Natsionalnyi Vidbir (Ukrainian: Національний відбір, IPA: [nɐts⁽ʲ⁾ioˈnɑlʲnɪj wid⁽ʲ⁾ˈbir]; meaning "National Selection"), informally known as Vidbir, is a Ukrainian musical competition originally organized by Suspilne and STB, which determines the Ukrainian representative at the Eurovision Song Contest. In late August 2021, it was announced that the two broadcasters had terminated their partnership, and that Suspilne was looking for a new selection format for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, thus bringing an end to the original concept for Vidbir.[1] In October 2021, Suspilne announced that the 2022 edition of Vidbir would be organized by it alone under a new format.[2]
| Vidbir | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Natsionalnyi Vidbir or Natsvidbir |
| Genre | Song contest |
| Developed by | 1+1 Production Former: Starlight Production Friends Production |
| Presented by | Timur Miroshnychenko Julia Sanina Vasyl Baidak Former: Zlata Ognevich Kateryna Pavlenko Masha Efrosinina Serhiy Prytula Oleksandr Pedan Dmytro Tankovych |
| Judges | Jamala Andriy Danylko Serhiy Tanchynets Former: Taras Topolia Julia Sanina Tina Karol Yaroslav Lodygin Vitaliy Drozdov Ruslana Konstantin Meladze Yevhen Filatov |
| Opening theme | "The Feeling" by Jason Tarver and Louise Dowd (2016–2020) |
| Country of origin | Ukraine |
| Original language | Ukrainian |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 19 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | STB Studios, Hostomel (2016) Palace of Culture "KPI", Kyiv (2017–2020) NAU Center of Culture and Arts, Kyiv (2022) Maidan Nezalezhnosti metro station, Kyiv (2023) National WWII History Museum, Kyiv (2024) |
| Original release | |
| Network | STB (2016–2020) Pershyi (2016–2022) Suspilne Kultura (2023–2024) |
| Release | 6 February 2016 – present |
In the first year of the show, the local record by SMS voting was set by receiving 344,268 unique votes, 37.77% of which supported Jamala,[3] who eventually became the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.
Winners
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| Year | Artist | Song | At Eurovision | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final | Points | Semi | Points | |||
| 2016 | Jamala | "1944" | 1 | 534 | 2 | 287 |
| 2017 | O.Torvald | "Time" | 24 | 36 | Host country | |
| 2018 | Mélovin | "Under the Ladder" | 17 | 130 | 6 | 179 |
| 2019 | Maruv | "Siren Song" | Withdrew[a] X | |||
| 2020 | Go_A | "Solovey" | Contest cancelled[b] X | |||
| 2022 | Alina Pash | "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" | Disqualified[c] X | |||
| 2023 | Tvorchi | "Heart of Steel" | 6 | 243 | Automatically qualified[d] | |
| 2024 | Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil | "Teresa & Maria" | 3 | 453 | 2 | 173 |
Cast
editOver the 8 editions of Vidbir, 11 music experts have been on the jury, two of them Ruslana and Jamala are Eurovision winners in 2004 and 2016 respectively. Jamala is the only member of the Vidbir cast who has participated in every edition, as a contestant in 2016, as a jury member in 2017—2019, 2022—2024 and as an interval act in 2020. Several participants have had different roles in different editions of Vidbir. Julia Sanina was a participant in 2016, a jury member in 2023 and a presenter in 2024. Tina Karol was a jury member in 2020 and 2022, as well as a music producer in 2025. Kateryna Pavlenko is the winner of Vidbir 2020 and host of the 2023 edition. Starting from 2023, the participants of the expert jury are selected through the Ukrainian e-governance app Diia.
