Following their win at Vidbir 2023, TVORCHI have officially been confirmed as Ukraine’s act for Liverpool. This comes after complaints regarding the distribution of the winning song.
TVORCHI first Vidbir act to go to Eurovision since 2018
At the headquarters of Ukraine’s public broadcaster UA:PBC, it was announced that TVORCHI signed a contract with the broadcaster. The contract binds the group to representing Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. As a result, TVORCHI are confirmed to be the first act to win Vidbir that will make it to the Eurovision stage since MÉLOVIN in 2018.
It comes following complaints after the band’s victory at Vidbir earlier this month. The complaints came from second-placed KRUTЬ, who hoped to represent Ukraine with her song “Kolyskova”. After the selection, KRUTЬ alleged that TVORCHI broke the rules of the selection by singing over their track including the main vocals. In addition to this, she said that the band’s record label – Believe – was continuing to operate in Russia, which also morally jeopardised their participation.
Addressing the allegations
However, in a statement, UA:PBC confirmed that KRUTЬ’s case had been dropped after consideration. The broadcaster said that the record label operates across Europe and Asia. They added that five of the ten competing artists at Vidbir had worked with the label, three of whom in recent times. Regarding the doubling of main vocals, Vidbir’s Music Producer Dymtro Shurov said:
When listening to the broadcast recording of the performance in the TVORCHI final, you can hear additional processing in the specified seconds, which may be doubled. At the same time, [I do] not believe that such inconsistency of the recording with the requirements of the rules is essential for evaluating the performance and choosing TVORCHI as winners.
Dymtro Shurov, Music Producer for Vidbir 2023
Following the publication of the statement, KRUTЬ retracted her complaints. As a result, this paved the way for TVORCHI to be confirmed as Ukraine’s act for Eurovision 2023.
Ukraine’s Eurovision journey
Ukraine is one of the most successful countries to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. The country has scored eight 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 2022, Kalush Orchestra represented Ukraine in the 66th edition of the Contest with their song “Stefania”. The band scored 614 points, finishing in first place, marking Ukraine’s third victory.
Are you happy that TVORCHI is confirmed as Ukraine’s artist for Eurovision 2023? Do you think KRUTЬ had the right to complain about the organisation? Will Ukraine be able to do the double this year? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok as we gear up for Eurovision 2023!
News Source: UA:PBC
Photo Credit: TVORCHI
