Kateryna Pavlenko, the lead singer of Go_A has been recognised with an award in Ukraine.
In a post on Facebook, Ruslan Stefanchuk has shared that he awarded the 2021 Ukrainian representitive, Kateryna Pavlenko, the prestigious Ukranian “Woman of the Third Millennium” award earlier in May.
Mr. Stefanchuk, who is the Vice Speaker of the Supreme Council of Ukraine, also shared his positive thoughts and feelings on Kateryna & Go_As achievements in the Eurovision Song Contest and the continued success of Shum.
“It has fulfilled an important and original mission in our hearts – to unite. The motives of modern dance beats, charming ethnic vocals and powerful guitar drive were intertwined in the song itself. The whole family watched Go_A’s performance at Eurovision and this music invited us to unite – both the younger and older generations danced.”
He went on to praise the success of Shum in music charts across Europe and even the wider world and the way it has promoted a positive image of Ukraine and Ukrainian culture.
“For representing Ukraine with dignity, for patriotism and popularization of Ukrainian culture in the world, for affirmation of national identity. It seems that one of our greatest achievements is that we have started to produce fashion for the Ukrainian language and modern Ukrainian culture all over the world.”
He finished by praising the artistry of Go_A and said
“participation in Eurovision is just the beginning of a great book.”
Shum has already gone viral and has been streamed across the world. It has entered the charts of many countries and has been in the Top 50 in over 10 countries already.
Who are Go_A?
Go_A are a folktronica group who were formed in Kyiv in 2012. The band is made up of Kateryna Pavlenko (vocalist), Taras Shevchenko (multi-intrusentalist), Ihor Didenchuk (sopiklar) and Ivan Hrihoryak (guitar). They combine Ukrainian singing styles with modern dance beats, African drums and guitar.
Source: Novynarnia (In Ukranian) // Image Source: EBU / Thomas Hanses
Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest
Ukraine first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003, when Oleksandr Ponomariov performed “Hasta la vista”. The following year Ruslana brought the country their first win with the song “Wild Dances”. It was a feat that would be replicated in 2016 by Jamala with her song “1944”; her emotionally charged song scored a record 534 points to take victory in Stockholm. In 2017 O.Torvald represented the country on home soil with the song “Time”. The group finished in 24th place, Ukraine’s worst result at the contest to date.
In Russia that would never happen. Congrats to Kateryna and Go_A! 👏👏