The Ukrainian national final took place on the evening of 21st February. On Youtube there were English translators which made things a lot easier to follow.
First up were Brunettes shoot Blondes with their song ‘Every Monday’, they say their genre of music is indie-rock. With their artistic, animated and colourful staging, their performance is striking. The memorable costumes of the backing singers, in all black with bunny masks helps the international audience to associate the band with that artistic image. Song is very strong, vocals could do with some work though. 7/10
Meladeze: Good discovery of the national selection. Still complies with all Eurovision standards, gave it their all. Great use of international music standards, different background is a great way of solidfying yourselves in Europe, even if they do not make it this year, they have to maintain standard in order to keep the future prospect alive
Verka: Nothing bad to say, loved the band right from the start, encourage the band, better performance then in the semi final
Ruslana: Singing from bottom of their heart so much appreciated, pitch and music was all correct. Referencing Adele’s performance at Grammy’s, do not let a big event unsettle nerves, just sing from the bottom of the heart in the grand final.
NuAngels performed second in the grand final with their song higher. This was their 3rd attempt at trying to represent Ukraine at ESC. Their song was recorded in Stockholm and they believe that this will bring them luck. Very strong voices and simple staging. Catchy chorus, arrangement compliments voices, so both work really well together, more energetic performance then their semi final, have upped their game from the semi final. 7/10
Ruslana: Wanted more Ukrainian flavour in performance, referenced own international production failures, meaning that having big international names doesn’t always work. She likes everything about the performance, and staging. The beauty and good looks are not good enough to give the European audience the Ukrainian flavour
Verka: right decision to remain in the competition, despite thoughts to withdraw. Liked light colours of costume, not sure about the performance to make it suitable for European audience.
Meladeze: He sees how their producer controls the performance, making it polished, performance is well prepared for Eurovision and feels that the band really want to go to Stockholm. NuAngels have received the most support, more then any other Ukrainian finalist. Performance was original and unconventional.
The next group up after the break was The HardKiss with their song ‘Helpless’. They are the most popular band in Ukraine at this moment in time. Everything has been upped from the semi final. Great landscape staging. Vocals and composition is a lot stronger from the semi final. Landscaping background is an excellent match to the song, and the background does the song justice. Lead female singer had very strong vocals. Great Ethnic flavour, and great language mix from English to Ukrainian. 9/10
Verka: the performance was great. Performance was better then previous semi final. Personal suspicions proved wrong, tonight’s performance proved they are great. All finalists are worthy of the Ukrainian ticket to Eurovision.
Ruslana: Have very high hopes for the band, and is proud of the band for being the only participant tonight to use the Ukrainian language in their song.
Meladeze: difficult to find any faults in performance, staging or vocals.
Jamala was up next with her song ‘1944’. Jamala is the only participant to sing in her native Crimean Tatar language. This is her second attempt at trying to represent Ukraine, having withdrawn her application during live national semi finals in 2011. Simple image but strong message in the song. Excellent, faultless and strong vocals. 10/10
Ruslana: Strong voice, excellent message in song. Loved the Crimean language in the song.
Meladeze: Staging, voice and look gives the song 3 different meanings. No integrity in image and stage presence. More work needed to make it perfect for the Eurovision stage. The whole appearance needs to be changed to make it appropriate for Eurovision. No progress made from first semi final.
Verka: Such simple performance can spoil the song, and her language can put people in Europe off. No reference to ‘1944’, which could be a good thing. This song would not work in English or in Ukrainian, great choice to sing it in Crimean Tatar.
Ruslana: Artistic message is more important and that stands out in Jamala’s performance. Love that there is another language beside English and Ukrainian in the song.
The penultimate act was SunSay with their song ‘Love Manifest’ Meladeze confirmed his position on the band’s song at the start of the show, stating that he got a reply from the EBU saying that because of the low viewing figures on Youtube, the song was deemed not released and was cleared to compete. The gained the highest points in the semi finals and they gained the highest proportion of televotes from all the semi final participants. Excellent beat, stronger voice, better staging, better all round performance from the semi finals. 4/10
Verka: Afraid of Sunsay’s eventual position if they were to win the right to represent Ukraine, but likes the song, but performance would need to be improved.
Ruslana: The performance needs energy, as there is not a lot of energy in the performance.
Meladeze: A lot of hard work went into getting the song approved to compete, but the hard work paid of.
Last up in this grand final is Pur:Pur and their song ‘We do Change’ Very dramatic start to performance. Very strong vocals and staging. Everything works well together. Dramatic performance all the way through. 8/10
Meladeze: Another faultless performance. Love the pure and harmonic sound.
Verka: Love the oriental look, it is unusual for the Eurovision stage, and it would be a positive image to take to ESC.
Ruslana: Loved it. The lead singer very harmonic, and very technical. Loved the ethnic element.
