Less than 24 hours after the line-up for Vidbir 2022 was revealed a line-up change is already occurring, as UA:PBC announces that LAUD who was due to compete with the song “Head Under Water” has been disqualified.
“Head Under Water” previously published
In UA:PBC’s statement, they mentioned that the disqualification was due to the fact that the song was published online before September 1, 2021, which is one of the rules in order to participate in the competition. The song was published by its author Daniel Boting on the 27th July 2018.
Prior to his disqualification, LAUD made an appeal to UA:PBC, noting that the song has gone a massive change and that it was only officially released on his second studio album “Dual” on December 2021. In addition, he also mentions Eurovision 2019 winner Duncan Laurence, where a similar scenario occurred.
At the time of writing, LAUD is yet to make a public statement about his disqualification from the competition. UA:PBC has since replaced him with Barleben who will be competing with the song “Hear My Words”
The line-up after the changes
With the changes to the Vidbir line-up, the Final will now be as follows:
First Half
| Artist | Entry |
| Cloudless | “All Be Alright” |
| Barleben | “Hear My Words” |
| Michael Soul | “Demons” |
| Our Atlantic | “Moia Liubov” |
Second Half
| Artist | Entry |
| Alina Pash | “Tini Zabutykh Predkiv” |
| Kalush Orchestra | “Stefania” |
| ROXOLANA | “GIRLZZZ” |
| WELLBOY | “Nozzy Bossy” |
The eight finalists will compete to represent Ukraine on February 12th at 19:00EET. A combination of both an expert jury and televote will decide the winner, who will go on to sing for Ukraine in Turin. The show will be hosted by Masha Efrosinina with Eurovision 2017 host Timur Miroshnychenko hosting the green room.
Ukraine’s Eurovision journey
Ukraine is one of the most successful countries to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. The country has scored seven top-five placements, with an extra three top-ten finishes. Ukraine won the Contest in 2004 with Ruslana’s “Wild Dances” and again in 2016 with Jamala’s “1944”. Jamala’s win made history for Ukraine, as it became the first ex-Soviet country to win the Contest more than once.
In 2021, Go_A represented Ukraine in the 65th edition of the Contest with their song “SHUM”. The band scored 364 points, finishing in fifth place.
What do you think of the news from Ukraine? Will Ukraine continue to maintain its 100% qualification streak? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. In addition, be sure to follow ‘THAT Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for all things Vidbir.
News Source: UA:PBC
Photo Source: LAUD
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