Suspilne Ukraine has received a total of 389 submissions for Vidbir 2024, the Ukrainian National Selection for Eurovision. These applications have poured in from 288 artists, with 222 of them being solo singers. The application window for this year’s competition remained open from August 30th to October 22nd, allowing ample time for entrants to submit their contributions.
Dmytro Shurov, also known as Pianoboy and the music director for Vidbir 2024, has offered insights into the quality of submissions. He mentioned that several noteworthy entries have emerged, including a few potential hits and comebacks that are likely to excite fans. Shurov expressed his gratitude to the musicians, producers, arrangers, and authors who invested their efforts and creativity in the midst of challenging times.
More than half of submissions were in Ukrainian
During the application period, a total of 337 songs were submitted, with over 15% of artists submitting multiple songs. Ukrainian remained the predominant language of choice, with 57.5% of songs in the native tongue. English was used in 33% of the submissions, while 9% of the songs were bilingual. A small percentage, 0.5%, was composed in other languages.
The final list of entries, encompassing up to 20 participants, is scheduled to be revealed by November 9th. These artists will subsequently undergo an audition process. Following this phase, a shortlist of up to 10 finalists will be determined by November 20th. An additional participant for the final will be selected through an online public vote from among the longlisted entrants who did not make it to the finals.
The final round of Vidbir 2024 is set to take place in February 2024 as a televised event. As in previous editions, the winner will be determined through a combination of public and jury voting. The jury for the final will be chosen by the Ukrainian public through an online voting process, ensuring a participatory and democratic element in the selection of Ukraine’s Eurovision representative.
The 2022 edition of Vidbir
The most recent installment of Vidbir, which took place in the underground depths of Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict, saw Tvorchi triumph with their rendition of “Heart of Steel.” Nevertheless, once again, controversy reared its head. Following a familiar trend in Ukrainian music competitions, the victors secured their title predominantly through televoting, finishing second according to the panel of judges.
In a turn of events, KRUTЬ, who had been declared the jury’s choice, raised allegations against the winning act, claiming that there was a second audio track present in the chorus of their performance, thereby violating the established rules of the competition. The musical producer for the 2023 edition did concede that a secondary voice could be faintly detected for a few fleeting moments, but maintained that this was not sufficient grounds for disqualifying the winners. The Organizing Committee itself conceded that there had been several minor infractions committed by various finalists during Vidbir 2023, yet none of these infractions were deemed substantial enough to warrant the disqualification of any of the participants.
Undaunted, KRUTЬ pressed on, contending that the record label associated with the victors, as well as several other participants, operated within what she described as “enemy territory.” This assertion, once more, did not sway the decision-makers, as the record label in question, Believe, hails from France and is involved in music distribution across Europe and Asia.