Key:
- Judge / Host / Music producer / Showrunner
- Competed as a contestant
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Seasons
editSeries overview
editColor key
| Year | Premiere | Final | Contestants | Episodes | Winner | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 February 2016 | 21 February 2016 | 18 | 3 | Jamala "1944" |
The Hardkiss "Helpless" |
Sunsay "Love Manifest" | |
| 4 February 2017 | 25 February 2017 | 24 | 4 | O.Torvald "Time" |
Tayanna "I Love You" |
Mélovin "Wonder" | |
| 10 February 2018 | 24 February 2018 | 18 | 3 | Mélovin "Under the Ladder" |
Tayanna "Lelya" |
Kadnay "Beat of the Universe" | |
| 9 February 2019 | 23 February 2019 | 16 | 3 | Maruv "Siren Song" |
Freedom Jazz "Cupidon" |
Kazka "Apart" | |
| 8 February 2020 | 22 February 2020 | 16 | 3 | Go_A "Solovey" |
Khayat "Call for Love" |
Krutь "99" | |
| 12 February 2022 | 8 | 1 | Alina Pash "Tini zabutykh predkiv" |
Kalush Orchestra "Stefania" |
Wellboy "Nozzy Bossy" | ||
| 17 December 2022 | 10 | 1 | Tvorchi "Heart of Steel" |
Krutь "Kolyskova" |
Jerry Heil "When God Shut the Door" | ||
| 3 February 2024[g] | 11 | 1 | Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil "Teresa & Maria" |
Ziferblat "Place I Call Home" |
Mélovin "Dreamer" | ||
2016
editThe final took place on 21 February 2016. The six entries that qualified from the semi-finals competed. The winner, "1944" performed by Jamala, was selected through the combination of votes from a public tele-vote and an expert jury. Ties were decided in favour of the entries that received higher scores from the public tele-vote.[4] "1944" is the first Eurovision Song Contest song to feature lyrics in the Crimean Tatar language. 382,602 votes were registered by the tele-vote during the show.[5] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2016 Irish Eurovision entrant Nicky Byrne performed the 2016 Irish entry "Sunlight" as a guest.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Brunettes Shoot Blondes | "Every Monday" | 1 | 3.40% | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | NuAngels | "Higher" | 3 | 5.94% | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| 3 | The Hardkiss | "Helpless" | 6 | 21.11% | 5 | 11 | 2 |
| 4 | Jamala | "1944" | 5 | 37.77% | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| 5 | Sunsay | "Love Manifest" | 4 | 18.20% | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| 6 | Pur:Pur | "We Do Change" | 2 | 13.58% | 3 | 5 | 4 |
2017
editFinal took place on 25 February 2017. Special guests included Alma, Manel Navarro, Tamara Gachechiladze, Naviband, and Kasia Moś.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Salto Nazad | "O, mamo!" | 1 | 11.35% | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 2 | Mélovin | "Wonder" | 2 | 31.22% | 6 | 8 | 3 |
| 3 | O.Torvald | "Time" | 5 | 25.57% | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| 4 | Illaria | "Thank You for My Way" | 4 | 7.43% | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Tayanna | "I Love You" | 6 | 16.69% | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| 6 | Rozhden | "Saturn" | 3 | 7.73% | 2 | 5 | 4 |
2018
editFinal took place on 24 February 2018. Special guests included Mikolas Josef and Madame Monsieur. 179,455 unique votes were received from SMS and App voting.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Kadnay | "Beat of the Universe" | 3 | 18,61% | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| 2 | Tayanna | "Lelya" | 6 | 16,62% | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| 3 | The Erised | "Heroes" | 2 | 6,48% | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | Laud | "Waiting" | 4 | 11,56% | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| 5 | Vilna | "Forest Song" | 1 | 12,92% | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | Mélovin | "Under the Ladder" | 5 | 33,81% | 6 | 11 | 1 |
2019
editThe final took place on 23 February 2019 with special guests Lake Malawi and Bilal Hassani. More than 167,500 unique votes were received from SMS and app voting. Maruv was declared the winner after receiving the most votes among the six finalists. On 26 February 2019, three days after the final was aired, Ukraine withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 after Maruv and UA:PBC were unable to reach an agreement on her participation in the contest as a result of controversy.[6][7]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Juries | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freedom Jazz | "Cupidon" | 6 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| 2 | Yuko | "Galyna guliala" | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 3 | Maruv | "Siren Song" | 5 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| 4 | Brunettes Shoot Blondes | "Houston" | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | Kazka | "Apart" | 3 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| 6 | Anna Maria | "My Road" | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
