UA:PBC, the Ukrainian national broadcaster, have revealed the contestants that will take part in Vidbir 2018, the Ukrainian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. The news was revealed on the official UA:PBC Eurovision Twitter account today.
The 18 competing acts are:
- Tayanna
- Kadnay
- Pur: Pur
- Mélovin
- Illaria
- The Erised
- Serhii Babkin
- Сonstantine
- Kozak System
- The ВЙО
- Julinoza
- Dilemma
- Kazka
- Yurcash
- Mountain Breeze
- Ingret Kostenko
- Vil’na
- Laud
Several of the competing artists have taken part in previous editions of Vidbir. Illaria, Mélovin and Tayanna all made it to the final of the 2017 edition, while Pur: Pur were finalists of the 2016 edition.
The competing songs will be revealed at a later date. However, Mélovin has revealed that he will sing “Under the Ladder”, which was released yesterday. Tayanna will perform “Tick Tock”, after her original submission “Kvitva” was disqualified for being performed before September 1.
A semi-final allocation draw will take place on January 19 in Kyiv to determine which semi-final each artist will perform in. The two semi-finals will take place on February 10 and 17, with the grand final on February 24. The winner will represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. This is the third year that Vidbir will select the Ukrainian Eurovision representative. It was first used in 2016. The winner of that edition, Jamala, also went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest with her song “1944”.
Source: UA:PBC
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. Last year 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.
