2 semi finals down, 3 weekends later, Ukraine has selected its finalist for Eurovision 2016 in Stockholm.
The winner, who will be flying the Ukrainian flag in Stockholm will be Jamala with her song ‘1944’. She got 5 points from the jury and 6 points from the televotes.
Ukraine have a 100% Grand final qualifying record in Eurovision with 1 victory back in 2004, courtesy of Ruslana. Jamala Will have to work hard to maintain this in Stockholm 2016.
Some of the judges comments included:
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.
Jamala had the same amount of points as The HardKiss, but because Jamala had the higher proportion of the televotes, this means Jamala gets to fly the Ukrainian flag in Stockholm.
