Missed Opportunities 2014: Ukraine!

As there is hardly any Eurovision related news at the moment, I've decided to launch a new series. I will be looking into every national selection and selecting a song I think would have been a better representative. Or in some cases, the right act was chosen but I'll look into each national final anyway.

The Ukrainians were the first to select their entry for Copenhagen this year. Their national final took place on 21st December and 20 acts participated! There was some controversy after Mariya Yaremchuk won. Complaints were subsequently launched by Viktoria Petryk and the duo neAngely. Ukraine achieved 6th in Copenhagen, which is great - but would any of the other acts have done better? I don't think so... but there were a couple of songs I preferred.

Victoria Petryk - Love is Lord
Victoria Petryk came 2nd with Love is Lord. Her performance was very strong but I feel the song itself didn't do her justice. It was a nice song, very pleasant indeed, but nothing special or different. I would love to see her represent Ukraine in the near future though with a much stronger song.

ULI RUD - Flower
Many people won't agree with me here, but I really had a soft spot for Flower. The performance was pretty weird, but I really like the song. However, the rest of Ukraine disagreed with me as they place her last - she only received 76 televotes.

neAngely - Courageous
Ahhh! I absolutely love neAngely! Courageous was brilliant. The female duo were the big favourites to win before the selection. They came joint 5th. neAngely have very deep and unique voices. Their song was composed by Alexander Bard, Andreas Öhrn, Christian Wahlberg, Per Ljungqvist and Henrik Wikström.

Ukraine: neAngely react to their disappointing result!

I was certain that neAngely would win the Ukrainian national final this morning and represent their country in Copenhagen although they only managed an underwhelming 6th place.

Well they have released this statement, on their Facebook page saying...

"Our dearest friends, We thank you so very much for your support for NEANGELY in national finals for Eurovision Song Contest 2014! We value your every voice! Unfortunately, it seems not all votes were counted correctly. Our specialists have observed not typical votes count for some contestants, and blockage of votes for others.  It is not a shame to lose in fair competition. But foul play - is not our game.  We promise to investigate all details and come back to you!  To be continued..."

Maria Yaremchuk won the selection - although this result has already proved controversial in Ukraine and with Eurovision fans. Let the drama commence...

Ukraine: Mariya Yaremchuk is heading to Copenhagen!

Mariya Yaremchuk has won the Ukrainian selection with Tick-Tock. She received the highest amount of votes from both the televote and the jury. I am shocked. Truly shocked!

Many of the songs were very average but there were a few stand out performances. My favourite performances were neAngely and Viktoria Petryk. I was really convinced that Viktoria Petryk was going to win but unfortunately not although she did come 2nd. Could 2014 be the year that Ukraine don't qualify? There's nothing wrong with this song, it's just underwhelming and kinda boring... but Mariya is beautiful! I guess the song will get a makeover though before March...

Here is the full result:

1. Mariya Yaremchuk- ”Tick-Tock” – 24 points
2. Viktoria Petryk- ”Love Is Lord” – 17 points
3. Volodimir Tkachenko- ”Byti tam de ti” – 16 points
4. Viktor Romanchenko- ”Na krayu propasti” – 16 points
5. Natalia Valevska- ”Love Makes You Beautiful” – 14 points
6. neAngely- ”Courageous” – 14 points
7. Illaria- ”I’m Alive” – 14 points
8. Evgeny Litvinkovich- ”Strelyanaya ptitsa” – 12 points
9. Shanis- ”Moya dusha” – 10 points
10. Stas Shurins- ”Why” – 9 points
11. Lissa Wassabi- ”No Fear” – 9 points
12. Anatoly Shparev- ”Waiting For You” – 8 points
13. Tatiana Shirko- ”Let Go” – 6 points
14. Roman Polonsky- ”Wanted Dead Or Alive” – 6 points
15. Marietta- ”It’s My Life” – 5 points
16. Denis Lyubimov- ”Love” – 5 points
17. Anna-Maria- “5 Stars Hotel” – 4 points
18. Tania BerQ- ”Believe Me” – 4 points
19. Anna Hodorovska- ”Yesli yest lyubov” – 3 points
20. Uli Rud- ”Tsvetok” – 2 points

neAngely came a disappointing 6th place. Shame! Anyway, here is Ukraine's entry...

...and here's the studio version! 

Ukraine: Entrant for Copenhagen to be decided this morning!

Ukraine will kick off the 2014 national final season this morning, as they will be selecting their representative for Copenhagen! It seems like it's gonna be a three horse race between NeAngely, Victoria Petryk and Nataliya Valevska.

This bloggers favourite is NeAngely and I hope they will win, but I reckon that Victoria Petryk could challenge the duo. Her song is very good and with a bit of work, could be fantastic. Plus her vocals are always super. However I have a feeling that Nataliya Valevskacould may become victorious... we will find out very soon anyways! I'm so excited - Ukraine rarely disappoint.

• Anna-Maria - 5 Stars Hotel
• Roman Polonskij - Wanted Dead Or Alive
• ULI RUD - Tswetok (Flower)
• Marietta - It’s My Life
• Stas Shurins - Why
• Anatoli Shparyov - Waiting For You
• Nataliya Valevska - Love Makes You Beautiful
• Lissa Wassabi - No Fear
• Volodymyr Tkachenko - Buty Tam De Ty (To Be Where You Are)
• Shanis - Moya Dusha (My Soul)
• Victoria Petryk - Love Is Lord
• Evgen Litvinkovych - Strelyanaya Ptitsa (Wounded Bird)
• NeAngely - Courageous
• Illaria - I’m Alive
• Tetyana Shyrko - Let Go
• Tania BerQ - Believe Me
• Maria Yaremchuk - Tick-Tock
• Victor Romanchenko - Na Krayu Propasti (On The Brink Of The Abyss)
• Anna Hodorkovska - Yesli Yest Lyubov (If There Is Love)
• Denis Lyubimov - Love

You can watch the show here. The event will kick off at 11:15 CET and is expected to last about two hours. The national final season has started, y'all! It's going to be so much fun!!!