Tonight I’ve watched the Ukrainian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, Vidbir 2025 Final, on demand, online from the UK, having missed it Saturday 8 February 2025. Please note that a) I didn’t preview any of the songs, or look at the lyrics beforehand, so my on demand viewing tonight was my first time of seeing / hearing them, b) since I haven’t seen the lyrics, I’ve had difficulty identifying song parts in some cases, and c) since the show ended Saturday night, I’ve managed to avoid accidentally seeing the results anywhere online, so at the moment I still don’t know the scores, and have been able to judge the songs as if I’d been watching live Saturday evening. Here are some notes I made about the songs whilst watching:
Song 1: Vlad Sheryf – "Wind of Change"
It’s difficult judging the first song in a national final when one hasn’t previewed any of the songs beforehand, but anyway first in the line-up was a ballad, or power ballad. I like the way Vlad sang the opening verse and pre-chorus. It took until the first instance of the chorus for him to sing more powerfully, accompanied by a beat. Up until now, the background screen included wheels for some mysterious reason. The second verse and second instance of the pre-chorus were sung similarly to the first. After a second instance of the chorus, the bridge was noticeably different to the rest of the song; here the background screen was dark with stars. During the final instance of the chorus, heads could be seen on the background screen. Not bad as an opener, but I’m not sure this would be competitive enough for Eurovision.
Song 2: Abiye – "Dim"
This is very much an eastern style song, with a beat that can be heard from the start. Abiye has a beautiful voice which she was able to vary for the different parts of the song. I liked the way she was accompanied by dancers, and their movements before the bridge. Various eastern style sounds could also be heard, and I liked the various patterns on the background screen The bridge was noticeably different, Abiye performed on a predominantly dark stage in this part of the song. Finally, the stage was lit and the dancers could be seen again for the closing section. This would be a good choice for Eurovision; it would almost certainly reach the final.
Song 3: Molodi – "My Sea"
Now for what I’d call soft rock. This was sung rather softly during opening section; white lines were shown, with white filler appearing between them, on the background screen. It took until first instance of the chorus to get powerful. The second verse was more powerful than first; blue lines appeared on the on the background screen, and blue light beams were used, in this section. Towards the end a side view of a pool of water was simulated on the background screen. At the end the title “My Sea” appeared on the background screen. Altogether quite a powerful song, the inclusion of a drumkit enhanced the performance, and the background screen images were a worthwhile addition. Soft rock fans may enjoy this, but this is low key compared to even The Rasmus "Jezebel" in 2022, let alone Blind Channel and Måneskin in 2021.
Song 4: Future Culture – "Waste My Time"
Well, I don’t know what this is. I’m not at all keen on this. It’s got some interesting graphics on the background screen though; coloured horizontal liens during the “waste my time with you” sections (which I take is a chorus), and tower blocks during the in between bits. For some mysterious reason, bubbles appeared at the end. Not my taste in music at all, but no doubt some people enjoy this style.
Song 5: Masha Kondratenko – "No Time To Cry"
This began with side view of Masha. The song became quite powerful, accompanied by flashing lights, during the first instance of the chorus. Various styles followed. I liked the way the three dancers held dolls whilst dancing, but I’m mystified as to the significance of the dolls. Finally, the closing section was impressive, this was accompanied by the graphic images on the background screen. Altogether quite an unusual song really, which seems to mix a variety of styles, but they work well together, and the background screen images and lighting effects are appropriate for the various parts of the song. Furthermore, Masha has a good voice, and the talent to sing in the various styles required for this composition.
Song 6: Khayat – "Honor"
Well, this began with singing in an unusual style. A filler section which followed featured dancers. After that, there was another sung section, and another dance section. The final section sounded like rap. The song was enhanced by the orange-yellow images on the background screen, and smoke / dry ice effects. Some bursts of strobe lighting were included at times. All in all, quite an unusual entry, it’s not the sort of thing I’d listen to out of choice. If this goes to Eurovision, will enough viewers want to vote for this to get this to the Grand Final, and a respectable placing once there?
Song 7: Fiїnka – "Kultura"
Another unusual sounding song; presumably this is Ukrainian folk, though it sounded like a bit of rap was added early on. The members of the group had some amazing outfits, and the background screen images (e.g. pictures which flipped over, captions) enhanced the performance. I’d like to know what language this was performed in at Vidbir as well.
Song 8: Krylata – "Stay True"
I’m not sure what style this is meant to be, but the song started slow, and part way through became really fast. Various images appeared on the background screen, and there was a good use of light, during this fast middle section. Near the end, Krylata slowed down, and she was on a dark stage, under a spotlight. Altogether this is a song which starts slowly, has a rapid, lively middle bit, and a slow end section. Afterwards, Krylata spoke; from the English version of what she said, it sounds to me as though she had a message to get across in the song, but one would need to analyse the lyrics, and do background reading, to understand the song and fairly judge it.
Song 9: Ziferblat – "Bird of Pray"
Another unusual song. There are some really over-powering sections, and some high-pitched moments. The centrepiece was the artificial mini garden, which was placed on stage, for the band to perform in. The drumkit and electric guitar feature in the performance. Various background screen images enhance this still further.
Song 10: DK Enerhetyk – "Sil'"
I like the music that formed the introduction, but once the singing started, it’s clear this is a form of rock, which I’m generally not keen on. This included various different images on the background screen. On the whole, this is a song which rock fans will enjoy, and it’s somewhat different to rock songs that have appeared at Eurovision before.
Anyway, the winner is Ziferblat – "Bird of Pray". After finishing second with 9 points in the jury vote, they won the public vote with 10 points and thus won overall with 19 points. Although I placed Ziferblat just 6th on My Eurovision Scoreboard, evidently plenty of Ukrainian viewers liked their entry more than me. Congratulations to Ziferblat for winning, they did well to win in a competitive national final. So Ziferblat will represent Ukraine with "Bird of Pray". at the at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel in May. Ukraine is drawn to perform in the first half of the First Semi-Final on Tuesday 13 May 2025. I won’t be able to vote that evening, as the United Kingdom doesn’t vote that evening. Good luck to Ziferblat in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 First Semi-Final, and in the Grand Final if they get there.
Well done to the other nine finalists who took part that night, no matter what their scores, and where they placed, in both halves of the voting and overall. I must admit, I think 4 hours and 40 minutes was too long for a national final that contained just 10 competing finalist entries. I thought the gaps between songs were too long for a start. There were plenty of impressive interval acts, but they too were spaced out by gaps with talking. In fact, I had a shock when I found the show on YouTube around 18:00 GMT this evening, and saw how long it was. At a push, I wouldn’t have minded so much if it was 3 hours, but I think 2.5 hours would have been enough for a national final containing 10 songs.