 2005, with the song "Razom nas bahato" performed by GreenJolly.
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, NTU 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. NTU withdrew from the contest for one year in 2015 due to the unstable financial and political situation caused by the conflict in east Ukraine.[2][3] In 2016, NTU collaborated with the commercial broadcaster STB in order to organise a national final to select Ukraine's entry, resulting in the selection of an entry that went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest. NTU's collaboration with STB continued in 2017.
Before Eurovision
National final
The Ukrainian national final took place at the Palace of Culture "KPI" in Kyiv 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 by Serhiy Prytula and broadcast on both UA:Pershyi and STB as well as online via NTU's YouTube broadcasts.[4][5]
Format
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. 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 three 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:[7]
- Konstantin Meladze – Composer and producer
- Jamala – singer-songwriter, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 for Ukraine
- Andriy Danylko – comedian and singer, represented Ukraine in 2007 as the drag artist Verka Serduchka
Competing entries
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] In addition, interested performers could also attend auditions that were held between 6 November and 11 December 2016 in the following cities and locations:[8]
- 6 November 2016: Odessa (Hotel "Marenero")
- 13 November 2016: Dnipro (Hotel "Dnipropetrovsk")
- 4 December 2016: Lviv (Hotel "Reikartz")
- 11 December 2016: Kyiv (STB Headquarters)
Composer and producer Konstantin Meladze was assigned as the music producer of the show and was the lead in reviewing the received submissions and shortlisting entries to compete in the national final.[4] On 17 January 2017, the twenty-four selected competing acts were announced.[9] 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 (English translation) | Composer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Aghiazma | "Synthetic Sun" | Kora Rex, Aghiazma |
| Anastasia Prudius | "Flow" | Anastasia Prudius, Anton Karskiy |
| Arsen Mirzoyan | "Geraldine" | Arsen Mirzoyan, Paul Manandise |
| Detach | "Distance" | Aleksey 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" | Dmitriy Kadnay, Fil Kolyadenko, Anton Karskiy |
| Kuznetsov | "Deep Shivers" | Ruslan Kuznetsov |
| Laliko | "Sugar Whisper" | Lali Ergemlidze |
| Letay | "Svit chekaye" (World waits) | Ilya Reznikov |
| MamaRika | "We Are One" | Anastasiya Kochetova, Ivan Klimenko, Very the Jerry |
| Mélovin | "Wonder" | Konstantin Bocharov, Mickey Mic |
| Mila Nytych | "Mystery" | Yulia Hashevskaya |
| Monochromea | "Blue Bird" | Kristina Hromyak |
| O.Torvald | "Time" | Yevhen Halych, Yevhen Kamenchuk |
| Panivalkova | "Dokuchayu" (Bother) | Panivalkova |
| Payushchie Trusy | "Singing Pants" | Volodymyr Bebeshko, Olga Stepura |
| Roma Veremeychik & Lumiere | "Make It Real" | Roma Veremeychik |
| Rozhden | "Saturn" | Panos Liassi, Rafael Ishman, Rozhden |
| Salto Nazad | "O, mamo!" (Oh, mom!) | Ivan Klimenko |
| SKAI | "All My Love for You" | Oleh Sobchuk, John Hill |
| Tayanna | "I Love You" | Max Barskih, Tetiana Reshetniak |
| Vitaly Kozlovsky | "I'm Your Light" | Dima Bananov, Maryna Skomorokhova |
| Vivienne Mort | "Iniy" (Frost) | Daniela Zayushkina |
Online wildcard selection
In addition to the online form and auditions, artists and composers also had the option of submitting their entries into an online wildcard selection which accepted entries between 1 September 2016 and 10 January 2017.[6] The entries were published online at STB's official website and users were able to cast one vote per day. While at first the entry with the highest number of votes was to directly advance to the final of the competition, the winner, "Deep Shivers" performed by Kuznetsov, competed in the second semi-final instead.
