Eurovision 2013: Ukraine

It's a blustery, warm day here in Anchorage, and all the snow has a coat of ice on it.  So instead of going out and risking falling down on ice (yet again) this year, I've decided to stay home and catch up on some of the national finals that have already been broadcast. 

The Ukrainian national final was held back on December 21st, with twenty different acts vying to represent their country in Malmö, Sweden.   It was, in my opinion, a glitch filled, self-serious event, lacking the fun and showmanship of the Belorussian final.   But as Ukrainian Eurovision finals go, it appears to be above board, with only one act withdrawing after their performance and apparently no ill will from artists after the show.

Which means, good job NTU.  It looks like you're able to run a successful national final. 

The Winner

 

Zlata Ognevich   "Gravity"

 

 

Ognevich won on her third attempt to represent Ukraine and I have to say Ukrainians made a very sensible choice with sending her to Sweden. She's got a clear, powerful voice--well suited to the ballad she's singing.  She was also on key the entire time, which is not something that could be said about some of the other acts.  It also doesn't hurt that Ms. Ognevich is pretty easy on the eye, which will likely go over as well. 

 

The only criticism I have is with the harmonies.  The balance between Ms. Ognevich and her backing singers is out of whack, but I'm certain that this will be fixed by the time May comes around and this song will do very well.

 

Should Have Won

 

Usually this section is reserved for the song that was better than the one that actually one the contest.  And "Gravity" is a well crafted Eurovision pleaser.  So this time I'm using this to highlight a singer instead of the song.

 

 

 

Tetyana Shirko   "Feeling Like A Sir"

 

Ms. Shirko came in a credible fourth with this rather weird song about making someone "feel like a sir". I had to go to the Internet to figure out what "feeling like a sir" meant, and that's a really bad sign for a song lyric. 

 

(For those of you who are interested "feeling like a sir" means feeling elegant and refined.  Follow this link for more information on the etymology.)

 

However, I can only compare Ms. Shirko's vocals to Minnie Riperton, one of my favorite soul singers ever.  I hope Shirko comes back in future years with better songs...

 

My Favorite

 

Hmm.  I don't necessarily have a favorite, none of them made me want to jump out and embrace the singers whole-heartedly, like Jamala did in 2011 and Gaitana did in 2012, but I'd like to highlight a couple of other songs that were interesting if nothing else.

 

 

 

DiO.Filmy   "Medlyak:

 

 

If I were choosing a song to amuse my friends at my Eurovision party, "Medlyak" would be the obvious choice.  They're the only performer to have quirk in spades.

 

 





 

Matvey Vermiyenko   "Otkryvay menya"

 

 

I'm also impressed by the performance of Matvey Vermiyenko.  Vermiyenko's genderfuck, much influenced by David Bowie circa Ziggy Stardust, is not something I particularly expected.   He came in dead last, but his performance was surprising in a very conservative country.  I'm not a fan of the song or performance, but I admire him trying to win a place in the Eurovision Song Contest.

 

And that's Ukraine's national final in a nutshell.  Now to tackle Festivali i Këngës, the Albanian selection show...