Best of the Bunch: Ukraine

Ukraine first made their debut at Eurovision in 2003, and since their first appearance, they’ve won the contest an incredible two times, and quite consistently finished in the Top 10, if not the Top 5. They’ve missed one contest since their debut, which was 2015, which as part of our Best of the Bunch series we would usually feature. As such, today’s journey will start in 2006, and then move through the years until 2014. At the end of our recap, make sure to vote for your Best of the Bunch!

Starting off in 2006, where Tina Karol was the pocket rocket to represent Ukraine with a high energy song, Show Me Your Love. The song had to fight in the semi-final due to a place out of the Top 10 in the previous year, but Tina had no problem, qualifying in 7^th place, and then finishing in 7^th place in the final with 145 points.

The following year is a participant everyone remembers, even non-Eurovision fans know this act well! Verka Serduchka somewhat controversially performed the song Dancing Lasha Tumbai at Eurovision 2007, and with his all silver outfit and zany stage presence, the song was due to do well. Due to Tina’s Top 10 placing the year before, Verka was straight into the final, and ended up finishing in 2^nd place with 235 points.

In 2008, Ani Lorak was chosen to represent Ukraine with the fan favourite song Shady Lady. The song featured some pretty flashy choreography and stage props, but the whole package once again impressed Europe’s voters. The song qualified into the final in 1^st place, and in the final, just missed out on winning for the second year in a row, finishing in 2^nd place again, this time with 230 points.

The next year saw Svetlana Loboda take to the Eurovision stage, and boy did she bring it! With every prop imaginable, Svetlana somehow had enough energy to nail her song Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl). Ukraine reached the final once again, qualifying at 6^th place, and finishing in 12^th place.

In 2010, after a somewhat confusing and controversial national selection, the nation finally decided on Alyosha, who performed the song Sweet People on the Eurovision stage. It was a simplistic entry, but sometimes simple is what works best. Alyosha qualified through to the final at 7^th place, and finished in 10^th place in the final.

The following year, Mika Newton was chosen to represent the nation, and the song she performed at Eurovision was called Angel. I can’t recall the hype at the time for the song, so it came out of nowhere to finish in the Top 5! In the semi-final it finished in 6^th place, but then in the final Mika finished in 4^th. Maybe it was the sand artist…

In 2012, Gaitana was the Ukrainian guest at Eurovision with her incredibly energetic pop anthem Be My Guest. Her incredible voice helped her get Ukraine in the final again, continuing the running streak Ukraine held. She qualified in at 8^th place, and then in the final finished in 15^th place with 65 points.

The next year, Zlata Ognevich was selected in a national final to represent the nation with the song Gravity. The staging opened with a giant carrying Zlata on stage, and that’s when you knew it was going to be an interesting and impressive performance. The song qualified in, and finished in 3^rd place, with 214 points.

We’re finishing our journey here in 2014, where Mariya Yaremchuk was chosen through a national final selection. The song Tick-Tock needed no less than 3 revamps to get it to Eurovision quality, but once again, Ukraine didn’t disappoint. Mariya qualified into the final at 5^th place, and finished just outside the Top 5 at 6^th place in the final with 113 points.

And there you have it! Now it’s your turn to vote for your Best of the Bunch!