2020
edit| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote (SMS) / App | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Krutь | "99" | 5 | 19,90% | 4 | 9 | 3 |
| 2 | Jerry Heil | "Vegan" | 1 | 7,00% | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Go_A | "Solovey" | 6 | 25,43% | 6 | 12 | 1 |
| 4 | David Axelrod | "Horizon" | 3 | 11,30% | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Khayat | "Call for Love" | 4 | 20,93% | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| 6 | Tvorchi | "Bonfire" | 2 | 15,44% | 3 | 5 | 4 |
2021
editFollowing the cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Go_A was internally re-selected to represent Ukraine in the 2021 edition, this time with the song "Shum".[8][9]
2022
edit| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote (SMS) / App | Total | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Points | ||||||
| 1[h] | Cloudless | "All Be Alright" | 1 | 3,410 | 4.81% | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| 2 | Michael Soul | "Demons" | 2 | 1,239 | 1.75% | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| 3 | Our Atlantic | "Moia liubov" | 5 | 1,605 | 2.27% | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| 4 | Barleben | "Hear My Words" | 4 | 2,740 | 3.87% | 3 | 7 | 5 |
| 5 | Kalush Orchestra | "Stefania" | 6 | 31,634 | 44.66% | 8 | 14 | 2 |
| 6 | Roxolana | "Girlzzzz" | 3 | 5,034 | 7.11% | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| 7 | Wellboy | "Nozzy Bossy" | 7 | 5,642 | 7.96% | 6 | 13 | 3 |
| 8 | Alina Pash | "Tini zabutykh predkiv" | 8 | 19,535 | 27.58% | 7 | 15 | 1 |
Following controversy regarding her travel history, Alina Pash's status as a legitimate participant, and therefore winner, of Vidbir was challenged, which resulted in her participation being ceased by Suspilne as well as her withdrawal. The runner-up, Kalush Orchestra, was chosen as the Ukrainian entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
2023
edit| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Public vote (via Diia) | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Moisei | "I'm Not Alone" | 1 | 5,393 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | OY Sound System | "Oy, tuzhu" | 5 | 2,496 | 2 | 7 | 8 |
| 3 | Demchuk | "Alive" | 7 | 3,936 | 4 | 11 | 5 |
| 4 | Jerry Heil | "When God Shut the Door" | 8 | 45,657 | 9 | 17 | 3 |
| 5 | Fiinka | "Dovbush" | 6 | 11,109 | 7 | 13 | 4 |
| 6 | Krutь | "Kolyskova" | 10 | 33,614 | 8 | 18 | 2 |
| 7 | Tember Blanche | "Ya vdoma" | 2 | 3,411 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 8 | Angelina | "Stronger" | 3 | 2,424 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| 9 | 2Tone | "Kvitka" | 4 | 4,681 | 5 | 9 | 6 |
| 10 | Tvorchi | "Heart of Steel" | 9 | 54,041 | 10 | 19 | 1 |
2024
editIn this edition, the public determined a wildcard entry through an online vote.[10] During the show, aired on 3 February 2024, the voting app crashed, causing the voting window to be extended to the following day.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Public vote (via Diia) | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Yaktak | "Lalala" | 6 | 107,227 | 10 | 16 | 4 |
| 2 | Ingret | "Keeper" | 8 | 15,238 | 2 | 10 | 6 |
| 3 | Nazva | "Slavic English" | 2 | 14,852 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| 4 | Anka | "Palala" | 5 | 19,183 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
| 5 | Drevo | "Endless Chain" | 4 | 16,235 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| 6 | Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil | "Teresa & Maria" | 10 | 723,297 | 11 | 21 | 1 |
| 7 | Mélovin | "Dreamer" | 9 | 82,838 | 9 | 18 | 3 |
| 8 | Skylerr | "Time Is Running Out" | 3 | 38,177 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| 9 | Ziferblat | "Place I Call Home" | 11 | 64,276 | 8 | 19 | 2 |
| 10 | Yagody | "Tsunamia" | 7 | 62,269 | 7 | 14 | 5 |
| 11 | Nahaba | "Glasss" | 1 | 23,593 | 5 | 6 | 10 |
Ratings
edit| Year | Semi-Final | Final | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Second | Third | |||
| 2016 | 9.7% | 10.3% | — | 13.5% | [11][12][13] |
| 2017 | 10.6% | 8.8% | 8.2% | 9.1% | [14][15][16][17] |
| 2018 | 9.0% | 11.3% | — | 13.9% | [18][19][20] |
| 2019 | 10.8% | 11.1% | 13.1% | [21][22][23] | |
| 2020 | 10.7% | 10.4% | 13.3% | [24][25][26] | |
| 2022 | — | 3.83% | [27] | ||
Notes
edit- ^ Ukraine withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 after Maruv and Suspilne were unable to reach an agreement on her participation in the contest as a result of controversy.
