Ukraine in Eurovision
Ukraine first debuted in Eurovision in 2003 and have been a dominant force throughout. They have nine Top 10 finishes to their name, including two wins with ‘Wild Dances’ in 2004 and ‘1944’ in 2016.
Ukraine and Australia are the only two countries who have a perfect semi-final qualification record.
Ukraine have advanced from all 14 semi-finals they’ve been in, having missed the contest in 2015 and 2019.
2021 Entry: Go_A – ‘Shum’
Semi-final: Go_A will compete in semi-final 1 in 15th position in the running order
My Eurovision Scoreboard fan ranking: 14th out of 39 entries
Odds to win ranking: 16th out of 39 entries
Odds to qualify ranking: 9th out of 16 entries
(rankings as of 27 April 2021)
About the artist
Go_A is a Ukrainian four-piece electro-pop band that formed in 2012. It features lead-vocalist Kateryna Pavlenko, multi-instrumentalist Taras Shevchenko, sopilka player Ihor Didenchuk, and guitarist Ivan Hryhoriak.
The group have a common interest in folklore, which is a common theme right across Go_A’s discography. The group’s distinct sound comes from Kateryna’s use of ‘white voice’, an eastern European singing technique.
They first gained national attention in 2015 with their single Vesniaka. It was named The Best Track of 2015 in Ukraine, staying at Number One on a popular dance radio station chart for six weeks.
Go_A took part in the 2020 Eurovision national selection Vidbir at the request of fans, submitting the song ‘Solovey’. The group came second in the semi-final stage, before beating five other artists to win the national final.
On the day the 2020 Eurovision contest was cancelled, UA: First and STB 2021 announced they would not be holding another national selection, allowing Go_A to return this year with a new song.
About the Song
‘Shum’ – or ‘Noise’ in English is a song paying tribute to a Ukrainian folklore song of the same name. The song is about performing a ritual in spring, in a bid to awaken nature so the sowing season can soon begin.
The original version of ‘Shum’ was 4 minutes 20 seconds long and featured different lyrics. It was one of three songs considered by a Ukrainian national jury for Go_A to perform this year at Eurovision.
After the jury unanimously agreed on Shum as the entry, the band reworked the song to its current form, so that it fit within the contest rules.
As ‘Solovey’ was never performed in Rotterdam, this will be the first song sung entirely in Ukrainian to feature at Eurovision.
Tour of Chornobyl
The band recently filmed a ‘folklore exhibition video’ were they visited Chornobyl. The video was released on the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel on the 35th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster of 1986.
Go_A reveal the original folksong ‘Shum’ comes from a Ukrainian region which includes the Chornobyl nuclear station.
Interview with Go_A
We got the opportunity to speak to Taras and Ivan from Go_A, we covered the meaning behind the song 'SHUM', the connection between the song and Chornobyl, their experimentation with the didgeridoo, they talked about Mad Max, Australia and support for Montaigne.
Both Taras and Ivan also have a special message in Ukrainian to all the Ukrainians in Australia watching Eurovision!
Aussievision podcast Ukraine episode
Check out the Aussievision podcast review and rank episode including comments from the team. Listen via:
Apple
Spotify
Podcast addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/1958380