KRUTЬ appealed to Suspilne regarding TVORCHI’s performance in the Ukrainian selection for Eurovision 2023.
UA:PBC has revealed in a statement that KRUTЬ made an appeal against the performance of the Vidbir 2023 winners TVORCHI. KRUTЬ who placed 2nd argued that TVORCHI’s performance breached competition rules due to the doubling of lead vocals in the live broadcast, as well as the band’s links to a record label that is active in Russia.
The statement from the Ukrainian broadcaster reads:
The Organizing Committee of the National Eurovision Song Contest considered the appeal of KRUT.
On December 19, the organizing committee of the National Selection for Eurovision 2023 at an extraordinary meeting considered the appeal of the finalist of the National Selection KRUT regarding the musical accompaniment of TVORCHI’s performance in the final of the competition, as well as regarding the publication of the track “Heart Of Steel” by the distribution label “Believe”.
Regarding the first question, according to the participant KRUTЬ, in the chorus of the band TVORCHI, a double of the main vocal sounded live, which is a violation of the Rules of the National Selection: “to perform the Song in the Selection vocally live to the accompaniment of a recorded musical accompaniment, which may include a recording of backing vocals; at the same time, the corresponding phonogram should not contain the main vocal, doubles of the main vocal”.
The Eurovision Organizing Committee heard the assessment of the music producer of the National Selection, Dmytro Shurov. He noted that when listening to the broadcast recording of the TVORCHI finals performance, additional processing can be heard at the indicated seconds, which may be a double. This is a subtle musical nuance that only professionals will be able to notice. At the same time, he noted that he does not believe that such non-compliance of the record with the requirements of the rules is essential for evaluating the performance and choosing TVORCHI as winners.
The organizing committee took into account that several finalists committed a number of minor violations during the National Selection, but none of them was a sufficient reason to disqualify any of the participants. The organizing committee could not fail to take into account the special conditions of this selection both for the training of artists and for the work of the music producer, the team of organizers and producers of the television version.
“During the preparation of the finale, a technical error may have occurred, due to which a double of Jeffrey’s live vocals sounded on the air in the soundtrack of the TVORCHI band for certain seconds. Such imprudence could really happen: during the war, under extremely difficult working conditions, with regular lack of communication and electricity. Due to the difficult sound on the site (subway trains) during the rehearsals, no one, including me, heard it before the broadcast. All of us – participants, organizers and music producer – worked in equal conditions and went through many difficult moments in order to make the final the way people saw it. For example, I listened to the lists of finalists while looking for a mobile connection in the newly liberated Kherson. I am very sorry that such a situation happened and I apologize to all participants of the final and the audience for this incident. I believe that he cannot question the colossal work of the entire team. We surprised the world again, because no one expected that the final could be held at such a high level under these circumstances. Both the jury and the people made their choice by voting for the most convincing number of the final,” noted Dmytro Shurov.
Regarding the second question, according to KRUTЬ, this company continues to work on the territory of the aggressor country. According to information received by the Society, “Believe” is a French company engaged in distribution in Europe and Asia. The distribution of finalists’ songs by this company is not a violation of the rules of the National Selection. 5 out of 10 finalists of the National Selection published their competition songs through the distributor “Believe”, three more worked with him until recently.
The Eurovision Organizing Committee decided that the appeal of the finalist KRUTЬ is not a reason to terminate TVORCHI’s participation in the National Selection. In addition, at the suggestion of Dmytro Shurov, the organizing committee decided to improve the organization of the selection in the future to involve an additional specialist who will monitor the compliance of the broadcast sound of the participants’ performances with the rules during rehearsals and live broadcasting.
TVORCHI will compete in the Grand Final of Eurovision 2023 on May 13. Despite not being able to host the contest, Ukraine automatically qualifies for the final as the reigning champions.
Image Source: Olga Goshovska / 24 Kanal | Source: UA:PBC
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. Kalush Orchestra gave Ukraine their third victory in 2022 with “Stefania”. Ukraine is the last remaining country with a 100% semi-final qualification record.
Honestly, if I were in charge of the Ukrainian broadcaster, I’d probably make the same choice. With part of the country under occupation, this really isn’t the time for pointless drama.