| Online Wildcard (Top 10) – 1 September 2016 – 10 January 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Artist | Song (English translation) | Votes | Place |
| Kyiv | Kuznetsov | "Deep Shivers" | 11,820 | 1 |
| Kyiv | Denis Povaliy | "Written On Your Heart" | 10,311 | 2 |
| Kyiv | Katya Syvun | "Pryvyd" (Ghost) | 2,479 | 3 |
| Kharkiv | Legenda Folium | "My Space" | 2,199 | 4 |
| Lutsk | One Light Inside | "Stay" | 1,920 | 5 |
| Kryvyi Rih | Kseniya Popova | "Let it Fall" | 1,919 | 6 |
| Kyiv | Litvinkovich | "Nasha lyubov" (Our love) | 1,375 | 7 |
| Kyiv | Alex Angel & Lady Gala | "Running for Love" | 1,296 | 8 |
| Ivano-Frankivsk | Nataliya Pylyponyuk & Dzhoan Sereso | "Serenada Ukrayini" (Serenade Ukraine) | 1,293 | 9 |
| Kryvyi Rih | Oksana Pryimak | "Za krai" (Over the edge) | 1,077 | 10 |
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 4 February 2017. The top two entries 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. "I Love You" performed by Tayanna and "O, mamo!" performed by Salto Nazad were the qualifiers. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2017 Belarusian Eurovision entrants Naviband and 2017 Georgian Eurovision entrant Tamara Gachechiladze performed their entries "Historyja majho žyccia" and "Keep the Faith" as guests. Naviband also performed a Belarusian version of the Eurovision 2016 winning song "1944" by Jamala.
| Semi-final 1 – 4 February 2017 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 & 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 |
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 11 February 2017. The top two entries 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. "Saturn" performed by Rozhden and "Thank You for My Way" performed by Illaria were the qualifiers.
| Semi-final 2 – 11 February 2017 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Semi-final 3
The third semi-final took place on 18 February 2017. The top two entries 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. "Time" performed by O.Torvald and "Wonder" performed by Mélovin were the qualifiers. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2017 Spanish Eurovision entrant Manel Navarro performed the 2017 Spanish entry "Do It for Your Lover" as a guest.
| Semi-final 3 – 18 February 2017 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Final
The final took place on 25 February 2017. The six entries that qualified from the semi-finals competed. The winner, "Time" performed by O.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. 193,622 votes were registered by the televote during the show. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2017 French Eurovision entrant Alma and 2017 Polish Eurovision entrant Kasia Moś performed their entries "Requiem" and "Flashlight" as guests. O.Torvald and Tayanna were tied at 10 points each but since O.Torvald received a higher score from the public they were declared the winners.
| Final – 25 February 2017 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 took place at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine and consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May and the final on 13 May 2017.[10] All countries except the "Big 5" (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 qualifies to compete in the final.[11] In addition to their participation in the final, Ukraine is also required to broadcast and vote in the second semi-final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[12] On 25 January 2016, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in.[13]
| Points awarded to Ukraine (final) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Televote | ||||
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
| Jury | ||||
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
Points awarded by Ukraine
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Jury members
The following five members comprised the Ukrainian jury:[14]
- Yurii Rybchynsky – Chairperson – poet, dramatist, scriptwriter
- Illaria – singer, songwriter, finalist of the Ukrainian National Selections in 2014 and 2017
- Sergii Grachov – composer, arranger
- Yana Pryadko – producer
- Sergii Gagarin (Serzh Gagarin) – radio presenter, producer
| Split voting results from Ukraine (Semi-final 2) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
| Y. Rybchynsky | S. Grachov | Y. Pryadko | S. Gagarin | Illaria | Average 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 |
| Split voting results from Ukraine (final) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
| Y. Rybchynsky | S. Grachov | Y. Pryadko | S. Gagarin | Illaria | Average 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 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 |
References
- "Ukraine Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- Україна бере тайм-аут на рік у конкурсі Євробачення. 1tv.com.ua (in Ukrainian). NTU. 19 September 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- "Eurovision 2015: Ukraine announces exit". bbc.com. BBC News. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- "СТБ и UΛ:Перший проведуть другий національний відбір на «Євробачення-2017»". stb.ua (in Ukrainian). STB. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- Artigas, Joel (1 September 2016). "Ukraine kicks off its national selection". escxtra.com. escXtra. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- "ПРАВИЛА проведення в Україні національного відбору учасника Пісенного конкурсу «ЄВРОБАЧЕННЯ – 2017» ( (далі – Правила)". stb.ua (in Ukrainian). STB. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- "Стало відомо ім'я другого члена журі нацвідбору «Євробачення-2017»". stb.ua (in Ukrainian). STB. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- "Eurovision 2017 - O.Torvald (Ukraine / Украина)". ESCKAZ. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- "Определены имена полуфиналистов Национального отбора на «Евровидение-2017»". stb.ua (in Ukrainian). STB. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- Jordan, Paul (9 September 2016). "Kyiv to host Eurovision 2017!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- Brey, Marco (24 June 2016). "Search for 2017 Eurovision host city has started". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- Jordan, Paul (21 January 2016). "Semi-Final Allocation Draw on Monday, pots revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Jordan, Paul (29 April 2017). "Who will be the expert jurors for Eurovision 2017?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
External links
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Note: Entries scored out are when Ukraine did not compete | |||||||||||