- ^ The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ Alina Pash won Vidbir 2022 but was disqualified after it was discovered that her representative had provided Suspilne with a falsified travel certificate.
- ^ Ukraine was unable to host the 2023 contest due to security concerns resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The United Kingdom, as the second-placing country in the 2022 contest, hosted on Ukraine's behalf, with Ukraine automatically qualifying for the 2023 final as the previous year's winning country.
- ^ Runner-up of Vidbir 2016 as a lead vocalist of The Hardkiss.
- ^ Won Vidbir 2020 as a lead vocalist of Go_A.
- ^ Voting extended to the following day due to a crash in the voting app.
- ^ Due to technical issues during the first performance, Cloudless had to perform their song again after all the other songs.
References
edit- ^ Mori, Yevheniy (30 August 2021). "Суспільне мовлення завершує співпрацю з СТБ в проведенні нацвідбору на Євробачення". suspilne.media (in Ukrainian). Suspilne. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ "Суспільне самостійно проведе Нацвідбір Євробачення. Оголошено конкурс на телеверсію". suspilne.media (Press release) (in Ukrainian). Suspilne. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ "Results of the SMS voting on Vidbir 2016" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 23 Feb 2018.
- ^ Omelyanchuk, Olena (21 February 2016). "Jamala will represent Ukraine in Stockholm!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
- ^ "СТБ возьмет на себя все затраты по участию Джамалы на «Евровидении-2016»". stb.ua (in Russian). STB. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Никаких гастролей по России: MARUV поставили условие для участия в Евровидении-2019". Lifestyle 24. 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ "Ukraine's Maruv wins Eurovision national selection, sparking controversy (VIDEO)". Kyiv Post. 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
"MARUV have been set a number of conditions, among which no touring in Russia". Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019. - ^ "Ukraine: UA:PBC confirm GO_A as Eurovision 2021 act". ESCToday. 2020-03-22.
- ^ Smith, David (22 May 2021). "Go_A will release Eurovision version of "SHUM" on 9 March". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Суспільне розпочало Національний відбір на Євробачення-2024" [Suspilne has started the National Selection for Eurovision 2024]. suspilne.media (Press release) (in Ukrainian). Suspilne. 2023-08-30. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ^ "Игры с долей. Кто запустил новый сезон, тот проиграл... сериалам на "Украине"".
- ^ "Игры с долей. Куда ведет "Лестница в небеса"".
- ^ "Игры с долей. Как СТБ и Плюсы обошли "Украину". И при чем тут футбол".
- ^ "Игры с долей. СТБ начинает и не выигрывает".
- ^ "Игры с долей. Новый сезон на Плюсах и взлет ICTV".
- ^ "Игры с долей. Новая "Лига смеха" и новая жизнь "пацанок"".
- ^ "Игры с долей. В бой за рейтинги вступает "Новый канал"".
- ^ "Игры с долей. Нацотбор на "Евровидение" и олимпийский рывок "UA: Перший"".
- ^ "Игры с долей. Фигуристы, футболисты и "Евровидение"".
- ^ "Игры с долей. Новый сезон на "Новом канале"".
- ^ "Игры с долей. Порошенко - на «Украине», Медведчук - на «112». И Нацотбор на «Евровидение-2019»".
- ^ "Игры с долей. Парад сериальных премьер".
- ^ "Игры с долей. Эксперимент "Украины", финал Нацотбора на "Евровидение" и неудачи "Нового канала"".
- ^ "Телерейтинги: нацотбор на "Евровидение"". 11 February 2020.
- ^ "Телерейтинги: сериал "Не отпускай", двойная доза "Вещдока" и "Смертельное оружие"". 18 February 2020.
- ^ "Телерейтинги: финал нацотбора". 26 February 2020.
- ^ Mori, Yevheniy (2022-02-13). "Фінал Нацвідбору переглянули понад 2,5 млн глядачів на каналі UA: ПЕРШИЙ". suspilne.media (in Ukrainian). UA:PBC. Retrieved 2022-02-13.